Chương 12: Perfecting the Whole Force

An hour later, Cang Lian was covered in sweat, but felt much lighter, as if he had been freed from invisible shackles.

Fortunately, the fascia was repaired by the sun essence, which relieved him of the pain.

But he still grimaced and pretended to be in a lot of pain.

"Very good, the river channel is taking shape." Old Huang nodded in satisfaction, then led him to a secluded storage room and carried out a three-meter-long ash wood pole.

"Now, it's time for the second step: training 'strength,' focusing on power generation and converging the immense force."

He slammed one end of the pole heavily onto the ground, and the ground of the entire garden seemed to tremble slightly.

"This thing is called 'The Big Pole.' It will be your best teacher from now on. It won't lie; it will make a sound just as strong as you put in."

Old Huang straddled a horse stance with his legs one in front of the other, gripped the end of the pole with one hand, and lowered his body slightly.

He didn't do anything earth-shattering; he simply sat down slightly with his waist and hips, and then twisted violently!

"Buzz!"

A deep, resonant sound, like the tolling of a bell, rang out!

In his hands, the ash wood pole seemed like a giant snake that had come to life, its tip shaking wildly at an extremely high frequency, creating a sharp gust of wind.

That power clearly originated from his feet pushing off the ground, amplified through the twisting of his waist and hips, transmitted through his spine to his arms, and finally exploded onto the pole without reservation!

"Why don't you give it a try?"

Cang Lian took a deep breath, and mimicked his posture, gripping the pole with both hands and assuming a stable stance.

He tried to imitate Huang Lao's movements, using his waist and hips to generate power.

However, the moment he exerted his strength, he did not feel the vibration of the entire pole, but rather a tremendous resistance.

He strained with all his might, his face turning red, but the pole only swayed symbolically, its tip drooping limply like a dead snake whose tendons had been pulled out.

[Large Pole Thrusting: 0/100 (Beginner)]

"No!" Old Huang shook his head.

"You're using brute force in your waist to 'shake' it, instead of using the rotation of your hips to 'drive' it! Remember, the root of martial arts is in the feet, the control is in the waist, and the power comes from the hips! The feet are the engine, the waist is the gearbox, and the hips are the clutch! If you don't depress the clutch and directly shift gears, it's no wonder the engine stalls!"

The entire morning was spent amidst the buzzing of the pole.

At first, he could only shake once, then he could shake three to five times in a row, and finally, he could feel a spiraling upward force running from the soles of his feet all the way to his fingertips.

My proficiency with the panel is also constantly improving.

[Large Pole Thrusting: 5/100 (Beginner)] [Large Pole Thrusting: 8/100 (Beginner)] ……

During the lunch break, Old Huang looked at Cang Lian, who was covered in sweat but full of energy, and said with satisfaction:

"Young master, the long pole shaking exercise trains 'inch power,' which is 'explosive power.' But just being able to explode isn't enough; the power must be able to be delivered and penetrate deeply. This afternoon, we'll practice 'hitting the sandbag,' which is also a way to train strength."

In the afternoon, a huge sandbag, thicker than a water bucket, was hung in the garden.

Old Huang stood in front of the sandbag without adopting any fighting stance. He simply stood there casually, then suddenly his body sank down, his shoulders slumped, and he seemed to have crashed into the sandbag.

"Bang!"

A deep, resonant sound, like the pounding of a drum, rang out!

The huge sandbag swayed slightly, but inside it seemed as if an invisible force was penetrating it, producing a "rustling" friction sound.

"Did you see that?" Old Huang said.

"This lean isn't done with the strength of your shoulder, but by using your entire body weight through the twisting of your waist and hips to instantly 'slam' onto the sandbag. The deeper the sound, the more the force penetrates. If it makes a crisp 'slap' sound, then the force is just superficial and it's all show."

Cang Lian stepped forward, took a deep breath, recalled the feeling of exerting force when shaking the pole, and threw a punch.

"Snapped!"

With a crisp sound, the sandbag shook violently as it was hit, but the force was clearly only on the surface.

[Penetration: 0/100 (Beginner)]

"No! The force has dissipated!" Old Huang said.

"Forget your fist! Your fist is just a 'point,' a point of contact. What you need to think about is pressing your heel, through your body, into the sandbag!"

Cang Lian tried again and again, from the crisp sound at the beginning to the gradually deepening sound later, and finally, when he threw a punch, there was a muffled "thud" as his fist seemed to sink into the sandbag, and the entire sandbag swung violently backward!

[Penetration: 1/100 (Beginner)]

"It's a success!"

Cang Lian's expression lit up with joy. He had finally learned how to channel his full power into a single point in an instant!

In the evening, Old Huang looked at him and nodded in satisfaction:

"Young Master, today you have mastered the two major training methods of whole-body strength cultivation. Shaking the long pole is to train 'hardness,' how to 'release' power; hitting the sandbag is to train 'penetration,' how to 'penetrate' power. One hard and one soft, one opening and one closing, is the Yin-Yang principle of whole-body strength."

He paused, his expression turning serious.

"Young Master, this is all I can teach you. Stretching tendons and bones, shaking the pole to generate power, striking and penetrating—these are all at the level of 'technique,' the 'method of action.' But the true perfection of integrated power also requires the cultivation of the 'mind.'"

"Heart?" Cang Lian asked curiously.

"Yes, the heart." Old Huang's eyes revealed a hint of longing and awe.

"The highest level of integrated strength is 'the intention, the energy, and the power all arrive.' With just one thought, the power of your whole body is already in place and released. This is 'intentional guidance.'"

"For example, visualization. When practicing standing meditation, visualize yourself hugging a towering tree, and your strength will increase unconsciously; when exerting force, visualize thousands of troops pushing you from behind, and your fist will become heavier. This step is extremely profound, and I haven't even scratched the surface of it, so I can't teach it to you. You need to figure it out for yourself."

Mind-guided?

Visualization?

Cang Lian nodded and fell into deep thought.

He bowed respectfully to Elder Huang, this time with heartfelt gratitude: "Thank you for your guidance, Elder Huang! I understand!"

He had mastered all the methods of cultivation.

The days that followed were a tedious, painful, yet transformative period of self-discipline.

In the garden, he practiced push hands with Master Huang, listening to his opponent's strength. At first, he was easily moved, but later he became as steady as a rock and could even faintly perceive some flaws in Master Huang's strength.

He practiced punching, his fists landing on the sandbag, the sound going from crisp to muffled, and finally, a muffled "thud," as if his fists could pierce through the sandbag and strike the air behind it.

He practiced shaking the long pole, from initially shaking it with all his might, to later doing it at will, and finally, he didn't even need a full exertion; just a slight tremor in his waist and hips was enough to make the pole head vibrate dramatically.

[Big Pole Drill: 78/100 (Small Success)] [Big Pole Drill: 96/100 (Small Success)] In every practice session, he deliberately "hid his weaknesses".

He would spend two or three days mastering a technique that could be learned in an afternoon, using repeated failed attempts to disguise his own exploration.

He perfectly embodied the role of a less-than-perfect genius.

In the eyes of Mr. Huang and Gu Guolong, he was a diligent and hardworking young master.

However, when Cang Lian practiced in her room, all her pretense was shattered.

He is no longer the boy who needs to figure things out, but a tireless, precision machine that pursues perfection.

The Heaven and Earth Pearl quietly began to rotate, and the essence of the sun continuously nourished his body.

He practiced "stretching and bone-pulling" repeatedly in his room.

Each leg stretch was deeper than the stretches done in front of Huang Lao and Gu Guolong.

Each kick carries even stronger overall power.

He could clearly feel that the fascia in his body was being stretched and reshaped, becoming as tough and elastic as beef tendon.

The proficiency level on the panel was jumping wildly at a speed visible to the naked eye.

[Stretching and Bone Strengthening: 85/100 (Minor Success)] [Stretching and Bone Strengthening: 92/100 (Minor Success)] You can't hit the sandbag in the room.

However, he did not use sandbags, but instead used his mental energy to create an invisible target in front of him.

He threw a punch, which had no physical form, but it brought with it a sharp gust of wind.

He could feel his power rising from the soles of his feet, twisting his waist and hips, passing through his shoulders, and finally condensing into a single point on his fist, which he then "imprinted" hard onto the mental target.

[Penetration: 88/100 (Minor Success)] [Penetration: 95/100 (Minor Success)] Half a month passed in the blink of an eye.

That evening, as usual, after completing a night of cultivation, Cang Lian had a thought and the familiar control panel appeared before her eyes.

When he saw those lines of text, he finally revealed a genuine, satisfied smile.

[Practice Method]: Hunyuan Stance (Perfect) [Auxiliary Cultivation]: Stretching and Bone Strengthening (Perfect) [Auxiliary Cultivation]: Shaking the Pole (Perfect) [Auxiliary Cultivation]: Penetration Strike (Perfect)

"We've finally reached this point; everything is complete, and the overall effort has also been successfully perfected!"

Cang Lian smiled and slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air. Under the cold moonlight, this breath was like a white ribbon that lingered for a long time.

He slowly stood up and casually took a couple of steps.

Every step felt like a sync with the heartbeat of the earth.

He felt that he was no longer an individual, but a whole connected with heaven and earth.

With his feet on the ground, he could feel the weight of the earth's veins deep within.

He could feel the subtle changes in the airflow by touching it with his hand.

He clenched his fist without exerting any force, but a heavy force naturally gathered at the tip of his fist, as if the air itself were being compressed.

He knew that he no longer needed to consciously think about "pushing his feet off the ground and rotating his hips".

Any movement, even just lifting a finger, will generate power that flows from the soles of the feet at the most appropriate time and in the most appropriate way, without any hindrance.

This is the essence of perfect whole-body power!

Now that he has reached this point, he can finally make an attempt to reach the "Ming Jin" level!