But Qin Yu suddenly puts on a painful face and looks at Zhao Yunxing while blinking. He says pitifully: ‘Master, can you let me rest for a while? After all that running I’m really very tired. First I’ll have a drink of water, then soak in the hot spring, then let Grandpa Weng give me a short massage. My muscles are very tired.’
Zhao Yunxing is startled. His face stiffens. At this moment the expression on his face is very splendid. It can be said that he finds Qin Yu’s request … both funny and annoying.
End of Book 1 Chapter 8
BOOK 1 CHAPTER 9: The essentials
‘Before training, I have to tell you what the essentials of my training method are. A year later, when I return to the army, you’ll have to continue to train according to them.’ Zhao Yunxing stares at Qin Yu with an ice-cold face and says.
Hearing the words ‘essentials,’ Qin Yu’s eyes shine immediately. He concentrates his mind on listening.
‘There are countless external techniques in the world. However, most of their training methods went away from the correct path,’ says Zhao Yunxing indifferently. At this moment, he looks as if he is an emperor giving directions on national matters and criticizes the other external technique training methods for being worthless.
‘Qin Yu, bear in mind that in practicing external techniques, you must study the art of medicine thoroughly!’ Zhao Yunxing stares at Qin Yu and says solemnly.
‘The art of medicine?’ Even though Qin Yu is very curious, he still memorizes it.
Zhao Yunxing continues: ‘Why practice? First, it is to live long healthily. Second, it is to enhance the offensive force. If people who practice external techniques want to make their own fists and feet become hard like diamond, they accomplished that indeed. But... even though their fists are hard, can that hardness really compare with that of a battle knife that is made of black iron?’
Qin Yu listens with so much attention that he frowns deeply.
Black iron is relatively valuable. Weapons made of it are also much harder and sharper than weapons made of normal iron. The hardness of a black iron battle knife is definitely superior to that of external experts’ fists and feet.
‘For example, that Man Dong has reached the peak of strength training. His strength is great and his muscles are strong. But … his movements are too slow for an external expert. With only a dagger, I can slit his throat in an instant!’ says Zhao Yunxing coldly. His body automatically gives off a murderous air.
At this moment Qin Yu basically does not doubt Zhao Yunxing’s words. Instead, his eyes brighten and glare at Zhao Yunxing and he listens to every sentence.
‘Studying the art of medicine can help you understand over 100 muscles in the human body and their respective functions. If you only train a part, this will bring about bad consequences. You may have great strength while your agility is low; or you may have strong hands and feet while your body is not agile; or you may be nimble, but the toughness of your body is inadequate…’ says Zhao Yunxing boldly.
At this moment, Qin Yu fully understands what Zhao Yunxing means. He immediately says with excitement: ‘Master, I already understand. It’s vital to train all the muscles, isn’t it?’
‘No.’ Zhao Yunxing shakes his head and says: ‘Even if you want to train all muscles, do you know how to do that?’
Qin Yu is astounded.
There are so many muscles in the whole body. To train every single one of them is not something that can be done by only practicing. It will require the research of no one knows how many human generations to be accomplished.
‘Moreover, even if you knew that method, it’d still be impractical. Hardness and softness must be used in combination. It is also like that in the path of external techniques. You can’t train only one part but at the same time you can’t gobble up everything. If you train everything, in the end you will accomplish nothing due to the inadequate allocations of your energy.’ Zhao Yunxing shakes his head and says.
Qin Yu is puzzled.
Training only one part is not right. Training every single part is not right either. Then how to train?
‘In a perfect body, strength, flexibility, toughness, explosiveness and agility must all be at a high level; reactions must be quick and resistance to attacks must be strong.’ Zhao Yunxing talks about so many requirements in succession. For a moment Qin Yu is dumbfounded. With so many requirements, how should he train?
Seeing Qin Yu’s stunned expression, Zhao Yunxing gives a rare laugh and says: ‘Don’t worry. I have my own method for you to train.’
Qin Yu suddenly remembers that Eagle Claw King and that Iron Leg expert. Since that claw could easily pinch a blue stone into pieces, how terrifying must the strength of the fingers be? But why does Zhao Yunxing still says that he will not train any particular parts of the body?
‘Why shouldn’t I train my hands and feet like that Eagle Claw King, Master?’ asks Qin Yu in reply.
Hearing Qin Yu’s question, Zhao Yunxing is very happy instead. He says: ‘Qin Yu, what you asked is justifiable. If you want to practice such techniques as the Eagle Claw Art and the Iron Sand Palm, you will have to train the strength of the fingers. And besides, you will even have to smear your hands with medicinal wine regularly to let them absorb the wine’s medicines. In addition, you will have to train nonstop to make your hands hard like steel.’
Qin Yu nods as he is listening.
He has read the practice methods of those external techniques. It is true that the practitioner has to train his strength nonstop; at the same time, he has to apply medicinal wine to make his hands become extremely hard, and so on.
‘Those who practice in this way simply are … idiots!’ Zhao Yunxing suddenly scolds. He disdains this training method very much.
‘Master, the Eagle Claw Art is very formidable. Why are they idiots?’ Even though Qin Yu is more mature than other children of the same age, he is still only a kid. He saw the capabilities of the Eagle Claw Art and the Iron Sand Palm so he cannot understand Zhao Yunxing’s meaning.
Zhao Yunxing says proudly: ‘Eagle Claw Art? Iron Sand Palm? They applied those medicinal wines that are even toxic to harden their skin completely in the end. Their hands can’t even feel pain now. They are simply nothing but a pair of gloves. Qin Yu, look at this.’
Zhao Yunxing extends his right hand. His hand is smooth and even feels... soft.
A white light flashes. A near transparent pair of gloves appears on Zhao Yunxing’s hands. He says indifferently: ‘Gloves made from heavenly silk. Even though they are considered fairly rare, they are also classified as worldly objects -- on the same level as black iron. You only need to spend a lot of money to get them.’
Qin Yu was born into a Prince’s mansion so he naturally knows.
There are many goods. The relatively mundane ones among them such as steel are seen very often. Even though such things as heavenly silk and black iron are rare, they are not considered treasures either.
Treasures … are generally obtained from the Immense Wilderness.
For example, there are some extremely formidable magical beasts in the Immense Wilderness which are more fearsome than Xiantian experts, and even than Shangxian. Only those beasts’ skins, claws, horns, etc. are first-class treasures.
‘Although heavenly silk’s toughness is average, it is still tougher than the hands of the people like the Eagle Claw King.’ Zhao Yunxing gets a chunk of blue rock. He exerts the strength in his right hand and the chunk is easily crushed into powder. He crushes it even more thoroughly than the Eagle Claw King did.
Zhao Yunxing looks at Qin Yu and says: ‘Qin Yu, my fingers are stronger than the Eagle Claw King’s. You must train the strength of your fingers. But you mustn’t let your skin become hard. Do you understand what I mean?’
Qin Yu nods. But he asks doubtfully in reply: ‘Master, you mean I must protect my hands well and prevent them from becoming similar to the hands of the people who practice the Iron Sand Palm, the Eagle Claw Art and the lik
es? But … what’s the point of this? Moreover, how about the body? Could it be I’ll have to wear armor to fight the enemy?’
Zhao Yunxing’s eyes glitter. He nods in approval. Having a bright disciple makes teaching much easier as he can understand many things when a hint is dropped.
‘Protecting the hands well and keeping them from hardening completely are for the sake of offence. The hands can hold knives and swords. Using various kinds of weapons helps protect the hands well. Keeping the sense of touch of the hands in a perfect state is what an expert must do. Many experts even soak their hands in milk every day,’ responds Zhao Yunxing.
Qin Yu suddenly sees the truth.
In offence, it is important to use weapons. Knives, swords and the likes are all used with the hands. A hand with the sense of touch kept to perfection naturally handles a knife or a sword much more accurately than a hand which has hardened so much that it has lost the senses of touch and pain.
It takes perhaps only a moment to kill a person and therefore no carelessness is allowed.
‘As for the legs, their explosiveness and agility must be high, and they must be sensitive. It doesn’t matter whether you’re fighting an expert or in the middle of a large enemy army, if your legs are extremely agile and terrifyingly sensitive, you won’t get a scratch even when surrounded by an army,’ says Zhao Yunxing.
The legs determine a person’s body-maneuvering skill therefore their agility, explosiveness and sensitivity are important.
At this moment, Qin Yu is even more excited. He seems to see himself flashing around like an illusion in the middle of a large army, killing as fast as a wave of the hand, while the enemies cannot touch him. To have such a body-maneuvering skill and such agility, the legs are of unparalleled importance.
‘The hands must be agile. They are inferior to the legs in strength but you can hold weapons and attack at will with them. The legs have much more muscle strength than the hands and arms so their offensive force is extremely strong. Moreover, they determine your body-maneuvering skill and movements. These body parts are crucial. But the torso is the core subject…’
In the first day of training, Zhao Yunxing teaches Qin Yu the essentials of his own training method.
Qin Yu listens to him carefully and learns every sentence he says by heart…
End of Book 1 Chapter 9.
BOOK 1 CHAPTER 10: Limit training (1)
After discussing for nearly 2 hours, Qin Yu has fully understood the principles of his master’s training method. At the same time, he admires him even more. He can totally judge that, if he practices according to Zhao Yunxing’s method, he will definitely have a perfect body.
Strength, agility, sensitivity, flexibility, toughness and so on will work together perfectly.
If a craftsman is to do a good job, he shall need good tools.
Qin Yu is going to train until he has a perfect body then he is going to practice offensive skills, fatal skills and the likes. Having good steel, why worry that a good knife cannot be made of it?
Afterwards, the training begins…
……
On Mount Donglan, there is a beautiful round lake 100 m from Misty Villa. Zhao Yunxing is standing at the side of the lake. There is a mechanical pendulum clock beside him. This pendulum clock was made by a great mechanics expert. Because the making of the clock is loaded down with trivial matters, only noble families can afford it.
The pendulum clock is a 24 hour one. There are 60 minutes in an hour.
‘Quick, swim faster!’ Zhao Yunxing coldly says.
A silhouette is swimming nonstop in the round lake. It is Qin Yu. According to Zhao Yunxing, even though swimming is common, it is an extraordinarily good method for training the body’s coordination, flexibility and toughness. Therefore Qin Yu was ordered to swim nonstop in the lake.
‘I so wish to stop.’ Qin Yu clenches his teeth and continues to throw his arms forward. His legs also flap against the water in coordination. He has been swimming 10 round trips. A round trip in this lake is about 200 m in length. 10 round trips amount to 2000 m.
In the past Qin Yu often soaked in the hot spring in the west garden. The middle of the hot spring is also very deep and Qin Yu often swam in it. His swimming technique is very good but this is nonstop swimming. Moreover, he has to finish within a predetermined limit of time. To Qin Yu, this is really painful.
His arms and legs are aching. His head is pounding.
‘Father!’ As soon as he thinks about his father’s smile, Qin Yu clenches his teeth and persists. Even though he has reached his limits, he still does not give up.
‘Hurry up. A bit faster,’ urges Zhao Yunxing coldly in an unsentimental manner.
There is a hint of firmness in Qin Yu’s eyes. He stares rigidly ahead. Hearing Zhao Yunxing’s voice, Qin Yu constantly asks himself in his mind to speed up. Right at this moment, his pounding headache suddenly eases a bit, and his arms and legs seem to have strength again.
Qin Yu feels clearly that a stream of power suddenly comes into being in his body. He does not know where this stream of power comes from but it is generated automatically. Qin Yu’s eyes have a hint of excitement.
He has overcome his limits.
He enjoys this kind of feeling. Every time he transcended his physical limits, a stream of strength was generated again from the deepest part of his already exhausted body. He even felt his body’s transformations. That was due to the potential stored up in the deepest part of his body.
‘All right, you’re 3 minutes late.’ Zhao Yunxing looks at the pendulum clock and says indifferently.
Qin Yu comes ashore with a lot of difficulty. At this moment he can no longer move. His arms, in particular, are basically unable to move. His legs are aching severely. In this state, Qin Yu gasps for breath, trying his best to take in fresh air and to make himself recover a bit faster.
‘You’re 3 minutes late. As a punishment, now you’re going to run to the west garden from here then squat down deeply empty-handed 100 times on the training ground of the garden.’ Zhao Yunxing immediately dictates.
‘Run to the west garden from here? But …’ Qin Yu is breathless and speechless. He looks at Zhao Yunxing in disbelief. At this moment his legs basically cannot run. But Zhao Yunxing just really told him to run and then do 100 deep squats.
‘You have something to say?’ asks Zhao Yunxing flatly in reply.
‘Yes, I have. Surpassing the body’s limits can train the body. But if surpassing them too much, my body will collapse. I feel that I already surpassed my limits. At the moment I can’t continue training anymore. Master, when I was swimming just now, I experienced those limits 2 times in a row. I don’t feel I can go through the limits once more.’ Qin Yu looks straight at Zhao Yunxing and says directly.
Zhao Yunxing says indifferently: ‘I’m the master. My orders must be obeyed. If you think that my training has any problems and don’t like to train, I can leave immediately. I don’t care about lazy disciples like you.’
Qin Yu’s expression slightly changes.
Then he casts a look at Zhao Yunxing. He takes a deep breath and tries hard to urge his legs into running. When he takes the first step, his legs swell up and ache terribly. But after running for a while, the legs get stronger and stronger instead.
‘Oh, what is this?’ Qin Yu is astonished.
At his back, Zhao Yunxing smiles faintly: ‘This brat. How can’t I determine your true limits? When you were swimming, you used your arms much more than your legs. The muscles of the legs are basically more developed than those of the arms. Since your arms could persist, your legs can at least undergo another round of training.’
As soon as he remember that Qin Yu just criticized his method, Zhao Yunxing is even more amused.
‘This brat,’ he laughs, shakes his head and keeps following Qin Yu.
……
In the evening, in the hot spring of the west garden,
After going through a day of limit training, Q
in Yu is lying in the hot spring. He feels that his muscles are aching and tingling. He can even feel that the muscles are slowly transforming. There is an expression of enjoyment on his face. Very emotionally, he spreads his arms and yells: ‘Ah, my goodness, this is real enjoyment, ah!’
Xiao Hei also flaps its wings nonstop on the side as if it is very excited.
Zhao Yunxing comes with a cold face, stands on the side of the hot spring and says: ‘This Misty Villa’s hot spring is very effective in healing. It is very good for your body. Also, after soaking for 6 hours, you’re going to see Old Dr. Weng and apply some medicinal wine. If you can absorb a little of the wine’s medicines, it will do your body good.’
Stellar Transformations Book 1 Page 7
