Chapter Eight: Will Like Iron, Visualization Manifested!

Within the martial arts training ground, Fang Can, currently in a state of physical overclocking, did not rush to practice. Instead, he scanned everyone present. After more than twenty minutes of observation, he had already cataloged the martial arts of most people in the arena.

Fists, legs, palms, blades, spears... swords, halberds, staves, clubs, hooks... Aside from a few whose movements were too fast and left only afterimages on his retina—making them impossible to track or learn—he had thoroughly mastered every other technique. After all, what was called martial arts at this early stage was merely a stacking of physical movements. It was no different from drawing, dancing, or running; once you master the fundamental principle, you master them all.

After a moment, Fang Can closed his eyes and took a deep breath, allowing his brain to settle. Limited by his physical hardware, he could only superficially mimic and record these martial arts for now. Even so, there was no way to perceive the so-called "internal energy" simply by observing the surface.

"Indeed, mere visual observation cannot reveal the mysteries of the so-called idealist martial arts. I must experiment for myself," Fang Can resolved.

The next moment, he assumed the starting stance of the "Thirty-Six Tiger-Eater Fists" with textbook precision, as shown in the manual. "According to Yang Lie, the most important thing is absolute conviction. Only the firmness of the mind can reflect upon the flesh."

Fang Can murmured internally, attempting to imagine a warm current welling up from the vital point in his heart, flowing downward to irrigate the next point. Under his own mental suggestion, he almost felt a heat flow surging. However, Fang Can knew this was merely a placebo effect, akin to shamanic rituals—a hallucination created by his brain deceiving itself; in short, self-delusion.

His will remained unshaken. Fang Can moved, executing the second form of the Tiger-Eater Fists while meticulously visualizing that heat flow connecting three major vital points.

In the distance, Yang Lie sipped his strong liquor, squinting at the arena to prevent any accidents. "Oh, started practicing the fist forms already? Not bad-looking, though useless since he hasn't even memorized the acupuncture points. Another greedy, impulsive fool." Yang Lie thought, drinking the rest of his wine with indifference. Because of Fang Can's advanced age, he had no hope for this disciple and taught him only perfunctorily. He had omitted several critical warnings, clearly bullying the novice with his lack of experience.

Three minutes later, as Fang Can finished the full set of the Thirty-Six Tiger-Eater Fists, he felt nothing but the effects of his brain's self-deception. Instead, his muscles ached from the intensity of the effort.

He felt no discouragement. Like the most devout believer in prayer, his eyes burned with an unyielding, almost indoctrinated resolve. If the first attempt showed no miraculous results, he would simply do it again. In his "genius state," all his passive attributes—rationality, perseverance, focus, inspiration, luck, and intuition—were elevated equally, allowing Fang Can to suppress any doubt or hesitation.

"I only need to believe. It doesn't matter what I believe in..."
"If that's the case, I don't care about these idealist martial arts; I only believe in myself..."
"If others can do it, I will only do it better..."
"If this so-called idealist martial art is not a lie, then my innate talent for belief is certainly no lower than anyone else's."

As Fang Can punched repeatedly, thoughts began to stir in his mind. Free from the hesitation, doubt, and self-questioning typical of others, he possessed absolute confidence. This stemmed both from his heightened state and the social atmosphere of his previous life.

In his past life, cosmic storms had swept the globe, spawning endless mutated monsters. Yet, some lucky humans awakened superpowers and rebuilt order. Since the state was founded by super-powered individuals, they monopolized all top-level power, law, discourse, wealth, and manufacturing. Under their subtle influence, it became a consensus that super-powered individuals were inherently superior. Born into such an environment, Fang Can’s psychological state was clear: he harbored no doubt, only absolute confidence, because he knew that the gifted were simply different from the common folk.

As Fang Can trained, unknown to everyone, his thoughts began to gather and condense on a higher dimension. On his hidden interface, the status bar began to change:

Status: Host's consciousness converges, using the "Thirty-Six Tiger-Eater Fists" as a vessel, flesh as an altar, intent as an anchor, and blood energy as an offering to begin visualization manifestation.
Commencing manifestation of [Tiger Spirit Eighty-Eight Grotto-Heavens].

The manifestation progress moved from 1% to 2% to 3%...
—Estimated time remaining: 73 minutes and 21 seconds—

As Fang Can continued to practice, the manifestation progress on the status bar climbed steadily. However, he paid no attention to the interface, focusing entirely on visualizing the internal energy flowing through his body's acupuncture points.

Finally, after the thirteenth set, Fang Can stopped. Because he had exerted his full strength with every move, his muscles had reached their limit and needed time to recover. Sitting on the ground, he rubbed his muscles to prevent soreness the next day. While relaxing, he manipulated his stomach muscles to regurgitate the arsenic he had consumed, which was on the verge of dissolving.

*Yueh!*

Spitting the arsenic aside, Fang Can felt the sensation of omnipotence vanish instantly. In its place, laziness, fatigue, hunger, drowsiness, and soreness flooded his mind.

"That's enough cheating for today," Fang Can thought helplessly. He pondered the need to find new ways of stimulation before his seven pills ran out; otherwise, he would have to resort to self-mutilation to boost his talent, which would be messy enough to make him feel like he had wandered onto the set of a gory action film.

Muttering to himself, he checked the interface he had ignored and was immediately drawn to the changes in the status bar:

[Tiger Spirit Eighty-Eight Grotto-Heavens] visualization manifestation: 89.2%
—Estimated time remaining: 21 hours, 52 minutes, 17 seconds—

Looking at the progress bar, Fang Can recalled Yang Lie’s words: achieving "energy sensation" within a month was considered top-tier talent. A trace of respect rose in his heart:

"As expected of 'top-tier talent,' it takes them a whole month of effort to bridge the gap I crossed in one hour of cheating. Truly, heroes of the world are as numerous as carp in a river; they cannot be underestimated."