Chapter 9: Re-entering Time Stop
Chapter 9: Chapter 9: Re-entering Time Stop
"Everyone, gather around me in a circle! I will demonstrate the complete set for you first!"
Teacher Liu’s figure moved as he demonstrated, his voice ringing out with instructions.
"The essence of the Leg Springing Technique lies in the word ’springing’! Watch closely!"
His left leg suddenly tapped forward. It looked light, but in the instant before touching his imaginary enemy, he abruptly exerted force. His calf muscles tensed, producing a soft SNAP.
"This move is Spiritual Snake Pathfinding, a feint used to confuse the enemy," Liu Xiaochuan explained.
Before the momentum of the move faded, he used the inertia to half-spin his body, sweeping his right leg horizontally and whipping up a sharp gust of wind.
"This is an area-of-effect attack called Sweeping Thousand Soldiers. It’s highly practical whether in one-on-one combat or a group brawl."
Immediately following that, he suddenly crouched and swept his left leg close to the ground.
"This is Old Tree Rooting, a move that feigns an attack on the Lower Body while actually setting up a high kick."
Then, using the rotational force, he kicked his right leg forcefully upward, striking directly at the center guard.
"This is a move for a forceful, direct assault!
"Pay attention to the changes in direction and the transitions! Mix the real with the fake! Every step of the Leg Technique must integrate with your Body Technique and Step Technique!"
Fang Chen watched with concentrated focus. He had already noticed that the cooldown for his Time Stop had finished. However, since a new Martial Skill was being taught in today’s combat class, he planned to finish learning it before going into the Time Stop Domain to practice.
His gaze was locked onto every subtle movement of Teacher Liu. His feet unconsciously shifted along with the moves, rapidly deconstructing and practicing them in his mind.
Having finished demonstrating the set, Teacher Liu retracted his stance and stood upright, his Aura long and steady.
"If anyone has questions, you can ask now. This set of Ding’an Twelve-Step Leg Springing Technique is much more difficult than the previous Rock-Breaking Fist and Gale Step Technique. It is a genuine military Martial Skill!"
Seeing that no one took the initiative to step forward, he smiled and said, "It’s fine, I know everyone can’t learn it in a short time. Who wants to come up and give it a try? I can use this chance to point out the most common mistakes beginners make."
He scanned the crowd and couldn’t help but chuckle when he saw the students subconsciously shrink their necks. "It took your teacher two years to reach Minor Achievement in this Leg Technique, and five years to reach Great Success. You can take your time practicing it after graduation. It can be considered a signature skill."
Seeing that still no one moved, his gaze naturally landed on Fang Chen. "Fang Chen, you come up. Don’t be afraid of making mistakes. It’s the perfect chance to show everyone how to avoid these common issues."
The classmates immediately breathed a sigh of relief. They looked at Fang Chen with smiles, and the atmosphere lightened up.
"Hehe, go for it, Class Rep!"
"It’s so good to have the Class Rep around. I’ll never get picked!"
"Yes, sir!" Fang Chen replied as he stepped out of the ranks.
On the surface, he appeared calm, but he had already planned to activate his ability. As he walked toward the center of the field, he unclipped his jingling keychain and other miscellaneous items.
When his fingers brushed against the sharp tip of a key, his heart stirred as a sudden thought struck him. His gaze swept over the tooth marks on his right fist, which had already healed by seventy to eighty percent.
He thought, "Will injuries heal inside the Time Stop Domain? Let’s give it a try."
Using the motion of straightening his collar to cover his actions, he quietly gripped the key tightly in his right hand. With the palm facing himself, he slightly circulated the True Qi in his body and exerted a sudden burst of force!
The tip of the key instantly pierced several millimeters into his palm. A sharp pain flared, and blood immediately seeped through his fingers.
Because he cleverly concealed it with his palm, to the watching classmates, it simply looked like he was bringing his fists together in preparation. No one noticed anything amiss.
He thought, "Alright, the wound is made."
With a slight shift in his intent, Fang Chen activated his Superpower.
"Enter Time Stop!"
The familiar sense of stagnation enveloped the world once more. All the teachers and students on the sports field were frozen in their postures from the previous second.
Entering this absolute domain for the second time, Fang Chen didn’t feel much emotional turbulence.
He found an empty spot, carefully replayed every detail of Teacher Liu’s demonstration in his mind, and began to practice the Ding’an Twelve-Step Leg Springing Technique move by move.
Lifting the leg, springing kicks, horizontal sweeps, changing directions...
Cultivation knew no concept of time. Very quickly, Fang Chen... became hungry.
He thought, "I can actually get hungry in the Time Stop Domain? Well, that makes sense. If I can get injured, getting a hungry stomach is perfectly normal."
He immediately came up with a solution. "It’s past eleven o’clock right now, so the cafeteria should be preparing meals. I’ll go see if there’s anything to eat."
He headed to the cafeteria. Facing the locked glass doors, he kicked them to pieces without a moment’s hesitation.
"Everything will revert back to normal once this ends anyway," he reasoned.
Inside the spacious cafeteria, there were only the frozen cafeteria staff.
He vaulted into the serving area and instantly spotted a large, mouth-watering basin of steamed pork with rice flour. This might have been a common dish in his past life, but in this life, it wasn’t something he could eat often.
He tried to pick up the entire tray of steamed pork directly, but the burning heat made him retract his hand. Using a rag as a buffer, he pulled the tray out and set it aside.
It wasn’t long before the tray’s temperature dropped.
He thought, "As expected, once I make direct contact with an object, its basic physical properties are restored."
His curiosity piqued again, he looked at the frozen Flame on a nearby stove. It looked like a piece of solidified red silk.
He reached out to touch it and could feel the scorching heat, but the sensation was fleeting, and the Flame dissipated into thin air.
Fang Chen twisted the gas knob back and forth. The Flame in that spot immediately resumed its normal flickering and burning.
He proceeded to test the electricity, water, and gas, finding that the principles were largely the same.
He thought, "If I were a scientist, it would be pretty worry-free to use this place for experiments. Even if I blew things up, the worst-case scenario would just be leaving the Time Stop."
Having figured out a few more operating rules of the Time Stop Domain, Fang Chen felt satisfied. He went over to a seat, laid out a table full of food, and began to eat!
After devouring his meal like a whirlwind, Fang Chen returned to his practice spot.
He found a pen and paper and wrote down a detailed record of his cultivation insights, just in case his memory blurred.
Opening his panel, it displayed:
[Leg Technique: Twelve-Step Leg Springing Technique, Minor Achievement Progress: 3%]
Following that, he began an endless cycle of bitter cultivation.
When he was tired, he would meditate and circulate the Righteous Qi Technique to recover his True Qi and mental energy. When he was hungry, he would go eat. When he was sleepy, he would find a room to rest in.
Finally, the panel showed that the Twelve-Step Leg Springing Technique had reached Minor Achievement.
[Leg Technique: Twelve-Step Leg Springing Technique, Great Success Progress: 1%]
Fang Chen’s comprehension of this Leg Technique had risen to another level. He could effortlessly follow up sweeps, flying kicks, and side kicks with a springing kick. His changes in direction and speed were all precise and ruthless.
He threw himself back into his frantic practice.
When his legs became numb and sore from training, he would switch to cultivating his Swordsmanship, Fist Technique, and Body Technique, repeating the cycle endlessly.
As time flowed on, he lost track of exactly how long it had been.
He only knew that the cafeteria’s reserves had long been eaten clean. The restaurants, supermarkets, and markets around the school, and even the stored food in the homes of local residents—almost everything he could find—had been completely depleted by him.
However, he felt very fulfilled inside.
Inside this Time Stop Domain, he didn’t need to busy himself with farm work or attend academic classes. He had meat for every meal, and his cultivation efficiency was exponentially higher, yielding massive results for half the effort!
He opened his panel.
[Current Cultivation: Peak of True Martial Realm]
[Cultivation Technique: Righteous Qi Technique, Progress: 93%]
[Fist Technique: Rock-Breaking Fist (Perfection), Transcendence Progress: 1%]
[Swordsmanship: Lingxi Swordsmanship (Great Success), Perfection Progress: 53%]
[Body Technique: Gale Step Technique (Great Success), Perfection Progress: 61%]
[Leg Technique: Twelve-Step Leg Springing Technique (Perfection), Transcendence Progress: 1%]
He thought, "Transcendence?" Fang Chen’s heart stirred.
In the past, he had only known about Minor Achievement, Great Success, and Perfection. This was the first time he had ever seen the "Transcendence" realm.
However, his cultivation progress had temporarily stalled. The Righteous Qi Technique could only be practiced up to the Peak of True Martial Realm. If he wanted to advance to the High Martial Realm, he had to get accepted into the Martial Arts Academy, where the higher-level techniques were distributed by the Academy itself.
He thought, "The Zhao Kingdom’s control over High Martial Realm Cultivation Techniques is comparable to my past world’s control over firearms. If anyone is unable to prove the legality of their Cultivation Technique, they will face imprisonment at the very least."
Fang Chen wasn’t in a hurry. The martial exam was only a month away, anyway.
Before deciding to leave, he performed one last routine of his Fist Technique and Leg Technique.
The Rock-Breaking Fist at Great Success could only produce nine echoes. Yet, having trained it to Perfection, when he threw a punch, it could actually erupt with ten echoes radiating from the inside out!
Every punch rumbled with Power that was completely unhindered.
The Twelve-Step Leg Springing Technique was even more overwhelmingly fierce. Every kick carried the whistling sound of tearing the air, possessing terrifying might.
After this period of bitter cultivation, aside from the massive leap in his Martial Skills, his physique had also undergone a noticeable transformation.
Although he wasn’t the burly, muscle-bound type, his body had become taller and more well-proportioned, his muscle lines smooth and firm.
He thought, "It’s time to head out."