Chapter 52: A mind like a newborn, a willpower like iron (Second) (2/2)

Each movement he made was naturally in accordance with all the martial art he knew. Everything else had forgotten with only the essence of martial arts taking up his mind.

Yunnan was comprised of mainly mountains, so instead of taking the main path, Wang Chao had taken the road less traveled despite the strain. On the way, he had admired the sights the revolutionaries had once traveled. This process was exceedingly slow and had taken three quarters of spring before he had arrived at the Zun’yi province in Guizhou.

By May, Wang Chao had traveled past Chishui and into Sichuan.

Over the course of these several months, his body had been tempered by the frost and the wind. His previously white skin had transformed into an ashy brown and after spending the nights out in the open, his body hadn’t grown weak at all. Instead, it grew sturdier and his legs even stronger.

Sometimes when he traveled, Wang Chao would close his eyes shut and reflect upon himself. Sometimes, he could hear the blood flow through his body.

Under the work of the heart, the blood in his veins had continued to circulate around his body without pause.

When one had been trained to a specific point, they would be able to hear their blood flow.

Unbeknownst to Wang Chao, his martial arts had already reached this detail stage where he could sense all of his inner organs. His body had also managed to coordinate with the very essence of several other martial art disciplines and essence, and his heart had submerged itself into a state of mind that could be seen in the previous century.

A plateau was already forming in Sichuan. The road was even more perilous than Guizhou with the mountainous terrain slowly taking over. The road continued to wind around unpredictably almost as if it was the body of a giant dragon.

The weather was growing hotter, but Wang Chao hadn’t noticed it.

He could only feel that his mind and body was like a crude and unpolished gem. Each step he took was yet another polishing or another cut into this gem to rid it of its impurities.

In this half year of traveling, Wang Chao had only felt depressed and the entire trip to be difficult at first. But in the end, he had grown more and more comfortable with himself. He had forgotten about the problems with the world, and so his heart had grown lighter almost as if his entire body was floating now. Thinking back to the words and experience of his predecessors, he thought, “Martial arts must be done with a feeling of comfort and ease. If there is only pain, then it is wrong.”

He knew he had practiced correctly.

The mountain grew dangerous, the roads even more precipitous. Beneath him, the river water was rushing with a rapid pace while the sun above him was burning with a vicious heat.

With such a perilous situation like this, each day grew even more difficult for Wang Chao. If he did not carefully watch himself with each step, then his body would not be able to take the consequence.

In the middle of June, Wang Chao came across a wriggling river, by this point, the cities and customs of the places he traveled to had gradually changed. Sometimes, he could see the clothes of Tibetans instead of the mainland Chinese he was used to.

After several days, the gigantic mountains he had crossed were starting to be covered with snow.

By the time Wang Chao had arrived at the next range of snowy mountains, they had already blocked his path.

When Wang Chao looked at the snowy mountains, his heart knew that this journey ahead of him would be a hundred times harder than what he had just accomplished.

The thousand mile journey had only just begun.