Chương 8: Mastery of the Round Stance, Warlock

Just as Cang Lian turned to leave, Old Huang suddenly remembered something and quickly called out to him, "By the way, young master, there's something I must remind you of!"

Cang Lian stopped and turned to look at him.

Old Huang's expression became more serious than ever before. He stepped forward, lowered his voice, and said, word by word:

"Now that you've started practicing martial arts, you need to pay attention to your diet. Martial arts training, to put it simply, is a tug-of-war between 'consumption' and 'replenishment.' When you practice standing meditation, seemingly still, your internal energy surges, your muscles and bones are stretched, and the energy consumed is no less than doing a day's hard labor!"

He exclaimed, "The better you eat, the better it is for martial arts training! This is no exaggeration. Beef and mutton can strengthen bones and muscles; the freshness of fish and shrimp can invigorate blood and qi; and the mushrooms from the mountains can clear the mind. These are the best 'firewood' for martial arts practitioners, which can ignite the 'fire' within your body."

"If you don't have enough nutrition during your martial arts training, it's like an oil lamp. No matter how brightly the wick burns, if the oil doesn't keep up, the lamp will eventually run out of oil and go out. Sooner or later, you'll be drained dry by the 'fire' in your body! Forget about achieving martial arts mastery; if you end up crippled, it's all thanks to your ancestors' good deeds."

As Old Huang spoke, his eyes suddenly dimmed:

"Those who say 'the poor have their own way of working hard' are just spouting comforting nonsense!"

"When I was young, I had pretty good talent, but because I couldn't afford good food, I could only work as a thug at the docks and do illegal jobs on the black market, risking my life for money, which I then used to buy medicinal herbs to sustain my cultivation. Later, an accident during a mission damaged my foundation, and that's how I ended up like this!"

He patted his leg, making a dull thud: "Young Master, you're fortunate to be born into the Cang family. Don't follow in my footsteps! Nutrition is the first and most important hurdle in martial arts!"

"Thank you for reminding me, Elder Huang. I understand!" Cang Lian nodded solemnly, but he had other thoughts in his mind.

Master Huang's words deepened his understanding of martial arts.

But he possesses the Heaven and Earth Pearl, which nourishes him daily with the essence of the sun and moon. This energy from heaven and earth is pure and domineering, probably a thousand times better than any ginseng or precious medicine in the world.

After all, those medicinal herbs also grew by absorbing the essence of the sun and moon. With the essence of the sun, it was as if he had a continuous supply of pills for cultivation.

In terms of "supply", he is already in an invincible position.

But that's precisely why he needs to hide his true abilities!

He must appear in front of others as no different from ordinary people, or even "weaker".

This secret is the foundation of his livelihood and his only bargaining chip for a future comeback; it must never be discovered by anyone!

Cang Lian returned to her room, closed the door, and shut herself out from the outside world.

He didn't rest, nor did he need to. After all, his "exhausted" appearance just now was just an act for Old Huang and Gu Guolong.

He walked to the window and with a whoosh, pulled the curtains open completely, letting the scorching afternoon sun flood the entire room and shower down on him without reservation.

Without making a sound, he assumed the stance of the rounded stance once again in the halo of light in the center of the room.

This time, he was completely absorbed in it, without any distractions.

Like a warm torrent, the essence of the sun flowed in from between his eyebrows, into his limbs and bones, repairing every minute damage caused by his standing meditation, and transforming it into purer energy to strengthen his physique.

He was like a dried-up sponge, frantically absorbing this gift from heaven and earth.

He stood there until the afternoon.

The maid, Lai Xiang, nervously brought him dinner, which he finished in a few bites before returning to his standing meditation.

He only ended his cultivation for the day when the last ray of sunset was swallowed by the night, and the efficiency of the Heaven and Earth Pearl in converting the essence of the sun was so weak as to be negligible. Only then did he feel a long-lost soreness in his body.

……

Time flies, and a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

Over the past month, Cang Lian has been cultivating diligently, practicing "step by step" in the garden during the day under the guidance of Elder Huang.

Back in his room, he continued his standing meditation practice.

At night, under the baptism of moonlight, the spirit is nourished and strengthened.

He undergoes a transformation almost every day.

That night, Cang Lian sat cross-legged on the bed. With a thought, the familiar control panel appeared before his eyes.

[Destiny]: Visible Progress [Practice Method]: Hunyuan Stance (Mastery) [Proficiency Level]: 98/100

"In just one month, he has progressed from beginner to intermediate, and now to advanced. If Elder Huang knew about this cultivation speed, he would probably be astonished." Cang Lian thought to himself.

Then, he looked out the window.

Looking out, the distant buildings stood out clearly in the night, and even the patterns on the scales of the roof ornaments crouching on the eaves were clearly visible, as if they were holding a high-powered telescope.

His eyesight has improved more than tenfold compared to a month ago!

My ears twitched slightly; I heard the maids whispering in the lower room, and the rustling of leaves in the night wind in the distance…

Every subtle sound seemed to be amplified many times over, clearly reaching his ears.

What was most amazing, and what shocked Cang Lian himself, was that when he had a thought, the invisible spiritual power in his sea of consciousness was released like a tide!

This force was silent and yet instantly covered an area of twenty meters in radius around him.

Although he was still sitting cross-legged in the room, everything outside the room seemed to become an extension of his body in this area shrouded by spiritual energy, and every detail was clearly "reflected" in his perception.

This feeling is even more real than seeing it with your own eyes, because it is a 360-degree, all-encompassing insight.

He could even "see" clearly Gu Guolong, who was monitoring him and meditating with his eyes closed in a guest room at the end of the corridor.

Even the slightest undulation of the other person's clothing caused by their breathing was clearly visible.

This... this is practically an invisible, all-around camera!

This extraordinary ability is the result of the moonlight constantly nourishing the mind and spirit over the past month.

Cang Lian never expected that the "divine sense" that only appeared in strange tales would one day manifest itself so realistically in her own body.

This ability, even more so than the increase in martial arts power, shocked and... fascinated Cang Lian.

"Legend has it that sorcerers since ancient times have cultivated this kind of spiritual power. They can perform magic, such as soul-capturing, dream entry, hypnosis, object manipulation, and sleep paralysis... I used to think it was just nonsense, but now I think it's probably all true! Although I don't know magic, I have indeed cultivated this spiritual power. This ability is too mysterious!"

"I must find an opportunity to ask Elder Huang about matters concerning sorcerers first thing tomorrow morning!"

Cang Lian thought to himself, he knew that he had another trump card in his hand that no one knew about, a card that could overturn the game.