CHAPTER 38: CHAPTER 38: CRANE-SHAPED PILE, PRACTICAL COMBAT AND PROBLEM-SOLVING_1

In the evening.

At the entrance of Burnt Rock Fourth Middle School, students dressed in school uniforms and carrying backpacks poured out of the school gates like water from a released dam, gradually dispersing. Lu Yuan walked alone among the crowd. His well-proportioned body and handsome looks, enhanced by his martial arts training, gave him an elegance that set him apart.

He bought a deep-fried starch sausage from a small stall selling fried skewers at the school gate. He stood a bit off to the side of the bus stop, eating and waiting for Lin Zhiquin’s arrival. Since Cheng Peng had mentioned dating that afternoon, he hadn’t waited for Lu Yuan after school and had naturally disappeared without a trace. Lu Yuan had also called home and told his mother, Zheng Qiuling, that he would have dinner out and then spend a few hours training at the martial arts hall.

Students boarded the buses in groups. Lu Yuan finished his sausage and was considering whether to buy a second one when Lin Zhiquin arrived.

"It’s been a long time since I’ve visited Fourth Middle. I forgot where the school entrance was and had to circle around twice to find it." Lin Zhiquin rolled down the car window and gestured for Lu Yuan to get in.

"Coach Lin, did you have relatives whose children studied at Fourth Middle in the past?" Lu Yuan asked.

Lin Zhiquin smiled and nodded without saying anything.

The car quickly arrived at the entrance of the Origin Martial Arts Hall. Lin Zhiquin told Lu Yuan to get out of the car first.

Lu Yuan entered the martial arts hall, changed into his martial arts uniform, and walked to the training room where they usually had classes. Lin Zhiquin arrived just then.

Without any unnecessary words, Lin Zhiquin said directly, "I will first teach you a Pile Skill that only official disciples are qualified to learn. Practice diligently, and the results will be better than general strength training."

Just as Lu Yuan was about to nod, he saw Lin Zhiquin slowly adopt a stance in front of him similar to the "Golden Rooster Standing on One Leg." At the same time, a profound aura, one Lu Yuan had only felt when using Lin Zhiquin as an Imaginary Enemy in the Consciousness Space, began to emanate from him.

"Watch carefully. This is the first movement of the Crane-shaped Pile..."

Crane-shaped Pile. That was the name of the Pile Skill Lin Zhiquin was now teaching Lu Yuan. This name made Lu Yuan involuntarily recall the old photograph with the word "crane" on it that he had seen on the second floor of the martial arts hall. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the time to ask questions.

Lu Yuan immediately activated Absolute Focus. After entering the state of Absolute Focus, he devoted himself entirely to learning.

The Crane-shaped Pile that Lin Zhiquin taught had a total of eighteen movements. According to him, even official disciples who had paid their tuition could only learn the first twelve. The last six movements were the true essence of this Pile Skill series. Lu Yuan could vaguely sense this too.

The first twelve movements of the Crane-shaped Pile, while progressively more difficult, were still something a normal person could imitate with effort. But from the thirteenth movement onward, the difficulty of the Pile Skill suddenly increased severalfold. It wasn’t just about maintaining the overall form of the movements; one also had to control the body to vibrate slightly at a specific frequency, and even manage the contraction and relaxation of the muscles.

So, is this the true face of martial arts in this world? The key to distinguishing between professional and Amateur Levels? A thought suddenly popped into Lu Yuan’s head.

The entire teaching process for the Pile Skill lasted over half an hour. After demonstrating all eighteen movements to Lu Yuan and helping him barely complete them once, Lin Zhiquin said, "Alright, that’s enough Pile Skill practice for today. You have great talent for Martial Arts, but it’s impossible to master the Crane-shaped Pile in one day. From now on, come here to practice every day after school, and you’ll naturally learn it over time."

"HUFF, HUFF..." Lu Yuan gasped for breath and nodded. He felt tearing, sore, numb, or throbbing sensations in many parts of his body. He had only followed a dozen or so movements, and not for very long, yet he felt as if he had spent an entire day doing strength training with equipment in the martial arts hall’s gym.

It had to be said, the human body’s structure was truly amazing, like a treasure trove.

Lu Yuan glanced at his professional panel. He was surprised to find that his Professional Experience and Initial Body Forging had both increased by over thirty Experience Points at once!

The Professional Experience was less of a surprise; he had gained a lot after listening to Lin Zhiquin explain combat skills for two hours the previous night. Now, with hands-on instruction, gaining this much wasn’t strange.

What truly surprised Lu Yuan was the Initial Body Forging skill. After it had been upgraded to Lv4, the experience he gained from each strength training session had significantly decreased. Even with the aid of professional equipment, he could only gain one or two Experience Points after completing a set of exercises. But now, after just learning the Crane-shaped Pile for the first time, his Experience Points had increased by over thirty! The effect was comparable to doing dozens of sets of strength training in one go!

"Impressive," Lu Yuan couldn’t help but exclaim.

Lin Zhiquin glanced at him and said, "Indeed it is. The complete Crane-shaped Pile is one of the core inheritances of the martial arts hall. Not just anyone is qualified to access it."

"Crane-shaped Pile..." Lu Yuan slowly relaxed his body, exhaled deeply, and asked, "Coach, was our Origin Martial Arts Hall not originally called Origin Martial Arts Hall?"

"Correct." Lin Zhiquin seemed to have no intention of hiding anything and explained succinctly, "Our Origin Martial Arts Hall is descended from the Heaven Water Sect’s Crane Faction in Sum Nation. The Hall Master is the current Sect Master of the Crane Sect. Due to certain reasons, he relocated to Burnt Rock City and changed the name to Origin Martial Arts Hall."

"Heaven Water Sect’s Crane Faction..." Lu Yuan mulled over the name for a moment before suddenly asking, "Since there’s a Crane Faction, does that mean there are other factions too?"

Lin Zhiquin’s eyes flickered, but this time he didn’t answer. Instead, he urged Lu Yuan to get up quickly and begin the next stage of special training.

Lu Yuan felt it wasn’t appropriate to press further and immediately began practicing focused combat with Lin Zhiquin.

"The three basic skills you learned in the regular student classes, along with the basic Catching Skill, Basic Palm Skill, Basic Finger Skill... I will teach you more about them later. In fact, all of these are preparations for actual combat..."

Once Lin Zhiquin entered teaching mode, he seemed to transform. His entire presence and temperament became very similar to when Lu Yuan used him as an Imaginary Enemy in the Consciousness Space.

"Actual combat is about combining and linking all these basic techniques you’ve learned when facing an opponent. How are your grades at Fourth Middle?" Lin Zhiquin suddenly asked him.

Lu Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then answered, "Top three in my grade."

"Very good, then you should understand this better." Lin Zhiquin offered an analogy, "The formulas, theorems, and rules you learn in class are like basic techniques. The questions you encounter in exams are like your opponents. When you face an opponent, your job is to use your mind to combine those formulas and theorems as quickly as possible, formulate a correct solution, and solve the problem before you. Do you understand?"

Lu Yuan nodded.

How could he not understand something related to his area of expertise? In fact, he had always approached things this way. It was just that he had ’solved too few problems,’ and the ’types of problems’ he encountered were either too simple (like the middle-aged man skilled in Leg Skills) or too difficult (like Lin Zhiquin). Consequently, he still hadn’t developed his own systematic ’problem-solving approach.’ Fortunately, Lin Zhiquin was here to teach him now.