Romance of Dragons and Snakes

Chapter 152: Grandmaster

“Then what do I have to do to gain that power?”

Cao Jingjing asked again. Realizing her mouth felt dry, she took a sip of her drink.

“It’s simple.” Wang Chao spread out his hands. “If one is not amazing, then pretend to be. After long enough, you will become amazing.”

“Pft!” Cao Jingjing had opened her mouth in an unceremonious manner and spat out her juice. But Wang Chao had prepared for this earlier; in the moment before Cao Jingjing opened her mouth. Wang Chao’s hand slapped her chair.

Creak! Her chair spun around towards the opposite direction, causing the drink to spill onto the ground instead of the meal on the table.

“Y-you really do have a silver tongue now! It’s hard to think that in the past, you were the most introverted one in the class. I never even saw you speak for the entire term one time!” Cao Jingjing dabbed at her mouth with a napkin with an astonished expression.

When Wang Chao had slapped her chair, it was sharp and as fast as lightning. She herself hadn’t even noticed the movement or him getting out of his chair to do so.

“Well then, you nearly spat on our food. Let’s eat first hen.” Wang Chao hadn’t eaten for two whole days so his stomach had felt rather empty.

Tapping the table, Wang Chao placed a piece of goose meat in his mouth and began to chew. A loud cracking sound could be heard as Wang Chao chewed the bones with the meat before swallowing.

“You’re seriously far too fast. Even if I had a gun, I doubt I’d be a match for you, oh! You didn’t spit out the bones.”

When Cao Jingjing saw Wang Chao eat the bones along with the meat without spitting it out, she was astonished once again.

“The marrow within the bones are rich with nutrition. It’d be a shame to not eat it. Do you know what it means to ‘tap the bones to breathe the marrow’? But still, don’t follow my example–you’ll ruin your teeth.”

Wang Chao put down his chopsticks, unwilling to go deeper in that aspect. Both eyes looked to his old classmate’s hands, “You learn to shoot a gun?”

“Of course I did. My dad is the head of Public Security, shooting a gun isn’t something to be embarrassed about.”

“Of course it’s not embarrassing. You are the invaluable daughter of an official, a princessling.” Wang Chao mindlessly ate another two bites of his meal. In front of his old classmate, he didn’t bother with the formalities.

“You aren’t anyone unknown either. You’ve made a business with the government. I even heard that you’ve even managed to meet with the sister’s daughter of the secretary of the municipal committee and became rich. What else is there that I don’t know?” Cao Jingjing laughed.

“Actually, the reason why I invited you out today is to meet with the invaluable daughter of chief Cao. If we’re being honest, ever since we met in high school, I have been madly in love with you. Now that I have become an official with money and fame, the both of us are a good match. Want me to go to chief Ma to be our matchmaker? You don’t need to feel embarrassed about this then.” Wang Chao spoke while biting into his rice.

“Go die.” Cao Jingjing laughed. “You sound pretty similar to an upstart or even a corrupt official trying to support his second wife.”

“Eh? That reminds me then. Now that I have money and power, I wish to find a third and fourth wife. Got any classmates that you could introduce me to?” Wang Chao asked.

“How about sister Furong?”

“You!” This time it had been Wang Chao’s turn to burst out laughing. Immediately waving his hand, he tried to stop Cao Jingjing from speaking any more.

“Fine then. My old classmate, let’s talk honestly now.” Cao Jingjing placed down her chopsticks. “You saved my life before. Back when I was kidnapped, it was you that saved me. Because of that time, I worked hard to learn Taekwondo. But even now, I am still far from capable. Please give me some advice.”

“Your skill isn’t bad, you’ve practiced well. From what I can see, you’ve seen plenty of hardships these past few years, but your martial arts improved because of it.” Wang Chao stared at Cao Jingjing to observe her muscles and framework. It was quite toned, and far stronger than the average person.

Cao Jingjing nodded her head in silence, she knew that she had indeed worked hard. With Cao Yi making a few enemies, she was not a safe individual. It wouldn’t do for her to not know some martial arts to protect herself.

From the start of summer vacation after graduating, she had begun to learn the art of self defense. Even in high school, she joined the Taekwondo club and ut in many hours of her day to learn how to kick, stomp, roll, lift weights, hit a sandbag, break boards, and so on to train.

Continuing onto her junior year, Cao Jingjing was already extremely strong and flexible. She wouldn’t even break a sweat if she were to come across three hoodlums on the streets now.

One time, when she and another female classmate were out shopping, they had been accosted by two pickpockets. Cao Jingjing had at once sent two kicks that gave a concussion to one and nearly broke the neck of the other.

This had caused a huge commotion that later made her well known throughout the university and earned her some adoration.

“Fine then.” Wang Chao continued to eat. “Eat up first and then find us an empty place to train, but not the gymnasium. I don’t want my methods to be heard by a third person.”

After the two finished their meals, they walked to the close by Summer Palace. Since it was October, the weather was rather refreshing. But still, the aftermaths of the summer tiger was still there with the sun high in the sky with its harsh rays that would cause any person to sweat.

But within the Summer Palace was a calm and cool forest with a gentle wind. A veritable refreshing part of the world.

“No wonder Dowager Cixi had allocated the funds for the navy into the restoration of this place.”

Wang Chao and Cao Jingjing came to a stop near a secluded part of the forest.

“Try the Hurricane Kick again.” Wang Chao watched Cao Jingjing ready herself before signaling her to do so.

“En.” Cao Jingjing rotated her body by twisting her waist and kicking out to fly high into the sky before doing the final kick. Pa! There was a very clear motion of the leg kicking out in midair.

Wang Chao watched without speaking before extending out a hand in the manner of a snake. Levelled at his chest, the other fist then pressed against his waist. One leg was out front while the other was behind him. This was the posture for the Drilling Fist of the snake stance, but without movement.

Cao Jingjing watched for several minutes, but Wang Chao didn’t move. Just as she was about to open her mouth to ask, Wang Chao dropped his stance. “Do you see now? Stand in this position and you’ll be fine.”

“Stand without moving?”

“What use is that then?” Cao Jingjing questioned in confusion, but she adopted the position anyways.

“You have the strength right now, but the JIn in your body is rough. It isn’t detailed enough. With this training, your Jin will be refined a bit. This way, when you kick, no matter how you jump, you will not injure yourself.” Wang Chao explained.

“Standing doesn’t mean you won’t move, but that you will move slightly. You will not move the body, but the ligaments and muscles.”

Wang Chao and Cao Jingjing both adopted the same posture. “The way how kicks work in Taekwondo is to explode with power from the heel tendons before transmitting it through the leg and into the waist. In that moment’s outburst, you kick relentlessly. What you are doing now is to slow down the movements and feel the process of that instantaneous burst. It is similar to the slow motion view of a camera.”

“Move the muscles in your leg tendons first. Then the calf, knee cap, thigh, and then the waist. Only move the muscles and not the body. Use your mind to direct this movement.”

“By slowing down the movements to a spasm and then to a slow spasm to the waist, you will slowly feel the rhythm. Like how they sift through sand in a construction site, the more you sift, the fine the sand is. A big movement is not the same a small one. By this way, you will learn to make use of your muscles and strengthen the ligaments. When you repeat the kick in the future, you will not injure your ligaments as much as before in that burst.”

“Oh!” Cao Jingjing had been very attentive and stood still without trying to move her body just like Wang Chao had said before slowly shifting from the leg to waist.

“No no, you must learn to be sensitive. If you are not, you will not learn. In your movements, your spirit and intent must follow the slow movements of the muscles.” Wang Chao saw that there was something wrong in her movements and hurriedly moved to correct her.

“What is the spirit and intent?” Cao Jingjing asked.

“Eh, that is….” Wang Chao thought, “When you emit power from your leg, it will be like someone with a sharp blade is about to cut into your skin. Your skin will begin to shudder. That is what it means to be sensitive, and what it means to have spirit and intent in that area. When you move in that area, that area must feel sensitive in order to count. If you do not, then search carefully. Find the sensitivity, and feel martial arts.”

“Okay. Practice by yourself in this position. Even after fatigue sets in, do not relax. Do this for at least two hours every day, and I guarantee that you will see a clear improvement in becoming an expert of Taekwondo after a year.”

Wang Chao had taught the authentic spirit and method of posture training to Cao Jingjing. Turning coarse Jin into refined Jin was really like sifting through sand. It was a genuine way to cultivate the ligaments, tendons, and muscles.

This was the stance for the Drilling Fist. Taken for posture training, it was perfect for feeling the slightest of movements in the muscles of the leg.

Wang Chao had not taught Cao Jingjing the Three Integrals. That involved the vertebrae and was the quintessence of Chinese boxing. It was also the hardest to understand and could not be taught in a single moment. But the theory behind posture training was easy to explain. Whether or not she could understand it, it was up to her own talent.

“Is this all? There’s nothing else?” Cao Jingjing asked from her stance.

“That is all. Did you think there was something more?” Wang Chao smiled without a smile.

“Isn’t there something like the meridians, acupoints, manipulating Qi, or meditation or something along those lines?”

“Hahaha, those things are mainly a trick. The muscles and acupoints, when one’s skill reaches a high level, they become so familiarized with their body, that every inch of it can be seen without a problem. When one’s martial art reaches the peak, they are able to feel these things. To talk about these things from the get go is most definitely false. Did you think martial arts was some sort of secretive topic? As Bai Juyi once said, if it can be read to an illiterate granny without a problem, it is a good poem.”

“I thought it was at least.” Cao Jingjing’s eyes flashed with emotion, “There’s some in our school that practices Qigong. Whatever they mutter everyday, it’s useless. I could beat them with a single leg.”

Wang Chao scratched his nose, “Taekwondo is considered a style of martial arts as well. The kicking method it has, Taichi has some of it as well. But it is unlike the slow Taichi of today. In the past, Taichi once had the splits, the quaking leg, jumps, and midair turns that was more like gymnastics. In those times, these movements were very prone to ligament and muscle damage. So posture training was needed to slowly cultivate the internal parts so that one wouldn’t become a cripple after time. Use the mind and spirit to slowly move the muscles and bones and practice the art of releasing power with the muscles to feel sensitive on the skin. This is the most highest essence of martial arts. With your foundation, after two or three years standing without fail, you’d be very close to the reaching the peak of Clear Jin.”

“Your basics isn’t half-bad, and you practice quite well.” Wang Chao encouraged her while explaining even more. “But let me tell you, posture training is to cultivate Taekwondo and their rotating kicks is for practice and not for fighting. Using Taekwondo to injure would admittedly beat the average person. But against an actual practitioner, there is too many holes to not lose.”

“The Hurricane Kick for example, takes at least two seconds from the leap to the kick in midair. In those two seconds, one could be killed multiple times.”

Cao Jingjing stuck her nose up, “Teach me the fighting methods then.”

“I can’t do that. Teaching the fighting methods could kill a person. If you really want to learn, then wait until you graduate and reach the peak of Clear Jin first.” Wang Chao backpedaled quickly.

“What do you mean by the peak of Clear Jin?” Cao Jingjing asked again.

Wang Chao spoke very naturally, “Have you seen those Olympic champions? Somersaulting, rings, and flexible jumps without an equal, they are said to be close to the top of Clear Jin.”

“Che, are you telling me they’re experts of the Wulin? They haven’t even done this nonsensical breathing or posture of yours.” Cao Jingjing interrogated.

“They’re not experts of the Wulin, as they do not understand the fighting methods. But they do have martial arts to them. If you give me a member of an Olympic gymnastics team, I can cultivate them into an expert of the Wulin in three months. Do you think a wealthy person would care to do this?”

Wang Chao clicked his fingernail, “As for them not doing this posture training, it’s rather simple. If you have a massage specialist on hand to give you a massage each and every day, then this posture training wouldn’t be needed. But let me warn you, a true and brilliant masseur is even more rare than an expert of the Wulin.”

“But even then, a massage affects the outside and not the inside. Even if the masseur is good, a sprain is likely to occur.”

“I feel that you are speaking far too simple and frank. It’s not like the mysterious nature that I thought martial arts to be.” Cao Jingjing spoke.

Wang Chao turned his eyes towards the deeper parts of the forest and spoke leisurely, “If you want me to be mysterious, I can do that as well. The study of martial arts has many terms to it. However, to be able to use the simplistic lifestyle to explain the profound, that is what it means to be a master that is truly living with a combination of both martial arts and life. If I taught you like that, you would not be able to understand, and your martial arts would never be perfected.”

“Are you saying that you are a master of martial arts?” Cao Jingjing asked.

Wang Chao did not answer. Instead, he looked towards a tree 20 meters away and stated, “Friend, after hearing this much, you choose not to show your face still?”

“Cough.” A voice could be heard from behind the tree before a figure walked out in front of it.