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墨書 Inktalez
Lufan knew that he was only one step away from the Refining Meat Realm. He could clearly feel that as long as he pushed himself a little further, perhaps by practicing the Horizontal Training of the Thirteen Guardians a couple more times, he would surely be able to break into that realm.
However, he did not choose to do so, as it felt somewhat forced. He wanted to break through in the most natural state possible; after all, when water is full, it overflows. It was best to let things happen naturally.
Now that both his internal energy and physical body had reached a peak, with a breakthrough imminent and nothing left to practice, Lufan still had other things to do—he needed to practice his punches.
Yes, practice punches, not swords.
This was a decision Lufan had made long ago. Although he had initially mastered the Breaking Sword Style of Dugu Nine Swords, that did not mean he would only practice swordsmanship in the future or become a pure Swordsman.
Lufan understood very well that, at his core, he was not suited to be a pure Swordsman.
A true Swordsman should be someone who dedicates their entire life’s energy to pursuing the highest swordsmanship—a genuine sword fanatic. However, Lufan was not that kind of person.
To Lufan, swordsmanship was merely a means of combat. Previously, he lacked offensive techniques and happened to have the Nameless Dagger in hand, which is why he chose to practice swordsmanship first.
But this did not mean he would follow the path of swordsmanship in the future; his nature did not allow him to become a great Swordsman—he could only say it was a matter of timing.
Moreover, while Swordsmen possess unparalleled offensive capabilities and are extremely powerful in terms of attack, few other Martial Cultivators can compare. This also makes Swordsmen quite unique.
Swordsmen emphasize offense; every strike is delivered with full force and incredible power, aiming to end battles in the shortest time possible—one strike determines life or death.
However, as the saying goes: strength cannot last long. Once it turns into a prolonged battle, if they cannot achieve victory quickly, Swordsmen may appear to lack stamina and face repeated failures until they exhaust themselves.
This is determined by the martial philosophy of Swordsmen. It is not necessarily a weakness; rather, it is precisely because of this extreme martial philosophy that Swordsmen are incredibly powerful. Among various Martial Cultivators, the strength of Swordsmen is widely recognized and can easily place them among the top three.
The swordsman is undoubtedly powerful, but this does not apply to Lufan, as he is about to engage in the longest war of attrition in this world. After all, his opponent is the very rules of this world.
In the face of the omnipresent, formless pressure of the world, even a powerful swordsman would be helpless.
Even if one day Lufan could condense his own sword intent, the situation would likely not improve much.
After all, sword intent emphasizes cutting through everything with sharpness, but can it really sever the rules of the world? Even if he could reach that level, it would be an extraordinary realm, and Lufan has no confidence in his swordsmanship talent to achieve such a state.
The sword is destined to be merely a means of attack for him, but it cannot become his pursuit.
However, the fist is different. The sword is extreme, while the fist is inclusive and substantial. The philosophy of the fist is to embrace and bear everything. If one were to delve into it, Fist Technique should be considered the first martial art practiced by humanity.
All martial arts in the world can find their shadows within Fist Technique. It could even be said that regardless of the weapon—swords, spears, halberds, clubs—everything has evolved from Fist Technique; they are extensions and variations of the fist.
Therefore, Lufan intends to practice the fist. The inclusiveness and weightiness of the fist's philosophy are exactly what he needs.
Moreover, starting from the fundamental Fist Technique is the best choice for Lufan to understand martial arts across the world.
At the same time, during his practice of the fist, Lufan can better comprehend and explore the various changes and subtleties of internal energy within techniques like Small Invisibility Skill and Heaven and Earth Great Shift, making it a multifaceted endeavor.
Having decided to practice the fist, Lufan no longer seeks another location. The cave he has chosen is situated in a quiet little valley where even small animals are rarely seen—an ideal place for practicing.
He is not in a hurry to return to Qingyang City; after all, Li Hao and Wang Yan are dead, and the bandits have fled. There is nothing threatening Fatty and the others now, allowing him to practice with peace of mind.
To practice the fist requires selecting Fist Techniques. Lufan never thought he could achieve anything remarkable in a short time; he was unsure what to choose. So he decided to start with the simplest techniques and practice a bit of everything to familiarize himself with fist principles.
Thus, from that day on, Lufan began cultivating various foundational Fist Techniques. He practiced styles such as Taizu Changquan, Shaolin Changquan, Cha Quan, Luohanquan, Wudang Changquan, and Huashan's Changquan Shiduanjin among others.
He did not require each Fist Technique to be mastered in depth; many Fist Techniques had their own principles and reasoning, making it difficult to distinguish right from wrong at times. Instead, he simply practiced these basic Fist Techniques repeatedly.
The saying goes that practicing a fist a thousand times reveals its meaning; as long as one practices enough, many truths will naturally become clear.
After a long period of practice, Lufan once again fell into the same obsessive state he had experienced while cultivating the Dugu Nine Swords, completely immersed in the world of martial arts. He was in a daze, unaware of the passage of time, wholly focused on practicing the Fist Technique.
This time, due to the presence of Primordial Liquid, he didn't even need to worry about finding food. Whenever he felt his energy and blood were insufficient, he would swallow a drop of Primordial Liquid and continue practicing his punches.
This was a function Lufan discovered by accident; Primordial Liquid surprisingly also had the ability to replenish energy and blood. This was far superior to ordinary natural energy. Typically, Martial Cultivators used natural energy for cultivation but still needed to eat; otherwise, their bodies could easily suffer losses.
If others knew that Lufan was treating the incredibly precious Primordial Liquid as food, they would surely want to strangle him. Was something refined by a master meant to be wasted like this?
Unfortunately for Lufan, resources only realized their value when they quickly transformed into strength; otherwise, they were no different from a pile of dead objects and utterly useless.
Whenever his internal energy was depleted, Lufan would consume a drop of Primordial Liquid and then continue practicing his punches. During any spare time, he would ponder the principles of boxing, hardly missing any moments—even in his dreams, he was practicing the Fist Technique.
Once Lufan's foundational Fist Technique reached a certain level of proficiency, he began practicing basic palm techniques, Finger Techniques, and claw techniques. Strictly speaking, fists and palms are inseparable; these are also forms of boxing but merely differ in their external expressions.
Soft Palm, Bagua Dragon Palm, Splitting Air Palm, Heavenly Net Formation... Lufan practiced each of these palm techniques one by one.
With the foundation of previous Fist Techniques and an increasing familiarity with the Minor Wuxiang Skill and Heaven and Earth Great Shift, Lufan found that his training in palm techniques progressed faster than with the earlier Fist Techniques.
In the mountains where there were no days or nights, Lufan lost track of how much time had passed during this period of cultivation. This time he practiced punches with even more obsession than before when he practiced swordsmanship, forgetting even to keep track of the days.
He only knew that he would rise to practice punches at dawn and stop at sunset to study manuals and ponder boxing principles. At midnight, he would go to sleep, repeating this cycle in harmony with the way of heaven.
During this time, Lufan still had not broken through to the Flesh Refinement stage.
On this day, Lufan was practicing a set of palm techniques in the valley. His movements were slow and steady, with gentle motions as his palms struck the Void left and right. It appeared soft and unstructured.
However, upon closer observation, one could discern the hidden intricacies of this palm technique. With each light strike, the air trembled, producing a popping sound that concealed lethal intent. Although the movements seemed chaotic, they flowed seamlessly; if he were to engage an opponent, a single strike could lead to an endless series of variations, making it truly difficult to defend against.
This was because Lufan had already transcended the constraints of techniques and grasped a thread of continuous truth within them.
This set of palm techniques was known as Mian Zhang.
Mian Zhang is quite representative in Taoist martial arts, with many profound Taoist techniques reflecting its essence, such as Tai Chi Chuan and Taiji Sword.
Mian Zhang is easy to learn but difficult to master; it is a martial art that is not hard to begin with, but reaching its advanced levels is no less than any other martial art, making it quite distinctive.
Now, observing Lufan's condition, it was evident that he had truly comprehended a fragment of the essence of Mian Zhang, which was quite rare.
Lufan continued practicing Mian Zhang, his body moving freely as his intent flowed with his movements. His entire being exuded a harmonious aura, and his palm techniques were continuous and fluid like flowing water.
Gradually, even the air around him began to swirl, appearing incredibly mysterious.
As he completed the final move of Mian Zhang and maintained his starting posture without moving, the surrounding airflow calmed down. He sensed that he had inadvertently broken through to the Refining Meat Realm.
At the same time, the Heavenly Tribulation he had anticipated was about to descend without fail.
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