Only when the sinews and bones are relaxed can the skin and flesh be fully trained.

On the rooftop of the barracks dormitory, Zhou Gang sat collapsed for a long while before he finally caught his breath.

That sensation of falling from the height had truly been beyond his expectations; it could even be said to have nearly scared the courage out of him, as though he had already stepped halfway through the gates of hell.

Fortunately, men like them trained with live weapons and real ammunition, so their willpower and nerve far surpassed those of ordinary people. Spurred on by Chen Jue’s provocation, their fighting spirit only burned brighter.

Once he had recovered, Zhou Gang climbed back onto the cement railing and resumed sparring with Chen Jue.

“Zhou Gang, your family’s Tiger-Taming Fist in the Straight Character style has already reached a certain level. It is hard and direct, broad and sweeping, and when combined with military combat techniques, it is enough to deal with ordinary opponents. But you still haven’t mastered the method of releasing force in full vigor. After a burst of strength, your momentum will leak away. Once that happens, you’ll be left unable to sustain yourself, and your opponent will easily seize the opening.”

“First, look at the back of my hand,” Chen Jue said, standing opposite Zhou Gang and raising one arm for him to see.

On Chen Jue’s arm, the pores expanded and contracted entirely under his control. Gooseflesh rose and fell at his will, and the knotted ridges that stood up like iron horsebeans made Zhou Gang’s pupils shrink to pinpoints.

“Coach... what is this?” It was Zhou Gang’s first time seeing someone’s skin controlled to such a degree.

“This is what refined skill looks like. Once you’ve trained the expression of force in full vigor, you can tighten and loosen your pores at will so body heat doesn’t escape so quickly. I’ve also trained several hardening methods. Touch it—feel my skin,” Chen Jue instructed.

Zhou Gang nodded and reached out to feel it. He found that when Chen Jue’s pores were open, his skin was smooth and supple. It did not feel like skin at all, but rather like jade—tough and weighty—yet without the roughness of calluses.

But once Chen Jue sealed his pores and the gooseflesh rose, it felt as if Zhou Gang were touching a slab of stubborn iron. Even if he scraped it with a sharp nail, at most he could leave a faint pale mark, which would vanish with a single rub.

“Coach! I want to learn that!” Hope lit up in Zhou Gang’s eyes. Such resistance to blows would be formidable if applied in combat.

“Tiger-Taming Fist in the Straight Character style includes methods for striking the whole body and training the bridge-hands, very similar to the Shaolin striking arts I learned. You’ve already built a foundation with this fist work before, so your body’s ability to take punishment is much stronger than that of an ordinary soldier. That’s also why you took first place in the regiment tournament. Your stamina is already abundant. The only thing lacking is full concentration—tightening and sealing the pores. Only then can you keep your breath from leaking away and make your explosive power last longer.”

“You can spar with me right here. Just keep attacking. As long as you can overcome fear and stop forgetting it, then you’ll not be far from a mind-and-intent burst and sealed pores.” Chen Jue had spent time studying boxing principles online, and with his own skill level, coaching a Zhou Gang who had not yet even grasped full-vigor force was naturally no difficult matter.

...

The two of them thus sparred atop the cement railing. During the practice, Zhou Gang misstepped dozens of times because his punches and power were too fierce, nearly toppling off the edge each time. Chen Jue caught him every time with lightning reflexes.

Like Daoist hermits of old, who built their huts in the mountains and cultivated in seclusion amid towering peaks, there was always someone to guard their life and practice—their senior brother, master, partner, disciple, and so on.

Without someone to shield them, if they one day tumbled off a cliff and were smashed to pulp, there might not even be anyone to collect their remains.

Thus they trained on the dark rooftop for two hours, resting three times in between. With each passing round, Zhou Gang felt better and better. Every move he threw had become more seamless and natural than before, and his power more precise and ferocious. He had gradually begun to grasp the secret of sealing the pores. His progress was so swift because Chen Jue had helped him steal a sliver of heaven’s mandate, pilfering skill from the hands of the gods.

“All right! That’s enough for today!”

“Remember the feeling from tonight’s boxing practice. Practice on your own for a while after this. With your family’s martial foundation, half a month should be enough for you to fully master the strength of full vigor.”

“There is a line in the boxing classics about full-vigor force: the sinews and bones must be loose, the skin and flesh must attack; every joint must connect through, and the emptiness and spirit must remain within. Go back and think it over carefully, and see whether it resembles the feeling you had while practicing just now.” Chen Jue’s gaze was sharp. At a glance, he saw that after Zhou Gang’s final punch, the pores on his arm had unconsciously closed. So he stopped teaching and offered a few comments.

“Sinews and bones must be loose, the skin and flesh must attack? It really does seem just as you said, Coach!” Zhou Gang nodded, savoring the feeling of boxing atop the cement railing, and found the line from the boxing classic exceedingly apt.

“Coach, will you still come again after this?” Zhou Gang asked, somewhat reluctant to part. Opportunities to receive such guidance from an expert were rare indeed.

“I live nearby. I’ll come over when I’m free, and we’ll see then. Stealing a chance from heaven isn’t something that works every day; it’s most effective the first time. After that, once you’ve fully overcome your fear, you won’t need to train at such a height. You can practice on the raised platform at the drill ground by yourself, and then there won’t be any danger.” After thinking it over, Chen Jue answered thus.

As for the two instructors, Zhou and Lin, who had watched from the side, this night had been an eye-opener for them as well. They felt they had learned quite a lot, and so they chatted warmly with Chen Jue after the lesson.

The group went down the stairs laughing and talking, ate a little late-night food in the mess hall, and then parted ways.

As for Chen Jue, he took the jeep arranged by Political Commissar Yao and returned to his home in Chen Village.

...

By the time he got home, it was already past nine at night.

After taking a shower and changing into clean clothes, Chen Jue sat down cross-legged and began practicing the circulation of the greater and lesser heavenly cycles.

During the day, riding in the car and teaching traditional martial arts at the regiment had filled his schedule to the brim, leaving him no time to arrange his own cultivation.

But once he returned home, he was master of his own time and could do as he pleased.

Yet after only one circuit of the greater and lesser heavenly cycles, Chen Jue unexpectedly discovered that a new skill had appeared on his attribute panel without warning!

Greater and Lesser Heavenly Cycle Circulation Lv0 (1/100)

“What’s going on?”

“Is the environment at home better suited to my training?”

“Or is it that I’ve practiced long enough, and this is just the final step that was missing?” Chen Jue found it somewhat surprising. He had trained for so many days in the seaside villa without any reaction.

He had not expected that, the moment he returned home and moved his blood and qi through a single circuit, it would successfully appear on the panel.

After circulating it once more, Chen Jue found that the operation of this method had become a little faster than before, as though some experience scroll had been activated and his speed had surged ahead.

However, proficiency still had not budged. Instead, after moving his blood and qi through two circuits, his free attribute points jumped by 0.02, and Chen Jue even felt that the late-night meal he had eaten not long ago had been nearly completely digested.

A wave of hunger rose within him.

“How can the consumption be so great?”

Chen Jue now had extremely deep control over his body. The moment his stomach grew hungry, he could sense it clearly, as though he had not eaten all day.

The nutrients from the food in his stomach had been completely drained by those two circuits of cultivation just now.

He went to the kitchen and put on the fish gelatin and restorative soup he had brought back to stew. Feeling that this newly appeared skill was no simple matter, he intended to use attribute points to test this unverified technique.