Chapter 71: Cultivating Combat Techniques
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
Two days later, Fang Ping received the Body-strengthening Elixir and instructional disc sent by w.a.n.g Jinyang.
The postal service was not as careless as they were last time. The courier rigorously checked Fang Ping’s ident.i.ty, including his ID, his mobile number…
Only after that did he cautiously hand the parcel over to Fang Ping.
There were three bottles of Body-strengthening Elixir. The bottle was made from transparent man-made crystal, each containing roughly 100ml.
A thorough instruction manual came along with it…
It contained just a few sentences. The elixir could be poured into a bath. The ratios of elixir to water were listed.
Of course, the elixir could also be used when not bathing. It could be applied to the skin, but it was hard to apply it to the entire body evenly, so a bath was more suitable.
Although it was cla.s.sified as a liquid, the elixir was more of a glue-like substance.
One bottle could be used ten times, and it could be used whenever one liked. As long as one felt their body’s strength could not keep up with their Vitality’s strength, they could use it whenever they wished.
Fang Ping did not pay much attention to the Body-strengthening Elixir.
The thing Fang Ping was currently interested in was the combat techniques cultivating instructions.
Two days ago, when w.a.n.g Jinyang said he was going to send a disc, Fang Ping bought himself a computer just for this purpose.
…
Scenic Lake Gardens.
In these few days, their parents had not officially moved here yet, but Fang Ping and Fang Yuan already started living in the new house.
The siblings only went to their old home for dinner and went back after to sleep.
Li Yuying went over to clean up during her free afternoons she had, but she still had not officially moved into the new house.
There was nothing she could do about her son and daughter staying in the new place before they actually moved in.
Fang Ping said the new house had fitness equipment, so he wanted to cultivate there.
Her daughter said she was afraid to be alone when Fang Ping was not home, so she went to stay with Fang Ping and take care of her older brother at the same time.
Fang Ping’s words were still believable. As for Fang Yuan saying she wanted to look after Fang Ping, Li Yuying and Fang Ping himself did not see it as such.
The study upstairs.
He inserted the disc and opened the player.
Very quickly, a few videos appeared on the screen.
“Basic Fist Technique Cultivation Instructional Video”
“Basic Leg Technique Cultivation Instructional Video”
“Saber Specialized Training”
“Spear Specialized Training”
“Personal Cultivation Troubleshooting”
…
All in all, there were more than ten videos in the menu.
Aside from the videos, there was also a note handwritten by w.a.n.g Jinyang.
“Fist and leg techniques should be cultivated as there’s no trainer to guide you in person. Cold weapons need to be touched upon. Please watch them — w.a.n.g Jinyang.”
When cultivating fist and leg techniques by himself, even if there was no effect, at least it was hard to hurt himself.
However, with cold weapons, a little carelessness would lead to injury. This was something Fang Ping understood.
Anyway, he did not qualify for this yet. Specialized cold weapons were hard to find in Sun City, and it was difficult to properly cultivate it indoors.
Thus, the first video Fang Ping opened was “Basic Leg Technique”.
Once he played the video, a refined man of thirty or forty years old appeared on the screen. It looked like it was filmed in some sort of training room.
The man had a gentle face and wore a tight training uniform that emphasized his long arms and legs.
When the video started, the man said, “The cultivation of leg techniques starts from stability!
“If your form isn’t stable, you’ll fall with one push and be pushed back with one kick, then your leg techniques will be merely for show.
“It’s only when your form is stable that you’re able to run fast, kick precisely and attack ferociously!
“If your pole-standing is not at the stable stance, no matter how well you cultivate your leg techniques, they can only be used in performance routines…”
The man spoke clearly. He did not immediately jump into how to cultivate, instead explaining the basic overview of leg techniques.
Having a stable stance in pole-standing was the foundation of many combat technique cultivations.
A stable form was not limited to its dictionary definition; being able to reach the stable stance also meant a high physical coordination that was easy to control.
With it, it was unlikely that a kick would miss the target and end up causing the kicker to lose balance and fall.
The martial science combat techniques were different from traditional martial arts routines. Martial arts routines prioritized performances and looking good.
On the contrary, combat techniques prioritized explosive force and lethality.
Gathering force, outbursts, and ensuring the attacks cause damage… These were the core of many combat techniques.
The man in the video explained in ways that were easy to understand. Fang Ping had also read the cultivation manual before. Now when he listened, he came to understand a lot of the things he did not understand previously and felt like he gained a lot.
The man demonstrated a few simple moves as he talked and unhurriedly described each of them.
The more Fang Ping listened, the more he felt the man in the video was amazing. At least, his explanation of basic combat techniques was completely understandable to a newbie like Fang Ping.
According to w.a.n.g Jinyang, this video came from a teacher at Nanjiang Martial Arts University. It could be said that martial arts university teachers were very capable.
…
Before he realized it, Fang Ping had been watching the video for more than an hour.
At the end of the video, Fang Ping saw the man piece together the moves he had described earlier for the first time.
His left leg moved forward a step, then his right leg flew at the sandbag.
Before Fang Ping could react, the hanging sandbag split open with a bang, metal beads shooting out from the rip.
“Gathering force and outbursts must be diligently practiced in order to master them.
“A martial artist has plenty of Vitality, far surpa.s.sing that of a regular person.
“Even so, if the martial artist doesn’t know how to gather force or how to expel it in an outburst, they’ll just be people who are healthier than average. They would be unable to use their Vitality for combat.”
“For the basic leg technique, the signs that you have successfully cultivated it are obvious.
“Being able to severely beat someone up so badly they can’t get up or send XX flying with one kick—these aren’t what we martial artists are aiming for.
“With an effective leg technique, every move would gather a little force, which is also what the students call a bit-by-bit outburst!
“You lose force throughout beating someone up. Executing a hundred percent of your strength on someone’s body will only end up having the effect of a fifty percent attack.
“However, as you can see, that sandbag just split open the moment I kicked it.
“If it had been a human body, the effect would still be the same. The strength of the blow will be maximized the moment the kick lands, then immediately expel the force in an outburst…”
Fang Ping had not noticed it earlier and hastily rewound the video.
Indeed, the moment the man’s kick landed on the sandbag, the material where his right leg met the sandbag ripped open.
The sandbag did not swing around much. If a human chest was subst.i.tuted for the sandbag, it implied that the person would not be sent flying when kicked, only that their chest would rip apart on the spot.
“Gather your force and expel it in an outburst…”
Fang Ping mumbled to himself, then furrowed his brows slightly. “Also, stick to the opponent. When expelling the force, stick to the opponent so that there’s no chance they can backtrack and escape.”
While he spoke, Fang Ping recalled the video’s contents. He stood up and slowly moved his legs.
Moments later, Fang Ping staggered and shook his head. “Using too much strength would result in the body losing balance. Missing the target easily damages one’s self, allowing the opponent to seize the opportunity…”
He once again recalled the duel between him and that woman.
Calling it a duel was flattering himself.
In reality, it was a street fight—a flurry of fists and wild punches and kicks.
Fang Ping did not know any force gathering or outburst techniques, and that woman did not either.
Although the opponent was a Rank-1 martial artist, Fang Ping could guarantee that she had either never learned any combat techniques, or she merely dabbled in them.
If she had been the man in the video, even if he was also Rank-1, Fang Ping did not doubt that one punch and one kick from him would leave Fang Ping vomiting blood and his bones broken.
“Different martial artists sure are different…
“If I master the usage of leg techniques, even Rank-1 peak martial artists like Tan Zhenping would probably be thrashed within an inch of their lives.”
At this moment, Fang Ping understood what Zhang Yong meant when he said they were “not the same”.
Martial arts universities’ martial artists, the military’s martial artists, casual martial artists…
These martial artists were really very different.
Fang Ping had seen military martial artists before; Zhang Yong was one of them. With a single light punch, the woman was destroyed utterly. She did not even have time to react.
Although it had something to do with Zhang Yong being Rank-2, when he thought about it thoroughly, Zhang Yong had thrown the punch quickly, precisely, and ferociously.
Even if the woman had also been Rank-2, she still might not have been able to respond.
As for martial arts universities’ martial artists, the power contained in the man in the video’s one kick was also extremely astonis.h.i.+ng.
The sandbag had split open. If it had been a person, the results would probably be somewhat similar.
The woman was probably a casual martial artist. Her combat abilities were…terrible!
Even Fang Ping, an airheaded youngster who did not know any fist or leg martial techniques, could hold against her for that long a time.
As for Tan Zhenping, despite Fang Ping never seeing him fight, he could somewhat estimate his abilities.
Having these thoughts, Fang Ping resumed watching the video. This time, he watched and corrected his posture at the same time, gathering Vitality for the outburst.
The incredible strength of his Vitality had been all over his entire body, but now it was gathered on his legs. Its effect was obvious.
Fang Ping felt his legs had become much heavier. When he had the outburst, his power would be much stronger too.
…
Two hours later.
Just as Fang Ping was about to begin another round of practice, Fang Yuan roughly pushed open the door.
The girl swept a glance over the room and angrily bl.u.s.tered. “Fang Ping, look what you did!”
Fang Ping’s head cleared, and he looked around the room.
He had been watching a video in the study, but after some martial arts practice, the study was now a wreck.
He had kicked down the new bookshelf at some point. Cracks formed at the side, and wooden debris littered the floor.
The sofa bed he bought a few days ago had sunk in the middle as well, possibly due to a broken support frame.
Fang Ping became sheepish. He did not notice these earlier.
Now that he had been caught red-handed by Fang Yuan, Fang Ping coughed and said, “The furniture quality was lacking. I told them to buy better ones, but Mom and Dad stuck to these cheap products.
“It doesn’t matter. I’ll go choose a better set in two days…”
Fang Yuan rolled her eyes. “h.e.l.lo, bad quality furniture can be returned!
“Just because it was bad quality, you’re allowed to destroy it?
“If mom finds out, she’ll definitely scold you!”
The girl was pained. It was a new house with new furniture, yet her brother did not know how to cherish it!
In the past, she would not have even dared to dream of living in a house like this. Hence, the girl was extra attentive these days—if the floor had even a speck of dust, she would find a cloth to wipe it.
Seeing Fang Ping’s destruction of their new home, if not for her terrible combat skills, she would have pummeled Fang Ping a long time ago!
“All right already, I forgot where I was just now. Next time, I’ll go to the fitness room to practice. There’s too little s.p.a.ce in the house…”
When he had first entered the house, he thought it quite big.
In the coming days though?
Fang Ping felt this house was too small!
All he did was practice some fist and leg techniques. If he had been holding a weapon, even the fitness room would not have had enough s.p.a.ce.
Hearing Fang Ping say this house was small, Fang Yuan felt a little numb.
In the few days the girl had been living here, she felt as if she had been staying in heaven. The house had two stories and was incredibly s.p.a.cious.
She had bragged about her big new home to a few of her good friends, and all of them had been envious.
On the other hand, her own brother actually called the house small…
Fang Yuan felt like she no longer understood Fang Ping. Ever since Fang Ping decided to sit for the martial sciences examinations, he was like a completely different person.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, Fang Yuan’s cheeks were pinched by Fang Ping!
Fang Yuan rolled her eyes. Change, her foot! He had not changed at all!