A Year!

The next day.

Early in the morning.

"To practice martial arts, one must persevere without fail. Especially our Lu Family's Iron Bull Technique and Jade Belt Technique—both require daily, grueling practice. It takes three years to achieve minor success and ten years to reach mastery. Doctor Chen, your natural physique is ordinary, while your medical skills are superb. Why put yourself through such hardship?"

"..."

"I lost to Cactus Yang Xu the day before yesterday. If not for Doctor Chen, my twenty years of hard work would nearly have been ruined in a single day. Now that Doctor Chen wishes to learn the Iron Bull Technique and Jade Belt Technique, I, Lu Peng, am truly ashamed."

"..."

"Fine."

"Since Doctor Chen has made up his mind, I will not persuade you further. But I must warn you in advance: once the Iron Bull Technique and Jade Belt Technique are mastered, their power is immense. Be sure to exercise caution when fighting others. If you take a life, the authorities will not let it slide."

"These two martial arts are inherited arts of the Lu Family, and there is no harm in teaching them to Doctor Chen. But hard training is only one part of it. You must also use specially prepared medicinal wine, taken internally and applied externally, so as not to damage your body and to achieve twice the result with half the effort. Doctor Chen may use the medicinal wine free of charge, but the recipe cannot conveniently be passed on. I hope Doctor Chen understands."

Lu Family Martial Academy.

In the courtyard.

The academy master, Master Lu Peng, looked at Doctor Chen before him with some helplessness on his face.

This Doctor Chen looked unremarkable, but his medical skills were genuinely brilliant. With just a few massage techniques, he had pulled Lu Peng from his sickbed. It was practically miraculous; calling him a divine physician would not be excessive.

It was only that this "divine physician" was far too cold and taciturn.

From yesterday to today, he had spoken only two sentences before closing his mouth and saying nothing more, leaving others utterly baffled.

"Perhaps that is the bearing of a divine physician."

Lu Peng thought this to himself and did not mind it.

He was someone who knew gratitude.

Chen Jichuan had healed his injuries, sparing him from the fate of having twenty years of hard work reduced to nothing.

Though he could not tell Chen Jichuan the medicinal wine recipe for the sake of his descendants, he would certainly teach him martial arts with all his heart and hold nothing back.

His earlier persuasion had merely come from sincerely believing that, with Chen Jichuan's medical skills, there was no need for him to suffer through martial training.

"..."

Chen Jichuan said nothing, merely nodding faintly.

It was not that he was aloof.

The truth was that too little time had passed. He had only hastily learned two sentences yesterday. By today, he had already forgotten how to say even those two sentences.

But fortunately, he had already made an agreement with Lu Peng yesterday—

He would heal Lu Peng's injuries, while Lu Peng would teach him the Iron Bull Technique and Jade Belt Technique, as well as provide his food and lodging for a year.

Poor scholars, rich martial artists.

Though this saying was not absolute, the "rich martial artists" part was certainly true.

Chen Jichuan had seen it last night. Lu Xiong and Lu Rong, those two martial instructors, could each eat nearly half a bucket of rice in one meal, along with a large bowl of fatty meat and vegetables.

What ordinary household could afford that?

Chen Jichuan had only just arrived.

He could not even speak the language.

He could only freeload meals and lodging from the wealthy Lu Family Martial Academy.

Fortunately.

He possessed the Insight Art, allowing him to see Lu Peng's injuries clearly. He also had Origin Force, which he could channel into Lu Peng's body through massage to help him recover.

The results were remarkable.

After only one night, Lu Peng could get out of bed and walk. Though his face was still somewhat pale and he needed time to recuperate, such methods had already made the Lu Family repeatedly hail him as divine.

This could be seen from the looks Lu Xiong and Lu Rong, the brothers in the courtyard, along with the six apprentices, cast his way from time to time.

And the price Chen Jichuan paid was this.

His remaining twenty-four points of Origin Force had been completely exhausted, leaving him poor as a church mouse.

Name: Lu Peng

Age: 44

Level: 4

Arts: Iron Bull Technique (Fourth Layer), Jade Belt Technique (Fourth Layer)

Chen Jichuan followed Lu Peng to a corner of the courtyard.

The Lu Family Martial Academy was not small. At its peak, it could accommodate fifty or sixty people training at once. Now, only six apprentices remained, making it feel sparse and spacious.

"The Iron Bull Technique trains a force of pure yang. Once mastered, if an enemy strikes with a fist, the fist is damaged; if they strike with a weapon, the weapon breaks. One may sweep through all before them. But in the end, it only has the ability to defend against enemies, not the subtlety to subdue them. Since it is founded wholly on force of pure yang, it is rather passive."

"Thus, the ancestors of my Lu Family created another martial art specifically for subduing enemies, called the Jade Belt Technique. It too belongs to the force of pure yang, yet also carries the energy of yin softness. One uses the strength of both arms, looping and locking them together in an embrace. Its force can shake trees. If used to embrace a human body, few who face it avoid having their bones shattered and dying on the spot."

"Therefore, when sparring or fighting others, you must be cautious in the extreme, lest you take a life."

Lu Peng introduced the Iron Bull Technique and Jade Belt Technique to Chen Jichuan, giving him a general understanding of them.

In short.

The Iron Bull Technique was like armor that reflected damage, training the body into a state of taut density.

If someone struck you, they would instead injure themselves.

But this art forfeited the initiative and was far too passive. The Jade Belt Technique had been created on this foundation to work alongside it—whoever it embraced would die.

Practiced together.

Their power was peerless.

Chen Jichuan's heart stirred as he listened, though his face remained expressionless. Lu Peng had grown used to this and first explained the essential principles and training methods of the Iron Bull Technique.

He then had Chen Jichuan lie down and personally instructed him on the details and inner workings.

Thus.

Chen Jichuan officially stepped onto the path of martial training.

Time flashed by.

A year passed.

It was September again.

On this day.

The sky was bright and clear, the gentle breeze warm and pleasant.

In the nearest forest outside Langning City.

Chen Jichuan stood bare-chested, revealing his straight back and elegantly defined neck. His face was resolute, as if carved by knives and axes, revealing a slight edge of sharpness.

If Chen Shaohe saw him.

He certainly would not recognize this as the Fourth Brother who had lived alongside him day and night.

Chen Jichuan came before a tree as thick as an armful and sank into a horse stance.

Like a statue.

A quarter of an hour later, once his horse stance had reached its mark, he stepped forward two paces and wrapped both arms around the trunk. His hands locked tightly together in a clasping hold, and he exerted force, gripping it firmly as though lifting upward.

With only a slight shake as he held it, the trunk swayed as if about to snap, while branches and leaves rustled down.

Its force was plain to see.

But a year of bitter training did not end there.

Chen Jichuan channeled strength into both arms and repeatedly lifted upward. Gradually, the earth beneath his feet began to loosen. After several dozen more attempts, just as his strength was about to fail—

"Up!"

Chen Jichuan let out an explosive roar. Veins bulged across his face and neck as the armful-thick tree was forcibly uprooted from the ground, dragging soil with it.

Bang!

The tree crashed down.

It was truly the strength to uproot a weeping willow, enough to make one tremble in terror.

Chen Jichuan panted heavily, wiped the sweat from his face, and a trace of delight appeared between his brows.

But he could not attend to it for now.

Feeling the tearing soreness in his arms.

He closed his eyes and mobilized the sole silver thread within the Azure Lotus, bringing it to his arms and releasing it. A trace of coolness spread through him, slightly easing his fatigue and soreness.

Afterward.

Chen Jichuan picked up a wine flask from nearby, poured out a little of the pungent medicinal wine, and rubbed it over his reddened arms and chest.

Only after finishing all this.

Did Chen Jichuan stop and look at the armful-thick tree he had uprooted and toppled nearby, unable to suppress a smile.

"I finally made it."

He opened the Immortal Register—

Name: Chen Jichuan [First]

Age: 19

Immortal Tier: None

Official Position: None

Level: 2

Talent: Creation

Arts: Iron Bull Technique (Second Layer), Jade Belt Technique (Second Layer)

Immortal Salary: 1

Origin Force: 0

"Second Layer."

Seeing that the Jade Belt Technique had indeed become Second Layer, Chen Jichuan's smile grew wider.

One year.

He had trained diligently through wind and rain without interruption.

Every morning and evening, he practiced the Iron Bull Technique, while during the day he practiced the Jade Belt Technique.

His skill had gradually deepened.

The Iron Bull Technique had begun with him inflating his abdomen and having it struck with a finger ring, then changing to fists. Until a few days ago, when he switched to a wooden mallet, he had achieved modest success and reached the Second Layer.

The Jade Belt Technique had progressed a little more slowly.

But today, uprooting this tree marked his entry into the realm of minor success.

Chen Jichuan was naturally delighted.

From now on, he needed to seek trees rooted in firmer soil and made of denser wood. Following the method of the past year, he would wrap his arms around them and lift upward every day until his strength was exhausted before returning.

Until there were no more trees he could not uproot, the Second Layer would be considered complete.

Then he would switch to stone drums or stone rollers weighing around four or five hundred pounds and practice in the same manner. Stone was heavy and slick, making it easiest to lose one's hold. It would take three to five years before he could move about freely like Lu Xiong.

By then.

Even the most slippery, eel-like person would be unable to escape once Chen Jichuan embraced them. They could only be crushed to death in his arms.

As for Lu Peng.

This master instructor had practiced the Jade Belt Technique bitterly for twenty years. He could easily carry a thousand-pound stone drum in his arms while walking as he pleased. Holding the five-hundred-pound stone drum in the academy, he could even move as swiftly as if flying.

He was no longer ordinary.

"I have Origin Force. In one year, I have trained the Jade Belt Technique and Iron Bull Technique to the Second Layer, equivalent to three years of work for an ordinary person."

"To reach Master Lu's level, I will not need twenty years."

Chen Jichuan pondered as he walked toward the city.

Origin Force was an immense aid to his martial training.

Whenever he was utterly exhausted, Origin Force would merge into his skin and flesh. Not only could it greatly relieve fatigue, it could also lessen the injuries caused by martial training, with effects even more immediate than medicinal wine. If he had sufficient Origin Force, Chen Jichuan could even train day and night without pause.

That rate of progress—

He did not dare imagine it.

Unfortunately, during his year in Langning City, he had failed to discover any trace of spiritual energy or Spirit Stones. He could only scrape by on his pitiful Immortal Salary. Even so, thirty-six points of Origin Force, combined with diligent training, had allowed Chen Jichuan to reach his current level two years ahead of others.

"Langning City has no Spirit Stones."

"But Black Prison does."

Chen Jichuan's heart leaped with excitement.

He looked forward to returning to reality and cultivating the Iron Bull Technique and Jade Belt Technique anew.

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