"Please show mercy, Boss Gu!"
Xu Yi clasped his fists and said this, then backed away ten paces. He sank into a bow stance, taking every precaution.
Clearly, with the Zhou Family looming over him, Xu Yi had to be careful at all times to conceal his tracks. As for his true Martial Arts cultivation, he hid it whenever he could.
The Sable-clothed man nodded. "Here I come!" He swept one hand in a loose circle and casually sent the stone lock hurtling toward Xu Yi.
Xu Yi roared. He thrust both hands forward, half pushing and half blocking. With a bang, the stone lock landed in his hands and drove him back more than a dozen steps before he could barely steady himself and dispel its force. When he looked up, his face was flushed red.
As everyone stared in stunned silence, the Sable-clothed man clapped lightly. "Not bad, not bad. You used skill to overcome weight, and managed to catch a strike with half my strength. For someone in the early Body Tempering stage, that's no small feat. Just for that, you deserve a place in the Martial Arts Hall."
He assumed Xu Yi was in the early Body Tempering stage. In his understanding, no one in the middle stage had ever entered the Martial Arts Hall.
After all, how could anyone who had reached the middle stage not know even the most basic facts about Martial Arts?
And yet Xu Yi was precisely this one-in-ten-thousand oddity!
Xu Yi had "struggled" to catch the stone lock and set it down. His face still red, he said, "Thank you for showing mercy, Boss Gu!"
The Sable-clothed man waved a hand magnanimously. "Hurry inside. The lecture's about to start. Master Zhou is a learned man, but he's got a temper to match. If you're late, he might not let you in."
Xu Yi nodded and strode into the Martial Arts Hall.
Inside, he saw that none of the other martial artists who had arrived before him had taken a seat. They were all standing along the walls on either side of the hall, staring blankly at the rows of portraits.
Xu Yi was drawn to them, too. He took a closer look and saw brief biographies of some twenty people. After examining them, he understood.
The portraits carved into the walls honored nearly twenty great figures who had reached the Qi Sea Realm in the two hundred years since the Martial Arts Hall in Furong Town was founded. Their lives and achievements were recorded beneath their images.
The purpose of these portraits was obvious: to inspire those who came after.
Xu Yi was studying them intently when a dull clang rang out. The small door opposite the main entrance slammed into the wall with a deafening crash.
An old man with graying hair and a disheveled appearance shuffled in wearing cloth shoes, a wine gourd with a chipped spout tucked under his arm. He swaggered along, and the scent of wine filled the hall wherever his robes fluttered.
The moment the old man entered, the hall filled with sighs. Clearly, his appearance had crushed everyone's expectations of what a teacher should look like.
Xu Yi, however, found a seat near the front and sat down quietly. He understood perfectly well: true men of letters had a style all their own. If Master Zhou could live so freely and carelessly, he probably had substance beneath that shabby exterior.
Smack! Smack! Smack!
A handspan-wide, thick and hard ruler struck the heavy-iron lectern, its sharp report almost deafening.
"What are you sighing for? Your old man's willing to come enlighten a bunch of blind fools like you, and you're still complaining! Damn it, you've ruined my mood for drinking. I'm not teaching this year. I'll give you ten questions. Ask them, and we're done!"
Master Zhou flew into a rage and sat down behind the lectern, huffing. He popped the gourd's lid and took a long swig, paying no heed to the fact that he was in the grand Martial Arts Hall.
Martial artists tended to be hot-blooded and bold. Some weren't frightened by Master Zhou and instead took offense. One rose to his feet, slapped the table, and said loudly, "As far as I know, anyone who practices Martial Arts is strong and robust. You're as thin as a rake, so frail a gust of wind could knock you over. You can't possibly be a martial artist. If you're not one, what gives you the right to talk about Martial Arts?"
At those words, the whole hall erupted. Voices rose in agreement.
Indeed, Master Zhou's withered appearance didn't look like that of a martial artist, no matter how you looked at him. If he wasn't one, what right did he have to stand in the middle of the Martial Arts Hall and teach them?
Faced with such a challenge, everyone expected the hot-tempered Master Zhou to fly into another rage. Instead, he took a sip of wine and smiled. "When I was practicing Martial Arts, you were still sitting cross-legged in your mother's womb. Nine questions left. Who's next?"
A commotion swept through the hall. No one had expected to lose one of their questions just like that.
Smack, smack, smack!
The ruler struck the lectern again. Master Zhou's smile disappeared, and he said coldly, "If you have a question, ask it now. Make another racket, and this year's Martial Arts lecture ends here!"
Master Zhou's authority was overwhelming, and the crowd fell silent.
Indeed, what use was there in doubting his ability? He had at least been sent by the authorities. These people were the unwanted ones, neglected by both father and mother. If the authorities were willing to send someone to teach them, and they complained that the rice was too coarse, word would reach the Prefect, and they would be the ones to pay for it.
The logic was plain enough. After a moment's thought, everyone understood.
Xu Yi, however, didn't dare gamble on the intelligence of these unhelpful teammates. Afraid one of them might provoke Master Zhou again, he hurried to his feet, bowed slightly, and said loudly, "I have a question. Master Zhou, where does the source of our strength lie when we practice Martial Arts and temper our bodies?"
At that question, everyone's faces filled with disdain. If they hadn't been cowed by Master Zhou's authority, they would have scoffed outright.
They practiced Martial Arts and tempered their bodies. Who didn't know that greater strength came from a stronger body?
They had seen it for themselves, in the most direct and obvious way. As their flesh grew firm, their strength increased; as their sinews and bones grew strong, their strength increased again.
Xu Yi had wasted one of their questions on such a simple matter. It was infuriating!
Master Zhou stared at Xu Yi. For the first time, he set the wine gourd in his hand down on the lectern.
In the twenty years he had worked at the Martial Arts Hall, he had never once heard a martial artist ask this kind of question.
He tried to clear his head, but still couldn't grasp the essence of it. With a sigh, he said, "I can't answer that." His voice was somewhat subdued.
The hall erupted in an uproar, entirely unprompted. No one had expected Master Zhou to say he couldn't answer such a simple question.
Though they looked down on Master Zhou, they trusted the Martial Arts Hall. It would never send a complete idiot to teach Martial Arts.
Since Master Zhou said he couldn't answer, there could be only one explanation: the question Xu Yi had raised wasn't simple at all!
Xu Yi sighed inwardly and was about to sit down when Master Zhou said, "You've clearly got your own ideas, since you were able to ask this question. I can't give you a complete answer, but that doesn't stop me from drawing on my own life experience to offer my thoughts. Tell me what you think first."
To know what you know, and know what you don't know—that is true knowledge!
Just hearing Master Zhou say that made Xu Yi place the cap of a wise man on his head. He said gravely, "I do have some thoughts of my own. As everyone knows, we martial artists gain greater strength by tempering our bodies. But if body tempering reaches its limit—that is, if we reach the Body Tempering Peak—what then gives us strength?"
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