High Martial Arts: Grinding for the Supreme Talent

Chapter 71: Chapter 71: Five Elements Training

The Five Elements Fist was divided into: Dragon Form, Tiger Form, Snake Form, Crane Form, and Ape Form.

Each form utilized different muscle groups. The Tiger Form primarily tempered the limbs, waist, and spine.

It was the form that best balanced power and speed.

The Snake Form focused on the waist, abdomen, and the body’s flexibility.

The Crane Form focused on the leg muscles and core strength, giving the body extreme agility and speed.

The Ape Form focused on the arms, shoulders, and chest, giving the practitioner an extremely strong constitution.

The Dragon Form primarily tempered the spine and the muscles throughout the body, granting one the most immense power.

When executing each form, the muscular movements and power generation had different points of emphasis.

Lin Qi’s palms shifted into the Snake Form Fist, which emphasized softness in its execution and flexibility in its movements.

Therefore, when practicing the Snake Form Fist, Lin Qi’s movements became relaxed, gentle, and slow.

The moment he executed the technique, he felt a difference. His arm and waist muscles grew warm, and he could feel minute muscles being engaged and exerting force.

Snake Returns to the Forest!

Fierce Snake Emerges from the Hole!

...

After Lin Qi finished one set, he felt a soreness in his smaller muscle groups.

He then switched to the Dragon Form Fist. This technique used intent as its spirit and qi to drive its power, unifying the internal and external. His steps were as swift as the wind, his stance as solid as iron. His strikes were like steel blades, and his advance was like a fierce tiger emerging from the forest.

As Lin Qi struck, he felt his spine straighten and support him, power flowing endlessly to his arms and out through his fists.

Finally, there was the Ape Form Fist: the ability to leap, the cleverness of agility, resourceful, resolute in spirit, nimble and swift, flexible and mobile.

At the same time, his arms felt heavy, striking like falling iron, extending far to attack from a distance.

The three fist techniques were each different, each with its own focus. Every time he practiced, he could feel his body’s muscles undergoing different movements and refinement as he exerted force in various ways.

Driven by the body’s larger muscles, the smaller muscle groups were exercised.

A moment later, Lin Qi stopped, panting heavily. His hair was plastered to his scalp, and sweat dripped from his cheeks.

’Five Elements Training is incredibly draining, much more so than practicing a single form.’

After resting for a moment, he resumed practicing his Fist Technique.

HUFF... HUFF...

SWISH... SWISH...

His Snake Form, Dragon Form, and Ape Form techniques went from initially awkward to gradually Proficient.

As his proficiency constantly increased, his movements became more fluid, and he could clearly feel the soreness in muscles he didn’t normally exercise.

The refinement of his body’s muscles also became more and more apparent.

[You have gained new insights into your Fist Technique by practicing the Snake, Dragon, and Ape Form Fists. Fist Technique +3%]

[Through the new fist techniques, your different muscles have been tempered, and your Qi and Blood Value has broken through. Qi and Blood Value +0.03]

[Qi and Blood Value: 9.65→9.68]

[Fist Technique: Tier Two 20%→23%]

...

Lin Qi put down the sports drink he had just finished and looked at the Qi and Blood Value on his panel, the corners of his mouth turning up.

Although his Qi and Blood Value had only increased by 0.03, which wasn’t much, he could feel that many of his smaller muscle groups had been exercised.

This would greatly reduce the time he would be stuck at a Qi and Blood Value of 9.99 in the future.

When the time came, he wouldn’t need to be stuck at 9.99 for too long and would most likely be able to break through in a short period.

’Other people’s Boxing Realms might not improve as fast as mine.’

’So they will definitely fall behind in their Martial Arts cultivation, but I’m different.’

’As my Fist Technique improves and my control over my body strengthens, practicing my Spear Technique will be much more efficient.’

Lin Qi wiped away his sweat, feeling that with the final exams approaching, his strength could still increase by a large margin.

...

「That Sunday afternoon, the weather was exceptionally clear.」

Celestial Sea City First People’s Hospital.

The massive building, over ten stories tall, was divided into different wings. The air was filled with the smell of disinfectant.

At the main entrance, people were constantly coming and going, some carrying thin white bags, others holding various packages of medicine.

Nurses in white coats walked everywhere.

Lin Qi walked along the path with his parents. They were heading to the sanatorium for recuperative care.

Lin Zhen’s complexion was rosy, his posture was ramrod straight, and his expression was resolute. The fatigue from a month ago was long gone.

After a month of treatment with expensive potions and continuous therapy, he felt as if his entire body had been renewed. His muscle and bone damage had all recovered.

Aside from a few minor issues, he had made a full recovery. Even his constantly declining Qi and Blood Value was recovering at a visible rate.

”Dad, what’s Mom’s illness, exactly?”

”I’ve never seen her medical records my whole life,” Lin Qi asked, getting straight to the point.

Lin Zhen paused for a moment, stunned. After exchanging a look with Fang Huiyi, his mother, Fang Huiyi, spoke first:

”It seems you’ve noticed something.”

”We originally planned to tell you after we came back from the Coastal Base.”

”But then your father’s health took a turn.”

”We can tell you now.”

Lin Zhen organized his thoughts before speaking:

”Your mother was struck by the lethal poison of a Dark-winged Bat. The poison entered her inner organs and bones.”

”Although the hospital managed to save her in the end, your mother’s Martial Arts foundation was destroyed. Her muscles atrophied, her inner organs were corroded, and her bones became brittle.”

”The venom is like a maggot clinging to the bone, hidden deep within her body, constantly eroding her organs.”

”We’ve been treating it all these years, but it only addresses the symptoms, not the root cause. It just slows down the corrosion.”

”Even just slowing it down has buried our family in debt.”

”As time goes on, your mother’s body will only grow weaker, and the poison’s flare-ups will become more frequent.”

”Thankfully, you’ve contributed a lot of money recently. With daily potions and therapy, the poison has been mitigated quite a bit.”

”But it’s only mitigation. It won’t last for long.”

”Until one day, it flares up completely, and she never wakes up again.”

After his father, Lin Zhen, said this, his mood sank.

THUMP.

Lin Qi’s heart leaped violently in his chest, and he stopped in his tracks.

He never imagined his mother’s illness was so severe.

After a long silence, he asked, ”Is there a way to cure it completely?”

Lin Zhen nodded. ”Of course, there are. But the methods are all incredibly expensive.”

”For example, the Spiritual Spring Antidote. It’s a potion refined using a special technique from the spring water of a ten-thousand-year-old mountain in the Otherworld.”

”The potion contains a powerful detoxifying ability. It can not only neutralize any poison but also improve one’s constitution and immunity.”

”However, a single vial of Spiritual Spring Antidote costs 30 million Xia Country Coins.”

million Xia Country Coins?

Lin Qi fell silent instantly.

He had only received 3 million Xia Country Coins for signing his B-level Contract.

The price of one vial of the Spiritual Spring Antidote was actually ten times the value of his contract.

He couldn’t get that much money even if he sold himself.

Even if he could earn it in the future, his mother might not be able to hold on for that long.

”There’s also a potion called the Washing Potion. It can cleanse impurities from the human body, perform Bone Marrow Cleansing, improve one’s physical Talent, and naturally, it can clear out toxins as well.”

”But that one costs ten million Xia Country Coins.”

”There are also some Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures that have detoxifying effects, but they are prohibitively expensive. We can’t afford them,” Lin Zhen sighed.

”We’re going to the sanatorium today for the latest treatment method. It’s much cheaper and has a chance of completely clearing the toxins from your mother’s body.”

Lin Qi nodded. This was, after all, the reason they had come today.

Ever since he had money, his father, Lin Zhen, had started searching for better treatment methods.

And as it happened, the attending physician in charge did have a solution.

’A few million... I can probably manage to scrape that together if I try. As long as it can cure Mom’s illness.’

The three of them arrived at the entrance to the sanatorium.

It was another tall building, with green plants by the entrance and people coming and going.

Inside was a spacious lobby, divided into different areas and rooms. White intelligent robots could be seen moving about.

Lin Zhen expertly navigated to a doorway. Inside was a vast room of at least a thousand square meters, sectioned off into individual cubicles.

A young woman in white came forward to greet them with a smile.

”Uncle Lin, Sister Fang, you’re here!”

”The usual. Electrotherapy and acupuncture for Sister Fang.”

”Alright!”

His mother, Fang Huiyi, followed the young woman into a small cubicle, which was then partitioned off.

Lin Qi knew that the so-called electrotherapy involved taking specific drugs beforehand to activate the cellular toxins in the body, followed by inserting acupuncture needles into acupoints.

An electric current would then be used to stimulate the body’s organ functions for a comprehensive detoxification.

This method could treat many illnesses and wasn’t expensive per session, but the cost added up after many treatments.

Meanwhile, Lin Qi and Lin Zhen went to a lavishly decorated office nearby.

Inside sat a middle-aged man in a white coat, wearing black mechanical-looking glasses. He was thin, with a stern and dignified expression.

When he saw it was Lin Zhen, a smile immediately appeared on his face.

”Mr. Lin, you’ve arrived!”

”Please, have a seat!”

”Dr. Li, we came today to ask about the new treatment method.”

Lin Zhen was the first to speak after they sat down on the sofa.

...