I'm Just Making Up The Exercises, My Disciple, Have You Really Mastered Them?

Chapter 35: Roasting Chicken Barehanded, What a Sin

Xu Yan was on the hillside, practicing continuously according to his insights. One pit after another was blasted into the ground until late at night when he felt tired from the considerable consumption of his qi and blood. Only then did he reluctantly return to the village.

The next morning, Xu Yan was full of energy and returned to the hillside to continue his cultivation.

Boom!

With a palm strike, the soil flew three zhang away, creating a pit.

"The power has increased again. My insights were correct. However, I am still at a superficial stage and can continue to enhance my palm strength," Xu Yan said, looking at the pit on the ground, feeling excited.

This palm strike already had twice the power compared to before he cultivated the Dragon Subduing Palm.

Finally, he had moved away from relying solely on brute force in combat.

...

"Let's see how my foolish disciple is progressing in his cultivation," Li Xuan said, walking leisurely.

"Master!" Xu Yan hurriedly saluted respectfully.

"Hmm," Li Xuan glanced at the pits of various sizes on the ground, all created by Xu Yan during his cultivation.

He felt delighted in his heart, "Has he gained some insights? Judging from the power of these pits, they can no longer be created solely by brute force. Although he has not yet mastered the Dragon Subduing Palm, given time, he will surely succeed."

"Master, I have gained some understanding," Xu Yan said, raising his hand and striking the ground, creating a hole with a loud rumble.

Li Xuan's face remained calm, but he was amazed in his heart, "This disciple's comprehension is truly remarkable. He has understood how to release his qi and blood in a certain way to greatly increase its power."

"He has comprehended the first verse, right?" Li Xuan asked, "If you have gained something, it means you have the talent to cultivate the Dragon Subduing Palm. However, you must always remember that enemies will not give you time to gather strength. You must be able to strike at will."

"You can be considered to have barely entered the preliminary stage when you cultivate the Dragon Subduing Palm with the power of the dragon-shaped palm strike."

"Stay focused and calm, and continue to comprehend and practice," Li Xuan advised.

Xu Yan was startled, "Yes, every time before I strike, there is a process of gathering strength, even though it is very brief. However, in a battle between experts, life and death are decided in an instant."

"I have the right direction in my comprehension, but it is not deep enough. I still need to continue to work hard."

He respectfully saluted and said, "Thank you, Master, for your guidance!"

"Hmm," Li Xuan nodded, turned around, and walked away leisurely.

He couldn't stay too long or give random advice. If he was stumped by his disciple's questions, it would be embarrassing.

Therefore, Li Xuan glanced at Xu Yan's progress in cultivation and then left.

...

In the following days, Xu Yan practiced the Dragon Subduing Palm in the morning, comprehended body movement in the Eight Trigrams Diagram in the afternoon, and cultivated the Qi Refining Blood Technique at night to enhance his own strength.

In the blink of an eye, half a month had passed.

On the hillside, there were pits of various sizes densely scattered around. Xu Yan had made great progress in cultivating the Dragon Subduing Palm.

He could now strike with his palm power swiftly and at will with just a thought.

Now, when he struck with his palm, the qi and blood transformed into a torrent as thick as a calf, crashing onto the ground with incredible speed and force.

Moreover, the palm power was extremely fierce and powerful.

The power had increased by more than three times compared to before his cultivation.

However, he had not yet cultivated the dragon-shaped palm power. What he struck out was only an ordinary torrent of qi and blood, even though its power had increased by more than three times.

He still couldn't be considered to have fully cultivated the Dragon Subduing Palm.

At this moment, Xu Yan was comprehending the verses of the Dragon Subduing Palm and summarizing his cultivation insights from the past half month.

"How should I condense the power of Dragon Subduing Palm? And why do I need to refine it into the form of a dragon?"

"How can I cultivate the basics?"

Xu Yan fell into deep thought.

In his mind, an image of a true dragon appeared.

His qi and blood circulated, and a surge of qi and blood flowed out from his palm. Under his control, the qi and blood gradually transformed into the shape of a dragon.

However, in the end, it turned into a snake-like palm power, far from resembling a dragon.

"I understand now. Refining the dragon form is about controlling one's own qi and blood. Only by improving the control of qi and blood can I refine it into the form of a dragon."

"If I can achieve this, the dragon form palm power I refine will be no different from a real dragon. Perhaps this is the completion of the Dragon Subduing Palm."

"At this stage, what I need to do is to refine the dragon form, with horns, whiskers, and claws..."

With a direction in mind, Xu Yan began to mobilize his qi and blood in the practice of Dragon Subduing Palm, refining it into the form of a dragon.

However, every time he condensed a horn, he was unable to condense the claws, and his qi and blood would collapse uncontrollably.

Xu Yan realized that in order to refine the dragon form palm power, he first needed to enhance the use of his qi and blood, which was also a requirement for the basics of Dragon Subduing Palm.

"With the basics of Dragon Subduing Palm, my palm power will increase again, and its strength will be under my control, rather than being almost uncontrollable like now."

After realizing the key to practicing Dragon Subduing Palm, Xu Yan began to try to improve his control over his qi and blood.

Three days later, although there was some progress in his control over his qi and blood, he was still far from refining the dragon form palm power.

"Master, how can I improve my control over my qi and blood?"

Unable to resist, Xu Yan asked during a meal break.

Li Xuan paused for a moment. How to improve control over qi and blood? How would he know?

Of course, as a master, he couldn't answer like that.

He glanced at the chicken leg in his bowl and suddenly had an idea. He said, "If you understand the importance of controlling qi and blood, it means you have reached a bottleneck."

"Qi and blood are within oneself. How to improve control? Use every bit of qi and blood to its fullest, and control it as you wish."

"You can try roasting meat with your qi and blood."

Li Xuan tore off a piece of meat from his leg and said while eating, "Roasting meat barehanded is a supreme skill. Using qi and blood to cook the meat requires a high level of control over qi and blood."

"To roast it to a crisp on the outside and tender on the inside, that's not easy."

"Do you see this chicken leg?"

Li Xuan tore off another chicken leg and put it in his own bowl, continuing, "When you can roast a chicken leg with your hand and cook it thoroughly, while the meat outside the chicken leg remains raw, then your control over qi and blood will pass."

Xu Yan pondered upon hearing this, thinking to himself, "So, cultivation actually lies in the little things in life. I still have a long way to go. Master's realm is too high. Why didn't I think of this?"

He stopped eating and said, "Master, I understand!"

"Good that you understand!" Li Xuan nodded in satisfaction.

Excited, Xu Yan ran to the chicken coop, caught a chicken, skillfully plucked and slaughtered it, and held it in his palm.

His qi and blood surged, and the scorching qi and blood instantly enveloped the chicken.

Sizzling sounds could be heard, and just as he smelled the aroma of the meat, when he retracted his qi and blood, the chicken in his hand had turned black.

It was inedible.

Xu Yan scratched his head, summarizing his experience just now. He caught another chicken, plucked and slaughtered it, and used his qi and blood to roast it.

He ended up burning another chicken.

After finishing his meal, Li Xuan walked leisurely through the village and saw Xu Yan throwing more than a dozen blackened chickens on the ground. Meanwhile, Xu Yan was roasting a freshly slaughtered chicken in his hand.

"This is a disaster!" Li Xuan's mouth twitched. It had only been a short time, and he had already ruined more than a dozen chickens. If he didn't stop him soon, all the chickens would be ruined tomorrow!

(End of this chapter)