Declared Missing

Martial arts have six principles.

The three external harmonies are: shoulders and hips, elbows and knees, and hands and feet.

The three inner harmonies are: the harmony of mind and intention, the harmony of intention and qi, and the harmony of qi and strength.

Practicing the external three harmonies over a long period can correct posture, stabilize the body's center of gravity, and make movements more flexible.

With prolonged practice of the three internal harmonies, one can achieve complete concentration, mental focus, and increased work efficiency.

Beginners often feel awkward and uncoordinated due to unfamiliarity with the movements and tension, which can lead to a loss of harmony. Therefore, they need to practice Standing Post.

The purpose of practicing Stance Training training is to achieve the harmony of the internal and external three elements, and ultimately the six harmonies, so that one can strike naturally.

There is a sequence to the practice of martial arts.

Capture is dead, seizure is alive. First use fists, then legs for seizure. Only after seizure is successful should weapons be used.

Weapons are an extension of the hands and feet. The so-called unity of man and weapon, inner yin and outer yang, are connected by one energy. If one form is not in harmony, it is difficult to practice another form!

"It takes an ordinary person three to five years to master martial arts. Li LiBo and Chen Jiechang broke through the Skin Barrier and are much stronger than ordinary people, but they still only know the basic skills. If they encounter a martial arts master, they can be defeated with the strength of an ordinary person."

This is why realm does not necessarily represent combat power.

Without martial arts skills, one can only exert one part of one's strength to achieve one part of the effect; but with martial arts skills, one part of one's strength can achieve the effect of ten parts of one's strength.

Some people are so talented that breaking through cultivation barriers is as easy as eating and drinking for them; one year of their cultivation is equivalent to five or six years of others' efforts.

However, others have been practicing for five or six years and have already mastered martial arts. Even if the gap between them is not huge, they are not without a chance of winning.

Take Liang Qu himself, for example. He was a genius who broke through all four barriers in half a year. For others, half a year would only be enough to master the basics.

Fortunately, Liang Qu was favored by the River Master Emperor, so his cultivation and martial arts practice were fast, especially in long weapons. As if divinely aided, his progress was faster than with any other weapon.

In just six months, he wielded the spear as if he had practiced for five or six years.

If this applies to long weapons, then logically bows should too...

Liang Qu lowered his gaze, looking at the Black Iron Great Bow in his hand.

He carried a crescent-shaped slingshot at his waist and held Three-Pointed Double-Edged Spear in his hand.

This phrase describes the River Master Emperor, also known as Erlang Shen.

Erlang Shen's slingshot was not an ordinary slingshot shaped like a tree branch, but an ancient slingshot shaped like a bow.

The ancient slingshot, except for the string and the leather pouch in the center used to launch projectiles, is exactly the same in shape as an arrow bow! In all the portraits of the River Master Emperor, the bow that can be seen is a large bow that is no different from an ordinary arrow bow.

The only difference is that one shoots an arrow, and the other shoots a projectile.

"Try again!"

Liang Qu hadn't been able to pull it completely open with his rough pull just now. This time, he adjusted his posture, spread his legs, straightened his back, and drew his bow again.

Crack! A series of teeth-grinding grinding sounds came from the bow arm.

With his Qi and Blood flowing freely and his strength unleashed, Liang Qu managed to draw open the enormous Black Iron Bow amidst the astonished gazes of onlookers.

Everyone was dumbfounded. This bow belonged to the Gang Leader Liu Jie and was made entirely of black iron!

Does this mean that the young man in front of us is also at the Galloping Horse Extreme Realm?

Whoosh! In the blink of an eye, Liang Qu could no longer hold on and slowly withdrew the bow.

That's too much of a stretch.

A suitable bow should be able to be drawn and held for at least three breaths before it is considered usable.

The weights and measures system of the Da Shun mainly consisted of shi, jun, and jin. One shi was five jun, one jun was thirty jin, and one shi was one hundred and fifty jin.

This Black Iron Great Bow must weigh over a hundred stones...

A trained soldier can typically use a bow weighing around 35 jin (approximately 17.5 kg), meaning that the force required to use the bow is far less than a person's actual strength.

A bow with a strength of 100 stones is already an extremely exaggerated level.

Liang Qu sighed.

In terms of strength alone, he was still inferior to Liu Jie, and by a considerable margin.

"It's all thanks to the underwater conditions."

Being able to breathe underwater and ignoring water resistance is entirely a matter of one gain at the expense of the other.

Even on land, one should still maintain a low profile.

The good news is that although it's a bit of a stretch to use for now, the feeling of Wishful when drawing the bow is exactly the same as when practicing with a spear! The favor of the River Master Emperor has truly enhanced my archery skills! Liang Qu's eyes gleamed with excitement.

The saying "don't bite off more than you can chew" applies to people of average talent. They might spend their whole lives learning just one thing, and even then, they might not fully understand it.

But for Liang Qu, it's all about having a wide range of skills!

He turned to look at the gang members.

"Does this bow have any arrows?"

"Yes, yes, yes, they're all here!"

A member of the gang brought over a quiver of arrows. Liang Qu reached out and took it. All the arrows inside were over three feet long, completely black, and the arrowheads gleamed coldly.

Liang Qu nodded, lowered the string from the Black Iron Bow, and placed it in the quiver.

"Wrap them all up carefully, not a single one can be missed. If you do, you'll have to fix it with your heads!"

The rest of you, take all your belongings and head to the county town now!

At the wharf in Ping Yang County, the multi-story ship bobbed gently in the river breeze.

In the Records Room, the Martial Master moved between the long planks, receiving appropriate tasks, or coming with their colleagues to the Record Keeper to register their military merits.

As time went on after the arrival of the River Conservancy Office, more and more Martial Master came to join, making the place more lively.

But Li Shoufu looked worried, holding his Wolf Hair brush, seemingly lost in thought.

"Secretary Li?"

"Secretary Li!"

The Martial Master's voice was a bit louder, startling Li Shoufu out of his daze.

Li Shoufu looked around and realized his unusual behavior, so he apologized repeatedly. "I'm sorry, I didn't sleep well last night. Are you here to receive a mission, sir?"

The Martial Master didn't argue much, nodded, and slapped out a dossier and his own file.

After Li Shoufu finished registering the information and handed over the booklet, his colleague, the Record Keeper Huang Pingchang, asked curiously.

"What happened? You seem restless all day. And it looks like it started yesterday."

He joked, "What's wrong? Did your boss give you a hard time? Or have you taken a fancy to a woman who's already married?"

Li Shoufu's expression froze, and seeing that no one was around, he sighed heavily.

"Hey, stop talking, none of that is true. I might really be in trouble."

Huang Pingchang asked, puzzled. "What do you mean by that?"

"A few days ago, I had a mission to deal with a harmful Spirit Monster in the neighboring Feng Bu County. At that time, there were only two River Earl River Chief, and no one else was available, so I assigned the task to a River Earl surnamed Liang."

Huang Pingchang became serious. "The River Earl surnamed Liang? Could he be the one connected to Xu Tiling? I hope nothing bad has happened to him."

"I don't know. There's still no news of him. He accepted the mission on Gold Day, and today is also Gold Day. Tonight will mark seven days, and he'll be Declared Missing..."

Huang Pingchang was shocked. "What were you thinking, giving the task to someone with connections like this?"

"I had no choice. There was no one else around, and besides, he was quite strong, a real expert. He could bring back four or five Minor Merit Galloping Horse Martial Master weren't that powerful. I thought nothing would happen, and he'd be back in a few days. Who would have thought..."

Li Shoufu looked mournful.

If Liang Qu really gets into trouble, how could Xu Tiling possibly let him off the hook? He'll most likely lose his official position.

"What should we do? Have you informed Xu Tiling yet?"

"Not yet..."

"I already know."

Li Shoufu trembled and turned around stiffly.

"Lord Xu... Lord Xu, you... you didn't go fishing?"

Xu Yuelong's face darkened.

He went fishing, but halfway through, he discovered that the bait he had used to bait the area in the bucket was gone.

He recalled hearing a few days ago that a Small Fish Gang could catch several times more fish than other fishermen by using a magical bait, so he thought about going back to get some money to buy some.

Unexpectedly, across a deck, I overheard Li Shoufu's discussion.

"Tell me in detail what exactly happened."