Learning Martial Arts

"What is it, Xiangwu?"

Hearing Su Hao's voice, the man asked.

"..." Su Hao did not answer.

It was not that he did not want to answer, but that he simply could not understand what the other man was saying. He could only sense that this man was his father in this life.

This was also Su Hao's greatest headache. Other than in Hua Country in his previous life, every time he awakened after reincarnation, he had to learn the language and writing of the Otherworld all over again.

Fortunately, although the original owner of this body was only two years old, he already had a certain foundation. As long as Su Hao adapted for a while, he would be able to inherit the little boy's legacy. Understanding speech would not be a problem.

Seeing that Su Hao did not answer, the man said nothing more. He merely continued on in silence, carefully guarding against the surroundings as though worried that an attack might suddenly appear.

"We're here!" The man quickened his pace, and a small stone village came into view. Two armored men poked their heads out from atop the village's tall walls, keeping watch vigilantly. When they saw a man with a little boy riding on his neck, they immediately relaxed.

"Oh, Third Brother, you're back. No haul today?" The man on the left, his face covered in savage scars, called out to him.

"Yeah. Bad luck today." The man nodded and quickly walked beneath the wall.

Just as Su Hao was guessing what they were talking about, the man beneath him suddenly sped up.

Frightened, Su Hao wrapped his arms tightly around the man's head. After taking three charging steps, the man suddenly stamped the ground and soared into the air, landing steadily atop the wall.

Su Hao's mouth fell open.

The wall looked eight or nine meters high. Even a Martial Arts Expert would not dare play around like that.

Could it be that my father in this life is a Martial Arts Expert? Excitement flashed through Su Hao's eyes. This time, I can rely on my dad, right? ...

The little boy Su Hao had possessed was named Wu Xiangwu. The man beneath him was his father, Wu Yuntian, a Human Race Advanced Elite Warrior. His assignment was to guard the Tea Mountain Outpost outside Lingyun Town. In other words, Wu Yuntian was a sentry, and Tea Mountain Outpost was his home. He had received this garrison assignment two years ago, for a term of fifteen years, so he had brought his wife and child to live at the outpost.

Of course, Wu Yuntian was not the only warrior at Tea Mountain Outpost. Thirty warriors had been transferred there to stand guard alongside him. Those with families had all dragged their wives and children along to live at the outpost. The few without families would basically never find wives in the future. Thus, this tiny Tea Mountain Outpost was less an outpost than a small village of thirty households. This little village had a full hundred and twenty people.

Wu Yuntian held a high position in Tea Mountain Outpost. His combat strength was publicly acknowledged as the third strongest, so everyone was used to calling him Third or Third Brother. Whatever Wu Yuntian said, everyone was willing to give him face. As people often put it, his words carried weight.

As for Su Hao's mother in this life, she had been bitten to death by a Ferocious Beast a year ago while protecting her son Wu Xiangwu during an attack. Wu Yuntian blamed himself deeply for this. Sometimes, he even blamed his son Wu Xiangwu. If not for Wu Xiangwu holding her back, his wife surely would have escaped safely.

Yet Wu Yuntian also knew he could not place the blame on a child, but he could not stop himself from thinking that way. Thus, he fell into a contradiction. One moment he blamed himself for being too weak to protect his wife; the next, he blamed his son for doing nothing but causing trouble.

So he never showed his son Wu Xiangwu any kindness. He merely fulfilled a father's responsibility: protecting the cub, raising the cub, nothing more.

And so, in an environment devoid of fatherly love, Su Hao slowly adapted to his new identity.

A year later, Su Hao was three years old.

Over the past year, he had learned to speak fluently and, incidentally, learned this world's writing. Through reading, he gained a general understanding of the world.

People were accustomed to calling this world the Yonghe Continent. The Yonghe Continent was not ruled by the Human Race. Beyond human towns and settlements, countless Ferocious Beasts roamed freely. To the Human Race, this world was fraught with danger, and survival remained a problem. Great numbers of Ferocious Beasts often assaulted human towns, and incidents of cities falling and people dying were not uncommon.

Thus, numerous watchposts were set up outside every town, serving as warning and buffer zones against Ferocious Beast attacks. But in the vast majority of cases, only a few Ferocious Beasts strayed into Human Race territory, posing no real threat. The outpost warriors were enough to deal with them. The danger was not as high as imagined, unless they encountered a massive tide of Ferocious Beasts and everyone was wiped out. If that truly happened, all one could say was that their luck had run out.

As for this world's Martial Artist system, it consisted of Ordinary Martial Artists, Elite Warriors, Grandmaster Warriors, Great Master Warriors, and Ancestor Warriors.

He did not know what level of combat power each of these Martial Artist ranks represented. His father, Wu Yuntian, was an Advanced Elite Warrior, and in Su Hao's eyes, he was already extraordinarily powerful. In terms of wuxia ranks, he could be called a first-rate expert. Then what kind of beings were the even higher Grandmaster Warriors and Great Master Warriors? And what about Ancestor Warriors?

Could they be humanoid nuclear bombs? Then the question Su Hao cared about most was whether he could reach such heights through learning and training.

That evening's dinner was meat from a Yellow-Haired Rat, a Ferocious Beast. The meat was tender, soft, and crisp. Brushed with a little fat, it sizzled on the fire rack. Once cooked and sprinkled with salt, it became a delicacy fit for mortals.

As Su Hao enjoyed the skewers, he gathered his courage and said to the silent Wu Yuntian beside him, "Father, I want to learn martial arts. Teach me martial arts!"

Wu Yuntian glanced at Su Hao and said flatly, "You're still young. Once you turn six, I'll teach you."

The moment Su Hao heard that, half his heart turned cold. Based on his past experiences, he might not even make it to five. If he really had to wait until six to learn, he was afraid he would have to wait millions of years.

He had reasons he absolutely needed to gain the ability to protect himself early.

Su Hao pressed on. "Why do I have to wait until I'm six to learn?"

"I don't know. I started learning at six too. Everyone starts learning at six."

"I think that's unreasonable."

"What's unreasonable?"

"The correct approach should vary from person to person. Different people should begin learning at different times. The age of six that you mentioned may suit most people, but it might not suit me. Maybe the best age for me to learn is three. If I miss this perfect age, I'm afraid I won't be able to become stronger in the future."

Wu Yuntian looked as though he were meeting his son for the first time. When had this brat become so fluent? Thinking back, had he been like this at three years old? His interest was piqued.

"That's crooked reasoning. How do you know when you're suited to learn martial arts?"

"How is that crooked reasoning? Let me give an example. If everyone squats to pee, do I have to squat to pee too?"

Wu Yuntian was momentarily speechless. He felt there was something wrong with what this brat said, yet he could not figure out where the problem lay.

Watching Wu Yuntian's expression, Su Hao added, "Isn't it simple to find out when I'm suited to learn martial arts? Just try it and we'll know."

It did make some sense. Wu Yuntian hesitated for a moment.

Su Hao stoked the fire further. "I know why everyone is used to learning martial arts at six. It's because children under six are mentally immature and lack comprehension, so it's easy for them to train themselves into ruin!"

He puffed out his chest and thumped it until it went thud-thud. "But I'm different! Father, don't you have even a little confidence in your son?"

After a moment, Wu Yuntian nodded. "Fine, then we'll try."

Before Su Hao could rejoice, Wu Yuntian added, "But you're still too small right now. Grow a little taller first. In half a year, I'll formally teach you."

Su Hao gladly accepted. Half a year was not bad; he could wait! During these six months, he would hurry and continue studying in Marble Space, consolidating his knowledge of the human body.