On the other hand, it was also because he simply couldn’t muster any interest in studying, while the martial arts taught by Catherine Turner resonated deeply within Charles Warren’s heart.

“Tailbone, tailbone... center of gravity, center of gravity... three-body stance.”

Time gradually approached the end of the semester. Half a month passed in a flash, and there were only a little over ten days left before winter break. It had been almost a month and a half since Charles Warren started learning martial arts from Catherine Turner.

Over this month and a half, Charles Warren’s daily practice of the “horse stance” had become more and more proficient. With each rise and fall, Charles Warren truly felt as if he were galloping on horseback, as if a horse had grown inside his body.

As for the two techniques, “Lifting the Groin Palm” and “Monkey Steals the Peach,” he had practiced them to the point where, as soon as he willed it, his hands and eyes would move in perfect sync.

However, that simple three-body stance still eluded Charles Warren; he just couldn’t grasp it fully, never able to make all his body hair stand on end every time.

Ten days before the holiday, on a Saturday, the sun was warm and bright. Charles Warren sat at home, tending a coal stove to boil water, when he suddenly saw a stray cat at his doorstep. The cat gracefully moved its limbs into the sunlight, curled up comfortably, and squinted its eyes to nap.

A sudden impulse struck Charles Warren. He quietly moved closer, and then, all at once, stomped hard on the stray cat’s tail.

Wow! Wawawa! The stray cat let out a miserable cry, its whole body curling into a ball, tail standing straight up. Charles Warren clearly saw the cat’s entire spine arch like a bow, in an instant stretching and contracting like a snake.

The cat’s fur stood up like a hedgehog, every hair bristling. With a leap, it actually jumped onto Charles Warren’s face.

Charles Warren hurriedly shielded his face with his hands, but his arms were scratched with several bloody marks.

He quickly flung the cat away, but instead of being angry, Charles Warren felt a surge of joy, because he had just clearly seen the moment when the cat raised its tail, moved its spine, and bristled its fur. Combined with his own experiences over the past days, Charles Warren felt as if he suddenly understood a lot.

After being thrown off, the cat landed silently on the ground, its gaze full of anger.

Man and cat faced off.

Charles Warren suddenly felt a bit guilty. “Kitty, sorry about that. But you scratched me so many times, so I guess we’re even. Still, I started it, so here, I’ll give you a piece of fish.”

With that, Charles Warren went to the kitchen, cut a piece of cured fish meant for the New Year, and tossed it to the cat.

Sensing that Charles Warren no longer meant harm, the cat eyed the fish on the ground suspiciously, sniffed it, and finally couldn’t resist the temptation, snatching it up and eating it.

Charles Warren breathed a sigh of relief. Suddenly, a whistling sound came from inside the house.

It turned out the water had boiled, and a large amount of steam was rushing out of the kettle spout, making a sharp, piercing noise.

“I get it!” Charles Warren was startled all over, immediately assuming the three-body stance. From head to neck, his spine was like a snake, gently pushed down, his whole body already warming up, a slight sweat breaking out.

Snap! His entire center of gravity landed precisely on his tailbone. Charles Warren felt as if, just like that cat, he had grown a tail, an invisible tail standing upright.

With this stimulation to his tailbone nerves, Charles Warren immediately felt a chill rise from his buttocks up along his spine to the back of his head. Then his scalp tingled, goosebumps erupted all over his body, and his pores clamped tightly shut.

Having suddenly grasped the key, Charles Warren repeatedly practiced the three-body stance dozens of times in a row, feeling as if the heat and sweat inside his body were always forced back just as they were about to burst out of his pores.

This constant surging and forcing back gave Charles Warren the illusion that his body was swelling up like an inflated ball.

In the end, Charles Warren felt as if he was about to burst, and only then did he suddenly stop. Imitating Catherine Turner, he raised both hands up to his brow, then pressed them down as if to push all the energy in his body into his lower abdomen.

As his hands pressed to his abdomen, Charles Warren immediately felt as if he were pumping air into a full tire—he just couldn’t press it down.

Charles Warren’s lower abdomen ached and then gurgled, suddenly churning upward and bursting out.

Uncontrollably, Charles Warren’s mouth was forced open, and a long howl burst forth.

This howl was just like the sound of boiling water rushing out of the kettle spout.

At the same time, Charles Warren felt another wave of heat rush up his face to his head, then stop at his temples.

Charles Warren felt as if his temples were swelling.

“Not easy at all.” A wave of joy surged up, and Charles Warren felt boundless happiness and a sense of accomplishment.

Ignoring the boiling water still on the stove, he hurriedly grabbed a mirror to check himself.

“Huh? Doesn’t look like there’s any obvious swelling, but my spirit does feel great.”

Charles Warren looked and saw that his temples weren’t as obviously swollen as he’d felt earlier, and felt a bit disappointed.

“Oh well, you can’t get fat in one bite. That clear sensation just now wasn’t fake, so I must have practiced correctly.”

Charles Warren worked to calm himself down.

Having finally broken through the bottleneck, for the next ten days until the holiday, Charles Warren was immersed in joy. Of course, with daily repeated practice, he found it more and more enjoyable each time.