092 An Original Piece of Guidance

Seeing that his internal injuries had healed, Chen Jue felt noticeably better. After strolling along the beach for a while, he returned to his room and set the fish gelatin and medicinal broth to simmer.

In the afternoon, he did not continue practicing the circulation of the greater and lesser heavenly cycles. This internal alchemy method was simply too difficult to master. Chen Jue planned to wait until night, when his strength was depleted, and then grind it down with patient, steady effort.

He did not believe it.

As long as he kept at it long enough, there would come a day when he would fully master the greater and lesser heavenly cycles.

For the afternoon, Chen Jue returned to training the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield. He stubbornly believed that if this third hard-body art had also been perfected when the fishing boat rammed him, he would not have suffered such severe internal injuries.

Because the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield cultivated both inside and out, the secret striking techniques within it were said to train the internal organs as well. Once this hard-body art was cultivated to a sufficiently profound level, his viscera would gain impact resistance much like his skin.

After spending two hours grinding it up to level one, the suction-like breakthrough effect made Chen Jue's entire musculature tremble faintly. A suppressed low roar escaped from his throat, and under the influence of that sound, his bones and internal organs began to tingle faintly. It was the kind of "tiger and leopard thunder" described in classic boxing texts, a mark of superior marrow-changing skill, with the marvelous effect of penetrating into the bones and training the organs.

The bluish-purple showing through Chen Jue's skin indicated that blood had gathered beneath the surface, and the veins and muscles had become thicker than before.

"After mastering it, is this what it feels like to be wrapped in a golden bell?" Chen Jue shook his whole body twice and gathered his force. His body gave off a subtle resonant hum, like a bronze bell being struck.

He had not expected this hard-body art to make use of vibration principles as well, allowing the muscles and skin to enter a peculiar state of circulation that could dissipate much of the force of impact.

Seeing that his strength, agility, and physique had all risen a little, Chen Jue took advantage of the lingering breakthrough effect and went to drink his medicine and eat some fish gelatin.

Since it was still early, he turned to practicing the Wudang Golden Needle Finger technique. These days he cultivated in every posture, whether walking, standing, sitting, or lying down, and did not find it dull at all. Once he trained, he became utterly absorbed.

When night fell and dinner was finished, Chen Jue changed into swim trunks and went to the long-absent reef-lined coast behind the cliffs.

The wooden fishing boat whose prow he had smashed, he guessed, had been taken away by Yu Yue and the others, and there was no longer any trace of it on the water. Even the boat motor that had once been hidden on shore was gone.

He picked up that stone sphere and entered the water again. Without the stimulation of strong winds and towering waves, and with his injuries only just healed, Chen Jue did not dare overdo it. He only practiced underwater for ten minutes before coming back ashore to rest.

"Ah, the proficiency is slowing down. Could it be that I really have to go chasing typhoons and giant waves in the future?" Chen Jue felt a little helpless. After a whole evening of diving, his Taiji stance had improved by only a little over a hundred points in proficiency.

At such a low rate, it would probably take a month or more before he had any hope of raising these two skills to the next level.

Fortunately, he had still gained quite a few free attribute points, so the effort had not been in vain.

After showering and changing into clean clothes, Chen Jue began practicing the greater and lesser heavenly cycles according to plan.

...

The next several days passed in the same orderly fashion. His health index slowly recovered to 105 percent through a combination of internal and external treatment.

During these days, both the Tiger Roar Golden Bell Shield and the Golden Needle Finger art were raised by one level, reaching level two. Only the greater and lesser heavenly cycle method still had not formed a skill on the panel.

Early one morning, after eating his final breakfast at Uncle Yu's house, Chen Jue packed his bags and bid farewell to the warmhearted old couple.

Having stayed for nearly half a month, Chen Jue felt he had gained a great deal. He had originally wanted to remain longer and continue his cultivation, but he could not hold out against the repeated urging from Political Commissar Yao, so he had no choice but to check out and head back first.

As for the full month of lodging he had paid in advance, Uncle Yu had wanted to return part of it to him. But Chen Jue repeatedly refused, saying he could come back later when he had time, or perhaps next summer to stay here again when he came to play. Only then did the old couple accept his suggestion and stop insisting.

There is no banquet that does not end. Having eaten and drunk at Uncle Yu's for so long, Chen Jue felt that once he returned, he would likely never again taste such warm and delicious home cooking, and a faint reluctance rose in his heart.

Here, Chen Jue had unexpectedly found something resembling the feeling of his own home from childhood.

He booked a ride-share on his phone, dragged along the travel bag containing his dumbbells, and carried the fish gelatin and the all-healing broth he had not yet finished, along with the books on medicine that had arrived over the past few days. Before getting into the car, he glanced back at Uncle Yu and Auntie standing at the gate of the row house, waving to him, and felt a warmth in his chest.

"Come again next time!"

"Anyway, it's not far. It's only a little over three hours by car," Chen Jue thought as he leaned back in the seat and closed his eyes to rest.

...

After more than three hours on the road, he returned to Chen Village, which he had not seen for half a month.

Pushing open the front door, he was greeted by the same familiar scent in the room. As the saying goes, a gold nest or silver nest is not as good as one's own humble doghouse.

Once home, Chen Jue felt relaxed all over, as though every pore in his body had opened.

He set down his luggage, took out all the clothes to be washed and tossed them into the washing machine, then opened every window and door in the house to air it out. Before leaving, he had made sure everything was closed properly, so the rain brought by the typhoon had not blown in.

Seeing that it was almost eleven, and not wanting to cook for himself, Chen Jue contacted Political Commissar Yao on his phone and said he would come over right away, planning to eat in the corps cafeteria and begin teaching in the afternoon.

Political Commissar Yao sent back a hearty welcome and dispatched a jeep to pick him up. With Chen Jue aboard, they headed to the garrison in Peach Immortal Village.

"Coach Chen! It's been more than half a month since you left!" the other man said as they met again.

"The soldiers have been howling for you to come teach them. Now it's good at last. We've finally waited for you." After exchanging a few pleasantries, Political Commissar Yao invited Chen Jue to the cafeteria for lunch.

During the meal, while chatting, Political Commissar Yao specifically brought up the martial contest scheduled for half a month later.

He said that the regiment had submitted two names in all: one was Zhou Gang, who had won first place in last year's regimental martial competition, and the other was Chen Jue, the external coach.

However, this major competition was not like the previous free-for-all. The rules divided it into two separate routes: soldier versus soldier, coach versus coach, with no mutual interference. This surprised Chen Jue a little.

In addition, Political Commissar Yao specifically called over the young soldier Zhou Gang, saying he hoped Chen Jue could take a little time today to give him some one-on-one guidance.

As the saying goes, sharpening the spear at the last minute may not be fast, but it still shines. There were only two weeks left before the competition. If Chen Jue could give Zhou Gang some special instruction, Zhou Gang's strength might improve somewhat, and his results in the contest could be raised as well.

Chen Jue naturally agreed without hesitation to this small proposal.

Recently, while cultivating by the sea, he had also given plenty of pointers in the group chat on how to train internal force. Since teaching a whole group was teaching, teaching one person was teaching too.

After the afternoon's three-hour traditional martial arts instruction session ended, and after dinner and an hour of rest, Chen Jue took Zhou Gang, along with Instructor Zou and another Instructor Lin, who had also become interested in learning, up to the rooftop of the seven-story dormitory building in the garrison.

...

"Coach! Why did you bring me up to the roof so late at night?"

Zhou Gang was somewhat puzzled. He had spent several hours training with Chen Jue in the afternoon and had not yet fully digested the material they had just learned, when Chen Jue brought him up to the rooftop.

As for the two instructors, Zou and Lin, they were equally curious, not knowing what kind of medicine Chen Jue was selling in his gourd by bringing them to the roof terrace in the middle of the night.

"There is a training method in boxing theory called stealing the secrets of heaven. It borrows skill from the heavens and is the fastest way to achieve martial arts. Teaching you step by step would probably produce little in half a month, so why not be bold and steal a bit of heavenly timing? Go stand up there and feel it for yourself." Chen Jue said, pointing at the concrete barrier on the rooftop that stood nearly half a meter high and was only about forty centimeters wide.

"Steal the secrets of heaven? Like tightrope walking in a circus, to build courage?" Zhou Gang thought it over after hearing Chen Jue's words, then climbed onto the concrete barrier.

But the moment he stood up there, the cool night wind made him shiver all over. He glanced down from the seventh floor and felt a jolt of panic, his heartbeat quickening.

This was the normal stress response of a person in a high and dangerous place.

Before Zhou Gang could recover, he suddenly felt someone shove hard against his back. His whole body tensed, his pores stood on end, and a hand clamped tightly around one of his arms. With a cry of alarm, he pitched forward and fell straight off the concrete barrier!

Below was the seventh floor!

If he fell, would he not be smashed to pieces?

The two instructors, Zou and Lin, watching from behind, were also shocked, because in their line of sight it had been Chen Jue, standing behind Zhou Gang, who had pushed him!

This astonishing scene naturally left the two instructors' scalps tingling, their brains practically short-circuiting.

But before they could react, even for a fraction of a second, they saw Chen Jue leap over the concrete barrier as well. With five fingers of one hand hooked into the inside edge of the barrier and the other gripping one of Zhou Gang's arms, he held him suspended in midair for several seconds before applying force to pull him back up and toss him onto the rooftop.

In those few short seconds, Zhou Gang felt as if he had passed through the gates of hell. Cold sweat poured from him, his limbs went weak, and he collapsed on the ground, gasping heavily.

But before he had even caught his breath for long, Chen Jue's voice came to his ear.

"Rest for ten minutes. When you've settled down, go up again and keep training."

"Don't worry. I won't push you again this time."

"That shove just now was to let you know that with me guarding you, you will not fall. All you need to do is go up there and train with confidence."

At that moment, Zhou Gang only felt that the Coach Chen who had once seemed so easygoing now inspired fear in him like a humanoid war machine.

As for the two instructors, Zou and Lin, who had followed up, they now came to themselves and rushed over to the place where Chen Jue had just braced himself against the railing to look.

They discovered that on the barrier were a row of neat finger marks!

Though they were shallow to the touch and the concrete showed only slight cracking, they were undeniably finger impressions embedded in the barrier.

This made the two of them even more horrified.

With one hand hanging from the barrier and the other able to haul back a sturdy young man weighing over 160 pounds from midair, while also leaving such finger marks in the concrete, just how terrifying had Chen Jue's burst of strength been?

The two exchanged glances, swallowed hard, and, thinking it over, felt a chill run down their spines. It seemed Chen Jue's martial arts had become even more outrageously formidable since the last time he came!

To the point that the whole night, the only thing in their minds was that row of finger marks that would not go away.