Chapter 65 – Consciousness Integration

Three days later.

The midday sunlight streamed through the gaps in the partially closed blinds, casting a beam of light onto the floor.

Lu Yuan stood facing the window, his sturdy frame contorted into an unusual posture.

He balanced on one leg, arms bent, head and body curled inward, resembling a bird in deep sleep.

Lu Yuan’s breathing was steady and long, each exhale stirring the dust particles floating in the sunbeam before him.

The noon hour of the beginning of summer seemed to pass slowly, and in this room, it felt as if time had stopped altogether.

No one knew how much time had passed.

Lu Yuan’s body twitched slightly, as if waking from a dream, and his torso began to stretch outward.

“Whoosh•”

Lu Yuan exhaled a long breath, and in an instant, sweat poured from his body like rain.

“Plop, plop,” the droplets fell clearly onto the mat beneath his feet.

Lu Yuan picked up a towel from beside him to wipe his body and casually brought up his professional panel information.

[You focused on professional training for ten minutes, professional experience points +4]

[Your skill Crane Stance gained a boost, experience points +3]

[Your skill Crane Stance gained a boost, experience points +2]

[Profession: Martial Artist Level 5 (577/1600)]

[Intermediate Profession Skill: Crane Stance Level 2 (178/200)]

“Just another day or two, and Crane Stance will level up.”

Over the past three days, Lu Yuan had spent most of his time practicing Crane Stance.

Lin Zhiqin had once told him that Crane Stance was a profound martial art created by the Sky Water Stream Crane Style, inspired by the movements of the Spirit Crane.

Because of this, Lu Yuan had watched numerous wildlife videos about cranes.

To his surprise, it seemed to have some effect.

After watching the videos, the experience points gained from each Crane Stance practice session increased slightly. Sometimes, while practicing, images of Crane Walking, Crane Breathing, and Crane Spreading would unconsciously appear in his mind.

“Although I haven’t had a breakthrough yet, my constitution has noticeably improved.”

Lu Yuan pinched the muscles on his chest and arms in front of the mirror. Compared to three days ago, they were slightly more proportional and not as exaggerated.

It was as if a swollen piece of iron was gradually becoming refined and polished through repeated hammering.

Of course, his appetite had also increased significantly, and Lu Yuan felt as if he had grown taller.

“Once Crane Stance breaks through to Level 3, the attribute panel should show significant changes.”

Lu Yuan was quite looking forward to it.

He scrolled down on his professional panel, revealing—

[Profession: Ancient Language Expert Level 2 (138/200)]

[Basic Professional Skills: Ancient Guduoer Language Level 3 (33/400)]

[Ancient Xis Language Level 1 (88/100)]

[Ancient Dolan Language Level 1 (79/100)]

It turned out that his previous assumptions were indeed correct.

To unlock new lesser-known ancient languages on the panel, he needed to first understand their related historical knowledge.

He looked up the historical background of the two lesser-known ancient languages he had previously studied on his own, and then smoothly unlocked them on the panel.

New professions, especially those tied to intelligence and learning ability, allowed Lu Yuan to quickly gain experience. In just three days, he had leveled up his main skill, Ancient Guduoer Language, to Level 3, and his [Ancient Language Expert] profession was also approaching Level 3.

The reward for leveling up [Ancient Language Expert] from Level 1 to Level 2 included:

One attribute point, which Lu Yuan had yet to use, and skill points he had eagerly intended to use to unlock “Crane Cry Punch.”

However, he was met with the prompt—[Prerequisite skill not met, cannot unlock].

Reluctantly, he allocated the skill point to [Imaginary Enemy] instead.

Fortunately, Level 3 of [Imaginary Enemy] brought him another pleasant surprise.

“[Imaginary Enemy], activate!”

Lu Yuan silently chanted in his mind, and his consciousness entered the Consciousness Space.

Familiar with the second floor of the Yuan Martial Arts Gym, Lu Yuan directly pushed the door open and entered.

Without any further ado, he kicked over the glass coffee table in front of Lin Zhiqin, who was sitting on the sofa smoking a cigarette.

Lin Zhiqin instantly vanished.

At that moment, Lu Yuan shouted, “Pause!”

Lin Zhiqin’s ghostly figure, which had appeared in front of Lu Yuan, froze in place, just inches away from him.

With a single thought, Lu Yuan initiated a wondrous transformation.

In an instant, “Lu Yuan” merged into Lin Zhiqin’s body.

Immediately, an unprecedented sense of power surged from the depths of Lu Yuan’s heart.

“Too strong!”

No matter how many times he experienced it, Lu Yuan couldn’t help but marvel each time.

This strength couldn’t be simply described using terms like power, agility, or constitution. It was a very peculiar kind of strength.

Lin Zhiqin’s body felt like a meticulously crafted machine, with countless gears fitting perfectly and working in unison.

With just a slight movement, activating any part of the body would unleash an endless torrent of terrifying power.

“Is this what a true martial artist and fighter is?!”

Compared to Lin Zhiqin, Lu Yuan felt like a flimsy structure made of straw and foam boards, haphazardly put together.

Taking a deep, prolonged breath, Lu Yuan marveled at Lin Zhiqin’s reality as a “heavy smoker.”

Yet, his lungs were as powerful as a gleaming, highly efficient turbo blower.

His heart, comparable to an eighteen-cylinder engine, beat powerfully, and this intricate yet formidable machine began to operate quietly.

Lu Yuan focused intently, meticulously experiencing every detail and every second of Lin Zhiqin’s punch.

“Crane call—”

The high-pitched crane call echoed in Lu Yuan’s ears, and in his daze, he seemed to see a graceful crane shadow before him.

Unfortunately, it was obscured by layers of clouds.

He couldn’t dispel them.

He couldn’t see clearly.

When the punch was just centimeters away from “his” face, Lu Yuan silently chanted in his mind, “Pause!”

Then, “Rewind!”

Everything started over again.

In reality, Lu Yuan slowly opened his eyes.

The second hand of the small alarm clock on his desk had just completed one full cycle.

“Whoosh—”

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Lu Yuan’s face showed a sense of longing and loss.

Lin Zhiqin’s powerful physique left him yearning, and every time he “entered” that consciousness and returned to his own body, he felt like he was downgrading from a top-tier sports car to a tractor.

Thanks to the powerful effect of Level 3 [Imaginary Enemy] “Consciousness Inhabitation” and the support of his 12 intelligence points, Lu Yuan’s understanding of Crane Cry Punch had made astonishing progress!

Though the saying goes—”it’s easy to draw the tiger’s skin, but not its bones1.”

With such repeated, hands-on teaching, Lu Yuan gradually began to grasp the core essence of the Crane Cry Punch.

He had tested it countless times in the Consciousness Space on the Ratman. Under the oppressive strength of the transformed Ratman, he successfully replicated the power of the Crane Cry Punch five times.

And each time, he made more progress than the last.

The crane cry in his ears grew increasingly piercing, and the crane shadow in his mind became clearer and clearer.

“Almost there, almost there.”

Lu Yuan looked at the seemingly brighter gray skill point on his [Martial Artist] panel and silently thought, “The day I fully master this punch is not far away.”

Footnote:

1. It’s Easy To Draw The Tiger’s Skin, But Not Its Bones(画虎画皮难画骨): Literal Meaning: It’s easy to depict the outside of a tiger, but much harder to capture its internal structure.

Figurative Meaning: This proverb is often used to emphasize the difficulty of understanding or portraying the true nature of a person or thing. It suggests that surface appearances can be deceiving and that true understanding requires deeper insight.