Reincarnation of a Martial Saint

Perhaps because it was the first time he had fed Xie An moves, Zhao Hu had not been mentally prepared... so he had acted a little too dramatically.

Xie An naturally saw through it.

But Qiu Lan, standing nearby, failed to notice and was utterly stunned.

In Qiu Lan's impression, Zhao Hu was an incredibly formidable Bone Tempering martial artist. The Xie Household alone paid him a monthly stipend of twenty taels.

How had he been knocked flat by a single punch from the young master?

The young master's body had always been frail and loose, after all...

"Again!"

Xie An called out.

"Right away!" Zhao Hu climbed to his feet, brushed the snow off his backside, and assumed a stance. "Young Master, just attack. I'll feed you moves."

Xie An stepped on the snow and rushed before Zhao Hu in several bounds. Raising his hands, he assumed the opening stance of the Mountain-Taming Fist, both fists pressing down like a cover.

Sensing the immense force behind Xie An's punches, Zhao Hu used twenty percent of his strength to block them. With a muffled bang, his arms were actually jolted slightly numb. Zhao Hu immediately cried, "Young Master, watch your head!" Then he flipped his palm and pushed it toward Xie An's head.

Who warned someone to watch their head before hitting them in the head?

Wasn't that obviously going easy on him...?

This truly put Zhao Hu in a difficult position.

The other party was the eldest young master. Zhao Hu was genuinely afraid of hurting Xie An.

Xie An, having just entered this novice village, did not mind Zhao Hu going easy on him. He immediately changed moves into the Force-Deflecting Form, his arms churning like roiling seas of clouds. Though he successfully deflected Zhao Hu's palm strike, his blood and qi churned within him.

Zhao Hu was a Bone Tempering martial artist, after all. The gap between them was simply too great.

"Young Master's force-deflecting technique is skillful and steady, with its timing and measure perfected beyond compare! Watch your footing!" Zhao Hu flattered him, then seized at Xie An's lower body with both hands after the warning.

Xie An immediately raised one arm, using the deflecting move Pillar Holding Up the Sky to block Zhao Hu's attack once more...

As Zhao Hu continued feeding him moves, Xie An gradually found his rhythm.

The might of the perfected Mountain-Taming Fist began to reveal itself, and both his offense and defense steadily improved.

Xie An did not let himself become careless. Instead, he treated it with utmost seriousness.

After all, practicing martial arts well and actually going out to fight were two entirely different matters.

Martial arts were dead; people were alive.

Without actual combat experience, Xie An would at most be a large, clumsy elephant. He could never become a fierce tiger of the mountains.

Through shifting steps and nimble movements, Xie An had already exchanged dozens of moves with Zhao Hu. Whenever Zhao Hu changed moves, he would warn him beforehand and offer a few compliments.

Seizing an opportunity, Xie An chopped out with both arms and unleashed the attacking form, Yin-Yang Dawn-Split.

Zhao Hu immediately felt Xie An's aura turn exceptionally sharp. When he raised his arms to block, the blow actually made both arms twitch for an instant.

Xie An did not stop. He followed with the killing form, Mountain-Shaking, Peak-Suppressing, gathering all the blood and qi in his body into one fist and striking Zhao Hu as though mountains were collapsing and earth was splitting apart. Zhao Hu felt Xie An's fist crashing toward him like a mountain tsunami and dared not be careless. He used thirty percent of his strength to block the attack, yet his body was still sent staggering backward with a series of thuds. At last, he slammed into a nearby pomelo tree with a dull impact. Snow on the branches came cascading down, burying Zhao Hu until he resembled half a snowman.

Zhao Hu shook the snow from his body, his eyes full of disbelief. "Young Master is truly born with divine martial talent! Might I ask where this fist art came from? It is actually this formidable..."

Xie An let out a long breath and took the chance to calm the surging blood and qi within him.

Qiu Lan had already come over with a handkerchief to wipe the fine sweat from Xie An's face.

Just as she finished wiping him down and Xie An was about to speak, he heard a burst of applause from outside the gate.

Uncle Shui, dressed in a gray long robe, was slowly walking through the hanging-flower gate while clapping.

Qiu Lan and Zhao Hu immediately stood straight and bowed. "Uncle Shui."

Xie An also cupped his hands. "Uncle Shui, what brings you here?"

Uncle Shui handed Qiu Lan a packet of medicinal herbs wrapped in mulberry paper. "You were unconscious for two days. When the master left this morning, he asked me to come check on you. I did not expect to arrive at the gate just in time to see you spar..."

So Uncle Shui had been watching from the side all along.

Xie An felt awkward. "You must be laughing at me, Uncle Shui..."

Before he could finish, Uncle Shui suddenly placed a palm on Xie An's shoulder. "Zhao Hu was not wrong. You truly are born with divine martial talent. Back then, even with my foundation in martial arts, it took me a full half year to master the second form of the Taishan Fist. Yet you have taken only a few days... and already brought the Mountain-Taming Fist to great mastery. It would not be an exaggeration to call you the reincarnation of a Martial Saint."

Xie An smiled modestly. "It is all thanks to Uncle Shui's excellent teaching."

Uncle Shui's old face immediately reddened. "I taught you nothing. To tell the truth, when I gave you that Taishan Fist, I intended for its difficulty to make you give up. I never expected... Good, very good. Come with me to your room. I will examine your bone structure."

Uncle Shui was a great martial arts master who had traveled the martial world for half his life... What had he not seen?

Thus, Uncle Shui was not someone easily swayed by emotion. Even if Mount Tai collapsed before him, his expression would not change.

Yet at this moment, he could not contain his excitement and said "good" twice in succession.

Above all... Xie An was simply too monstrous.

He had only given Xie An the Taishan Fist manual three days ago, and Xie An had already mastered its second level...

What kind of monster was this?

Even someone like Uncle Shui felt his worldview shaken.

Upon entering the main hall, Xie An had Qiu Lan make tea for Uncle Shui and bring some snacks as well. However, Uncle Shui spoke directly. "Mingxi, sit down first. I will examine your bone structure."

"Yes."

After Xie An sat down, Uncle Shui stretched out both hands to examine his bone structure.

He first pressed on Xie An's Baihui acupoint as if testing a peach for softness. Then, starting from the back of his head and moving downward, his fingertips brushed over his cervical vertebrae, feeling every bone in his body one by one.

The entire process was quite painful, as though every bone in his body were being kneaded through with force.

A moment later, Uncle Shui withdrew his hands and frowned deeply. "How strange. Mingxi, your bone structure has clearly nearly taken shape. Even if your talent were extraordinary, you should not have been able to master the Mountain-Taming Fist in merely three days..."

Xie An was considering how to explain when Uncle Shui spoke first. "Could it be the legendary Awakening Enlightenment?"

Xie An immediately let out a great sigh of relief.

There was indeed a saying among the common folk of Great Qian known as Awakening Enlightenment.

Some village children who could not speak even in their teens would suddenly begin talking.

Some foolish boys would suddenly become clever.

There were even simple-minded martial artists who mastered divine arts overnight.

More astonishing still, among certain indigenous people in the hidden lands of the northwest, some could wake up one morning and recite ancient texts millions of characters long. The hidden lands called such people Heaven-Bestowed Bards.

For all such things that could not be explained by common sense, the people collectively called them Awakening Enlightenment. It was said that some literary titans and martial arts grandmasters had even awakened the wisdom of past lives overnight.

Xie An immediately went along with it. "Over the past few days, I have kept fainting for no apparent reason. Every time I woke up, I felt an inexplicable affinity with martial arts. The Taishan Fist is immensely intricate, yet I could comprehend it all at once. I was puzzled before, but it turns out this was Awakening Enlightenment."

"It seems Mingxi is a man blessed with great martial fortune." From all Uncle Shui had seen and heard, Awakening Enlightenment was the only explanation he could think of.

Seeing that the matter had been glossed over, Xie An relaxed. "Does this mean Uncle Shui has agreed to teach me martial arts?"

A gratified curve appeared at the corner of Uncle Shui's lips. "If Mingxi has the heart to pursue martial arts, this old man is naturally willing to teach you. I only hope that you can endure the hardships of training from now on and do not give up halfway, wasting such peerless talent for nothing."

Xie An was overjoyed and hurriedly cupped his hands. "Thank you, Uncle Shui."

Uncle Shui nodded slightly and instructed Zhao Hu, "Zhao Hu, go fetch two packets of Tiger-Skin Essence Decoction from the residence. Mingxi will use them for a medicinal bath to temper his skin."

After Zhao Hu left, Xie An asked, "A medicinal bath to temper the skin?"

Uncle Shui said, "The Mountain-Taming Fist you used just now was extremely practiced, as though you had trained it painstakingly for several years. The Mountain-Taming Fist itself helps temper the skin. But if you wish to enter the Skin-Tempering Realm, you must use medicinal supplements as well."

Xie An immediately grew interested. "What changes after entering the Skin-Tempering Realm?"

Uncle Shui smiled. "Skin tempering means training the skin membranes over the entire body until they are as tough as cowhide. Ordinary cuts and scrapes cannot harm you, cold and heat cannot invade you, and you will have the strength to lift a cauldron."

Xie An understood at once.

No wonder his Mountain-Taming Fist had struck with such tremendous force just now, yet every collision left abrasions on his skin.

It was because his skin membranes were not tough enough.

Before long, Zhao Hu returned with two packets of medicinal supplements. He also carried in a wooden tub, filled it with hot water in the room, and added the Tiger-Skin Essence Decoction.

Xie An removed his clothes and sat down in the bathing tub.

As the herbs steeped in the hot water, they gave off a fishy tiger-like smell. Yet after the medicinal strength entered his body through the pores of his skin, it did not spread into his muscles and bones. Instead, it remained in the skin membranes, where it was continuously absorbed.

As the skin membranes absorbed the medicinal strength, they became increasingly firm and resilient.

It was extraordinarily miraculous.

"So this is skin tempering..."

Xie An had originally thought skin tempering would be like the Iron Sand Palm training in television dramas from his previous life—using iron sand to grind the skin until it became coarse and callused...

"Zhao Hu, after Mingxi has soaked in the medicinal bath for two hours, remind him. Continue feeding him moves to speed up his breakthrough into Skin Tempering. Ordinary people need to maintain medicinal baths for a month or so before they can break through. Mingxi was born with divine martial talent, so six or seven days should be enough for him to succeed." Uncle Shui gave his instructions, then turned and left.

"Don't worry, Uncle Shui. I will definitely feed the young master moves properly!"