As for purchasing the cultivation manuals, he could not afford a single one, so he put the entire matter aside.
Wu Ying focused on the three martial art styles he had been given. Reading those had taken most of his time. Even though he had been instructed to only read the principles and first stances, understanding and grasping the details of each style required concentrated attention.
The first book was a fist art, the second a palm art, and the last a kicking art. Of course, those weren’t the only differences between each martial art style. Styles could be differentiated by both internal and external arts—that was, whether a style required significant understanding of chi or just a powerful body. Of the three, the palm art was the only internal art. And while the Long family jian style was an internal art too, his father’s warnings resounded in his head. Avoid studying too many internal arts until you become proficient with our family style. Till then, you are only likely to confuse yourself.
Considering that, the palm art, while easier to understand from the looks of it, probably had numerous traps he had yet to see. Better to set it aside. In that case, Wu Ying’s options were the fist style and the kicking style.
Falling Stars Fist emphasized long strikes and quick movements, using a flurry of blows to stifle an opponent’s ability to defend themselves. The Falling Stars Fist originated from the north, so it required a focus on deep stances to begin and the ability to explosively change directions. As a pure fist style, it was easy to learn and would provide Wu Ying with a fighting style he could quickly master—giving him new explosive power. As a fist style, compared to the basic style they learned as an outer sect member, the Falling Stars Fist was significantly better and would improve so long as his cultivation and strength improved.
On the other hand, the Northern Shen Kicking Style emphasized footwork and fast kicks at a short distance. Unlike what he had assumed, it actually contained a significant amount of grappling techniques as well, since the style focused on disrupting, grappling, and locking joints before finishing off the opponent with kicks.
Both styles suited his current understanding of the Long family jian style. Explosive lunges and quick footsteps were part of his original martial style, along with the extended use of the jian’s reach to keep opponents at the maximum range. Wu Ying knew that at later stages, projected chi would extend his attacks with the jian even further. As such, the footwork that he’d learn with either style would be beneficial, with the Falling Arts expanding on explosiveness and the Northern Shen on evasiveness.
However, the Northern Shen Kicking Style had less in common with the actual use of his sword since it focused so much on kicks and grappling. Right now, the Long family style focused on the longest range, so Wu Ying’s options when an opponent got within his effective range were reduced. In other words, if an opponent chose to box or grapple with Wu Ying, his only chance was to run away.
In the end, the question for Wu Ying was simple—did he want a quick boost to his strength, which the fist art would provide, or was he looking to patch a hole in his defenses? With only eight months left to train, he would only be successful at studying one new style. Especially since he was going to be purchasing the cultivation exercise.
Wu Ying leaned back, staring at the flickering shadows on the ceiling. This was perhaps the first and most important decision he would make on his cultivation journey. Thus far, everything had been provided directly, but this decision would begin the process of differentiating him from all the other cultivators in the Verdant Green Waters Sect. A strong martial background would help Wu Ying in all endeavors in the future. Strength, personal strength, would go far in helping him deal with his lack of background.
So.
Wu Ying sighed and dropped his head, staring at the manuals. He tilted his head to the side, staring at his right hand, which had rested on the kicking style. He traced the title again then chuckled, shaking his head. What was that story? About how one could never tell the future? Better to accept that the future was unknowable and that all choices were equally good or bad and choose.
A kicking style that patched a hole in his defense sounded like a better choice in the end. His cultivation journey was long. Better to work on building a firm foundation now than push for a short-term gain. When the earth moved, only the houses with a firm foundation would stand.
Nodding firmly, Wu Ying stood and took the manuals in hand. First, to return all but the Northern Shen Kicking Style. Then to purchase the cultivation exercise. Lastly, and most importantly, dinner!
Chapter 9
Having found new areas to study, Wu Ying found himself modifying his daily schedule. In the morning, Wu Ying woke up an hour earlier to study the Aura Strengthening cultivation exercise. After breakfast, he had the group martial arts and cultivation practice, then Wu Ying had lunch and worked for Elder Huang. Rather than spending the entire afternoon working, Wu Ying worked only for five hours, giving him an hour in the evening and the time after dinner to work on the Northern Shen Kicking style.
This morning saw Wu Ying seated on his bed, expanding his awareness as he cultivated. The awareness portion of the exercise was actually somewhat easier than he had expected. Between the lessons that Tou He had imparted on the Two Minds process and his practice while moving, Wu Ying found that he had inadvertently learned how to split his consciousness sufficiently that he could feel and sense his chi as he cultivated. As he cultivated, Wu Ying finally began to understand what the manual had actually discussed about the chi field and dispersal.
To Wu Ying, it was like a canal system fielding a series of fields. His meridians were the canals leading from the river—his dantian—while the chi was the water. Right now, his canals were made of packed earth. A simple and functional method of directing chi to the fields. But because they were made of packed earth, some water escaped, soaking into the earth around the canals.
This “soaked earth” could then be noticed and sensed by other cultivators who had the requisite skills. The cultivation exercise basically taught Wu Ying how to strengthen his canals to reduce the amount of chi that soaked out. Of course at this point, the entire metaphor broke down.
Because the exercise focused more on strengthening the aura around his body—not strengthening his meridians—while restricting his aura to his skin itself. By doing so, he kept more of his chi within his body, rather than radiating it out like most others. This ensured that others could not sense his cultivation when it ran—or even during normal times. It had the additional advantage of decreasing the speed with which he lost the chi his body stored. While the amount of improvement was minimal, Wu Ying had to admit that the amount of chi he needed to progress was tiny—at least in comparison to old monsters like the Elders. So any gain was important.
Perhaps the greatest frustration for Wu Ying was that while he could slowly develop the strength of his aura while cultivating at a standstill, it was a completely different matter when he did so while moving. Added to his frustration was now, Wu Ying could sense the way his chi continuously leaked from his body. He felt as though he were waving a beacon each time he cultivated while moving. Thankfully, the ability to sense such changes was something only the most astute Seniors and the Elders had on a conscious level. Otherwise, Wu Ying would have died from embarrassment.
The toll of the bell indicating the start of breakfast time interrupted Wu Ying’s slow, meandering thoughts. The cultivator slowly exhaled and stopped cultivating, consciously releasing the lock he had placed on his aura. He held still for a few seconds as he watched his body unconsciously take up the slack of holding his aura tight. Satisfied that his efforts were holding—at least for now—Wu Ying stood and stretched, allowing blood to flow back into his peripheries, before departing his room for breakfast.