Chapter 148

Romance of Dragons and Snakes Chapter 148

The final move of Song Anran, the “Dual Form of Bear and Eagle” had popped up in his mind as well.

The bear was one of the most cumbersome and heavy of animals. The bird, on the other hand, was one of the lightest and most nimble of animals. To be motionless and then in motion. The principle of cultivation seemed to be hidden within this.

Wang Chao stood up. Forming a fist, his body slackened along with his facial expressions. Even his dantian and genitals had grown relaxed. Slowly going through the motions of Taichi, Xingyiquan, and Baguazhang, he rotated through the three without stopping or with any ferocity. For that moment, he was like an elderly person exercising with the Taichi drills in the park.

But this “Wushu” that Wang Chao was slowly going through the motions for had a slightly peculiar and soft sensation to it.

TL Note: Instead of 武术, the author uses 舞术. Both are homonyms for Wushu, but the first means martial arts as a sport while the second means dance art.

Gradually, the air around Wang Chao seemed to have transformed into the currents of the water that pressed down onto his body with an overwhelming pressure. Every inch of his skin and pores had been rendered unable to breathe.

“The absolute Heavens, the absolute Heavens, the Heavens is found within mercury.”

Suddenly, Wang Chao’s mind flashed to a passage he had read in the Classics of the Fist.

Heaven referred to breathing. When man and Heaven united, it was extremely noticeable with each and every breath.

Mercury was a term within the Classics of the Fist that referred to movement.

The passage from the Classics of the Fist had meant that while practicing, one had to carefully stop breathing. Then after slowly practice while finding breath within the movements.

Both of Wang Chao’s hands streaked in a complete circle. From all over, his hands extended and withdrew, and open and closed almost akin to how the mouth and nose would breathe.

With a chop, the pores of the body loosened then tightened. His skin grew flush with red as if his blood had begun to rush out of it. In a flash of understanding, Wang Chao drew back his fist, causing his pores to close and open before goosebumps appeared along with the dark green color of his veins.

A steady sound of breathing could be heard from Wang Chao’s mouth and lips. With his fist, he exhaled, and with the recollection of his fist he inhaled.

Along with this exhale inhale method of his fists, his pores began to open and close rapidly.

In the final moments, each time his pores open and closed, it seemed as if water was boiling underneath, as steam had begun to rise.

If anyone were to look at Wang Chao know, they would discover and see that Wang Chao looked as if he was inhaling and exhaling a white mist.

This white mist was his sweat. Under the intensive laboring of his mental and physical efforts, it had evaporated into steam.

When an especially robust person exercised in the winter, they would sweat from the head. And from the head, sometimes, a white mist could be seen rising up from it.

But this white mist was rising up from every single pore on Wang Chao’s body.

Furthermore, he was not rigorously exercising his body. He was just slowly going through the motions while opening and closing his pores to evenly distribute the steam.

Back during the Republic of China, head of the Tianjin Guoshi Institute, Xue Dian had once depicted in his book, A True Explanation on Imitation Boxing, that “To have a cloudy mist rise up from every single one of the 84,00 pores while breathing, that is what the true breathing of the spirit looks like. To not have a tried and true teaching makes it hard to find the path, and to not persevere makes it hard to not find their state.”

This was also the Transforming Jin of Chinese Boxing.

Detailed down to the smallest of holes. Each and every pore should act freely and distribute the Jin evenly.

A feather cannot be added, and a fly cannot alight!