7: Chapter 7: The Five Levels of Baduanjin

When practicing Eight Brocades once again, Li Changsheng clearly felt a slight warmth in his body, as if a stream of heat was flowing within him.

And as the movements of the Eight Brocades continued, every time his muscles and bones stretched, this stream of heat would follow along.

After finishing this set of Eight Brocades, Li Changsheng realized that he had unknowingly broken out into a light sweat.

He pulled up his panel, and his expression immediately brightened with joy.

His original Lifespan had jumped to [154].

"It increased by two days in just one session?" Li Changsheng couldn't help but be pleasantly surprised; in the past two days, the total number of Eight Brocades practice sessions for the entire day only added up to one day of Lifespan.

Yet this time, it increased by two days in a single go.

"When I first practiced Eight Brocades, one session could increase my Lifespan by one day. Now, one session is two days. Does this mean the Eight Brocades has had a Breakthrough to the next level?"

The more he thought about it, the more he felt it was possible. This meant that the Eight Brocades was now LV2, reaching parity with Plucking Flowers and Flying Leaves.

However, Li Changsheng estimated that the progress of Plucking Flowers and Flying Leaves would only get faster and faster, because practicing Eight Brocades for too long actually harms the body.

One day, he endured the pain and forced himself to do a few more repetitions, but as a result, he actually lost a day of Lifespan.

"No wonder people often say that when practicing martial arts, too much is as bad as too little. But I don't know what the maximum Rank of this Eight Brocades and Plucking Flowers and Flying Leaves is."

This was also a point of concern; what would he do if there was nowhere left to upgrade in the future?

"So, this is the System forcing me to continue completing phase tasks."

Exhaling lightly, Li Changsheng wiped away the sweat slightly and began practicing Eight Brocades again, stopping only when he felt a stinging pain in his body.

"A total of eight times. It seems that the number of times is fixed after each upgrade, but the effect is exceptionally obvious."

Eight times means sixteen days of Lifespan.

The Lifespan suddenly reached 161 days.

With the Lifespan anxiety temporarily alleviated, Li Changsheng's mood also felt much more cheerful.

He practiced Plucking Flowers and Flying Leaves while interacting with his viewers.

"Seeing the streamer sweating profusely just now, is the effect really that obvious even though the movements aren't fast?"

"That's right, it looks like it's very effective. It makes me want to go and practice it too."

"I've already recorded the screen, I'm planning to try it out later."

"Uh, brothers, I've already tried it. Damn it, this thing is way too tiring to practice even once. I feel like my legs aren't my legs and my hands aren't my hands anymore."

Watching the viewers become gradually interested in Traditional Martial Arts, Li Changsheng also revealed a knowing smile.

"Since everyone is so interested, I will explain some key points of practicing Eight Brocades."

Li Changsheng said this and prepared to continue his explanation, but just then.

[Host has triggered the 'Recruit Disciples Phase I' task: Teach at least three people with no training history to learn Eight Brocades and reach the third level of Eight Brocades.]

Hmm?

Li Changsheng was stunned. What was going on? Promoting Traditional Martial Arts was still ongoing, so why did an extra 'Recruit Disciples' task appear? And what was this third level?

"System, what is the concept of the third level?" Li Changsheng thought to himself.

[Eight Brocades has a total of five levels: the first level is perfect movements, the second level is coordinating with breathing, the third level is Intention, the fourth level is Thought, and the fifth level is Guiding Qi along the meridians. Currently, the host is at the breathing coordination stage.]

So that was it; this meant the highest Rank for Eight Brocades was five.

Li Changsheng understood that the skills taught by the System were all at the first level, which was the beginning stage of LV1. To upgrade to the second level, LV2, he still needed to practice hard himself.

However, after realizing this, Li Changsheng felt a bit depressed. He was only at the second level, and the System wanted him to teach others to the third level. Heaven knows how long that would take.

Shaking his head, Li Changsheng decided not to worry about this task and just go with the flow; if it gets completed, it gets completed.

"Why is the streamer spacing out?"

"Didn't you say you were going to explain? I've already started recording, and you're just sitting there spacing out!"

"Streamer, hurry up and get to work!"

Seeing the viewers getting a little impatient, Li Changsheng gave a dry cough and smiled: "Eight Brocades is actually a very effective Health-preserving Qigong. It can improve our neural regulation functions, strengthen blood circulation, have a massaging effect on abdominal organs, and has a good regulatory effect on the nervous System, cardiovascular System, digestive System, respiratory System, and locomotor organs."

"But you also need to remember..."

(Note: Eight Brocades is really effective. The author practiced it for a period of time and felt that everything tasted delicious.)

The next day, Li Changsheng went out for a run as usual, to the same old place, and today he still saw that old man practicing that strange posture.

Perhaps because of the Eight Brocades Breakthrough, Li Changsheng saw more things while watching from afar.

The old man's breathing was clearly long integrated with his movements, and there was also a lot of meaning that Li Changsheng couldn't understand.

"No wonder some people say that if your kung fu isn't up to par, you won't understand it even if it's placed right in front of you."

After watching for just a few minutes, not daring to look more, Li Changsheng hurried away.

As he touched upon the Domain of Traditional Martial Arts, he gradually began to abide by some of the rules within Traditional Martial Arts; not casually watching others practice martial arts was one of them.

"There will be plenty of opportunities to ask him for advice in the future. If I continue to Breakthrough in Eight Brocades and reach the fifth level, perhaps it won't be asking for advice, but rather exchanging pointers."

Li Changsheng thought to himself.

After running a lap, Li Changsheng went back to take a shower and then went out again.

Today, he was going to his former company to submit his resignation and, at the same time, demand his wages.

He had worked the full previous month, and had worked half of this month. Added together, it was one or two ten thousand yuan. Now that his income was unstable, he really needed this money.

He took the subway and quickly arrived in Nanshan District, Shenzhen; this was Shenzhen's technology industrial park.

Li Changsheng's previous company was not far from Tencent's, and on weekdays, one could see Tencent's landmark building from the office.

When he first came here, Li Changsheng was quite excited, but after a long time, all that remained was numbness; now, it was indifference.

Arriving at the company, his supervisor, Zhou Bapi, prepared to give Li Changsheng a good scolding.

Li Changsheng knew very well why.

He was a core member of the company, and he was the main person in charge of many projects. His disappearance for several consecutive days led to project delays, and delays meant lost money. It would be a miracle if Zhou Bapi had a good expression.

But when Li Changsheng silently took out his cancer diagnosis report, the words Zhou Bapi was prepared to use to greet his ancestors immediately got stuck.

The next instant, Zhou Bapi demonstrated for Li Changsheng what it meant to change one's face faster than flipping a book.

He used an unprecedentedly gentle tone to express his concern for Li Changsheng, telling him to take care of his health, not to worry about company matters, and so on.

Then, he also processed some formalities for Li Changsheng at the fastest speed.

He not only paid the full wages for two months but also made up the overtime pay from last month to this month, and even gave the five-thousand-yuan bonus from the month before last.

Even when Li Changsheng went downstairs, it was Zhou Bapi who personally pressed the elevator door, personally accompanied him to the entrance of the building, and even helped call a taxi and paid the fare in advance.

Sitting in the taxi, Li Changsheng knew very well why.

This was normal; companies were most afraid of encountering such things. If Li Changsheng wanted to, he could actually extort tens or hundreds of thousands.

And this was something he could get.

But he thought about it and decided to forget it; the procedures and lawsuits were too much trouble, dragging on for months or years.

He just wanted to Cultivate properly now and treat himself well.