I practice martial arts by adding skill points in modern city-Chapter 65: 【061】Practicing boxing under the sea

The sky wasn’t bright yet, a light drizzle fell, and a figure was running swiftly on the still dark mountain dirt road.

As you get closer, you can see clearly: this person always lands on the tip of their foot while running, springing off instantly, moving so fast that it seems like they are flying, with their feet barely touching the ground.

While others need to take two or three steps to cover a distance, this person can do it in one step, as fast as the wind.

After Wang Longhu raised "Three-Body Posture" to Lv4, his comprehension of lightweight skill deepened significantly in an unseen manner.

In Xingyi Boxing, there is a footwork known as Mud Treading Step.

After the passing of Xingyi Boxing Grandmaster Guo Yunshen, Shang Yunxiang inherited his teachings, becoming renowned across the land, and was hailed by martial arts circles as the ’Iron Foot Buddha’.

This was a praise for his Mud Treading Step; his footwork was swift and agile, moving as if a whirlwind was underfoot, his stance stable, and feet landed like roots of an old tree, standing in place unmoved by others trying to push or pull.

The power of his striking was immense, hitting directly with no obstacles, fully embodying the martial arts feature of ’hand strike for three, foot strike for seven’.

There’s a saying: ’teaching strikes but not footwork, teaching footwork would defeat the teacher’; for any martial art, footwork and stance are equally important, and Xingyi Boxing emphasizes practicing this Mud Treading Step.

The so-called Mud Treading Step implies that a martial artist needs to imagine walking through thick mud; stepping as if entangled by weeds, only able to progress slowly.

This practice involves feeling the resistance from mud and water, as the boxing classic says: ’step as if trudging through water, persist to insert and advance, lift foot as if from mud, move with resistance’.

Through this imaginary training, leading energy with intention, freeing lower limb meridians, stabilizing stance, enhancing lower limb striking and resilience; over time, profound skills develop, achieving steps like plowing earth, uprooting and flinging opponents; it amplifies a martial artist’s sensitivity and precision to external objects.

However, Wang Longhu’s lightweight skill summary, received from the great monk, differed in direction from Mud Treading Step.

Mud Treading Step seeks speed in slowness, stability in firmness, while lightweight skill summary aims for swifter run, higher leap, further jump.

Comparing the two, even without someone instructing, Wang Longhu can independently comprehend many insights.

Having successfully practiced Dark Force last night, this morning Wang Longhu distinctly perceived a significant physical transformation when practicing lightweight skill.

His legs felt lighter, thus his running speed increased.

In Ming Jin, a martial artist uses essence to twist and exert force, focusing externally.

It’s said that upon reaching Dark Force, essence flows internally, fostering organs, meridians, dramatically transforming physique, breaking many of the body’s original limits.

For instance, Bolt’s best 100-meter record is over 9 seconds, but an experienced Dark Force martial artist could easily break this record.

Because achieving the Dark Force level means the body is subtly undergoing a metamorphosis.

Body functions differ based on innate talent; whether it’s strength, speed, endurance, or intelligence, they each have varying upper limits.

Some can train to run under 9 seconds, some can lift seven to eight hundred pounds in barbell, but most can’t achieve these results despite training.

This is the limit of innate talent, and even those with superior innate talent face limits.

Practicing Dark Force breaks these limits, continuously smashing the martial artist’s physical function limits in a certain sense.

Dark Force martial artists become stronger, faster, and their observational skill sharper; that is the terror of Dark Force.

A key to unlocking the secret vault of human potential.

Very few obtain this key, with not even one in a hundred thousand people achieving it.

In ancient times, a Dark Force master could take an enemy leader’s head from amidst thousands, perhaps it truly wasn’t an impossible feat.

Boom!

Wang Longhu slightly exerted force on his foot, instantly leaving a clear footprint on the mountain road’s ground.

At the same time, using the reaction force, Wang Longhu leapt forward, swiftly covering a distance of six to seven meters.

This distance is enough to instantly assault and kill any ordinary martial artist.

Even a Ming Jin martial artist can’t block Wang Longhu’s strike infused with Dark Force after such an explosive burst.

Sprinting swiftly, Wang Longhu dashed toward the direction of the seaside dam.

...

Ever since the news reported Typhoon Coral was coming, Master Chen indeed did as he said previously, no longer coming to the seaside park for morning exercise.

Standing at the dam’s highest point, Wang Longhu looked down at the place where Master Chen’s group of elderly folks used to practice health preservation exercises, he couldn’t help but sigh.

In less than a month, the changes happening to himself were truly immense.

It was 5:01 AM; due to the rain, not a single person was visible on the whole dam, Wang Longhu directly leapt from the ten-plus-meter-high dam, utilizing the outside wall to ease the force, landing easily.

Gazing at the deep blue surface that hid the underwater scenery, Wang Longhu took a deep breath and began trudging toward the deeper ocean.

Since the idea of practicing martial arts in the sea arose yesterday, this thought hadn’t quieted, and he decided to give it a try today.

When his body below the waist was already soaked in seawater, the overwhelming resistance coming from all directions making Wang Longhu’s eyes brighten; this resistance was far stronger than the dead water in reservoirs.

Quickly, Wang Longhu was entirely submerged, strolling on the seabed, lowering his center of gravity, sinking his force, and only then not being pushed back to the surface by water pressure.

But the clothes he was wearing weren’t as fortunate, they all floated upward, severely hindering Wang Longhu’s progress.

Initially, Wang Longhu planned to take off his clothes and leave them on the shore, but worried about reckless fishermen appearing to fish in this weather, if they saw clothes left on the shore, thinking someone had jumped into the sea to commit suicide, that would be bad.

To be safe, Wang Longhu decided to practice martial arts while wearing clothes.

Reaching the depth of five to six meters, the powerful water pressure crammed from all around stopped Wang Longhu from advancing another step.

He realized this was currently his limit; practicing martial arts here would yield the best effect.

Without hesitation, Wang Longhu stood in Three-Body Posture, immediately starting Xingyi Boxing in place.

Previously practiced countless times on land, the swift Xingyi Boxing now in Wang Longhu’s hands was incredibly slow, as if performing Tai Chi.

Feeling the waves coming from all directions, crashing into him with water force, Wang Longhu for the first time clearly understood what force meant.

If Dark Force attacking acupoints was hard force, then these endless waves were soft force.

Wang Longhu had to follow these soft forces, or he’d be tossed by the waves, unable to remain on the seabed.

When he accomplishes complete integration, punching underwater as fluently as on land, Wang Longhu’s Dark Force will reach its pinnacle.

Surpassing mastery, reaching extraordinary skills, then, even as a young man, Wang Longhu can be rightfully called a ’Grandmaster’.

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