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Chapter 72 - 70: Light and Shadow, Transformation

Chapter 72: Chapter 70: Light and Shadow, Transformation

Wu Li taught Liu Yuanbo the Standing Three-body Position in the room, which is the most fundamental and essential stance in Xingyi Fist.

"The most important aspect of the Three Body Formation is to strengthen the spine. Once the spine is well-trained, it drives the entire skeletal system, and your bones will be well-trained too," Wu Li positioned Liu Yuanbo into a Three Body Formation, then pressed his fingers onto Liu Yuanbo’s spine and pushed down vertebra by vertebra, helping Liu Yuanbo to feel how the spine influences the whole body.

"Internal Fist involves training the bones and muscles, which is actually similar to modern combat sports’ focus on core strength," Wu Li said to Liu Yuanbo, "You’ve trained in boxing before, so you should know that when boxers throw powerful punches in the ring, they rely not on the muscular strength of their arms but on their core strength, which includes twisting their waist and hips, shifting their center of gravity, and using the body’s weight and inertia to strike the opponent."

As he spoke, Wu Li demonstrated a rotating body punch, "What is the core? The core area of the human body is centered around the lumbar spine—pelvis—hip joints, including the muscles, tendons, and ligament systems attached around them. Most human movements require the core area for generating power. Training the spine with the Three Body Formation equally affects the core area. Once the Three Body Formation is well mastered, the waist and hips will naturally be strengthened, and when exerting force, the core strength will naturally be involved."

Liu Yuanbo had trained in boxing before, so when Wu Li explained the Three Body Formation using the concept of boxing’s core strength, he had a sudden moment of clarity.

A true transmission can be conveyed in a single sentence, whereas a false one requires thousands of volumes; although Wu Li himself hadn’t reached the Master Realm, with a complete legacy given by the system and having temporarily achieved such levels through using the Experience Card, he could certainly elucidate the profound principles of martial arts from a higher perspective for Liu Yuanbo.

"Master, I’ve heard that in Traditional Martial Arts, there’s a distinction between Ming Jin, Dark Force, and Hua Jin. Which realm have you reached now?" Liu Yuanbo suddenly asked.

Wu Li smiled, "The division into Ming, Dark, and Hua was first put forward by Grandmaster Guo Yunshen of Xingyi Fist; they are actually three training methods of the fist, and strictly speaking, they do not represent levels of realm."

"Ah?" Liu Yuanbo was somewhat surprised, "Shouldn’t Hua Jin be more powerful than Dark Force, and Dark Force more powerful than Ming Jin?"

Wu Li smiled without a word, then suddenly lunged forward, unleashing a Splitting Fist that whizzed through the air with a resounding crack.

"This is Ming Jin."

Immediately after, Wu Li walked over to Liu Yuanbo, standing just a fist’s distance away, and placed his hands on Liu Yuanbo’s shoulders. Then he suddenly exerted force, pushing Liu Yuanbo. Liu Yuanbo felt a tremendous power surging towards him, causing his body to involuntarily fly backward, but Wu Li promptly caught him.

"This is Dark Force," Wu Li said with a smile, "Do you understand now?"

Liu Yuanbo scratched his head, "Erm, not really."

Wu Li explained, "Ming Jin can be seen as the power generated by big movements and inertia of the body, while Dark Force is the power produced by a small movement that briefly exerts a burst of energy in a certain part of the body. As for Hua Jin, it’s about thoroughly mastering the power throughout the body, reaching a state where every part of the body is imbued with the fist, allowing you to mobilize the power of the entire body by merely leading it with a single point."

"If you are talking about the sequence of training power, when you first start learning Xingyi Fist, you train the whole power, which actually means engaging the core strength, ensuring you no longer exert force haphazardly, understanding how power is released—that is Ming Jin. Then after that, through Bone and Muscle Strengthening, you train your whole body’s bones, membranes, and skin to be like tightly wound springs, so that a slight exertion of force will make them burst forth just like a spring—this is what we call the Shocking Power in Xingyi, which is Dark Force and can be seen as Inch Force, Inch Release."

"As for the final Hua Jin, it is achieved when stance training culminates in Great Success, and you can freely control all the muscle groups in your body, reaching the pinnacle of bodily control. When power circulates through the body, you can channel it through muscle control to remove any obstacles—that is Hua Jin."

Liu Yuanbo nodded, "So it seems that indeed Hua Jin represents the highest realm, with Dark Force next, and Ming Jin last."

Wu Li laughed, "I just said, Dark Force is the Inch Force, Inch Release, which you can achieve by mastering the method and practicing for a while. But up on the ring, when you face those modern combat sports champions who have trained their core strength well, you will still be beaten despite them using Ming Jin. Can you really say that Ming Jin is inferior to Dark Force?"

Liu Yuanbo laughed awkwardly, seemingly beginning to grasp Wu Li’s meaning.

"Mr. Shang Yunxiang once said that if heaven granted him another twenty years of life, he would practice the masculine power of Ming Jin for another twenty years. Can it be that with Shang’s mastery, he would spend his entire life stuck in Ming Jin? Of course not. He simply excelled at using the masculine force of Ming Jin."

Wu Li spoke confidently, "From this, it is clear that there really is no hierarchy between Ming Jin and Dark Force; while some say that Ming Jin represents firmness and Dark Force represents softness, this isn’t exactly accurate. Mr. Li Cunyi once stated: There are firm Ming, firm Dark Force, soft Ming, and soft Dark Force, and there is no distinction of superiority between firmness and softness."

"When it all comes down to it, in martial arts combat, speed and power are important, but so are tactics. If Ming Jin is used fiercely and recklessly, how can one give their opponent the chance to close in and launch a Dark Force? And if one’s Dark Force is as fast as lightning, leaving the enemy no chance to dodge, a clash will be over in an instant without any opportunity for Ming Jin to come into play. Even if your skill has reached a point of great subtlety in physical control, but your strength is less than your opponent’s, your speed slower, and your technique less sophisticated, you’ll still end up being trampled."

Wu Li shared his understanding of Ming, Dark Force, and Hua Jin one by one.

Liu Yuanbo nodded, "I understand now. When it comes down to practicality in martial arts, it still relies on speed, power, and technique."

"Mm," said Wu Li, "Both Ming Jin and Dark Force can be learned after some time of practice, but to apply them in actual combat, well, there’s still a long way to go."

Wu Li stepped forward, his hands forming Tiger Hugging Head, then he brought them down in a powerful Splitting Fist.

"From now on, in addition to Stance and Bone and Muscle Strengthening, focus mainly on this technique."

"Is this, Tiger Hugging Head?" Liu Yuanbo, having some understanding of Xingyi and having watched Wu Li’s matches before, recognized the move.

Wu Li nodded, "Exactly, it is Tiger Hugging Head."

"The saying goes, ’One special move could conquer all,’ In the past, many a martial artist spent their lifetimes perfecting just one technique. In a confrontation, without any fancy moves or stances, it was just one strike – either the enemy was killed or they were killed."

"Although such a mindset doesn’t work in modern times, as long as you master this one move, it will suffice for now, whether you’re up against most amateur competitors in the ring or in a real-life fight outside of it."

As he spoke, Wu Li again executed the Tiger Hugging Head movement.

"There are a few ways to execute Tiger Hugging Head. One is to strike the forehead and face with the palm at the end of the move, while another is to claw and tear with the final downwards motion; a slap with enough power can cause concussion, and clawing, which doesn’t require much power, can disfigure someone or even blind them."

At this point, Wu Li asked Liu Yuanbo with a smile,

"Do you want to practice a move that could settle things for three years with one hit, or one that could for ten years with one hit?"

(Regarding the explanations of Ming Jin, Dark Force, and Hua Jin, there are many interpretations online. Here I’ve collated some based on various resources and my own understanding to present a set of explanations. This is just a personal opinion and also the setting for this book.)