Chapter 11: Body Strengthening, Blood Nourishment, Entering Force
Hong Yuan did have ideas about the Huang Family Industry, after all, medicinal baths could promote Root Bone, but he also knew clearly that achieving his goal was unrealistic.
It wasn’t like killing Huang Shaotang and Huang Guiling would let him take over the Huang Family, as Huang Guiling had more than just Huang Shaotang as a son.
Moreover, the Huang Family had many members, so no matter how it was calculated, it wouldn’t fall to Hong Yuan, and even if all these people were killed, other Great Families and even officials would still be eyeing this piece of fat meat!
Quanshui Lane, Yang Family Martial Arts School.
Along the way, he asked two people for directions and found the place without much effort, now standing outside looking inside.
The martial arts school gate was wide open, and what came into view was a spacious open field. Hong Yuan originally thought he would hear vigorous shouts, with many disciples wielding sabers and spears, clubs, and practicing fist and foot techniques against each other, but instead it was eerily quiet.
If not for the plaque above the gate reading ‘Yang Family Martial Arts School’ in four characters, he would have thought he came to the wrong place.
Slightly stunned, a figure came forward from inside, smiling before speaking: “Brother Hong, you’ve come, please come in quickly.”
Yang Lie wore a smile on his face, greeting him to enter.
Stepping through the gate, Hong Yuan looked around. This was a martial practice field, with over twenty jujube wood stakes deeply embedded in the soil on the left, each stake bearing marks from fist and foot strikes.
Stone locks and a weapon rack were placed in the right corner against the wall.
Seeing Hong Yuan’s confusion, Yang Lie explained: “Isn’t it because of this important matter? Uncle sent the apprentices home, telling them not to come to the martial arts school for the next few days.”
Hong Yuan suddenly understood; what the important matter was went without saying.
“But even at ordinary times, the apprentices in the school don’t exceed twenty people.”
Yang Lie said as he walked: “Although Linjiang Prefecture is prosperous, Yangquan County is after all just a small county town. The poor study literature, the rich practice martial arts; how many people can afford the tuition? Besides, this county town has more than just the Yang Family Martial Arts School.”
“How is the tuition collected?”
Hong Yuan became interested.
Passing through the square, facing them were four main rooms with blue walls and white tiles, clearly a higher grade than the surrounding civilian houses.
In the middle of the main rooms was a passage corridor; walking through led to rows of private rooms extending left and right, five on each side, with a large open space in the middle still set up as a martial practice field.
Wu Duxiong was shirtless with short pants, his arms knotted with muscles and thighs thick and powerful, punching and kicking at the wooden stake in front of him, with continuous ‘bang bang’ sounds like drumming!
The wooden stake ‘buzzed’ and trembled, shaking nonstop, looking like it might burst open at any moment.
Yang Lie found a reclining chair and slumped into it, exhaling comfortably before answering Hong Yuan’s earlier question: “Apprentices pay three taels per month, nominal disciples ten taels per month, and extra fees for personalized training.”
When most people earned only two qian on average per month, this price was astronomical.
“Why the big difference? Is it because what’s taught is different?”
“No! Whether apprentice or nominal disciple, what they learn is largely the same.” Yang Lie shook his head and smiled faintly: “Martial practice, martial practice—what does it seek? Isn’t it strong muscles and bones, vigorous Qi and Blood! With a strong physique and abundant Qi and Blood, one can naturally fight well.”
“Body strengthening, Blood Nourishment!”
“What can a martial arts school teach? Nothing more than stance training, methods to temper muscles and bones, and Guiding Technique! These things, apprentices and nominal disciples can all learn, but the difficulty is mastering them—this can’t be done with hard practice alone; it requires meat and medicine!”
Yang Lie said calmly: “Without eating meat, how can one strengthen muscles and bones and increase Qi and Blood? The more blindly one practices, the more likely to ruin oneself. Without medicine, what to do when injured? How to replenish depleted Qi and Blood?”
“Nominal disciples pay more, so the martial arts school provides more meat, three meals a day of refined grains and fine food, plus three medicinal baths per month and secret medicinal ointments. As for apprentices, their food aside, injury medicine is just some blood-activating wine, trauma salves…”
“Of course, there are always exceptions in this world…” Yang Lie paused, turning his gaze to Hong Yuan with a hint of envy on his face: “Like Brother Hong here, with exceptional talent, naturally strong physique and full Qi and Blood—such talent, I couldn’t match even after ten years of practice.”
“Brother Hong’s skills are good, relying on natural quick reactions; in truth, you haven’t truly learned martial arts, have you?”
“Indeed.” Hong Yuan nodded.
“I truly envy you!” Yang Lie sighed, then said: “I’ve practiced martial arts for over a dozen years and can barely grasp Qi and Blood, not daring to easily step to the next level, fearing a misstep would harm myself. But if Brother Hong gets guidance from a famous master, I’m afraid it won’t be long before you catch up to me.”
Yang Lie was hinting at something.
Hong Yuan naturally understood his meaning; he wanted to recruit him into the Yang Family Martial Arts School, otherwise why invite him here and now go to such lengths to explain.
If he could take Yang Erhu as master, Hong Yuan wouldn’t object.
Moreover, once he became a disciple, he probably wouldn’t be an apprentice or nominal disciple, but directly a true disciple—after all, others paid to come, while he was invited.
Yang Erhu coveted his good talent, and he coveted the system’s martial arts learning opportunities.
Hong Yuan smiled: “I wonder what Brother Yang means by the next step?”
Yang Lie clenched his fist, inhaled slightly, his body hair standing on end, then punched out with a ‘crack’ from his arm, but he shook his head and sighed: “Body strengthening, Blood Nourishment—no matter how robust the body or vigorous the Qi and Blood, what’s struck out is still just brute force!”
“Such force is brute force, with no transformation, and the Qi and Blood in the body is scattered!”
“Qi and Blood exists within the human body, formless and intangible, unseen and untouchable. To twist this formless, scattered Qi and Blood into one strand, one must use Guiding Technique to guide it, Breathing Method to grasp it, and use Breathing Method to control Qi and Blood, transforming it into real, tangible Force!”
“Only after entering Force and cultivating ‘True Force’ can one be called a true master, fighting ten with one, and even at fifty or sixty years old, as long as one can still grasp Qi and Blood, True Force Burst can smash a charging bull with one punch.”
“Breathing Method?” Hong Yuan’s heart stirred; this seemed to be the core that apprentices and nominal disciples couldn’t access.
Fighting ten with one—Hong Yuan didn’t think it meant ten ordinary people; with Yang Lie’s demonstrated skill, beating ten ordinary people would be easy. This ‘ten’ was likely figurative, or meaning ten elite soldiers or the like.
And Hong Yuan’s starting values were already extremely high; continuing to improve physique and Qi and Blood, then entering True Force, would only make him stronger.
“I wonder, in this martial arts path, what realm lies beyond True Force?” Hong Yuan was determined to figure out the transcendent path of this heaven and earth.
Yang Lie was stunned and hadn’t answered yet when a private room on the left creaked open. Yang Erhu, also changed into training clothes, walked into the martial practice field, shaking his head: “When martial arts reaches True Force, if still young and strong, it’s nothing more than continuing to temper physique and nourish Qi and Blood. Or at my age, one can only constantly cultivate meditation to grasp Qi and Blood and preserve fighting strength…”
Yang Erhu smiled, then sighed: “Beyond True Force, what path is there? When I was young, I traveled several prefectures and never saw such experts; at most, they just played some tricks with Force Transformation.”
As he spoke, he walked with steady steps to the center of the field.
At the same time, Wu Duxiong had long stopped striking the wooden stake, took a deep breath with chest and abdomen swelling like a big toad, and after a moment slowly exhaled a wisp of white qi, showing no fatigue but rather radiant spirit.
“Senior Brother, it’s been seven or eight years since we last sparred, right? I wonder how much of your skill you still retain?”
