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Chapter 232: Chapter 187 Tai Chi Boxing Upgrade "Power Reduction"_2
In just over half an hour, Spirit had flipped through the thick book to the last page.
[Speed Reading Experience +2]
"Sigh..."
Fang Cheng let out a breath of relief, feeling very relaxed.
The biggest advantage of using a Spiritual Skill alone is that the experience efficiency also increases by about twice.
With my current Spirit Attribute, even without using the Concentration Skill, I can maintain a relatively concentrated mental state.
Of course, the prerequisite is that the surrounding environment must be quiet enough to invest wholeheartedly in studying.
After reading the book, Fang Cheng closed his eyes and randomly recounted a section from a page in the book.
He could recall approximately eighty percent of the specific content.
Compared to the past when he gobbled through the text and could only remember the outline, the effect has improved quite a bit.
It’s evident that after breaking through to 40 points in Spirit Attribute, my memory has also been significantly boosted.
After a short break.
Fang Cheng then opened the second book "Criminal Psychology" and continued practicing the "speed reading" skill.
About three hours later.
Snap.
He closed the book, let out a long breath, and gently rubbed his forehead.
A few prompts of experience gain floated in front of his eyes.
[Speed Reading Experience +7]
[Speed Reading lv1 (210/250)]
After reading and re-reading two thick academic books three times in a row, it can be said that he knew them by heart, as if they were imprinted in his mind.
Fang Cheng could recall and recite sections accurately without hesitation.
Even when compared back to the book, there was almost no discrepancy.
The slight drawback is that each additional reading yielded less and less experience.
The first reading, Experience +2; the second reading, Experience +1; by the third, the total from both books was only 1 point of experience.
I estimate by the fourth reading, there would be practically no experience gain.
After all, I had already remembered the entire content of the book.
Fang Cheng raised his head and scanned over the stacks of textbooks, dictionaries, and literary works on the bookshelf.
In the next two days, if I reread all these books and memorize them, I should be able to level up smoothly.
Just wondering, how outstanding would the effects be for a master-level "speed reading?"
After sensing a slight tiredness in spirit, Fang Cheng put the books away, stood up, and stretched out luxuriously.
Then he looked toward the window covered by curtains, his pupils hidden behind glasses shimmering slightly.
Despite not knowing what special ability the Special Search Team Commissioner may have, whether they possess a heaven-defying skill like "perspective."
Being cautious is never wrong.
Having studied hard for several hours, it’s naturally time to exercise the body and stretch my muscles.
A round of Tai Chi Boxing shouldn’t be too much, right?
Fang Cheng swung his arms and kicked his legs.
He simply began to practice the twenty-four-form Ma’s Tai Chi in the cramped bedroom at a leisurely pace.
Each movement and posture, advancing and retreating properly, appeared soft but was impressively graceful and flowing.
Because he wasn’t emphasizing strength as he used to when practicing boxing in pursuit of a one-strike kill,
Fang Cheng felt increasingly smooth and relaxed as he practiced more and more.
His form flowed with the choreography of the moves, gently stretching like a cloud wandering in the wind or a stream babbling softly.
Seamless and unending.
His entire body was incredibly relaxed and natural.
Gradually, even his state of mind began to settle.
The various dangers concealed in the external environment, the many anxious thoughts that weighed on his heart, all dissipated and faded away with the movements resembling flowing clouds and streaming water.
In the midst of this intentionally slow practice, a feeling he had never before felt began to loom in his mind.
Suddenly, Fang Cheng remembered the teachings of Ma Jianguo and Wu Datong, and slowly gained a deeper understanding in his heart.
Tai Chi Boxing is a martial art that emphasizes both combat and health cultivation.
"Slow practice" is seen as a crucial principle during cultivation.
This training method is not only about the refinement of skill but also contains profound Daoist philosophical thought.
It is the so-called triumph of softness over hardness, of stillness over motion, the harmony of Yin and Yang, the unity of internal and external.
Reflected in the moves, it involves using soft and slow actions to cope with hard and hasty attacks, thereby achieving the effect of using the opponent’s force against them, and gaining the upper hand after the opponent’s initial move.
From ancient times to the present, in both Eastern and Western martial arts, all seek strength and speed, emphasizing the superior defeating the inferior, the fast beating the slow, the strong overpowering the weak,
Yet only Tai Chi Boxing reverses this approach, viewing the contrasts in a fight—size, speed, strength, and weakness—from a dialectical perspective, believing there is no perpetual and unchanging strong or weak, that the strong may become weak and at certain times the weak may also defeat the strong.
Therefore, to truly master this unique form of boxing, one should not think about how to quickly overpower the opponent, like learning Boxing or Sanda.
One must abandon long-held habitual behaviors and cultivate the spirit and mind of remaining undisturbed and fearless in the face of great adversity.
This is not easy to achieve.
As an old saying goes: "One does not leave home for ten years when practicing Tai Chi."
This talks about the lengthy time required for Tai Chi practice, from basic skills to sparring to confronting enemies in battle.
First, one must learn the Stance and a set sequence of moves, overcoming the stiffness in their limbs to achieve smooth and agile movements.
Then, one practices Tai Chi Pushing Hands, a two-person exercise, mastering Listening Skill, Receiving Force, Leading Force, Power Reduction, and issuing power, constantly verifying what has been learned, which requires a great deal of effort.
And to reach a higher level where Tai Chi techniques can be used in intense real combat situations, one must not be restricted by the forms themselves, but rather forget all the moves and genuinely face the opponent with heart and soul.
With the assistance of the panel, Fang Cheng makes significant progress with every practice.
Now, his techniques are extremely proficient, and the time for a breakthrough to reach a higher level is near.
Through slower than usual Tai Chi practice, Fang Cheng vaguely senses something but it’s not yet fully clear.
At this thought, his gaze sharpens, and he contemplates in his heart.
"Concentration, activate!"
With a silent chant, all surrounding environmental noise rapidly fades away.
Fang Cheng seems to enter a space that belongs solely to himself.
His gaze settles ahead on a man who stands towering like a small mountain.
This man’s head almost touches the ceiling, his body skin is blood-red, his naked muscles are developed like dozens of intertwined steel bars, exuding a sense of oppression.
It is the powerful enemy, the Experimental Body, that Fang Cheng once fought, possessing terrifying strength.
The old opponent rotates his bell-like eyes and grins, revealing a mouthful of white teeth.
Then, like a wild beast, he lets out a low roar and violently swings his winnowing-fan-sized hand, clenched into a fist smashing down.
This time.
Fang Cheng neither dodges nor counters with direct force but practices Tai Chi Boxing unhurriedly.
When the Experimental Body’s fist is about to strike, Fang Cheng’s body instantly makes an almost instinctive response.
He retreats half a step along the punching direction and pivots his waist to the side.
Gently he catches the fist and with a little bit of leading force added to the impact’s inertia, he instantly turns the attack into a spent force, making it deviate and ultimately hit only air.
After the Experimental Body’s blow misses, he roars furiously and attempts to twist his body around to launch a vicious backhanded strike.
At that moment, Fang Cheng leans into him actively, utilizing the pulling force of his withdrawal to suddenly issue power, trembling his arms, and forcing the opposing figure to stagger and nearly trip over.
Frustrated and even more enraged, the Experimental Body attacks again, like a mountain crushing down.
Yet Fang Cheng’s eyes still show no ripple, calm as the most tranquil lake, handling the situation effortlessly.
Gradually, the once-adept Tai Chi moves seem utterly forgotten, only changing in response to the imagined adversary’s movements.
Pushing and yielding with his hands as if the heavens and earth were vast and unrestrained.
Advancing and retreating in form as if he were water, shapeless and formless, going with the flow.
As a certain Martial Saint once said,
Water is always relaxed but always ready to surge when necessary; in its seemingly calm waiting, it never ceases its nature to flow.
It can be water in a cup, a pot, a bottle, still as a pond, moving as a fountain.
When you strike the water hard, it won’t get hurt because it appears so fragile yet can penetrate the hardest materials.
Fang Cheng raises his hand to swing, steps forward with his knee raised, casually unfolding his movements like clouds flowing smoothly through the sky.
Appearing to practice Tai Chi slowly, he reaches a mystical state of enlightenment.
At the same time, streams of experience point alerts flow past like water.
Suddenly, the panel flashes an extremely bright light.
[Congratulations, you have deeply comprehended the essence of Tai Chi Boxing; your skill has reached the expert level]
[Tai Chi Boxing lv1 (0/250)]
[Reward received: Skill Effect "Power Reduction" enhancement]
