CHAPTER 380: CHAPTER 169: THOUSANDS OF WARRIORS IN THE WORLD, ONLY I AM ZHANG BEIXING!

At this moment, Zhang Beixing felt an unprecedented sense of confusion.

It was as if he had returned to five months ago, before he had started learning martial arts from Liu Yi, before he had been exposed to martial arts.

At that time, he was just as ignorant about martial arts as he was now.

But there was an essential difference between the two.

Five months ago, Zhang Beixing really didn’t understand anything. He wouldn’t have been able to fart even if hit with three sticks.

But now, he felt he understood too much. It was so much that words would be on the tip of his tongue, yet he wouldn’t know where to start.

This situation arose because he lacked something vitally important.

This missing element was as crucial as a human’s heart or a machine’s diesel fuel.

Without it, a person would be incomplete, fundamentally unable to function.

But what exactly is it? Zhang Beixing wondered, unable to figure it out!

He had never encountered such a problem since he began practicing martial arts.

The answer was clearly in his heart, yet he couldn’t find it no matter how hard he tried!

Yet he knew this ’thing’ was undoubtedly at the deepest level of martial arts; one could even call it the ’origin’ of the martial path!

Could it be that my research is still not thorough enough? Zhang Beixing muttered to himself.

Then he picked up his notes, flipped through them, and continued reading.

As the old saying goes, read a book a hundred times, and its meaning will become clear.

Zhang Beixing had come this far; everything was prepared. Could he really be stumped now?

I must not have looked carefully enough the first time, focusing only on the moves but forgetting their form and spirit. Let’s read it again!

Zhang Beixing considered this plausible. He picked up the book and reread the sections on the hundred schools of martial arts, this time with extreme care.

He wasn’t just examining the execution of each move’s form and intent. He also extended his thoughts to the circumstances of each martial art’s creation, the inspirations of their creators, and their underlying purposes. He continued this meticulous, word-by-word analysis.

「After a day and a night.」

PHEW—

Zhang Beixing put down his notes and let out a long breath.

He rubbed his swollen, sore eyes. He had gained some enlightenment but felt he still lacked practical application.

So Zhang Beixing stood up, walked out of the hut, and deeply inhaled the mountain air tinged with the scent of the earth.

ROAR!

A tiger’s roar seemed to emanate from within him as Zhang Beixing assumed the ’Three-Body Posture,’ the initial stance of Xingyi Fist. Following what he had just reviewed in his notes, he began to practice.

Swallow Skimming the Water, Furious Horse Tearing Reins, Palm Thrust Treading Snow...

Counting the time he fought Ma Yuankai, Zhang Beixing had only reviewed Xingyi Fist three times. Yet, he had already memorized all its moves and could perform them perfectly.

Such was the terrifying comprehension and learning ability brought on by a Spirit attribute as high as 110!

As Zhang Beixing’s moves flowed continuously, the words ’Xingyi Fist’ quietly reappeared in the Skill Bar on his Personal Panel. Its proficiency then increased at a rate visible to the naked eye.

By the time Zhang Beixing had executed the entire form, it was done: Xingyi Fist, Integration Achieved!

Zhang Beixing was completely unaware of this, still immersed in a state of self-forgetfulness. After completing Xingyi Fist, he immediately started performing Taizu Long Fist, Six Harmonies Fist, Tongbei Fist...

Whenever he mastered a martial art, it would start at the Integration level, appearing in the Skill Bar on the System panel.

In less than a day, Zhang Beixing’s Skill Bar displayed a series of martial arts names.

On the back mountain of the Shishi Military District, the sounds of Tiger Roar and Rolling Thunder echoed unceasingly, like the continuous rush of mighty rivers.

Zhang Beixing was like a man possessed.

Aside from sleeping, he even reduced his meal times, dedicating every other moment to relentless martial arts training!

「Three days later.」

BANG! BANG!

BOOM!

Executing the final Cross Hands movement of Tai Chi with a resounding impact, Zhang Beixing completed his form. He let out a long breath, his sweat evaporating in the mountain air, transforming the surroundings into an almost heavenly realm.

A glint of brilliance flashed in Zhang Beixing’s eyes!

After three days of frantic martial arts practice, today, he had finally performed all one hundred schools to completion!

After raising the proficiency of all hundred martial arts to the Integration level, Zhang Beixing finally had an epiphany, realizing what that vitally important missing piece was!

My core purpose was not clear enough, because I lacked a central idea!

This was his understanding gained while practicing the hundred schools of martial arts.

All martial arts possess a core purpose—an idea embodying an ultimate truth!

This is also what distinguishes Ultimate Skills from ordinary martial arts.

This purpose is their root. All subsequent moves of a martial art are developed from this foundational principle.

For example, the core purpose and central idea of Yue Family Continuous Fist was to rapidly train warriors to kill enemies, protecting their homes and defending their country.

Consequently, all its movements were designed to achieve this end. This made the martial art astonishingly lethal but also placed an extremely high burden on the practitioner’s body.

This was characteristic of ordinary martial arts!

Their core ideas were very simple, not containing any of Heavenly Dao’s Ultimate Truth.

Ultimate Skills, however, are built upon the existing foundation of martial arts. Compared to ordinary martial arts, they are more complete and possess a higher degree of refinement.

Ordinary martial arts have a high threshold for the Entry Level, testing talent, Constitution, and various other factors. Most practitioners can generally only reach realms around the Grandmaster or Pseudo Grandmaster level. The less capable ones might not even succeed in cultivating Hidden Force.

A classic example was the Unlimited Fighting Technique created by Chen He Gao in modern times.