Training Methods and Fighting Methods (Seeking Follow-Up Reads)

At noon, Four Seas Martial Arts Hall.

After finishing work, Li Xiuwen went to the teahouse and ordered a bowl of cart noodles and a plain boiled egg, totaling fifty cents.

"Brother Li, you only came at noon today." Old Chen walked over carrying his meal.

"Had to work."

"Newcomer, how did you do with the bone identification and acupoint-finding knowledge Master taught you yesterday?" A Zhen asked with a smile.

"Not bad. I remembered about half of it," Li Xiuwen said.

"You're a prodigy! You remembered it that quickly?" A Zhen was startled.

Back then, it had taken her three days to digest most of that knowledge, and she had already been considered fairly quick.

"I don't know. It didn't feel that difficult," Li Xiuwen said.

"Awen, I wish you'd give me half your memory..." Silly Qiang said enviously.

When the other students heard that Li Xiuwen had remembered most of the first theory lesson in a single day, they all revealed looks of astonishment.

"You shouldn't be learning martial arts. Go study literature instead—go learn law. Maybe you'll become a great lawyer and earn an apartment from one big case," A Zhen said.

"Law? Even dogs wouldn't study it." Li Xiuwen laughed. He had worked in law in his previous life.

With martial arts, as long as he had the [Incense Burner], his efforts would surely bear fruit.

Law? That was not necessarily so.

Becoming a great lawyer depended on one's background.

He would not abandon what was near for what was far and study a bunch of random nonsense. Focusing on martial arts was the right answer.

"Comparisons really can make people furious..."

Seeing everyone's expressions, Li Xiuwen wondered if he had been showing off a little too much.

In truth, he had mastered all the material from yesterday's lesson, not merely half.

Even so, everyone already seemed shocked.

The stronghold was a mixed bag of fish and dragons. In these troubled times, it was better to be cautious, lest someone harbor jealousy and resentment.

"Your brain works pretty well. Stop boxing and go study," Huang Sihai said expressionlessly after learning that Li Xiuwen had mastered the theoretical knowledge in a day.

"No wonder I feel such a kinship with Brother Li. We are both stars of literature descended to the mortal world," Old Chen said shamelessly.

"Master, can I learn boxing now?" Li Xiuwen rubbed his hands together eagerly.

"Today, I'll teach you the real thing." Huang Sihai said, "But before that, there are several rules you must remember!"

Huang Sihai sat in his grandmaster's chair, blew on his tea, and took a small sip.

"First, you must strictly guard the secrets of the school. Without permission, you may not pass on our martial arts to outsiders.

"Nor may you reveal the cultivation privacy, martial techniques, or cultivation realms of disciples from our style.

"Second, do not touch opium. I have seen too many martial artists ruined by it.

"Don't think your willpower is so strong. Once you touch it, your life is finished.

"Third, never bully others by relying on your strength or violate the law with martial force, bringing unnecessary trouble to the martial arts hall.

"Should I discover such behavior, I will expel you from the school."

Li Xiuwen asked, "Master, what if someone else bullies me?"

Huang Sihai glanced at Li Xiuwen and said flatly, "If they're far weaker than me, hit them back. If they're stronger than me, then endure it."

That was very idealistic. Li Xiuwen said nothing more.

Huang Sihai said, "Times are different now. Before bullets, all living beings are equal."

"Master sees things clearly," Li Xiuwen said.

Old Huang was so cautious. It showed that in this era, because of firearms, martial artists did not hold particularly high status until they reached a certain level.

Unlike the old days, when having a little real skill was enough to claim a mountain and become king.

Huang Sihai went on at length, and Li Xiuwen committed every word to memory.

When one was weak, everything was a rule.

On the training ground, Li Xiuwen stood straight and tall.

Huang Sihai stood with his hands behind his back. "Do you know what style your master's kung fu belongs to?"

"Sea Sand Style."

"Our Sea Sand Style may not be as famous as White Crane Style, Black Tiger Style, Iron Wire Style, Buddha Salute Style, and the like..."

"Fame isn't important." Li Xiuwen smiled. "As long as it can fight."

"It can definitely fight. The styles in the stronghold are divided into three levels: wild boxing, orthodox schools, and renowned families. Though our Sea Sand Style cannot compare to the renowned families, it is still orthodox."

"Then why isn't it well-known?" Li Xiuwen asked.

"Because I keep a low profile. I only want to make a little money and have no grand ambitions." Huang Sihai said seriously, "A tree that rises above the forest will surely be destroyed by the wind. Remember those words... Over the years, the renowned family styles in the stronghold have taken turns in the sun. Some have even been wiped out, their lineages extinguished. Yet our Sea Sand Style has weathered wind and rain, passing on peacefully to this day."

"Understood!" Li Xiuwen laughed. Master Huang was a fellow practitioner of the art of lying low.

"Every style is divided into training methods and fighting methods. The stance skill I will teach you today is a training method." Huang Sihai assumed a stance and exhaled. "Sea-Sand Stance!"

"Sea-Sand Stance?" Li Xiuwen perked up. Though he had never learned it, he knew that stance work was the foundation of all martial arts, the foundation of a great building.

Huang Sihai said, "Unless someone is exceptionally gifted, most people do not have the physical qualities to practice fighting methods right from the start.

"Real fighting methods are not the flowery fists and embroidered kicks you imagine.

"Without a foundation, if your body cannot keep up, the moment you throw a punch, you will shake your own bones into fractures first.

"If your body's flexibility is too poor, there are many fighting moves you won't be able to perform even after practicing them ten thousand times.

"That is why stance work combs your body from a tangled mess of threads into a sheet of white cloth. Only then can you copy the cat while drawing the tiger and learn profound martial arts."

Li Xiuwen nodded. That made sense.

What he wanted to learn was true transcendent art, not the Tai Chi taught in schools in his previous life.

First use training methods to temper the foundation, then use fighting methods to advance further. That was much more reasonable.

Huang Sihai said solemnly, "The Sea-Sand Stance has four levels.

"They correspond to the four great realms: beginner, minor accomplishment, major accomplishment, and perfection.

"They are: Tidal Stance, Flying Fish Stance, Coiling Dragon Stance, and Sea-Covering Stance!

"These four levels are the foundation of our Sea Sand lineage.

"Every fighting method relies on the foundation of these four levels!"

That day,

Li Xiuwen began his formal cultivation under Huang Sihai.

Stance work depended first on the movements, and second on the breathing.

Only after he began following the prescribed movements and breathing rhythm did he realize how painful boxing practice was.

The acupoint locations he had studied in theory class felt as though countless silver needles were piercing them, leaving him in agony.

A crowd of students gathered nearby to watch the show.

A Zhen smiled. "Another poor fool stepping onto the sea of suffering."

Old Chen stroked his beard. "As the saying goes, only by enduring the bitterest of hardships can one rise above all others. Brother Li is no ordinary man. If he can endure for half a year, he will surely achieve something in the future."

Old Chen had been mocked and ridiculed for most of his life. Li Xiuwen was the first person to look him in the eye, and he felt a deep kinship with Li Xiuwen.

"Can Liu Da endure hardship any less than him? It's been a month, and he still hasn't even entered the gate." A slender youth in white robes laughed. It was Liu Chun.

"If only I had Awen's memory and Senior Brother A Chun's natural talent." Silly Qiang sat there with his large hand propping up his chin.

Liu Chun had entered the Sea-Sand Stance in three days and reached minor accomplishment in one month, far ahead of the other disciples in the martial arts hall. It had become a much-told tale.

Thus, despite being the youngest, many already addressed him as Senior Brother. He possessed considerable prestige within the martial arts hall.

In martial cultivation, the accomplished were honored. Among fellow disciples, seniority was determined by cultivation.

"Head beneath the blue heavens, feet upon white sand, both elbows supporting the sea..."

Li Xiuwen recited the mnemonic, assumed a strange stance, and remained utterly still.

Holding a folding fan, Huang Sihai tapped the acupoints around Li Xiuwen's body and asked, "Does it hurt?"

"Hiss... It hurts, Master!" Li Xiuwen could not help crying out.

"Then that's right. If it doesn't hurt, it means you haven't trained it properly. It seems your internal bone structure is passable. Train well."