The movement was subtle, as if merely flicking the wrist.
Yet the effect was like an old bear rubbing against a tree. The trunk, thick as a large bowl, trembled, leaves fluttered down, and even small branches snapped and fell.
"You… you've mastered hidden strength?!"
Sha Lifei stammered, his eyes wide with disbelief.
In this world, the hallmark of peak open strength was the trembling of major tendons and the resonating of bones and sinews, allowing every move to harness the body's full power.
Ordinary people, untrained in force application, lose much of their strength in a strike, but seasoned martial artists, with the same force, inflict far greater damage.
The human body has bones connected by tendons and fascia, like a wooden mortise-and-tenon structure—seemingly simple but intricately stable. Only with proper training and force application can this be achieved.
With diligent practice, most could reach this level, given time.
But at the hidden strength stage, the focus shifts from bones to fascia.
Fascia is like a dense web linking the body's tissues.
Through breathing techniques, internal and external resonance causes the tendons to contract and vibrate rapidly, elevating the force to a new level.
This is the trait of hidden strength: the fascia vibrates, wrapping the tendons into a unified force!
With hidden strength, minimal movement can produce devastating power. Some masters, with a light tap, could cause their opponent to vomit blood and die later.
The benefits went beyond that.
Hidden strength allowed for intricate, ever-changing techniques. With the same destructive power, it used less effort, making movements light as a feather yet heavy as a mountain, and extended combat endurance.
To achieve hidden strength, beyond talent, one needed a master to guide daily, feeling the force and analyzing its nuances to succeed.
This little tiger had no teacher along the way—could his talent be monstrous?
Sha Lifei couldn't believe it, then burst into wild joy, whispering excitedly, "Before the arena fight, don't let it slip. I'll place a bet first…"
Li Yan nodded slightly, "Put some down for me too."
Looking at Sha Lifei's excited face, Li Yan remained calm.
This breakthrough to hidden strength was pure chance.
For years, he had trained daily, never slacking through heat or cold.
But during the days of his grandfather's passing, he was dazed and listless, with no time for practice.
Without the Great Luo Dharma Body, even his newly preserved spirit would have dissipated.
On the road to Xianyang, he resumed training.
At first, perhaps due to impatience, he was frantic and injured his tendons.
But this time was different.
After preserving his spirit, his bodily awareness sharpened. With the Great Luo Dharma Body guarding him, he could focus on both spirit preservation and training simultaneously.
He had already reached peak open strength, but with his father dead and his grandfather too old to spar or guide him, he had been stuck at that level.
Preserving his spirit helped him break through.
Of course, having just achieved hidden strength, he couldn't use it consistently, unlike seasoned masters whose every move was effortless and varied.
But with the Great Luo Dharma Body, he could trade injury for injury if needed.
One touch, and he could cripple his opponent!
…
The commotion drew attention.
Wang Daoxuan, seeing it, visibly relaxed.
His partnership with Li Yan wasn't just because of the boy's olfactory ability.
There was something he hadn't exaggerated that day.
The day before Li Yan arrived, he dreamt of being haunted by malevolent ghosts, waking in a fright.
In dream divination, this was a "ghost dream," an ill omen. A merchant's oracle bone inscription once said: *On Dingwei, the king divined, many ghost dreams, will hardship come?*
Divination was profoundly mysterious, especially regarding the nebulous realm of fate. Even master diviners weren't always accurate.
But for those in the mysterious path, it was different. After preserving the spirit, the mind was usually calm, so any omen was significant.
It was akin to a martial artist's instinct: *the cicada senses before the autumn wind stirs.*
After waking uneasy, Wang Daoxuan divined before his ancestor's statue, but several readings showed reversed misfortune and great fortune.
In the morning, a magpie brought a flower to his door.
This was an auspicious sign in omen divination.
Yet, with a thought, he cast a few more divinations, all showing great calamity.
Wang Daoxuan realized this might be a turning point, with fortune and disaster intertwined.
So, though he planned to go out that day, he stayed home waiting.
Seeing Li Yan's phoenix eyes and dragon gaze, he took stock, tested him in conversation, found him trustworthy, and taught him the method.
Sure enough, things soon shifted.
First came good fortune, then an encounter with blade bandits, fulfilling the omen of uncertain fortune and disaster.
Though he saw no issue with Li Yan's decision for a life-or-death arena fight, the boy's youth made him uneasy.
Seeing Li Yan's breakthrough, Wang Daoxuan finally relaxed.
Master Zhou of the Spring Breeze Troupe was equally surprised. Looking at Li Yan's youthful face, he hesitated, then gritted his teeth and returned to the house.
Stepping on a stool, he took down an old wooden box from the wardrobe, blew off the dust, and caressed it tremblingly before carrying it out.
"Young Brother Yan…"
Master Zhou spoke, "Do you have a method for training hidden strength?"
Li Yan nodded, "My father taught me."
To wrap tendons into a unified force for hidden strength, mere martial practice wasn't enough, as it couldn't reach the fascia, let alone the organs.
To advance, a different method was needed.
Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound, Toad-Catching Skill, Humming-Hissing Breath, Crane Cry, Daoist Thunder Sound, Buddhist Lion's Roar, Great Cloud Thunder Sound—all served this purpose.
Though each lineage differed, the principle was universal: using sound vibrations to drive fascia resonance, penetrating bone marrow and organs.
The Red Fist had its own secret method, the Thread-Passing Sound.
A fist proverb said: *One breath in, one breath out, qi like fine thread, passing through guts and belly, threading through meridians.* It suited the Red Fist's style—light as a feather, heavy as Mount Tai, striking like pinching fire.
As Li Yan wondered why he asked, Master Zhou held up the box, stroking it reluctantly before speaking, "You can probably tell, I've trained a bit in martial arts, learning my family's Splitting-Hanging Fist."
"My skills are average, but my ancestors passed down something valuable."
"They came from Xianyang, mastering the Qin-Han War Drum. Not only were they drum kings, but they were also renowned in the martial world. Later, they provoked enemies and fled to Huayin."
"An ancestor, taught by a mysterious figure, combined the Great Cloud Thunder Sound with the war drum method, creating the Divine Drum Cloud Thunder Sound, a superior training method, which I now gift to you."
Li Yan was moved, "This… it's too precious, Master Zhou…"
He'd heard of the Great Cloud Thunder Sound from his father—a Buddhist secret.
Named after the Buddhist term, it surpassed ordinary thunder sounds.
Such a rare method, held by Master Zhou and now offered to him, left him stunned.
But before he could finish, Master Zhou waved him off.
Shaking his head with a sigh, he said, "My talent is mediocre, and my unworthy son passed before me. Keeping this is useless. Selling it to villains would shame my ancestors."
"Yesterday, you could've walked away but chose to fight a life-or-death arena, shielding my Spring Breeze Troupe from disaster. With your talent, you won't disgrace this method."
With that, he handed over the box.
Wang Daoxuan, after a moment's thought, chimed in, "Brother Yan, accept it. Master Zhou, we'll waive the ritual fee."
The ritual wasn't cheap; for the struggling Spring Breeze Troupe, it would take everything they had, leaving them starving afterward.
This arrangement benefited both sides.
Master Zhou's eyes lit up with a smile, and he called his apprentices to listen to Wang Daoxuan explain the ritual taboos.
Li Yan sat aside and opened the box.
Typically, such methods were a thin booklet, sometimes passed orally by a master, but inside were three yellowed volumes.
One was *Splitting-Hanging Fist Manual*, another *Qin-Han Drum Rhythm*, and the last, *Divine Drum Cloud Thunder Sound*.
Flipping through, Li Yan was surprised.
This method required not only breathing but also a specially crafted iron drum…
…
After the rain, the autumn sky seemed higher and farther.
The setting sun's glow painted the sky with lingering clouds, signaling clear weather tomorrow.
The muddy official road was tough to traverse, and a dozen people struggled along.
Besides Li Yan and his group, the Spring Breeze Troupe brought over a dozen members—puppeteers, musicians, singers, and even a few apprentices.
Their families stayed in Xianyang City.
Soon, they saw the mass graveyard.
Among them was a slightly plump, pale man—Sha Lifei's acquaintance, the troupe's suona player, "Old White Face."
Wiping sweat from his brow, he looked at the distant graveyard, eyes full of worry. "Daoist Wang, I heard the hill is the Western Journey Beggars' den. They're not easy to deal with. Will they ruin our ritual?"
"No matter."
Wang Daoxuan shook his head. "We're seeking a place where yin energy gathers, unfit for habitation. The graveyard is vast, and we're performing at midnight—they won't be disturbed."
He took out a compass, studied it briefly, and pointed to a ravine on the west side of the graveyard. "White Tiger Holding Corpse is a great ill omen, but Black Tortoise Bowing Head is a great fortune. Who'd have thought the graveyard has such strange geomancy? We'll go up from here!"
Though the group didn't understand geomancy, they followed Wang Daoxuan's orders. At the hill's base, they sealed their lips, helping each other up the steep, muddy slope.
In the distance, the last rays of sunset vanished, and night cloaked the land…
*(End of Chapter)*