Chapter 378
“Height, weight, strength, speed, flexibility—we’ve measured all of that, and the progress is even more significant. It’s just that individual conditions vary; some people gain strength faster, while others lean more towards speed.”
“This set of calisthenics aims for balance, comprehensiveness, and simplicity,” the old man Bai said to Zheng Fa. “Each movement corresponds to a specific physical quality. For instance, the first movement emphasizes flexibility.”
Zheng Fa nodded, finding this reasoning quite reasonable.
Every person is unique, with their own body.
Bai’s consideration was that regardless of your innate talent, everyone could benefit from these calisthenics.
“In the future, we can tailor advanced martial arts based on each person’s talent.”
Bai had always managed the Jiu Shan Martial Arts School, so he spoke with confidence.
Zheng Fa pondered for a moment, then turned his gaze back to the calisthenics, quietly memorizing the movements.
Promoting the Dao-influenced martial arts in the Jiu Shan realm had encountered some obstacles—mainly because these martial arts are not easily broken down.
Each set of movements corresponds to a simplified Dao body.
After trying, he realized that breaking down the movements to create a set of calisthenics would undermine the effectiveness of the Dao-influenced martial arts, making it impractical.
Now, Bai’s words suddenly inspired him:
First, let the people of the Jiu Shan realm practice this modern calisthenics to build a foundation. More importantly, it would help test their innate talents.
Then, based on their talents, they could be taught the corresponding Dao-influenced martial arts.
For example, those with better agility could practice “Ling He Shen” (Spirit Crane Body).
If someone had a talent for strength, “Nongfu Zhuang” (Farmer’s Stance) would be more suitable.
In other words, establish a system where calisthenics serve as a pathway to advanced Dao-influenced martial arts.
He set down the health report in his hand and smiled, “These calisthenics are great.”
The disciples from the martial arts school who had come to report their performances all sighed in relief, their faces lighting up with smiles.
Zheng Fa stood up and suddenly walked over to Chen Sheng, patting him on the shoulder, “You need to put in a bit more effort.”
Chen Sheng’s face turned crimson as he lowered his head, “...Yes.”
“If you don’t perform well, you won’t even get a graduation certificate from the school…”
Zheng Fa said with a grin.
“The martial arts school… has graduation certificates?”
Chen Sheng turned to Bai, who looked just as confused, clearly having never heard of such a thing.
“Professor Bai is just a coach; what would he know?” Zheng Fa said with righteous indignation, “This is my decision as the head of the school!”
“When was this decision made?”
“Just now.”
Bai’s mouth twitched as he looked at Chen Sheng, his gaze filled with sympathy.
…
Zheng Fa felt a bit too self-conscious about his education at the nursing home.
So he returned to the Jiu Shan realm to regain his self-esteem.
After all, his high school diploma was a big deal in the Jiu Shan realm!
He walked into Sister Zhang’s courtyard and saw her sitting by the lake with Sister Yuan.
Sister Yuan leaned against the railing of the pavilion, while Sister Zhang sat on the ground, her fair, slender feet splashing in the water.
…She still loved washing her feet so much.
Zheng Fa first gazed at Sister Yuan for a long time, his eyes softening, a smile playing on his lips.
Being with Sister Yuan made him feel the most confident!
Sister Yuan met his gaze, her expression puzzled, feeling that Zheng Shidi seemed to like her a bit more today.
She popped a nut into her mouth, secretly nodding to herself:
She had indeed been working hard lately.
Zheng Shidi might not say it, but he noticed!
He probably thought she was quite capable!
Sister Zhang watched the exchange between them, shaking her head, and asked Zheng Fa, “Have you had an epiphany?”
Now, she didn’t even need Zheng Fa to speak; just looking at the joy on his face told her he had new insights.
Zheng Fa naturally wanted to share his thoughts with Sister Zhang, and also about Tang Lingwu.
“Five Elements Techniques, Spirit Qi Bonds?”
Sister Zhang was the one in the Jiu Shan realm who had studied modern knowledge the most. Although she hadn’t studied chemistry, she understood that the essence of chemical bonds lies in the interactions between electrons.
She could grasp the concept.
“If that’s the case, it does explain…” Sister Zhang pondered for a moment and slowly said, “As for the Wood element, I have an idea…”
“Hmm?”
“The Wood element is primarily about the power of growth.”
Zheng Fa nodded.
Sister Zhang pointed at a water plant in the lake, and it began to grow wildly, as if it had taken a powerful tonic, its leaves intertwining and rolling, eventually covering the entire surface of the lake.
Then she pointed again.
The water plant suddenly shattered into fragments, devoured by the fish swimming below.
Zheng Fa thought for a moment and suddenly said, “Sister Zhang, are you saying that the Wood element’s function is growth?”
“Exactly. Wood element techniques are quite unique; they are almost ineffective against inanimate objects.”
That was indeed the case…
The Wood element techniques Zheng Fa learned often targeted living plants and animals.
This was also why he had never understood the essence of this ability.
Furrowing his brow, he thought about growth, which, in modern biology, primarily refers to the process of cell division.
He had some ideas forming in his mind but hesitated to share them with Sister Zhang, knowing she didn’t have a college diploma, nor even a high school one.
He set that aside and took out a booklet, handing it to Sister Zhang.
“What’s this?”
Sister Zhang opened the booklet to find it was an essay titled “My Views on the Golden Water Thunder” written by Zhou Qianyuan.
She read through it carefully, her eyes reflecting satisfaction.
Although Zhou Qianyuan was a disciple of Master Pang, he had often attended Zheng Fa and Sister Zhang’s discussions on talismans, making him somewhat of a disciple to her as well.
Now that he had written such an innovative piece, Sister Zhang felt a sense of relief.
“What’s this about…”
“This article by Junior Brother Zhou may not be of much use to us, but for many disciples, it offers a great perspective on combat strategies.”
The Golden Water Thunder was more powerful than typical thunder techniques and didn’t require a high level of mastery in thunder arts.
It had a high degree of applicability.
“Are you thinking of rewarding him?”
“Hmm…”
“How will you reward him?” Sister Zhang, being in charge of the administrative hall, naturally assumed Zheng Fa was there to give Zhou Qianyuan some merit points.
“Sister, I have an idea… determining the value of such research results is actually quite difficult to standardize.”
Without needing further explanation, Sister Zhang immediately said, “You want the disciples to purchase this research?”
Zheng Fa nodded with a smile, “Yes, just like the internal techniques, allowing disciples to use merit points to buy it is certainly one way.”
Both of them had a straightforward idea:
Let the market determine the value of a piece of research.
The more people who learn it, the more valuable the research becomes.
“However, I have another thought.” Zheng Fa finally revealed his true intention, “As for Junior Brother Zhou’s piece, it actually consists of two parts: one part is the principle of the Golden Water Thunder, and the other part is its practical application.”
The principle of the Golden Water Thunder refers to Zhou Qianyuan’s overall approach.
The practical application of the Golden Water Thunder is naturally the spells he developed within it.
“These two aspects cannot be conflated; the principle of the Golden Water Thunder could likely lead to the development of many other thunder techniques.”
Sister Zhang agreed with this; the Golden Water Thunder was a combination of metal and water thunder techniques, and such combinations were virtually limitless, depending on their suitability.
“If someone develops a new thunder technique based on this principle in the future and earns a lot of merit points, Junior Brother Zhou would actually be at a disadvantage.”
Sister Zhang looked at Zheng Fa, realizing he likely had some thoughts on this.
“I want to establish a citation standard, or rather, I want to publish a journal.”
“A journal?”
Sister Zhang frowned.
This was something Zheng Fa had planned before.
However, at that time, the disciples in the Jiu Shan realm were still quite immature, akin to the students who slip through the cracks of modern compulsory education.
There was no real need for it.
Now, with Zhou Qianyuan providing him with such a surprise, it reminded Zheng Fa of this matter. On the other hand, Zhou Qianyuan’s performance also showed him that at least some disciples had developed the ability to innovate after this period of learning.
“On one hand, not everyone is like Junior Brother Zhou, who dares to come to me directly; it would be better to set up a dedicated channel.”
After all, Zhou Qianyuan was favored by Master Pang and was familiar with Zheng Fa, so he felt comfortable submitting his results directly to him.
But he also understood that as his cultivation level increased and his authority grew, others would likely become more cautious.
Just like when he was in school in the modern world.
“On the other hand, I hope to use the journal to establish something…”
“What is it?”
“A citation standard, or citation count,” Zheng Fa explained. “In the future, if someone has new results, they must indicate which previous results they referenced, and the merit points they earn should also be partially allocated to those they cited.”
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