Practicing Martial Arts and Taking a Master

Training in Martial Arts and Taking a Master. "Little brother, I... I..."

His elder sister, Lin Wan, was looking at Lin Tian now as well, tears still in her eyes as she spoke.

The moment he heard her voice, Lin Tian knew at once what his sister wanted to say.

Though this sister of his lived in this place of poverty and hardship, her nature was kind and honest.

Most likely, in her eyes right now, all the misfortune their family was suffering had been caused by her.

Ever since that day when that local thug had come to propose marriage, no smile had appeared again on the face of his sister, who had always loved to laugh.

"Ah Tian, why don't I... I should just... just let them take me... I..."

"Enough, Sister! This isn't your fault, and you shouldn't have that kind of thought."

When Lin Tian heard Lin Wan's words, he immediately cut her off.

"Sister, don't worry. I've already obtained the qualification to practice martial arts."

"It won't be long before I can settle this matter. Besides, we're family."

"There's no way I would sacrifice you in exchange for our safety."

Looking at the firm, serious look in Lin Tian's eyes, Lin Wan's slightly trembling body gradually quieted down.

The night deepened.

There were not many lamps in the outer city, so once the sky turned dark, most people immediately went to sleep.

The next day.

Before dawn had brightened.

Today was Lin Tian's first day beginning martial arts.

So he got up early and walked out of the boat.

In this outer city, wanting to practice martial arts was not especially difficult.

A martial academy.

Although it could not compare with the martial halls of the inner city, it was still the only chance he currently had to come into contact with the martial path.

On the road, Lin Tian looked around nervously.

After all, the silver he carried now concerned all the hope he had at present.

If he happened to run into people from the Shark Gang, this money would probably be impossible to keep.

And there was quite some distance between his home and the martial academy.

Fortunately, by the time Lin Tian arrived at the martial academy, he had not run into even half a person from the Shark Gang.

Lin Tian raised his head and looked at the martial academy before him.

It was a two-courtyard compound.

The courtyard could be said to be very large.

At least, to Lin Tian, it was large.

On a plaque before the gate were written four large characters: Zhao Family Martial Academy.

Lin Tian took a deep breath.

Then he stepped through the entrance of the martial academy before him.

Lin Tian had come very early.

So no disciples had yet arrived in the courtyard to practice martial arts.

But the first thing Lin Tian saw when he entered the martial academy was a burly middle-aged man sitting on a chair.

The burly man wore a set of clothes washed somewhat pale, and his build was tall and broad.

The muscles on his exposed arms were knotted like coiled roots.

Especially since the other party was merely lying there with his eyes closed, yet Lin Tian could feel that before him was something like a huge, red-hot lump of iron.

There was no heat, yet that was how it felt.

Presumably, this was the owner of the martial academy, Zhao Cang.

"What have you come for?"

Zhao Cang, seated in the chair, opened his eyes then and looked at Lin Tian.

Lin Tian immediately bowed and saluted respectfully. "To take a master and train in martial arts."

After hearing Lin Tian's words, Zhao Cang, in the chair, sat up at that moment.

"Come on up."

"Before training in martial arts, the bones must be felt first. If your bones haven't yet grown set, then you can train."

Hearing this, Lin Tian immediately walked forward.

Zhao Cang wasted no words and immediately stretched out two large hands like iron pincers.

Then he pinched Lin Tian's arms, thighs, and the joints all over his body.

Of course, this "pinching" was only what it was to Zhao Cang.

That kind of strength, to Lin Tian, whose frame was already thin and weak, hurt so much he nearly cried out.

But in the end, Lin Tian still forcibly endured that pain and did not make a sound.

Only after a short while had passed

did Zhao Cang let go of Lin Tian and say, "Not bad. You can still train in martial arts."

Before Lin Tian could be happy, the other party added again, "But I must make the rules clear to you beforehand. If you want to enter the courtyard to cultivate, you must pay tuition every month."

Hearing this, Lin Tian immediately took out the money pouch Lin Ci had given him and respectfully offered it up.

After Zhao Cang accepted the money pouch, he opened it and looked inside twice.

Then he said, "This money is enough for you to train for three months. After three months, if you cannot continue paying, you may no longer train in my courtyard. Are you willing?"

"I am! This disciple greets Master!"

Lin Tian did not hesitate at all and immediately saluted, formally acknowledging him as his master.

Zhao Cang nodded and accepted the money pouch.

But at this moment, he did not leave and begin teaching martial arts right away.

Instead, he said again, "Since you will be entering and leaving the martial courtyard, I must make the rules of this courtyard clear to you."

"First, since you have entered under my door, you must follow my rules in handling matters. You may not disobey orders. Those who disobey will be expelled from the master's school."

"Second, the path of martial training is absolutely no easy thing. You must be able to endure hardship and toil. You need to guard against arrogance and impatience, and persevere without fail. Can you do that?"

Hearing this, Lin Tian did not speak, only nodded seriously.

Seeing the determination in Lin Tian's eyes, Zhao Cang also nodded.

"Then come with me."

Zhao Cang rose and walked toward an open space behind the chair.

And Lin Tian also followed closely behind him.

The two arrived at the open ground.

Zhao Cang said again, "So-called martial training can, in general, be divided into two processes: tempering qi and blood, and knocking at the pass to break through the mirror."

"The former is accumulation. Once you accumulate to a certain degree, you can knock at the pass and enter the next realm."

"The method I cultivate is called the Mountain-Shaking Fist."

"It is also the cultivation method I am going to teach you."

"The Mountain-Shaking Fist overturns qi and blood, opens the sinews and bones, runs through the Nine Apertures; qi swims through the tendons and meridians, sinews and bones cry out together, and when the fist comes out, there are nine echoes, the sound like thunder."

As he spoke, Zhao Cang began to demonstrate a set of movements.

As his fists swung, they seemed to swim through lake water, as if they could stir up ripples in waves.

Even the dust on the ground floated and drifted along with them.

And the fists gave Lin Tian an impression of being as heavy as a thousand jun!

Boom, boom, boom!!!

A fist swung out, the forceful wind howled, and three sounds of air being torn apart exploded forth.

He had clearly thrown only one punch, yet three sounds rang out in succession.

"This is the Mountain-Shaking Fist I cultivate. At its highest level, this Mountain-Shaking Fist can produce nine echoes at once."

"What I'm demonstrating now is the Mountain-Shaking Fist at the minor accomplishment level, with three cracks in total."

"And once you've cultivated it to three cracks, you can make your first attempt to knock at the gate of Ming Jin."

"Is there anything you want to ask?"

After Zhao Cang finished explaining, he asked Lin Tian.

Hearing this, Lin Tian did not stand on ceremony and asked directly, "Master, does knocking at the gate require cultivating the Mountain-Shaking Fist to minor accomplishment?"

This question of Lin Tian's was not something he had come up with on the spur of the moment.

After all, although he had not been a martial artist before, he still understood some common knowledge about martial arts.

For example, if the body wanted to break through to a higher realm, what it needed was only qi and blood.

But now Zhao Cang was saying he also had to cultivate the Mountain-Shaking Fist to minor accomplishment.

To Lin Tian, this seemed somewhat contradictory.

After all, in his view, the Mountain-Shaking Fist was merely a skill, not qi itself.

That was why he asked.

Hearing this, Zhao Cang immediately nodded and answered, "Your mind turns pretty quickly. But what's needed to cultivate and knock at the gate is indeed only qi and blood."

"So external skills like the Mountain-Shaking Fist merely help us accumulate and temper our qi and blood."

"Therefore, as long as your qi and blood accumulation is sufficient, you can actually knock at the gate even without reaching minor accomplishment in the Mountain-Shaking Fist."

"But on the path of martial arts, you cannot always see your own growth."

"Thus, you cannot judge whether you already meet the conditions for knocking at the gate based on your own feelings."

"So you need a cultivation method to serve as a measuring standard."

"And the minor accomplishment level of the Mountain-Shaking Fist is the tool you use to measure it."