There was a quiet room at the innermost part of the dojo. It was not big--only about 20 square meters. But it had a great soundproofing system. When the door was closed, any noise from the outside was almost inaudible.
"What do you think? The room is yours from now on," Liu Qing said with a smile.
"It's quite nice. Thanks," Su Chen answered with a satisfactory smile.
"Well then, help yourself. I'll go practice martial arts outside. I saw you practicing Yongchun Fist earlier, and you were unbelievably good. So help me with my moves when you have a chance."
"Sure, no problem," Su Chen answered with alacrity.
Su Chen closed the door after Liu Qing. Then, he went to the center of the quiet room and tried to remove all distracting thoughts. He held his breath and concentrated his attention, ready to start The Thirteen Cross Practice.
He began with the Inner Vitality Practice. If he could cultivate a Qi sensation, then it'd be much easier to get through The Thirteen Cross Practice.
The reason why many martial artists chose to focus on the Forced Technique is that Inner Vitality required years of practice accumulation. On top of that, it required a certain degree of talent.
But Su Chen has the system in him, so he's not worried about that.
Su Chen stood and placed his feet slightly wider than the length of his shoulders. He closed his eyes, held his tongue against his palate, drew in his chest, straightened his back, and relaxed his entire body.
He put his hands on both sides of his hips, breathing naturally, mindful of his elixir field. He inhaled through his nose, imagining that the air was of the essence of all things in nature. And they traveled through the esophagus and Danzhong point, directly to the elixir field.
Tiptoeing, he waited for the inhalation to reach its final state, and then let out a groan, imagining that the Qi from his elixir field traveled back up through the Danzhong point, his mouth, and then exited with the groan. Then, he pushed down on his heels and tensed up his entire body. He opened his eyes and stared ahead with anger, then he exhaled and relaxed.
[Successfully practiced the first form of Luohan Tiger Roar, proficiency +1]
An update of an increase in proficiency surfaced in Su Chen's mind, but he didn't feel much different internally. It was no surprise since this was only the first try.
After he recovered to the starting position, he concentrated his attention and repeated the first form.
[Successfully practiced the first form of Luohan Tiger Roar, proficiency +1]
[Successfully practiced the first form of Luohan Tiger Roar, proficiency +1]
…
He repeated the form 49 times, and his forehead began to sweat a little. Then, he placed his feet slightly wider than the length of his shoulders, bent his knees to form a high squat, and began to practice the second form, Arhat's Dragon Subduing.
Time slipped away quietly as he focused on his practice.
Every form needed to be repeated 49 times, and it got harder progressively. When Su Chen got to the seventh form, Arhat's Qi Gathering, his clothes were soaked with sweat, and his breathing was rapid.
The previous two months of aerobics improved Su Chen's overall fitness. He was also used to pushing through hard times.
Su Chen let out a deep breath as he finished the last form. He laid down on the floor, extending both his arms and his legs, feeling as if he didn't even have the strength to move another finger.
Even the floor became wet because of Su Chen's sweat. If he hadn't stopped midway for water, he would probably have been dehydrated by then.
"The Inner Vitality already drained me so much, the Forced Technique is going to be hell!"
Su Chen laughed sadly. Indeed, higher-skilled kungfu was not easy to practice. Even if he had the system, it'd still be harder than he'd imagined.
A wave of exhaustion washed over him. Su Chen only felt his eyelids getting heavier and heavier. Then, he fell asleep.
It was already dusk when he woke up.
Su Chen sat up and stretched his body. His joints immediately gave away noises like fried peas.
He felt like his body had been renewed and was full of energy. Upon careful examination, his elixir field seemed to be flowing with Qi now and then.
Su Chen was pleasantly surprised. This must be the "Inner Qi" that martial artists spoke of.
Of course, there was only a hint of Qi sensation then.
Even so, if the martial artists knew of what Su Chen did, they'd be jaw-droppingly surprised.
Because even the most talented person needed several days to achieve a Qi sensation. Yet, Su Chen did it in just a few hours.
"Borborygmus"
The stomach protested.
Su Chen got up and exited the quiet room. He noticed that only Liu Qing and Yao Wu were here and that everyone else had already left.
The two were fighting--one with Yongchun Fist, the other with Yao Family Fist.
Su Chen watched quietly.
The two stopped immediately when they saw Su Chen.
"Master!"
Yao Wu yelled respectfully as he walked over to Su Chen with his simple and good-natured smile.
"I told you, I'm not your master." Su Chen rolled his eyes.
"Hehe…"
Yao Wu laughed as if nothing had happened. Then, he covered his nose and said, "Teacher, just how much did you sweat? You smell so bad."
"Really?"
Su Chen immediately frowned with disgust, when he sniffed his clothes with a puzzled complexion.
Not only was it the smell of sweat, but this Inner Vitality could also somewhat cleanse any inner impurities, which made him greasy and stinky.
He was too excited over the fact that he has cultivated Qi to notice this. It wasn't until Yao Wu mentioned it did he realize this body odor.
"You much deserve the title of a Master. You practice so diligently." Yao Wu said with admiration and respect.
"Su Chen, what kungfu were you practicing?" Liu Qing asked curiously.
"Top secret."
Su Chen smirked.
Both Yao Wu and Liu Qing stared at Su Chen with lit-up eyes. They had guessed correctly: Su Chen possessed some exceptional kungfu skills.
"I'm going back to my dorm."
Su Chen bid his farewell. He patted Yao Wu's shoulder as he walked past him and said, "Show me your Yao Family Fist guide book next time. I might be able to perfect it for you."
And left before Yao Wu could respond.
"Master…"
When Yao Wu came back to his senses from his euphoria, he looked toward the direction in which Su Chen had left. Tears of thankfulness streamed out of this six-foot man. It was not hard to imagine that he would probably do anything for Su Chen, then.
Liu Qing's pretty eyes were shining, pondering whether she should also become an apprentice.
…
Su Chen felt refreshed after he went back to the dorm, showered, and switched into clean clothes. Then, he ran over to the dining hall to have dinner with Lin Yumeng.
Maybe it was because he had depleted much energy, but Su Chen, who already has a big appetite, ate even more than usual.
One could say that he left the entire dining hall free of food.
His appetite left Ling Yumeng and all the students watching in shock.
"Big brother Chen, are… are these enough? Do I need to go get more?" Ling Yumeng asked, amused.
"Yeah, buy a lot." Su Chen nodded while pushing food into his mouth.
Lin Yumeng consented and ran to get more food.
"Damn! He can eat more? He eats so much!"
"All the eating streamers online suck in comparison to Su Chen!"
"Oh my, Ogami eats like a pig. But how come I still think he's handsome as hell?"
"He looks so manly for some reason!"
…
The surrounding students stayed, even after they had finished their dinner. They were all curious to see just how much more Su Chen could eat.