Chapter 190
Chapter 190
Compared to the real value, Ken instantly felt that his son was a profiteer! Given 20,000 dollars, he made 20 million dollars.
At least 20 million dollars, maybe more.
To call him a profiteer would have been kind. He was worse even than Shylock.
Ken thought for a while and then asked Oliver again, “Son, is this... battered book really worth that much? Is it possible that
you’re also mistaken?”
Oliver shook his head and said, “Dad, don’t worry about it. I can’t be wrong. Besides, it doesn’t matter even if it is worthless. I am
not short of money. Even if I lose money, it doesn’t matter as long as I think it’s worth it.”
Ken thought it was true. His son didn’t lack for money anyway. Even if Oliver had been fooled, such little money as this didn’t
matter.
-Anyway, he and his wife still had more than 20 million dollars in cash, not to mention so many shops and houses. Even if their
son’s business failed, they would still have enough money for the rest of their lives.
Not to mention what a streak his son was on.
Ken pressed his lips together, but didn’t know what more to say. He went
out.
Oliver asked Fabian to take the other two things outside into his
collection room, and he himself took the old fist guidebook back to his office.
He wanted to read quietly for a while.
Back in his office, Oliver closed the door and sat down to read this book carefully.
The book was written by Raymond Allen himself. The beginning of the book mentioned the origin of the Style Fist.
There were three theories about the origin of the Style Fist. One is that Bodhidharma himself created it. A poet once said:
Dharma’s teachings have no words at all. His combat arts can only be understood using the mind. If one were to write his
teachings down on paper, he would use up all the ink in the world.
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The second said that the Style Fist was created by Andrew Griffiths. In the preface of some fist guidebooks, it was written that
when Andrew was young, he had been taught by a famous teacher, and became proficient in martial arts, using his fists in place
of spears, creating his own wonderful, unpredictable and unprecedented style.
The third saying claimed that Style Fist was created by Adrian Wright. He lived in Rheinsville Village and was good with spears.
However, he thought that if he had no weapons, it would be difficult to defend himself when attacked by surprise, so he created
Mind Fist based on inspiration from how spears were used.
Raymond Allen believed that the first two biographies were false, and the third was most likely to be authentic.
Raymond reformed and innovated on the basis of the Mind Fist, transforming it from mind to style, combining the Standing
Meditation, Five Element Fist and Twelve Forms Fist.
The Style Fist emphasized the harmony between heart and mind, meaning and air, air and force, shoulder and crotch, elbow and
knee, hand and foot, integrating inner meaning with outward appearance.
-If you practiced combat but not its arts, it would be just a waste of time.
In combat arts, combat referred to fighting skills, and was the most basic skill.
Art referred to internal forces, also known as internal energy.
Only by combining internal and external training could someone become truly skilled at combat arts.
Oliver enjoyed the reading. The book also said that the Style Fist demands persistence as well as both internal and external
cultivation. Even those who were smart could only begin to grasp it after three years, and only after more than eight years could
there be real improvement in the internal energy.
If the realm of internal and external unity, also referred to as “the -harmony between man and nature”, was reached, that was a
true success.
Style Fist started with the Standing Meditation, which was a basic skill. Only when this stage had passed could true learning
begin.
The Standing Meditation was also a training method for the basic skills of Style Fist and internal energy. There was a saying that
all combat arts originate from the Standing Meditation, which is also called the
Foundation Meditation.
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The average time of Standing Meditation training lasts about fifteen minutes. The ability to stand increases with practice, but
even after a year’s practice, it is still extremely rare for someone to be able to stand for an hour.
Oliver was amused, so he practiced the Standing Meditation according to the book.
Raymond’s book was also detailed, and it was not difficult for him to understand it. He thought that it would only take about ten
minutes anyway, and he had nothing else to do.
In the beginning, he felt a little awkward in his posture, but after a few minutes of practice, he became comfortable with it.
The main function of the Standing Meditation was to sense energy while breathing, combining one’s heart with the flow of air.
The average beginner felt that his legs had become sore and numb after just a few minutes, and couldn’t go on anymore.
Oliver stood for a few minutes, and his legs became sore and numb. He gritted his teeth and endured it for three or four more
minutes. His legs were trembling, as if it was difficult to hold on even for another few seconds.
“Alas, I’m really not good at combat arts practice!”
Oliver sighed inwardly and felt as if he was going to collapse. He thought, “I’m not good at combat arts anyway.”
Unexpectedly, just when his body became exhausted and sour and numb, the Immortality Energy suddenly darted out, and
began to flow through his veins with his breaths. When it flowed to his legs, the sour and numb feeling suddenly disappeared!
Oliver’s mind suddenly relaxed. Naturally, he adjusted the flow of aura according to the ways described for the Standing
Meditation.
According to Raymond’s Fist Guidebook, the Standing Meditation is the foundation for learning Style Fist and the only way for
someone to learn to use their internal energy. Someone who can combine their will with their airflow within two or three months
and develop a sense for their energy is incredibly talented.
To be able to do this after about three years counts as having laid down the foundations.
At that moment, Oliver was clear-minded and not distracted at all. His
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heart and mind were one, merged with the flow of energy through his body.
Energy ran throughout his entire body. The Immortality Energy became harmonized with his mind, just like the Fist Guidebook
said. Energy flowed through his body over and over again.
However, it was unlikely to have a sense of energy when practicing Standing Meditation for the first time. It usually takes a few
months for someone to have a sense of their energy, and then years to complete the flow of air through the entire body.
But without knowing this, Oliver only felt the indescribable sense of the movement of aura through his body.
Again, again, and again.
After a while, Oliver suddenly woke from that strange feeling.
Looking outside the window, he saw that it had gotten a little dark. The glow from the setting sun painted the entire window red.
Oliver was stunned and wondered, ‘Why is it dark already?
I remember that it was only around two in the afternoon when I got back to the office.’
Oliver reached out and took a look at the phone on the table. It was truly past seven forty. He had been standing there for more
than five hours?
That seemed a bit strange. In Raymond’s old book, it was said that even a talented beginner could only practice for about a
quarter of an hour at
most.
Raymond’s so-called quarter of an hour would translate to about ten to fifteen
in the modern world.
That didn’t seem right. He was definitely a beginner, and he’d never practiced combat a practiced combat arts before. How could
he stand for more than five hours?
He did remember almost giving up at the beginning, when his legs had begun to feel numb, but how had he made it to five
hours?
Oliver wondered, “Is it because of the Immortality Energy in my body?” He tried to clench his fist, and his strength reached it the
instant his thoughts turned to his fist.
Without hesitation, Oliver smashed down his fist.
He had aimed for his rosewood desk with his fist, which was very strong.
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The desk cost millions.
Bang!
To Oliver’s surprise, with the crashing sound of his fist coming into
contact with the desk, five or six cracks on the table had appeared!