CHAPTER 136: 【097】FRACTURED MARTIAL ARTS, LOST INNER POWER, ‘STORM’ STRIKES_5

In the deep mountains, there’s an abundance of poisonous resources, which makes it easier to satisfy Fifth Master’s training needs; hence, he has always resided in this temple, rarely venturing out.

Occasionally, when he has time, he’ll open the mechanism in the underground chamber of the great hall and throw some wild beasts down, preventing the junior brother trapped at the bottom from starving to death.

Simultaneously, he’ll throw some poisonous creatures down to torment this rebellious disciple who betrayed his teacher and ancestors. Anyway, with the Five Poison Sect’s inner power, Fifth Master doesn’t worry that the junior brother will be poisoned by the creatures.

It’s primarily about torture.

"Fifth Master, you are the first dark force expert I’ve encountered since I began practicing martial arts. May I ask, how many parts of your body can you cover with dark force point striking?"

The clouds again obscured the sun, making the mountains somber and cool. It’s now June, with less scorching sunlight, Wang Longhu himself feels much more comfortable.

"My talent is limited, for twenty years, I’ve been unable to apply dark force point striking to my head and lower body. The twelve meridians remain incomplete, otherwise my inner power wouldn’t be limited to practicing poison skill only on my arms." Fifth Master sighed regretfully.

For many ordinary martial artists, reaching Ming Jin is already a huge accomplishment, but once they achieve it, they aspire for the next level.

For those at Wang Longhu and Fifth Master’s level of dark force, the situation is similar; who wouldn’t want to practice Huajin, open a brand-new door, and witness new worldly wonders?

But reaching Huajin is incredibly difficult; many martial artists spend their whole lives unable to achieve it.

Martial arts adhere to a peak principle: if you haven’t reached it by age 35, then you never will; there’s no such thing as enlightenment in old age.

This mirrors the chess world idea of ’if you haven’t become a national player by age twenty, you’ll never have hope’.

Unless it’s a rare skill like child prodigy training, which becomes more effective with practice over time, most martial arts emphasize the last chance during one’s prime.

Like Fifth Master, spending twenty years without achieving dark force point striking on head and lower body, stepping into Huajin, to be honest, he knew he already had no hope.

"Then Fifth Master, how did you manage dark force point striking on the body? I use Xingyi Boxing’s Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound to temper the internal organs, but the effect is not very evident, after a period of hard work, only my limbs have gained some benefits." Wang Longhu asked.

"Though I don’t practice Xingyi Boxing, I know Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound mainly refines tendons and bones. To temper the internal organs, the lungs and heart require Baji Fist’s Hum-Ha Breathing, while intestines, kidneys, and liver are best served by Wudang’s Frog Fishing Skill,

you only used Tiger Leopard Thunder Sound for internal organ refinement, so ninety percent of its effect worked on your tendons and bones, only ten percent on internal organs, resulting in ineffective performance. Martial artists without inner power have this trouble, wanting to refine specific parts requires specific martial arts static techniques,

unlike inner power, targeting the entire body’s meridians; if gifted enough, time will naturally open up all meridians and acupuncture points, easily achieving Huajin." Fifth Master shook his head, pointing out the issue within modern martial arts.

Having experienced two hundred years of structural turmoil, domestic martial arts have become disjointed, with many martial arts severely damaged or destroyed, losing the critical link that is inner power.

Today’s domestic martial arts world resembles cultivators in the Dharma-ending era, wanting to break through to higher realms is as difficult as ascending to heaven.

Even achieving dark force is extremely difficult, let alone Huajin, as Fifth Master said, if there were inner power, modern martial artists’ progress would be faster.

Inner power can help people quickly grasp refining essence into energy and how internal energy circulates through the twelve meridians, making it easier to achieve Ming Jin and then dark force.

"Hum-Ha Breathing, Frog Fishing Skill..." Wang Longhu pondered thoughtfully, with Fifth Master revealing the solution like lighting a guiding lamp, he began to clear the fog surrounding the realm of dark force, seeing the path forward.

"If you don’t cultivate inner power, you can only follow the ’Hundred Schools Proficiency’ path, taking the strengths of various martial arts to compensate for the training of your body’s different parts—Tai Chi, Xingyi, Eight Trigrams, Wing Chun, Wudang Inner Family—all need to be involved. Only by understanding the intentions of various martial arts can you integrate and use them to improve yourself,

this path is hard to travel; some people spend half their lives mastering just one form of boxing, let alone simultaneously practicing Hundred Schools Proficiency. Only those with great perseverance, wisdom, and talent can achieve it. I think you’d find it easier to learn my Five Poison Sect’s inner power, with your talent, I believe reaching Huajin would be a matter of within five years post inner power exposure."

Wang Longhu tapped his fingers on his knee, lost in thought, seemingly contemplating something.

Seeing this, Fifth Master immediately closed his mouth. Having trained for many years, he can discern that Wang Longhu is in a sort of epiphany state due to his guidance.

In such a state, one’s mind can burst forth many useful or new ideas, which is inspiration.

With inspiration, martial artists sometimes make unexpected breakthroughs; the most taboo at this time is disturbing them, breaking their thought process.

Because some inspiration, once missed, might never return.

Although Fifth Master practices poison skill and hails from the Five Poison Sect, which sounds like a villainous faction, his character is upright and just; abhorring evil, otherwise, he wouldn’t have felt guilty for mistakenly attacking Wang Longhu, thinking him malicious.