Divine Tang Era

"Junior brother, you must remember that the Demon-Subduing Fist emphasizes intention over brute force."

"When you throw a punch, you must be fast, have sharp eyes, be ruthless, and have your feet, hands, mind, and body all move in unison."

"The first step in our martial arts training is to accumulate essence and energy, and cultivate qi and nourish the elixir. When we train until the hands and feet are in harmony, the shoulders and hips are in coordination, and the elbows and knees move in unison externally; and internally until the mind and intention are in harmony, intention and qi are in accord, and qi and strength move together, and the qi throughout the body is unified, reaching the state of gathering without gathering, and moving without moving, with the inside and outside as one, then we have achieved great success."

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On the training ground, Lu Shizong corrected Xu Dan's fist techniques while speaking.

Hearing his words, coupled with his recent insights from practicing boxing, and the little knowledge he had gained from novels, movies, and television, a series of realizations came to him. Gradually, his initially clumsy movements became more and more skillful, and the strength in his hands, which was initially applied rigidly with each move, gradually became integrated into his entire body and omnipresent.

Lu Shizong nodded repeatedly, as expected of someone who had practiced martial arts; he grasped the concept immediately after just a few pointers.

Xu Dan had long forgotten what he was doing, simply instinctively unleashing the Demon-Slaying Fist techniques. Unconsciously, his punches grew faster and stronger. The wind howled and roared.

At this moment, he moved like the wind and fell like an arrow; with a thought, his whole body moved.

Its form possesses the power of an angry lion and a thirsty steed, its ferocity the grace of a dragon soaring and a swan startled, its movement the elegance of a dragon leaping and a phoenix rising, and its sound the force of thunder and falling rocks. Every move is perfectly natural.

"Haa"

Finally, Xu Dan unleashed a punch, slamming it into the wooden stakes in the training ground. The force of three thousand jin poured forth, shattering the stakes and sending them flying, embedding themselves heavily in the wall behind them. Each stake, like a sharp, pointed cone, was menacing, sending chills down the spines of onlookers.

Huh, how come I'm so strong?

Xu Dan had never thrown a punch so freely before, and he looked at his fist with an incredulous expression.

"Not bad, Junior Brother has achieved a minor success in the Demon-Subduing Fist. From now on, you only need to grasp its essence. After all, the Demon-Subduing Fist is a fist technique that emphasizes intent. If you cannot grasp its true meaning, no matter how strong you are, it will be in vain," said Lu Shizong.

"This is already a small success," Xu Dan said in surprise.

"Junior brother has practiced before, so your foundation is solid and your qi and blood are abundant. It's not difficult for you to achieve some success. If it were any other disciple, they would be weak and powerless because they haven't trained their bodies. They would probably be out of breath after just a few punches. Unlike you, who have been practicing for so long and are still acting like nothing happened."

"That's right," Xu Dan said, not without pride.

I can say that I grew up drinking earth milk and dragon blood. If I didn't have anything special about me, wouldn't that seem too low-class?

"By the way, senior brother, what exactly is this 'meaning' that you keep bringing up?" Xu Dan asked.

"This intention can be described as a thought or a manifestation of a Dharma. The Demon-Subduing Fist is meant to subdue demons and monsters. Demons and monsters are powerful and beyond the reach of ordinary people, so it's easy to feel fear when facing them. Therefore, one must forge an invincible belief in one's heart and visualize a majestic deity to strengthen the body and enhance the spirit. This intention doesn't necessarily have to be a deity; it can be oneself, a beast, a weapon, or even grass, trees, stones, or something else that one feels is powerful."

All of this is to forge within one's heart an unyielding will to forge ahead, stand tall and upright, and fearlessly face death.

Xu Dan seemed to understand something.

This intention is the thought in one's mind; this existence is visualization. All that is done is to make oneself resolute, courageous, and decisive in the face of an enemy, free from fear, apprehension, and panic.

Xu Dan might not know what "visualization" is, but he understands it much better.

To put it simply, it's about cultivating an invincible mindset, like a divine strike, or like the Boxers, who, even when facing guns and cannons, charged forward fearlessly.

Having figured out the so-called "intention" in the Demon-Slaying Fist, Xu Dan began to think about what he should keep in mind.

Myself? With this childlike body, I doubt even I could believe how powerful I am.

Gods? He was from Fujian province and had worshipped many gods, but none of them had ever made him feel powerful and invincible. This might be because what he had seen were only clay sculptures, wooden carvings, and stone carvings. If he had actually witnessed their battles on the battlefield and their subjugation of demons, he probably wouldn't think this way.

Plants and trees?

Ha, it's just a gust of wind, a fire, or a chainsaw. How can it be considered powerful?

As for mammals?

Xu Dan suddenly thought of the movie "King Kong," and imagined the gorilla being taken out of the wilderness by humans and brought to the city. He thought about the angry roar it made when facing human weapons attacks, and the earth-shattering roar it made when facing the Transformers. It seemed that the idea of ​​a gorilla was not bad.

However, the image of the gorilla is rather low-class.

Therefore, Xu Dan gave the gorilla a different look, such as the golden behemoth and the Titan ape from Western mythology, as well as the Great Sage Equal to Heaven, Sun Wukong, who was fearless in the face of countless gods and Buddhas and shattered the heavens.

Finally, he combined the three and named it "King Kong Behemoth".

With a head that reaches the sky and stands on the ground, with golden hair as fluffy as a golden monkey, a body as powerful as a golden behemoth and a titan ape, and the invincible will of Sun Wukong in his early days, he roared fearlessly in his mind like a golden tiger facing a powerful enemy.

Once the thought was formed, Xu Dan couldn't wait to throw a punch.

The punches thundered, but seemed to have little effect.

Lu Shizong shook his head and said, "Junior brother, the essence of the Demon-Subduing Fist is not just about condensing and achieving, but also about mastering it. You must apply your intention to your fist technique and your strength, so that your mind, intention, energy, and strength are in harmony, in order to subdue demons and monsters."

"Junior brother, watch me, and I'll demonstrate it for you."

Xu Dan looked at Lu Shizong, and suddenly his heart stirred. His pupils condensed into double pupils as he looked up at the top of Lu Shizong's head.

Lu Shizong circulated his qi and blood and threw a punch. The wind from the punch was fierce, and Xu Dan, who was facing the fist, had his hair flying wildly.

Within his double pupils, above the void, a majestic deity clad in armor, with a crimson face and wielding a sword, pointed downwards. Xu Dan seemed to hear that unspoken voice shouting, "Die!"

The Southern Growth Heavenly King, also known as Mo Liqing in the novel Investiture of the Gods.

Xu Dan never expected that Lu Shizong was thinking of this Dharma image.

Although the deity glared fiercely and imposingly, he was not afraid, but simply watched Lu Shizong's demonstration of the fist technique intently. Surprisingly, he did glean something from it. The fist technique he displayed perfectly achieved the state of inner and outer harmony, spirit, intention, and energy unity that Lu Shizong had described.

"Did you see that clearly?" Lu Shizong asked after demonstrating the boxing technique.

Xu Dan nodded, indicating that he understood.

He truly understood that the Demon-Subduing Fist emphasizes intention over brute force; it refers to the ability to control and internalize one's beliefs. The fist he unleashed was not a fist of brute force, but a fist of intention, a fist of conviction.

Some people might not understand, so to put it simply, imagine a powerful and invincible tiger.

So when you throw a punch, you should imagine yourself as a tiger, and the punch you throw is the tiger's claws; your loud shout is the tiger's roar.

Xu Dan grasped the essence of the Demon-Slaying Fist and began practicing it.

But perhaps because he had just begun to contemplate, he was unable to produce a majestic and dignified appearance like Lu Shizong.

"Don't rush, you already have the will. Just practice slowly and strengthen your belief, and you can do the same as me. When the heart moves, the will moves; when the will moves, the breath moves; when the breath moves, the power moves. When the three are united, the inside and outside are one," Lu Shizong encouraged.

Xu Dan nodded slightly. That was the only way. What else could they do?

"Let's stop training here for today. It's almost lunchtime, let's go eat! Let me tell you, the food at our martial arts school is pretty good."

"real?"

"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?" The two said as they walked towards the cafeteria, a beautiful sunset shining on their backs.