To make a breathing technique, one must have a specific breathing pattern and a mantra.
To make a movement technique, one must have a specific way of moving of course, whether it be a gait or a stepping jump usually anything goes, as long as it follows a mantra and a breathing technique.
To make a combat technique however, requires more finesse than a simple motion as movement, where the natural human flight response takes over all the hard calculations done due to basic instinct.
Sadly, I have not inherited father's Trampling Ox physique, then combat techniques would come as easy as walking to me, but still some traces of it boost my immune system.
Thank you so much father, giving me a body that is unbothered with spring sniffles and allergies, where I can breathe through both nostrils is more than enough to leave behind for me in lieu of your absence.
I swear once I get the name of who killed you I shall prove my filial piety and make him suffer along with his 9 generations.
So with the lack of the natural fight instinct given by a physique, instead I have to plan out the precise movements each spirit root and meridian channels would make all the while making sure my acupoints and vitals are well protected.
Some would argue that planning to dodge is planning to fail, I would say that planning to just straight up win without accounting for your own opponents plan is just stupid.
Know yourself and know your enemy, fear not the outcome of a thousand battles.
Know yourself but not your enemy, for every victory there is defeat.
Know not yourself and your enemy and you fucked up.
By going through volumes the censored and uncensored records of cultivator battles in our library, I surmise that alongside casual nepotism, lack of Sun Tzu, and the preeminence of banner formations have all been a disaster to actual smart sound tactical and strategic decisions.
Alas as Voltaire prayed, 'Oh Lord, make my enemies ridiculous. And God granted it.'
I mis-en-place all of the ingredients I have foraged for, ready to finalize the qi diagram I would be using marked in blood.
Several tweaks to the Black Snakes Strike and I have restored the way the arm would bend around perceived defenses.
Leftover qi diagrams give hints at the hit-and-run movement of the TianXXX Star Coin Toss as well how to gauge how much force is necessary and how to maintain its consistency in every action.
The palm techniques golden ratio twist gives an extra penetrating action and certain strikes now benefit from how power is delivered via having the wrist and forearm in alignment.
Looking over the ensembled diagram one last time, I stride up the pole, inexpensive and replaceable now as the sealed chamber is being cannibalized for materials to be rebuilt or recycled, and go to my first sequence.
I go through the Breath of the Boiling Cauldron and try to guess what pace would the steps of its paired movement is, and following the diagram my muscles, spirit roots and channels manipulate qi to release my first qi enhanced strikes at the paired mantra of-
Strike Fast, Strike Hard, Be Without Mercy, Black Mamba Mentality.
- to make 5 holes into the pole, each roughly below or the same as the size of a railroad spike in the space of 5 seconds, more than enough to kill a mortal, more than enough to strike a Qi Sensing cultivator.
I could feel the efficiency in every strike, nearly no wasted movement but with more practice who knows?
I switch up to my F1 movement technique, pairing the cooker's steam to the V8 engine like in the steam age, for the second sequence and make my strikes more erratic and unpredictable as possible for my rush down mode.
I made 7 holes in 5 seconds, a quarter less deep than last time but sufficient enough for the rush down technique.
For what I hope is the strongest sequence for now, I sequence together Impermanence, F1 and Mamba Mentality.
Being associated for the meditative process of inscrybing more so the meditative process needed to maintain a cauldron or cooker, even being still Body Tempering, the act of imparting qi to the target rather than just coating it about oneself may be possible.
The pole split in the mostly untouched middle by 4 holes made in 5 seconds, turning over to another I replicate the strikes, 4 holes in 5 seconds.
Strikes imbued with the intent to twist the qi channels into disarray and paralyze severing via acupoints and meridians split apart the carbon treated fibers and dried animal tendons twisted with plant fiber of the fire hardened log bound in sailing rope.
Accomplished, I turn to look at my uncle, fist meeting palm in salute, now how's that for a show?
"Your own movement technique Gen?" -my uncle says impressed.
"Haven't learnt the ones for the Cauldron and Impermanence so yes." -I reply having the wind knackered out of me.
"Tomorrow then, look at you sweating like a madman." -my uncle then commands- "Perform side-by-side steps that gradually slow down in order to ease your lungs and heart."
"But do not look not away though" -he says smiling- "As I owe you my own demonstration."
"Yes! Thank you uncle." -I say repeating my hands cupped salute.
I do the exercise as instructed and wait to given a show.
My uncle summons his soul bound weapon, a seal looking and weighing like a one kilo kettlebell.
It holds in its dark steel frame a small cup's worth of magnetized mercury shifting and swaying like the tides ready to be molded into any character my uncle needs to be imprinted, with a grip fit for punch daggers.
He takes a horse stance facing his chosen target and cycled his qi, while the seal forms the character for 'Burst' and he strikes gently in a manner to demonstrate.
Right before he hits the pole he comes to a 0.5 meter stop and he hits the target hard with all the momentum he could derive from that distance, and in response the whole pole explodes.
Palm martial arts, are the bash part of a regular fist's pierce and bash and is considered a soft and gentle ladies art compared to fingers and fists.
Yet just like the Holy Roman Empire is anything but Holy, Roman or an Empire, Palm arts are anything but soft, gentle and ladylike.
In exchange for giving up some speed and power to inflict wounds, palm arts affect qi the most directly and its strikes render the body into a bell.
The stronger and more qi filled your opponent is, the more a palm strike will resonate with it to turn your qi against you, its force travelling through the qi spreading across a wide surface area.
With certain techniques just like uncle's, they tune the resonance just right so that the force bounces off many times throughout the body, doing the highest base damage of the foundation of combat techniques.
I wager is also the reason for why so many xianxia protagonists are the way they are, brain damage via repeated face slaps delivered by tsundere jade beauties.
Huh, thinking more about it maybe that is why face slapping causes serious offence.
Finished with the first target he dashes forth into the midst of a grouping of poles and imprints the 'Burst' character along with 'Collapse' in the air with his qi.
This is the part of the technique I have been hoping to copy, especially when I see the qi collapsing drawing more qi into itself up until it can no longer contain itself to then burst out, destroying the poles and sending splinters and sawdust everywhere.
For when one has become so attuned with the art of Array Inscyption, their qi becomes their ink thus they can treat the world itself as their own paper.
With only my Body Tempering senses only being so potent I can the blurs of movement where he performs his signature moves, the palm techniques and seal serve only as finishers, punishes and distractions.
The chucks of wood yet to be turned into sawdust are hit by fast kicks upwards to the sky, another follows, and soon 10 pieces of wood are being chipped into splinters and firewood with my uncle juggling them just like Pele and Ronaldo treat a football.
Surrounded by what could have been body parts and blood, presented as bundles of sticks and sawdust, my uncle strikes a pose to my admiration and applause, man what a show.
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"Have I played my part well?" -he preens like a theatre actor imitating a swan.
"Yes!" -I reply.
"Then where is my applause?"
I start clapping more harder as he continues to strike pose after pose, soaking in the admiration of his junior as we make up for a whole year of being apart, closest male figure I have and the best I could ask for.
When mother was required to be at the sect, by trading in favors so he can take leave he also tried to be there for me.
He taught me my noble manners and how to properly treat other people instead of hiring someone to berate me for my lack of them and then offload my unresolved developing anger issues to the lower classes like the other clan kids.
He told me stories, pointed out and gave me books about the world outside the clan manor, and never looked at me with disbelief or ignored me after suggesting block printing talismans could be a thing.
He spent a of lot resources on the whim of a child and now our three factories can compete with the other clans in the business, and most importantly I would be named Cow if he had not interfered.
So only if he would finally introduce his 'sworn brother' to mama and I so we can help resolve the problems plaguing his dao heart I would finally start repaying him for all the good he has done for us.
"Gen'er, Feng'er your lunch is ready."
"Okay grandma, we or more likely I should take a quick shower first, uncle barely broke a sweat."
"That is fine, I will be waiting in your room unless you want to eat somewhere else."
"Uncle, where would you like to eat?"
"The garden maze, a picnic would do fine right now in this weather, don't you think so mother?"
"Yes, it would do Feng'er."
Grandma leaves in no great hurry as the bath should take a while, but still the maze?
It would be hard enough for an regular old lady, but she owns the manor and is a Core Formation cultivator.
Uncle hasn't been here in a while though so the spot must be special to him.
"Race me to the baths?"
"In your state, foolish boy you would pull your muscles abusing them like that. Now then let's be off, they renovate anything in there?"
"Its the same as ever uncle, although I have a thing called a scented bath bomb I would for us to try today."
"Really now, tell me more about this 'bath bomb' my nephew."
"Jade beauties love taking as many resources with them to soak in their bath's right? So I was thinking for our next factory..."
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"You are now sixth step of the sixth step of Body Tempering right my calf?"
"Halfway to seventh step of sixth step now grandmother."
"So it is... you are more than ready for the ritual I have prepared that should leapfrog you to past the first step of Qi Sensing."
I snap the metal chopsticks I held in my trembling hands. Curse you old hag has my torment not been sufficient for you?!
I know he is a Heaven defying genius.
He is one who by blessed and cursed by either fate or his own ambition backed talent to stand on top of the peak.
I know he is tired of his childhood, where he is all alone with no one to understand him, and the ones that should have been trying to ignore him, but still.
But still!
He is fucking FOUR for crying out loud!
"There is such a ritual?"
"No you won't." -my killing intent shoots forth in my desperate wish to choke the monster in front of me.
"u-Uncle?" -my nephew says shocked by my killing intent while chewing on his meal.
"Heavens above, Earth below, and over my dead body, you will not ruin my sister's son."
"Ruin? Feng'er, by the way and manner you are looking at me now I would take him further beyond the limits Heaven set for him." - this old monster dares!
"HE IS FOUR!"
"Much younger than you, easier to pull the potential out of him when he hasn't spent it yet."
"HE IS FOUR!"
"Peak is a better talent than your Great, and do you think repeating such things in front of me would change anything?"
"I DEFIED HEAVEN AND I WOULD DEFY YOU!" -I flip over the table and bring out my seal.
She draws her knives and summons the Tufu and Chushi, I don't know what else she has at hand but I should hurry before she awakens the whole pantry.
Next I have my pills, beads, amulets and talismans at the ready.
Lastly I set my dead trigger ready to alert Shin to finish the job should I fall and my apologies to everyone I let down, my nephew most of all.
"Woah, woah!" -my nephew sits up- "Temper Uncle, temper!"
"HAHAHAHAHA, Ah... oh how you have grown Feng'er! So jealous of your nephews talent that instead of helping him you would sabotage him instead!"
"If your twisted mind cannot comprehend on why I would not torture my own nephew that is your problem witch!"
"In all my 300 years of hunting down criminal cultivators, after everything I have seen, only then I have found a place MY OWN MOTHER could be in, down in pit with the worst of them!"
A sixth step Foundation Establishment taking down a Core Formation with reinforcements is more unlikely than a piece of spirit stone tossed away into a commoner's pocket, but I am not alone.
Alas! If I was with Shin right now there is no doubt that we would win... yet curse my bleeding heart I cannot bear to mire him in the family matters.
A dying wish would do it, well cause if I am dead he can't punish me with whips and denial as much I would like it too, but sooner or later, he would kill her.
I then pray he wouldn't die trying to do so and as per dying message whisk away Yingyue and Gen to a safe place.
"CEASE THIS DISORDER PLEASE! Please, please calm down, both of you, kin should not fight like this."
The boy sets himself between us, and seeing this sight the old monster speaks-
"Haaah, I took it a little too far Feng'er, Gen'er, I apologize."
For a moment I am stunned and in disbelief, seeing that her killing intent has waned faint and she has called off her puppets to stand off to the side.
I let down my seal yet have it remain at the ready.
At this sign the Tufu and Chushi file back into the darkness underground to her kitchen, but they would be back if she command it.
"Still Feng'er, it is Gen'er's choice to make if he wishes to undertake the ritual."
"I will wait for Yingyue to come back and then together we will hear his choice by then, would that be alright Feng'er?"
"Grandmother, our clan Hierarch has the right of it. The ritual will be my choice to make."
"Yes, I think mother needs to be here to when I make my choice, so waiting for her is right, besides if you have went through this uncle surely you can help me overcome it easier than you did right?"
There will be no one to help at all when you are in the hottest fires of Diyu, the flames purify and they burn hotter for it.
I wonder, when there is nothing to hear or feel save for the thousand screams of the foolish damned, would you not deviate at just the thought of it?
No, going along with this torture goes against my oaths to Disciplinary Hall in prose and in meaning.
That I would consign the condemned to its flames earlier than they deserve, especially even when they could still repent is a offence and I am sure consigning the innocent to it is more than an offence to it overall, but still.
My nephew is a Heaven defying genius.
If I leave him lacking the strength to continue defying it...
"Very well, very well, we wait for Yingyue, then we go to your kitchen together and he will make his choice of his own volition."
I set down my seal and let out a breath I have long held.
The monster goes for more servings of food and drink and several Tufu clean up the mess we made.
I should teach him inscrybing now after this, that always clamed me down and cleared my head.
Next how does Shin go about it, think happier and sillier thoughts right.
Empty thoughts, I am a happy silly puppy, head empty with nothing but happy thoughts.
Steal the bath water from famed fairies, put it in the bath bomb concoction and market it to juniors, now that's a funny thought.