Chapter 38 – Crane Stance, Combat, and Problem Solving

Evening.

At the gate of Jiaoyan No. 4 Middle High School, students in uniforms and with backpacks burst out like water from a sluice gate, gradually dispersing.

Lu Yuan walked alone among the crowd. His increasingly well-proportioned body and handsome appearance, honed by martial arts practice, made him stand out.

He bought a fried starch sausage from a small stall selling skewers at the school gate.

Standing a bit to the side of the bus stop, he ate while waiting for Lin Zhiqin to arrive.

Ever since Cheng Peng talked to him about dating that afternoon, he hadn’t waited for him after school and had disappeared without a trace.

He had also called home, telling Zheng Qiuling that he would eat dinner outside and practice at the martial arts gym for a few hours.

Students boarded the bus in waves. Just as Lu Yuan finished his starch sausage and was considering whether to buy a second one, Lin Zhiqin arrived.

“It’s been so long since I came to No. 4 Middle High School that I forgot where the gate was. I had to circle around twice to find it,” Lin Zhiqin said, rolling down the car window and beckoning Lu Yuan to get in.

“Did Coach Lin have relatives’ kids who studied at No. 4 Middle High School before?” Lu Yuan asked.

Lin Zhiqin smiled and nodded without saying much.

The car quickly arrived at the martial arts gym.

Lin Zhiqin let Lu Yuan get out of the car first.

Lu Yuan entered the gym, changed into his martial arts uniform, and walked to the training room where he usually had classes. Lin Zhiqin arrived just in time.

Without any small talk, Lin Zhiqin spoke directly, “I’ll teach you a stance technique that only official disciples are qualified to learn. If you practice diligently, the effect will be better than regular strength training.”

Lu Yuan nodded, and saw Lin Zhiqin slowly assume a pose similar to “standing on one leg” in front of him.

At the same time, a profound aura, only felt in the imaginary enemy space, began to emanate from Lin Zhiqin.

“Watch closely, this is the first form of the crane stance.”

Crane Stance.

This was the name of the stance technique Lin Zhiqin was now teaching Lu Yuan.

The name made Lu Yuan involuntarily recall the old photo with the word “crane” on it that he had seen on the second floor of the gym.

Unfortunately, now was not the time to ask questions.

Lu Yuan activated [Absolute Concentration] immediately, immersing himself completely in his learning.

The crane stance that Lin Zhiqin was teaching consisted of eighteen moves in total.

According to Lin Zhiqin, even official disciples could only learn the first twelve moves despite paying the fees, as the last six moves held the true essence of the stance technique.

Lu Yuan could sense this vaguely.

The first twelve moves of the crane stance, although increasingly difficult, were still within the reach of someone who put in enough effort.

But starting from the thirteenth move, the difficulty of the stance technique skyrocketed severalfold.

Not only did one have to maintain the overall form without distortion, but they also had to control their body to vibrate at a specific frequency and even control the contraction and relaxation of muscles.

“So, this is the true nature of martial arts in this world? The key difference between professional and amateur levels?”

This thought suddenly popped into Lu Yuan’s mind.

The entire teaching session for the stance technique lasted more than half an hour.

After demonstrating and explaining all eighteen moves and helping Lu Yuan barely follow along, Lin Zhiqin said, “Alright, that’s enough for today. Even with your good talent in martial arts, mastering the crane stance in one day is impossible. Come here to practice every day after school, and you’ll naturally learn it over time.”

“Huff, huff—”

Lu Yuan nodded while panting.

Many parts of his body were now experiencing sensations of tearing, soreness, or swelling pain.

Even though he had only followed along for just over a dozen moves and for a short duration, it felt as if he had spent an entire day doing strength training in the gym’s fitness area.

One had to admit, the human body’s structure was truly miraculous, like a treasure trove.

Lu Yuan glanced at his professional panel.

To his surprise, both his professional experience and basic body training had increased by more than thirty experience points each!

Professional experience was understandable; he had gained quite a bit from listening to Lin Zhiqin talk about combat techniques for two hours the previous night.

Now, with hands-on teaching, it wasn’t surprising to gain this much.

What truly delighted Lu Yuan was the improvement in his basic body training skill.

After his basic body training reached Level 4, the experience points he gained from strength training significantly decreased.

Even with professional equipment, completing a set of exercises only earned him one or two experience points.

But now, just by initially practicing the crane stance, he had gained over thirty experience points! The effect was comparable to doing dozens of sets of strength training in one go!

“Incredible.”

Lu Yuan couldn’t help but exclaim.

Lin Zhiqin glanced at him and said, “Of course it’s incredible. The full set of the crane stance is one of the core legacies of the gym. It’s not something just anyone can access.”

“Crane stance…”

Lu Yuan slowly relaxed his body, exhaling a breath of stale air. He asked, “Coach, was our martial arts gym originally called something else?”

“Yes.”

Lin Zhiqin didn’t seem to want to hide the truth and explained straightforwardly, “Our martial arts gym inherits from the Sky Water Stream Crane Style of Xiabang. The master of our gym is the current head of the Crane Style. Because of certain reasons, we moved to Jiaoyan and changed the name to Yuan Martial Arts Gym.”

“Sky Water Stream Crane Style…”

Lu Yuan pondered over the name and suddenly asked, “Since there’s a Crane Style, are there other styles as well?”

Lin Zhiqin’s eyes flickered for a moment, but this time he didn’t answer. He just urged Lu Yuan to get up quickly and start the next phase of special training.

Lu Yuan didn’t press further and immediately began practicing key combat techniques with Lin Zhiqin.

“The three basic skills you learned in the regular student classes, along with the basic grappling skills, basic palm techniques, and basic finger techniques, I will teach you later. All these are essentially preparations for real combat.”

Once Lin Zhiqin entered teaching mode, his entire demeanor and aura transformed, resembling the formidable presence Lu Yuan had encountered in the imaginary enemy space.

“Real combat involves combining and linking all these basic techniques when engaging with an opponent. How are your academic grades at No. 4 Middle High School?”

Lin Zhiqin suddenly asked him.

Lu Yuan was taken aback for a moment, then answered, “Top three in the grade.”

“Very good, then you should understand this better.”

Lin Zhiqin gave an analogy, saying, “The formulas, theorems, and rules you learn in class are like your basic techniques. The exam questions you encounter are your opponents.

When you face an opponent, what you need to do is use your brain and body to quickly apply those formulas and theorems to come up with the correct solution and overcome the challenge in front of you. Do you understand?”

Lu Yuan nodded.

How could he not understand something related to his field of expertise?

In fact, he had always been doing just that.

However, due to the “low volume of practice problems,” the “types of questions” he encountered were either too simple (like the middle-aged man who specialized in leg techniques) or too difficult (like Lin Zhiqin).

As a result, he hadn’t yet developed a systematic “problem-solving approach” of his own.

Fortunately, Lin Zhiqin was here to teach him now.