“So that’s how it is. This is qi!” Charles Warren’s eyes lit up, suddenly enlightened, as if a veil had been lifted from his mind. “When qi disperses intensely, people start to sweat.”

“That’s right, exactly.” Catherine Turner nodded approvingly. “The pores on the human body are like the holes in a bamboo basket. No matter how you try to fill a bamboo basket with water, it will always leak out. It’s the same with the human body—no matter how intense the exercise, qi will always escape through the pores and end up as nothing.”

“To preserve this qi during movement and prevent it from dispersing—this is the most fundamental and yet most profound aspect of Chinese martial arts. It’s also a method of health cultivation in Daoism.”

“Qi escapes through the pores. If you want to nurture your qi, you must, at critical moments, close all the pores of your body.”

“So how can you close all the pores of your body?” Charles Warren asked eagerly.

“Have you ever seen an animal get angry, especially cats and dogs? When they’re furious, all their fur stands up like a hedgehog. That’s their fur bristling, which also means their pores are closed. It’s the same for humans—sometimes, people get goosebumps and their hair stands on end. That’s also closing the pores.”

Catherine Turner untied a towel she’d used to tie up her hair, letting her jet-black hair fall down, and took a stance. “Watch as I demonstrate real power release.”

Behind Catherine Turner was a white ash tree as thick as an arm. Charles Warren saw her turn around and, with a slap, strike the trunk.

Catherine Turner’s loose hair suddenly shot upward as if electrified, then fell back down.

At the same time, with a cracking sound, the white ash tree snapped in two at the spot where her palm struck, both pieces flying off.

Catherine Turner then lightly stomped her foot, and the smooth cement ground beneath seemed to be crushed by a press, cracking inch by inch.

“I… damn…” Charles Warren was about to curse, but swallowed the words, changing it to “dizzy” instead.

“Haha, silly, that’s hidden force, also called internal force. You’re still a hundred thousand miles away from it. Back in the day, when Xingyi masters trained, their steps landed without a sound, but with a gentle stomp, they could shatter a large brick. Hidden force is silent and weighty—that’s why it’s called ‘hidden.’”

Catherine Turner tied her hair back up.

“I just explained ‘qi’ to you. This hidden force is qi concentrated and released at a single point. Look at my hand.”

With that, Catherine Turner extended her hand. Charles Warren looked and, sure enough, Catherine Turner’s hand was wet, covered in sweat.

“Silly, all the sweat came out from my palm.” Catherine Turner saw Charles Warren’s astonished look and teased him with a laugh.

“Sister Chen, I just saw you take a stance, but you didn’t do any intense movement. How did you sweat so much all of a sudden?” Charles Warren suddenly noticed something odd.

“Silly, when you hit someone, you don’t just use your hands—you have to be anxious in your heart too. When a person gets anxious, they get overheated, and sweat pours out even more than with intense exercise.”

Catherine Turner continued, “There’s a saying in the boxing classics: ‘When facing an enemy, it’s like being burned by fire.’ When a person gets anxious, the whole body sweats instantly, and vital energy rushes out in great quantities. But if the whole body sweats, it’s useless—the qi isn’t concentrated. That’s why Cheng Tinghua said, when striking, the anxiety should be focused in the hands. When the whole body heats up, close all the pores except those in the hands. Have you seen a high-pressure water hose? It’s just like that.”

“When a person gets anxious, the whole body sweats. This is the principle of ‘intent and qi united’ in the boxing classics. But letting sweat come out only from the hands—that’s the principle of ‘qi and strength united.’”

“Intent and qi united, qi and strength united… So that’s what it means…” Charles Warren nodded repeatedly, realizing that in his sixteen years of life, he’d never learned as much as he had this morning.

“The stance I’m having you hold now is to help you control all the pores of your body. This is how you truly build stamina and skill.”

Catherine Turner had Charles Warren assume the same stance as before, like holding a rifle with a bayonet.

“The horse stance I taught you last time was to train the strength of your waist, legs, and toes. Today, I’m teaching you this post stance, which trains the spine to control the opening and closing of all your pores. Pay attention and feel carefully where my fingers are.”

Catherine Turner placed her hand on the back of Charles Warren’s head, then slowly moved her fingers down along the vertebrae, gently pressing each segment. With each inch she moved, Charles Warren felt his spine straighten bit by bit.

At the same time, the movement of his spine drove the movement of all his bones and the stretching and contracting of his muscles. Charles Warren felt his whole body heat up and begin to sweat slightly.

Suddenly, Catherine Turner pressed on Charles Warren’s tailbone.

Charles Warren’s entire center of gravity suddenly dropped to the base of his spine. His whole body felt like a cat whose tail had been stepped on—whoosh! All his body hair stood on end, and his skin broke out in a dense layer of goosebumps. All the sweat and heat seemed to be forced back inside.

“Feel every inch of your spine, from head to body, then to tail. Head, body, tail—three forms in one. This stance is called the Three-Body Posture. An animal’s tail is for balance and controlling the body. For fierce animals, when the tail stands up, all their fur bristles. Humans’ tails have degenerated, so we’re not as agile as animals.”

“The horse stance is about standing as if you’re a horse. The Three-Body Posture is about standing as if you have a tail!”