No Martial Skill Was Entirely Worthless

Teaching his men internal skill was something Su Xin had decided the day before.

His strength was still too weak. He had been able to kill Dai Chong, but only because he'd caught him off guard with a sneak attack.

In a different situation, the outcome would have been anyone's guess.

And on this trip to the main hall, after seeing the three hall masters and the unfathomable gang leader, Su Xin understood all too well how far he still was from their level.

Cultivation in the martial arts world was a gradual process. The system could assist him, but it couldn't make him an expert overnight.

Besides, the new main quest had a time limit of just one year. Improving his men's strength alongside his own was also important if he wanted to complete it.

"By the way, boss, what if we teach them this internal skill and someone else secretly learns it? Aside from the few brothers we know inside out, there's no guarantee everyone can keep their mouths shut." Huang Bingcheng sounded a little concerned.

He was an old hand in the Flying Eagle Gang. Over the years, he'd seen plenty of ugly business: men betraying their bosses and brothers turning on each other.

"Like I said, don't imagine this internal skill is some peerless secret manual. It's common stuff, so it won't matter if it gets out."

Su Xin didn't care. "If anyone else wanted to teach it, they would've done so already. Maybe the gang leader's internal skill is even better than this one. If someone wants to sneak a look, let them. It's no big deal."

Quanzhen Sect Basic Internal Skill was only a beginner technique ranked at half a star. Even in this world, it was probably among the lowest-grade manuals.

Su Xin had already considered Huang Bingcheng's concern. Though he had a great reputation in Happy Forest, he wasn't so full of himself that he thought he had some kingly aura that would make his men loyal to him unto death after the slightest hint of it.

He was certain that if he passed on the internal skill, once Third Master Hu and the others got wind of it, they'd use threats and bribes to make his men reveal it.

But Su Xin didn't care. He was teaching the skill solely to improve his own men's strength. Whether Third Master Hu and the others passed it on after getting their hands on it had nothing to do with him.

If Third Master Hu chose not to pass it on, Su Xin could develop his own forces without worry.

But if he feared Su Xin would grow too powerful to control and taught the skill to his own men, it probably wouldn't do much good. Third Master Hu's men didn't have any money.

Basic internal skill was only an aid to cultivation. In the Postnatal Realm, martial artists trained their bodies, even if they practiced internal skill.

Most martial artists ate more than ordinary people, to transform the vital essence in their food into blood and energy, strengthening their bodies.

Take the warrior monks of Shaolin Temple, for example. Outsiders thought they were vegetarians, but in truth, they were served meat and fish at every meal.

If you ate bran and vegetables every day, you could spend your whole life without opening a single acupoint.

Third Master Hu had over a thousand men. Aside from a few dozen trusted subordinates, the rest earned just enough to get by on their monthly pay.

It had always been the case that scholars needed little money, but martial artists needed plenty. With the pittance they earned, those men had almost no chance of practicing internal skill.

And Third Master Hu certainly didn't have the nerve to raise their pay. If he dared to pay his men as much as Su Xin did, he'd be eating bran and vegetables himself before long.

The rest of the Flying Eagle Gang was in much the same situation. Ordinary members barely scraped by, and even if they got their hands on internal skill, they wouldn't be able to do much with it.

"There's another problem. Internal skill alone isn't enough. What martial skill will they practice?" Li Huai suddenly asked.

Su Xin paused. He really had forgotten about that.

Even after opening a few acupoints, someone in the Postnatal Realm only gained a little extra strength.

Brute strength without a corresponding martial skill was only good for getting yourself killed in a fight.

"Li Huai, can you teach the brothers your swordplay?" Su Xin still remembered Li Huai's twin swords: sinister, vicious, incredibly fast, and unquestionably powerful.

Li Huai hesitated. "I can teach them, but I don't actually know any swordplay. I figured out everything I do through trial and error while fighting people."

Su Xin slowly tapped his index finger on the table. That was indeed how Li Huai's swordplay worked. You couldn't even call it swordplay; it was more like combat experience.

Li Huai's approach to attacking came down to three words: fast, accurate, ruthless.

He could teach the men some basic skills, but to imitate his fighting style, they'd need to survive dozens of bloody battles and kill dozens of people. Otherwise, they'd never learn it.

Su Xin's two martial skills weren't suitable either. Jing Wuming's Quick Sword was far too difficult for ordinary gang members to practice. Even without his five percent proficiency, Su Xin himself wouldn't have mastered it easily.

The Great Sumeru Sword Style was complex and exquisite. Even martial artists with below-average talent couldn't practice it, let alone ordinary gang members, some of whom couldn't even read.

At that thought, Su Xin suddenly remembered something. His consciousness immediately entered the System Space, where he found the Broken Dog-Beating Staff Technique he'd tossed into a corner the day before.

He opened the Broken Dog-Beating Staff Technique and read it carefully. A laugh nearly burst out of him.

He'd just been worrying that he had no martial skill suitable for ordinary gang members, but he'd actually drawn one the day before.

He hadn't looked closely at the Broken Dog-Beating Staff Technique when he drew it. Only now did he realize that, if you used it in the right place, no martial skill was entirely worthless.

This Broken Dog-Beating Staff Technique lacked the powerful moves of the orthodox Dog-Beating Staff Technique, such as "No Dog Beneath Heaven." It only had the basic applications of eight principles: trip, chop, coil, jab, lift, draw, seal, and turn.

Eight variations with a bamboo staff were enough to handle most situations. The Broken Dog-Beating Staff Technique also came with a group-fighting method.

Thirty-six people could form the Small Heavenly Cycle Dog-Beating Formation. The formation could also be divided into groups of eighteen or nine, and as few as three people could join forces to form it. Naturally, the more people there were, the greater its power.

When the Beggar Sect's beggars went out to beg in groups of two or three and ran into trouble, they could quickly form the formation to repel their enemies.

All of that was secondary. What mattered most was that the requirements for practicing the Broken Dog-Beating Staff Technique were extremely low. As long as you weren't disabled and had eyes, you could learn it. You didn't even need to be literate.

Aside from its cover, the Broken Dog-Beating Staff Technique had not a single word inside. It was filled with vivid illustrations that even a child could understand.

The manual had been made for ordinary members of the Beggar Sect. Its most basic requirement was simple: easy to understand.

The Beggar Sect naturally had more members than any other sect in the martial arts world. And its disciples were, naturally, the lowest in quality.

They were beggars. How good could their skills possibly be?

So the Broken Dog-Beating Staff Technique had been made as simple as possible, which suited Su Xin perfectly.

It was just right for his men, who had no foundation in martial arts at all.

With a flick of his mind, Su Xin returned from the system. Huang Bingcheng and Li Huai hadn't even noticed that he'd zoned out for a moment.

"Take a look at this martial skill. What do you think?" Su Xin pulled the Broken Dog-Beating Staff Technique from his robes and tossed it in front of them.

"Dog-Beating Staff Technique? What kind of lousy name is that?" Huang Bingcheng curled his lip, unimpressed. Just from the name, it sounded like nothing special.

Li Huai flipped through it for a while, then gave his verdict. "It's not powerful, but it's practical."

"Practical is good enough. If you were learning this Dog-Beating Staff Technique, how long would it take? And how long do you think it would take other people to get started?"

Su Xin had five percent proficiency built in, so one look was enough for him to get the basics. He just wanted to know how it would go for everyone else.

Li Huai thought for a moment. "There are only eight simple moves. I could get the basics in a day. For people with no martial arts foundation at all, probably two to five days."

Su Xin nodded. That wasn't too long.

"Old Huang, find someone to make two hundred four-foot staffs. Put a double-edged spearhead on one end. I need them by tomorrow morning."

Huang Bingcheng nodded. "Are you planning to use these as weapons, boss? But the illustration clearly shows a wooden staff."

"Wooden staffs are for beating dogs. If you want to beat people, you need something real."

This basic Dog-Beating Staff Technique from the Beggar Sect was made for ordinary gang members. Beggars didn't have money to buy weapons, so of course they'd just pick up a stick and use it as one.

Anyway, the skill was only meant to help them protect themselves. Su Xin didn't expect them to be very strong fighters.

But if a fight really broke out and the enemy split their lousy wooden staff in two with one slash, what was the point of fighting?

Replacing the wooden staffs with iron ones would let the technique show its true power.

Besides, Su Xin had cunningly added spearheads to the iron staffs. When a fight broke out, using the jab and lift moves would leave a gaping hole in someone's body.

"All right, then it's settled. Old Huang, have everyone gather at the hall tomorrow morning. I'll teach them the Dog-Beating Staff Technique. Li Huai, you'll teach them how to fight in actual combat." Su Xin tapped the table and made his decision.

Li Huai nodded and walked out. Huang Bingcheng, however, lingered, grinning awkwardly as he asked, "Boss, uh, could I skip the training? You can see I'm getting on in years. I won't make much of myself even if I practice."

Huang Bingcheng had a clear sense of his own role: he was an executor.

Su Xin gave the orders, and he made sure they were carried out to the letter. That was all he needed to do.

As for fighting on the front lines, he really wasn't cut out for it.

Back when he'd been in the Flying Eagle Gang, he'd taken part in dozens of fights of all sizes. Every time, he'd stayed in the back, terrified of getting hurt and seeing blood.

Su Xin knew exactly what Huang Bingcheng was like, so he didn't press him. He just patted him on the shoulder. "Old Huang, you don't have to learn how to fight with weapons, but you must learn internal skill. I'm not asking you to become strong. At the very least, it'll keep you healthy."

Huang Bingcheng knew that was probably Su Xin's bottom line, so he had no choice but to agree.

As long as no one made him wave a blade around and fight, that was fine. Huang Bingcheng prided himself on making a living with his brains.