Iron Crotch Technique

The Iron Crotch Technique, fully named the Iron Crotch Technique for Strengthening Essence and Bolstering Yang, was a basic external martial art for training a man's little brother. Once mastered, it had three major effects. First, the little brother would become as hard as refined iron; slashes of blades and chops of swords could be treated as nothing. Second, one's essence gate would remain intact—meaning the practitioner's vital essence would flourish, greatly increasing his strength. Third, it could reinforce the potential of the human body.

After studying it in detail, Xiang Yang was extremely satisfied with the Iron Crotch Technique's three major effects. Though this martial art did not seem high-level and its name was rather crude, it was absolutely an excellent foundational technique.

First, there were many vulnerable points on the human body: the heart, throat, temples, spine, and eyes. Men also had to add their little brothers to that list. Thus, the Iron Crotch Technique could forge one's little brother to the point where blades and spears could not pierce it, eliminating one weakness of the body. Moves like the heir-cutting kick would no longer work on Xiang Yang.

The second effect, flourishing vital essence and greatly increased strength, would help Xiang Yang the most at his current stage. Right now, Xiang Yang had the physique of an ordinary youth. Waving a saber or sword weighing over ten jin for a few minutes left him panting for breath, much less competing with someone like Hu Qiang, who had been born with divine strength.

If he cultivated the Iron Crotch Technique and achieved some success, Xiang Yang could increase his strength beyond that of ordinary people. Combined with the rough saber techniques Xiang Da Niu had left behind, he would have the capital to face Hu Qiang head-on.

What moved Xiang Yang even more was that once his vital essence was abundant, it would also greatly benefit the growth of his internal strength should he cultivate internal arts in the future. As the saying went, refining essence into qi—the Iron Crotch Technique's effect of strengthening essence was equivalent to installing a perpetual-motion machine and a booster on an internal arts practitioner, enough to save him a great deal of effort.

The third effect was one that could not be seen in a short time. Only in the long run would its potential-reinforcing effects reveal themselves.

According to the technique, people were born with differing constitutions, some strong and some weak. The strong, like Hu Qiang, possessed divine strength from birth and could wrestle fierce tigers and brown bears. The weak could not lift with their hands or carry on their shoulders, all skinny arms and scrawny legs. That was something brought from the womb.

But by cultivating the Iron Crotch Technique, one could gradually enhance the potential of one's physique over time. For example, some people could lift a fifty-jin stone as adults, and that would be their limit. Yet after practicing the Iron Crotch Technique, they might be able to lift a seventy-jin stone.

This sounded somewhat overlapping with the second effect of increasing strength, but potential was for the future, while increased strength was for the present. They were not the same thing.

Take Xiang Yang now. He had usually practiced a move or two under Xiang Da Niu. With the stone locks in the courtyard, he could lift the ten-jin one up and down for three sets of five repetitions, fifteen in total. After practicing the Iron Crotch Technique, he reckoned that in less than half a month, doubling that would be no problem. This was the immediate effect of cultivating the Iron Crotch Technique, and it was also the second effect.

The cultivation method of the Iron Crotch Technique was not simple either. It required internal and external methods to work together.

The so-called internal method did not mean cultivating internal arts, but taking medicinal soup internally and using its medicinal power to stimulate the body's vital essence. It was somewhat like ordinary people eating bull whips or drinking turtle soup to bolster their yang, but the Iron Crotch Technique's medicinal soup method was more refined, harmless to the body, and was the very essence of the entire technique.

The external training was divided into several stages. In the first stage, one had to spend half an hour each day massaging several hidden channels around the little brother, while taking the medicinal soup. Once one could stand tall as a pillar reaching for the sky and remain unfallen for an entire day, one would have achieved minor success and could proceed to the second stage.

The second stage was much more brutal. A rope was tied around the little brother, from which hung a bucket filled with thirty jin of water, training hardness and endurance. Only when one could endure it for an hour without feeling pain would one have achieved success and be allowed to move on to the next stage, beating with wooden sticks.

Even wooden-stick beating did not mean starting by striking as hard as possible. It varied from person to person, and each person had to judge according to his own strength. The standard was using the little brother to take ten blows from a wooden stick; afterward, the number of blows could gradually be increased.

Once the Iron Crotch Technique was mastered, ordinary iron weapons could be used to hammer, chop, and slash at it. So long as the opponent was not someone born with divine strength like Hu Qiang, or an expert proficient in internal martial arts, it would be enough to render him impervious to blades and spears, making it the hardest part of his body.

Xiang Yang also noticed that the Iron Crotch Technique had to be cultivated with the utmost caution, careful upon careful. Normally, a master would stand nearby to guide and protect the practitioner. Otherwise, it was easy to injure the lower body. At best, it could affect a man's virility and ruin the harmony of married life. At worst, becoming a eunuch was not unheard of.

Of course, according to the technique, aside from the cultivation method, the most crucial factor in achieving mastery was one's natural talent and endowment. For an ordinary youth like Xiang Yang, the day of mastery was still far beyond the horizon. But achieving minor success and increasing his strength and potential would not be a problem.

What surprised Xiang Yang most was the explanation in the final section of the technique: the Iron Crotch Technique was highly compatible with the Iron Shirt Technique and Iron Head Technique. They could be cultivated together, and both their power and effectiveness would increase significantly.

"What a pity. If the rewards for the remaining two tasks were the Iron Shirt Technique and Iron Head Technique, then after completing the tasks, I could cultivate all the way through and forge my whole body into an Iron Lump. By then, even Big Beard from Black Wind Mountain Stronghold would not be able to hurt me. I'd be enough to dominate the county seat—perhaps I'd even qualify to join the Divine Constable Gate."

Xiang Yang scratched his head and thought to himself.

The Divine Constable Gate was a special institution established under the Great Zhou Dynasty. Experts gathered within it like clouds, and it specifically oversaw the disputes and criminal acts of martial artists in the jianghu. It was on an entirely different level from a County Yamen constable like him. Xiang Da Niu's lifelong wish had been to raise Xiang Yang into a constable of the Divine Constable Gate, but unfortunately, he would never live to see that day.

"Still, compared with those clumsy horizontal-training martial artists, the image of white robes and a long sword, graceful as a jade tree in the wind, suits me better. Besides, the Basic Breathing Technique can let me cultivate internal strength. That's internal martial arts, something exceedingly rare in Anyuan. Once I achieve something with it, combined with the exquisite Hu Family Saber Technique, I may not have no chance of entering the Divine Constable Gate."

As he thought, Xiang Yang gradually drifted off. His mind began indulging in fantasies of his future peerless bearing as he slaughtered in every direction, his sword breaking through all beneath heaven, along with countless female heroes crying and clamoring to bear him monkeys. Before he knew it, drool had run from his mouth. He wore a lecherous grin, utterly wasting that handsome face of his.

Before long, however, a cool breeze blew in from outside, making the lit white candle sway and dim. It startled Xiang Yang awake. Frightened, he hurriedly slapped himself, rose to shut the door properly, then respectfully bowed to Xiang Da Niu's memorial tablet before sitting back down. He truly had the temperament of a shut-in, always loving to let his imagination run wild.

"A dog can't stop eating shit. Killing Hu Qiang is still nowhere in sight. I'd better think properly about how to increase my strength as soon as possible, then finish Hu Qiang off."

Xiang Yang came back to his senses, thought it over, then grew somewhat worried. Becoming stronger was the right path, but becoming stronger meant practicing the Iron Crotch Technique.

There was nothing much to say about the Iron Crotch Technique's external training, but the medicinal soup taken internally was costly. His entire fortune amounted to only one hundred and two taels of silver. Two taels had been saved by Xiang Da Niu, while the other hundred were condolence gifts left by those who had come to pay their respects these past two days. Xiang Da Niu would be buried the day after tomorrow, and hiring people to handle the arrangements would cost a great deal as well. Just thinking about it made his heart ache.

"Forget it. When the boat reaches the bridge, it will naturally go straight. I'll first prepare two doses of medicine and drink them. Once I have strength, will I still need to fear having no money?"

Having made up his mind, Xiang Yang once more devoted all his attention to the Iron Crotch Technique, pondering every word and sentence. By evening, the night had grown still and quiet, with no one to disturb him, and he gained quite a bit.