Writing Novels Will Make You Invincible

Chapter 14 : The Proud Dragon Repents

The Proud Dragon Repents

"Gift package opened. Martial Technique: The Proud Dragon Repents of the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms."

After opening this "First Time Ever on the New Book Rankings Gift Pack," he unexpectedly received only a "single move."

But while the gift was small in quantity, its weight was heavy.

The Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms were considered the ultimate palm technique in Jin Yong's martial arts universe with unmatched power. It had shone brilliantly in the hands of the protagonists of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils and Legend of the Condor Heroes. It was also what Hong Qigong relied on to rank among the Five Greats of the world.

This martial art was also one of Chu Tianxing's personal favorites.

And this particular move, The Proud Dragon Repents, was the essence of the entire Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms.

Most importantly, the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms could be practiced through external refinement alone. In other words, you didn't need powerful internal energy to unleash its power.

Plus, the moves were straightforward and unpretentious. The real magic was all in how you channeled and released your strength, making it perfect for beginners like Chu Tianxing.

"Here I am, ten years of being a failed writer, never making it onto any rankings, and now my first time hitting the New Book Rankings gets me a gift like this... my feelings are pretty damn complicated right now..."

Despite the mixed emotions, excitement and joy definitely won out.

Without hesitation, Chu Tianxing mentally clicked on the small blue booklet with a cover depicting a lifelike golden dragon containing the technique.

The booklet dissolved into light and vanished.

The striking method and power-channeling technique for The Proud Dragon Repents now existed in Chu Tianxing's mind.

His body also gained "muscle memory" of this move, just like when he'd learned the Muscle-Transforming & Bone-Tempering Chapter and the Snake-Crawl Raccoon-Tumble movement technique.

Chu Tianxing assumed the stance. His left leg was slightly bent, his left hand was drawing a semicircle, and his right palm thrust forward.

As the palm strike was executed, he felt the force originating from the soles of his feet, coursing sequentially through his calves, knees, thighs, waist, abdomen, spine, shoulders, and arms.

The entire strength of his body was integrated into this single palm strike. Even the faint, weak seed of internal energy in his Dantian stirred restlessly, nearly breaking free to surge through his meridians.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind suddenly rose.

In the end, Chu Tianxing's internal energy was too weak; that faint wisp of internal energy could not participate in the execution of the palm strike.

But the technique execution alone was enough for this palm strike to create a clear, distinct whistling sound through the air.

Chu Tianxing closed his eyes, carefully savoring the sensation from that strike.

After digesting what he'd learned, he assumed the same stance again and struck out once more.

Whoosh!

The wind sound was sharper and more forceful this time, even reaching several feet away to flip open a book in front of him with rustling pages.

Chu Tianxing thoughtfully absorbed the experience again, then struck for a third time.

Just like this, he continuously practiced the palm technique while pondering The Proud Dragon Repents' power-channeling method and relying on his body's muscle memory. The more he practiced, the more proficient he became, and the more powerful his strikes grew.

He lost track of how long he'd been training.

Suddenly, Chu Tianxing struck out with his palm, and this time it didn't just produce the sharp whistling wind; a loud bang was produced from in front of his palm.

This strike's power had instantly more than doubled compared to before. If it hit someone, it could definitely break bones.

But after delivering this palm strike, Chu Tianxing was drenched in sweat and felt weak all over.

Each time he struck, he had to mobilize and coordinate his entire body's strength. The Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms is a fierce and demanding martial art. With Chu Tianxing's current level, he couldn't control the force freely or adjust between light and heavy, hard and soft at will.

So he was completely drained after this training session, especially after that final palm produced the explosive crack. His legs were trembling so much that he could barely stand.

But although his body was utterly exhausted, Chu Tianxing felt incredibly happy.

He forced himself to stand and rest for a while. After recovering a bit of strength, he slowly shuffled to his computer desk and sat down.

"Damn, that felt good!"

After resting some more, Chu Tianxing felt incredibly hungry. The big bowl of mixed rice he'd eaten before opening the gift package had been completely burned through during his training. So he went back to the kitchen and made another large bowl of mixed rice.

After filling his stomach and resting briefly, he wanted to continue practicing The Proud Dragon Repents. But then he suddenly remembered that blood shadow creature.

"That thing was seriously creepy, and Gu Dongcang didn't tell me anything about its origins. I wonder if there's any info about it online..."

Chu Tianxing opened his search engine and typed "blood shadow evil entity” to try to find relevant information.

However, while there were tons of results for "blood shadow" and "evil entity" online, they were all fictional beings from novels. There wasn't a single real-world source that mentioned "blood shadow evil entity."

"They've covered it up, huh?"

Chu Tianxing stroked his chin and mused to himself. "Looks like that blood shadow creature's origins are pretty classified. Finding relevant information online probably isn't going to happen."

To learn about secrets like this, he'd probably have to join the Eastern Depot and become an agent.

"Nah, forget the Eastern Depot. They don't even have those swaggering grand eunuchs who can write imperial edicts on the spot anymore. Why would I join up? To become a trap like Gu Dongcang?"

After searching some more and finding absolutely nothing about blood shadow creatures, Chu Tianxing had to give up.

Next, he spent time online researching real-world martial arts materials, videos, and TV shows.

This was obviously for his novel writing.

While the martial arts descriptions in The Legend of the Condor Heroes were exciting, they were ultimately fantasy without any real-world basis. Superhuman martial artists didn’t exist in his previous reality, so he could fantasize however he wanted without anyone questioning it.

But in this world where true superhuman martial arts existed, the descriptions of fights had to reference reality to some extent.

But at the end of the day, fiction was still fiction. You can bend the rules within the fiction.

For instance, everyone knew that real superpowers didn't appear until the Chongzhen Emperor’s reign, but Chu Tianxing’s Condor Heroes was set during the Southern Song period.

So as long as the fundamentals and presentation methods of martial arts in his novel weren't too different from real martial arts, readers wouldn't nitpick too much.

After all, the most crucial elements of a novel were still plot and characters.

As long as the plot was exciting and the characters vivid enough to immerse readers, they wouldn't be too harsh about minor flaws in fight descriptions.

With the Condor Heroes’ plotline, does he still have to worry a thing about the plot or characters? Of course not.

It was a classic that had stood the test of time and been adapted countless times.

And so, he immersed himself in his research.

Chu Tianxing studied real martial arts like this while thinking about how to write fights in his novel and expanding his martial arts knowledge.

Before he knew it, evening had arrived.

There was a sound at the front door lock. It must be Qin Ling coming to cook for him again.

Hearing the noise, Chu Tianxing perked up and went out to greet her.

He greeted her with a beaming enthusiasm, "Little Ling'er, you're finally here! Do you have any idea how hard it's been without you?"

Seeing Chu Tianxing's burning gaze and unprecedentedly enthusiastic tone, Qin Ling's face reddened. She wondered if he was hinting at something. How should she respond? If he invited her to stay the night later, should she refuse or agree?

As her thoughts were running wild, she saw Chu Tianxing approach with utmost enthusiasm, moving to take the plastic bag from her hand.

"I've been eating mixed rice all day! I've been dying for your cooking! It's been so hard waiting until now, but you're finally here! Huh? Why is your face so red? Don't be shy! You have the keys to my place, so coming here is like being in your home, right? Don't just stand there in a daze, hurry up and get to the kitchen to cook!"

"..."

Qin Ling's eye twitched slightly as she fought the urge to smash the grocery bag into Chu Tianxing's face.

She forced a stiff smile that didn’t reach her eyes. "Heh, you really are still the same old Chu Tianxing. Destined to die old alone!"

With that, she put on a stern expression and stomped forcefully into the kitchen on her long, slender white legs, leaving Chu Tianxing completely bewildered and confused.

"What just happened? I welcomed her so enthusiastically, so why did she suddenly get mad for no reason? Tsk, girls' minds are really impossible to understand..."

Well, after ten years of being a failed, shut-in author with little human interaction, Chu Tianxing really had lost his touch with women.

Then again, even before diving headfirst into online writing, he hadn't been great with girls either.

Back then, he treasured his time immensely. This world only has twenty-four hours a day; how could he waste his time on some unimportant stuff?

With that much time, wouldn't reading novels be more enjoyable? Wouldn't gaming be better?

As for women... given his family background, that really wasn't something to worry about.

But the current Chu Tianxing seemed completely unaware that in this world, his family background was no longer the kind of mega-wealthy household where he didn't need to worry about anything...