Chương 51: Speculation on Hidden Pulse

Zhao Rui looked at He Zhiyan, who was serious and earnestly teaching the techniques, and couldn't help but feel speechless.

I wonder if this guy really forgot, or if he forgot on purpose?

If he forgot on purpose, what good would it do him?

If he really forgot, what could it be that made him so uneasy that he forgot such a basic thing?

However, since things had already come to this point, there was no point in thinking too much. Zhao Rui quickly put aside his distracting thoughts and began to seriously study the Mimicry Boxing.

This set of techniques differs from ordinary techniques, taking a different approach. It mainly involves opening up a hidden meridian and using one's own internal energy to replicate the techniques of others.

It's not very useful, but it's good that, well, it's not very useful either.

In modern times, during a period of flourishing martial arts, this technique could still be used for sparring. But in the past, when each school and sect kept its shortcomings to themselves, who would bother practicing this?

The first movement involves assuming the posture of an old pine tree. The internal energy originates from the Foot Lesser Yin Meridian and travels to the chest and abdomen. During this process, the true energy is circulated for ten breaths, but it should not be lingered; it must be dispersed throughout the body…

He Zhiyan spoke earnestly and gave detailed instructions. He personally went over to correct and revise every action of Zhao Rui and the other until it met the standard.

They studied for more than two hours before they could barely remember all the moves and breathing techniques.

"Did you all understand?"

"If you understand, then practice diligently and strive to master this skill as soon as possible... Zhao Rui, this Five Ancestors Fist is incredibly powerful, are you confident in your abilities?"

After finishing the lesson, He Zhiyan looked at Zhao Rui and the other person and asked them a question.

"Team leader, I have no confidence at all. I'm just being forced into this role. I'll do my best."

Zhao Rui told the truth that he had never seen this set of boxing techniques before, so how could he possibly learn it in a short time?

Seeing this, He Zhiyan turned to Zhang Kui and asked:

"What about you? Baguazhang is relatively simpler, don't feel pressured, I'll explain it to you later."

Zhang Kui wore a bitter expression, cursing him a hundred times in his heart, but since things had come to this, there was no point in saying anything more.

We'll just have to bite the bullet and go for it.

"I tried my best."

"You guys should hurry up and familiarize yourselves with this!"

He Zhiyan sighed, then left the training room to study the martial arts manual he had obtained.

The martial arts mastered by students at the martial arts academy are broadly divided into internal martial arts and public martial arts.

Internal martial arts, also known as inner sect techniques, are only learned by students who have been recognized by a certain sect, organization, or leader, and cannot be passed on to outsiders at will.

Public martial arts are those officially promulgated by the imperial court after it has established its military power throughout the country, as well as various martial arts techniques that have been spontaneously circulated among the people.

These techniques are not restricted to any particular person; bookstores not only sell the manuals, but also online, where instructional videos related to these martial arts techniques are available.

Many bloggers have gained a huge following by teaching various martial arts, becoming internet celebrities who are no less popular than stars.

An ordinary martial arts student, without a powerful background or a stroke of luck, will most likely learn the martial arts that are already circulating in the market.

The training is mainly conducted through two methods: school teaching and martial arts school instruction. Those with exceptional talent may be spotted by a teacher at the school, who will then act as a go-between to introduce them to a powerful figure.

Or he might be chosen by a martial arts master and taken in as a disciple, where he would be taught secret martial arts techniques.

Those with average talent can only follow the established path of going to school and taking exams, practicing the martial arts available on the market, and then diligently cultivating step by step.

He gradually learned advanced martial arts techniques from universities in an attempt to break through his own limitations.

The six martial arts techniques that Zhao Rui and his group have been assigned to are all publicly available martial arts techniques, which are open to the public by the imperial court.

This is also part of the regular martial arts practiced by the students from other schools who came for this exchange.

Although the opponent certainly has more than just these publicly known martial arts techniques, it's better to have something than nothing!

Coach Wang and his team will definitely have more targeted training and countermeasures, but that's not something Zhao Rui and his sparring partners need to worry about.

Seeing He Zhiyan leave, Zhao Rui opened the door to a meditation room and went inside.

The quiet room was not small, about the size of a bedroom, and contained nothing but a futon.

There is enough space to unleash one's skills.

Zhao Rui closed his eyes and pondered, trying to comprehend the new set of mimicry boxing he had just learned.

Whether he completes the mission or not is irrelevant, but he must learn this martial art, as it is a great skill for concealing "heavenly secrets".

Since it's a hidden meridian, it's definitely not among the twelve regular meridians or the eight extraordinary meridians.

I wonder how this martial art mobilizes the hidden meridians that are only briefly mentioned in ancient books and are not part of the mainstream martial arts path.

Logically speaking, such an awesome skill should not have been reduced to a useless martial art, and it should not have been given such a low-end name.

Following He Zhizhang's explanation, Zhao Rui began to mobilize his Xuan Guan True Qi, practicing the Qi circulation according to the training posture of the Mimicry Fist.

"The calculations and measures of a sage must correspond to Heaven and Earth. Therefore, Heaven has its constellations, Earth has its regular watercourses, and humanity has its meridians."

Zhao Rui meticulously circulated his true energy, continuously gathering and releasing the internal energy in his meridians and stimulating his acupoints in accordance with the method introduced by He Zhiyan.

"This feeling?"

Zhao Rui frowned in thought. How could this be similar to the feeling of opening up acupoints and drawing in one's innate body?

It's like being on the same frequency!

Zhao Rui's eyes lit up. Could it be that this martial art uses one's own true qi to create an aura that resonates with the hidden meridians, and then uses the hidden meridian pathways to bypass the flow of meridians and simulate various martial arts?

If this is indeed the case, it explains why it can only imitate but has no real power.

Because there is no way for the internal energy in the meridians to circulate in the hidden meridians; the internal energy merely uses them as a pathway, rather than actually flowing through them.

When the move is unleashed, only a weak surge of internal energy is fed back from the hidden meridians, so it naturally cannot cause any damage.

There is a play!

Zhao Rui was immediately overjoyed and quickly put his idea into practice.

Practice knows no days or months; meditation takes only a snap of the fingers.

When Zhao Rui came out of the quiet room, it was already pitch black outside, and even the entire Mingchan Courtyard had become dim and dark.

Only a few dim streetlights at the entrance guard this ancient and leisurely pseudo-Zen temple.

"Damn, it's almost midnight!"

Zhao Rui picked up his phone and glanced at the time, then was immediately startled.

He had never had such a strange experience before. Although he usually meditated and practiced, he could only do so for a few hours at most, as his body's consciousness had a concept of time.

But this time was different. He felt completely absorbed in it, his spirit and energy were trapped in cultivation, and he lost track of time.

Zhao Rui was puzzled and walked to Zhang Kui's quiet room, only to find that the room was already empty.

So I quickly called him.

"Brother Zhang, when did you leave?"

"Don't tell me you just came out? I only stayed for two hours, it's that simple!"

"It's simple?" Zhao Rui was taken aback, then said awkwardly, "I took a nap, haha."

"Ugh, I'm so fed up. Ever since I became a sparring partner, there's been so much to do that I'm thinking of quitting and just focusing on preparing for the civil service exam, since I'm not going to get any good results anyway."

Zhang Kui yawned, complained a couple of times, and then continued, "I'm not going to talk to you anymore, I'm going to sleep. I have to work like a dog again tomorrow!"

After saying that, he hung up the phone.

Zhao Rui looked at the lit-up phone screen and became increasingly puzzled. Was it because his talent was too poor?

This technique is very difficult. I had to rely on my own inspiration to sprout and figure out the intricacies before I could make any progress.

After thinking for a long time without figuring it out, Zhao Rui shook his head, turned around, closed the door of the training room, entered the defense password, and left.

The moonlight at dawn was clear and bright, with slivers of light filtering through the clouds and casting a silvery glow, like the flames of cold nuclear fusion, mysterious and dazzling.

After leaving Mingchan Courtyard, Zhao Rui was filled with playfulness. He used the Flying Swallow Leap technique he had just learned, lightly touching the ground with both feet, and his body, like a swallow, spread its wings and flew into the dense forest.

Humans have dreamed of flying since ancient times. Countless extreme challengers in the past have jumped out of airplanes without fear of death, just to experience the thrill of flying.

At this moment, Zhao Rui was like a child who had received a favorite toy, leaping and frolicking in the dense forest, having a great time.

Suddenly, birds in the dense forest took flight, emitting a noisy yet clear chirping sound.

"Kid, did you just learn some light-body skills?"

Just as Zhao Rui was indulging in his lightness skill and enjoying the pleasure of flying, a deep voice drifted over from the direction of Mingchan Temple.

The sound seemed both near and far, yet also close to my ear, lingering and intermittent, leaving me completely bewildered.

Zhao Rui was startled, his internal energy became unstable, and he fell from mid-air.

Fortunately, he possessed profound internal strength and reacted quickly. With a twist in mid-air, he switched to the Dragon Step, his body rising high, grabbing a tree branch with one hand, and flipping himself up to the top of the branch.

"Which teacher is here? The student did not mean to, and will now leave."

Zhao Rui quickly said loudly.

"What kind of lightness skill is that? You're barely a few feet off the ground, and you're only airborne for a few breaths."

As soon as he finished speaking, Zhao Rui saw a figure dart out from the direction of Mingchan Courtyard. The figure was so real that it was like a phantom, and it was impossible to see clearly in the night.

His speed was so fast that he arrived at the edge of the dense forest in the blink of an eye. With a flick of his sleeve, he stirred the branches and leaves, and then, like a rocket, he soared vertically into the air.

This scene made Zhao Rui's eyes widen, and he didn't dare to breathe.

Its form is like a dragon leaping from the abyss, sometimes circling and coiling, sometimes soaring straight into the sky, its upward momentum seemingly unaffected by gravity, showing no signs of diminishing.

It soared fifty or sixty meters into the air before disappearing swiftly into the Mingchan Courtyard, leaving a trail of afterimages like a swimming dragon.

"Kid, that's what you call flying. You still have a long way to go."

"teacher!"

"I'm not from your school, you don't need to look for me. Seeing you like this today has moved me deeply, haha, it's yours!"

After he finished speaking, a golden light pierced through the night sky, shone under the moonlight, and traveled hundreds of meters directly into Zhao Rui's hand.

"this……"

Looking at the USB drive in his hand, Zhao Rui was both amused and exasperated.

"Boss, you really are ahead of the curve and keeping up with the times!"

"Thank you, teacher. I won't disturb your rest any longer!"

Zhao Rui quickly bowed and paid his respects, but received no reply. After a brief pause, Zhao Rui leaped down from the tree branch and fled into the distance.

About ten minutes later, Zhao Rui, his heart pounding, pushed open his front door, rushed to his computer, plugged in the USB drive, and turned on the computer.

This is a vertical leap of fifty or sixty meters into the air. Zhao Rui couldn't guess what that meant. If it wasn't an illusion or a trick, then how high must this person's skill level be?

Grandmaster? A grandmaster could never achieve that; they're far from it.

It's not as simple as having great strength, stomping your foot on the ground and leaping ten or eight meters.

The way his movements were unpredictable and the circulation of his internal energy were beyond Zhao Rui's imagination.

"Boss, what kind of treasure will you give me? A top-tier martial arts technique? Like Zhang Wuji falling off a cliff and learning the Nine Yang Divine Skill?"

Zhao Rui was filled with doubt.

As soon as the computer booted up and the USB drive was recognized, a prominent warning screen appeared on the computer interface: "Virus detected, 1, 2,..."

your sister!

Zhao Rui was speechless. Kill!

It's just a virus.

"The Great Compassion Ode to Yin and Yang – This film is sponsored by Universal Pictures..."

During the reign of Emperor Tianqi, eunuchs held power, and the people suffered greatly. A chivalrous woman, having mastered unparalleled martial arts, vowed to rid the people of this scourge and eradicate the eunuch clique...

Zhao Rui took a deep breath, resisted the urge to smash his computer, and patiently watched the entire erotic film with its dramatic plot twists and the female lead's numerous sacrifices.

"Thank you for watching the movie!"

As the video ended, the screen returned to calm. The player automatically returned to its initial interface.

That's all?

That's it! Zhao Rui felt a tightness in his chest.

It's like this: you ask your wife to buy lottery tickets with the numbers you gave her, and then the TV says the numbers have won five million. You're all excited and waiting for your wife to come home, but when she gets home, she says she forgot to buy them!

Namo Amitabha!

Zhao Rui silently recited the calming mantra to soothe his restless and anxious heart.

"My spiritual practice is still insufficient; a calm mind naturally brings coolness."

Zhao Rui couldn't help but laugh at himself. It was late at night, and that guy had really made him feel both surprised and delighted, happy and angry at the same time.

After all that commotion for most of the night, it was already past 2 a. m. when Zhao Rui finally fell asleep peacefully.

Silent all night.

The next morning, as soon as He Zhiyan entered Mingchan Courtyard, he gathered the sparring partners together.

"You don't need to report back to the team these next few days. Just come here. Let's finish up what we're doing now. Give everyone a report on how training is going."

Everyone shared their progress. Apart from Zhao Rui and Zhang Kui, the others were all third-year university students who had more experience in sparring with their partners.

It can basically simulate most things to a certain extent. After a day or two of polishing, it will be as easy as using an limb.

After the others finished their introductions, He Zhiyan looked at Zhao Rui and the other person. Although he didn't say anything, his eyes were full of questions.

"I've already learned how to circulate the incantation, but I'm still a bit unfamiliar with it. I'll practice for another morning, and this afternoon I'll try to learn a new martial art."

Seeing this, Zhang Kui spoke first.

"Zhao Rui, where are you?"

"I'm still learning."

Zhao Rui scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

"Hurry up!"

He Zhiyan frowned slightly, but didn't say much. He let out a deep breath and waved to signal everyone to go practice.

"How did you learn so fast?"

On the way to the training room, Zhao Rui asked Zhang Kui curiously.

"What's so difficult about that? Just gather and disperse the energy a few times, and the internal energy will naturally dissipate into the five internal organs."

"By following the energy circulation methods of the Mimicry Fist, you can mobilize the scattered internal energy within your muscles and muscles to unleash the moves of the mimicry fist technique!"

"You can do that?"

Zhao Rui realized that he seemed to have misunderstood. It was like using a sponge to absorb water. Others absorb the water inside the sponge, but he absorbed the water inside the tube wrapped by the sponge.

Moreover, it uses complex logic of resonance to process the water.

No wonder it took me so much trouble to figure it out.

"Didn't you notice any hidden pulses?"

Zhao Rui asked tentatively.

"What hidden meridians? The hidden meridians that Senior Brother He was talking about, aren't they referring to these internal energies scattered within the muscles and tendons?!"

"Ah! So that's how it is!"

Zhao Rui said sheepishly, "Well, I guess I was overthinking it."

"Let's go, another busy day."

Zhao Rui smiled, and he and Zhang Kui each chose a quiet room and went inside.

The matter of hidden meridians is definitely not as casual as Zhang Kui said; what one experiences firsthand is the true reality.

However, everything still needs further verification and contemplation.

(End of this chapter)