Chapter 10: Blazing Wildfire
'What should I pick….'
On the tables near the training ground, Hou Yi sat quietly to think about what martial art he wanted Ning Yue to learn.
'Ning Yue is still in the body cleansing stage, so [Azure style] is practically useless for him, but if it is for laying the groundwork to growth, it is still a solid option….'
Hou Yi places 3 scrolls down on the tables and sighs; out of the 3, only 1 is confirmed to be taught.
[Blazing Wildfire]
The movement skill aims to close the gap or create distance quickly, but it is bad to use an as long splint and make delicate moves like dodging.
Ning Yue is big and strong, so he can easily create an advantage with this movement skill.
'If he wants to win the tournament, I need to solidify his strength. But in return, I might damage his root, who should I do….'
Hou Yi can't put himself to push Ning Yue, but after seeing how far Ning Yue is willing to go to achieve his goal, he starts to reconsider the option of Ning Yue's winning chance.
But if he does it, the only way is to rush Ning Yue's progress, which can create bad habits for Ning Yue and damage his path of cultivation for the rest of his life.
Rushing is never a good option, the principle of Hou Yi's teaching is always to build the foundation first, but it needs time which Ning Yue doesn't have!
"Master! What are you reading?"
Ning Yue appears behind Hou Yi and looks past his shoulder to read the names of the scrolls.
"[Blazing Wildfire], [Eruption Fist], [Azure Style] Wow! Those names sound so cool!"
Ning Yue's eyes lit up with excitement.
"Yeah. I plan to teach you 2 / 3 moves, but I still can't pick your offensive martial art."
"Offensive? Martial art?"
"Oh… I almost forgot you have zero knowledge about these things. Come."
Hou Yi grabs [Blazing Wildfire] and walks to the training ground.
Ning Yue quickly follows, eagerly looking to learn new things!
"There are two big categories of technique in the cultivation world, martial art and movement skills, one for striking and one for movement, but some can be both, or some are neither; you will learn more categories as you study deeper in the cultivation world."
"But for now, let's start with basic movement skills, the root of battle."
"This [Blazing Wildfire] is movement skill; movement skill is how we cooperate martial power into our movement, like this, this is how you normally walk."
Hou Yi walked.
"But when you use martial power, you can defy some law of nature, like this!"
Suddenly, Hou Yi stopped. But he stops in mid-air and floats forward like a cloud!
"WOW!"
Ning Yue looks under his master's feet and waves his hand around them to ensure there is nothing there.
"This is called [Floating Cloud Step]. It used to delay your movement and catch your opponent off their tempo."
*tab*
After stopping channeling his power, Hou Yi's body leaps forward as it should.
"Imagine fighting someone, and when they jump at you, you time your attack, but they suddenly freeze before you land your counterattack, and then they use the opening to attack; it is a move for a highly experienced fighter."
Hou Yi explains the implication of the move.
"WOW!! Can you teach me that one too?"
"If you wanted to, yes. But not now; you must learn the basics before you go for a bold move like this."
Hou Yi declined Ning Yue's wish for now.
"[Floating Cloud Step] is just an extreme example to show you the difference between with and without movement skill, [Blazing Wildfire] is very hard to notice by a novice, here why."
Hou Yi instantly leaps from another side of the training ground to the center.
"What?"
Ning Yue is confused; it looks like he normally leaps, but as normal as cultivators do.
Leaping at a high distance is not looking very impressive compared to stopping mid-air.
"What I just did is [Blazing Wildfire]. This movement skill is about using a burst of martial power to 'launch' you forward; the good thing about this move is you can do it continuously."
Hou Yi dashes around the training ground relentlessly, creating a shockwave every time he lands.
"Weak point about this move is that you use much power compared to other movement skills, but the best benefit is momentum and burst of speed."
"Momentum?"
Ning Yue had never heard this word in his life.
"Compared to standing punch and running before throwing a punch, the running punch will have a much higher impact because of momentum; think of it as the invisible force behind our movement."
"Try swinging your arm up and down; the little restraint you feel when you pull it up is the momentum left from when you swing it down pushing your arm."
"Oh."
"And when you run, and then stop. You feel something pulling you forward, which is also momentum, but instead of letting it pull you, why not make it push your punch to an enemy so it hits harder?"
"OH"
"The force that launches you can be redirected with your attack, multiplying the damage!"
"OH!"
Ning Yue is fascinated by the depth of movement skill knowledge.
"Your strong point is your mass; if you combine it with martial power to create speed behind it, the gap between stages can be overcome to some extent, but the main problem still doesn't go away…."
Hou Yi takes a deep breath before explaining Ning Yue's biggest obstacle.
"With you low stage, you can't compete with those in the higher stage because of your lack of reserved power; think of it as a water container, you in body cleansing is only a small cup, but when you reach awakening inner power, you will become a jug, and when you reach core-forming, you are a reservoir."
"Isn't that a bit too big? From Jug to a reservoir."
"It is not in the cultivation world. The core-forming stage is when every move can use a martial art, and every step is movement skill; the difference in power is like night and day."
Core-forming is the final step before reaching the real world of the cultivator and is considered an apex of the commoner world.
Most cultivators in the Azure kingdom are stuck at the core-forming stage; only a handful have broken through to the Earth realm.
"That indeed is a big problem."
Ning Yue feels pressured by the news, but he doesn't give up yet!
"But I would still win if I broke the container first, right?"
He meant what he said, destroy his opponent before they can spend all their power; this should make the gap nonexistent.
"Precisely correct. It is the plan to win, no… it is the only way you can win the tournament! You must end the fight as quickly as possible, but I'm afraid it will teach you a bad habit of quick fighting..."
"Some fights you can't win fast, just like I had taught you in the breathing lesson, worn-out your opponent is a valid strategy, and the biggest target for this strategy is those who want to end the fight quickly without a plan."
"Wanted to end a fight quickly and wanted to end a fight quickly 'as much as possible' are two vastly different things, first is for the amateur, and second is for pro."
Hou Yi wanted Ning Yue to remember this lesson.
To end the fight as quickly as possible, know yourself and your enemy, formulate a plan to end the battle, and not rush in and hope the opponent gets defeated fast.
"I think I kind of get it…."
Ning Yue couldn't follow all the stream of knowledge, but he caught on to some ideas.
"Just ensure you have a plan before striking; this is the basis to win all fights."
"Understood! Now It is time to learn the moves, right?"
"Yes! Let's start with [Blazing Wildfire]!"
Hou Yi opens the scrolls and explains to Ning Yue, step by step, how to use [Blazing Wildfire]
This movement skill is to direct your martial power under your feet and then explode it to launch yourself forward; it sounds simple, but not in practice.
"The important aspect that most fail to realize for this skill is, it is not about the speed, it the balance."
"Balance?"
"Try it, and you will get it."
Ning Yue tries as his master said; he starts running and feels his martial power inside him.
"Hu…"
He breathes in before directing the energy to his feet and then
*Boom*
"WAH!!"
He launches into the air and spins like a wheel, the good thing, before crashing down with his face; Hou Yi catches his feet in time.
"To use external force such as martial power, you must compose yourself with balance first, or else you will lose it."
Like throwing a dart or shooting an arrow, you must line it up first before shooting it.
"The tip is not to use it when you start; get in your end position first, then use it."
"What?"
Ning Yue doesn't understand; what is the end first, then start using it?
"Try punching me."
*Boom*
"Stop."
Hou Yi grabs his hand and commands Ning Yue to freeze.
"Remember this position of yours."
"Got it."
"Good, try running up to me and punching me, don't use [Blazing Wildfire] Yet."
*BOOM*
"Stop. Did you feel the momentum?"
"Yes!"
Ning Yue felt something passing through his punch to Hou Yi's palm.
"Good, next time you run, before reaching me, get to this position and use [Blazing Wildfire]."
Ning Yue follows his master's commands; he stabs back to create distance and starts running.
And 2 m before the punch connected, he threw out his punch and then used it!
[Blazing Wildfire]!
*BOOM!!!*
His body flies like a cannon and punches straight into Hou Yi's palm with incredible force and speed!
"Hmm!!!"
The force and weight behind it push Hou Yi's palm back; even a little is still an extraordinary feat!
'If someone in the awakening stage and below got hit directly by this, it's either death or cripples!'
His heart started pounding. Did he create such a monster in a short time?
'No, it's his reward for pushing that body.'
Hou Yi quickly shakes his head.
Ning Yue's dedication to training gave him such a powerful punch, not him.
"OH YES!!!"
Ning Yue feels amazed by the feeling of launching, and he even pushes his master back a little bit!
The moment he unleashes [Blazing Wildfire], it is like he bets his life on the punch; the rush he feels is unreal!
"Yes, but the downside of this movement skill is when you reach your opponent, you can't use it anymore to rush, so it is an opening move and catching move if your opponent is trying to create a distance."
"You can also use it backward, but not today; backward balance needs an experience you lack."
Hou Yi grabs back the scrolls and puts them inside his garment.
"What about the other two!?"
Ning Yue grabs his master's arm and gives him the puppy eyes.
"For the next lesson, go get more experience; it is still afternoon, so there should be some disciples training in the battleground; go win some fights and come back tomorrow."
"Battleground? Oh! OK!! See you tomorrow, master Yi!!"
Ning Yue ran off, even using [Blazing Wildfire] to go out quicker!
"Ah, to be young."
He smiles, watching his pupil run off with such energy.
After cleaning, he returns to the building and brings up an empty scroll.
Hou Yi opens [Eruption Fist] and [Azure Style] scroll and starts rewriting both into the new scroll.
He finally makes a choice.
At first, he doubted Ning Yue's body training, but after seeing how much power is inside that body, he accepts it.
And then, seeing him soaked in blood and wounds to finish his task shows him the ambition and motivation Ning Yue has.
And finally, after teaching him, he knows that Ning Yue is a learner willing to polish himself and become better, a true cultivator.
"Can't believe I'm doing this!"
Hou Yi thinks he may be getting too excited because what he is doing now is creating a new technique.
It is a martial art technique tailor-made for a beast like Ning Yue!
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