Ninety-Nine Parts Sweat, One Part Talent

Ninety-Nine Parts Sweat, One Part Talent

Ninety-Nine Parts Sweat, One Part Talent

The sky had only just begun to brighten when Stone Wall Courtyard was already bustling with activity.

In the broad courtyard packed with yellow earth, quite a few youths had gathered around the rows of Plum Blossom Stances, or practiced forms against wooden dummies.

Lin Mo mingled among them and learned as well, though he still remembered that Xu Changfeng had said yesterday he would return every morning to personally teach them stance training, so they might have a chance to sense their qi and blood.

He watched several rather skilled apprentices circle around the Plum Blossom Stances, occasionally leaping atop them to strike poses that looked quite convincing. Yet he always felt there was something strange about it.

Just as they were training, several greetings suddenly came from the entrance.

"Good morning, Senior Brother Xu..."

Many apprentices saw him and immediately crowded forward to greet him warmly. Lin Mo looked over and saw an old man in a blue robe and cloth shoes following behind him.

He looked refined and gentle, with kind brows and eyes, but the hands exposed beneath his sleeves had exceptionally large knuckles. He was clearly a veteran martial practitioner of considerable standing.

Xu Changfeng gathered the many apprentices training in the courtyard and explained, "I was originally meant to continue teaching everyone stance training today, but Martial Master Yang happened to have some free time, so he came to take a look."

"With Martial Master Yang—Elder Yang Yun—teaching you, this is something no amount of real gold and silver could buy. You'd all better prick up your ears and listen carefully!"

A martial master?

Lin Mo was no stranger to the term. He had seen it in the booklet yesterday. A martial master was a realm above the Skin, Flesh, Bone, and Blood Fourth Level.

Not to mention Changhe Martial Arts School—even across the vast Changhe County, with its population of tens of thousands, there were probably no more than a handful of martial masters. Their power and status were plain to see.

Compared to people like Lin Mo, who had only signed up in recent days, the older students who had been there longer seemed especially excited.

The old man walked around the crowd two or three times, his gaze sweeping up and down their bodies. "Not bad, not bad. You've all trained yourselves quite sturdily... Seems there are some new apprentices too?"

"Those who have not met this old man before may step forward..."

The old man smiled warmly, speaking neither too quickly nor too slowly as he stood before the crowd with his hands clasped behind his back.

The moment he said that, Lin Mo heard even more murmurs at his ears. Every one of them looked as though they were gathered around a juicy spectacle, brimming with curiosity.

"Last time, Elder Yang said my bones were good. As long as I was willing to put in the hard work, I'd definitely be able to sense qi and blood!"

"Heh, Elder Yang's bone-reading is frighteningly accurate. With one touch, he can not only tell your Bone Age, but even knows what weapon suits you."

"He's probably the kindest martial master around here, isn't he? In terms of status, even the County Magistrate gives him three parts respect..."

Amid the clamor of discussion, Lin Mo pieced together most of the story. So these apprentices all loved watching a martial master examine bones. It really did sound rather mysterious.

After Lin Mo and the others stepped out, they lined up in a row, tall and short, fat and thin. His lean frame was fairly conspicuous among them.

The old man began feeling them one by one. Amid the youths' hissing breaths, he murmured continuously, "Bone Age sixteen. Thick bones, a large frame. You've grown yourself quite big, but you've eaten yourself far too fat. Practice more stance training and slim down; that would be good enough..."

"Bone Age seventeen. Why are all your muscles and bones so soft and limp? A man should have some masculine vigor..."

In almost an instant, that rough, broad palm pressed onto Lin Mo's shoulder. He felt the bones in his shoulder go numb and tingly. It looked like a simple kneading, yet the old man's grip was astonishingly powerful.

Even Lin Mo was curious what kind of fate this old man had forged on the path of martial arts. But [Observe People and Their Aura] had to be saved for tonight, when he investigated Zhao Wu's true circumstances.

Even if he used it, Lin Mo figured that apart from common white fates, the rest would be hazy green fates that could not be seen clearly, or perhaps ones of even higher rank.

"Bone Age seventeen. Solid bones, a well-proportioned frame. You do have a bit of the look of a martial artist, though you're still too thin..."

Yang Yun gave his assessment. Lin Mo promptly followed up, "Thank you for thinking highly of me, Elder Yang. I will certainly practice diligently day and night."

"Just work harder. Perhaps there will be a good result."

Hearing this, Yang Yun merely smiled and shook his head. It seemed like comfort, yet also seemed to carry another meaning.

Yang Yun was a martial master who had immersed himself in the martial path for at least forty or fifty years. In truth, he could see the makings of a martial artist at a glance.

There was no need for this sort of bone-feeling, nor for such polite formalities.

But he had, after all, come from humble origins. He always wanted to offer more encouragement to children from poor families. That said, the path of martial arts was far more than a matter of hard work alone...

The old saying went: ninety-nine parts sweat, one part talent.

Yet little did they know, that one part talent was the most crucial link of all...

As luck would have it, not a single apprentice in this group possessed that one part talent!

"Watch carefully. I'll demonstrate the stance training once for Xu Changfeng. Changhe Martial Arts School has always taught its apprentices White Ape Stance Training. Practicing it correctly will naturally strengthen the body, but it can also greatly stimulate qi and blood, giving you a chance to sense it!"

The old man moved with light steps. Almost in the pause between his words, his knees bent and straightened, and his withered body sprang onto the posts like a monkey.

He stood on the posts on the tips of his toes, yet his body did not tremble in the slightest. His left hand formed a loose grasp before him, as though cradling the moon, while his right arm stretched out, its five fingers hooked like a white ape pouncing to bite.

As his body slowly shifted across the Plum Blossom Stances, he performed the five basic forms of White Ape Stance Training with dazzling flair. When the crowd looked closely again, it was as if a nimble white ape clad in blue truly stood before them.

The old man came quickly and left just as quickly, leaving only Xu Changfeng behind to supervise everyone's morning training.

Lin Mo tried to imitate him, but the moment he stepped onto the Plum Blossom Stances, the world spun around him. He could not even plant his feet steadily, much less perform those movements.

Even when practicing those movements on the ground, he often found them warped and awkward, his body stiff and uncomfortable, sometimes even going numb or cramping...

He could only test his way forward slowly. During that time, Lin Mo also asked the martial arts school apprentices about their daily schedule and restrictions.

When he learned that only the morning training was supervised and everything else depended on one's own initiative, he let out a sigh of relief.

Lin Mo had not forgotten that tonight, he still had to resolve a major matter of [Calamity of Blood Light]. His younger cousin's life was in his hands.

After noon had passed, when the weather gradually cooled but the sun had yet to set, Lin Mo left the martial arts school's courtyard.

That night, moonlight shone serenely, and the river's surface glittered with rippling waves.

At an abandoned dock outside Changhe County, waves constantly slapped against the wooden pilings. A black-canopied boat was tied along the posts, and the air was thick with the mixed stench of fish and rotting wood.

A group of dark figures crept up to the dock. From far away, they could hear a group of people breathing heavily, with the occasional curse mixed in. "Those two Lin brats are damn heavy. They look skinny as sticks, but once they pass out, they're like pigs!"

With a shouted count of one, two, wooden planks clattered loudly through the night. The black-canopied boat rocked from side to side, stirring up plenty of splashes. Only after working for quite some time did Zhao Wu board the boat.

"Alright, I'll handle the rest."

Zhao Wu waved his hand and pushed off with a bamboo pole, rowing far away. He only paused to rest after reaching the reed marshes downstream.

"Have I been too on edge lately? Why do I always feel a chill down my back..."

Zhao Wu wiped the hot sweat from his brow, unease churning in his heart. He looked around furtively like a thief for a long while, then rowed the boat into the reed marshes and moored it.

Only then did his heart settle somewhat. He glanced at the two Lin brothers, who were still unconscious, then turned and pried up a floorboard, pulling out two bundles from beneath it.

"Once I'm done with this job, I won't be going back. I'll take the boat and run far away... That water ghost doesn't look like anything good. Without blood food, who knows how violently it'll rage!"

Taking out the bundles and feeling the heavy weight of the silver within, Zhao Wu finally felt a measure of reassurance.

Splash, splash...

The reed marsh seemed to be stirred by the wind, the stalks deep within bending low from time to time. Several long, narrow black shadows also flashed beneath the river, accompanied by splashing water.

Zhao Wu's heart jolted. He swallowed hard and lowered his head for a closer look, only to discover that it was merely a large fish!

Before he could let out a long breath, the black-canopied boat suddenly sank to one side. Before he could react, he dropped to his knees.

Almost instantly, Zhao Wu felt his neck tighten, and his entire body toppled toward the water, smashing up a great spray.