Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist

"Ma Sanjin made it!"

"Did you hear? Ma Sanjin has mastered the basics of the Coiling Dragon Stance Art!"

Lu Chen, who was eating lunch in the dining hall, paused slightly with his chopsticks when he heard this.

The dining hall had already been noisy, but now it was like a stone had been tossed into a pond, setting off discussions everywhere.

"Really? Ma Sanjin mastered the basics?"

"That dimwit who wants to take the martial scholar exam?"

"No way, no way—could that dimwit actually pass the martial examination and bring glory to Ma Family Village?"

Lu Chen had not expected Ma Sanjin to master it today.

"Ten days!"

"Senior Brother Guo, is mastering the basics of the Coiling Dragon Stance in ten days considered fast?"

Lu Chen asked Guo Sheng, who was eating beside him.

Guo Sheng swallowed the meat in his mouth, paused, and replied, "Ten days—not particularly fast, but not slow either."

"Generally speaking, mastering the basics within ten days counts as passing."

"If you have sufficient food and medicinal supplements afterward, there's a fifty-percent chance of breaking through and entering Blood Moving."

At this, Lu Chen's thoughts stirred, and a transparent screen visible only to him appeared before his eyes:

[Coiling Dragon Stance Art: Not Initiated]

[Progress: 97/100]

These past few days, as his proficiency increased, Lu Chen had gained more and more insight into practicing the Coiling Dragon Stance Art. The number of times he could practice each day had also steadily risen.

But without enough meat to replenish his qi and blood, and without medicinal supplements to ease his fatigue, he could not practice without holding back.

"If I had treatment as good as Shi Hao's, with all the meat I wanted every day and a bowl of Body-Strengthening Soup, I probably could have mastered the basics in seven days."

"But I'm not far off now. Three more points of progress—today's the day!"

After lunch, Lu Chen went to the Martial Practice Yard and continued practicing the Coiling Dragon Stance.

He assumed the stance. With every breath in and out, he vaguely sensed a thread of warmth rising from the soles of his feet.

But it was still too faint.

Like a spark that had only just emerged, it went out before it could catch fire.

When he finished one round, sweat covered his forehead and he panted heavily, but he was no longer as exhausted as before.

Clearly, the tempering of recent days had greatly improved his physical condition.

Before his eyes, the number on the transparent screen flickered:

[Coiling Dragon Stance Art: Not Initiated]

[Progress: 98/100]

"Again!"

Lu Chen sank his shoulders and dropped his elbows, assuming the stance once more.

His feet opened and closed, the soles gripping the ground. His waist and hips coiled and turned, driving his entire spine to rise and fall...

[Progress: 99/100]

[Progress: 100/100]

[You have completed one hundred Coiling Dragon Stance Art practices. A hundred refinements achieved.]

[Coiling Dragon Stance Art: Initiated]

[Progress: 0/300]

As he completed the final round of the Coiling Dragon Stance Art, Lu Chen's body trembled slightly.

The pain of practicing the Coiling Dragon Stance countless times over the past ten days seemed to sink into the depths of his muscles and bones at that moment, fusing into the depths of his memory. His understanding of the Coiling Dragon Stance Art suddenly broke into an entirely new realm.

As if by instinct, he began practicing the Coiling Dragon Stance again.

His feet rooted into the ground, his waist and back curved like a bow. As his arms formed an embrace, a faint warmth coiled upward along his muscles and bones.

Understanding dawned upon Lu Chen.

"Ha! I did it!"

Lu Chen laughed aloud.

The other youths around him all turned toward him at once.

"Lu Chen mastered the basics too?"

"Who would have thought he'd be the third one to do so!"

"On the same day as Ma Sanjin—one in the morning, one in the afternoon. Right on each other's heels!"

Lu Chen and Ma Sanjin went with Senior Brother Chen Chong to the inner courtyard to pay their respects to their master.

"Senior Brother Chen Chong, do we also have a chance to be accepted by the Hall Master as true disciples?"

On the way, Ma Sanjin could not help asking Chen Chong.

Chen Chong burst into laughter when he heard that.

He did not answer, but his laughter seemed to tell Ma Sanjin that he was indulging in wishful thinking.

Then Chen Chong spoke as if offering encouragement. "Mastering the basics of the Coiling Dragon Stance in ten days means you've passed. In the future, you may also have a chance to break through and enter the inner courtyard."

"Then what about the Tiger-Bone Body-Strengthening Soup?"

Ma Sanjin hesitated before asking again.

It was also what Lu Chen cared about.

Shi Hao drank a bowl of Tiger-Bone Body-Strengthening Soup every day, replenishing his qi and strengthening his bones. He could practice the Coiling Dragon Stance at least five more times a day than Lu Chen.

If Lu Chen could drink one bowl every day as well, he could shorten the time needed to master the basics of the Coiling Dragon Stance by three or four days.

"Master has his own arrangements for such matters."

Chen Chong's voice turned cold as he said sternly:

"The martial hall has waived your tuition, provided you with food and lodging, and taught you martial arts. That is already an immense kindness!"

"As people, you must know contentment."

Hearing this, Ma Sanjin put away his thoughts and did not dare say more.

Once they entered the inner courtyard, the clamor of the outer courtyard vanished in an instant.

It was as though a single door separated two different worlds.

There were no noisy shouts around them. Only the occasional sound of fists and feet splitting the air drifted over from afar.

The sounds were dull and powerful.

Unlike the scattered cries of outer-courtyard youths practicing punches, every burst of force from the inner-courtyard disciples was like a heavy hammer striking a drum—brief and crisp.

Chen Chong led the two through several small courtyards until they reached a spacious training hall.

Qin Wuhe was already waiting there.

He wore a dark blue-green training robe, his hands clasped behind his back. He was not especially tall, yet he gave off the imposing air of a pillar holding up heaven and earth.

Lu Chen and Ma Sanjin hurried forward and bowed respectfully.

"Greetings, Master!"

Qin Wuhe's gaze fell upon the two of them. He looked first at Ma Sanjin, then at Lu Chen.

One had broad shoulders, a thick back, and sturdy, powerful arms.

The other had a steady build, with the lines of muscle on his body beginning to take shape.

Qin Wuhe nodded faintly.

"You two are quite in sync, mastering the basics on the same day."

Upon hearing this, Ma Sanjin hurriedly said, "Master, I was earlier than Lu Chen. I learned the Coiling Dragon Stance in the morning."

Standing beside him, Lu Chen could not help shooting him a glance.

Qin Wuhe looked at Ma Sanjin and smiled faintly.

"Earlier or later, it makes no difference."

"Only by mastering the basics have you truly touched the threshold of martial arts."

"However, do not become smug."

Qin Wuhe's voice was calm, but it made both of their hearts tighten.

"The Coiling Dragon Stance Art is only a training method. It tempers the muscles, bones, and qi and blood."

"But a martial artist cannot only know how to stand in a stance."

"When you truly come to blows with someone, merely putting on a stance is useless."

He paused, then continued, "Training methods nourish the body; fighting methods kill enemies."

"Since you have already mastered the basics of the Coiling Dragon Stance Art, today I will teach you Hidden Dragon Martial Hall's fist technique—Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist!"

At the words "Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist," Lu Chen's eyes flickered.

Ma Sanjin's eyes lit up at once.

A fist technique!

They had spent these past days practicing stances, repeating the same movements every day until it became dull and tasteless. Though they knew it was the foundation, what young man did not want to learn a few real moves and show off his skill?

Qin Wuhe then walked to the center of the training hall.

"Watch carefully."

As the words fell, Qin Wuhe spread his feet slightly and lowered his body.

The instant he took that stance, Lu Chen saw traces of the Coiling Dragon Stance Art in it.

Shoulders sunk, back rounded, waist and hips drawn together.

But unlike a standing stance, the force within Qin Wuhe's body seemed like a dragon's shadow hidden in a deep pool, ready to burst through the water at any moment.

The next instant, Qin Wuhe moved.

His right arm shot out fiercely.

It did not thrust straight ahead, but whipped out along a long arc. His shoulder and back drove his upper arm, his upper arm drove his forearm, and his forearm then drove his palm.

Smack!

That arm lashed out like a whip, and like dragon whiskers sweeping sideways.

Lu Chen's vision blurred.

Qin Wuhe's palm had already chopped down onto the wooden training dummy beside him.

The wooden dummy shuddered violently, and wood chips rained down.

"The first form: Azure Dragon Probes the Sea."

"The long arm chops and smashes, force traveling along a long arc."

"If the opponent is far away, strike the face and head, smash the shoulders and neck. If the opponent closes in, use the length of the arm to suppress their attack."

Qin Wuhe demonstrated and explained at the same time, every detail exceptionally thorough.

At the end of the demonstration, Qin Wuhe suddenly drew back his fist.

Then he threw a punch.

Bang!

A thunderous blast exploded in the air.

It was not the sound of a fist striking a wooden post.

It was the sound of the fist's edge forcibly blasting apart the air.

Lu Chen and Ma Sanjin both went pale. Their ears rang, and their bodies instinctively retreated.

That punch was deafening!

Like a cannonball exploding out of thin air!

Lu Chen was utterly shaken.

If that punch landed on someone's body, their life would be gone on the spot!

After finishing the demonstration, Qin Wuhe slowly withdrew his fist.

As the force of his fists dissipated, the oppressive feeling in the courtyard faded somewhat as well.

Yet that explosion of air seemed to linger in the two youths' ears, refusing to disperse.

Qin Wuhe swept his gaze over the two, who stood frozen like wooden chickens.

"Did you see clearly?"

Qin Wuhe asked blandly.

Only then did the two snap out of it as if waking from a dream, hurriedly answering in unison:

"Yes, Master!"

Their voices were louder than before, and filled with even greater reverence.

Qin Wuhe snorted. "Seeing clearly does not mean you can practice it successfully."

"The Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist places importance on the word 'through.'"

"Force rises from the feet, passes through the waist and back, travels over the shoulders and arms, and finally flows into the palm, fist, and wrist."

"It complements the Coiling Dragon Stance. Practice diligently, and if there is anything you do not understand in the future, ask Chen Chong more often!"

He then took out a fist manual and tossed it to the two.

"I hope you will master this fist technique soon and strengthen Hidden Dragon Martial Hall!"

"Thank you, Master, for teaching us this fist technique!" Lu Chen and Ma Sanjin respectfully expressed their gratitude.

"Enough. You may go. From now on, you may collect three bowls of Tiger-Bone Body-Strengthening Soup from the Medicine Hall every month!"

Qin Wuhe waved a hand, signaling for them to leave.

After leaving the inner courtyard, Ma Sanjin could not help complaining, "Master only gives us three bowls of Tiger-Bone Body-Strengthening Soup a month. That's too unfair! Shi Hao gets one bowl every day—that's thirty bowls a month!"

Lu Chen was already content. "Better to have some than none."

Clearly, in Qin Wuhe's eyes, Lu Chen and Ma Sanjin combined were still no match for Shi Hao. They were not worth spending too many of the martial hall's resources to cultivate with special focus.