After nearly an hour of discussion, Qin Yu fully understood the principles behind his teacher's training methods. At the same time, Qin Yu's admiration for Zhao Yunxing grew even more. He could ascertain that following Zhao Yunxing's methods would undoubtedly result in a perfectly trained body.
Strength, speed, agility, and flexibility were all in perfect harmony.
A workman must first sharpen his tools if he wants to do his job well.
Cultivate a perfect body first, then train in attack, killing, and other techniques. With good steel, why worry about not being able to forge an excellent blade?
And so, the training began...
...
Near a beautiful Round Lake, several hundred meters away from Cloud Mist Villa on Donglan Mountain, Zhao Yunxing stood by the lakeside with a mechanical pendulum clock beside him. The clock, crafted by a master of intricate mechanisms, was so elaborate in its making that only noble families could afford one.
The clock was divided into twenty-four hours, twelve double hours, with sixty minutes to each hour.
"Faster, swim faster!" Zhao Yunxing said icily.
In the water of Round Lake, a figure was swimming continuously—it was Qin Yu. According to Zhao Yunxing, swimming, though ordinary, was an excellent way to develop bodily coordination and flexibility. Thus, Qin Yu was ordered to swim tirelessly in the waters of the lake.
"I really want to stop," Qin Yu gritted his teeth, continuing to swing his arms and synchronize the kicking of his legs. He had already swum back and forth ten times. One round trip across Round Lake was a full two hundred meters, meaning ten round trips amounted to two kilometers.
In the past, Qin Yu often enjoyed soaking in the West Garden Hot Spring, the center of which was quite deep. Qin Yu frequently swam there and was quite skilled at it, but swimming continuously like this, especially within a set time, was excruciating for him.
His legs were sore, his arms ached, and his head felt swollen.
"Father!" The thought of his father's smile gave Qin Yu the resolve to persist, even though he had already reached his limit, he continued to endure.
"Faster, even faster," Zhao Yunxing urged without a trace of emotion in his voice.
A ruthless glint appeared in Qin Yu's eyes as he stared ahead. Hearing Zhao Yunxing's voice, Qin Yu constantly pushed himself to speed up. At that moment, a slight relief broke through the swelling in his head, and his arms and legs seemed to regain strength.
Qin Yu distinctly felt a new surge of energy emanating from within his body, an energy whose origin he did not know, yet it arose naturally. A flicker of excitement appeared in his eyes.
Surpassing one's limits.
He reveled in this sensation; surpassing physiological limits time and again, his body, drained of strength, would summon a new wave of power from its depths. He even felt the changes in his body—the hidden potential deep within.
"Not bad, you're three minutes slower," Zhao Yunxing remarked casually upon checking the mechanical pendulum clock.
Qin Yu struggled to the shore, utterly drained to the point where he could barely move. His arms were especially immobile, and his legs were steeped in soreness. He lay there, gasping for breath, attempting to draw in as much fresh air as possible to recover quickly.
"You're three minutes behind. Your punishment is to run back to West Garden from here and then do one hundred bodyweight squats at the West Garden Training Field," Zhao Yunxing declared outright.
"Run back to West Garden from here? And..." Qin Yu, struggling for breath, could hardly speak and looked incredulously at Zhao Yunxing. His legs were already too sore to even walk, and yet Zhao Yunxing was ordering him to run back, and then do a hundred squats.
"Do you have an objection?" Zhao Yunxing asked calmly in response.
"I have an objection. It is true that surpassing the human body's limits can train the body, but if it's overdone, my body might break. I feel I've reached my limits; I can't keep training now. Teacher, while swimming just now, I've already experienced that limit twice, and I feel unable to go through it again," Qin Yu said, looking directly at Zhao Yunxing with candidness.
Zhao Yunxing replied indifferently, "I am the teacher, and you must obey my command. If you think there is something wrong with my training and you do not wish to continue, I can leave right now. I don't care about a lazy disciple like you."
Qin Yu's expression shifted slightly.
Then, after giving Zhao Yunxing a glance, he took a deep breath and forced his legs into a run. The first step was excruciating, and his legs were severely cramped with soreness, but after running for a while, they seemed to regain strength.
"Eh, what's going on?" Qin Yu wondered, shocked.
Zhao Yunxing, watching from behind, wore a faint smile: "This kid, do you think I can't judge your true limits? When you were swimming, your arms exerted much more force than your legs. Leg muscles are naturally more developed than arm muscles. If the arms could endure, the legs could at least handle another set of training."
Remembering Qin Yu's earlier rebuke, Zhao Yunxing couldn't help but laugh to himself.
"This kid." Shaking his head with amusement, Zhao Yunxing followed behind Qin Yu.
...
At dusk, within the West Garden Hot Spring.
After a day of extreme training, Qin Yu now lay in the hot spring, feeling the soreness in his muscles, even perceiving their slow transformation. With a look of sheer bliss, he stretched out his arms and shouted passionately, "Ah, heavens, this is true enjoyment!!!"
Little Black flapped its wings excitedly on the side, apparently very pleased.
Zhao Yunxing, with a stern face, approached and stood by the spring, saying, "The hot spring of Cloud Mist Villa is extremely therapeutic, good for your body. Also, after soaking for three hours, you should go see Elder Weng. There, apply some medicinal wine; absorbing its properties will benefit you greatly."
"Yeah, got it…" Qin Yu, in high spirits, replied casually, waving his hand.
Zhao Yunxing seemed not to mind and turned away.
...
On the Training Field, Zhao Yunxing stood erect while Qin Yu had arrived early as well. This time, Qin Yu hadn't been late, strangely enough. Although yesterday's training had pushed him to the limit, thanks to the healing effects of the hot spring and the medicinal wine, today he was bursting with vitality.
"No wonder so many rich and noble families with substantial wealth have sons who can cultivate Outer Strength to the extreme," Zhao Yunxing thought to himself with a sigh.
Practicing Outer Strength involves pushing one's physical limits, but the body doesn't just generate force; it also needs to absorb energy. Wealthy sons can consume nourishing food and specially-prepared medicinal meals, combined with precious medicinal wine, and even enlist senior medical experts to massage and relieve fatigue.
With such conditions, their training in Outer Strength naturally differs.
"Now, let's start with Strength Training. Hold an iron rod and perform deep squats, starting with a hundred," Zhao Yunxing said nonchalantly as he pointed to an iron rod. The rod wasn't very thick, weighing probably around ten pounds, which was easy for an adult but not for an eight-year-old Qin Yu.
"Hmph!"
Qin Yu flexed his arms with force and lifted the iron rod to his chest, then smirked, "Teacher, this is easy."
"Finish a hundred and then talk," Zhao Yunxing said coldly.
Qin Yu immediately started his squats. At first, it was quite easy—just standing up straight, then squatting down, right? But after doing thirty in a row, Qin Yu began to feel his legs souring, and after ten more, his calves suddenly cramped.
A hundred?
At only forty, Qin Yu was already feeling miserable.
"Huff!" He took a deep breath and paused briefly, allowing the muscles in his feet to recover somewhat before continuing. But as he progressed, the pain intensified. Qin Yu's eyes shone fiercely as he grimaced and persevered.
After pushing through to the seventieth squat, he felt as though his legs couldn't stand up any longer.
"Ha!"
With a fierce shout and a forceful straightening of his back, he managed to stand up, a glint of excitement in Qin Yu's eyes.
"Ha!"
Another loud shout and he stood again.
With each shout, he exerted every bit of strength hidden deep in his legs, which gradually warmed up. Bursts of energy emerged from the depths of his muscles, and miraculously, following Qin Yu's final shout, he completed the hundredth deep squat!
Though Qin Yu's legs wobbled as if he might collapse at any moment, what shone in his eyes was excitement and a burning frenzy.
Zhao Yunxing, watching from the side, nodded silently in approval.
"Now for the Finger Force training," Zhao Yunxing commanded, still with an impassive expression, giving Qin Yu no time to rest. Actually, Zhao Yunxing had a training schedule designed, and seeing that Qin Yu's legs were the most fatigued while his hands had not yet reached their limit, he moved on to Finger Force training.
"Teacher, how do we train Finger Force?" Despite his legs being weak, Qin Yu asked cheerfully.
Qin Yu was increasingly enjoying that wonderful feeling of surpassing his limits. In that moment of transcendence, he felt a passion for life—that's right, it was passion, the burning of passion, the madness of extremes. Such a feeling was delightful.