17: Chapter 17: Refining Basic Martial Arts Skills, Subtly Transforming the Body

Inside the training hall of the Shanghai Sports Center, Chen Wu's white practice uniform was already soaked with sweat.

He stood in the center of the arena, feet shoulder-width apart, fists clenched and tucked at his waist—this was the most standard boxing ready stance—and he had held this position for a full two hours.

The number of viewers in the livestream had dropped from a Peak of 300 million to 80 million, and the comments were full of complaints:

"No way? We just finished watching the deep-sea battle, and now you're showing us this?"

"He's been standing still for two hours. Is Chen Wu suffering from kidney deficiency?"

"Don't talk nonsense, the one above. This is called Stance Training! My grandfather does it every day."

"What's so interesting about Stance Training? Might as well go watch UFC fighting."

"+1, hurry up and use a big Move! I want to see Quantum Listening Force tear apart a tank!"

Xu Hao was pacing anxiously in the corner, clutching his laptop. The donation curve on the screen looked like a dying earthworm: "Brother Wu, if this continues, the sponsors are going to withdraw their funding! They want explosive scenes, not standing at attention like a soldier!"

Chen Wu didn't look back, only exhaling slowly.

He could "listen" to his blood flowing through his vessels, and every heartbeat precisely drove the "Qi" in his Dantian to vibrate slightly—this was the effect of the body tempering pill settling in, and also the reason he was deliberately polishing his Foundation.

The trip to the deep sea had taught him that no matter how flashy a Move was, without a solid Foundation, it was just a castle in the air.

"Let them complain." His voice was as calm as water in an ancient well. "True Dao is never meant for show."

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly moved.

It wasn't some earth-shattering big Move, just a most ordinary straight punch—his fist straightened, his shoulder drove his arm to rotate, his waist twisted in tandem, twisting the strength of his entire body into a single rope, finally landing on the force gauge in front of him.

"Bang!"

A dull thud echoed through the training hall.

The display of the force gauge jumped three times, finally settling at "896 kg."

The comments in the livestream paused for three seconds, then exploded:

"??? Did I see that right? 896 kg?"

"Even in his Peak, Tyson was only over 500 kg!"

"This is a straight punch? This is a cannonball!"

"Who was the one saying he was just standing at attention earlier? Come out and get beaten!"

"Wait... he doesn't seem to have used any strength? His expression hasn't even changed."

Chen Wu indeed hadn't used much strength.

This straight punch only utilized thirty percent of his power; it was the result of his deliberate control.

His body, modified by the body tempering pill, was like a precision machine; every muscle and every bone could exert force precisely, and what he needed to do now was to let this machine familiarize itself with the most basic mode of operation.

"Did you see that?" He lifted his chin toward the camera. "This is the power of the Foundation. Without using Quantum Listening Force, without explosive Internal Energy, turning the simplest movement into the ultimate is Dao."

When Zhao Mengmeng snuck into the training hall hugging her rabbit doll, Chen Wu was practicing the inch punch.

His fist was only three centimeters away from the force gauge; it looked like a light tap, yet it always produced a dull, explosive sound.

Even more bizarre was that every time his fist made contact with the force gauge, the surrounding air would ripple, as if pushed away by an invisible force.

"Brother Wu, your fist is glowing!" The little girl leaned in, holding her doll. The doll's electronic eyes suddenly emitted a green light. "High-frequency vibration detected! It's the same frequency as Grandpa's old grandfather clock pendulum!"

Chen Wu withdrew his fist and smiled.

After three days of polishing, he had finally mastered the essence of the inch punch—it didn't rely on the explosive power of the arm, but on the resonance of the body.

Just like a pendulum could accumulate energy through continuous small-scale swings, his inch punch also concentrated and released all energy at the moment of contact with the target through the continuous vibration of his soles, knees, waist, abdomen, and shoulders.

"Want to learn?" He reached out his hand toward Zhao Mengmeng.

The little girl nodded vigorously, imitating his posture, clenching her fist, and gesturing in the air: "Is it like this?"

"Not quite." Chen Wu held her wrist, gently adjusting the angle. "Pay attention here; the wrist should be like the handle of a whip, the arm is the whip body, and the fist is the whip tip. When exerting force, don't push with your hand, 'whip' it out with your body."

He guided Zhao Mengmeng to throw a punch. Although she didn't hit anything, the little girl suddenly cried out, "Ya!": "I felt it! There was a stream of Qi running from the soles of my feet to my fist!"

The viewers in the livestream were stunned:

"Holy crap! Is he actually teaching? Is this going to be martial arts for everyone?"

"A little girl can feel Qi? I don't believe it!"

"Shut up, you sour critics above. Mengmeng already had her Awakening."

"The point is the inch punch! Hitting with this power from a distance of three centimeters, Newton's coffin lid can't be kept down!"

Chen Wu ignored the arguments in the comments and just let Zhao Mengmeng stand in front of the force gauge: "Want to try?"

The little girl swallowed nervously, followed the instructions he had just taught, and threw a punch at the force gauge.

"Pa!"

The crisp sound was completely different from the previous dull thud, and the force gauge displayed "127 kg."

"Wow! I did it!" Zhao Mengmeng jumped up, the ears of her rabbit doll even standing up.

Chen Wu, however, frowned: "Not quite. Look," he pointed to the high-speed camera replay next to the force gauge, "Your shoulders are too stiff; the energy is stuck here. Try again, imagine yourself as a spring."

This time the little girl learned her lesson, first loosening her shoulders, then relaxing her body, and threw a punch lightly.

"Bang!"

This sound was significantly deeper, and the force gauge displayed "189 kg."

The livestream comments instantly flooded the screen:

"A little girl punching 189 kg? The world has gone mad!"

"I finally understand why we need to practice the basics... This teaching is so worth it!"

"Start the donations! Let Brother Wu teach more!"

"+10086, ignore those trolls, we love watching this!"

Xu Hao looked at the crazily rising donation amount in the background, his mouth open wide enough to fit an egg.

He suddenly understood Chen Wu's intention—not all viewers only liked explosive scenes; this kind of content that allowed people to see progress, and even follow along and learn, was actually better at retaining people's hearts.

Late at night, only Chen Wu remained in the training hall.

He took off his soaked practice uniform, stood shirtless in front of the mirror, and watched the changes happening to his body.

The muscle lines were smoother than before, without the sense of blockiness intentionally cultivated in gyms, yet they exuded an introverted explosive power.

The blood vessels under his skin were faintly visible, and the flowing blood carried a faint golden hue—that was the sign of "Qi" fusing with his blood.

The most peculiar thing was his spine, which shone with a faint silver light under the moonlight, like a dormant Dragon.

"System prompt: Basic boxing and kicking proficiency has reached 'Transcendent'." A cold, mechanical voice sounded in his mind. "New skill unlocked: 'Body Intent'—can automatically avoid attacks through body memory."

Chen Wu threw a punch at the mirror.

His punch speed was clearly the same as during the day, yet he felt that the air resistance was much smaller, as if a pair of invisible hands were helping him push aside the airflow.

He tried to throw a combination—straight punch, hook, uppercut—the movements connected like flowing clouds and water, without any stagnation, as if these movements had been carved into his bone marrow.

This was the magic of polishing the Foundation.

When a movement is repeated ten thousand times, muscles form memory, "Qi" forms inertia, and one finally reaches the Realm of "Unity of Knowledge and Action."

He walked to the sandbag in the corner and closed his eyes.

In the darkness, the outline of the sandbag emerged clearly in his mind, and he could even "listen" to the sound of sand flowing inside the sandbag.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

He started kicking.

Not flashy high roundhouse kicks, just the most basic side kick—supporting leg steady, swinging leg lifted with bent knee, ankle tightened, exerting force with the outside of the foot, kicking precisely into the center of the sandbag.

With every kick, the sandbag only swayed slightly, without swinging violently.

But Chen Wu knew this was even more impressive than making the sandbag fly—his power could already penetrate the surface layer of the sandbag and act directly on the sand inside, just like a bullet penetrating a paper target, leaving a precise hole rather than a torn opening.

"Listening Energy" played a role here.

He could "listen" to the groaning of the sandbag fibers, could "listen" to the friction between the sand, and could even "listen" to the subtle vibration emitted when his foot bone collided with the sandbag.

These sounds were like a teacher, constantly correcting the angle and force of his exertion.

When he kicked for the one-thousandth time, he suddenly stopped.

It wasn't because he was tired, but because he felt a change—a warmth came from the hip joint of his swinging leg, and a new stream of "Qi" was being born there, flowing toward his Dantian along the Meridians of his thigh.

"So that's how it is..." Chen Wu opened his eyes, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.

Polishing the Foundation not only consolidated old power but also stimulated the body's potential, just like digging for a spring buried deep underground; as long as one persists in digging, there will always be new discoveries.

The night owls in the livestream watched with great interest:

"Although I don't understand it, it feels very impressive."

"Is this the legendary 'Punch a thousand times, and its meaning will reveal itself'?"

"Practicing at 3 AM, he deserves to be this strong."

"Suddenly a bit ashamed, I can't even do three sit-ups."

Chen Wu lifted his chin toward the camera: "Tomorrow I will teach everyone how to stand in the Hunyuan Stance. Don't underestimate this simple movement; if you can persist for a month, I guarantee your body will be in top shape."

The next morning, Chen Wu was teaching the viewers how to stand in the Hunyuan Stance when the door of the training hall was suddenly kicked open.

Five burly men wearing black tank tops walked in.

The bald man in the lead had a skull tattooed on his chest and was holding brass knuckles in his hand: "Chen Wu? Come with us."

The comments in the livestream instantly became tense:

"Holy crap! Gangsters?"

"Are they Rex's people from last time?"

"Call the police quickly!"

"What are you afraid of? Chen Wu can kill a cow with one punch."

Chen Wu didn't Move, still maintaining the posture of Stance Training: "I don't know you."

"You do now." The bald man grinned, revealing yellowed teeth. "Our boss wants to invite you for some 'tea' to chat about the treasure from the deep sea."

Chen Wu's gaze turned cold.

These people were not Rex's enhanced humans; they didn't have the smell of machinery, only the stench of cheap tobacco and sweat—but they mentioned the "treasure from the deep sea," so they were clearly here for the bronze tripod or the "Qi Energy Node."

"Tell your boss to come himself." He slowly stood up straight, his hands hanging naturally.

"You refuse a toast only to be forced to drink a forfeit!" Scarface behind the bald man couldn't hold back, rushing over while swinging his fist.

His punch was fast and ruthless, carrying the sound of breaking air; he was clearly someone who had trained.

Chen Wu dodged to the side, his movement as natural as breathing.

This wasn't a deliberate dodge, but an automatic reaction from the "Body Intent" skill—the moment the wind from the opponent's punch arose, his body had already made the most reasonable evasive movement.

Scarface missed his punch, losing his center of gravity.

Chen Wu took advantage of the momentum to extend his palm, gently pressing it on his back.

He didn't use force, just a gentle push borrowing the opponent's forward momentum.

"Ouch!"

Scarface was thrown out like a broken sack, sliding three meters on the ground, unable to climb up for a long time.

The livestream comments laughed like crazy:

"??? That's it?"

"Even my grandmother can fight better than this."

"This Move by Chen Wu was like pushing a little kid."

"Is this 'Body Intent'? So cool!"

The bald man's expression turned ugly: "All together now!"

The remaining four burly men rushed up at the same time, throwing punches and kicks, sealing off all of Chen Wu's retreat paths.

Their coordination was very tacit, clearly old hands who often "fought" together.

But in Chen Wu's eyes, their movements were as slow as a movie replay.

He could even "listen" to the sound of their muscles contracting, predicting the trajectory of their next second's movements.

He didn't use any Internal Energy, nor did he use the inch punch; he just relied on the most basic dodging and blocking—when the opponent threw a left punch, he blocked it with his right forearm; when the opponent kicked with his right leg, he stepped to the left to avoid it; when someone attacked from behind, he took the opportunity to perform a backflip, his feet landing exactly on the opponent's chest.

The whole process was like an elegant dance.

Chen Wu's movements weren't fast, even somewhat casual, but every time he could precisely neutralize the attack and also take the opportunity to make the opponent lose their balance.

In less than a minute, all four burly men were lying on the ground—not knocked unconscious, but knocked dizzy from falling.

The bald man was so scared his legs went soft, and he turned to run.

Chen Wu gently stomped his foot, and a coin on the ground suddenly bounced up, hitting exactly on the back of his knee.

"Thump!" The bald man knelt on the ground.

Chen Wu walked in front of him, his voice calm: "Go back and tell your boss, if you want the item, come and get it yourself."

The bald man scrambled away, even forgetting to take his brothers with him.

The training hall was silent, with only the livestream comments scrolling crazily:

"I take back what I said yesterday! Basic training is so damn cool!"

"Is this 'Winning without Moves'?"

"Donating 100 rockets! Begging Brother Wu for detailed teaching!"

"Suddenly feel that MMA is so childish..."

Chen Wu picked up a towel to wipe his sweat and smiled at the camera: "Did you see that? This is the power of the Foundation. You don't need Quantum Listening Force, you don't need explosive Internal Energy; training the simplest things to the extreme can solve 99% of problems."

His gaze fell outside the window, where the sunlight was just right.

After these few days of polishing, his body had completed the transformation from "quantitative change" to "qualitative change," and more importantly, he had found his own martial arts rhythm—not chasing other people's expectations, but settling his heart down and walking forward one step at a time.

"Next lesson, we will practice footwork." Chen Wu waved at the camera, "If you want to learn, come early tomorrow."

The number of viewers in the livestream surged back to 200 million, and the donation amount skyrocketed like a rocket.

Xu Hao was waving his fists excitedly in the corner; he knew that the new era belonging to Chen Wu had just begun.

And the starting point of all this was nothing more than those seemingly boring punches and kicks, standing and waiting.