Chapter 3: Piles for Wharf

Of course, Chen Yi wasn't planning to go fight to the death with Scabby Liu. Even though he was on the hit list, Chen Yi was still rational.

Scabby Liu practiced martial arts years ago. Now in his prime age of thirty, his Vitality and Blood were at their peak. Even without accomplishing Anjin, he was not an opponent for a weak, young lad like Chen Yi.

What Chen Yi wanted to do was to grasp every opportunity to practice, regulate his Vitality and Blood, elevate himself, and methodically analyze Scabby Liu's weaknesses.

"I don't believe that my mindset and insights from two lifetimes are enough to deal with a common thug like you!"

What pained him wasn't the loss of the turtle, but his mother's courage to publicly confront Scabby Liu to protect his sister.

Chen Yi remembered how, when his father was around, his mother was a delicate woman who listened to everything his father had to say.

But now....

"I must ensure that my mother and sister lead a worry-free and happy life!"

In the Spiritual Energy World, Chen Yi stood on a surging ship, holding his breath, and practicing his Pile Skill.

Even though his trembling legs were weak, and even small waves were enough to destabilize him,

Chen Yi still strove to maintain the Pile Skill posture and control his breathing.

Even though he couldn't maintain it for long, with every breath he took while standing stake, Chen Yi felt his Vitality and Blood flowing more efficiently.

"I need to figure out how to achieve stability in Pile Skill amidst the waves, only then can I accelerate martial arts cultivation in this world."

As for rowing to shore to practice, Chen Yi didn't dare.

His boat was very far from the coast. Chen Yi estimated that he would need to row for several Two Hours to get back to shore.

Besides, he didn't know anything about this world, he had no social network, so he didn't dare to rashly return to the crowd. Who knew what kinds of probing methods the people involved in Immortal Cultivation had? What if he was caught and dissected?

Being adrift on a deserted boat in the middle of The Great Swamp, where he could always return to the original world for practice, seemed to be the safest choice.

Chen Yi stood on the ship's deck, contemplating the sense of stability he felt under his feet when he was not standing stake and was floating with the waves.

"It's the center of gravity. When a wave comes, the boat wobbles, and my center of gravity adjusts accordingly, so I always feel steady.

But once I take my Pile Skill stance, my center of gravity stays fixed. Therefore, I fall over when the boat wobbles.

I wonder if there is a dynamic-Pile Skill stance that allows for adjusting the center of gravity?"

...

The next day, Chen Yi arrived early at Iron Fist Sect Hall.

In the corner of the martial arts training ground, of the ten adolescents who usually practiced the standing stake, only nine had arrived. Chen Yi inquired and found out that one student, who had been learning for a month and showed no sign of Vitality and Blood cultivation, thought he had no talent and had returned home to continue farming.

Chen Yi was still standing in the least noticeable position at the back, assuming the standing stake posture.

A sixteen-year-old boy in his prime, who had fully recovered from the previous day's exhaustion after a night's sleep, was energetic and full of zeal.

Elder Brother Yunhu was leading a few others in practicing the standing stake. Only today did Chen Yi learn that Yunhu, the youngest formal disciple of the sect leader, had achieved Mingjin after practicing the Iron Fist for one year. He had a lot of potential.

Chen Yi assumed the standing stake posture, regulated his breathing, and felt the speed of his Vitality and Blood flow was slightly higher, but much slower than what he achieved yesterday in the unknown world.

Half an hour after reaching his previous day's limit in standing stake, Chen Yi only felt numbness in his legs and no signs of muscle fatigue. It seemed he could hold longer.

However, Wang Xiaohu, the leading boy who frequently sneaked glances at Chen Yi, noticed:

"Huh? You've improved this much on your second day of practicing standing stake?"

The other boys couldn't help but turn their heads towards Chen Yi on hearing this. This poor fisherman boy was actually holding the position for half an hour on his second attempt?

If he could persist for a full Two Hours, wouldn't he grab another guard spot in the Wang Family?!

Immediately, a few self-proclaimed strong boys gave Chen Yi hostile looks.

This was an era where everyone was hungry, and now there was another fisherman snatching the guard position of the Wang Family. How annoying!

Chen Yi didn't care about the hostile glances from the others. Having lived two lifetimes, how could he bother arguing with a group of immature children?

Regarding the standing stake, he stood around ten minutes before stopping on his own accord.

Even though he could have persisted longer, slight progress could be attributed to good perseverance or dedicated practice. However, too much progress in one day would make it apparent that something was wrong,

Given that his talent had been examined under the discerning eyes of the sect leader on his entrance day!

Chen Yi's biggest secret was that he could traverse the unknown Spiritual Energy World. Before attaining absolute martial arts strength for self-defense, he had to maintain a low profile.

Nevertheless, Chen Yi's progress in standing stake caught Elder Brother Yunhu's attention.

Yunhu even specifically stood by Chen Yi for a while, observing his postures, breathing, and so on.

Finally, he nodded affirmatively:

"Your actions are standard, and you've made a preliminary start on the breathing techniques. You must have spent quite some time practicing after you returned home yesterday?

You're capable of enduring hardship, very good!"

With Elder Brother Yunhu's evaluation, everyone began to understand that it was because he had practiced extra after returning home.

However, they were somewhat puzzled. Standing stake for merely two hours, in the morning, was enough to render their legs nearly useless. Walking for the rest of the day was painful. How could he still have the strength to practice more?

Could it be that he's made of iron?

During Elder Brother Yunhu's instruction, Chen Yi took the opportunity to raise a question:

"Elder Brother Yunhu, I wish to ask if it's possible to slightly shift my center of gravity and move a little during the standing stake?"

Upon hearing this, Yunhu was displeased: "Did you forget what I explained yesterday? The purpose of the stationary stake at the beginner level involves standing without moving. Only talk about it once you can hold a standing stake for two hours!"

Chen Yi quickly apologized: "I remember everything Elder Brother mentioned. It's just that I have to go fishing on the lake after my usual training. I thought about practicing the pile skill on the boat during my spare time. But yesterday when I tried a few times, my pile skill was disrupted as soon as the boat swayed. I was thinking, wouldn't it be great if this pile work was like standing normally, achieving both a shift in the center of gravity and maintaining blood circulation without any interruption?"

"Rubbish! Who told you to practice standing stake on the boat... um, welcome, eldest apprentice brother!"

While Yunhu was midway through his scolding, he was interrupted by a young man with a medium build, a face as sharp as a knife, and a body strong and unyielding like a rock. He quickly bowed in respect.

Upon seeing this, the others also paid their respects say: "We pay our respects to the eldest apprentice brother."

The dignified eldest apprentice brother came to Chen Yi, inspecting him up and down, and asked:

"Who told you to practice standing stake on the boat?"

Chen Yi quickly saluted, having heard of this man who was the appointed Iron Fist Sect successor and eldest apprentice brother Shi Lei:

"Apprentice Brother Shi, nice to meet you. Nobody told me. I just had a whimsical thought when I was practicing standing stake on the boat yesterday."

Only then did the stern eldest apprentice brother slowly nod:

"Your direction of thinking is right. There is a type of pile technique that specifically requires practicing on the deck of a boat with strong winds and waves. It's called boat stake.

However, it's a more advanced practice. You've just started, and you definitely won't need it now. Concentrate on improving your ground stake. Don't be too ambitious too soon."

The Chen Family is being watched by Liu the Leper, and who knows when trouble will strike. How can Chen Yi not be anxious? He must learn the method of standing stake on a boat in a short time and quickly progress in that unknown world.

This is not the time for him to take it step by step. He immediately asked:

"Elder Brother, is the boat stake method about finding the centre of gravity affected by wind and waves, and adjusting it accordingly, while keeping the circulation of vitality and blood and the breathing techniques unchanged?"

Shi Lei exclaimed, looking surprised: "Your ability to think to this extent means you are no fool. I will explain it to you, but if you get hurt, I'm not responsible.

The objective of our Iron Fist Sect's beginner standing stake technique is to stimulate the flow of vitality and blood through physical exertion, allowing ordinary people to get a grasp on it.

After mastering the stationary stake, one naturally learns to maintain this grasp of vitality and blood while moving, forming the foundation of the dynamic stake.

The boat stake that you mention follows a similar principle, but if one tries to learn the dynamic stake from the start, the difficulty would increase a hundredfold.

Ordinarily, people disrupt the fixed route of vitality and blood circulation when they shift their centre of gravity, naturally breaking the state of the pile skill.

If you want to learn this, you'd first need to grasp the sensation of vitality and blood circulation, and then try changing postures without changing the state of circulation.

In essence, the boat stake might seem dynamic, but its principle is still that of the stationary stake. It's just that what remains stationary is not the body, but the mind."

"That's all I'll say. The rest is up to you."

Upon finishing, the eldest apprentice brother walked back to the drill area to continue the supervision and guidance.

Ever since he achieved the Anjin cultivation level, the speed of his progress has slowed down. Now, he increasingly enjoys guiding some disciples of the Iron Fist Sect.

If the Iron Fist Sect's second generation doesn't produce a few more Anjin cultivators soon, they might quickly be eaten up by the Fish and Dragon Gang.

In the meantime, Chen Yi, after hearing the eldest apprentice brother's words, had a revelation:

"The boat stake is also a stationary stake. It's just that the static part is not the centre of gravity but the sensation of maintaining blood circulation!"

"That is to say, as long as my mind fixes on the vitality and blood, and my body moves with the waves like a Weeble, it doesn't matter how the wind and waves come, I stand strong!"

At that moment, he recalled a famous saying about martial arts from his previous life: "Regardless of how chaotic it gets, I remain steady, like the moon reflecting on a vast river."

Although the scenarios differed, the sentiments were the same.

Upon realizing this, Chen Yi was itching to give it a try. He could hardly wait for class to end so he could go to the boat in the other world to experiment!