Reborn with Peerless Insight

"Li Jichang"—the moment that name came up, the smile on Li Ji'an's face grew even wider.

The name he had registered today was his real name, "Li Ji'an," and the other seven instructors had all looked at his roster just moments ago.

Yet not one of them had reacted.

Wu Cheng, however, had almost instantly thought of his past life.

"Li Jichang? Who's that? Sounds a little familiar." One instructor was reminded of something by Wu Cheng's words.

"I don't remember him."

Xiao Wu, could he be a descendant of an old friend of yours?

Wu Cheng glanced at several of his colleagues and saw that they truly didn't seem to recognize the name. He said evenly, "He's the very Li you all call Old Cripple Li!"

During the ten years he'd spent at the Martial Academy in his previous life, nearly everyone had called him Old Cripple Li—with the exception of Grandpa Huang, the gatekeeper, Instructor Wu, and that little brat who'd laughed at him relentlessly.

It was because those beasts had subjected him to Life Harvesting and Dismemberment in his previous life, leaving one arm twisted and bent outward.

"What?"

"A descendant of Old Cripple Li?"

"This..."

"Whoa, now that you mention it, he really does look a little like him."

"Could he be Old Cripple Li's son?"

"Come to think of it, Old Cripple Li's been missing for five years, hasn't he?"

In any case, Li Ji'an had been something of a celebrity at the Martial Academy in his previous life.

The revelation immediately set off a flurry of discussion.

"That old rascal really did raise a genius?" Old Wan was briefly stunned as well.

He still remembered once asking Old Cripple Li, "You're already in this state. What's the point of practicing martial arts?"

Old Cripple Li hadn't cared in the least. "There is a point! With my talent, I'm bound to achieve nothing myself, but perhaps practicing martial arts can improve my descendants' bloodline. Pass it down generation after generation, and who knows? One of them might turn out to have exceptional talent."

"How could Old Cripple Li have such a handsome son?" Soon, some of the academy's apprentices were drawn over.

They crowded around Li Ji'an, examining him closely.

"Are you really Old Cripple Li's son?"

"Why hasn't Old Cripple Li come back to the academy? Did he give up?"

"..."

Faced with everyone's questions, Li Ji'an only smiled without answering.

"Enough. Whether you're related or not, it doesn't matter. Come with me." Wu Cheng realized his careless remark seemed to have caused Li Ji'an trouble. He stopped questioning him and hurriedly led him away.

Li Ji'an nodded and followed close behind.

"Heh, Old Cripple Li practiced for most of his life and only ever touched the edge of martial arts. Now he's sent his son here too?"

"Tsk, and just like his old man, nobody wanted him. He could only become Instructor Wu's apprentice."

"My dad told me long ago: like father, like son. If a hero begets a good-for-nothing, and his father couldn't even make a living selling scallions and garlic, how much better could Old Cripple Li's son be?"

A group of apprentices muttered under their breath behind them.

After bringing Li Ji'an to his training area, Wu Cheng looked at him and managed an awkward smile. "Don't listen to those people's nonsense. Old Li was impressive back in the day. He far exceeded my expectations. Before him, who would've imagined that someone who began martial arts at thirty could reach perfection in Skin Grinding?"

"So, it's never too late to begin practicing martial arts."

"Besides, talent only determines your ceiling, not your floor. Even if you have no hope of winning the martial arts examinations, practicing can still strengthen your body.

"And don't compare yourself to others. Just do the best you can."

Li Ji'an bowed solemnly. "I'll heed your teachings, Instructor!"

In this world, martial arts consisted of external techniques and internal cultivation. External training honed techniques and skills—arts of combat and killing.

Internal training cultivated vital energy and blood. One tempered the blood and energy, ground the skin, compacted the muscles, forged the bones, replaced the blood, purged the marrow, refined the organs, and ultimately underwent Rebirth and Bone Transformation, until one's blood and energy surged like a dragon.

However, external techniques required internal cultivation as their foundation. Without it, they were difficult to perform. Even if one managed to use them, one would lack strength and speed, making them no different from flashy, empty moves.

Furthermore, it was said that the martial arts of this world had been bestowed by an immortal master. Before then, there had been no transcendent powers of any kind. Even wielding spears and sticks had amounted to nothing more than applying force and mastering routines; there had been no way to fight several opponents at once.

But the immortal master had bestowed only internal cultivation, which tempered the blood and energy and refined the body beyond the mortal realm. This was the Golden Strength Technique, practiced by everyone. No external techniques had been given.

Practicing internal cultivation could make one strong and robust, and give rise to transcendent power from one's blood and energy. One could undergo Rebirth and Bone Transformation, gaining golden muscles and jade marrow, and becoming impervious to blades and spears.

External techniques, meanwhile, were the few methods discovered over the past century by martial arts masters of extraordinary insight. They activated and harnessed the blood and energy within the body. Most were closely guarded secrets, never passed on to outsiders.

The imperial court possessed the largest collection.

Ordinary martial artists at the bottom of society had few opportunities to practice them.

In his previous two lives, Li Ji'an had both practiced martial arts, but in each case, he had only trained in the internal Golden Strength Technique.

As for external techniques, the only one he'd ever learned was a set of punches devised by the martial arts schoolmaster in the town from his first life. It couldn't even be considered a proper technique.

Judging by the internal cultivation level he'd reached in his second life, perfect Skin Grinding, that set of punches made practically no difference whether he used it or not. In essence, all it did was rely on the strength and speed gained from the body's transformation through Skin Grinding and Muscle Compaction.

A month later, Li Ji'an had mastered the stance forms and officially began practicing the Golden Strength Technique.

Internal cultivation was about tempering one's blood and energy through the coordinated movement of bones and muscles and the breathing method, tempering sinews and forging bones. One's bones and muscles had to be fully grown first; otherwise, they could be damaged, leaving one with broken sinews and bones, or a permanently injured body. Thus, before the age of thirteen, Li Ji'an had only familiarized himself with the movements and postures.

Before practicing the Golden Strength Technique, one also needed stance forms to strengthen the body and nurture its foundations. Those, too, could only be practiced once one's bones and muscles had grown.

In his previous life, when he'd entered the academy at thirty, it had taken him half a year just to achieve a bare minimum of mastery in the stance forms.

Li Ji'an reflected on the difference and eventually concluded that, besides his experience mastering the stance forms in his previous life, the most important factors were his stronger bones and longer sinews in this life, along with the increased insight that came with his improved mental strength.

After all, stance forms weren't fixed, nor were they merely a series of movements and postures. They had to suit each person's bones and muscles, and the slightest differences varied from one person to the next. Each person could only understand them for themselves.

If one grasped them correctly, the stance forms would strengthen the body and nourish its foundations more quickly. Otherwise, one could remain unable to master them for a long time, never reaching the point where true internal cultivation could begin.

"His insight is that good?" When people learned that Li Ji'an had mastered the stance forms so quickly, many looked astonished.

Ma Yuan's eyelid twitched as he looked at the "genius" he'd snatched for himself.

In the past month, Qingyun hadn't even finished practicing all seventy-two stance forms.

And Qingyun's little tricks, which he'd used to fool his father since childhood, made it hard to tell whether he was truly slacking off or genuinely lacking insight.

"It's fine, it's fine. A little less insight doesn't matter. Root Bone is what counts. As long as his Root Bone is good, even if his insight is a little lacking, he'll manage it in another month. Once he starts cultivating internal techniques, those with poor Root Bone won't be able to compare." Ma Yuan tried to reassure himself.

At the same time, he decisively abandoned his original plan to pay for the academy's special medicinal baths for Li Ji'an.

The two of them had entered the academy together. If the apprentice Instructor Wu taught proved better than the one he taught—especially when the apprentice he'd chosen had greater talent—that would damage his reputation as an instructor too much.

What's more, many people in the academy had clearly begun comparing Li Ji'an to Qingyun. Quite a few were eager to see him make a fool of himself.

Am I really going to let Old Cripple Li's son make me look bad?

That night, Ma Yuan dug into his own pockets and moved Qingyun from the apprentice dormitory into the small courtyard next to his own. He was determined to train Qingyun into someone impressive.