Yang Chong's palm was huge. The moment he set it on Li Yuan's shoulder, a deep, weighty force flowed into him.
Then his hand moved downward, feeling over Li Yuan's shoulders, spine, waist and abdomen, and legs.
Li Yuan felt a tingling numbness all through his bones.
"Hmm..." Yang Chong murmured for a moment. "Your natural constitution is quite a bit stronger than I expected—much stronger than an ordinary person's. It's just..."
He withdrew his hand and sat back down.
He looked at Li Yuan and said, "Your muscles and bones have already begun to set. To loosen and temper them now, you'll have to endure several times more hardship than others and spend far more on food and medicine."
Li Yuan was eighteen this year. Generally, one began tempering one's qi and blood at fourteen, then, after several years, started attempting the three skin-tempering stages.
After that, one had to begin bone training before one's qi and blood declined at thirty.
Tempering qi and blood wasn't difficult, as long as one was willing to work hard and had enough medicinal wine and nourishing food.
But advancing to the next realm depended on one's natural constitution and comprehension.
"This junior understands. But since I've already resolved to practice martial arts, I'm not afraid of hardship."
Li Yuan was silent for a moment before answering.
"Since you've made up your mind, there's little more I can say."
Yang Chong shook his head inwardly. In Wuxi County, he had seen far too many poor people hoping to change their fates against all odds by practicing martial arts.
"The poor study literature; the rich practice martial arts." It wasn't just a saying.
No matter how talented you were, what could you train with if you had no money?
People at the bottom could barely afford to eat, let alone keep their qi and blood full for long periods.
Even at the qi-and-blood tempering stage, medicinal wine and meat were essential. The cost would be at least a hundred taels of silver.
And that wasn't even counting the tea fees and apprenticeship fees charged by some of the martial arts halls in the Inner City.
The wealthy families' children in the Inner City began tempering their qi and blood from a young age. With their qi and blood full, their chances of successfully breaking through the three skin-tempering stages were far higher.
The gap would only grow wider.
"Yes, Master!" Li Yuan replied.
Now that he had successfully become a disciple, Li Yuan felt a weight lift from his heart.
"Mm." Yang Chong nodded, then instructed the lean, honest-looking man beside him:
"This is your Third Senior Brother, Zhao Qin. Take your junior brother around and show him the place. Explain the rules clearly.
"Then start teaching him the Standing Root."
"Yes, Master."
Zhao Qin led Li Yuan to the front courtyard. "The front courtyard is the training ground, and the back courtyard is where Master lives..."
He took Li Yuan on a tour. Once Li Yuan had familiarized himself with the place, Zhao Qin paused and said:
"Strictly speaking, until you enter the skin-tempering realm, you're only an apprentice, not a true disciple. But there are a few rules you must remember, Junior Brother!"
"First, respect your master and honor the way. No harming fellow disciples! If there's a dispute, let Master or a senior brother decide."
"Second, you must not secretly teach martial arts to others. If you're found out, your martial arts will be crippled and you'll be expelled from the school."
"Third, before you break through skin-tempering and become a formal disciple, don't go around claiming the school's name and causing trouble."
"So if you cause trouble outside while you're an apprentice and give the name of the Martial Arts Hall, no one out there will recognize it.
"This is an unwritten rule in Wuxi County's martial arts circles."
As he spoke, Zhao Qin handed Li Yuan a clean set of training clothes.
Li Yuan nodded to show he had memorized the rules.
He looked toward the training ground. Dozens of people were practicing stance techniques, but only a scant dozen were sparring with each other on the other side.
"Junior Brother, martial arts begin with the lower body. If your stance is unstable, every move and every burst of strength will be nothing but empty form."
As he spoke, Zhao Qin assumed a stance, spreading his feet a little wider than shoulder-width, bending his knees slightly, and lowering his center of gravity.
"This is the Standing Root. It's the basic stance technique we use at the Five Animals Academy to temper the lower body and begin to mobilize and gather qi and blood.
"Watch closely. The key points are..."
Zhao Qin carefully explained the stance, the breathing, and how to focus one's mind.
Li Yuan listened intently and followed his instructions, taking up the stance.
It took less than half an incense stick's time for Li Yuan's legs to grow numb and sore and begin to tremble. Fine beads of sweat appeared at his temples.
But his will was firm. He gritted his teeth and held the stance, carefully feeling the changes in his body.
Suddenly, his vision shuddered, and a panel appeared before him.
[Your will is firm and your attention focused. You practice the Five Animals Stance Technique with full concentration.] [Skill: Five Animals Fist Stance (Beginner)] [Progress: 1/300 points (cannot break through)] [Hint: Heaven Rewards Diligence. As long as you put in the effort, you will be rewarded.]
Though Zhao Qin could see that Li Yuan was struggling, his posture was correct and his mind focused. He couldn't help giving an approving nod.
Not many people managed to hold out this long during their first practice. Many were exhausted after just a quarter of an hour.
"Junior Brother, once you feel you've practiced enough, there are Stone Locks nearby you can use to aid your training."
Stone Locks were simply stones of varying sizes, held against one's chest to speed up training.
After Li Yuan had finished holding the stance and rested for a while,
Yang Chong came over and took a pale yellow booklet from his robes, handing it to him.
"This is the Five Animals Fist manual. You may only read it inside the Martial Arts Hall, and you must hand it in whenever you leave. Read through it on your own first."
Li Yuan took it with both hands. Four somewhat hastily written characters on the cover read "Five Animals Play Manual."
He took a deep breath and opened the booklet.
Its pages showed five figures in different poses, each imitating the movements of a tiger, deer, bear, ape, or crane.
Beside them were written notes explaining the movements and breathing for each form.
Yang Chong made a round of the disciples before returning to Li Yuan's side. "My branch comes from the Five Animals Play.
"The five animals are the tiger, deer, bear, ape, and crane.
"The Tiger Form trains killing power, the Deer Form speed, the Bear Form the body, the Ape Form agility, and the Bird Form qi.
"They correspond to five styles of boxing: fierce, nimble, powerful, deft, and ethereal."
"An ordinary person has limited energy and can usually only choose one form to master.
"You must choose the one best suited to your nature as your main focus.
"You can study the other four for reference and draw parallels, but don't try to master too much, or you'll become mediocre at everything."
His voice was calm. Clearly, he had given this speech many times before.
Yang Chong's gaze was sharp as he looked at Li Yuan. "Your choice of animal form will shape the road ahead.
"You don't have to decide right away. First, train your qi and blood with your senior brothers, practice the basics, and get a feel for the essence of the Five Animals. Once your stance technique reaches a certain level, I'll teach you the boxing forms."
If you couldn't even stand steadily, what was the point of learning martial arts?
"Yes, thank you for your guidance, Master!" Li Yuan bowed, already pondering his choice.
He had already reached a small degree of mastery in Archery, so attacks from a distance didn't worry him too much.
What he needed now was either to run fast when danger came, or to be unafraid of close combat.
Yang Chong continued, "Once your qi and blood are full, you can attempt the first skin-tempering stage: Ox Skin Realm."
"Every time you attempt a breakthrough, failure will damage your body.
"If you fail again and again, your chances of success will only grow slimmer."
"As for the stages beyond that, you don't need to worry about them yet. If you have any questions, you can ask your Third Senior Brother, Zhao Qin."
With that, Yang Chong left.
His meaning was clear. Li Yuan had only paid three months' worth of tuition. If he managed to break through within those three months, that would already be quite an achievement.
If he failed, he would have to pay more to continue tempering his qi and blood.
Of course, Yang Chong wouldn't leave out anything he was supposed to teach. Whether Li Yuan could learn and understand it was his own problem.
I have my skills. As long as I'm willing to practice, breaking through skin-tempering shouldn't be difficult, Li Yuan thought to himself.
Li Yuan practiced the stance technique until dusk. Sweat soaked through his gray short training jacket.
[Skill: Five Animals Fist Stance (Beginner)] [Progress: 10/300 points (cannot break through)] [Hint: Heaven Rewards Diligence. As long as you put in the effort, you will be rewarded.]
After a full day of training, Li Yuan dragged his exhausted body back to Blue Stone Village.
Before you continue