Uncle, Teach Me

The bone kneading was complete.

Under the expectant gazes of the youths, Zhao Yang said gravely, "For the coming while, I'll be the one teaching you."

"The Six-Part Body-Strengthening Art you learned before was very good. It laid a solid foundation."

"But it isn't enough."

Midway through, Zhao Yang paused and raised his voice. "I have several martial arts here that I can pass on to you: the Mountain-Leaning Stake, Cloak Saber Technique, Great Li Eagle Claw Art, and Eight-Step Exploding Fist."

"As long as you're willing to study them diligently, they'll be more useful than learning at a martial school in the county."

"Interested?"

"Yes!"

The youths roared excitedly, their voices shaking the heavens and earth.

"Good."

"Today, I'll teach you the Mountain-Leaning Stake first. Master it, and its effects in strengthening the body and nourishing the blood and qi will be five times those of the Six-Part Body-Strengthening Art."

The moment those words fell, everyone stared dumbfounded at the words "five times."

Then—

With Zhang Yuan and Wang Chuan assisting him, Zhao Yang began teaching them martial arts.

There were only a little over twenty of them.

They were like family.

Zhao Yang guided them one by one, sparing no effort.

Thanks to their foundation in the Six-Part Body-Strengthening Art, although the Mountain-Leaning Stake was more powerful, it was actually simpler and more direct. It was just far more grueling.

But the village youths were simple and pure-hearted.

Their competitive spirit needed no urging.

A group of parents stood watching nearby.

Whoever lagged behind was cursed at on the spot.

At first, Zhao Yang had wanted to stop them, but Wang Chuan and Zhang Yuan stopped him with meaningful looks. Later, he discovered that the effect was simply incredible.

Zhao Hong even exclaimed, "Well, damn."

He was mature for his age and had lost his parents, so hearing it did not affect him much.

But the others were different.

Once they went home, they really got beaten.

Beaten hard.

Watching his companions look ready to cry from the pain yet not daring to cry, gritting their teeth and pushing themselves viciously, he secretly held back a laugh.

He picked up the stance method quickly.

Of course, the process of tempering his body through collisions was indescribably agonizing.

Fortunately, he could endure it. With such an opportunity to learn martial arts, what did a little suffering matter?

The day passed just like that.

By the end of the day, with Zhao Yang's tireless guidance, even those with the worst talent had learned the stance's posture to sixty or seventy percent resemblance.

In the end, every one of them was dragged home by his father.

Ramming trees, wooden posts, and rocks.

That feeling was anything but pleasant. Zhao Yang, Zhang Yuan, and Wang Chuan also occasionally struck their bodies with blood and qi, increasing the external tempering.

Even direct disciples of ordinary martial schools could not enjoy such martial training.

If the martial artists of Stone Valley County saw it, their eyes would go green with envy.

The results were naturally astonishing.

Zhao Hong could clearly feel the training's effects. Nearly every two hours, the firmness of his flesh took a great leap forward.

The Six-Part Body-Strengthening Art had already ceased to be effective for him, and the Mountain-Leaning Stake had arrived just in time to take over.

Also, before the day ended—

Zhao Yang announced that over the next few days, he would personally lead the village hunters into the mountains to hunt and gather herbs.

Beast meat, beast blood, and herbs would be stewed and distributed among the twenty-odd youths for martial training.

How strong was Zhao Yang?

Though he did not say it outright, he vaguely indicated that few people in all of Stone Valley County were his match.

One could only imagine the ferocious beasts he would hunt.

Piled together, they could turn even trash into a strongman.

After training until they were utterly exhausted and swollen all over, the youths nearly went mad with excitement upon hearing the news.

Zhao Yang had already become a godlike figure in their eyes.

Hiss, hiss!

Zhang Tai held his waist and limped along, constantly sucking in cold breaths.

Seeing that Zhao Hong could still barely stand steady and walk, he felt terrible.

I got an "excellent" evaluation, while this guy only got "pretty good." He was always near the bottom before. Could his talent really be better than mine?

He must have been cutting corners.

Zhang Tai frowned. "Ah Hong, having Brother Yang personally teach us martial arts is an opportunity we couldn't beg for. Your talent is average, so you should seize this chance and train harder."

"In our Clear Creek Village, cutting corners will get you laughed at."

Zhao Hong's mouth twitched. I was cutting corners?

Damn it.

I trained even harder than you, all right?

It was mainly because of the endurance and recovery granted by Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bones.

"Got it."

Zhao Hong could not be bothered to waste words.

Zhang Tai disliked his attitude. A malicious glint flashed in his eyes as he said, "Wait, you call Brother Yang 'Uncle,' right?"

"Yeah."

Zhao Hong looked at Zhang Tai in confusion.

Zhang Tai grinned. "I call him Brother, and you call him Uncle. Doesn't that mean you should call me Uncle too?"

"..."

Zhao Hong was completely speechless.

You fucking want to be my uncle?

"If you call me Grandfather, I'll call you Uncle." Zhao Hong rolled his eyes. Seeing the fellow about to turn shrill again, he immediately sneered. "Or should I give you a massage?"

Zhang Tai shuddered violently.

"Get lost!"

He limped away at a flying pace.

When they had massaged one another's sore bodies after training halfway through the day, they had wailed as though the heavens were falling and the earth was splitting.

That feeling had been worse than death for him.

"Hmph."

Zhao Hong shook his head slightly and slowly returned home.

Thinking back on the entire day, he let out a breath.

It had been agonizingly exhilarating—painful, yet joyful.

Especially Zhao Yang's actions and the news he had announced. They had stirred everyone's enthusiasm to its peak.

"These martial arts Uncle Yang mentioned probably aren't things one can learn casually even in the county."

The effects were already evident from the Mountain-Leaning Stake alone.

"If Uncle Yang's Bone Kneading discovered something, he should come looking for me, right?"

Zhao Hong was ambitious. What he wanted more was to learn the real skills in Zhao Yang's hands.

But he also knew he had only just begun and could not aim too high. He had to lay a solid foundation first.

Still, he was quite conflicted over whether to seek Zhao Yang out in private.

If he did not go and merely waited for Zhao Yang to approach him, would that not be too arrogant?

But if he went, it also seemed inappropriate, making him look overly ambitious.

After thinking for a long time, Zhao Hong suppressed the thought and decided to wait a little longer.

Until the hunting party returned.

All the prey would be for them to consume. That would be when Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bones showed their might.

Seven days passed.

Three days had passed since the hunting party returned.

That hunt had yielded a full load.

More than thirty people had returned, every one of them carrying heaps of prey.

It could be called the most terrifying hunt in Clear Creek Village's history.

There had even been several fierce tigers and giant bears.

Their skeletons were piled at the village entrance, stretching for dozens of zhang in a single line, like savage statues with an overwhelming visual impact.

Anyone who saw them would be startled. This mountain village was far too frightening.

Over these past few days, everyone had trained to their hearts' content, eaten to their hearts' content, and drunk to their hearts' content.

In just three to five days—

The group of youths had improved as much as they normally would after several months of hard training.

The most obvious changes were their physiques, builds, and heights.

Zhao Hong himself had grown nearly three centimeters.

At last, unable to hold himself back any longer, he sought out Zhao Yang that afternoon.

"What are you here for, kid?"

Zhao Yang lounged lazily in a recliner in the courtyard. He glanced at Zhao Hong, who wore an embarrassed expression, and the corner of his mouth curled upward.

This kid was quite capable of holding back.

During the Bone Kneading that day, he had deliberately increased his force. As the one being kneaded, Zhao Hong naturally knew perfectly well.

Yet he had waited until now to come knocking.

At that age, it truly made Zhao Yang think a little more highly of him.

"Hehe, Uncle, what exactly do you think of my talent?"

Zhao Yang answered casually, "Not bad."

Zhao Hong's mouth twitched. If I didn't know I had Dragon Tendon and Tiger Bones, you'd have fooled me.

Seeing his uncle seemingly take mischievous pleasure in swaying in his chair without speaking, Zhao Hong scratched his head and said helplessly, "Uncle, I want to see the vast world beyond."

"Uncle, I want to learn the truly good stuff."

Zhao Yang turned his head and stared at the serious-faced Zhao Hong. Smacking his lips, he said, "I didn't realize before I left that you were such a crafty little brat."

"Hehe."

"Come here. Let me knead your bones again."

Zhao Yang suddenly rose to his feet.

Last time, he had not even kneaded everything before already sensing that Zhao Hong was unusual.

It did not hurt when he kneaded him. That was simply outrageous.

There were many extraordinarily talented people in the prefectural city.

But in Clear Creek Village, it was utterly unbelievable.

Delighted, Zhao Hong quickly stood straight and let Zhao Yang do as he pleased.

Smack!

The moment Zhao Yang laid hands on him, forceful qi bored into him.

Zhao Hong's body trembled. He felt that this force had instantly reached the maximum intensity of the Bone Kneading that day.

"Does it hurt?"

"Not really."

Zhao Yang increased his force, shaking his tendons and bones.

"How about now?"

"A little numb."

"Hiss—it's hot. It's getting hot."

"Hot?"

Zhao Yang's pupils widened inch by inch, unable to hide his shock. "Not only does it not hurt, it can actually get hot?"