Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
At night.
Lakeview Gardens.
Backyard.
Fang Ping wasted no time and went right back to his stance cultivation.
In the beginning, Fang Ping had to stay perfectly still when practicing his stance. The moment he moved, he would break out of his stance.
Right now, however, Fang Ping’s upper body was swaying slightly.
Beside him, Fang Yuan was sitting on a small bench, her eyes wide. She found the way her older brother’s body swayed absolutely fascinating.
The girl did like to tease Fang Ping and frustrate him, but even she knew that Fang Ping must not be disturbed when he was cultivating.
She would love to taunt him a little, but she held herself back.
“The Horse-riding Stance is a stance as though one is riding a horse...
“With a spine like a dragon and a form like a pole, steps like a cat and light as a swan...”
Fang Ping continued to turn over the instructions from the book and the advice from the Tan brothers in his head.
On one hand, it was easy to practice a stance.
On the other hand, it was hard enough that some people could train for years without getting anywhere.
Now, after a few days of practicing his stance, Fang Ping finally felt an inkling.
In the past, Fang Ping would easily fall out of his stance the moment his legs moved, but now, even when he moved his legs slightly, he could maintain the cultivation of his stance.
“With a stable stance, no one could push me down!”
Fang Ping had an idea, and he barked at Fang Yuan, “Come and shove me!”
“Huh?”
“Push me!”
Although she did not know what had gone wrong with her brother’s head, Fang Yuan finally understood what he was saying.
Fang Ping was the one asking for a beating, so she would gladly give him what he wanted!
Fang Yuan giggled and got up, walking toward Fang Ping.
“I’m pushing you for real now?”
“Do it!”
While Fang Ping’s upper body was swaying, it did not sway particularly intensely. Giggling, Fang Yuan reached out a finger and pushed Fang Ping’s head.
A few days ago, Fang Ping had also asked for a beating.
As a result, she had pushed him down with just a fingertip.
The way Fang Yuan saw it, she was weaker than her brother, so this was the easiest chance for her to bully Fang Ping.
She stretched out her finger and tapped Fang Ping’s forehead.
Fang Yuan exerted some force, but Fang Ping did not move at all. Soon enough, she heard Fang Ping bark, “Are you really so weak?”
Fang Yuan puffed up her cheeks and huffed, “You asked for it!”
Fang Yuan had not intended to use too much force, but now, she put more power into it. Instead of a finger, she pushed him with her whole hand.
She shoved Fang Ping’s head with her hand, but it seemed to be slightly slippery.
She was already using 70% of her power, but it felt like she was not exerting any force at all.
“Fang Yuan, what’s the point of growing so round when you’re so weak? Put some oomph into it!”
“Fang Ping!”
Fang Yuan was getting mad, so this time she did not hold back at all. She shoved Fang Ping’s head ruthlessly.
Fang Ping gripped the ground with his feet, and his body began to sway slightly again.
Although she used all her strength, Fang Yuan could not find any purchase when she pressed all her power forth. She lost her balance and nearly tripped.
Having seen that, Fang Ping yelled again, “C’mon, Fang Yuan, hit me!”
Fang Yuan clenched her teeth and looked about ready to explode.
“You eat so much but you’re crazy weak! What’s all that fat on your bones for?!”
“...”
Fang Yuan felt like she should be exploding anytime now!
“Hey, Round Face! If you knock me down, I’ll take you to KFC tomorrow!”
“...Gah, you’re annoying!”
Fang Ping was really starting to get into it, so he kept instigating Fang Yuan.
Right now, Fang Ping felt like he was almost there. He was only one step away!
Just before, he was thinking that it would be a few days or even a week before he could attain a stable stance.
When he took his stance earlier, however, he began to feel something.
When Fang Yuan pushed him, it did not look like Fang Ping moved very much, but in truth, he was changing the points where he withstood her pressure. That was why Fang Yuan’s full force felt like less than 30%.
A cultivator could not be pushed down, not because they simply stood still and let another push them.
It was because the cultivator was diverting the force through their stance!
“Diverting the force!”
Fang Ping felt like he had grasped the heart of the matter, and he was now on the verge of achieving a stable stance.
It might even be the very next moment!
Just then, Fang Yuan was also pushing herself to her limits.
How could she possibly stay calm when Fang Ping was taunting her like that?
She had been pushing him with one hand before, but now Fang Yuan used both her hands at once.
She was not pushing Fang Ping’s head anymore, either. She could feel the sweat all over her brother’s head, and that made it too slippery for her to find any purchase.
With a change of target, the little girl shoved Fang Ping’s chest with both her hands and all her strength!
“That’s what you get for calling me Round Face!”
The little girl was beside herself with fury, and she had absolutely no intention of holding back.
Fang Ping did not dodge or duck. While he maintained his Horse-riding Stance, his upper body began to sway again, and his toes curled up, gripping the soles of his shoes.
When Fang Yuan pushed Fang Ping’s chest with both hands again, that feeling of futility reappeared.
She was clearly pushing him straight in the center of his chest, but for some reason, her hands slipped to each side.
Having exerted too much force, Fang Yuan’s body tilted and fell toward Fang Ping.
Fang Ping’s hands moved and held the little girl up, even though she stumbled and walked.
Right now, Fang Ping was still reminiscing about the feeling back there when he diverted her force.
His feet, which had been gripping the ground tightly, began to move slightly instead. His upper body began to sway even more.
A moment later, Fang Ping’s body suddenly tilted backward.
Fang Yuan had just recovered, and the moment she saw him, she said in a panic, “You’re gonna fall!”
“I won’t!” Fang Ping replied quickly.
While his feet did not budge, his body, already on its way down to the ground, bounced back up suddenly like a roly-poly toy.
“I did it!”
Fang Ping was overjoyed. With that short exchange, he had finally grasped this feeling.
He stumbled slightly, his feet feeling slightly sore from gripping the ground so hard.
Right now, though, Fang Ping could not care less. He had already grasped the essence of a stable stance.
After this, he no longer had to be so deliberate when taking his stance, and he would still be able to achieve that same effect.
“Hahaha, I really am a genius!”
Fang Ping could not help but feel a little proud. Sure, he had his hacks, but it had only taken him about a week.
Since he could grasp the essence of the stance so quickly, Fang Ping fancied that he was extremely talented after all.
In truth, it was because his Mentality was so much higher than the average person’s. The increase in his Mentality naturally helped him comprehend these methods much more easily.
...
In Fang Yuan’s eyes, Fang Ping was ecstatic, and he laughed like a cocky maniac.
Next to him, Fang Yuan clenched her teeth tightly. This guy was just too much!
If Fang Ping just consoled her a little, the little girl would call it even.
However, Fang Ping was too obsessed with his success to remember how he had taunted her.
Just as Fang Ping was about to check how much Vitality he had used, he suddenly felt a breeze on his face.
Right now, Fang Ping was no longer in his stance.
“Bam!”
Fang Ping landed, hard, his butt engaging in an intimate greeting with the concrete floor.
“Hiss...”
Fang Ping inhaled sharply, rubbing his injured behind in a hurry as he yelled angrily, “What are you doing, Fang Yuan?!”
“You’re asking me what I’m doing?”
Having seen him fall, Fang Yuan could not help but look slightly cocky herself. “You told me to push you, right?
“And you said I’m weak?
“And you said I’m fat for nothing!
“Well, you never told me to stop. I’m just fulfilling your wishes, aren’t I?”
“Stupid girl!”
Fang Ping mumbled. He had been so caught up in his celebrations that he had clean forgotten about that.
He decided not to hold it against the little girl. He was just getting into it, and if he did not let her take out some steam on him after all that teasing she endured, she would never let him go in peace.
That was why Fang Ping did not get up from the ground. Focusing, he looked at the statistics in his vision.
Wealth: 3240000
Vitality: 124cal
Mentality: 140Hz
In that moment, he had consumed more than he had during half an hour of cultivating his stance in the past.
His Mentality, in particular, had gone down by 10Hz.
Thanks to the breakthrough in his stance, Fang Ping thought he might be able to increase his stats again.
He focused on increasing his Vitality, and the statistics soon reflected that change.
Wealth: 3224000
Vitality: 130cal
Mentality: 15Hz
...
‘I’m at 130cal now!’
Fang Ping’s eyes shone. The main point was not the 130cal Vitality.
It was the fact that he had attained the first level of his stance cultivation and achieved a stable stance. From now on, he could cultivate the Methods of Honing together with his stance!
Be it Wang Jinyang or the Tan brothers, all of them agreed that one had to achieve the stable stance before they could be officially on the path to becoming a martial artist.
An aspiring martial artist of this level could cultivate multiple cultivation methods at once. With that, they could officially aim for the limits of the human body’s abilities.
Fang Ping wanted to try cultivating the two methods at once, so he could see its effects.
However, he glanced at Fang Yuan next to him and eventually decided against it.
It was his first time merging two methods at once, so there was a certain level of risk involved.
He did not have enough space in his room, and if he cultivated in the yard, he would be easily distracted by external factors. That was why he thought it would be better to go to the new house tomorrow and try it out there.
Next to him, Fang Yuan saw that he was not getting up from the ground, so she could not help but ask, “Are you okay?”
Fang Ping came back to the present and instantly hid his smile behind a grimace of agony. “I hurt my tailbone. Fang Yuan, you’re too cruel!”
“Did... Did you really hurt yourself...?”
Fang Yuan instantly grew nervous, and she rushed forth to help Fang Ping up.
“I did, really! It hurts!”
“Fang Ping, don’t scare me...”
“How about this? If you take care of all the chores and laundry tomorrow, I’ll forgive you...”
Fang Yuan had been slightly worried earlier, but as soon as she heard that, she immediately understood and said angrily, “Fang Ping!”
“Hahaha...”
Fang Ping laughed heartily and leaped to his feet, returning to his room without giving the girl a chance to take revenge on him.
“Damn it!”
...
Although he had already made a breakthrough with his stance, Fang Ping did not let up on his efforts.
At night, in his room, Fang Ping continued to practice his stance, carefully sensing how it felt like to finally have a stable stance.
...
At the same time.
Nanjiang Martial Arts University.
Wang Jinyang had his hands in his pockets as he wandered down the schoolyard path aimlessly.
Some of the students who passed by made way for him, their expressions respectful.
Others were ablaze with competitive spirit, raring to take him on immediately if possible.
There were also girls with expressions full of anticipation, hoping Wang Jinyang would notice them./
Wang Jinyang ignored them all. As he walked slowly, he mumbled to himself, “Should I inform that guy?
“He’s bold and ruthless, and he’s willing to fight with everything he has. He’s well-suited to martial arts.
“It’s too bad that he has to rely on his own hands for everything. His family can’t help at all...”
Whenever he thought of Fang Ping, Wang Jinyang was always inevitably reminded of himself.
Their similar backgrounds meant that Wang Jinyang knew just hard it was to rise from the middle classes!
“He has Huang Bin’s pills and the cultivation methods now too, so I’m sure he’s improving pretty quickly, right? Maybe this will work.
“Never mind, I’ll just tell him tomorrow. Whether he gets it or not is up to him.”
Wang Jinyang murmured without looking at the people around him.
Tomorrow, he was going to challenge the Vice President of the Martial Arts Society in an attempt to obtain that post within this semester.
The next semester, when the President of the Martial Arts Society graduated, he would be able to fight for that position too.
The corners of Wang Jinyang’s lips curved. Once he became president, he might be that much closer to reaching the middle ranks!