Chapter 12: Second-rate, Fighting Style
Two days later.
Nightfall.
Outside Chaodou Hutong, the vendor selling sour plum drink tapped his ‘ice bowls,’ tinkling with a sound that carried a chill.
And within the hutong, in the courtyard.
A phantasmal figure darted through the plum blossom stakes, sleeves billowing, stirring up fallen leaves from the ground, rustling like a swarm of flying green blades!
As he reached the peak of his practice, Chen Shun’an’s speed grew ever faster, and his gaze became even brighter!
At this moment, he clearly grasped something.
His consciousness began to withdraw, examining his muscle and bone power, the flexion and extension of his joints, with a calm, even detached, state.
Some minute errors in force application were quickly corrected.
Some physiological deformities were also adjusted by Qing Ji’s ‘grunts and groans’ as he dug.
At this moment, Chen Shun’an’s joints and bones, like machine wheels, operated and stretched with high efficiency along an extremely reasonable direction of force application!
Not rigid or stiff, but filled with agility.
Then, a new and active force naturally flowed out from the marrow of his bones.
Joints like machine wheels, grasping the intended strength!
Chen Shun’an let out a low grunt, raising his knee and turning his hip, his right leg shooting out like lightning, aiming for the opponent’s ribs!
Crack!
With a crisp sound, his right leg, imbued with fierce penetrating power, landed on the hard wooden stake.
Bone Thunder Sound!
After a ‘cracking’ sound, the previously intact wooden stake was kicked several dozen feet away, breaking in half on the ground, sending wood chips flying!
《Ròufēi Xiān》, one of the thirty-six leg techniques, the Rib Piercing Leg!
Second-rate, achieved!
The hutong suddenly fell silent, not a sound to be heard.
Even the vendor’s tapping outside the hutong stopped abruptly.
Whoosh!
Whoosh!
Chen Shun’an’s movements continued, wind flowing, following the records in 《Ròufēi Xiān》, mobilizing the new force born from his marrow, his movements a youthful tremor of muscle and skin.
In a daze, Chen Shun’an seemed to see a ‘Jade Tree Treasure Robe Diagram,’ covered in dense, rosy meridians with qi and blood flowing within.
One tremor…
Two tremors…
Chen Shun’an did not persist for long, only three to four breaths, before feeling depleted.
“Only seventy-nine tremors? It’s said that true young geniuses can complete three hundred and sixty joint tremors in one go, making the Jade Tree shine and the Treasure Robe flutter, with one session of cultivation yielding several times, even ten times, what others gain!”
Of course, it was also because Chen Shun’an had just broken through and was not at his peak.
But Chen Shun’an estimated he could only achieve about a hundred tremors at most.
Not bad, even considered average.
After all, if Chen Shun’an’s martial arts aptitude were truly terrible, even useless.
Then Chen Shun’an couldn’t have started practicing martial arts at the ‘advanced’ age of thirty and achieved some success, reaching Third-rate Perfection.
Chen Shun’an adjusted his breathing, pressing his hands down, stabilizing his qi and blood.
Slowly ending this martial arts practice session.
Taking off his clothes, Chen Shun’an, drenched in sweat, scooped a ladle of water from the water vat and poured it over himself like a waterfall.
“Hiss… Ah, comfortable!”
The shock of the cold water seemed to dispel much of his practice fatigue.
Chen Shun’an’s face lit up with joy as he looked repeatedly at his iron-like legs.
With a strong push of his hands, a force far exceeding the Third-rate Realm erupted from his bones and muscles!
Reaching Second-rate at fifty, one could be called old but stronger!
If Third-rate Gathering Muscle Strength only involved simple practice methods, enhancing the strength of muscles and bones and the vigor of qi and strength.
Then, Second-rate Harmonizing Jade Tree required both practice and combat methods to be emphasized, entering a new stage, capable of truly unleashing the terrifying lethality of a martial artist!
《Ròufēi Xiān》’s thirty-six leg techniques were entirely combat methods!
Many leg techniques were tricky and vicious, each strike aimed at a kill.
Therefore, Chen Shun’an’s strength at this moment had undergone a heaven-and-earth transformation compared to before!
“I can fight, ten times the me from before!”
As Chen Shun’an had predicted, his estimated seven days to break through to Second-rate had been shortened to five days!
In just five days, he had gone from a sickly old man with a hidden illness to a Second-rate martial artist without a word!
It was practically a fantasy; if it got out…
It was better not to spread it.
Since Ah Hua took action and helped Chen Shun’an deal with Qing Pi Ma and the three thugs, the Qingxian Huo’s figures had disappeared from the streets around Silver Ingot Street.
Perhaps out of gratitude, there were now more water delivery clients who specifically requested Chen Shun’an.
Shopkeeper Li, upon hearing this, was overjoyed and naturally continued to paint grand pictures and praise Chen Shun’an.
Cultivation soaring, increased water delivery clients, wishes slowly improving, and maintaining harmonious relationships with superiors and colleagues.
“Life seems to be getting better and better…”
Chen Shun’an held his short-stemmed pipe, exhaled a puff of smoke, and smiled contentedly with narrowed eyes.
…
“What a huge commotion just now, it sounded like thunder!”
“Nonsense, you’ve never seen the world! That’s Master Chen practicing!”
Outside the courtyard gate, two schoolboys, timidly peeking with fearful faces but still inching forward, crawled through the grass, eavesdropping by the wall.
The two schoolboys were not old, just over ten years old, and both were residents of Chaodou Hutong.
The older one had thick eyebrows and large eyes, with a regular face. He wasn’t particularly handsome, but he gave off an impression of simple honesty.
The younger one, however, had rosy lips and white teeth, eyes like phoenixes, brows like silkworms, and bright, clear eyes like ink dots, but he was a bit too thin, his body not yet fully grown.
Perhaps after not hearing any movement for a while, the two schoolboys began to lose patience but dared not act rashly, so they whispered.
The older one: “Zhang Wangyue, do you think Master Chen is an immortal?”
The younger one: “Of course not! Master Chen is just a martial artist, still a long way from being an immortal… um, maybe eighteen floors short! Li Dongyang, are you thinking of asking Master Chen to be your master?!”
Li Dongyang gasped: “Heavens, Master Chen made thunder, and he’s not an immortal? As for becoming a disciple… my family is poor, we can’t afford tuition fees.”
Zhang Wangyue chuckled: “Even if you wanted to, you couldn’t. Master Chen doesn’t have time to teach you. By the way, Li Dongyang, if you became an immortal, what would you do?”
Li Dongyang pondered for a moment, then asked back, “What about you?”
“Me?”
Zhang Wangyue, with his bottom sticking out, wore a look of smugness and boasted.
“If I become an immortal, I will surely turn the world into a vast ocean!”
Li Dongyang, hearing this, immediately retorted, unwilling to be outdone.
“If you dare to turn the world into a vast ocean, I will vow to slay the evil dragon!”
Just then,
a calm voice suddenly came from behind the two.
“Who wants to stir up the ocean, and who wants to slay the evil dragon?!”
Li Dongyang and Zhang Wangyue spun around abruptly, startled by Chen Shun’an, and quickly scrambled to their feet.
Zhang Wangyue immediately scampered away.
Li Dongyang, however, managed to stand firm, with a timid expression, and imitated an adult by bowing to Chen Shun’an.
“Greetings, Master Chen.”
Chen Shun’an took a piece of ginger candy from his pocket and put it in Li Dongyang’s mouth, laughing and scolding, “Scram and play!”
“Okay!”
The sweet taste burst on his tongue, causing Li Dongyang to squint his eyes.
He stammered as if granted a great pardon and ran off, three steps at a time.
Watching the two schoolboys leave, Chen Shun’an shook his head and turned back into the courtyard.
He wasn’t worried about anyone stealing his martial arts.
Practicing martial arts requires seeking permission, martial arts secret manuals, sect inheritance, and personalized teaching for muscle and meridian manipulation… it’s not something that can be easily learned by simply relying on aptitude and talent.
There aren’t that many self-taught geniuses; there are only disciples of the privileged who are left to their own devices.
“It’s just… this current courtyard is still too small. As soon as I move my limbs slightly, there’s a commotion. If it were a large, independent house, with screens and rockeries to block the view, and flowing water and planted trees to mask the sound, and even a good underground quiet room.”
Chen Shun’an frowned slightly, thinking that he should put making money on the agenda as soon as possible.
…
Chen Shun’an paid Scholar Ma another half a string of copper coins.
After breaking through to the Second-rate Realm, Chen Shun’an, as usual, pushed his cart during the day to deliver blessed water. After work, he would quietly familiarize himself with his greatly increased strength and refine his combat techniques.
He slept only two hours a day, with no dreams throughout, and woke up with abundant energy, his fatigue from the previous day perfectly recovered…
Standing tall and unyielding!
He had completely bid farewell to his past self, who suffered from a hidden illness.
However, in the afternoon, Chen Shun’an would specifically visit Scholar Ma’s home.
He listened to him read 《Commentaries on Chapters and Sentences of the Four Books》 and watched him write various statecraft and Taoist scriptures.
Out of etiquette, Chen Shun’an naturally had to bring a small gift each time he visited.
Either a good piece of pork belly or a ream of rough paper.
Scholar Ma and his family usually ate only two meals a day, and when they didn’t need to work, they would eat only one meal a day.
So, in the past few days, with Chen Shun’an’s assistance and support, both of them had gained some color in their faces.
However, Chen Shun’an also found that his Second-rate cultivation seemed to have entered a state of aimless confusion.
Although Scholar Ma could provide a high-level overview, succinctly encompassing the martial path.
Simply listening to Scholar Ma recite those profound sentences gave Chen Shun’an a feeling of sudden enlightenment and tranquil peace of mind.
It washed away the impatience and irritability of his daily life, driven by livelihood and weary from martial arts practice.
But for the detailed knowledge of the Second-rate Realm, such as Hide Blood and the combination of practice and combat methods, he was powerless.
Chen Shun’an also planned to go to the Martial Arts Hall to seek guidance from a First-rate Great Hero.
In the communal courtyard, Scholar Ma paced back and forth in the cramped and uneven corridor, shaking his head.
The mung beans dried by the neighbors, the piled coal balls, and the coffins prepared by the elders were all crammed into the corridor, and one would bump into them if not careful.
Yet, Scholar Ma seemed to have eyes on his feet; though his mind was fully engrossed in his books, he walked with a flowing grace, without any hindrance.
Although Chen Shun’an couldn’t understand most of what Scholar Ma was reading.
Yet, after a few days, he felt as if he were living with a virtuous person, as if entering a fragrant orchid room, his mind was growing.
“Now, calculation is the warp and weft of heaven and earth, the chief of all living beings, and the root and branch of the five constants. A chicken and rabbit in a cage can be calculated, and the depth of a grain silo can be determined.
The breath of man, the rise and fall of qi and blood, the movements of the five internal organs, even the mechanisms of human conflict and the karma of cause and effect, can all be deduced and calculated. The art is called: the Ten Heavenly Stems and Twelve Earthly Branches, the Five Movements and Six Climates…”
The sonorous voice carried.
Chen Shun’an listened intently for a while, then his face showed confusion.
The initial arithmetic was just addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division, the four basic operations; he still understood those.
How did it suddenly shift to calculating a person’s qi and blood, the sun and moon, stars, karma, and killing intent?
“Scholar Ma, what you said at the end about a person’s breath, the rise and fall of qi and blood… how exactly is that calculated?”
Chen Shun’an couldn’t help but ask for clarification.
Scholar Ma put down his book and looked at Chen Shun’an, his gaze surprised.
“Ah? Brother Shun An, such a simple principle, don’t you understand it at first listen? What’s wrong? Weren’t you listening carefully?”
Chen Shun’an fell silent.
He somewhat regretted saving Scholar Ma from Qing Pi Ma too early that day.
His mouth was so firm; he should have been very resistant to beating.
In the past two days, Scholar Ma’s schoolmates occasionally came to visit, either to debate the distinction between new and old learning or to exchange their understanding of scriptures.
And what they said and read were all profound martial strategies and Taoist scriptures, the Five Tomes, Three Classics, Eight Trigrams, and Nine Divisions.
Yet, the other people in the courtyard, coming and going, treated it as normal, showing no particular reaction.
Chen Shun’an also asked the residents of the communal courtyard, but they only said that what Scholar Ma was reading was just pedantic and clichéd Eight-legged Essays, so what was so strange about it?
Truly, strange.
Chen Shun’an sighed inwardly.
As for all this, Scholar Ma and his peers were completely unaware.
The other people in the communal courtyard also noticed nothing.
Only Chen Shun’an, with a clear and observant gaze, silently watched everything.
“Is it because of the 【Mínghòng Shàngyuān Shuǐyuán Great Emperor】 Divine Status?”
Chen Shun’an seemed to have a sudden realization.
