Chapter 38 - Crane Stance Training, Practical Combat and Problem Solving
In the evening.
Outside the gate of No. 4 High School in Jiaoyan, students wearing school uniforms rushed out of the school gate like water released from a floodgate, slowly dispersing in all directions.
Lu Yuan walked alone among the streams of people.
His well-proportioned physique and handsome features after martial arts practice stood out from the crowd like a crane among chickens.
He bought a deep fried starch stick from a small food cart selling kebabs outside the school gate.
Standing a short distance away from the bus stop sign, he ate while waiting for Lin Zhiqin to arrive.
That rascal Cheng Peng hadn't waited for him to go home together since telling him about having a girlfriend in the afternoon. He had predictably disappeared without a trace.
Lu Yuan had also called home to tell his mother Zheng Qiuling that he would have dinner outside and go to the martial arts school to train for a few hours.
Batches of students boarded the buses. Just as Lu Yuan finished eating one starch stick and wondered whether to buy a second, Lin Zhiqin arrived.
"I haven't been to No. 4 High for a long time. I almost forgot where the school gate was and had to circle around a few times before finding it."
Lin Zhiqin rolled down the car window and called Lu Yuan over to get in.
"Did Teacher Lin have relatives whose kids went to No. 4 High before?"
Lu Yuan asked.
Lin Zhiqin smiled without answering.
They soon arrived at the martial arts school.
Lin Zhiqin told Lu Yuan to get off first.
After entering the martial arts school, Lu Yuan changed into training martial arts clothes and went to the usual classroom. Lin Zhiqin also came in shortly after.
Without any small talk, Lin Zhiqin said directly: "I'll teach you the stance training that only formal disciples have the qualification to learn. If you practice diligently, the effects will be better than normal strength training."
Before Lu Yuan even nodded, he saw Lin Zhiqin slowly demonstrating a posture similar to the "Golden Rooster Stands on One Leg" in front of him.
At the same time, a profound aura that Lu Yuan had only sensed when Lin Zhiqin was his [Imaginary Enemy] in the consciousness space slowly emanated from his body.
"Watch closely. This is the first form of the Crane Stance."
The Crane Stance was the name of this stance training that Lin Zhiqin was teaching Lu Yuan.
This name involuntarily reminded Lu Yuan of the old photograph with the character for "crane" he saw on the second floor of the martial arts school.
Unfortunately now was not the time to ask about it.
Lu Yuan directly activated [Absolute Focus] and entered a state of absolute concentration, throwing his whole mind and body into learning.
The Crane Stance taught by Lin Zhiqin had a total of eighteen movements.
According to him, even formal disciples who paid tuition could only learn up to the first twelve moves. The essence of this stance training lay in the last six moves.
Lu Yuan also vaguely sensed it.
Although the difficulty of each move in the first twelve moves of the Crane Stance increased progressively, they were still something a normal person could barely imitate with some effort.
But starting from the thirteenth move, the difficulty suddenly jumped several levels.
Not only did the overall form have to be maintained perfectly, the body also had to vibrate at a special frequency and even control the contraction and extension of muscles.
"So this is the real face of martial arts in this world? The key difference separating professional and amateur levels?"
This thought suddenly popped into Lu Yuan's mind.
The entire process of teaching the stance took over half an hour.
Lin Zhiqin demonstrated and explained all eighteen moves to Lu Yuan once, and helped him clumsily go through them once. Then he said: "That's enough stance training for today. Although your talent in martial arts is good, it's impossible to master the Crane Stance in one day. Come here after school every day to practice. You'll naturally learn it over time."
"Phew—" Lu Yuan nodded while panting.
Many parts of his body now felt tearing, numbness, soreness or swelling.
Although he had only followed along with over a dozen moves for a short period of time, it felt like he had done a full day of strength training with equipment at the gym.
There was no doubt the human body was a marvel, like a treasure trove.
Lu Yuan glanced at his Profession Panel.
He was surprised to see that his Profession Experience and Beginner Body Tempering had increased by over thirty points!
The increase in Profession Experience made sense. He had already gained a lot from listening to Lin Zhiqin's two-hour lecture on practical combat techniques last night. Getting hands-on instruction now naturally gave him more experience.
What really delighted Lu Yuan was the increase in his Beginner Body Tempering skill.
After reaching lv4 in Beginner Body Tempering, the experience he gained from strength training had decreased significantly.
Even with professional equipment, he would only get one or two points after completing a set, at most.
However, now he had just learned the Crane Stance for the first time, yet gained over thirty experience points!
The effect was comparable to doing dozens of sets of strength training in one go!
"Amazing," Lu Yuan couldn't help but exclaim.
Lin Zhiqin glanced at him and said, "Of course it's amazing. The complete Crane Stance is one of the martial arts school's most core inheritances, not something just anyone can have the qualification to learn."
"Crane Stance"
Lu Yuan slowly relaxed his body and let out a breath, then asked, "Coach, our Yuan Martial Arts School was originally not called Yuan Martial Arts School, right?"
"Correct," Lin Zhiqin didn't seem to want to hide it from him and readily explained, "My martial arts school inherits the Heavenly Water Sect Crane Faction of Xia Country. The headmaster is the current faction leader of the Crane Faction.
Due to some reasons, after moving to Jiaoyan City, the name was changed to Yuan Martial Arts School."
"Heavenly Water Sect Crane Faction"
Lu Yuan mulled over this name, then suddenly asked, "Since there is a Crane Faction, does that mean there are other factions too?"
Lin Zhiqin's gaze flickered, but this time he didn't answer.
He only urged Lu Yuan to get up quickly and start the next phase of special training.
Lu Yuan didn't dare ask again and closely followed Lin Zhiqin to practice key combat techniques.
"The three basic skills you learned in the regular students' classes, plus basic grappling, palm techniques and finger techniques—I will teach you those later.
In fact, all of these are in preparation for actual combat."
Once in teaching mode, it was as if Lin Zhiqin had become a different person. His aura and temperament became very similar to when Lu Yuan made him an [Imaginary Enemy] in the consciousness space.
"Actual combat is taking all these basic techniques you've learned and combining them as you exchange moves with your opponent.
How are your grades at No. 4 High?"
Lin Zhiqin suddenly asked.
Lu Yuan was startled, then answered, "Top three in the grade."
"Very good, then you should understand this better."
Lin Zhiqin gave an analogy, "The formulas, theorems and principles you normally study in class are like basic techniques. The exam questions you encounter are like opponents.
When you meet an opponent, what you need to do is, in the shortest time, use your brain and body—those formulas and theorems—to put together a correct solution to unlock the question in front of you.
Do you understand?"
Lu Yuan nodded. How could he not understand something relating to his area of expertise?
In fact, this was exactly what he had been doing.
It was just because his "amount of practice" was too little, and the "types" of "questions" he encountered were either too singular (the middle-aged man skilled in leg techniques), or too difficult (Lin Zhiqin).
As a result, he still hadn't formulated a systematic "problem-solving approach" of his own up till now.
Fortunately, Lin Zhiqin was here to teach him now.