Chapter 7: The Ultimate Principle of Martial Arts

  With winter coming and summer going, Zhang Ping has spent four springs and autumns at Shang Qing Guan.

  With his nearly 100% efficiency in capturing the purple gas every day, Zhang Ping's amount of purple gas had already reached an astonishing level. Adding to that, his body would automatically cultivate at night, which was equivalent to doubling his cultivation time. Zhang Ping had already opened up the Twelve Regular Meridians and the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, including the Chong Mai, Dai Mai, Yang Wei Mai, Yin Wei Mai, Yang Qiao Mai, and Yin Qiao Mai. His overall strength was not inferior to that of Zhong Xuan, and his refinement level could even rival that of Tian Xuan.

  While the soul body, with the help of four years of morning chanting, has become more and more refined. And it has also shown a special function, that is, it can be used in two ways at once. Now Zhang Ping, after his soul body leaves his physical body, can control his body to do some simple things by relying on his own intuition and the subtle connection between him and his body. And he can see from the perspective of his body when he concentrates his mind.

  Zhang Ping is currently practicing a set of Wu Xing Quan in the backyard of Qingguan Temple. This set of Wu Xing Quan has no relation to the Wu Xing Quan he learned from his past life's Xingyiquan, but rather originated from Hua Tuo of the Three Kingdoms period.

  When my master, Tianxu, taught me this set of fist techniques, he said that the Five Elements Fist was adapted from the Five Animals Play created by Hua Tuo in ancient times. The five postures of tiger, ape, crane, deer and bear correspond to the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire and earth. When practiced deeply, internal energy can naturally circulate, regulate the five organs, and strengthen the body. It is a lifelong practice, and only direct disciples can receive its essence.

  Only Zhang Ping was seen in the courtyard, sometimes flying out and pouncing, sometimes turning and leaping, sometimes grasping with both hands, sometimes rushing away, and sometimes standing still and guarding slowly.

  "Bang, bang, bang...... Not bad, not bad. Xiang Li, this set of Five Elements Fist has you mastering three flavors within it. Tiger pounces, ape leaps, crane pecks, deer runs, bear swings and sweeps with ease, changing at will. Just based on this fist method, your skills are no longer inferior to mine."

  Zhang Ping saw his master arrive, and hastily made a fist and bowed, returning to "Disciple dare not, please Master correct." Although he said so, Zhang Ping was very pleased in his heart. Because every night when practicing this set of boxing, he would run to the back mountain to observe these five animals with his soul. For a long time, there has been some natural flavor in the boxing technique.

  In addition to the fact that I couldn't leave my body during the day, my ability to focus on two things at once was still there. I could adjust my internal energy while practicing boxing, and over time, running my internal energy during practice became second nature.

  "Not bad, just based on your fist technique itself, there's nothing much I can teach you anymore. But let me ask you, what is the purpose of learning martial arts?"

  "Revitalize the school of martial arts, uphold chivalry and justice, eliminate violence and bring peace to the good people." Zhang Ping thought for a moment before saying.

  "Not bad, but you haven't seen the essence. Reviving a sect or being chivalrous and just, in the end it's all about fighting. The Jianghu has its own rules, and those rules are to fight. The winner is king, the loser is a bandit. No matter how you fight, as long as you win, that's justice, that's righteousness. Do you understand?"

  "The apprentice understood."

  "Alright, now that you understand. Today, I'll teach you the principles of this martial art. When two people fight, it's nothing more than the strong bullying the weak, and the fast hitting the slow."

  "There are two types of strength, brute force and dynamic force. Brute force refers to the power you use to lift a heavy stone lock. Dynamic force refers to the power that lands on your opponent's body. Speed also comes in two forms, hand speed and mental speed. Hand speed refers to the speed at which you launch an attack, while mental speed refers to the speed at which you adapt to changing circumstances during combat. Techniques are about converting as much brute force into dynamic force as possible, and subconsciously executing smooth combinations of techniques during combat, greatly increasing dynamic force and mental speed."

  "But remember, techniques are dead, people are alive. The opponent can't always follow your technique, so increasing internal power and hand speed is the foundation. You may have a thousand variations, but I only need one move. As long as my technique is faster than yours and my power is greater than yours, you'll be helpless. So techniques must be practiced, but internal power is the foundation." Tian Xu patiently instructed.

  "The apprentice understood."

  Zhang Ping thought at this time, indeed one sentence of true transmission, false transmission of ten thousand volumes. Many people learn martial arts and think about some profound theories, but they don't know that the great way is simple. It's nothing more than "the strong bully the weak, the fast beat the slow", only this.

  "But you must also remember that cultivating internal energy is not something that can be accomplished overnight. The Supreme Clarity Scripture of the Upper Clear Palace, which I possess, is also a top-notch martial art in the Jianghu world. As long as you diligently cultivate and give it time, you will definitely become a great master."

  "As for the practice of moves, a person who practices in isolation will always end up with fake moves. Today, as your teacher, I'll use the Five Elements Fist to exchange moves with you and let you experience what it's like to spar with someone."

  "Good, please instruct me." Hearing that he could engage in hand-to-hand combat, Zhang Ping was extremely excited. From his past life to the present, it seemed like he had never really fought with anyone before, but deep down, every man yearned for a thrilling fight.

  "You go first." "Sorry, Master." With that, Zhang Ping launched a tiger pounce attack.

  Only to see the sky virtual right hand virtual point, one grasp and one shake, will Zhang Ping's tiger pounce dissolve. If not for Zhang Ping being able to use his heart and mind in two ways, with internal force circulating between his fists and feet, he would likely be shaken off with a big somersault.

  "I didn't expect you to master the Five Elements Fist to such a realm, your internal energy is already flowing freely. Not bad, not bad. Next, muster up your internal energy, I want to see your inner strength."

  "Yes, Master." Zhang Ping then exerted his strength in his feet and executed a Deer Sprint technique, dashing towards Tian Xu. Under the coordination of his soul, Zhang Ping was like a wild horse with its accelerator fully open, instantly arriving in front of Tian Xu. Knowing that he lacked experience in actual combat, Zhang Ping didn't use any complex variations. With a single arrow step from his right leg, followed by a Bear Crash variation from his right arm, and finishing with a Lazy Bear's hand swipe.

  This bear-style change is simple, and it's all about hard-hitting. Adding Zhang Ping's observations of the big black bears in the mountains over the years, this move makes an eight-year-old child seem to transform into a sturdy black bear, swinging its arms and striking.

  However, Tian Xu's left foot slowly retreated half a step, bowed his body and swung his arm, with his right hand making a flat push. A soft yet powerful force quickly pushed Zhang Ping's lazy bear palm aside, causing Zhang Ping to turn sideways. Then, the originally retreating left leg suddenly swept out.

  Xiong Zhuang was about to be kicked flying by Zhang Ping, who was in a critical situation. Zhang Ping suddenly used all his internal force on his legs and launched the most powerful Monkey Leap technique. With his body as a fist and his back as a palm, he struck out with a Fierce Bear Leans on the Mountain move.

  Tian Yu, who was suddenly struck by Zhang Ping, had no choice but to avoid it. In order not to hurt Zhang Ping, Tian Yu used his inner strength to defend himself with both palms. He only defended and did not counterattack, using a soft palm strike in conjunction with retreating three steps to resolve the situation without harming Zhang Ping.

  While Zhang Ping, who had staked everything on a single throw, fell to the ground as his move failed to achieve success.

  "Master Tianxu's divine skills are unparalleled in the world, and his disciples admire and obey him wholeheartedly." Defeated Zhang Ping hastily paid respects to Tianxu.

  "Good, I didn't expect your inner power to have progressed so much in just two years. As a teacher, seeing you devoted to Taoist studies these past few years, I was worried that you would neglect your inner power, but it turns out that your inner power is actually quite robust. It's not in vain that I had high hopes for you." Tian Xu said with satisfaction.

  "However, you lack experience in actual combat, so you still need to practice more. But today, I have decided to formally teach you the Upper Clear Sword Technique."

  "Thank you, Master." Upon hearing that he could learn the Supreme Clear Swordsmanship, Zhang Ping instantly became excited. Because of his four years of life in the Supreme Clear Temple, he had already inquired about it and knew that the top martial art of the Supreme Clear Temple was indeed swordsmanship.

  Unfortunately, Taiji Sword seems to be the ultimate skill of Wudang, but his Shifu uncle doesn't know it. Sometimes Zhang Ping maliciously suspected that Shifu uncle would defect to Wudang in the future? However, decades of unknown space experience had made him a cautious person, and after several nights of secretly monitoring Shifu uncle without success, Zhang Ping decided not to think about it if he couldn't figure it out.

  "I'm using the Qingjing Sword Technique, which is light and agile, changing all the way. In conjunction with the internal power of the Qingjing Scripture, it shows an extraordinary effect. Your foundation in internal power is very good, so learning this will be easy for you. Now I'll demonstrate it to you once, watch carefully." With that, he began demonstrating it to Zhang Ping.

  Tian Xu did not disappoint as the next generation leader of Shang Qing Guan, his mastery of the Shang Qing sword technique was like a flowing cloud and running water, with the sword light radiating in all directions. Zhang Ping watched, mesmerized, unable to tear his eyes away.

  Before long, Tian Xū finished practicing once. Then he started to practice one move at a time and explained it to Zhang Ping. For two hours, Zhang Ping finally memorized the entire Shang Qing sword technique.

  Unfortunately, Zhang Ping's talent in techniques is actually average, and for now, he can only manage to remember them, not even able to practice them smoothly.

  Tian Xu was greatly surprised by this. Because judging from Zhang Ping's five-element boxing skills, Zhang Ping's innate talent in techniques should be very high, why did he learn swordsmanship so slowly.

  Actually, Zhang Ping's learning speed is not slow, it's just that Tian Xiu's expectations are too high, so the disappointment is even greater. However, Wu Xing Quan has been practiced by Zhang Ping for decades with a foundation of calmness and stability, and when he practices boxing, his body has already developed overall strength and a sense of calmness. Moreover, being able to observe animals' nocturnal habits and having the ability to multitask are also reasons for his achievements.

  But as for swordsmanship, Zhang Ping still doesn't have any good ideas for now.

  So, Tian Xu could only lament why such a genius was not enlightened in swordsmanship. After instructing Zhang Ping to practice hard, Tian Xu hurriedly went to visit Ming Chengzi, hoping to find a suitable development path for Zhang Ping.

  But Zhang Ping himself didn't mind much, because he had suddenly thought of a good method. Not only could it speed up his practice of swordsmanship, but also improve his own experience in actual combat.

  So, Zhang Ping, in a good mood, hummed a popular Taoist tune as he slowly made his way to the dining hall for breakfast.