“Hold still. Why did our coach ask you to do it alone?”
Chen Zuoyi, Chen Wu and some other clan descendants stopped Chen Zong and harshly questioned him outside the dwelling area when he was about to leave.
“Speak quickly.” Chen Wu urged him.
“It is none of your business.” Chen Zong glanced at them and responded with apathy, neither cringing nor arrogant.
“You…” The faces of Chen Zuoyi and his followers turned angry. Chen Wu even tightly held the sword handle by his right hand with a fierce look.
“You want to fight?” Chen Zong spoke sharply.
“Group stage is coming twenty days later. I hope you can keep your arrogance then.” With great with anger, Chen Zuoyi spoke coldly and then left.
The clan had its regulations that the task for the newcomers without Qi and Blood Condition of level four like them was to practice diligently and strive for becoming a warrior, so private competition was not allowed, and their stage was only available in group match, which took place once a month. The violation of the rules would cause terrible results.
“Group match for the first place…” Chen Zong smiled faintly with a piercing stare. “I will let you know how sharp my sword is.”
Chen Zong lived a regular daily life.
Every morning Chen Zong practiced Tiger-Roaring Knack in his room. Every afternoon he left for Chen Chuyun’s courtyard to practice the Foundation-Eighteen Types and his fastness, accuracy and stability. Every evening he practiced the Tiger Fist, Eight-Types of Real Sword, Shadow Broken Swordsmanship, Willow Flicking Swordsmanship and Eagle Striking Swordsmanship.
Chen Zong found his performance of four swordsmanship pertaining to basic martial arts was different from his past performance: in the same realm every movement, gentle or fierce, was increasingly mellow, natural and smooth in a free-flowing style. It was on account of his vigorous endeavor or Foundation-Eighteen Types. He was not very sure of this.
Chen Zong was finally convinced that the Foundation-Eighteen Types were of some help in cultivating his swordsmanship after his repeated contrasts. It constantly increased his control over his sword.
It had been thirty days, a full month after Chen Zong came to the clan.
Chen Zong was practicing in Chen Chuyun’s courtyard.
The black metal plate tied on his right arm was under the sleeve, which was no longer five kilograms but ten. His right hand tightly grasped the sword handle and raised the sword horizontally. The sword and his right arm formed a direct line. A ten-kilogram iron ball hung from the other end of the sword.
Chen Zong looked straight ahead, standing like a fixed timber pile. His outstretched arm remained absolutely motionless.
One minute!
Two minutes!
Three minutes!
Five minutes elapsed very quickly. Chen Zong still held his sword up still.
Seven minutes passed. Chen Zong’s arm trembled lightly, but he refused to stop.
Eight minutes went by. His arm muscles felt a terrible pain that suggested a rupture.
Nine minutes passed. His arm completely went numb and lost consciousness.
Ten minutes passed. It was the limit. Chen Zong had no choice but to stop. He lowered his right arm slowly in order to be nourished by Qi and Blood for recovery.
At the beginning, the sheet iron tied on his arm was five kilograms and the iron ball hung on the sword tip was five kilograms as well. Chen Zong could hold on no more than five minutes. At present, the weight of both sides had been increased to ten kilograms and he could hold on for ten minutes. Obviously, Chen Zong had made a remarkable progress.
When his right arm was recovering, his left arm held the sword handle horizontally to practice.
Chen Chuyun didn’t teach him to do so. It was a sudden idea that cropped upg in recent trainings.
A swordsman held his sword mainly by his right hand usually, but his capability would suffer a huge loss if his right arm had no chance to carry the sword due to injury or some other reasons. Why not train left hand meanwhile?
Thus, Chen Zong began to pay attention to his left arm training. It created great difficulties for a man who was accustomed to using his right hand from childhood, but Chen Zong could overcome them.
Challenging the same weight by his left arm apparently showed the difference: the left arm was weaker than the right arm. Seven minutes was the ultimate limit, which prevented him from continuing his practice.
Right now, his right arm was ready to train again.
One hour later, his arms recovered. Chen Zong carried his sword to practice Foundation-Eighteen Types. An alternation existed between his left hand and right hand. Chen Zong was clear that his performance of the Foundation-Eighteen Types by his left hand was much weaker than that of his right hand that demanded more efforts although there were seemingly no distinct differences.
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In front of timber beads, his unbending position showed his ease. His right arm swiftly waved with a dim light flashing after drawing his sword. A bead of egg size trembled lightly and showed a hole in the center. It indicated that Chen Zong gradually embarked on his real acquirement of fastness, accuracy and stability.
Another flashing sharply appeared again. The second biggest timber bead received a slight quiver and a hole as well.
The third biggest timber bead!
The fourth biggest timber bead!
The fifth biggest timber bead!
The sixth biggest timber bead!
When Chen Zong deliberately stabbed towards the seventh biggest timber bead, the sword tip streaked across its surface and sliced a tiny cut.
Chen Zong took his sword back for position adjustment and then drew it to stab again!
When his right arm felt aching and limp, his left arm took turns.
Left arm training was more difficult than training right arm, but several days’ effort still achieved some positive results. Chen Zong stabbed the seventh biggest timber bead after position adjustment but he failed to have a stable control over force as well as his right arm.
Training lasted for three hours and then Chen Zong took his leave.
In the evening Chen Zong trained in a corner of the martial arts practicing field.
He performed by his left arm the Eight Types of Real Sword, the Shadow Broken Swordsmanship, the Willow Flicking Swordsmanship and Eagle Striking Swordsmanship. Then he fully devoted himself to practicing these skills with his right arm.
His twenty-day tough training led to his achieving the peak of Initial Achievement in Eight Types of Real Sword. The rest three swordsmanship styles all reached the peak of Great Achievement.
The Prostrate Sword Type!
The Draw Sword Type!
The Rush Sword Type!
The Eight Types of Real Sword was shown by Chen Zong’s sword.
It was a moonless night with only few fading stars, which made the gray black iron sword dimmer. However, every type emitted brilliant light from it because Chen Zong brandished his sword and his moves illumined the dark night like glorious stars. Every visibly dazzling light in every type marked the peak of Initial Achievement in the Eight Types of Real Sword.
The Explosive Sword Type!
In his dash, a fierce force like a dragon arose in his vertebral column, transmitting to his arms and then permeating the sword. It was a type of termagancy without any reservation that seemed to contain all the strength of Chen Zong in the glaring sword, piercing into the sky like a flying shining star that tried to catch up with the moon. The air burst out numerous flying sparks due to the sword being stabbed at an extremely fast speed. Then, a slightly scorched flavor pervaded the air.
A slight roaring resounded under his sword and lingered in the air like the sound of tide that extended continuously to the merging of the sky and the sea.
Chen Zong trembled from head to toe as though he were hit by lightning. A strong feeling of numbness overwhelmed all his bones. His arms and legs could not help quivering.
Blood and Qi vibrated inside as if there were a tiger roaring. Chen Zong dropped his sword and posed Tiger Squat unconsciously. He pushed out all distracting thoughts and silently read the pithy formula of Tiger-Roaring Knack so as to fully concentrate on controlling them.
In his mediation, he “saw” red trickles shaking in a marvelous way and emitting fitful sounds like tiger roaring.
The Blood and Qi in Chen Zong’s body was circulating at an amazing rate as if a seething flood from a destroyed dam were gradually out of control. His skin turned red and body temperature quickly increased, as if he were to burn.
Chen Zong kept calm and tried his best to control his Blood and Qi. The running speed became slower and slower till it reached its normal speed. He was not very sure whether it was because of his endeavor or other reasons. Chen Zong found that the Blood and Qi in his mediation “looked” something different. The color was much brighter. “Does it mean…”An idea cropped up and Chen Zong immediately tried to run his Blood and Qi.
Blood and Qi ran at an increasing speed through his whole body. Chen Zong felt his body became light and graceful as soon as his skin slightly turned red.
The force standard to measure the peak of Qi and Blood Condition of level three was five hundred jin. Chen Zong had already been familiar with it and was equipped with the force for a certain time. Therefore, he could tell any tiny progress in force.
His feeling was correct. With the help of Blood and Qi movement, his body was enhanced comprehensively, especially the force, about a hundred jin.
That was to say, he had refined his Blood and Qi of his entire body once. He accomplished it ahead of schedule, at least over half a month.
After refining the Blood and Qi in his body three times, a disciple could make a breakthrough to level four and he became a warrior.
Normally, it took a learner four months to get in touch with Tiger-Roar Knack and make his first successful refining of blood and Qi. It took him about two months to achieve initial study, and the rest two months were spent on his formal refining of blood and Qi.
The second refining required more time, at least three months. The third time called for four months at least.
That was to say, normally speaking, a disciple with talent on average level had to spend nearly one year on refining three times his blood and Qi.
A more gifted man needed shorter time, perhaps nine months or even half a year. The less talented would spend over a year. If the latter failed to live up to the goal set by the clan hall, he had no choice but to be expelled.
Obviously, Chen Zong’s talent was not bad. In addition, a combination of different factors resulted in his miracle. He started his study on Tiger Roar Knack and finished the first refining in merely a month.
“It looks like that I may refine my blood and Qi three times in half a year and have a breakthrough in my Qi and Blood Condition to level four.” Chen Zong’s eyes brimmed with radiating vigor. A fighting spirit animated him.
To be a warrior was his second short-term goal.
He could not help feeling excited when this goal was around the corner. He breathed deeply several times so as to calm himself down.
He put his sword back into its sheath and posed the Prostrate Sword Type again.
The Draw Sword Type!
The iron sword sliced the front with a bright light like a waning moon in the sky, causing a fitful of roaring.
It marked the Great Achievement of Eight Types of Real Sword.
The inner potentials of Chen Zong were stimulated, which expanded his Blood and Qi swiftly. To refine via the vibration of Tiger-Roar Knack after getting rid of constraint of Blood and Qi was the result of serendipity.
The Eight Types of Real Sword had a very promotional function for refining. From Initial Achievement to Great Achievement, the supplementary effect was even more obvious when compared with the period of Tiger Fist, from Great Achievement to Completeness. In addition, three swordsmanship styles pertaining to basic martial arts all reached Great Achievement. Repeated accumulation led to tonight’s breakthrough.
Chen Zong had never trumpeted his practice improvement, even to Chen Chuyun.
Chen Zong consolidated the Eight Types of Real Sword again. He found that it was very late and time to sleep so as to revitalize for tomorrow because group match would arrive, once in a month, which was also the first match after coming to the clan hall.
Chen Zong was determined to win the first place in the group match!