The next few weeks consisted of intense meditation and the building up of my chi reserves. Slowly but surely, my chi grew stronger and stronger, and I could feel the power seething within me.
Master Snow was also pleased with my progress, he later told me I progressed much faster than most monks at Yin Dojo. Even faster than those who had preparatory training from when they were very young.
He attributed this to my sense of justice and extreme will, one of the main foundations for powerful chi reserves. I wouldn't truly understand the extent of this until much later, though.
But there was just as much physical training as there was meditation. With each growth in chi, I had to ensure my body would be able to keep up, and I didn't hold back at all during training.
From carrying trees on my back to climbing steep mountains with rocks dragging me behind, to intense agility training led by Master Snow himself. At one point he even lined me up against a cliff, took heavy rocks and chucked them at me as fast as possible - forcing me to learn how to react and dodge quicker than I ever saw possible.
There seemed to be a mysterious effect to it, and I became so good that I could almost predict where the rocks were going to hit even before he even threw them.
This, too, I wouldn't truly understand until later.
And alongside the physical and mental training came the actual practice of Yang. I would have to perform Yang and hold it until exhaustion over and over - Master Snow would time me each time. The goal was to always hold it as long as possible, as Master Snow said, "The moment you run out of chi is the moment you lose the fight! Yang must always be in the background, it is your fuel!"
And so I would train Yang continuously. Alongside my physical body and my mental spirit, my time and intensity continued to grow. Eventually, I was even able to hold Yang for an hour - all while doing movement and exercise.
I could feel myself improving. And Master Snow, seeing this, decided to teach me more of the mysteries of Yin Martial Art.
Right beside a massive mountain, on an exceptionally mountainous island we had been training on.
"Good, you can now hold Yang in the background for an hour. Now it is time for you to actually learn Yin Dojo's martial arts. Listen carefully." Master Snow, bald head gleaming in the sun, his monk robes fluttering in the wind, spoke. My eyes were as wide as the sun, soaking in everything that he was doing.
"Yin Martial Arts are split into two main styles. Taijutsu and Ninjutsu. Taijutsu includes techniques based on the body - close range techniques. Ninjutsu, which is often employed through Bukijutsu, are techniques that are outside of the body - long range. This is a demonstration." Master Snow once again placed his hands in the praying position, which I had already learned wasn't necessary for Yang, but was his preference.
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Silver steam once again began to rise from his body, albeit being tame. He casually strolled to a nearby massive mountain, the silver steam following him closely. He stopped right in front of the very bottom of the mountain.
"This is Taijutsu." And with those words, he clenched his hand into a fist, mysterious pure white energy enveloping his fist. Slowly and lightly, Master Snow punched the mountain, causing massive fissures to spread out from the impact, causing the mountain to shake furiously. Boulders started to fall, his fist threatening to blast the mountain apart. Showing mercy, he removed his hand from the mountain as the silver energy retreated back into his body.
I watched with amazement as the entire mountain had huge fractures splitting it apart, forming an intricate spider web. It seemed as if just a single breeze would destroy the mountain!
"Master Snow...that's from the silver energy? Is that the tangibile form of chi?" I stuttered, still in awe from the mountain's near collapse. This was an entire mountainside, nearly destroyed from a single punch!
Not to mention how light that punch seemed to be! Was this the power Yin Martial Art possessed!?
"Yes, that silver energy is chi outside of your body. When you combust it internally, through Yang, it forms a tangible form outside of your body. Taijutsu doesn't just have to be simple punches and kicks." Silver steam still rising into the sky, I watched as silver energy shot out of him and formed an impenetrable armor around him - making him seem like a silver knight. Just as quickly as the armor appeared, it disappeared, and the energy formed a dragon on his fist.
It was as if that chi could form into any shape he wanted. He was only limited by his reserves and imagination!
"This, however, is Ninjutsu." The dragon's mouth disappeared, and he made a simple gun motion with his hand. Aimed at the mountain, a silver bullet shot out of his finger at violent speeds and flung into the mountain! The bullet pierced straight into the epicenter of the spiderweb, where Master Snow punched before, and exploded!
The whole mountain quivered and quaked, then collapsed apart! I watched as debris and boulders came flying down - threatening to bury us alive. About to spring into action, I only heard Master Snow calmly say, "My demonstration isn't over yet...this is bukijutsu!"
Raising his hand, a massive medieval shield flew up into the sky - made completely of silver energy! It was detailed enough you could even see the groves and definitions within the shield, and sturdy enough so that the massive boulders only exploded against it - leaving us completely undamaged!
It seemed like something out of a dream. I scanned left and right to see all the debris and boulders circled around us, while the two of us were completely unharmed.
The silver shield didn't even have a single crack! With a single breath, all of the silver energy was drawn right back into Master Snow, as if nothing had ever happened.
"Many Yin Monks specialize in one of the two but can still perform both. Bukijutsu is the ability to make weapons and is universal to both paths. We start training this tomorrow, for now, start meditating upon what you saw today." And with a friendly, harmless smile, Master Snow placed his hands behind his back and strolled off.
As if he hadn't destroyed an entire mountain seconds before...