Oh no! My grandmother made me shoulder the responsibility for eight households!

Chapter 355 Breakthrough

About the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Meng Chi suddenly stopped, jumped back a step, panting heavily, clasped his hands and bowed, his voice hoarse but full of respect:

"Your Highness's cultivation is profound, I admire you greatly, thank you for your guidance."

He bowed so low that his waist was bent at an angle of more than ninety degrees, and his head almost touched his knees.

Lin Chen pulled his hand out of his sleeve and said with a smile:

"Imperial Advisor, did you feel something was off about your last punch?"

Meng Chi straightened up and nodded:

"Indeed, when I threw the last punch, my inner energy felt blocked in my chest, like... like something was blocking it."

Lin Chen nodded, then held up one finger and pointed to his chest:

"You were too hasty. Your training method is to 'accumulate before releasing,' but you got impatient at the end and didn't accumulate enough energy before releasing the attack."

Therefore, the true energy circulated within the Tanzhong acupoint, wasting at least 30% of its power.

As Lin Chen spoke, he gestured the trajectory of Meng Chi's punch:

"Look, the momentum of your punch should be like drawing a bow, slowly pulling it back, slowly building up the tension until it's fully drawn, and then shooting it out with a 'bang'."

But just now, you released the bow before it was fully drawn, so the force naturally dissipated.

Meng Chi was stunned.

He had practiced boxing for sixty years and had never thought about the problem from this perspective.

He closed his eyes and mentally replayed the punch he had just landed—

Every word Lin Chen spoke was like a key, unlocking a door in his mind that had never been opened before.

He tried adjusting it as Lin Chen had suggested—

Take a deep breath, let your inner energy sink into your dantian, slowly accumulate it—

Then he threw a punch.

"boom--"

The force of the punch was more intense and concentrated than before, and the sound of the air exploding changed, from a dull "bang" to a sharp "hiss-crack," as if something was being torn apart.

Wherever the fist passed, a row of bluestone slabs on the ground were lifted up, but it was different from before.

Before, they flew and splashed around randomly, but now they are lifted up neatly, lined up in the air, and then fall back to the ground with a "thud".

Even more intense.

More concentrated.

It saves more effort.

"It really works!" Meng Chi's voice trembled, his eyes filled with excitement.

Lin Chen smiled and then pointed out a few more problems with his moves.

"Imperial Advisor, what were you trying to achieve with that palm strike just now?"

Meng Chi was taken aback: "The one who wants to fight... is Your Highness."

"No." Lin Chen gently wiggled his index finger.

"What you want to hit is not a person, but a breath. You've been holding your breath for twenty years, and you want to let that breath out."

So you're putting all your effort into every punch, you're fighting desperately, but the harder you try, the less you can breathe.

Meng Chi was stunned.

Lin Chen continued, his voice not loud, but every word was clear:

"Your martial arts follow the path of 'momentum': accumulating momentum, leveraging momentum, and unleashing momentum."

But you're too focused on the "launch" and have forgotten what the "momentum" itself is.

"Momentum isn't about strength; it's the drive within you. The moment you relax that inner tension, momentum will come."

Meng Chi stood still, motionless.

His eyes were glazed over.

He kept thinking about every word Lin Chen had said.

"Momentum is not strength, but the drive in your heart."

"When you relax your guard, the 'momentum' will come."

He suddenly remembered when he was young, when he had just entered the world of martial arts and knew nothing. He was most at ease and free when he threw punches.

As his cultivation level increased and he learned more and more rules, he became increasingly reserved and less willing to fight.

For every punch, you must consider: Is the angle correct? Is the force sufficient? Is there any deviation in the flow of internal energy?

The more I think about it, the more intense the fight becomes.

That string has been taut for sixty years.

He suddenly laughed.

He laughed like a child.

"Your Highness, I think... I understand."

Lin Chen looked at him and nodded: "Come on, throw another punch. Don't think, just throw it."

Meng Chi took a deep breath.

Close your eyes.

Throw away all the tricks, all the rules, and all the concerns in your mind.

He just stood there, feeling the true energy within his body—not trying to control it, but simply feeling it.

True Qi flows through the meridians, like water in a river.

He followed the direction of the internal energy, raised his hand, and threw a punch.

This punch—there was no sound, no explosion, and no outward release of internal energy.

It was just an ordinary punch.

But everyone who saw that punch was stunned.

When that punch was thrown, their hearts skipped a beat at the same time.

It was as if something had been shattered by that punch.

Meng Chi withdrew his fist and looked down at his hand.

His hands were shaking.

He felt that the threshold that had blocked him for twenty years had shattered.

The string that had been taut in my heart for sixty years has finally loosened.

He looked up at Lin Chen, his eyes reddening.

His lips trembled twice, as if he wanted to say something, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.

Lin Chen patted his shoulder and smiled:

"Congratulations, Grand Preceptor, you have achieved the peak of the Grandmaster realm."

Meng Chi shuddered, and true energy surged from his body, but it was not the violent and oppressive aura he had before.

Instead, it is warm and profound, like a tremor coming from the depths of the earth.

His robes billowed gently, causing the pebbles at his feet to vibrate slightly, but they quickly quieted down.

The onlookers instinctively took a step back, but quickly stood still.

Because they discovered that although this aura was powerful, it was not intimidating.

It didn't feel like being stared at by a ferocious beast; it felt more like standing in front of a great mountain, sensing its calm and weight.

Peak Grandmaster.

Meng Chi closed his eyes, feeling the new power within his body.

A bottleneck that had lasted for twenty years was broken in one day.

He turned to Lin Chen and bowed deeply.

This bow was deeper and longer than the one before.

"Your Highness's great kindness is something I will never forget."

His voice was hoarse and trembling.

"You've already accumulated enough on your own; I just gave you a push," Lin Chen chuckled and waved his hand.

"You've been stuck at this juncture for twenty years. It's not that you lack talent, it's that you're too eager to break through."

The more you try to break through, the less likely you are to succeed. Today, once you relax that mental tension, things will naturally flow smoothly.

Lin Chen paused for a moment, then continued:

"Stay calm for a while longer, and keep your mind steady. The difference between the peak of the Grandmaster and the realm of the Celestials is not strength, but that little bit of 'enlightenment'. If you can relax once, you can relax a second time."

Meng Chi straightened up, his eyes red-rimmed, and his lips trembled slightly.

"Your Highness," Meng Chi's voice was still trembling, "this old man...this old man doesn't know how to thank you."

Lin Chen patted his shoulder casually, "Just buy me a drink later."

Meng Chi nodded emphatically, "Definitely! I still have several jars of thousand-year-old wine in my cellar, which I've been reluctant to drink. I'll bring them out as soon as I get back today!"

"Then it's settled." Lin Chen nodded with a smile.

Beside him, Murong Yun was so engrossed in watching that he couldn't help but take a few steps forward, wanting to hear it more clearly.

Murong Jing also came over, straining his ears to listen, his posture like that of someone eavesdropping on a neighbor's argument, leaning forward and stretching his neck out.

Several military officers also gathered around, their eyes gleaming like wolves smelling meat, eager to press their ears to Lin Chen's mouth.

Lin Chen looked at them and smiled:

"What? You want to hear everything?"

Murong Yun smiled sheepishly and rubbed his hands together.

"Brother-in-law, you explained it so well! I didn't quite understand what you said to the Imperial Advisor, but it just felt... very reasonable. Um... could you explain it to us too?"

This time, calling him "brother-in-law" went much more smoothly. He was probably so engrossed in watching that he forgot to be awkward and it just came out naturally.

Lin Chen looked at him, then at the expectant eyes around him, and nodded:

"Alright! I'm just killing time anyway, but I won't talk about cultivation techniques, I'll talk about something else."