He had one month to reach initiation, after which he'll have to return the book and wait for a week to reissue it. There are some complex diagrams that one has to follow to get initiated. Any small mistake in copying them could be disastrous.
Initiation in mortal tier martial arts was not that difficult to a body refinement realm cultivator. They have great control over their bodies. Even a slow learner would at most take two months. Fast learners could reach initiation within a day.
He sat at the desk and opened the manual. There was no introduction to the manual, no name of the creator. It jumped straight to the art. There was only one move which had four preparatory steps - legs, waist, chest and shoulders. Each step came with diagrams explaining how force is accumulated and transferred.
At the end of the manual, there was a word of caution 'Not to be solo trained. Not to be practiced on hard targets. Not to be practiced on fixed targets.'
Looking at the first part, he frowned. He didn't want to go outside.
'There aren't many people in the sect now. If I were to go to the training grounds late night there shouldn't be anyone there. I could practice then.'
'Pan Mu should be done with his cultivation. I'll kill time with him for now.'
With much difficulty, he read the manual once again before leaving for Pan Mu's room.
...
Night.
Zhang Wuji came to the target training ground and looked for one that satisfied the manual's conditions.
'Pan Mu is lucky. His home is nearby. Just a day's journey. I would've gone back home if it was so near. If I could get a better mount, I could make it home every Sunday. Sigh.'
Pan Mu's cousin could use one of the sects green lizard mounts. They were rank one beasts, as strong as qi condensation realm cultivators. The sect specially reared them as mounts. They had great endurance and could cover fifty metres in a second at their top speed. One could travel 300-400kms on them every day. That isn't enough for Zhang Wuji to make it home every Sunday but was more than enough for Pan Mu.
Complaining about the great distance between his home and sect and about his lack of a good mount, he continued to walk around the training ground till he spotted the target that fit all the conditions.
It was a human torso shaped dummy with a rail mechanism attached to its bottom. The dummy is made with a special mix of materials such that hitting it feels just like hitting a human.
He turned a dial on the mechanism to five, took out the manual, warmed his body a bit, and taking care to follow all steps properly, he punched the dummy.
BAM!
The dummy moved back a few inches. His fist was still connected to the dummy's chest.
'The Fuck! I couldn't even complete the motion and blow the puppet away! A normal punch could move it by a few inches, what did I do wrong? I think I followed each step properly.'
He took back his fist and pressed a button on the mechanism.
Whirr..
The dummy was back in its position.
He checked the manual again, thought back to his move. He couldn't find anything wrong. He checked again and again. He decided to try once more.
He stepped back and stopped four steps away from the dummy. He lowered his body and leaned forward. Just as he was about to fall from losing balance, with all his strength he pushed against the ground with his right leg. He took three quick steps and further increased his momentum. On the fourth step he landed at an angle, his right fist completely hidden by his body. From his left foot to thighs, waist, chest and shoulders, he sprung up and delivered what he thought to be the most devastating blow ever in his life yet.
His fist hit the dummy. Followed by his face as he was carried by the momentum he built up in the three steps. After which he completely lost balance and was only able to stand by taking the dummy's support.
"Dammit! Dammit! Dammit!" He stood up and stomped viciously on the dummy's chest, the se poor dummy that saved him from his fall and became his support. The angry stomps gave more inches than the punch which infuriated him further. With a final kick, he sat on the ground breathing heavily.
He took deep breaths and calmed himself down.
'It was just the second try, expecting it to work was stupid of me. I shouldn't have unnecessarily built up moment in the three steps. I'm not even familiar with the basic move. Alright let's try again.'
He reset the dummy, this time stood one step away from it, took a deep breath and performed the whole move again.
BAM!
"Aaaaaaaarrrgh fuck!! FUUUCKK!!!"
There was a mistake in his form and the punch twisted his wrist which took the brunt from all the momentum.
He was lucky that he didn't yet learn the method to transfer momentum properly and could only move the dmy by a few inches. If he had gotten it right, he would've definitely shattered his wrist. That would've greatly effected his future. A shattered wrist takes long to heal and is never healed enough to perform proper martial art moves with it unless one uses precious medicines that he couldn't afford.
"FUCKING IDIOT!!" He kicked the manual away and started walking back to his room. After he covered half the distance he stopped and slapped himself on the forehead hard. With his right hand.
After a few more 'fuck's and 'dammit's he turned back, searched for the manual, made sure it wasn't damaged and went back to his room with it.
The next few days he tried to stay away from his room as much as possible. His hand was swollen and in constant pain. It kept reminding him of the events and kept him angry. He was afraid he would break everything in the room. The vacation time was almost over and Wan Lin had returned to the sect.
Wan Lin's room.
"What happened to your hand." He had just come and Pan Mu brought Zhang Wuji along and came to his room. He wanted to sleep, tired from the journey, but he knew Pan Mu wouldn't leave. He'd just entertain them for a while and then kick them out.
"Brother Zhang hurt it while practicing a new martial art manual." Pan Mu answered in his stead.
"Which?"
"Obliteration Fist." - Pan Mu.
"A fist art?" He frowned and looked at Zhang Wuji.
"Yeah I know. I was surprised too. He already has his Eagle Claw for attack, he should've chosen a movement art. Those save lives." Panu said while shaking his head.
'Keep your views to yourself! And why the fuck are you speaking for me?' Zhang Wuji was annoyed at their reaction. It was his business what he trained in.
"I have my reasons." He repeated to Wan Lin what he had previously said to Pan Mu.
"Brother Zhang think carefully. Two attack techniques are not that useful. You should just concentrate on one. You haven't even reached grand completion in your first art. I think this is just a waste of time. Think about it." Pan Mu said sincerely.
'Dude! What would it take for you to shut up! It's been a few days! Stop convincing me!' He was already angry about the hand and this fellow just wouldn't take the hint and shut up!
"Forget it. It's none of our business. Where is Yingjie?" asked Wan Lin. He could feel that Zhang Wuji wasn't in the best state of mind.
"He hasn't returned from vacation yet." - Pan Mu.
"Still? The classes start tomorrow. If he can't make it to the classes, he'll be fined."
"He usually returns earlier than you. I hope nothing bad happened." Pan Mu sounded worried.
"Oi oi Pan Mu don't say stupid stuff. He might have been delayed by something" The direction of the conversation was making Zhang Wuji anxious.
"What did I say? I was just.." Pan Mu didn't know what to say.
"You were just what? Pan Mu don't just say whatever that comes to your mind. Think before you open your mouth." He didn't know why, he was getting more and more agitated.
"Alright, alright. What's up with you two. Go back to your rooms and let me rest." Wan Lin shooed both of them away.
....
Back in his room, Zhang Wuji was lost in his thoughts.
'Why was I so agitated? I'm definitely not worried about him. Is it because of the alchemy thing? Thinking about the possibility that no one will help me with it does make me a bit fearful now but am I really so selfish? It could be that I was just worried about him. After so many months he could be considered a friend afterall. And one of my only two at that. Although Pan Mu can be annoying sometimes, he is a good guy and I feel that he sincerely considers me a friend.
Man, what am I doing! I shouldn't have gotten angry at that guy. He is right about the Obliteration Fist afterall. It's all that stupid Fist's fault.'
He was about to clench his fists in frustration but the pain hit him. 'Ah stupid.'
He plopped on the bed and waited for sleep to deliver him from his misery.
Two days later, Lin Yingjie returned.