An hour after the shooting practice ended, the sun had already risen.
"Ning 'er, let me teach you footwork." Snow, dressed in white fur, smiled at her son.
"Yes." Ning nodded.
Although his waist and back had been sore from practicing archery, because he had trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], his body had recovered at an astonishing rate. Right now, he felt refreshed and filled with fighting spirit.
"In close combat, footwork is no less important than swordsmanship!”Snow said solemnly," In a battle between the two, the one with the stronger footwork will be able to dodge and evade…making it difficult for the enemy to injure you, while you will be able to easily injure him.”
Ning nodded.
He understood.
Close combat wasn't a silly exchange of sword and saber, but a constant exchange of positions like phantoms. For example, in his previous life's mixed martial arts and boxing, those top boxers and mixed martial arts experts all placed great importance on footwork. The exquisiteness of footwork could make the enemy unable to hit you even if they hit you ten times. Even if they did, their strength would be weak.
The importance of footwork was even higher than fist techniques! Because of the torment of his illness in his previous life, Ning had become quite fond of watching sports competitions. Thus, he understood the importance of footwork in boxing and mixed martial arts.
In this world, gods and devils appeared, but the basic principles were probably the same.
Footwork was the most important thing.
"The footwork I taught you is called [Shadow Wind Steps].”Snow said," Don't judge it by its ordinary name, but it is a profound technique. It can be considered a top-notch footwork technique in the entire Five Prefectures of the Ji clan, and only I know it! This footwork…once you learn it, you will also know how to dodge and move in a small area. At the same time, you will also know how to escape using qinggong.”
"Look carefully at the six basic steps first." Snow flipped her hand, and a yellow book appeared in it.
Ning accepted it, then immediately began to examine it.
The book described in detail how to use the six basic steps of the Shadow Wind Steps. The footwork was extremely exquisite in terms of power circulation.
"Don't blindly guess." Snow pointed into the distance." Look there.”
Ning turned his head. In the distance, there were many wooden stakes. At a glance, there were probably more than a thousand of them, all of different heights and distances apart. Above these wooden stakes, there were also beast skin bags hanging densely. There were probably more than a thousand beast skin bags hanging.
"That's called the Thousand Stars Formation!" Snow said," With the help of the Thousand Stars Formation, you should be able to train the [Shadewind Steps] to the Subtle realm within ten years. If you didn't have the Thousand Stars Formation…I'm afraid you'd have to spend several times more time.”
"The [Shadow Wind Steps] is divided into three levels.”
"First, the basics."
"The second is the Minute Subtlety."
"Third, it's the integration of Heaven and man."
Snow looked at Ning."Actually, footwork, sword-arts, saber-arts, spear-arts, and so on can all be divided into these three levels. For example, the second level of the sword technique,'Minute Subtlety', could also be called' Man and Sword as One'.”
"Have you memorized the mysteries of the six basic steps?”Snow asked.
"Got it." Ning nodded.
Snow walked to the side of the Thousand Stars Formation, then pointed at a very short wooden stake."Go to this wooden stake."
"Yes." Ning easily took a step forward, landing on top of the wooden stake.
Standing on the wooden stake, he immediately felt it sway. The wooden stake was not thick and could only accommodate one foot. Fortunately, he had trained in the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], and his body was extremely balanced, allowing him to stand firm.
"Now, listen to my command. Use whichever step of the six basic steps I tell you to.”Snow said," You've improved!"
Ning hurriedly memorized the method to use his strength, then attempted to charge forward. With a whoosh, he landed on a wooden stake in front of him, but he bumped into a hanging beast skin bag. With a thud, he fell to the ground.
"Remember, when you move on the Thousand Stars Formation Wooden Pillar, you are not allowed to touch any animal skin bag. Once you encounter it, start again." Snow said.
Ning gritted his teeth.
He didn't believe it.
He climbed onto the short wooden stake again and followed up with a bow, dodging the sandbag and jumping onto the wooden stake. However, the forward momentum was too great. His entire body swayed for a while before he could stand on one foot.
"Remember, your footwork is like a nail, one nail per step.”Snow said," One step. It can't be small or big. It could not be too light or too heavy. If you were to wander around like that, you would have been killed by the enemy long ago. Continue, improve!"
"I've improved!"
"Walk!"
"Leap Step!"
"Retreat!"
"Retreat!"
"Turn!"
Snow ordered again and again.
In fact, no matter what footwork it was, the basic footwork was always limited to a few steps. However, different techniques were worlds apart in terms of technique…some of them changed as fast as lightning when they were cultivated. Some Bu Fashu floated like the wind, while others changed like ghosts.
The profoundness of the footwork was different, and the actual combat would be different as well.
"Bang!" He didn't squat deep enough, and his back still grazed the animal skin bag, causing him to fall off the wooden stake.
Ning didn't say a word as he continued to mount the wooden stake.
"Bang!" His knees were not bent enough.
"Bang!" His strength was not light enough.
……
Ning stood atop the thousand-plus wooden stakes, moving about in a blur as he madly trained in the six basic steps. Because of the obstruction of the beast skin bag, Ning's body had to move in all sorts of positions to avoid the obstruction. However, no matter what position he took, the prerequisite was that his center of gravity had to be stable, and his feet had to be stable!
"Mother, how long do I have to cultivate?”Ning had been thrown to the ground.
"Ning, son, start from the shortest wooden stake, walk through a thousand and eight wooden stakes, and jump down from the tallest wooden stake! He didn't encounter a single beast skin bag along the way!”
"If you can complete it within ten breaths, then you've completed the first stage of your footwork, the 'foundations'.”Snow laughed.
"What? Ten breaths? In such a short period of time…even if it was flat ground, it would take me more than ten breaths to run down.”He had to walk through all 1,008 wooden stakes, which was more than 1,000 meters. It would take him a long time to run more than 1,000 meters.
"Ning 'er, once you master the first stage of the [Crimsonbright Diagram of the Nine Heavens], you'll be able to run down the mountain in ten breaths if you were on flat ground.”Snow laughed.
"This…" Ning was stunned.
"In the Thousand Stars Formation, it's like walking on flat ground. Only then could he be considered to have reached the first stage, the 'foundational' stage.”Snow laughed.
"Then what about the second stage,'Subtle'?”Ning couldn't help but ask.
Snow pushed the beast skin bags one by one, and the beast skin bags immediately collided with the other beast skin bags. Soon, over a thousand beast skin bags were swaying and colliding with each other, and as they collided with each other, they naturally swayed in an irregular manner.
"The second stage, Minute Subtlety, is to start from the shortest wooden stake and walk through all 1008 wooden stakes in ten breaths while all the beast skin bags are shaking and colliding with each other. You must also jump from the tallest wooden stake without touching any beast skin bags along the way.”Snow looked at Ning."You've done it. Your second stage, the 'Subtle' stage, is now complete.”
"This, this, how is this possible? All the animal skin bags were swaying, how could he dodge them? There might only be a split second of opportunity. He had to avoid all the beast skin bags and step on the wooden stake. "And in such a short period of time…" Ning felt that this was simply too difficult. How could it be possible?
"So, with the help of the Thousand Stars Formation, you should be able to train the Shadow Wind Steps to the microscopic realm within ten years.”Snow said," From now until lunch, you'll be on the wooden pole of the Thousand Stars Formation.”
"Then what about the third stage,'Heaven Man Unity?”Ning couldn't help but ask.
Snow looked at Ning and laughed."That's a level of insight. You'll naturally understand when you reach it.”
"How strong? There has to be an explanation." Ning asked.
"Yes, if I had to say it…even if ten thousand arrows were fired at once, they wouldn't be able to touch me.”Snow looked at her son.
"Ten thousand arrows at once?" When Ning thought about how the countless arrows had been shot at him, but none of them had even hit him, he found it simply inconceivable. A human body was still so large, and the countless arrows had already filled up the entire space. Logically speaking, there should be no way for him to dodge.
Snow smiled." Don't be discouraged. Among the many tribal warriors, those at the peak of the Houtian level have generally only reached the first stage, the 'foundations'.”
"Xiantian lifeforms generally have reached the second stage of footwork, the 'Subtle Realm'.”
"Zifu Disciples generally have reached the third level, the 'one with the world'. But of course, there are some peerless Xiantian lifeforms who can also reach the state of 'one with the world'…such as your father!”Snow said.
"Father?" Ning was pleasantly surprised.
"Your father's footwork is at the integration of Heaven and man, and he's also at the integration of Heaven and man in the 'sword art', which is even more difficult to cultivate than footwork.”Snow laughed." That's why your father was the undisputed number one expert of the Ji clan of the West Prefecture, and why he was able to awe countless tribes.”
Ning felt a boundless sense of pride in his heart. His father could do it! He had the [Nuwa Painting] and the wisdom of his previous life. He would definitely be able to do it!
"Continue!"
"I've improved!"
"Turn!"
"Leap Step!"
Ning's tiny figure was carefully moving about atop the wooden pillar of the Thousand-Star Formation, occasionally falling down.
……
Afternoon.
After eating and resting for a while, she was carried to the training ground by her father. The afternoon sun was incomparably bright and beautiful, and it was very comfortable to shine on her body.
"Father." Ning stared at his father, who was dressed in a white beast hide that resembled an ice mountain. He felt great admiration for his father. His father had killed many powerful Diremonsters, such as the Flood Dragon. Both his strength and his skills had reached the pinnacle of power. In fact, even some Xiantian experts wanted to become apprenticed to his father and learn the sword.
His father had a total of nine disciples, and three of them were Xiantian lifeforms. However, his father only taught the nine disciples once a month.
However, he taught her every day!
"From today onwards, I will teach you how to practice the sword.”Yichuan looked at his son and said coldly," The sword isn't a bow and arrow or footwork.”
"As long as you master archery, you will be able to shoot more powerful arrows in the future!”
"Although footwork is important, it's still just a supplementary method…Killing an enemy still depends on the final strike!”
"Swords are short weapons! It was agile and had two blades. It was more exquisite and versatile than a saber. It could easily kill the enemy with a slash, a stab, a slash, a swipe, and a little. If one practiced recklessly, they might even hurt themselves. It was a true killing blade.”Yichuan looked at his son.
Ning's blood was boiling with anticipation, and his eyes were shining."Father, what sword technique should I learn?"
"Swordsmanship? Wait a few more years!" Yichuan said coldly.
"Wait a few more years?" Ning was puzzled.
Yichuan said coldly,"The sword is an extension of the body! If you wanted to use the sword well, you first had to be able to control your body well. You had to first practice boxing. When your body, arms, and feet were incomparably flexible and could exert force freely, only then would you be considered physically prepared to practice the sword!”
"It's not enough just to be physically prepared.”
"I also want your 'heart' to be prepared to practice the sword!”
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