Chapter 19: Taking A Master, Old Technique And New Technique
“Martial Arts School Owner?” Chen Wujun was somewhat surprised.
Having been in the martial arts school for so long, he could finally meet the Martial Arts School Owner.
Moments later, Chen Wujun changed into a set of clothes and followed Senior Brother Li out of the martial arts school.
“Senior Brother, what kind of person is the Martial Arts School Owner?” Chen Wujun asked, walking beside Senior Brother Li.
“You’ll know when you see him!” Senior Brother Li said.
“Senior Brother, speaking of which, there’s something I’ve been wondering about. The martial arts school doesn’t seem like it’s for making money.” Chen Wujun voiced the doubt in his heart.
“You’re right!” Senior Brother Li nodded, didn’t explain, first went to buy half a roast goose, one jin of preserved meat, two jin of marinated beef, then took Chen Wujun out of the walled city.
The Martial Arts School Owner wasn’t in the walled city, but not far from it, in Ma Tou Wai south of the walled city, between the garbage mountain slum and the new district. There were many factories and lots of old buildings, with a mixed crowd, but the environment was a bit better than the walled city.
All the way there, Chen Wujun was wondering what the Martial Arts School Owner was like.
He didn’t expect it to be an unremarkable old man watering flowers.
Downstairs of an old building, an old man in shorts and a vest was watering flowers with his back to the two.
Senior Brother Li walked to his side: “Master!”
The old man was Martial Arts School Owner Zhou Qing. He turned his head, glanced at Chen Wujun, sized him up a few times, then turned back to continue watering flowers.
Chen Wujun immediately noticed that the other’s hair was all jet black, his face had a ruddy glow, full of vitality, with delicate skin. At first glance, he seemed over 60, but looking again, like 40 or 50.
He looked younger than his father, but carried an aura of age on his body, instinctively making one feel he was very old.
Moments later, Zhou Qing finished watering the flowers, casually tossed the watering can to Chen Wujun, and strolled into the house with hands behind his back.
After the two entered, Chen Wujun looked around. The house was about 50 or 60 square meters, equally ordinary, with old furniture, a calendar, and a television, no different from an ordinary person’s home.
“I’ll go cut up the roast goose!” Senior Brother Li carried the roast goose into the kitchen.
Zhou Qing sat on the sofa, picked up the jar full of tea and took a sip, then said to Chen Wujun: “Two months, and kung fu has taken root in the body, indeed not bad.”
“Punch a set for me to see!”
“Okay!”
Chen Wujun moved the nearby table aside, clearing a space. He first stood in a charging stance, every hair on his body standing on end, but in just an instant, Chen Wujun exited the “on the verge of a great enemy” state.
Then he punched a set of Wolf Fist, with considerable momentum. After finishing the set, Chen Wujun’s head had a slight sheen of sweat.
Zhou Qing nodded slightly. Practicing fist to this level in two months was indeed rare.
Then he asked: “Why do you practice fist?”
“To make a name for oneself!”
“Not bad, not bad!” Zhou Qing smiled and nodded, then asked again:
“If someone bullies you, what will you do?”
Chen Wujun thought seriously: “Beat him to death!”
“Even better!” Zhou Qing laughed again.
Then he asked: “You want something but can’t afford it, what do you do?”
Chen Wujun hesitated a bit, since this question was hard to answer.
But thinking of Sha Jiu’s attitude, Chen Wujun simply said straightforwardly:
“Go rob it.”
“That’s right! One can’t be too honest. Being too honest won’t get you far. Only those with ambition can go far and stand high.” The smile on Zhou Qing’s face became more obvious.
At this time, Chen Wujun noticed that Zhou Qing had a mouth full of extremely fine, dense teeth. Though neat, they were far more numerous than normal, shocking him greatly.
Although Sha Jiu had a mouth of sharp teeth, their size was no different from normal.
But Zhou Qing’s teeth were smaller than normal and densely packed, making them look inhuman.
If a master saw Zhou Qing’s teeth, he would immediately know that Zhou Qing’s kung fu had reached the peak, with achievements unmatched by others.
This was the highest symbol of old technique cultivation: complete control over the finest details of the self, with powerful control and self-healing abilities in the body, growing 40 teeth.
And such a person was hiding in East District 9, in a cluster of old buildings near the walled city, living like a retired old man watering flowers every day.
But at this moment, Chen Wujun only felt that Zhou Qing didn’t look like an ordinary person.
After looking at Chen Wujun for a moment, Zhou Qing said: “A knight breaks the law with martial arts. The purpose of practicing martial arts is to kill. Rob for whatever resources are needed.”
“If you want to learn fist, I can teach you, but with one condition: once out, don’t say who your master is!”
Chen Wujun’s eyebrows raised. Not allowed to say who his master is after going out?
What kind of condition was this?
This condition was simpler than he imagined.
But whether it was those questions Zhou Qing asked or this final condition, they all felt very strange to Chen Wujun.
“Okay.” Chen Wujun nodded.
“From now on, you’re Little Sixteen!”
“Master!” Chen Wujun directly knelt and kowtowed three times.
By mealtime, Chen Wujun still felt that the process of taking a master was unbelievably simple.
Dinner was roast goose, preserved meat, marinated beef, and boiled noodles.
Zhou Qing stuffed a roast goose wing into his mouth and in two or three bites chewed it up, bones and all, and swallowed.
Chen Wujun had only heard before of eating people without spitting out bones, but today he truly saw someone who didn’t spit out bones, actually chewing and swallowing the bones too.
After dinner, Zhou Qing said to Chen Wujun: “Follow me!”
Then the two went out, walked for ten minutes, and arrived at a fairly large warehouse.
Zhou Qing took out a key and opened the warehouse door. Inside was just ordinary concrete floor, with exposed red brick walls.
Inside was a row of wooden stakes raised above the ground, each the size of a bowl mouth, next to which were two rows of weapon racks lined with knives, spears, swords, and halberds.
Not far away were some dumbbells, barbells, and barbell plates.
Against the wall was a row of training wooden stakes and dummies.
Zhou Qing walked to the middle of the field with hands behind his back, first asked a question: “Before learning fist, do you know the difference between old technique and new technique?”
“Don’t know!” Chen Wujun said directly.
“From the day humans became conscious, they’ve been constantly killing!” Zhou Qing turned around, looking at Chen Wujun.
“Then some people organized more effective ways to kill targets! Just like more effective farming, building taller houses.”
“This is the origin of old technique.”
“As humans grew stronger, those old technique masters were not just for killing, but to break their own limits, organizing sets of cultivation methods.”
“Old technique arose from killing, but is not just killing. Old technique is also for continuously strengthening oneself, breaking one’s own limits.”
“Over thousands of years, generation after generation of astonishingly talented prodigies have continuously challenged their own and human limits, wanting to open a new world!”
Chen Wujun listened to Zhou Qing’s words, his mind vibrating with each simple word.
Over thousands of years, generation after generation of astonishingly talented prodigies continuously challenging their own and human limits, wanting to open a new world!
What grandeur.
“Master, did they find it?” Chen Wujun couldn’t help asking, his mind shaken.
Could new technique be the new world they opened?
“Didn’t find it, but also found it!” Zhou Qing’s expression was somewhat complex.
“After the war, humans discovered magnetic field crystals, and that humans could absorb magnetic field crystals to continuously reconstruct their biological magnetic field.”
“Afterward, humans mastered a new power, able to perceive and control surrounding electromagnetic fields, thereby gaining all sorts of incredible abilities!”
“This is new technique!”
Chen Wujun didn’t expect new technique to be like this.
Then he thought of a question.
“Then can old technique masters also practice new technique?”
“Why not?”
“Old technique masters can practice new technique, and new technique masters can also practice old technique!” Zhou Qing smiled.
Hearing this, Chen Wujun relaxed in his heart.
“But the foundations differ, and cultivation methods differ.”
“Old technique continuously tempers the flesh body, controlling every fine detail of the self, cultivating the self to perfection, then using absorption of magnetic field crystals to control the magnetic field.”
“While new technique through meditation, absorbing magnetic field crystals, continuously perceives, reinforces the self magnetic field, reconstructs the self biological magnetic field, reinforces bioelectricity, finally feeds back to the self, elevating all body functions.”
“Tell me the difference between old technique and new technique.” Zhou Qing tested directly.
Chen Wujun thought for a moment, then said: “Old technique takes the flesh body as main, magnetic field as auxiliary.”
“New technique takes magnetic field as main, flesh body as auxiliary.”
“Well said!” Zhou Qing nodded satisfied.
Whether getting kung fu to take root in two months, or understanding the difference between old technique and new technique in such short time, both showed Chen Wujun had good talent and comprehension.
“Let me tell you about the divisions in old technique.”
“Old technique is divided into external martial arts and internal martial arts.”
“External martial arts externally trains muscle, bone, skin, fierce and matchless, moves big and open!”
As Zhou Qing spoke, he walked to a wooden stake, suddenly struck with one palm. The entire wooden stake cracked directly.
Chen Wujun drew in a cold breath. This wooden stake as thick as a person’s thigh was shattered with one slap—what strength!
“While internal martial arts internally trains one breath, force varied, punching methods different, mostly penetrating force, spiral force.”
As Zhou Qing spoke, he walked to another wooden stake, similarly struck with one palm. At the point of impact, no change, but behind the wooden stake suddenly exploded.
“No high or low between external martial arts and internal martial arts. External martial arts just lacks internal training method, but that’s a small issue. Who says internal training method can only be practiced by internal martial arts?”
“Kung fu has external martial arts and internal martial arts division, but people don’t!”
“Master, Senior Brother said Wolf Fist is a crude boxing method. Since external martial arts can also use internal training method, where is Wolf Fist’s crudeness?”
“The crudeness is—this is fist technique from before magnetic field crystals!” Zhou Qing said.
“Though one boxing method after another were created and summarized by generations of martial artists, it’s been four hundred years since magnetic field crystals appeared.”
“In these four hundred years, among generations of people, there were no lack of astonishingly talented ones, nor those who knew pros and cons of old technique and new technique, building on predecessors to create one new boxing method after another.”
“Current old technique also takes the strengths and supplements weaknesses, learning new technique’s method of using magnetic field crystals, but the foundation is still old technique.”
“You must know, later generations stand on predecessors’ shoulders, seeing higher, farther… not to mention the existence of magnetic field crystals.”
As Zhou Qing said this, his demeanor carried a bit of self-assurance.
Who says modern people are not as good as ancients?
Clearly, he was one of those later generations standing on predecessors’ shoulders.
