Practicing Fists

In the courtyard annex, the areas for practicing fists and holding stances were separate.

The fist-practice area was more spacious, furnished with every kind of equipment, from wooden dummies to punching targets. Several sturdy sailors were currently sparring with their fists.

Seeing Master Qin arrive with people in tow, the Sun Family sailors immediately stopped their sparring and gathered around.

They stood to one side without making a sound, merely watching quietly. No one knew what they were waiting for.

Master Qin paid them no mind and simply said to Wei Luo and the others.

"From today onward, you may eat meat just like the other sailors. This is the Sun Family's reward for those who perform well."

At those words, Wei Luo and the others' eyes lit up.

Over the past month, in order to nourish their bodies, they had nearly emptied their families' purses just to barely hold on.

Those whose families had no money even had to borrow some to eat better.

This news was like charcoal delivered in snowy weather, enough to make them grateful to the Sun Family.

Wei Luo glanced at the excited expressions on the faces of those beside him and inwardly marveled at how skilled the Sun Family was at winning people's hearts.

In truth, he had just gotten three taels of silver from Feng Hao, so he did not have to worry about food and drink for the time being.

Master Qin paused, whetting everyone's appetite further.

"These meat dishes are nothing. Whoever is the first to get started in the fist art will also receive ten bowls of Bone-Strengthening Soup from the Sun Family every month."

"Bone-Strengthening Soup is the real prize. A single bowl is worth half a tael of silver! Supplementing your fist practice with medicinal soup will let you achieve twice the result with half the effort."

On the path of martial arts, thirty percent lay in training and seventy percent in eating. All manner of tonics were indispensable. After practicing martial arts for a month, they had long carved this principle into their hearts.

Now, there was no need to spout any nonsense about practicing diligently. Before they had even begun training, everyone was already brimming with fighting spirit. Even Wei Luo felt stirred.

After sweeping his gaze over their expressions, Master Qin finally began teaching the Folding Waves Fist.

The moment Master Qin assumed a fist stance, the muscles across his body immediately swelled.

The Folding Waves Fist appeared plain and unadorned, yet with a casual punch, Master Qin shattered a wooden post as thick as a bowl's mouth.

As the sound of his fists reverberated, every move and stance carried tremendous force.

After finishing a full set of Folding Waves Fist, flowing through more than ten stances like water, Master Qin withdrew his fists and stood still.

"Practice this fist art as you see fit. We'll talk again once you've gotten started."

With that, Master Qin turned and strode away.

"Master Qin only taught it once?"

"I only remembered the general outline. How are we supposed to master a fist art like this?"

Before long, a man named Luo Sanhu frowned and spoke. The others chimed in as well; they had only remembered the general flow of the routine.

One had to know that every move and stance in a fist art contained its own secrets. Without someone to point the way, progress would inevitably be slow.

At that moment, Shen Wu made another guess.

"Could it be that Master Qin had something urgent to attend to today, so he was in a hurry? How about we go ask Master Qin for guidance later?"

The instant those words left his mouth, a burst of laughter rose from the Sun Family sailors around them.

"You really are naive. Do you take this place for some school where you pay money to learn martial arts? Just because you want to learn, you think someone will teach you?"

The speaker was a tall, thin man, his tone dripping with disdain.

Shen Wu was somewhat puzzled and asked again, "What do you mean by that?"

"There's no harm in telling you. Though Master Qin teaches fists here, he isn't a member of the Sun Family.

His relationship with the Sun Family is merely one of cooperation. Whether he teaches depends entirely on his mood. If he's in a good mood, he might offer a few pointers. If he's in a bad mood, even if you kneel and beg, he won't spare you a glance."

"Doesn't the Sun Family do anything about it?"

The tall, thin man snorted again and said to him.

"Did practicing fists damage your brain? How can you look down on a Martial Master so much?

"The first stage of martial arts has three Qi-Blood Thresholds. Every time one is crossed, one's strength doubles.

"Just crossing the first threshold lets one's strength exceed five hundred jin. Master Qin is a Martial Master who has crossed the third Qi-Blood Threshold; with a casual strike, he can smash greenstone to pieces.

"In all of Pingjiang Town, there are probably fewer than twenty Martial Masters of Three Refinements.

"So even the Sun Family stands on equal footing with Master Qin."

Hearing this, Wei Luo and the others all froze for a moment, gaining a new understanding of Master Qin.

Wei Luo also felt some emotion. A single person could stand on equal footing with the entire Sun Family and do as he pleased—this was a true martial artist.

No wonder those Sun Family sailors had hurried over to watch when they saw Master Qin bringing people here.

Presumably, they had faced the same circumstances when learning fists.

After understanding all this, everyone gave up the thought of seeking instruction another day. While their memories were still clear, they hurriedly began practicing.

For several days in a row, Master Qin did not even show his face. They could only practice while feeling their way forward, occasionally gathering to exchange insights on the fist art.

Puff! Puff!

On the training ground, Wei Luo's qi and blood surged as he threw punch after punch, his sleeves snapping softly through the air.

After completing more than ten stances, a fine layer of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

After several days, his Folding Waves Fist had finally begun to take shape.

[Folding Waves Fist Progress Deduction]

[Time required: One breath]

[Current progress: 9.6%]

"If the progress reaches one hundred, that will be when the fist art is complete."

Having deduced the progress of his fist art, a trace of joy rose in Wei Luo's heart.

The Great Thousand Revelation had many wondrous uses. This was another application he had figured out over the past few days.

If he directly deduced the Folding Waves Fist, it would take a full half year.

But if he merely had it display his progress based on his own condition, the deduction could be completed instantly.

With progress to refer to, practicing fists became entirely different.

While the others were still groping their way through the fist art, Wei Luo could already check his progress to confirm whether he was on the right path.

"Brother Wei, could you teach us the fist art? We can't just keep holding stances every day."

After exhausting most of his stamina, Wei Luo went to one side to contemplate the fist art.

At that moment, three or five people came over. They were all among those who had failed the previous assessment.

They had entered the Sun Family mainly to learn martial arts and earn money.

Although Master Qin had said there would be an assessment every five days from now on, seeing Wei Luo and the others learn fists had long left them unable to hold back.

After all, they only had one month left. If they still had not gotten started in the fist art by then, they would be turned into servants of the Sun Family.

Wei Luo glanced at them and said calmly.

"Once you pass the assessment, Master Qin will naturally teach you the fist art."

In fact, quite a few people had privately approached him to learn fists over the past few days. Even Liu Changle had wanted him to teach him, but Wei Luo had refused every one of them.

Master Qin had set a threshold for the assessment, and Wei Luo naturally understood the reason—learning fists required a certain foundation.

If he taught them fist techniques before their foundations were stable, he would only harm them in the end.

At that moment, a delicate-looking girl pleaded.

"Brother Wei, Master Qin doesn't care about these things anyway. We're all poor fishing folk, so please teach us. We'll remember your kindness."

The girl put on a pitiful expression, trying to move Wei Luo. The others also spoke up in agreement, saying they would remember this favor.

Wei Luo remembered that the girl was called Li Yue, and her reputation seemed far from good.

Seeing them try to put a high hat on him and play the moral blackmail game, Wei Luo immediately frowned and said coldly.

"No matter how much you say, it's useless. I won't teach you."

Having been rejected so directly by Wei Luo, their expressions instantly turned ugly.

Li Yue was even more stunned. There were not many girls in the courtyard to begin with, and she was rather pretty. Usually, plenty of people fawned over her. This was the first time someone had refused her request for help.

"If you won't teach, then forget it. What kind of attitude is that?"

"Exactly. It's not like you're the only one who learned the fist art. Come on, let's find someone else."

"I heard Shen Wu has learned the fist art the best. Those close to him have all learned a few moves. Let's go find Shen Wu."

Wei Luo heard their quiet grumbling but said nothing. Getting angry with fools was not worth it.

As soon as they left, someone beside him spoke.

"Wei Luo, since they came knocking, why not take the chance to get some benefits? It won't be long before they pass the assessment anyway. Once that happens, you won't have this opportunity anymore."

The speaker was one of the five who had passed the assessment. Because his head was large, everyone usually called him Bighead.

Bighead had been privately taking money to teach others fists these past two days and seemed to have earned quite a bit.

While the two spoke, those people had already found Shen Wu.

Seeing this, Bighead laughed. "See? If you don't earn this money, someone else will."