He Is Different From You

Chen Fan made his decision and, with a thought, added a point of experience.

A flash of inspiration struck his mind, followed by a memory that was both foreign and incredibly familiar.

Wuji Stance.

"As expected."

The corners of Chen Fan's mouth curled into a barely perceptible arc. One experience point had increased his progress by half; if he added another point, wouldn't it reach level one? At that point, would a new trait definitely be unlocked?

Thinking of this, he added another experience point.

In an instant, a warm current flowed through him, and the aches in his body significantly lessened. This feeling was somewhat familiar.

"Could it be Body Strengthening?" he murmured to himself, looking at the skill panel.

Wuji Stance Trait: Body Strengthening Level 1.

Just as he anticipated, the Level 1 Body Strengthening trait increased his Constitution attribute by 1 point. It wasn't a huge surprise, but it wasn't bad either. It couldn't compare to the boost from Basic Archery, but that was expected given the difference in difficulty.

"I wonder if Level 1 Wuji Stance meets Uncle Zhang's requirements."

He didn't continue adding points. Instead, he slightly adjusted his posture and used the corner of his eye to observe Zhang Ren's reaction.

"Eh?"

A moment later, the crippled man's gaze fell on Chen Fan. His pupils contracted, clearly showing his surprise.

"This kid really does have some talent," he thought to himself. For an average person to enter the threshold of the Wuji Stance, it would take at least a week. Even those with high talent would need two or three days. This kid, on his first time standing like a post, actually looked quite decent. After practicing a few more times, he should be able to tell him about the complete Taiji Stance.

Pleased, he shifted his gaze to Zhao Feng nearby. This boy had commendable perseverance; one could see he was secretly competing with Chen Fan in his heart. Unfortunately, his talent was a bit lacking, but diligence could make up for it.

"Huh?" Chen Fan frowned slightly.

Still not enough? Then there was no other way.

He looked at the remaining 14 experience points and, with a thought, added another point to Wuji Stance. This time, 1 experience point increased the progress by 1/3. He decided to go all the way and clicked twice more in succession.

In an instant, the warm current from before flooded his body again, sweeping away all fatigue.

Wuji Stance Trait: Body Strengthening Level 2.

It wasn't just an increase in constitution, but also his experience with the Wuji Stance. Now, for him, standing still wasn't a form of torture but a brand-new way to relax, even for his soul.

"This kid!"

The crippled man's eyes widened instantly, his face filled with disbelief. If there weren't people watching him, he would have rubbed his eyes.

"How... how did this guy do it?" A voice seemed to be shouting in his mind. Just a moment ago, he had barely entered the threshold, so how did he reach Small Achievement in the blink of an eye? Even for him, it had taken nearly a month to reach this realm. Was this kid a monster? His comprehension was terrifying!

Wang Ping and the others naturally didn't know what the crippled man was thinking. They only saw him staring intensely at Chen Fan, which they found a bit strange.

"It seems this is enough. Luckily, I didn't impulsively keep leveling up."

Chen Fan snapped out of it. Noticing the crippled man's shocked expression, he pretended to be confused and asked, "Uncle Zhang, what's wrong? Is there something on my face?"

"Cough, cough." The crippled man coughed twice and withdrew his gaze. "It's nothing. Just keep standing properly."

"Oh." Chen Fan gave him a strange look. Enjoying the relaxation brought by the Wuji Stance, he suddenly thought that after a tiring archery session, standing in the Wuji Stance for an hour seemed like a great way to recover.

Finally, the hour was up.

Zhao Feng collapsed onto the ground in exhaustion, his whole body aching. Chen Fan, however, looked as if nothing had happened; his state seemed even better than before.

"Brother Fan, aren't you tired?" Wang Ping couldn't help but ask.

"Yeah, Brother Fan, why do you look even more energetic?"

"Really?" Chen Fan scratched his head, looking dazed. "I'm not too sure either. It actually felt quite comfortable while I was standing."

"For real?" The others looked at each other. Was he lying? They were exhausted to the point of death, yet he felt comfortable? If they hadn't experienced it themselves just now, they might have actually believed him.

"He is different from you," the crippled man's voice rang out. "None of you have entered the threshold yet, so of course you feel tired. This kid..." His mouth twitched. "He is already qualified to learn the Taiji Stance."

"What!" Zhao Feng and the others gasped, their entire bodies turning to stone.

"!" Chen Fan also put on a shocked expression. His voice trembled with a mix of feigned and genuine excitement as he looked at the crippled man. "Uncle Zhang, you... what did you say? I... I've entered the threshold and can learn the Taiji Stance?"

"Yes." The crippled man nodded. "After I teach everyone the Basic Hand Positions and Basic Footwork, I will teach you the Taiji Stance separately."

"Thank you, Uncle Zhang! Thank you!" Chen Fan was beyond excited. Some of it was an act, but the vast majority was genuine emotion.

"Heavens, Brother Fan has already entered the threshold?"

"No way, didn't Uncle Zhang say it takes an average person one or two weeks?"

"I'm so jealous! We couldn't even last half an hour, but Chen Fan can already learn the Taiji Stance. I want to learn it too." The others said bitterly.

Hearing this, the crippled man really wanted to tell them that it wasn't just entering the threshold, but reaching Small Achievement before one could learn it. However, considering this might make Chen Fan arrogant, he decided to keep it to himself.

Zhao Feng looked at Chen Fan with a complex expression, a bitter smile on his face. He thought that by persevering for an hour, he had finally caught up to Chen Fan's footsteps. Who would have thought the gap was still worlds apart? But he couldn't give up.

"Alright, next I will teach you the Basic Hand Positions—fist, palm, claw, and so on. Only by mastering these can you have a solid foundation to practice Basic Fist Arts, Basic Palm Arts, Taiji Quan, and the like."

After saying that, he surreptitiously glanced at Chen Fan, thinking to himself: *This kid won't just look once and remember everything, will he?*

Everyone stood in a line. The process of introducing the Basic Hand Positions was slightly more interesting than the standing meditation, but only slightly. Soon, the various difficult-to-pronounce names left everyone dazed. Who would have thought that a single palm strike could be categorized into five types: Yang Palm, Yin Palm, Standing Palm, Tray-Turning Palm, and Horizontal Palm? Most strangely, the Standing Palm was further divided into two sub-types.

Chen Fan also felt a headache coming on. With so many things, if he had to rely on practicing over and over to memorize them, even a week wouldn't be enough. He looked at the skill column where a new line of small text had appeared.

Basic Hand Positions.

*In that case, I guess I'll just keep adding points.*