Sparring

"You? Hurt me?" Xu Qing laughed so hard tears nearly came out.

He pointed at Xu Qing, then turned to Zhou Wen. "Senior Brother Zhou, did you hear that? This mud-legged peasant who's been here less than four days wants to spar with me! He even said he was afraid of hurting me?"

Zhou Wen laughed as well. Folding his arms, he leaned against the weapon rack with the look of someone watching a good show. "Junior Brother Xu, he's already riding on your head. If you don't accept, you won't be able to hold your head up in the courtyard from now on."

Xu Qing stopped laughing and narrowed his eyes at Xu Qing, a layer of viciousness surfacing on his face. "Fine. Since you're asking for a beating, I'll grant your wish. Don't say I didn't warn you! Fists and feet have no eyes. If you get hurt or crippled, don't blame anyone else!"

He turned to Chen Wang again, throwing out his disclaimer first. "Senior Brother Chen, he was the one who challenged me to a spar. My fists and feet aren't trained well enough yet—I can't control them perfectly. If I really hurt him, it has nothing to do with me."

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" Zhou Wen began egging them on, clapping as he shouted, "Come on, make room! Junior Brother Xu is going to teach the newcomer how to conduct himself!"

Chen Wang's brows were tightly furrowed. Xu Qing had initiated the spar himself, and there was nothing wrong with Xu Qing accepting. He could only let the two have their match.

Forget it. I'll keep a close eye on them and step in at the right time. Chen Wang had a good impression of Xu Qing and did not want to see him injured for no reason.

People loved a spectacle, after all. Seeing the cousins turn against each other and spar, the atmosphere in the training yard instantly came alive. The senior and junior brothers stopped practicing and gathered around.

Some squatted on the stone millstone, some leaned against the weapon racks, and some simply sat cross-legged on the ground, every pair of eyes gleaming.

Unlike the others watching for entertainment, Qin Liang stood in a corner with worry written all over his face.

He shared a room with Xu Qing, and he had eaten Xu Qing's mutton. After several days of interaction, they could be said to have formed a bit of friendship. In his heart, he was on Xu Qing's side.

"They're really going to fight? Xu Qing has only been here a few days. Can he do it?" someone asked quietly.

"Who knows? But Xu Qing has trained for two months already. His Stake Training entered the beginner stage long ago. Xu Qing is probably in for a rough time."

"Not necessarily. Xu Qing's Stake Training entered the beginner stage in a single day. Maybe he really has some skill."

"Senior Brother, you're wrong. It wasn't one day—he entered the beginner stage in just half an incense stick's time. Though who knows whether he secretly practiced the Three Talents Stake before this, then came to our martial hall to amaze everyone with a single brilliant feat..."

"Haha, Junior Brother, that's not very kind of you to say..."

The discussions rose and fell, and everyone's gaze gathered in the center of the training yard.

Xu Qing stood in the middle of the yard, looking at Xu Qing's face twisted by anger, yet his own heart was strangely calm.

He had not acted on a momentary impulse.

These past few days, he had been watching while he trained. He watched every senior and junior brother in the courtyard practice, watched their stances, watched their boxing forms, watched their habits when they struck.

He had watched Xu Qing in particular—this so-called cousin of his—with exceptional care.

Xu Qing's Stake Training was indeed somewhat stronger than his own, but only by a very limited margin.

As for his fighting style...

Xu Qing's Five Elements Fist could only be called standard, move by move. Rigid, stiff, and always sluggish in the transitions between one strike and the next.

A Splitting Fist was just a Splitting Fist, a Crushing Fist was just a Crushing Fist. After finishing one move, he withdrew his fist before throwing the next. The breaks between them were clean and absolute, without the slightest continuity.

With that kind of fighting style, forget minor accomplishment—he had not even touched its threshold.

His own Five Elements Fist, meanwhile, had crossed that threshold this morning—

[Five Elements Fist (Minor Accomplishment): 3/200]

[Three Talents Stake (Beginner): 12/100]

The progress bars for his boxing art and stake training in his mind gave him confidence.

Their Stake Training was not far apart, but in terms of fighting mastery, he had already gone ahead.

Chen Wang had told him that Stake Training was the body, while fighting forms were its application.

Stake Training developed one's foundation, the strength of one's lower body, and the extent to which one could mobilize the qi, blood, sinews, and bones throughout one's body.

Fighting forms trained application—how to strike out with that strength, how to transition and connect one fist to another, how to use every scrap of force on the blade's edge.

Stake Training determined how steadily one could stand; fighting forms determined how much strength one could bring to bear.

Chen Wang had also spoken of something deeper.

Stake Training corresponded to one's martial realm. The beginner stage relied on comprehension, but further progress depended on one's innate physique. Those with good natural bones had vigorous qi and blood and strong sinews and bones. They got twice the result with half the effort when practicing stances, and their progress naturally came faster.

But he had his golden finger. Unbound by the limits of natural bones, he encountered no sluggishness in stake training, and his progress remained swift.

Fighting forms, on the other hand, relied entirely on comprehension.

And his comprehension happened to be exceptional.

What was comprehension?

It was whether one could grasp the principles behind a fist art through the repeated practice of every move.

It was whether one could blend Splitting, Crushing, Drilling, Cannon, and Horizontal Fist into one whole, so they were no longer five isolated moves, but a complete system.

It was whether one could throw the most fitting punch with the most fitting force at the most fitting moment.

Chen Wang had also said:

Natural bones were the vessel; comprehension was the key.

No matter how large the vessel was, without a key to open it, the things inside could not be poured out. But with the right key, even a rough porcelain bowl could still hold water to drink.

His vessel was about the same size as Xu Qing's, but he had obtained the key!

Thus, he was eighty percent confident in this battle.

The remaining twenty percent depended on his performance in the moment.

Xu Qing and Xu Qing stood facing each other, three steps apart.

Chen Wang stood between them. Looking from one to the other, he sighed and said gravely, "A spar is fine, but stop at the proper point. Once one side admits defeat, the other must stop. Do you understand?"

Neither spoke. They merely stared at each other.

Chen Wang retreated several steps and waved his hand. "Begin!"

Xu Qing made the first move.

He had studied Five Elements Fist far longer than Xu Qing, so when he set his stance, it did look fairly convincing.

A Crushing Fist smashed toward Xu Qing's chest, the wind from the punch howling with a fair amount of force behind it.

Xu Qing shifted sideways, his feet remaining utterly still.

Xu Qing's punch missed, and his brows drew together. Immediately afterward, he threw a Cannon Fist, driving upward from below toward Xu Qing's jaw.

Xu Qing leaned back slightly. The wind from the fist brushed past his chin and stirred the air.

After missing two moves, Xu Qing was beginning to lose face.

He gritted his teeth, and his fist technique changed. Splitting Fist, Drilling Fist, Horizontal Fist—he unleashed them in rapid succession, each move faster and more vicious than the last, as though he wanted to swallow Xu Qing alive.

But Xu Qing was like a loach, slippery beyond grasp. Every time, he dodged away at the instant a fist was about to touch him, his footwork unruffled and his breathing steady.

The watching senior and junior brothers gradually realized something was wrong. Xu Qing was not dodging for the sake of dodging. He was observing—observing Xu Qing's patterns.

The Five Elements Fist taught at the martial hall had fixed forms, but everyone used them differently.

He wanted to understand Xu Qing's patterns and strike after his opponent had moved.

After throwing more than ten moves, Xu Qing grew more frantic with every strike, sweat appearing on his forehead.

Before the fight, he had boasted that one punch would keep Xu Qing out of bed for three days. Yet after more than a dozen punches, he had not even touched the corner of Xu Qing's clothes.

"Do you only know how to dodge?!" Xu Qing snapped, his punches growing heavier and heavier while the rhythm under his feet fell into disorder.

Xu Qing suddenly stopped dodging.

A sharp glint flashed through his eyes. He had figured out Xu Qing's patterns.

Xu Qing threw a Crushing Fist. Rather than retreat, Xu Qing advanced. He twisted aside to evade the blow, then immediately unleashed a Cannon Fist with a thunderous burst.

His fist was like a cannonball, driving upward from below and straight into Xu Qing's chest.

Xu Qing hurriedly raised his arms to block, but the punch jolted them numb and threw his defenses wide open.

Xu Qing's offensive flowed without end. Splitting Fist, Drilling Fist, Horizontal Fist—one move followed another, like floodwaters bursting through a dike, each wave higher than the last.

His boxing was completely different from Xu Qing's.

When Xu Qing fought, every move was separate. Though standard, they were rigid and stiff.

When Xu Qing fought, his moves blended seamlessly together. Before the lingering force of one punch had faded, the next had already followed—flowing clouds and running water, completed in one unbroken breath.

Chen Wang's eyes widened more and more.

He could tell that Xu Qing's Five Elements Fist had already reached minor accomplishment!

And Xu Qing's Five Elements Fist had not even touched the threshold of minor accomplishment!

Bang!

Xu Qing's Crushing Fist struck Xu Qing squarely in the chest!