Chapter 49: A Familiar Sight
Chapter 49: A Familiar Sight
After finishing his meal, Jiang Cheng took a short break and began his stance training.
According to Zhao Xiangyu's instructions, to learn martial arts, one must first achieve proficiency in stance training.
For an average person, this would typically take at least two months.
Jiang Cheng couldn't afford to wait that long; he had to make the most of his time and improve his proficiency in these two fundamental skills.
Firstly, he could learn martial arts as soon as possible, ensuring he had the ability to protect himself even without weapons.
Secondly, he wanted to prove his talent and catch the attention of the martial arts hall.
Ordinary martial arts techniques, no matter how well practiced, would be of no use; he had to come into contact with secret martial arts to break the limits of the human body and gain the power to change his destiny.
So, the sweet potatoes he bought could only be washed by his grandma alone.
The old lady had no objections; she had already said that she could handle it by herself, but Jiang Cheng hadn't listened before.
His legs were shoulder-width apart, slightly bent at the knees, with his arms wrapped around his body, and his eyes fixed forward.
Half a minute passed.
"Little Cheng, what are you doing?"
The old lady couldn't help but ask when she saw Jiang Cheng standing still in a peculiar posture.
"Grandma, I'm practicing my stance," Jiang Cheng replied.
"Stance training?"
"Yes, I learned this at the martial arts hall. It's a fundamental skill in martial arts and also a way to strengthen the body. Grandma, once I become more proficient, I'll teach you too; it's good for your health."
"Me practicing this? Forget it."
The old lady chuckled silently.
But Jiang Cheng thought to himself, of course, it's possible.
Not only could he teach his neighbor Chen Sao and Xiao Yue, but he could also teach those around him, just like teaching them horse stance, without violating the martial arts hall's rules.
After three or four minutes, Jiang Cheng gradually felt the strain, and his legs began to tremble slightly. By the time five minutes had passed, he couldn't endure it any longer, and as he gained a point of experience on the panel, he decided to relax and take a break.
Thus, he repeated this cycle over and over, and an hour passed.
His experience points increased by five or six.
Jiang Cheng realized that to reach proficiency, he could only slowly spend time practicing.
He tried lowering his center of gravity to increase the experience gained per unit of time, but this reduced the duration he could endure significantly.
When he saw the panel showing a gain of one experience point, he lost his motivation and couldn't continue.
On the other hand, raising his center of gravity allowed him to last longer, but he still only gained one experience point, and he was quickly running out of strength, unable to persist.
Therefore, accelerating experience gain was not possible; he had to be honest and earn it bit by bit.
Perhaps after he became proficient in stance training, he would be able to last longer and gain more experience.
But it was obvious that the experience bar would also increase significantly...
Jiang Cheng shook his head.
Compared to others who took ten to fifteen days to become proficient in stance training, he had already achieved it in over eight hours, which was a huge advantage.
He would take it one step at a time.
After standing in stance for another hour, Jiang Cheng felt his legs couldn't take it anymore; he had clearly reached his limit for the day.
Continuing to practice would only waste his energy without gaining any experience.
"Let's practice the double sticks for another hour."
...
The next day, Jiang Cheng specifically wore the training uniform from the martial arts hall.
After all, that's what everyone there wore, and he didn't want to stand out.
Additionally, wearing it outside would also intimidate many people.
Sure enough, after finishing breakfast, when Jiang Cheng hid his double sticks and went out, the people in the poor district saw him and widened their eyes. When Jiang Cheng looked at them, they quickly turned away, not daring to make eye contact.
The streets were bustling with street vendors, mostly selling breakfast items. When Jiang Cheng walked by, they were all startled.
In their minds, they prayed for this guy to leave quickly and not cause any trouble at their stalls.
Jiang Cheng, of course, didn't pay them any mind and walked past without a glance.
The vendors behind him breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Hmm? I feel like I recognize that guy who just walked by," said a middle-aged woman.
"Recognize him? Don't even think about it. Getting familiar with them is not a good idea," replied another.
"Yeah, if you get too friendly, they'll come here every day to freeload off you. Are you scared now?"
"Don't even joke about it." The middle-aged woman shuddered at the thought.
"I must have been mistaken. I probably recognized the wrong person."
At the martial arts hall, Jiang Cheng went up to the second floor. In the spacious area, there was only one person.
The man, in his early thirties with a buzz cut, was warming up.
"Good morning," Jiang Cheng greeted him, taking the initiative.
He had no idea who this person was.
The man paused for a moment, then nodded and returned the greeting.
Jiang Cheng smiled at him, placed his twin sticks on a black rack by the wall, and began his own warm-up routine.
His warm-up routine was the same Billowing Exercises that Zhao Xiangyu had taught him the day before.
After completing the set, he immediately felt a warm sensation throughout his body.
Then, he began his standing stance training.
According to his progress, he only needed to stand in the stance for six more hours to reach the Proficient Level.
Around 8 a.m., members started arriving gradually, mostly regular members, with two premium members among them.
"You're here so early to practice? That's diligent," Zhao Xiangyu's voice echoed from a distance.
He held half a steamed bun in one hand and a bag of buns in the other.
"Zhao Shixiong," Jiang Cheng greeted him, maintaining his stance.
"Hmm, your posture is much more standard than yesterday," Zhao Xiangyu commented after taking a look.
"Keep practicing, I'm going upstairs to eat breakfast."
After saying this, he greeted a few other premium members and went up to the third floor.
Not long after he left, a few more people arrived.
Some were premium members, while others were disciples of the martial arts hall, like Zhao Xiangyu. Among them was the man who had almost left without paying for the sweet potato, known to the other members as Xiao Shixiong.
He noticed a new face among them but didn't recognize Jiang Cheng, perhaps due to his change of training uniform or because he didn't care to remember a street vendor.
About fifteen minutes later, a commotion erupted downstairs, and faintly, they could hear someone calling out, "Bai Shijie."
Soon, the sound of two women's laughter echoed from the stairs.
The premium members on the second floor warming up also looked over with keen interest.
It was Bai Wei and Sun Xiaoli.
Female members were already rare in the martial arts hall, and these two not only had good looks but also impressive physiques. Bai Wei, being the master's disciple, drew attention wherever she went.
Jiang Cheng also glanced over with curiosity.
However, he was well aware of his own abilities and didn't harbor any expectations. He didn't take the initiative to approach them either.
"Hey?"
Bai Wei's gaze swept across the room and immediately noticed Jiang Cheng's unfamiliar face.
After a few more glances, she couldn't help but point at Jiang Cheng in surprise, "You, aren't you the one who..."
(End of Chapter)
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