High Martial Arts: Enlightenment after Practices-Chapter 73: Instant Shadow Step
A notification chimed, confirming the exchange. Xu Wuyi wasted no time and immediately began absorbing the knowledge of the "Instant Shadow Step."
Unlike the abstruse nature of the "Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace," which involved complex circulation throughout the entire body, the core principle of "Instant Shadow Step" was very simple—
It involved compressing one’s Qi and Blood in an instant, infusing it into specific acupoints in the feet, and then erupting with force to generate an extremely powerful burst of propulsion.
’Concentrate power to a single point, then erupt in an instant... The principle doesn’t sound complicated, but the required precision for controlling Qi and Blood is extremely high.’ Xu Wuyi carefully contemplated the key points of the legacy information.
Before, he might have found this very difficult. But after undergoing the rigorous Qi and Blood circulation Refinement from the "Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace," his control was on a completely different level.
He withdrew his consciousness from the Battle Network and returned to his home.
Xu Wuyi cleared a space in his cramped bedroom. He didn’t rush to attempt the complete Step Technique. Instead, following the basic training method from the teachings, he started by infusing Qi and Blood into a single foot.
He calmed his mind and centered his breathing, using his Intention to guide a thread of condensed Qi and Blood slowly toward the Yongquan acupoint on the sole of his right foot.
The process had to be extremely precise. Too little Qi and Blood wouldn’t produce enough explosive force, while too much could damage the acupoints and meridians, or even cause him to lose control of his Qi and Blood.
On his first attempt, the infusion of Qi and Blood was a bit rushed, and he felt a slight, bloating pain in the sole of his foot.
[Excessive Qi and Blood flow. Minor path deviation. Practice terminated.]
The prompt from the "Martial Arts Diligence Record" arrived as expected.
Xu Wuyi adjusted his breathing, slowed down, and tried again.
This time, he was even more careful, guiding and compressing his Qi and Blood bit by bit, as if he were sculpting with the finest carving knife.
[Standard Qi and Blood flow. Incorrect posture. Practice terminated.]
’The notification changed! That means I got the direction of the Qi and Blood flow right!’
Xu Wuyi’s spirits lifted, and he focused his attention on his posture and adjusting his center of gravity.
Once, twice, three times...
He became completely immersed in these tedious micro-adjustments, losing all track of time as he steadily made progress.
As expected of a C+ Level technique, the "Instant Shadow Step" involved even more refined control of Qi and Blood.
But, that was all.
Compared to cultivating the "Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace," which required coordinating dozens of Qi and Blood pathways simultaneously, the difficulty of this Body Technique seemed almost "simplistic."
With such a foundation, Xu Wuyi’s perspective and ability to learn other Martial Arts had risen to a new level.
He was suddenly beginning to understand why Chu Shanhe had been able to learn so many different Martial Arts.
Once you understood the most fundamental principles, learning other Martial Arts was more a matter of applying that knowledge and drawing parallels.
Therefore, Xu Wuyi was already very satisfied with his current learning speed.
After all, he was the same person who had once been stuck in the Beginner Stage of the "Basic Body Refining Technique" for two months. Even after obtaining the "Martial Arts Diligence Record," he still got stuck at almost every bottleneck he faced.
Precisely because he knew the pain of poor aptitude, he cherished his current, hard-won ability to learn all the more.
...
The next day, Xu Wuyi threw himself into his training once again.
After the previous day’s trial and error, he had become much more adept at infusing Qi and Blood into a single foot.
He began to attempt infusing Qi and Blood into both feet at once, coordinating it with the simplest stepping motions.
At his Intention’s command, the condensed Qi and Blood surged into the acupoints in his feet like soldiers receiving an order, then suddenly erupted!
A powerful thrust generated from the soles of his feet. Xu Wuyi felt his body lighten, as if an invisible force had shoved him, and he shot forward a great distance.
"BANG!"
Unfamiliar with controlling the distance and force, he nearly slammed headfirst into the opposite wall. Fortunately, he braced himself with his hands just in time to avoid an "accident."
[Severe form distortion. Improper control following Qi and Blood burst. Practice terminated.]
The panel’s notification was merciless.
Xu Wuyi caught his breath, an excited expression on his face.
Even though he had failed, he had truly felt that instantaneous burst of speed!
’This speed... it’s incredible!’
In theory, he could accelerate by bursting his own Qi and Blood, but the effect was naturally far inferior to that of a meticulously designed Martial Art.
Xu Wuyi stopped being reckless. He returned to his starting position and began to practice again.
This time, he deliberately controlled the intensity of the Qi and Blood burst and focused more on maintaining his balance after the exertion.
From the most basic straight-line dashes, to small lateral dodges, and then to incorporating simple feints...
[Today’s standard training completed: 1 time]
When the familiar notification finally appeared, an entry for "Instant Shadow Step" quietly materialized in the Bronze Ancient Volume within Xu Wuyi’s sea of consciousness.
[Martial Art: Instant Shadow Step]
[Current Realm: Beginner (1.1%)]
[Martial Arts Traits: Not Unlocked]
[Assessment: Has grasped the rudiments. Initial burst evident. Control is crude.]
Looking at the data on the panel, Xu Wuyi wiped away his sweat.
As long as he could enter the "Beginner" stage, he wasn’t worried about what came next.
It was just a matter of repetitive practice, and that was precisely what he excelled at.
...
Xu Wuyi had officially incorporated "Instant Shadow Step" practice into his daily training regimen.
「The third day.」 𝐟𝗿𝐞𝚎𝚠𝐞𝚋𝕟𝐨𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝕔𝕠𝚖
Leveraging the abundant stamina forged by the "Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace," he managed to cram in one hundred effective training repetitions of the Instant Shadow Step each day, in addition to completing his Body Refining Technique and Spear Technique cultivation.
As the notification for the one hundredth effective repetition flashed, the profound state of "Enlightenment" descended upon him once more.
His consciousness seemed to be elevated, looking down upon the flow, Compression, and eruption of his Qi and Blood within the acupoints of his feet... Every minute detail became perfectly clear.
Many of the previously vague and confusing aspects of the technique now became crystal clear, like pearls wiped clean of dust.
When Xu Wuyi awoke from his Enlightenment, he immediately checked the panel.
[Instant Shadow Step Current Realm: Beginner (27.5%)]
A single Enlightenment had increased his proficiency by over 20%!
This leap in progress brought his understanding and mastery of the "Instant Shadow Step" to a whole new level.
This degree of growth was possible, on one hand, because the "Instant Shadow Step" was still in its Beginner Stage. On the other hand, Xu Wuyi’s own understanding of Martial Arts was far beyond what it once was.
The more mature a Martial Artist becomes, the faster they learn new Martial Arts. That was only natural.
In the days that followed, the pace of Xu Wuyi’s life remained intense and fulfilling.
By day, he painstakingly trained in the "Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace" and "Instant Shadow Step" at the school’s Martial Arts Dojo. By night, he unfailingly replaced sleep with Visualization of the "Mountain Shifting Technique."
He appropriately reduced his time spent on combat training. This was because once his Life Energy Level increased again and he grew proficient with the "Instant Shadow Step," his fighting style would undergo a significant change.
He planned to wait until early June to begin high-intensity combat practice, aiming to be in peak condition for the college entrance exams.
And with the boost from one hundred daily repetitions and the periodic Enlightenment, his proficiency with "Instant Shadow Step" skyrocketed.
Ten days later, when Xu Wuyi once again completed his hundred repetitions and emerged from his Enlightenment, the information on the panel had undergone a qualitative change:
[Martial Art: Instant Shadow Step]
[Current Realm: Entry Level (2.3%)]
[Martial Arts Traits: Rapid Speed (Initial Stage)]
[Assessment: Moves with startling agility, body like a flash of lightning. Short-distance maneuvering speed has been significantly enhanced.]
