Miao Ruolan, Heir to Ancient Martial Arts

The surname Miao was rarely seen.

But in this county, there was a Miao family that was very famous.

"Exactly, right? They're from Flowerstone Bridge. The Miao Family practices martial arts. My Diandian doesn't have a feminine bone in her body, always loves fighting, and she gets along especially well with that Miao Ruolan..."

The Miao Family, Miao Ruolan!

Ripples stirred in Lin Xiaosu's heart...

The Miao Family was an Ancient Martial Arts Family.

Within Great Xia, there were not many Ancient Martial Arts Families left. One could even say there were exceedingly few.

Why?

Because Ancient Martial Arts Families had always been something of a taboo through every dynasty.

In ancient times, there was a saying: "A knight-errant used martial arts to defy prohibitions." Martial arts were synonymous with breaking taboos.

And after Great Xia entered the civilized era, governing the nation by law became the absolute main theme. This was no longer an age of bloodshed and slaughter, and martial arts gradually lost their purpose.

Those Ancient Martial Arts Families had also become very restrained. They would never boast everywhere that they knew martial arts. On the contrary, they deliberately downplayed their martial arts heritage and blended into the masses as much as possible. Otherwise, every one of their children would become an object of special attention from all sides. How could they possibly live peacefully then?

For a very long time, the Miao Family had lived the life of a household beside small bridges and flowing water in Flowerstone Bridge Village, no different from ordinary rural folk.

It was only through a chance occurrence that this Ancient Martial Arts Family surfaced.

That was thirty years ago. Miao Ruolan's father, Miao Sanqiang, had clashed with a local village tyrant. Relying on being a native, that tyrant bullied the Miao Family, a migrant household—the Miao Family had moved here from Xiaoxiang Province seventy years earlier—and brought more than a dozen of his men to drive them out of Flowerstone Bridge.

Miao Sanqiang had still been young then. In the heat of youthful vigor, he stepped forward. Before countless fellow villagers, he staged a martial arts spectacle. Those ruffians and hooligans wielding clubs and knives were tossed one by one, from ten meters away, into a stinking ditch. When the village tyrant tried to ambush him from behind, Miao Sanqiang caught his wrist with a backhanded grab and gave a gentle squeeze. The tyrant's wrist bones shattered.

That one squeeze truly shook the entire county.

To crush the wrist bones of a grown man outright—what kind of grip strength did that require?

Because of that squeeze, he paid the village tyrant's family a pig as medical compensation. But because of that squeeze, no one ever dared bully the Miao Family again.

Lin Xiaosu suddenly became interested in Ancient Martial Arts because of his own special circumstances.

Everyone knew that physical fitness was Lin Xiaosu's weak point.

Number 88 knew it, Changye knew it, even Xin Yue knew it.

Naturally, he knew it even better himself.

Back in Unit 101, he had once considered whether he should take the path of Genetic Modification.

In the past, even if he wanted to, it would have been wishful thinking. The cost of Genetic Modification was astronomical—he did not know the exact figure, but he could tell with his toes that a few vegetable plots could never support it.

But after entering Qianlong, anything became possible.

As long as he performed brilliantly enough, it was entirely possible that Qianlong would provide Genetic Modification for him free of charge.

However, after he had carefully studied the "Mysterious Emperor's Inner Canon," he wavered.

The Mysterious Emperor's Inner Canon placed the human body on too lofty and mysterious a level.

Within that system, the human body was like the universe. Every meridian, every breath of qi, every organ was a component of that cosmic system.

All kinds of intricate and subtle organs operated flawlessly, together forming an almost immaculate human body.

Its original purpose was to explain its medical theories.

But Lin Xiaosu focused more on the foundation of that theory: the human body itself was complete. As long as one developed the body, one could naturally break through every limitation and amplify human potential step by step.

And the "Principles of Genetics" ran directly contrary to that theory. They were entirely different paths.

It did not develop the self. Instead, it used foreign genes to stimulate the human body.

Therefore, Genetic Modification had fatal flaws.

Because it broke balance. It damaged the natural evolution of the human body.

If one accepted the fundamental theoretical framework of the Mysterious Emperor's Inner Canon—that "the human body is inherently complete"—then one should not allow such foreign objects to be randomly added into it.

Lin Xiaosu's current theory had yet to take shape. He could not judge which system was superior and which inferior, so he wanted to wait and see rather than blindly follow the crowd.

Not following the crowd meant that, at this stage, he rejected Genetic Modification.

Yet rejecting Genetic Modification also meant that his physical weakness could not be improved.

And now, a new method of improvement had appeared...

Ancient Martial Arts!

Ancient Martial Arts were internal martial arts. Without damaging one's own genes, they maximized physical strength and power.

He did not need an overwhelmingly powerful body. He only needed it not to become an obvious drag on his eyesight and reaction speed!

"Second Aunt, I'll go tomorrow. I'll talk to her. Besides, I have to make a trip to the county seat anyway," Lin Xiaosu said.

"That'd be wonderful. My mind's been a complete tangle lately, and weeds have grown all over my vegetable plot. I need to get busy for a few days too." Second Aunt was delighted. Setting aside her anxious concern for her daughter, she went home.

The next day, Lin Xiaosu went to the county seat.

In the South City Development Zone, he arrived at the familiar combat gym.

It happened to be the weekend, and children were having classes at the combat gym.

The old gatekeeper was very courteous. He opened the side gate and offered him a cigarette. "Xiao Su, Director Zhou has mentioned several times that he wants to treat you to a meal someday. Since you're here today, this is perfect."

"You know me, Uncle?" Lin Xiaosu declined the cigarette, somewhat surprised.

"Wasn't there a child who got abducted last time? Thanks to you, the child was rescued. I was there that day." The old man casually tucked the cigarette Lin Xiaosu had refused behind his ear.

"You've got a great memory, Uncle. It's been so long."

"Hehe, that's the skill of being a gatekeeper. To be honest, standing on this street every day, I remember roughly who comes and goes..." The gatekeeper flashed a mouthful of yellow, smoke-stained teeth, looking immensely pleased with himself. "Roughly" was local slang, meaning more or less, or eight or nine times out of ten...

"Uncle, is the teacher named Miao Ruolan here today?"

"She is! I'll take a look and see whether she's teaching..."

"How about I go in and take a look myself?" Lin Xiaosu asked.

Uncle chuckled. "Other people definitely can't, but you're different, Xiao Su. You're the hero who rescued that child. You definitely wouldn't harm the kids..."

Lin Xiaosu went in.

The inside was different from an ordinary school.

Ordinary schools taught books, and their classrooms had desks and blackboards.

This place taught people how to fight, and its classrooms only had training equipment.

The broad sports field outside largely served as the podium.

More than thirty children stood in a circle. At its center was a girl who somewhat overturned Lin Xiaosu's understanding.

She was Miao Ruolan?

Lin Xiaosu had never seen Miao Ruolan before, only heard of her. He had heard that she was a direct heir of an Ancient Martial Arts lineage.

An image of a heroic, spirited woman naturally rose in his mind.

At the very least, she should be like Hu Ya to live up to the banner of a direct Ancient Martial Arts heir, shouldn't she?

Yet now that he saw her, everything was completely overturned...

She was only a little over one and a half meters tall, thin and frail, with two braided pigtails. Her face still seemed to retain childish innocence, and her features were utterly ordinary. Judging by looks alone, she was worth six points at most—the kind who would be swallowed by the sea of people the moment she was thrown into a crowd...

"Students!" Her voice was soft as well.

The children gathered in a circle laughed and played noisily. Her voice was like the buzz of a mosquito.

The children did not hear her. Instead, she blushed herself and raised her voice a little. "Students, please listen to me!"

The children quieted down somewhat, though the noise remained.

Miao Ruolan said, "Today, I'll teach everyone to practice the Horse Stance. The Horse Stance is the key to training..."

One child interrupted her. "Teacher, Teacher Li used to teach us combat!"

"This is combat too, the fundamentals of combat." Miao Ruolan's face reddened even more. "Everyone, watch my demonstration!"

Her toes lightly traced across the ground, and she settled into a Horse Stance.

Lin Xiaosu's eyes suddenly widened, his heart pounding wildly...

One light movement appeared so soul-stirring in his eyes.

Her toes swept past like water flowing over the earth, incomparably natural, incomparably light.

As her toes passed, dust from the concrete floor drifted up as well, as light as her movement.

Yet the moment her Horse Stance formed, that dust, like pale clouds emerging from a valley, abruptly fell and formed a Taiji Diagram.

This was not the dust falling naturally. It was under her control. To put it in more mysterious terms: with a single Horse Stance, everything within three meters became her domain! Within that domain, even the air had to obey her.

What kind of attainment was that?

That one movement, light as lifting a heavy weight and heavy as lifting a light one, struck him harder than the Gene Humans ever had.

"Director Zhou, this teacher of yours... just won't do!" A woman's voice came from the nearby office.

Lin Xiaosu shifted his gaze toward the Window. This was Old Zhou's office. He and a well-dressed young woman sat on opposite sides of the tea table by the Window.

"She... she's an heir of Ancient Martial Arts. This is how her family taught her too." Old Zhou looked somewhat embarrassed.

"We send our children here only so they can stretch their limbs and strengthen their bodies. We're not trying to make them learn martial arts. Your sign says combat gym, but instead of exercising, they stand still like fools. What kind of game is this?" the young woman said. "If you keep doing this, I'm taking my child back. East City Combat Gym has contacted me several times already."

"This... to be honest, I think there are some issues with this too. But isn't the situation special right now? Li Diandian hasn't returned..."

"Director Zhou, we're old acquaintances, so I'll speak frankly. I don't think Li Diandian was any good either! She may not have been good, but replacing her with someone surnamed Miao is even worse! Forget it. I won't make things difficult for you. I'll take my child and leave!" The young woman stood up.

Old Zhou panicked.

This woman was no ordinary client.

She was highly influential in Phoenix City. At least half the students at this combat gym had come because of her influence.

If she left, half their student base would vanish in the blink of an eye.

Once word got out, there was no guarantee that the other half would stay either.

Without students, his combat gym would truly go under.

"Miss Sun, Sister Sun... sit down! Please sit down!" Old Zhou hurriedly rose to his feet. "I've already contacted a new teacher. We haven't settled the salary yet, but how about I have him come tomorrow?"

"Oh? What kind of teacher?" Miss Sun asked.

"This teacher is incredible! He's truly famous across the nation. His combat skills have even appeared on provincial television. Look, this is his profile..."

From ten meters away, Lin Xiaosu clearly saw the name Old Zhou showed Miss Sun: Li Gang.

His hand moved, and he searched for Li Gang on his phone.

The results quickly appeared.

Li Gang, male, thirty-six years old, technical instructor at Jiang City Combat Gym, graduate student at Jiang City Combat Academy, ninth place winner in the National Combat Tournament, special commentator for the Jiang City Television Station sports channel...