"Not bad speed."
Teng Qingshan's calm voice rang out.
Then, with another casual sidestep, he avoided Dong Hongchang's double-palm attack.
But a Grandmaster was still a Grandmaster.
Especially an old Grandmaster who had studied Baguazhang for decades—his combat experience was exceptionally rich.
The instant Teng Qingshan shifted aside, Dong Hongchang changed his moves as well. His footwork shifted, and he attacked Teng Qingshan again, following him like a shadow.
This time, Teng Qingshan threw a punch.
It looked just as light and effortless.
His speed even gave the impression of being incredibly slow.
Yet the moment he threw it, his fist struck Dong Hongchang's incoming palms!
BAM!!!
The collision produced several thousand kilograms of force.
A muffled sound rang out around them.
With that punch,
Teng Qingshan had still used only slightly more strength than Dong Hongchang.
But Teng Qingshan's level had long since surpassed the Grandmaster realm by several stages. His punch instantly broke apart all of Dong Hongchang's attacks and scattered all the force inside his body.
If this had been a fight to the death, Teng Qingshan would have needed only one more punch to kill or cripple him.
But this was only a friendly spar, so Teng Qingshan naturally wouldn't strike to kill.
Thud, thud, thud!
The immense force sent Dong Hongchang stumbling backward several meters. He only managed to stop at the edge of the platform.
The spectators who witnessed this
revised their opinion of Teng Qingshan once again.
If he could casually knock back an old Grandmaster who had been renowned for decades with a single punch, then just how strong was he?
"Truly, the young surpassed the old. I admit defeat!"
Dong Hongchang clasped his hands, then promptly jumped down from the platform.
During their brief exchange,
Dong Hongchang had realized that Teng Qingshan had held back. He conceded without hesitation.
"You were gracious."
Teng Qingshan also held great respect for Dong Hongchang, the old Grandmaster of Baguazhang.
From their exchange just now,
it was clear that although Dong Hongchang was already over sixty, he had not given up pursuing the martial way.
That palm had contained no less than four thousand kilograms of force.
Of course,
Dong Hongchang had used the technique of generating force with his body. In terms of pure physical strength, he was probably only a little stronger than Guo Tao had been.
But a Grandmaster could harness every inch of his bones and muscles, and unleash several times more force than a Master.
Without years of consistent training, it would have been impossible to unleash such power at over sixty.
That was why Teng Qingshan respected him.
When the spectators saw even the old Grandmaster Dong Hongchang concede,
they no longer doubted Teng Qingshan's strength.
The other challengers who had been considering stepping forward fell silent.
Even Guo Tao and Dong Hongchang had lost.
If they took the platform, they would only lose even more miserably.
After Teng Qingshan called out several times and no one dared to challenge him,
the most important part of Xingyi Sect's opening ceremony came to an end.
Next,
the young celebrity Hong had invited took the stage to perform and warm up the crowd.
The spectators who had witnessed Teng Qingshan's strength swarmed toward Xingyi Sect, ready to pay and sign up.
Seeing the opening go smoothly, Teng Qingshan was delighted as well.
The rest of the work could be left to Hong and the other staff they had hired.
Everyone was signing up on opening day.
Formal lessons wouldn't begin until the next day.
After watching for a while and seeing everything running smoothly under Hong's direction, Teng Qingshan went back to continue his training.
That evening,
Hong sent him a message with the day's enrollment numbers.
Teng Qingshan took a look.
Thanks to two well-known challengers showing up, many students had signed up on the very first day.
There were a full three hundred.
And that was with the enrollment fee set at three thousand Huaxia Currency.
If it had been cheaper, even more people would have signed up.
After all, at the current prices, three thousand Huaxia Currency was a month's wages for an ordinary worker.
They had set the fee at that level
to make sure that the people who signed up truly liked Xingyi Fist and were willing to devote time and effort to it.
Besides, neither Teng Qingshan nor Hong cared about earning such a small amount from enrollment fees.
Before long, the second day arrived.
The first lesson.
Teng Qingshan personally taught a beginner's class in Xingyi Fist to all the students.
He taught them the basic Three Body Posture,
along with the fundamentals of the Five Elements Fist and the Twelve Forms Fist.
After watching him demonstrate each form once, the students, most of whom had no foundation, naturally couldn't learn it right away.
Fortunately, Teng Qingshan had recorded instructional videos during this period. The students could copy them and study and practice on their own.
He had also personally compiled a basic manual, which could help them with their studies.
After finishing all that,
Teng Qingshan handed these students, who had virtually no foundation, over to Hong.
Once promising students emerged from this group, the senior students could take the newcomers under their wing.
Teng Qingshan would also accept any senior student capable of teaching newcomers as a registered disciple. Their tuition would be waived, and each would receive a monthly training stipend of ten thousand yuan.
With this policy in place,
the students became even more eager to train.
And so,
Xingyi Sect opened beside White Horse Lake in Yi'an District.
As the sect's master, Teng Qingshan only needed to drop by from time to time and offer guidance to promising students.
At first, Hong had to spend half a day teaching every day. Later, he only needed to teach now and then.
A month later,
among the first group of disciples recruited by Xingyi Sect,
two promising students had emerged.
One was the mature beauty Lin Menglan; the other was a young man named "Li Yuan."
Unexpectedly, Lin Menglan, who had never studied martial arts before, showed a fine aptitude for Xingyi Fist as soon as she tried it.
In only a week, she had learned the Three Body Posture, the Five Elements Fist, and the Twelve Forms Fist well enough to perform them convincingly.
Of course,
she had only mastered the outward forms. She had yet to grasp the most important part: the "intent."
Even so, it was clear that she had a real talent for Xingyi Fist.
Although twenty-six-year-old Lin Menglan was past the best age to begin martial arts, age wasn't a major concern for Xingyi Fist. What mattered more were a student's insight and perseverance.
As it happened,
Lin Menglan lacked neither.
The other young man, Li Yuan, was just as talented in Xingyi Fist.
Teng Qingshan chose a time
and personally accepted both of them as registered disciples in front of more than a thousand students.
Yes,
Xingyi Sect had only been founded a month earlier.
But Teng Qingshan's name had already spread.
Many people came because they had heard of him.
Although Hong taught most of the classes afterward,
he was also a Grandmaster of Xingyi Fist, and his lessons were still very effective.
Those martial-arts novices only needed to attend one class before deciding on the spot to sign up.
Word that the newly opened Xingyi Sect had two genuine experts
spread quickly throughout Yangzhou City.
More and more people came to sign up for martial arts lessons. By now, the number of students had surpassed a thousand.
Before long,
Xingyi Sect beside White Horse Lake could no longer accommodate so many students.
Fortunately, Hong had foreseen this and was already working on expanding the sect.
As Xingyi Sect continued to grow,
Xingyi Fist spread rapidly among the people of Yangzhou City.
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