Chapter 51: Refined Force

When Cheng Zitong saw Chen Chuan bow to him with an archaic salute while in his martial arts uniform, he felt satisfied. A well of emotions stirred in him.

He couldn’t quite put those feelings into words.

Chen Chuan also looked good, so he had a deeply fulfilling experience as a mentor. He did the right thing taking this youth in as his mentee.

“Come now, sit down. You’re too polite,” he hurriedly said.

“Thank you, Mr. Cheng,” Chen Chuan said. He saluted him again before sitting down.

Cheng Zitong beamed and said, “Good. Before learning refined force, you must understand one thing: Martial artists build their own fighting style from the moment they pick up martial arts and keep building upon it throughout their lives.”

“The Mutual Aid Group came to recruit me before and said this as well. I’ve thought about it, but I don’t know the specifics,” Chen Chuan said.

“I’ve always found the Mutual Aid Group an eyesore, but they have someone supporting them, so they do know their stuff and have some skills. Aside from the Weapons Department, Martial Valor University usually teaches its students how to fight barehanded before teaching them how to use weapons. Then, they teach them other equipment that will be beneficial to them. In the end, the student forms their own individual, independent fighting style to deal with all kinds of martial artists.

“But the key to this is forming your fighting style around the growth of your mutated tissue.

“Let me give you an example. Most of the students in the Takedown Department pick the Wrapping Force as their first refined force, because its characteristic is that when the user performs a takedown, their mutated tissue will send refined force to cover their entire body, thus allowing them to attack and defend at the same time.

“This is necessary for them, because when they’re in close-quarters combat, their vital organs are pressed flush against their enemy. When not fighting in an arena, no one respects the fighting rules. Their opponent can attack their head, face, the back of their head, and even the spine. Any attack on these areas is dangerous. Take this particular Sanshou move as an example.”

Cheng Zitong curled his fingers loosely. Without moving his upper arm, he raised his forearm a little before bringing it down again. With a loud smack, the sandalwood table beside him shattered.

“This is the Air Shattering Strike. When you generate power, it travels to the tips of your fingers. Its main characteristic is that you can generate power quickly without a lot of movement. It’s used to deal specifically with lower body takedowns.”

Chen Chuan took a look at the shattered table, then at the wood chips that had rolled in front of him. If someone were to take this hit to the back of their head during a fight, their head would shatter.

“But if someone practices the Wrapping Force and has refined force covering their entire body, they can defend against this attack and turn the tides of battle.

“Since a breathing technique is required to use refined force, and refined force is usually released quickly and can’t be seen through the naked eye, real fights are a test of martial artists’ experience and judgment. Their lives and deaths are usually decided within an instant. No one has a secure victory just because they’re better at using refined force than the other. The way of using refined force and finding opportunities also play a role, but those are not what’s important today, so I’m not going to talk about them for now.

“Let’s go back to refined force. The refined force you practice determines the direction of the growth of your mutated tissue. Let’s use the Wrapping Force as an example again. Through repeated practice, the Wrapping Force will stimulate the mutated tissue to form a strong and tough membrane under the skin.

“Whenever the student generates power before executing a takedown, if they use their breathing technique, their membrane will tighten and expand to form a protective barrier. It will be similar to them wearing a thick, sturdy layer of leather armor. That’s the Wrapping Force.

“With this membrane, the martial artist will have good defenses even when they’re not using refined force. It will also provide them with a lot of strength. That’s why most of the students in the Takedown Department have good pain tolerance.

“There’s a remark about it in ancient texts: With the Wrapping Force, one can fend against even a barrage of iron weapons and stone pellets. Let’s put this in the perspective of the era of melee weapons. If someone like this wore iron armor from head to toe, they would be a mighty vanguard. Think about how you’d feel if you saw dozens or hundreds of people like this charging at you.”

Chen Chuan imagined it and felt a chill down his spine.

“You defeated Zhong Wu during your follow-up exam. I’ve seen his injury report. The most crucial hit was to his chin, followed by the one to his ear. If you hadn’t been strong enough and didn’t manage to seize that opportunity to attack, you wouldn’t have been able to defeat him,” Cheng Zitong said.

Chen Chuan agreed with that. The most crucial hits were his first and second kicks. The first one took Zhong Wu by surprise, and the second kick caught Zhong Wu during the short break between his breaths. Those two kicks decided the direction of the fight. It was true that whether a person lived or died in a fight was decided in an instant.

Cheng Zitong then said, “Since I’ve talked about the Takedown Department, let’s talk about the Grappling Department next. Most of the refined force they practice lets their mutated tissue seep into their muscles to merge with and envelope their muscles and bones. This makes those parts tough and strong. With improved toughness and malleability, they can generate power more easily.

“Take note: It’s not that the Grappling Department won’t let their mutated tissue seep into their bones. It’s just that in order to turn their refined force into fighting power, they need to focus on their muscles instead. But as they continue stimulating the mutated tissue and pick a training method, their mutated tissue grows in a direction to suit the fighting style and patterns they chose.”

Chen Chuan mulled over this for a bit before he nodded in understanding.

“I gave you those examples to explain why the refined force you pick must suit your fighting style and personal preferences. Don’t go after power or follow others blindly and pick a refined force that goes against your own wishes or feels awkward to you. Picking a refined force that matches you is the best way to go,” Cheng Zitong continued.

“Are you saying students get to choose which refined force they want to train?” Chen Chuan looked at him in surprise.

“I think they should, though other mentors believe that they can make better and more far-sighted judgments because they have more experience than their mentees. But you must understand that this first step determines the rest of your life, so we have to be careful.

“While teaching you, I have come to realize that you’re someone with a mind of your own. I’m thinking of giving you references, then letting you pick on your own. Of course, if you believe that you can’t make the right choice and trust me, I can help you decide too.”

Chen Chuan pondered over this. “I’d like to first understand what kind of refined forces the university teaches.”

Cheng Zitong pointed at one of the bookshelves. “Most of the refined forces the university teaches are there. You can read through them.”

Chen Chuan stood up and went to the bookshelf. He picked up a bundle of bamboo slips. They had the words “Hoof Polishing Force.”

“This refined force specializes in supporting strength training. Anyone practicing augmented force can use it. The Spring Devouring Force has a similar effect. These subtle forces are either used together with augmented force to support the use of refined force or are scaled-back versions of augmented force. You should just look through them for now,” Cheng Zitong said.

Chen Chuan took a cursory glance before putting it back. He looked up and grabbed another bundle of bamboo slips with the words, “Python Form Force” written on it.

“All members of the Grappling Department must learn this refined force. It allows the strength of a chokehold to fill the base, center, and end of the limbs. It can switch between firm force and yielding force. Let’s use yielding force as an example. Those who practice it can rattle their opponents to the bone by just seizing a single point,” Cheng Zitong said.

Chen Chuan opened up the bundle and saw quite a number of hand drawn human figures in different stances.

“Each refined force must be practiced with stances. They are divided into fixed stances and fluid stances. Old martial arts only had fixed stances, but after modifications, we have more fluid stances.

“Fixed stances are boring and hard to master. They lose effectiveness once you exceed your daily training limit and can’t be mastered without talent. Fluid stances are suited for everyone, and you can use all sorts of tools for support. Look at this. This is the old stance for the Wrapping Force.”

Cheng Zitong stood up and clenched his fists before pressing them against his chest and stomach. He bowed his head and body and curled up his toes, which made him look like a baby in a womb, but remained standing steadily.

After he finished his demonstration and straightened his body, Chen Chuan asked, “I heard that Martial Valor University has a Primordial Force Stance. Is that true?”

Cheng Zitong nodded. “We do. That’s the refined force used widely in the Sanshou Department. After you learn it, your body’s coordination, agility, and even strength increase dramatically. I used the Primordial Force Stance to execute the Air Shattering Strike.”

As he spoke, he put his hands below his belly button and said sternly, “As you become more skilled with it, a bundle of mutated tissue will form in your energy center.”