Chapter 88

It turned out that just as he was racking his brains on how to activate his gluteal muscles, he suddenly felt a strike from the teacher's rod on his waist, which made him shudder all over. His waist relaxed, and his gluteal muscles also twitched, causing him to bounce up. In the midst of his deep thought, this sudden change sparked a flash of inspiration, as if he had grasped something. He immediately focused on capturing that moment of insight, completely ignoring what the teacher was saying.

He stood there, carefully savoring the feeling of being struck by the rod, and suddenly realized that he had to relax his entire body, and coordinate his waist and buttocks to activate his gluteal muscles. This realization filled him with excitement, and he couldn't wait to try it out. Coincidentally, the teacher had just punished him to practice archery on the field, and Lu Zheng was overjoyed, running over in a flash.

Before Lu Zheng shot the arrow, he took a few shallow breaths, cleared his mind, and gradually relaxed his body. He felt the presence of his waist and buttocks, then staggered his steps, but unlike before, he didn't tense up. Instead, his whole body was relaxed.

As his waist relaxed, his gluteal muscles twitched, and his legs naturally clamped together, generating a force that naturally rose from his feet, was transmitted through his gluteal muscles, and then passed through his waist to his arms. Lu Zheng's arms effortlessly pulled the bow, without any strain.

Surprised and delighted, Lu Zheng quickly tried it a few more times and found that the key was to relax his entire body, which was also the most difficult part. It wasn't just about forcing himself to relax and go limp; he had to use his muscles without tensing up, and focus his mind without becoming rigid. Otherwise, he would easily fail.

However, Lu Zheng had a solid foundation from practicing archery, and focusing his mind was already a natural thing for him. The challenge was to avoid stiffness, which he could only manage with some effort. Although his success rate increased, he still felt he hadn't found the right technique.

In this process, Lu Zheng discovered another wonderful thing: the power in the human body actually comes from the soles of the feet! The power that surges up is enhanced by the activation of the gluteal muscles, then transmitted to the waist, and can even be stored there. From the waist, the power can be distributed to various parts of the body, such as the shoulders and head. Each time the power is sent out, his waist becomes more flexible, and Lu Zheng clearly felt that his waist was the master of his body's strength, distributing it as needed.

Lu Zheng suddenly realized that this was exactly what the teacher meant by the first four characters of the eight-character mantra: "loosen the hips and straighten the waist." Loosening the hips allows the use of gluteal muscle strength, and straightening the waist means using the waist to control the body's strength. The teacher had already given him the secret, but he was too dull to understand it until now.

Lu Zheng scolded himself for being a fool, but then he thought, "That's not right. The teacher said these eight characters were for taming Little White, not for archery. Oh, right, the teacher first taught me archery, so maybe the techniques for archery and riding are similar!"

But archery could be so easy! Lu Zheng had just shot nearly thirty arrows in a row, but his arms and legs felt no fatigue or soreness, let alone pain. If this continued, wouldn't he no longer feel sore after shooting arrows every day? Lu Zheng was overjoyed.

Why didn't the teacher tell him this earlier? If he had, he wouldn't have been in pain for the past few days, making it hard to even eat. Remembering that the teacher had just punished him to shoot three hundred arrows, he drew an arrow and, using the method he had just understood, shot it with the combined strength of his waist and buttocks, hitting the center of the target.

As he shot arrow after arrow, Lu Zheng became more and more proficient, and the coordination of his waist and buttocks improved. With each burst of power from his waist, his arms, shoulders, and neck muscles were also activated, unlike before when some parts remained stiff. His entire body felt lively, and each muscle was engaged. His body felt incredibly comfortable, and the strain of pulling the bow was gone.

Lu Zheng's playful side emerged, and he began to shoot arrows in various poses—bending, turning, and leaning back. Each shot was perfectly round, and the arrows flew straight and true, more accurately than before.

After shooting three hundred arrows, his arms and legs felt no soreness or pain, but rather a warm, tingling sensation that made him feel very comfortable. He couldn't help but cheer, realizing that archery could be a pleasant experience.

His cheer attracted Little White, who thought Lu Zheng was bringing him beans and ran over happily. But when he saw Lu Zheng shooting arrows, he sighed and turned to leave, disappointed.

Lu Zheng was delighted to see Little White. He was grateful to Little White because he no longer felt sore after archery, all thanks to Little White. He decided to play with Little White for a while.

He wanted to play a trick on Little White, using the skills he had learned from him. He coordinated his waist and buttocks, staggered his steps, and lightly touched the ground, using the force from his feet to store energy in his waist. When he landed, he used the stored energy to propel himself forward, running towards Little White.

From a distance, Lu Zheng's running form looked like Little White's, with his feet moving like the horse's hooves, as if he were running on cotton. He quickly reached Little White, and his steps felt more like a casual stroll than running.

Little White looked at Lu Zheng with confusion. He knew it was the boy who gave him beans, but the figure running towards him seemed like a horse.

Little White shook his head, confirming that it was indeed a horse. He had never seen another horse in the Sun and Moon Pavilion, so he happily approached.

Little White rushed to Lu Zheng and affectionately rubbed his neck against him. Lu Zheng was surprised by Little White's sudden warmth. Little White, who never let him get close, was now rubbing against him. This was the first time he truly touched Little White's fur, which felt incredibly soft and smooth.

Lu Zheng couldn't resist petting Little White, whose fur was so soft and smooth that not a single hair was out of place. He petted Little White a few more times, and Little White, enjoying the attention, neighed happily.

Seeing that Little White had completely let his guard down, Lu Zheng had a thought. This was the perfect opportunity to tame Little White. He lightly touched the ground, flipped, and mounted Little White.

Little White, enjoying the company of a fellow horse, was caught off guard by the sudden weight on his back. He immediately became furious, galloping wildly around the field, bucking and rearing, trying to throw Lu Zheng off.

Lu Zheng had experienced this before when he hugged Little White's neck, so he was prepared but still felt a bit scared. He remembered the last four characters of the eight-character mantra, "clench the horse's belly," and immediately used the strength of his waist and buttocks to clamp his legs tightly around Little White's belly. He also leaned forward to grab the reins, which he had lost when he was thrown off earlier.

However, he missed the reins a few times and almost fell off. In a panic, he grabbed Little White's mane, holding on tightly, not daring to let go.

Feeling the pain from his mane being pulled, Little White became even more agitated, rearing up and neighing loudly, then stomping down hard, but still couldn't throw Lu Zheng off. Enraged, Little White ran and jumped wildly, making smaller and smaller circles, and Lu Zheng was thrown into the air several times. Each time, he used the strength of his waist and buttocks to hook onto Little White's belly, preventing himself from falling off.

Lu Zheng felt ashamed, realizing he was using the techniques he had learned from Little White to tame him.

Little White, the white dragon horse that Mr. Le had spoken of, the king of horses, continued to gallop and leap, not slowing down even as the sun set. The golden light of the sunset illuminated Little White, and Lu Zheng, exhausted, was barely holding on by sheer willpower.

Little White sensed that the hands gripping his mane were loosening and knew that the person on his back was losing strength. He became even more spirited, neighing loudly and running even faster. At the peak of his speed, he suddenly lifted his hindquarters and made a 180-degree turn.

The inertia threw Lu Zheng's body backward, and his hands lost their grip on the mane. He was about to be thrown off, but he gritted his teeth, gathered his strength, and shouted, somehow finding the strength to grab the horse's neck again.

As Lu Zheng's buttocks landed back on the saddle, Little White felt an overwhelming aura envelop his entire body, as if a mountain had suddenly landed on his back, almost breaking his spine!

This aura was contained and didn't radiate outward, pressing down on him with a dignity that made him feel insignificant. Compared to this aura, his pride as the king of horses was nothing.

What was on his back that could emit such an aura? Little White's heart raced, and his eyes showed reverence. In the presence of this aura, he stood still, no longer daring to move.