The 108 Forms of Tiger Subduing Fist

"Tiger Subduing Fist is Master Jianxiong's hereditary masterpiece. Once mastered, it grants the divine strength to subdue vicious tigers in the mountains."

"This set of boxing contains eighteen stances. Each stance has six variations, yielding a total of one hundred and eight moves."

"You have only just entered the school, so begin with the basics. Remember not to be greedy for too much."

On the spacious grounds of the outer courtyard, Lu Qiang stood before the apprentices and taught them martial arts.

He was tall and powerfully built, with an exceptionally steady demeanor. Simply standing there, he was like a towering mountain.

"Senior Disciple Brother is a genuine Qi and Blood Warrior, known as 'Iron Tiger.'"

Among the novice apprentices, Song Fugui quietly reminded Zhou You.

No matter how long newly admitted apprentices had been here, they learned much the same things: painstakingly drilling the fundamentals.

Only after breaking through into force and becoming formal apprentices could they learn more.

Though Zhou You had arrived last, he still attended lessons alongside the other apprentices in their novice period.

"Listen carefully. Martial arts are also called boxing practice. Why is that?"

"Because boxing is the source of martial arts, its foundation, its root. All martial arts take boxing as their ancestor; to practice martial arts, one must practice boxing."

"When throwing a punch, it is not merely your hand, elbow, arm, and shoulder. You must also engage the strength of your back, waist, hips, legs, and feet."

"You have only just arrived, so do not aim too high. You must still begin with Imperial Strike Hand and Square Step."

Zhou You perked up. At last, they had reached the important part.

Yet the apprentices who had arrived earlier all seemed listless upon hearing Imperial Strike Hand and Square Step, showing little interest.

Lu Qiang seemed not to notice, continuing his clear explanation word by word.

"Imperial Strike Hand is the foundation of boxing. Broken down, it consists of two parts: the guarding hand and the striking hand."

"Martial arts are for combat. Where there is combat, there is attack and defense; one exchange back and forth makes a round.

"The guarding hand is a defensive technique, while the striking hand is an offensive technique."

"When you throw a punch, that is the striking hand. When your opponent raises an arm to block it, that too is the striking hand."

"Imperial Strike Hand is two sides of one yin-yang whole, born together and existing together. Neither can be lacking."

"For instance, when striking someone, you cannot abandon defense entirely. Otherwise, if they dodge, they can knock you down with a backhand blow."

"Imperial Strike Hand combines attack and defense. It may be split fifty-fifty, or thirty-seventy. You can strike others while guarding against their strikes."

After explaining, Lu Qiang called two apprentices forward to demonstrate the exchanges.

The process of breaking down moves was a rigid, methodical demonstration.

The two apprentices traded punches and kicks. It looked lively, but they were really stopping at the point of contact.

Judging by them, they could fight all day without getting hurt, at most sweating and breathing heavily.

Zhou You watched carefully, thinking that this was what they called structure.

Boxing routines sounded elusive, but they actually followed patterns. To defeat an enemy with the least strength, one had to seek out their vital points.

Thus, the core of any boxing art was to attack the enemy's weakest point with the fastest speed and greatest force.

The same principle applied to defense.

Imperial Strike Hand was a routine for attacking and defending the human body's vital points.

What Senior Disciple Brother Lu Qiang said made great sense. This was the foundation of martial arts practice.

But most of the surrounding apprentices had little interest in it.

Their minds were full of the three-month deadline. All they wanted was to learn the exquisite moves of Tiger Subduing Fist and meet the requirements for entry as soon as possible.

After Lu Qiang finished explaining Imperial Strike Hand, he moved on to Square Step.

"Heaven is round, earth is square. As people walk between heaven and earth, their footwork cannot leave the square and the round."

"The round follows arcs, while the square must go straight. Going back and forth holds the chance of victory."

"Master once passed down a saying: better to walk round than straight. Why is that?"

"Because coming and going in a straight line is most dangerous, leaving no room to turn back."

"When facing an enemy, keep distance beneath your feet. If you want to strike, move in; if they counterattack, immediately retreat. Draw back along an arc. It may seem like retreating, but it leaves room for a counterstrike."

"If you advance and retreat stiffly in straight lines, you are just a foolish, muddleheaded roe deer."

As Lu Qiang spoke, he demonstrated, taking several steps forward before stepping back several times.

He appeared to advance while actually retreating. He looked steady, yet whenever one tried to catch his position, he seemed elusive and uncertain.

Once one crossed blows with him, it would surely be difficult to hit him.

After Lu Qiang finished his explanation, he emphasized several more key points and had the apprentices pair up to practice exchanges.

"Zhou You, how about we partner up?"

Song Fugui approached Zhou You with a grin.

His former Sparring Partner had been Ning Daliang, who had moved away. Zhou You had just arrived and knew no one, so they happened to make a pair.

The other apprentices also found their respective partners and began practicing against one another.

But upon closer observation, it became clear that their boxing routines were fiercer and had more variations.

One after another, they leaped and darted with whistling force, their footwork stirring pressing gusts of wind. Their power was tremendous.

"Stop looking. They've learned the stances of Tiger Subduing Fist."

Song Fugui told Zhou You, "You won't learn the moves until this afternoon. For now, follow me in practicing the basic Imperial Strike Hand and Square Step."

Zhou You had listened attentively just now and had been pondering the principles behind it.

He could read and write, and he knew that the secrets of true transmission often lay hidden in one or two casual sentences.

Lu Qiang was responsible for teaching the outer courtyard apprentices. Beyond his character and temperament, his understanding of boxing was also far from ordinary.

"Then thank you."

Through observation, Zhou You had also discovered that pairing up was quite particular.

Skilled apprentices improved their strength through sparring and looked down on apprentices weaker than themselves.

Song Fugui seemed to be the weakest among the newcomers, which was why he had sought Zhou You out for practice.

Zhou You took a deep breath and assumed his stance, one hand inward and one outward, adopting a posture that balanced attack and defense.

His left and right toes pointed in two different directions, precisely the jargon-known stance of neither T nor eight.

A gust of forceful wind rushed at him as Song Fugui pounced forward, his fist enlarging in Zhou You's vision.

The force behind that punch exceeded the level of Strength 5.

Zhou You raised both arms and crossed them, thrusting outward to block the punch.

The force traveled into his body. His frame swayed twice, and he instinctively wanted to retreat.

The words better to walk round than straight surfaced in his mind. His feet scraped across the ground, tracing an arc as he slipped to Song Fugui's left.

"Imperial Strike Hand—defense and attack. You are within me, and I am within you."

Zhou You spotted an opening beneath Song Fugui's ribs. His arms spread, and the fist hidden against his chest shot out like lightning.

Thud!

Song Fugui flipped his palm up to catch the punch, staggering back two steps before stopping.

"Not bad. You're learning pretty fast."

Though their exchange had been brief, it had contained both offense and defense—a complete round of back-and-forth.

Zhou You was facing Song Fugui, who had trained for two months, yet he had actually managed not to fall behind.

Song Fugui clicked his tongue in amazement. "Again, again."

Having finally found a Sparring Partner evenly matched with him, his blood was boiling.

By the midday break, the two had basically fought to a draw.

Song Fugui had the greater strength, but Zhou You had actually surpassed him in applying Imperial Strike Hand.

"What a talent. You're improving at lightning speed. In three months, you might really have a chance of getting in."

A line of text appeared on Zhou You's System Panel.

"You practiced the new skill 'Imperial Strike Hand' for two hours. Experience Points +2."

"You practiced the new skill 'Square Step' for two hours. Experience Points +2."

"Once a skill is complete, practicing it will no longer increase Experience Points."