âMindless 25 Techniquesâ was so profound that it was no easier to master than âPure Yang One Qiâ. Li Zizi had a knack for refining pure yang qi; the more he read and studied, the more he grasped it; the more challenging a puzzle was, the more he relished it. Learning Pure Yang One Qi boosted his confidence significantly, and he learnt it with exuberance. Although he learnt it fast, his results came from his start. In contrast, âMindless 25 Techniquesâ was extremely difficult.
âMindless 25 Techniquesâ didnât have anything in common with any boxing skills Li Zizi had previously learnt. It was wrong to go light, but it was also wrong to strike heavily. It was wrong to go fast, but it was also wrong to go slow. The discipline seemed unable to make up its mind, and there were parts that were hard for him to confidently claim he understood them, yet there was an indescribable element that drew him to it.
Li Zizi was able to learn Pure Yang One Qi on his own, but he needed to pose questions regarding Mindless 25 Techniques daily. Every day, heâd ask Ming Feizhen for the theory, the names of the techniques, and every detail he could think of. Ming Feizhen tried to avoid the questions as best as he could, but he was intercepted when he just finished stealing food from the kitchen. With no other option left, he had to ask for brush, ink, and paper. After deliberating for a long time, Hanlin Academician Ming wrote the following names:
Point East. Strike West.
Look South. Red.
Summer plant. Autumn Harvest.
Round and Moist Midwinter.
Randomness.
Falling Water.
Nonsense.
Foot Bridge.
Success is Emptiness.
Failure is Grogginess.
The World is Vague.
Say Hello to Your Ancestors.
Not a single line made sense to anyone. Unfortunately, the last line âSay Hello to Your Ancestorsâ was wasted calligraphy skills because the entire text was nonsensical. It was impressive enough for Li Zizi to be distracted for a while.
âShifu, are there not only twenty-four techniques here? What about the last one?â
âWhatever floats your boat.â Hanlin Academician Ming tossed aside his brush and hurried off to the kitchen.
Hence, the last technique was named, âWhatever Floats Your Boat.â
His shifu put zero effort into the names, yet Li Zizi treated the scroll of text as a treasure. As if the calligraphy had a soul, the combination of text and calligraphy inspired new thoughts, and Li Zizi went on to believe it was not only the technique names, but also the theory of the discipline. He found enlightenment in the text and became intoxicated in practice.
What Li Zizi gleaned was pure coincidence. Besides Ancient King String, Hanlin Academician Ming didnât create many skills, and he wasnât a creative genius, either. The boxing techniques were Ming Feizhenâs random creations, but because he was busy speaking to Bai Lian when he came up with them, he took a shortcut and based them off his own martial arts training, essentially teaching Li Zizi the summarised version of his own style of fighting.
The twenty-five techniques werenât just punching techniques. They also consisted of kicks, palm techniques, claw techniques and finger techniques. On its own, it wasnât a profound discipline by any mains. Had it not been for his three years living as a recluse, which gave him the time to create Seven King Strings out of all his experiences, Ming Feizhen wouldnât have been able to create anything nearly as impressive. When he wrote the names, he had specific techniques in mind and summarised his knowledge again, so he essentially upgraded the discipline once again. Otherwise, Li Zizi wouldnât have been able to derive any real skills from Ming Feizhenâs random hand gestures.
Ming Feizhen was never a stickler for structure in his striking techniques, nor did he ever invest much effort into them, so his basics were never nice on the eyes. Having said that, he was excellent at adapting on the fly, and the twenty-five techniques helped to achieve that. As nothing was set in stone, Li Zizi was free to adapt every technique as he saw fit.
Li Zizi caught the big man on the chest with âPoint Eastâ, spun around and beat one opponent with âStrike West,â used âLook Southâ to take the trioâs balance and draw them in, then tagged the whip userâs left shoulder with âRedâ. As awkward and unimpressive in speed as his execution was, he was able to send his target back and with a mouthful of blood. He himself didnât expect the techniques to be so effective. The more he used it, the more it fitted like a glove to him.
Using âRandomnessâ, Li Zizi glued his palm to the flat surface of Peng Caijiâs broadsword and redirected the blade, disrupting Peng Caijiâs ability to strike what he wanted to strike. The two techniques of âRandomnessâ came from Tai Chi. Although it wasnât as sophisticated, the principle of sticking and redirecting limbs and weapons remained the same across all disciplines.
Aware that he wouldnât last long against three opponents, Li Zizi thrust his hand forward, palming Peng Caijiâs blade back into his chest. He allowed Peng Caiji to forcibly resist the force whilst adding a horizontal force from right to left, forcing the blade through Peng Caijiâs arm!
Though he managed to amputate Peng Caiji, the side effects of Pure Yang One Qi had Li Ziziâs head spinning again. Ever since he stared combining Mindless 25 Techniques and Pure Yang One Qi together, he didnât suffer the side effects. He realised too late that, every time he finished executing a technique, the new energy created for the next movement was faster than his imagination. In other words, every strike was 100% power, and 100% speed. He genuinely felt close to invincible.
Li Zizi had defeated three opponents, but one remained. The big man had lost his weapon somewhere in the forest far away. His arm was a reck, and he was hurt badly elsewhere, too, but he was hellbent on killing the young Prince. Despite his rage, however, he didnât dare to take another step closer to Li Zizi.
All of a sudden, a branch sprouted from the big manâs forehead. Li Zizi thought the branch he stashed in his sash wouldnât come in handy, yet it really was an effective weapon.
Li Zizi, still holding his throwing pose, heaved heavy breaths. He wanted to turn around and tell his mentor sitting on the wall that he had succeeded, but his body no longer supported his endeavour.
âThat took a little too long.â
Li Zizi felt a warmth akin to a father coil around him as his vision blackened.
Glossary
Mindless 25 Techniques â The text Ming Feizhen wrote actually rhymes, which probably factored in his name choices. I attempted to make it rhyme, but I couldnât do it while keeping the translation still correct. Maybe there is someone who can, but that person isnât going to be me.
As for the total number of names not adding up to 25, this is due to them counting two characters as one technique (see Point East. Strike West.). However, some of them are linked, so the only way to do that would be to split words like âRandomnessâ into âRandomâ and âNessâ, which⊠doesnât quite work in English without turning it into something completely incomprehensible. For this reason, I have to do some rewriting in the text, such as âRandomnessâ being rewritten as two techniques.
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