Teaching

A few more days passed.

In the backyard of the Xingyi Martial Arts Hall, the morning mist had yet to dissipate.

Chen Jianghe stood beneath the locust tree, having held his stance for two hours.

Su Derong leaned against the veranda, fanning himself as he watched, filled with emotion.

It had taken him three years to progress from Bright Strength to Dark Strength, yet this junior apprentice brother had achieved it in little over a year.

"Truly, comparing people only brings frustration," Su Derong muttered under his breath, his fan moving a little faster.

The courtyard gate creaked open, and Li Chengyue stumbled inside.

His dark blue long robe was in tatters, the left sleeve nearly torn away, and his hem was stained with mud and blood.

His hair was disheveled, his face covered in stubble, and a gash an inch long on his right shoulder revealed raw flesh. His entire body exuded exhaustion and the scent of blood.

"Master!" Chen Jianghe stepped forward quickly, reaching out to support him.

Li Chengyue waved him off, signaling it was unnecessary. He walked to the locust tree and collapsed onto a stone stool.

"I'm exhausted..." he grumbled, fumbling in his robes for a long moment before pulling out an object wrapped haphazardly in a rag and tossing it toward Chen Jianghe.

"Catch."

Chen Jianghe caught it; the bundle was heavy and reeked of blood.

Li Chengyue took a swig of wine and wiped his mouth. "Open it."

Chen Jianghe unwrapped it—inside was a beast's leg.

The fur was a mix of dark red and pitch-black stripes, the muscles knotted and the bones thick.

The severed end shimmered with a faint golden luster, and the four claws were as sharp as short daggers.

"A Red-Striped Leopard," Su Derong gasped. "An adult leopard king! Master, did you go deep into Black Wind Ridge?"

Li Chengyue grunted. "A gift for my disciple. I tracked it for ten days before I finally cornered it. We had a fight; I sold the rest of the carcass, but I kept this hind leg for you to nourish your blood and qi."

Chen Jianghe gripped the leopard leg, his heart trembling.

The Red-Striped Leopard was a strange beast of Black Wind Ridge, and an adult leopard king possessed strength comparable to Transforming Strength. His master had spent the last half-month traveling through dust and wind, all to hunt this beast specifically for him.

"Thank you, Master."

Li Chengyue waved his hand. "Don't bother with that. This leg is enough for ten pots of meat soup. Paired with Bone Tempering Soup, it will solidify your foundation in Dark Strength."

He looked at Chen Jianghe. "Now that you've achieved the basics of Dark Strength, how does it feel?"

Chen Jianghe pondered. "The power is contained within, and I can release it at will. But I always feel like there is a membrane separating me from the next level, one I cannot pierce."

"That's normal," Li Chengyue nodded. "The gap between Dark Strength and Transforming Strength is a chasm. Many are stuck at this stage, with no hope for the rest of their lives."

He stood up and stretched his limbs, his joints popping. "Today, I will tell you the difference between Dark Strength and Transforming Strength."

He walked to the open space in the courtyard and beckoned to Chen Jianghe. "Use the Five Elements Fist. Attack me with everything you have."

Chen Jianghe's heart tightened.

"What are you hesitating for?" Li Chengyue frowned. "Afraid of hurting me? You're still far from that."

Chen Jianghe hesitated no longer.

He stepped forward, his right fist descending like an axe!

Five Elements Fist—the Splitting Fist belongs to the metal element, sharp and capable of breaking through anything.

He held nothing back; his fist tore through the air, the Dark Strength condensed into a single point. If it struck a person, it would surely shatter their heart and sever their meridians.

Su Derong's eyelids twitched as he watched.

Li Chengyue, however, smiled.

The moment the fist arrived, he raised his left hand, fingers slightly spread, and met the blow with a light, airy motion.

Fist and palm connected.

There was no thunderous sound, no explosion of qi.

Chen Jianghe only felt his fist strike something like cotton, his condensed Dark Strength vanishing like a stone into the sea.

A supple, resilient force surged back up his arm, leaving his muscles numb and his blood and qi stagnant.

He let out a muffled groan and retreated three steps, barely managing to steady himself. The knuckles of his right hand were bright red and trembling slightly.

"Did you feel it?" Li Chengyue withdrew his hand behind his back. "Dark Strength is about 'harming.' The power is contained within, penetrating the body to destroy meridians, specifically targeting vital organs."

He paused, his tone becoming solemn. "But Transforming Strength is about 'controlling.'"

"What does it mean to 'control'?"

Li Chengyue extended his right hand, fingers curled, palm facing upward. "Dark Strength is like an iron nail, piercing into the body. Transforming Strength—"

He rotated his palm.

Several fallen leaves in the courtyard were suddenly drawn by an invisible force, gathering in his palm and spinning into a ball, rotating faster and faster without scattering.

His palm vibrated slightly.

The leaf ball exploded, and thousands of withered leaves shot out like arrows, embedding themselves half an inch deep into the earthen wall three zhang away with a series of "pfft" sounds, forming a perfect circle.

"--Like flowing water, penetrating every crevice, shattering every obstacle. It can be hard or soft, gathered or dispersed."

Li Chengyue looked at Chen Jianghe: "Your punch just now, with its Dark Strength concentrated at a single point, was certainly fierce. But in my eyes, it was full of openings."

He tapped lightly on his arm, shoulder blade, and waist: "Once your force is released, it is like an arrow leaving the string—incapable of change. I only need to intercept the root of your power with Transforming Strength the moment before it fully erupts, or deflect it, and you will collapse without a fight."

Chen Jianghe felt a shiver of awe.

"Please, Master, enlighten me."

Li Chengyue pressed his hand onto his Jianjing Acupoint: "Relax, and feel it carefully."

A warm, vast force penetrated his body, wandering through his meridians.

Wherever it passed, his blood and qi flowed as smoothly as before, growing faintly stronger.

"The wonder of Transforming Strength lies first in 'listening to the force'," Li Chengyue said, withdrawing his hand. "It is not done with the ears, but by 'listening' with your skin, pores, and every bone and muscle in your body. The flow of an opponent's blood, the accumulation and release of their force, the shifting of their center of gravity... all become as clear as lines on your palm."

He pointed to his own eyes: "When martial artists clash, seven parts lie in 'seeing,' and three parts in 'striking'."

Chen Jianghe seemed to grasp something.

Li Chengyue looked at him and suddenly sighed: "Jianghe, your talent... is not bad."

Chen Jianghe understood the weight behind those words.

"But no matter how good your talent is, it is not enough in this world." Li Chengyue's tone shifted, becoming sharp: "In these chaotic times, with gangs slaughtering each other, warlords vying for supremacy, and cults running rampant... even a master of Transforming Strength can fall in a single day."

He pulled open his collar, revealing a scar on his shoulder: "This wound was left by the Red-Striped Leopard King. The beast lashed out as it died, trying to claw out my heart. If I had been half a second slower, I wouldn't have returned today."

Chen Jianghe's heart jolted.

"Remember," Li Chengyue stared at him, enunciating every word, "in these chaotic times, only your own strength is real. Wealth, power, favors, promises... all can vanish overnight. Only these fists and this martial art are things you can truly rely on."

His voice dropped, each word striking like a hammer: "If you truly want to stand firm in this world and protect those you wish to protect, you must train with your life, train until you are half-dead."

Chen Jianghe took a deep breath: "This disciple understands."

"Understanding is useless; you must do it."

Li Chengyue turned and pulled an object from his robes.

It was a palm-sized black iron plaque, engraved with the ancient seal script for "Xingyi" on the front and a rustic landscape pattern on the back.

"This is the token of the Xingyi Sect," Li Chengyue said slowly. "My lineage of Xingyi Fist has a long and storied history. This martial arts hall in Yilin County is merely a branch of a branch, with incomplete inheritances and limited resources. The true 'Xingyi Sect' is in the prefecture capital."

He paused, his voice tinged with a hint of nostalgia: "The sect has a rule: if a direct disciple of any local martial arts hall breaks through to Transforming Strength before the age of twenty, they may take this plaque to the main sect, be initiated into the inner sect, and receive the true teachings."

Chen Jianghe's pupils contracted.

Li Chengyue continued: "I was fortunate enough to reach Transforming Strength before twenty, which allowed me to enter the sect and learn the subsequent 'Twelve Forms Fist.' But unfortunately, later... never mind, let us not speak of the past."

Chen Jianghe said in a deep voice: "This disciple will certainly give his all."