The Eighteen Hands were just a simple set of eighteen moves.
But when Monk Tianming performed them, they seemed utterly different. There was something profound within them, a truth that words could not explain.
Every punch, every stance, struck Li Su with tremendous force.
It was a beauty he had never seen before, one he had never felt.
This was more than a set of punches. It was a principle, a way.
In an instant, Li Su couldn't help but sink into it completely. As he watched Monk Tianming move, he could feel a current of energy flowing through the man's body. His muscles, bones, and cells all seemed to leap and dance.
The Eighteen Hands seemed to go on for a long time, but in truth, they didn't.
Soon, Monk Tianming stopped and said, "This is the Arhat Fist. From now on, apart from your morning sutra recitation and assigned duties, you'll practice the Arhat Fist every afternoon to strengthen your bodies."
"Yes!"
The little monks of the Xuan generation were all thrilled. The lay disciples who had entered the temple with them had been practicing martial arts for nearly a year, while they had seen no progress at all. They could only watch as the others grew stronger, and they were practically climbing the walls with impatience.
Now it was finally their turn. How could they not be happy?
Just look at Xuanci, the future abbot. He jumped three feet into the air. If his legs had been any stronger, he might have kicked the roof off.
What a pity they didn't have cameras. Otherwise, Li Su could have taken a picture and shown it to him after he became abbot. That ought to have been enough to make him die of embarrassment.
Li Su blinked and looked at Monk Tianming with eager eyes.
The Arhat Fist! He couldn't wait.
But there was no way he could remember it all after watching only once.
Soon, the little monks were clamoring for Monk Tianming to teach them. He cheerfully demonstrated it again, much more slowly this time. He paused at each move to explain it.
Before long, the afternoon had passed.
After watching all the disciples, including Xuankong, perform the routine and confirming that they had the general movements right, he dismissed them.
Though Xuanci had spent the whole afternoon practicing and was drenched in sweat, he was still full of energy. He immediately dragged Li Su along as he ran back. "Xuankong, let's practice the fist!"
Li Su smiled. He was starting to like Xuanci. After all, he had held back quite a bit while practicing in front of the old monk.
He wasn't really a child, after all. With an adult's ability to understand, he had more or less memorized the routine after two demonstrations. Most of the little monks had only learned one or two moves. It would have been far too startling if he showed everything he knew, so he had chosen to hold back. He had merely imitated the forms without blending in his own understanding.
Back at the little courtyard where they had been assigned to sweep, Xuankong began practicing with a series of "hee-yahs" and "ha-yahs."
His movements were all over the place. Without the teacher, his form had gone completely off track, and he was developing his own style. Still, with all the shouting, he looked rather convincing.
Li Su smiled, picked up the broom, and began sweeping carefully.
Of course, he was eager too. He wanted to practice.
Even the Arhat Fist, an entry-level Shaolin technique, was no simple thing.
But he held back. The events of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils were still fifty years away. He had plenty of time to train at his own pace, and this was only his first time entering a world. There would be plenty of time in the future.
Jin Da's novels weren't like Huang Da's or Gu Da's.
In Jin Da's world, talent, effort, and temperament were all indispensable.
Even a genius like Zhang Wuji had spent five full years in a valley before mastering the Nine Yang Divine Skill, hadn't he?
The martial arts in this world, especially Shaolin's techniques, were not something one could rush.
Xiao Yuanshan and Murong Bo were cautionary examples.
Li Su had no intention of rushing into training and ending up dead from qi deviation.
Besides, he wasn't trying to become the greatest under heaven or conquer the world. In the whole story of Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, the only part that truly troubled him was how tragic Sect Leader Xiao's fate was. Not only was he ruined and disgraced, he even killed his beloved A Zhu with a single palm strike. In the end, he took his own life to uphold loyalty and righteousness. If the three protagonists hadn't been there, with all the satisfying moments going to Duan Yu and Xuzhu, Jin Da would have received an endless flood of hate mail.
In other words, once Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils began, he would go down the mountain and save A Zhu. That was probably the only thing Li Su wanted to do in this world.
So there was no need to doubt it.
For the next fifty years, he would stay at Shaolin Temple.
He wasn't interested in the Bodhidharma Institute or the Discipline Hall. Becoming an elder of the Xuan generation would be good enough.
After practicing for a while longer, Xuanci grew tired and stopped. "Xuankong, I'll go get some food and bring it to you."
Li Su nodded and held up three fingers.
"Three steamed buns, got it."
After Xuanci left, Li Su finished sweeping up the last fallen leaves at an unhurried pace. He put the tools away and stood in the courtyard.
He closed his eyes slightly and began recalling the first time Monk Tianming had demonstrated the Arhat Fist.
It was as if the scene were playing again. The entire routine echoed directly through his mind. What was more, Monk Tianming's explanations to the little monks afterward flowed seamlessly into the memory.
Li Su couldn't help opening his eyes.
Was this the bonus he got from analyzing a world?
He certainly didn't think his martial arts comprehension was unrivaled. It had to be the World Book's enhancement.
The only question was whether the bonus was seventy-five percent or one hundred and seventy-five percent.
If it was seventy-five percent, then clearly his talent wasn't anything exceptional. But if it was one hundred and seventy-five percent, then he was truly formidable—perhaps even more talented than Xiao Feng. In Jin Da's works, Xiao Feng and Zhang Wuji were undoubtedly the most gifted in martial arts.
Especially because his temperament and technique suited each other. In Xiao Feng's hands, the Dragon-Subduing Eighteen Palms made an impression no one could ever forget.
As he thought about it, Li Su began practicing the Arhat Fist as Monk Tianming had taught it.
But unlike Xuanci and the others, who practiced quickly, and unlike Monk Tianming, whose movements were fluid, he performed each move very, very slowly.
He didn't care about speed. He only wanted to capture the quality of Monk Tianming's movements.
The Arhat Fist was a fighting technique.
But Monk Tianming had also explained that it was more than that—it was a stance-training method that trained the body and strengthened the practitioner.
In other words, the stance training was more important than the fighting techniques.
One punch, one kick.
Li Su moved slowly. Each move took several seconds, sometimes even more than ten, but his form was basically correct.
Soon, he completed the entire routine.
He settled into the closing stance.
In an instant, a stream of heat surged up from the soles of his feet and shot straight to his head. It felt as if something in his body had been unlocked. His whole body burned with heat, yet he felt wonderfully refreshed.
He let out a long breath, unable to stop the smile spreading across his face.
The Nine Yang Divine Skill and the Northern Dark Divine Skill no longer seemed so important to Li Su.
Compared with those two divine skills, this was merely the simplest entry-level Shaolin fist. Yet the Arhat Fist had truly excited him.
So this was martial arts?
Was the thing coursing through his body what they called internal energy?
How interesting. So very interesting.
"Breathe in and out, circulate qi through the Six Meridians, guard the heart and dwell on the source, still the mind and let no confusion arise; it is both inner and outer, both spirit and form, both still and moving."
Li Su couldn't help recalling Monk Tianming's words. A burning light flashed in his eyes.
That must have been the sight of the Arhat Fist mastered. He wondered what it would actually look like!