494: Chapter 494 True Qi Soars, Advancing to Master

A breeze suddenly rose in the woods, sweeping across the treetops and causing the leaves to rustle.

This wind could brush against the grass and trees, but it could not blow away the suddenly condensed and heavy Qi field around Fang Cheng.

In the dim morning light, he stood like a pine tree, his eyes closed slightly before slowly opening them.

His originally gentle and peaceful temperament suddenly changed, resembling an ancient sword that had concealed its edge for many years, slowly unsheathing in the morning mist with its sharpness fully exposed.

Fang Cheng no longer deliberately suppressed the restless True Qi within his Dantian, instead relaxing his mind and letting it surge out along his Meridians.

In an instant, a majestic and surging airflow, like a breached river, instantly penetrated his spinal dragon, and then branched out to his limbs and bones.

Then, Fang Cheng raised his hand to wave his palm, lifted his knee and stepped forward, starting all over again from stance training to the starting posture and executing his Moves.

Parting the Wild Horse's Mane, White Crane Spreads Its Wings, Brush Knee and Twist Step...

The Moves remained unchanged; it was still that set of the Twenty-Four Form Tai Chi that he had practiced to absolute proficiency.

Yet, under the blessing of this majestic power within his body, the originally relaxed and smooth Boxing frame unexpectedly gave birth to a heart-palpitating sense of heaviness.

The movements made by Fang Cheng appeared extremely slow, but in reality, his internal force was surging covertly, rotating smoothly without stagnation.

The opening and closing of every joint, the extension and contraction of every muscle, and the snapping of every tendon and bone all concealed a rhythm conforming to human kinesiology, with the Qi field communicating throughout his entire body.

The morning mist floating around seemed to gain substance under Fang Cheng's palms.

As his palms pushed and pulled, the air became even more viscous and stagnant.

When waving his arms, it was as if he were deep in a pool, pushing a huge millstone weighing a thousand catties.

The movement was incomparably heavy, yet it carried an unstoppable momentum that could crush everything.

Just when this fierce internal force was operating to its extreme, a new change suddenly appeared.

That heavy feeling of pushing mountains and moving mountains vanished instantly, replaced by another extreme of lightness and denseness.

Fang Cheng's hands continuously traced smooth arcs in the air, his force continuous and unbroken like a spring silkworm spinning silk, every thread fitting perfectly.

It was both light and ethereal, yet exceptionally tough and resilient.

It was as if invisible silk threads were being extracted from the air, continuously tangling and adhering.

Once any external force fell into it, it would be instantly resolved into nothingness.

The set of Tai Chi was executed once more, still flowing like moving clouds and flowing water with a rounded Concept.

However, at this moment, it was no longer purely soft and lingering, but possessed a bit more of a hard and fierce framework.

The Moves combined hardness and softness, alternating between fast and slow; sometimes heavy like turning a millstone, sometimes as light as drawing silk.

In the process of practicing his Punching techniques, Fang Cheng's mind recalled the teachings of Ma Jianguo and others regarding the application of Qi force back at the Martial Arts Research Association.

"The Dao of martial arts has internal Qi as its foundation."

"The so-called 'through' means smooth and unimpeded, like the rushing water of a river, allowing Qi and blood to permeate through the limbs and bones straight to the extremities."

"The so-called 'penetrate' means passing through without obstruction, like the sun and moon shining upon the netherworld, allowing force to reach afar across space and injure people invisibly."

Relying on his Absolute Control over his own muscles and Qi and blood, Fang Cheng had long cultivated the "through" formula to its absolute limit.

The True Qi within his body obeyed him as easily as his own arms; with a slight flicker of his thought, it could instantly reach any part of his body.

Only this "penetrate" formula always lacked a layer of refinement.

Recalling when he previously unlocked the Palm Technique skill, the Qi force could only barely leave the surface of his skin to form a thin layer of blade radiance.

Even on the night of the decisive battle against Minister Luo Lie at the Noah Building, when his Palm Technique broke through to Expert grade on the spot, the limit of his external Qi release was only ten centimeters.

That layer of True Qi blade radiance was indeed unstoppable in close-quarters melee combat.

But once distance was opened up, it became like a tree without roots, making it difficult to form effective long-range lethality.

According to Ma Jianguo, once a Martial Artist stepped into the level of "True Essence Casting Tripods", the transformation of the Physical Body was merely the foundation.

The true crux lay in the extension and external release of "Qi".

After all, a Martial Artist enduring the hardships of winter and summer, tempering tendons and bones, and cultivating True Qi was definitely not just to act as a durable punching bag, but to master the offensive power sufficient to crush everything.

The ultimate goal was to let the True Qi pass through the body without any obstruction, amplifying the power of martial arts Moves to the extreme.

By then, kung fu like "striking across mountains to hit cows" and "divine fist from a hundred paces away", which seemed like miracles in the eyes of ordinary people, would no longer be legends.

Only by mastering this method could a pure Martial Artist rely on their Physical Body to truly compete with those monsters possessing bizarre abilities.

Looking back at himself, his past application of True Qi was simply too crude.

Either he simply and crudely wrapped his fist tips to increase hardness and enhance destructive power.

Or he burned True Qi to transform it into light flames, acting as a defensive shield.

Although it looked grand in momentum, its utilization rate was extremely low, failing to form an effective offensive system.

But right now, with the help of Tai Chi, a set of Boxing theories passed down for a thousand years, he faintly touched that layer of paper.

The smoothness of Tai Chi was not only the circle of neutralizing force, but also the circle of storing force.

Compressing, rotating, and accelerating True Qi within the body, and then releasing it through a specific trajectory...

With a sense in his heart, Fang Cheng silently circulated True Qi, making it fill every inch of his muscle texture.

He only felt that all the muscles and fascia throughout his body contained astonishing potential, constantly being squeezed and boiling along with the airflow.

Just like the upcoming rising sun, poised and ready to go.

"Hah—"

Seeing him inhale like a swallowing whale, his waist and hips suddenly twisted, his spinal dragon instantly tensing and emitting a series of crisp sounds like popping beans.

That majestic power rising from the soles of his feet, after the spiral amplification of his waist and abdomen, was sent to his right arm without reservation.

His originally boneless-soft arm suddenly whipped out, like a steel whip striking the air.

Clack!

A crisp explosive sound suddenly erupted in the silent woods.

This was "Hidden Thrust Punch", an extremely lethal force-emitting Move in Tai Chi.

The force penetrating out of the body was not brute force, but the "integrated force" most emphasized in traditional martial arts.

Its root was in the feet, originated in the legs, was dominated by the waist, and moved through the fingers.

Ultimately—penetrating the Physical Body and exploding in mid-air!

With this punch blasted out, the damp air ahead was instantly compressed and then exploded, forming a ring of visible white Qi that surged in all directions.

Ten meters away, a few broad leaves that had just drifted down had not yet hit the ground.

They were directly shattered into pieces by this invisible fist blast, turning into fine powder and scattering away.

On the lakeside running track in the distance, a morning jogger wearing headphones vaguely heard this crisp sound.

Then he perplexedly took off his headphones, stopped, and looked around.

"Who is it? Setting off firecrackers early in the morning?"

He muttered a sentence, his gaze sweeping across the misty grove.

However, apart from a few swaying branches, he saw nothing.

He could only shake his head, thinking he had heard wrong, and continued jogging away.

Inside the woods, Fang Cheng did not stop, his punching momentum already entering its prime state.

In the release of the Qi force from that punch just now, he actually did not burst out with full force, nor did his fist speed reach the speed of sound.

He merely followed the Tai Chi Boxing theory of "storing force with a circle, neutralizing hardness with softness", allowing the True Qi to be fully compressed and rotated within the body before guiding it out smoothly.

Even so, it still easily produced an effect similar to a sonic boom.

This was clear proof that True Qi broke through the constraints of the body surface to form an effective "penetrating force".

Fang Cheng's heart suddenly became enlightened, and his understanding of the operation of Qi force and the essence of Punching techniques deepened by another layer.

Afterwards, his figure roamed, stepping with the Tai Chi steps, his hands drawing circles as he then executed "Cloud Hands".

At this moment, he seemed to have become the center of the wind.

The external release of True Qi within his body, although not forming substantive lethality, stirred the surrounding airflow and even began to affect the environment.

The withered branches and fallen leaves scattered around were whipped up by the Qi field circulating around his body, yet they were not blown away by it.

Instead, as if guided by invisible silk threads, they fluttered up and down around him, resembling hundreds of butterflies dancing gracefully.

This was not an ability originating from Bloodline inheritance, but his own exquisite mastery of airflow and force to the pinnacle.

It was even more of the advanced application of "neutralizing force" and "penetrating force" that traditional Martial Artists dreamed of.

Fang Cheng's eyes were half-open and half-closed, his expression solemn.

At this moment, he could clearly feel that the True Qi in his body was no longer purely flowing in the Meridians.

Instead, following his Fist Intent, it penetrated into every muscle and every piece of fascia, completely merging together.

Then, this kinetic energy formed by the interweaving of Qi and blood and True Qi was transmitted into the air along with the punching momentum, quietly affecting the surrounding environment.

Within a radius of several meters around him, True Qi circulated like ripples, enveloping Fang Cheng within it.

A small-scale circular Qi field, faintly discernible, was quietly taking shape.

In this Qi field, he did not even need physical contact; relying solely on Qi field sensing, he could guide external objects across space.

The so-called "Qi follows the heart's movement, force follows the intent's movement, wherever the intent reaches, Qi reaches, wherever the power reaches, nothing is unfavorable."

Perhaps it was just like this.

This feeling of unity of body and mind, as well as inner and outer smoothness, was unprecedentedly clear in Fang Cheng's heart.

Practicing Tai Chi in the past was more about "practicing the form", imitating the framework of the Moves.

But at this moment, he finally crossed the threshold of "practicing Qi" and touched the Realm of "Concept".

Truly comprehending the essence of Tai Chi's "defeating a thousand catties with four ounces" and "supreme hardness and supreme softness".

When the falling leaves all over the sky danced to their highest point, Fang Cheng suddenly changed his Move.

Pressing his palms downwards, he then fiercely lifted them upwards with a Move called "Vajra Pounds the Mortar".

His right foot heavily stamped on the ground.

Boom—

The muffled roar was like a battle drum beating, and the earth seemed to tremble slightly.

The hundreds of falling leaves dancing around him seemed to lose all traction at this instant, pausing in unison.

Afterwards, an invisible shockwave erupted centered on Fang Cheng.

Those fragile leaves were actually endowed with bullet-like kinetic energy, blasting out in all directions.

Crackle, pop!

The flying fallen leaves hitting the surrounding tree trunks actually produced a dense sound like rain hitting banana leaves.

Even a few leaves with sharp edges were deeply embedded into the rough bark, sinking three points into the wood.

This scene was simply like the means possessed only by peerless experts in Wuxia movies who could pluck leaves and flying flowers to injure people.

As the Punching techniques were practiced and time passed, the eastern sky gradually brightened.

A wispy golden-red morning glow tore through the clouds, penetrated the morning mist, and sprinkled onto the lake surface, glittering with ripples.

Several egrets were awakened by the light, flapping their wings and flying up from the reed marshes, skimming across the water surface and leaving behind a string of crisp calls.

Fang Cheng turned a deaf ear to this, his mind completely immersed in the Fist Intent.

He practiced this brand-new set of Punching techniques integrated with Qi force over and over again.

From the initial force leakage and slight fierceness, to the later combination of hardness and softness, treating heavy things as if they were light.

Every time it was struck out, the violent True Qi was tamed to be a bit more docile, and the fit with the Moves also became a bit tighter.

Countless realizations flowed rapidly through his heart like running water.

In the air before his eyes, a light also flickered slightly.

[You comprehended driving Qi with intent and are approaching perfection, Tai Chi experience +1]

[You comprehended driving Qi with intent, Qi field first appears, Qigong experience +1]

[You comprehended driving Qi with intent, Qi field first appears, Qigong experience +1]

Prompt messages indicating the growth of skill experience emerged one after another.

This process was not a simple data superposition, but a real physical memory and sublimation of Concept.

It was as if these Moves inherently ought to contain such majestic power, and inherently ought to be so natural and free-willed.

Gradually, he forgot the Moves, forgot his breathing, and even forgot where he was.

Only a pure martial Dao intent remained, circulating endlessly between heaven and earth.

The morning breeze gradually ceased, and sunlight faintly penetrated the gaps in the forest, casting mottled light and shadows on the ground.

The dust permeating the air danced in the light beams, as if also accompanying this silent practice.

"Hoo——"

I do not know how long had passed, but Fang Cheng slowly withdrew his posture, his palms virtually pressing down, his Qi sinking into his Dantian.

The dust and leftover leaves that had been scattered about by his force were now seemingly devoid of support, fluttering down and covering the ground beneath his feet.

He stood quietly in place with his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling slightly, exhaling two long streams of white Qi from the tip of his nose.

They condensed without dispersing in the air where the morning mist dissipated, shooting out like sharp swords for several meters before slowly fading away after a long time.

At this time, a round red sun had already leaped out of the mountain peak, revealing a small part of its outline.

The golden sunlight completely penetrated the woods, spilling onto him, illuminating the heat rising from around his body as if it were misty Immortal Qi.

The whole person exuded a refined Grandmaster demeanor.

Fang Cheng slowly opened his eyes; deep within his pupils, the sharp brilliance stimulated by practicing Boxing gradually converged, returning to being gentle and jade-like.

The exact moment he withdrew his skill and stood firm.

On his retina, a dazzling light screen that shone alongside the morning sun slowly unfolded.

[Congratulations, through unremitting efforts, your skill has risen to a higher level and reached the Great Master level]

[Tai Chi lv2 (0/500)]

[Obtained skill enhancement reward, 9 free attributes]

Looking at the prompt information appearing on the panel, the corners of Fang Cheng's mouth curled into a satisfied arc.

Finally, he broke through.

From Lv1 to Lv2, this was not merely a cumulative Breakthrough in proficiency, but a qualitative leap in his understanding of martial Dao.

During the process of practicing Tai Chi this time, Fang Cheng no longer adhered rigidly to the form and intent of the Moves.

Instead, he boldly experimented, drawing on the experience of practicing Palm Technique, and forcibly integrated various methods of using Qi force learned previously into the Punching techniques.

The effect was unexpectedly good.

This marked that at the martial arts level, Fang Cheng had officially crossed the threshold of "practicing form" and stepped into the Realm of "practicing Qi" or even "unity of intent and Qi".

In the past, Tai Chi was merely a set of brilliant force-emitting skills to Fang Cheng.

In usual battles, Fang Cheng actually preferred using straight-forward combat arts like Boxing and Sanda.

But now, Tai Chi, this kung fu of overcoming hardness with softness, seemed to have become a perfect carrier.

A cultivation pathway capable of venting the True Qi surging like a river within his body in the most appropriate and least labor-intensive way.

Of course, this was not accidental; everything fell naturally into place.

Whether it was the powerful perception bestowed by the Spiritual attribute as high as 70 points, the physical fitness far surpassing ordinary people, or the ocean-like True Qi reserve within the Dantian, all of these laid an unshakable foundation for this Breakthrough.

Thinking of this, Fang Cheng's gaze fell on the enhancement reward of the skill upgrade.

"9 free attributes..." (End of chapter)