Chapter 3: Nine Yang Thunder Fist

After some time, Yulian managed to compose himself.

“Since my body isn’t strong enough to weather my Spiritual Force, there is only one option if I wish to survive! I will have to strengthen my body! A body strong enough to withstand my Spiritual Force!”

Bravely making this decision, Yulian put up a search query for ‘martial arts techniques suitable for ordinary martial artists (not Fighters) to practice in’.

Almost instantly, a list of ‘Foundation-level Martial Art techniques’ came up. Foundation-level martial arts were techniques suitable for young martial artists training to be Fighters. These martial arts help to build a foundation for a career as a Fighter. Since these Martial Arts were targeted towards martial artists aiming to be Fighters, they were put up for free.

In all, there was a large list of Foundation Martial Arts techniques, beginning from Grade E to Grade A. As expected, the absolute worst Foundation Martial Arts techniques were graded E, while the absolute best were graded A.

Yulian had a casual look through the E-grade Foundation Martial Arts. Some martial arts from year 2014, like karate, judo, kickboxing, etc. were listed. For a moment, Yulian felt disappointed. He was an avid practitioner of kickboxing in his previous life.

Yulian quickly scrolled down to the end of the page, where the Grade A Foundation Martial Arts were listed.

“Nine Yang Thunder Fist, Flame Destruction Spear Fist, Dance of Myriad Shadows…” Not surprisingly, these martial arts techniques had rather cool names. Yulian had a look at the first martial art technique, Nine Yang Thunder Fist.

“The Nine Yang Thunder Fist is an abridged version of the legendary ‘Nine Stage Thunder Blade’ technique, created by the legendary Fighter ‘Thunder Lord’. The Nine Yang Thunder Fist consists of two techniques, the breathing technique, ‘Nine Yang’ and the unarmed combat technique ‘Thunder Fist’. 

The Nine Yang Thunder Fist is a technique that can train the internal passages and the external body. Most importantly, it creates a good foundation for the ‘Nine Stage Thunder Blade’ technique, allowing the user to train to a high level in the technique!”

After reading the technique description, Yulian decided that he would train in this technique!

The reason was simple! The protagonist of Swallowed Star, Luo Feng, trained in the Nine Stage Thunder Blade! This meant that the Nine Stage Thunder Blade technique was the best technique! And thus, the Nine Yang Thunder Fist, the abridged version of the Nine Stage Thunder Blade, was the best Foundation level technique!

…

After downloading the technique manual and practice videos, Yulian decided to have a look at the list of martial arts instructors.

It was possible to hire instructors to teach the Nine Yang Thunder Fist. Yulian decided that he would have a glance at the technique instructor profiles. If he found a person suitable for training him, Yulian would ask Jack to hire him. The price wouldn’t matter. After all, it was a question of Yulian’s life. In the end, if Yulian managed to survive, he would pay back Jack after he became a Fighter.

Like this, Yulian began looking up the profiles of the instructors capable of training him in the Nine Yang Thunder Fist.

…

Twenty minutes later, Yulian had a long look at the profiles of the instructors capable of training him. Unfortunately, most of them were crippled, having lost their eyes, arms, etc. Naturally, they all were retired Fighters, since having lost limbs made it impossible for them to fight.

The best Fighter in the horde of cripples was an Intermediate Warlord level Fighter, Zhang Wei. In actuality, he too had lost his left foot, but he had it replaced with a prosthetic, so he was a capable, active Fighter.

Name: Zhang Wei

Age: 36

Rank: Intermediate Warlord

Status: Active

Technique: Nine Stage Thunder Blade – Stage 2 Mastered

Note: Lost left foot during a battle, replaced with Bionic Armament Prosthetic.

The man was a black haired, rugged Chinese man with powerful muscles. The coldness of his eyes caused Yulian’s heart to skip a beat!

This Zhang Wei was certainly the best trainer in the group. His skill with the Nine Stage Thunder Blade was the highest. Unfortunately, he had lost his foot, but since it had been replaced with a Bionic Armament Prosthetic, it wouldn’t interfere when he was teaching the Nine Yang Thunder Fist technique. After all, he would only be teaching an abridged part of the Nine Stage Thunder Blade technique.

Yulian immediately called Jack and ordered him to his room! He had an instructor to hire!

…

“I want to hire this guy. How much does he cost?” Yulian pointed at Zhang Wei’s title on the monitor. Jack quickly checked and replied, “10 million!”

“Can you afford it?” Yulian didn’t want to impose on Jack too much.

Fortunately, Jack immediately replied, “Afford it? 10 million is chump change for me!” While speaking, he even sounded as if he was insulted!

Jack quickly sent a Private Message to the guy. Five minutes later, Zhang Wei replied. Fifteen minutes of furious typing ensued, and Yulian’s training schedule was quickly hammered out.

“Zhang Wei will train you for every Sunday for this month, starting from tomorrow! This means… that he’ll only train you for four days! In this month, he will train you in the Nine Yang Thunder Fist! On the bright side, you can have him train you for as long as you want, so you must take full advantage of his assistance to train!”

Yulian quietly nodded. For the next month, the Warlord expert Zhang Wei will be training him! In this one month, Yulian promised to himself, that he will certainly master the Nine Yang Thunder Fist to become a Warrior!

…

Jack quickly left after the matter about hiring Zhang Wei was done. After Jack left, Yulian decided to practice the Nine Yang Thunder Fist technique!

The practice methods for the Nine Yang Thunder Fist technique were freely available on the internet! He had already downloaded the videos and instruction manual! After some time watching the videos of Fighters performing the technique, Yulian began copying them!

In most xianxia novels, cultivation involved refining the essence of Heaven and Earth into the Dantian, breaking through blocked meridians, purifying the internal body and other esoteric exercises. By reading such grand words, the enthusiasm of an aspirant martial artist would be nearly destroyed! Fortunately, the Nine Yang Thunder Fist was pretty simple to understand!

The Nine Yang Thunder Fist technique consisted of a breathing technique and a barehanded fighting technique. By synchronizing the body movements and breathing technique, the Nine Yang Thunder Fist would train the body to surpass its limits. Theoretically, it was possible for a Fighter training in the Nine Yang Thunder Fist technique to comprehend the first stage of the Nine Stage Thunder Blade technique!

Yulian sat down in a cross-legged posture, training in the Nine Yang breathing technique. All his concentration was focused on his breath.

Breath in, breath out… As Yulian practiced the Nine Yang breathing technique, he faintly began to feel the circulation of energy within his body. As Yulian carried out the breathing technique, his perception of the current of energy flowing through his body began to get clearer and clearer.

Yulian, fascinated by the process, continued his meditation. Soon, he could completely sense the flow and circulation of the mysterious energy inside his body. Just then, Yulian flinched as a cold chill went through his feet. Yulian immediately stopped his breathing technique and stood up.

Yulian immediately found out that under his feet, a pool of water had formed. Checking himself, he found out that his entire body was red! His body was as hot as a cooked chicken! The pool of water turned out to be sweat! He was sure that if he had checked his body temperature, it would have shown a large number.

For a moment, Yulian flinched. While meditating, he was in a trance-like state. If he wasn’t distracted by the cold chill from his own sweat… perhaps, he would have exploded from the inside!

Yulian immediately took a deep breath and calmed himself. Today, he had resolved himself to become strong enough to survive but somehow, he ended up having a near-death experience in no time at all!

“Before everything, I should have a drink of water. So much sweat… I am pretty sure I am dehydrated now.” Surprisingly, the usual symptoms of dehydration were absent. Yulian did not feel even a little dizzy.

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…

In the end, Yulian did not rush down to the kitchen for water. He called the Elite-Rank maid, Martha, and asked her to fetch him water. When Martha brought him a 10 liter canister of mineral water, he ended up nearly emptying it before his thirst was gone. When Yulian did that, Martha wasn’t surprised at all. Yulian did not realize that the ‘mineral water’ from 2048 was more than ten times more effective than any ‘sports drink’ from 2014! After drinking it, Yulian’s skin color turned from red to white again, and a refreshing feeling went through his body.

In the end, Martha shifted 50 large packs of mineral water bottles to his room. The packs of water were stuffed in the room cupboards so that if there was another such ‘emergency’, he could be prepared.

…

After checking the time and some simple calculations, Yulian found out that it was 10:30 am! He unknowingly spent two and a half hours in meditation!

The Nine Yang Thunder Fist manual explained that it was difficult for most beginners to train in the breathing technique, yet surprisingly, Yulian ended up training for two and a half hours! From this, Yulian concluded that the fact he had read on the internet, ‘All Spirit Readers are blessed with great talent in martial training’, was indeed true!

After searching on the internet, Yulian found out that the reason why his body began heating up! The ‘Nine Yang’ breathing technique was basically a simplified version of the ‘Nine Stage Thunder Blade’! As it turned out, the ‘Nine Yang’ breathing technique would internally train the body through the circulation of Genetic Energy. Even though it was impossible to cultivate genetic energy from the world without becoming a Fighter, it was still possible to sense and circulate the Genetic Energy within the body. Meanwhile, the ‘Thunder Fist’ technique trained the body externally, by strengthening the bones and muscles, to increase the strength capable of being exerted by the body.

By training the two in tandem, the body would be trained from the inside-out!

Yulian quickly went through some quick warm-up exercises! After that, he earnestly began training in the Thunder Fist technique! Before, when he was practicing the breathing technique, the circulation of his innate Genetic Energy filled him up with a large amount of energy!

By training in the Thunder Fist technique, he slowly burnt this energy up!

Fingers, fist, arms, neck, legs… Every muscle in Yulian’s body was strained to its extreme as Yulian trained in the Thunder Fist technique. As he switched between stances and shifted his body, the flexibility of his body was tested. Like this, Yulian continued his training.

…

Two and a half hours had passed by when Yulian finished his training. Every part of his body had been fully exhausted. Yulian quickly wiped his sweaty body with a towel as he panted.

It was 1:00 pm now. Yulian was astounded at the endurance level of his body! Bitter training for 2.5 hours with a 7 year old body… This was something only a wuxia or xianxia protagonist was capable of.

‘Well, I somehow ended up in a xianxia world, so I guess that I am a xianxia protagonist now.’ Yulian wryly smiled as he thought about it.

After training his body for two and a half hours, Yulian was filled with hunger. After wiping his body, Yulian put on his clothes and walked down to the kitchen for lunch.

…

“Yulian, you have eaten two plates full and you are still hungry? The ‘Nine Yang Thunder Fist’ must be very taxing on your body!” The Elite-rank maid, Martha laughed as she once more piled Yulian’s plate with food. Yulian quickly devoured it.

“Thanks! I am full now!” The meat was from monsters killed by Fighters! Eating it was very nourishing to the body.

Yulian left the task of cleaning up the plates to Martha. He quickly ran back to his room!

After performing a few flexibility exercises created to aid digestion, Yulian returned to his Nine Yang Thunder Fist training.

Previously, Yulian had been independently performing the ‘Nine Yang’ breathing technique and the ‘Thunder Fist’ unarmed fighting technique. Now, he decided that he would combine the two techniques to train in the ‘Nine Yang Thunder Fist’ Foundation level martial art!

An ordinary fighter would find it impossible to comprehend the ‘Nine Yang’ and ‘Thunder Fist’ techniques in a day! Yulian was sure that he was a talented in martial arts and perhaps, a genius!

All his exhaustion from his earlier training had disappeared. Yulian started using the ‘Nine Yang’ breathing technique. The Genetic Energy began circulating in his body. At the same time, he twisted his body in the stances of the ‘Thunder Fist’ technique!

Performing two tasks at once was taxing to any mind. But surprisingly, Yulian could perform the two tasks of training his breathing technique and fist technique at the same time, with utter ease. For a moment, Yulian stopped training and wondered- could this be the ‘Mental Dividing’ technique famous in xianxia and wuxia novels?

Immediately, Yulian decided to test that. He quickly searched around the room and found two pens and a notebook. He opened the notebook, grasped the two pens in his two hands and began writing.

On the left page, he wrote ‘Yulian’. On the right, ‘Starlighter’. He wrote the two words, with different hands, at the same time!

Seeing that, Yulian was amazed. The ability to divide his mind into two meant that he could simultaneously train in the two techniques of the ‘Nine Yang Thunder Fist’. It also meant that his perception and comprehension in the field of martial arts would be extraordinary. But above everything, it meant that he could survive.

Having identified his rare talent, Yulian was filled up by a burst of enthusiasm. He immediately returned to practicing the ‘Nine Yang Thunder Fist’.

…

Synchronizing the movements of the external body with the circulation of internal energy. When Yulian punched, he circulated his Genetic Energy to his fists! When he kicked, he circulated Genetic Energy to his feet! Due to this, the strength displayed by him was vastly increased! Due to the simultaneous training of his external body with his internal energy, his entire body was being slowly refined!

Yulian could sense the slow evolution of his body as he trained his body! He couldn’t help but immerse himself into the feeling. As Yulian concentrated and trained his body, he gradually lost all track of time…

…

It was 9:00 pm. Soon, it would be time for dinner. Yulian Starlighter had fallen in an awkward position on the floor. He had carried out an astonishing 7 hours of continuous training! This was his first time training in martial arts in this world, and he ended up training for half the day… Yulian did not know whether to laugh or cry.

Yulian’s sweaty body was splayed on the floor. Every inch of his body was strained by his ruthless training. Completely exhausted, Yulian did not even have the strength to lift himself up from the floor.

Fallen on the floor and unable to move, Yulian fell into thought. Today, he trained for 12 hours! In his previous life, the longest Yulian had trained himself was for 5 hours, when he was practicing for a kickboxing tournament.

The reason he trained for this long, was not only because of motivation from his imminent death if he failed to practice! He trained because it was amazingly effective! In his previous life, only after diligent training for decades would martial arts have a major effect on a person’s fighting skill! Noticeable improvement of the body after a single day’s training was impossible!

But today, Yulian had diligently trained for the majority of the day, and he could clearly feel that he had improved! Just this simple fact made training especially addictive for Yulian!

Pursue your limits, surpass your limits! After surpassing the limit of 900 kg. fist strength, Yulian would become a fighter with the ability to cultivate Genetic Energy! After that, he would awaken his Spiritual Force and become an unrivalled fighter!

Just then, his cellphone (provided by Jack earlier) started ringing. Yulian forced his body to stand up and accepted the call. “Yulian! Quickly come to the dinner room!” Jack’s harsh voice sounded on the phone.

“Yeah, I am coming!” Yulian got up from the floor and went down for dinner. Having exhausted his energy in training, a good meal would be paramount in regaining it!