Chapter Seventy-Five: Force
Jin—strength—is the force a person’s body releases, whether through bones, blood, tendons, muscles, or even one’s emotions and will. In martial arts, all power expressed through the body can be called jin, and it is traditionally divided into three types: Obvious Jin, Hidden Jin, and Transformative Jin.
Xingyi Boxing offers a classic summary of these three types:
“Obvious Jin is the hard force within punches. Training it requires strict adherence to form; the body must move smoothly and harmoniously, hands and feet rising and falling together in coordinated order, without disorder or confusion. This is the preliminary work of transforming essence into energy and energy into power—to lay the foundation and strengthen the body, making the bones as solid as iron and stone, and the temperament imposing as a mountain.”
“Hidden Jin is the soft force within punches. Training it requires the spirit and breath to be expansive, not constrained; movements must be rounded, lively, and unimpeded. One stretches with flexibility and agility, never stiffening. This is the higher work of transforming tendons and energy into spirit, allowing power to surge along the meridians, growing endlessly.”
“Transformative Jin emerges when Hidden Jin is cultivated to the utmost softness and compliance. Here, every movement and shift of the limbs is effortless, powered only by intentional spirit. This is the profound art of cleansing the marrow, refining the spirit, and returning to emptiness—making the inside clear, the body light as a feather.”
In essence, these three types of force are the processes of transforming essence into energy, energy into spirit, and spirit into emptiness.
It all sounds rather mystical—and as for even higher levels in martial arts, such as the Cinnabar Pellet, Gang Energy, or Invincible Vajra Body, those belong to realms more fantastical still.
The Ten Directions Staff Technique was a level 3 martial skill in the world of martial arts masters.
It doesn’t belong to traditional martial arts, but has similarities. Each of its ten moves corresponds to a specific force, and all ten can be classified under Obvious, Hidden, and Transformative Jin.
For instance, the first move, “Pillar Lifting the Heavens,” uses the “Upward” force—all the body’s strength condensed into one, channeled through the staff and thrust powerfully upward and forward. The second move, “Earth Splitting the Poles,” is similar to the force of a Half-Step Exploding Fist. The third, “Three Realms Quaking,” is a “Quake” force.
“Stirring the Four Seas” is the “Turnover” force; “Five Elements Revolving” is the “Spiral” force; “Sweeping the Six Directions” is the “Sweep” force; “Seven Stars Striking in Succession” is the “Penetrating” force; “Cleaving the Eight Wastelands” is the “Smash” force; “Shattering the Nine Hells” is the “Explosion” force. The ultimate move, “Invincible in All Directions,” fuses all forces into one!
Among these, “Pillar Lifting the Heavens,” “Earth Splitting the Poles,” “Three Realms Quaking,” “Sweeping the Six Directions,” “Cleaving the Eight Wastelands,” and “Shattering the Nine Hells”—these six are fierce and direct, belonging to Obvious Jin; “Stirring the Four Seas,” “Five Elements Revolving,” and “Seven Stars Striking in Succession” are soft and belong to Hidden Jin.
The finishing move, “Invincible in All Directions,” is Transformative Jin!
What Yan Luo valued most was that the staff art’s various methods of channeling force appeared directly in his mind, as if a martial arts master were pouring his knowledge straight into him—master these ten moves, and even an ordinary novice could leap directly to the realm of Transformative Jin.
Twenty thousand points? Even a hundred thousand would be worth it!
Of course, even with the manual, actually mastering these techniques isn’t easy—it demands talent and relentless practice. Take the first move, “Pillar Lifting the Heavens,” for example.
It seems simple: just lift the staff straight up.
But to unleash the hard, Obvious Jin, all strength must be twisted into a single current—scattered force woven into unified force. This requires every muscle fiber in the body to work in concert; otherwise, the move is empty form without true essence.
He had 1,008 points of physical energy remaining.
Yan Luo exchanged farewells with Wang Dongwei and Zhu Xiaoyong, then spent ten points to teleport away.
Back at home, he found a horse standing in the living room.
Yan Luo stared blankly at the horse, which gazed back at him with an innocent look.
“When there’s nothing to eat and I’m starving, maybe you’ll serve as an emergency food reserve?” he mused quietly.
“To the kitchen.”
Yan Luo raised his hand and guided the horse into the kitchen. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to eat you. I just want to practice staff techniques in the living room, and you’ll be in the way—so stay here for now. By the way, Brother Horse, it feels odd to just call you ‘Horse’ all the time. How about I give you a name?”
He waited a few seconds.
“Since you’re not objecting, I’ll take that as agreement.”
The horse: “…”
“What name would suit you?” Yan Luo thought of a popular game, Pokémon Go… As an animal, naming it ‘Pokémon’ seemed odd; after all, it was just a horse, not a magical creature. Its body was brown, with a white head, mane, and tail. “How about Cream Chocolate?”
“Cream Chocolate it is, alright?”
The horse: “…”
Yan Luo: “Since you’re not objecting, I’ll take that as agreement.”
The horse: “…”
After confining Cream Chocolate to the kitchen, Yan Luo stayed alone in the more spacious living room. He activated the inheritance manual—The Ten Directions Staff Technique—which dissolved into countless points of light, vanishing, as images surged directly into his mind.
Heart Imprints!
All ten moves of the Ten Directions Staff Technique! Each image depicted someone performing the technique, their skin semi-transparent, revealing flesh, tendons, and bones within—even the flow of blood and the contraction of muscle fibers with every move!
This wonder was beyond description; to put it plainly, it was as if he observed everything from a higher dimension.
Yan Luo immersed himself in these heart imprints for half an hour before surfacing, then retrieved the sixty-two-pound Coiling Dragon Staff from his storage space.
It was worth noting that, although he’d given up the Bronze-level Warrior title, he had practiced with the Coiling Dragon Staff for some time in the ancient Greek athletic world, laying a foundation in staff techniques.
At least the basics—parrying, sweeping, swinging, thrusting, chopping, spinning… All these moves were now second nature. With the six-and-a-half-point staff from Wing Chun—pulling, flicking, nailing, slicing, killing—he could be considered at beginner level. Now, learning the Ten Directions Staff Technique was perfectly suitable.
“Pillar Lifting the Heavens!”
Yan Luo was not one to aim too high; he started with the first move, the simplest yet most crucial of the set. For this move, holding the staff and thrusting upward and forward, the entire body’s power must be twisted into a single upward force!
An ordinary person cannot issue force; their strength is dispersed. Master this move, and one can unleash unified power!
“Pillar Lifting the Heavens!”
“Pillar Lifting the Heavens!”
…
The name carries deep meaning. On the sheer cliffs of Wudang Mountain’s Three Heavens Gate, these four characters are carved in bold relief—magnificent in their grandeur.
As for Shaolin staff techniques, Yan Luo once saw a movie, Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils: Tianshan Child Elder, where a Shaolin elder, facing the Star Sect, used staff techniques—the first move, “Old Tree Twines Roots,” the second, “Pillar Lifting the Heavens.”
“Pillar Lifting the Heavens!”
“Pillar Lifting the Heavens!”
…
After seven consecutive repetitions, Yan Luo was panting for breath. The Coiling Dragon Staff already weighed sixty-two pounds—executing “Pillar Lifting the Heavens” demanded that all his strength and focus converge in a single upward force.
His energy was rapidly consumed.
He rested for a while, ate a little, then continued practicing. Unknowingly, the sun rose…
He didn’t know how many times he performed “Pillar Lifting the Heavens” that night—his legs and arms were sore and aching.
“Hm?”
The clock on the wall read 7:17.
Self-study began at 7:30.
“Class is about to start. Should I skip?” Yan Luo pondered for a few seconds before dismissing the idea—after all, his identity in reality was that of a student, and with all the changes his body had undergone, standing out would be unwise.
“I must keep a low profile!”
There were only thirteen minutes before class. Unless he ran at Olympic speed, there was no way to make it in time… After a night of practice, he felt utterly drained. Public transport wouldn’t be fast enough, and a taxi…
But taxis cost money—a lot of money. Enough to buy several packets of instant noodles.
Yan Luo thought of the horse in the kitchen.
“It seems my only option is to ride Cream Chocolate to make it to self-study on time…”
“Cream Chocolate!”