Studying at the Martial Academy

Before the gates of Golden Gate Martial Academy.

Lu Li stood there for a long while. The sky had yet to fully brighten.

He had secretly watched this mottled, heavy iron gate from afar several times before.

The plaque above the gate bore the four bold characters, "Golden Gate Martial Academy," written with vigorous strokes that carried the ruthless edge of the martial world.

Now that he stood here, the feeling was naturally quite different.

It would have been a lie to say he was not excited. There was excitement mixed with exhilaration.

In his previous life, he had been ordinary yet content. Nearing thirty and still unmarried, he had lived alone and found it quite pleasant. He simply did not know whether he would regret it when he grew old, and now there was no way to find out.

But in this life, he had a golden finger and could truly study under a master and practice martial arts. It would have been strange if he were not excited.

What young man did not dream of the martial world?

He still remembered being eight years old in his previous life, wielding a wooden stick and sweeping through rapeseed flowers for dozens of meters around, not even sparing the grass by the roadside. Afterwards, someone had chased him all the way...

Taking a deep breath, Lu Li knocked on the door.

"Who is it?" A deep voice penetrated the door.

"I'm here to study under a master," Lu Li answered.

With a clang, the great iron gate was pulled open a crack. A sturdy man bare from the waist up stuck half his body out, looked Lu Li over several times, then asked, "Did you bring the apprenticeship fee?"

"I did."

The man opened the martial academy's iron gates, revealing a large courtyard.

"Come in."

At a glance, Lu Li saw more than twenty youths training on the blue-brick ground of the courtyard.

Their shouts rose and fell, rushing toward him head-on.

Weapon racks stood against the walls on both sides of the courtyard, holding sabers, spears, staffs...

A row of wooden posts stood in one corner, their surfaces covered in dense saber marks.

"Come with me. I'll take you to meet the resident master."

With that, the sturdy man turned and led the way without another word.

Lu Li hurriedly followed.

He had previously made inquiries. The resident master, Shen Gangfu, was a veteran escort and instructor of Heji's Liansheng Escort Agency.

The term "resident master" here naturally did not mean the gang boss from Cantonese films in his previous life.

On the contrary, Golden Gate Martial Academy was the only martial academy in Blackwater City's Outer City with no ties to gangs. That was also why Lu Li, along with many other youths, had chosen it.

Golden Gate Martial Academy, the Shunhe Sedan Service where Lu Li worked, Liansheng Escort Agency, and Dongxing Horse Ranch all belonged under Heji's escort firm.

The reputation of Heji's Thirteen Guardians was no empty boast in Blackwater City.

They passed through the outer courtyard and arrived at the inner courtyard, where there were far fewer people.

Only seven or eight men were practicing boxing on the grass, their bronze bodies gleaming with oil beneath the blazing sun.

The most conspicuous was the man on the left side of the courtyard. Every dull thud as he swung stone locks into the ground made Lu Li's soles go numb.

Lu Li watched, utterly absorbed.

When he turned back, he found that the sturdy man who had brought him in had already reached the shade of the tree before the main hall.

And seated in the grand armchair beside the sturdy man was a middle-aged man who commanded authority without anger.

He was simply dressed in a short gray cloth jacket. His back was straight, yet his posture did not seem rigid. His left leg was crossed over his right.

His right sleeve was rolled up to his forearm, revealing a solid arm. His hand rested on the armrest, his fingers continuously rubbing the polished lacquer surface.

This man was the resident master, Shen Gangfu.

Of the so-called Thirteen Guardians, one man held the way—who in Blackwater City did not know him?

Lu Li hurriedly stepped forward, took the apprenticeship fee from his clothes, then bowed and offered it with both hands.

"Greetings, Resident Master. This junior is Lu Li, just sixteen this year. I live in the second house at the end of Apricot Blossom Alley. I have come today specifically to study under you."

The address he gave was naturally his young aunt's home.

"Where is your ancestral home?"

"Ox Family Village in Twin Willow Town. My father was a hunter before he died. Both my parents are gone now, and I make a living with my aunt."

"Are you a porter? Or a sedan bearer?"

"Reporting to Resident Master, this disciple works as a temporary sedan bearer at Shunhe Sedan Service."

Lu Li answered respectfully.

Shen Gangfu nodded slightly, then rose neatly to his feet. He walked before Lu Li and circled him once.

Then he reached out and squeezed Lu Li's shoulders. When his fingers reached Lu Li's shoulder blades, he suddenly exerted force. His grip was so strong that Lu Li's features instantly twisted.

For a moment, the pain nearly made Lu Li blurt out a national curse.

Pain!

It hurt so much!

The calluses from months of labor were touched and brutally squeezed. The pain shot straight to the crown of his head, but Lu Li forcibly endured without making a sound.

"Bear it a little longer."

The moment Shen Gangfu finished speaking, he fiercely pinched Lu Li's ribs beneath his armpit.

Urgh!

Lu Li's entire body went numb, and half his body nearly lost all sensation.

"Your Root Bone is considered inferior, but you can still train."

Shen Gangfu's voice was low, carrying a faint, stern majesty.

"Practicing martial arts depends on the Root Bone, but even more on comprehension.

Since ancient times, changing one's Root Bone has not been difficult. So long as one has power and influence, resources and channels can always be found to improve it. Comprehension is different."

Shen Gangfu suddenly asked, "Lu Li, what do you think counts as good comprehension?"

Lu Li had been thinking, The Root Bone can actually be improved? Caught off guard by the question, his thoughts raced.

"Um... reporting to Resident Master, good comprehension means being clever, reacting quickly, and being able to draw inferences from one instance..."

"Continue." Shen Gangfu's tone revealed neither joy nor anger.

Lu Li paused, then continued, "Having strong resilience means enduring hardship. Having a good temperament means being able to focus. Being bold means keeping calm."

"Anything else?"

"Upholding martial virtue and obeying the rules."

Shen Gangfu suddenly stopped walking, and a ripple appeared in his eyes. "The fact that you can say all that means you do have comprehension."

As he spoke, he reached out, took Lu Li's tuition, weighed it in his hand, and tucked it into his robes. "These ten taels of silver are only three months' tuition."

"This is the first rule of Golden Gate Martial Academy."

"Understood, Master."

Shen Gangfu had accepted the money, so Lu Li naturally changed the way he addressed him.

"The second rule is that within three months, you must temper the qi and blood throughout your body, cultivate Internal Force, and achieve Gate-Breaking. If you succeed, I will accept you into the inner courtyard."

"There, just like those nine."

Shen Gangfu pointed at the eight people in the inner courtyard, then indicated the sturdy man behind him. "This is your Fourth Senior Brother, Zhao Kuo."

"Greetings, Fourth Senior Brother." Lu Li clasped his fists.

Zhao Kuo nodded in response.

"If you fail at Gate-Breaking after three months, it will not matter. Under Heji, the sedan service and horse ranch have plenty of work."

"Yes, Master. This disciple will certainly study diligently and train hard."

"The third rule: until you have learned something worthwhile, it is best not to use my name outside. It is not that I fear you will cause trouble for me. I am worried you will make me lose face..."

"Enough. No more rambling. Come, practice boxing with me."

Zhao Kuo, standing nearby, was somewhat surprised. There were clearly still two rules left unsaid, yet Master seemed to treat this Lu Li somewhat differently.

Lu Li went with the flow. He was not afraid of having many rules.

Because when one was weak, everything was a rule. Once one became strong, only my rules were rules.

Golden Gate Martial Academy, rear courtyard training room.

Smack!

Shen Gangfu tossed a set of training clothes in front of Lu Li.

"Put them on."

Lu Li swiftly changed as instructed, then quietly waited for his master's instruction. His heart was filled with curiosity and anticipation toward the martial arts of this world.

"I did not explain everything to you in front of them just now."

Shen Gangfu paused, then said flatly:

"Your Root Bone is very poor. Even among inferior Root Bones, yours is the worst."

Lu Li blinked, not knowing what to say for a moment.

Instinctively, he sensed the Celebratory Cloud Lamp within his Sea of Consciousness. That was what he relied on to practice martial arts.

"But you were able to say all that, proving that you truly have comprehension. It suits my temperament well."

"If you have comprehension, you can train. That makes your foundation especially important. It means you must spend more time every day than they do."

"For the first two days, I will personally instruct you."

Warmth surged through Lu Li's heart. He nodded heavily. "Thank you, Master! I am not afraid of hardship!"

"Have you seen those martial performers who make a living in the streets?"

Lu Li nodded.

In his previous life, he had even watched performances by several national martial arts champions. They had truly looked impressive.

Because of the information cocoon, those generations of "kung fu superstars" had been the strongest fighters he had ever seen.

"Before practicing martial arts, you must first understand what true martial arts are."

Shen Gangfu walked to a wooden post and said in a deep voice, "The sole purpose of true martial arts is to destroy your opponent in the shortest possible time, without dragging things out."

"Those who perform in the martial world are displaying routines. Their purpose is to make passersby stop, win tips, and get people to pay."

"One backflip can become dozens or even a hundred somersaults... The movements look thrilling and flashy, but in a real fight, not only do they consume stamina, they are riddled with openings. That is not true martial arts. It is performance skill, a skill for making a living."

"Because true martial arts are killing arts."

"In our escort firm, they are also called life-preserving arts."

As Shen Gangfu said this, his eyes were calm, carrying a faint trace of mockery.