Bagua Stake Art: Beginner Level (Please Follow)

Lu Li's heart shook when he heard this.

Killing arts!

Life-saving arts!

This was exactly what he wanted to learn.

He had struggled desperately for three years—wasn't it all for this very moment? His heart immediately came alive.

"To lay the foundation for martial arts, temper your qi and blood. The key lies in endurance."

"Other than those gifted with extraordinary talent, most people's bodies cannot start out by directly practicing combat techniques."

Shen Gangfu continued, "Your body is far too weak, and your qi and blood are insufficient. You must first use still stances to correct your posture, stand the stake and circulate qi. Only once your qi and blood have been built up to their peak can you begin... refining."

Hearing this, Lu Li immediately understood. His body was weak; he had to build up his qi and blood before he could refine it further.

This was teaching according to one's aptitude.

He realized that his master was sincerely teaching him. Those ten taels of silver had not been wasted.

"Watch carefully!"

Shen Gangfu suddenly sprang upward and landed atop a wooden stake. He then extended both palms, his movements steady and powerful. Lu Li seemed to hear the tearing whistle of fists splitting the air...

"It was a little like those Shaw Brothers martial arts films he had watched as a child, where every move came with a 'whoosh, whoosh, whoosh' sound effect."

Shen Gangfu held his palms before his chest as though embracing a round ball, his tiger mouths propped open in a circle. His feet were shoulder-width apart, knees bent and hips lowered.

He turned his head toward Lu Li and said softly, "Keep your upper body relaxed, calm, and upright. Focus your mind and regulate your breathing. Pay attention to correcting your posture and feel the sensation of relaxing and sinking."

Lu Li hurriedly stepped onto the shortest wooden stake, lowered his body, tensed himself all over, spread his palms, and copied him exactly.

Two breaths later.

"Exhale that breath trapped between your chest and abdomen."

Before long, Lu Li truly felt a current of air surging upward from his chest and belly.

"Hoo..."

At that moment, Shen Gangfu came before Lu Li, patting his slightly hunched back and straightening his shoulders.

"Relax your shoulders and sink your elbows. Try to sense the dantian qi sinking downward. Feel that current of qi within and without the dantian struggling against each other."

Shen Gangfu kicked Lu Li's legs twice more, adjusting his stance.

"Hold this posture for half an incense stick. Carefully feel the changes within your body."

This Eight Trigrams Embracing-Circle Stake Art looked difficult, and in truth, it was anything but simple.

The posture actually required every muscle in his body to unite and exert force together. Before long, he felt all the muscles in his body tightening.

"It felt as though the muscles everywhere were wrestling against one another."

Soreness, numbness, pain.

In less than twenty breaths, he could no longer hold on. His head tipped back, and his whole body stiffly toppled backward onto the ground.

The back of his right elbow scraped against the bluestone slabs, tearing the skin and flesh. Blood began to seep out.

"This body is far too weak."

Lu Li panted heavily. Without even thinking, he quickly scrambled up, leaped onto the wooden stake, and continued practicing.

Shen Gangfu, as though he had expected this all along, continued, "The martial path begins with qi and blood. Still stances build qi and blood to their peak; moving stances refine qi and blood into Internal Force; then Internal Force is used for Gate-Breaking. This is the road you will walk next."

"Master, what comes after Gate-Breaking?"

Shen Gangfu said evenly, "Skin Tempering, Flesh Refining, Tendon Alteration, and Bone Forging—the four great gates."

Lu Li seemed to understand. Skin Tempering, Flesh Refining, Tendon Alteration, Bone Forging... these would be the goals he would strive toward from now on.

"Master, which gate is Fourth Senior Brother at?" Lu Li asked curiously. In truth, what he wanted to ask was which gate Shen Gangfu had reached.

But he did not dare.

Shen Gangfu raised a brow. "Martial practice most forbids aiming too high. If you can break through one gate, that will be enough for you to gain a foothold in Blackwater City."

"Every Gate-Breaking brings earth-shaking changes to a martial artist. If Gate-Breaking fails... it will damage the body, and the later the gate, the harder it is to break through."

Shen Gangfu paused, then said in a deep voice, "Only after successfully breaking through the first gate and reaching the Skin Tempering realm can one be considered a true martial artist. In the jargon, that is called a First-Gate Martial Artist."

Hearing this, Lu Li suddenly understood.

"Gate-Breaking means breaking through a bottleneck."

"Within three months, I need to build qi and blood, refine Internal Force, complete my first bottleneck breakthrough, and become a true First-Gate Skin Tempering martial artist."

As they spoke, Lu Li had already held on for a hundred breaths. A great deal of sweat had unknowingly seeped from his forehead.

The soreness and swelling in his muscles gradually intensified. He silently clenched his teeth and held on desperately.

"Master, what are the chances of succeeding at this first Gate-Breaking?"

Shen Gangfu seemed lost in thought before slowly saying:

"Some break through Three Gates in three years.

Others practice at the entrance of the first gate until they grow old, yet still cannot knock it open."

Shen Gangfu continued explaining, "Leaving aside Upper-Grade Bone Aptitude, those with middle-grade aptitude have a seventy to eighty percent chance of failing at Gate-Breaking."

The failure rate was that high?

"As for lower-grade Root Bone, being able to break through within three months is already difficult. The failure rate exceeds ninety percent."

Shen Gangfu turned and patted Lu Li. "Your Root Bone is the lowest of the low. Your chance of failure is ninety-nine percent."

"A thousand troops and ten thousand horses crossing a single-log bridge—you have only a thread of a chance. Whether you succeed depends on your fortune over these three months."

Lu Li froze at those words. Was his aptitude really that poor?

Just then.

A powerful sensation of weightlessness struck him, and he fell over again, gaining another bloody mark on his hand.

Lu Li lay sprawled on the ground, panting heavily.

He gulped down great mouthfuls of air. His coarse cloth training clothes had long been soaked through, clinging damply to his body.

He lightly bit the tip of his tongue and swallowed the crimson in his mouth. His mind instantly cleared, and he abruptly climbed back up to continue standing the stake.

Time crawled by amid torment.

Lu Li's body began to tremble beyond his control. The numb, aching force traveled from the roots of his thighs to his hip bones, then to his waist and abdomen.

He felt as though every tendon across his back had been tied up and yanked tight, each one being cinched tighter and tighter.

After roughly a quarter of an hour, Lu Li felt as though his five viscera and six bowels were being clenched too. It was not pain—it was stifling, it was swelling...

He gritted his teeth and held on desperately.

It was at that moment that a golden light flashed in his mind:

[Martial Art: Eight Trigrams Embracing-Circle Stake Art, Beginner (1/100)]

[Realm: None (Fine Mist, Wandering Threads)]

Beginner, Minor Accomplishment, Major Accomplishment, Perfection—these represented the various stages of qi and blood fullness.

They respectively corresponded to "Fine Mist, Wandering Threads," "Blood Like Scarlet Clouds," "Qi Through the Hundred Bones," and "Qi and Blood Flowing Rampant."

Lu Li also discovered that the beginner-level experience and techniques of the Eight Trigrams Embracing-Circle Stake Art seemed carved into his mind with a blade.

"Others need a master to teach them slowly, and they need to slowly grasp martial arts for themselves...

"But once I learn something, I will never forget it, and I will forever advance in the correct direction. Is this the effect of proving once and being proven forever?"

Lu Li immediately found his motivation. His blood began to boil as he trained with all his might.

All the way until noon.

"Junior Brother Lu, time to eat."

Fourth Senior Brother Zhao Kuo entered the training room.

Lu Li only felt as though the tendons and bones throughout his body had fallen apart, sore and limp without strength.

"These three bowls of specially prepared meat are something Master specifically ordered. Normally, each person only gets one bowl per meal."

Warmth rose in Lu Li's heart. Shen Gangfu truly was not bad to him.

"Thank you, Master! Thank you, Fourth Senior Brother."

"Junior Brother, no need to thank us. You have to pay for all this. Food supplements cost three taels of silver per month, medicinal baths cost two taels. But new junior brothers can settle up at the end of the month."

Lu Li paused, then replied, "Understood, Senior Brother."

"Settling at month's end was already something Master fought for. Though Master is the resident instructor, the real big boss behind this place is still Heji."

Lu Li nodded. Shen Gangfu's arrangement was likely meant to let newcomers like them learn in peace for another month, giving them a slightly better chance at Gate-Breaking.

As he spoke, Zhao Kuo stuffed the meat meal into Lu Li's hands.

Lu Li hurriedly accepted it.

Steam still rose from the rim of the bowl. Several chunks of meat floated in the soy-colored broth. Lu Li had no idea what kind of meat it was, but the oil on top had gathered into tiny scattered rings across the surface.

Holding the bowl of meat soup, Lu Li could barely restrain himself. He picked up a piece.

The meat had been stewed until it was incredibly tender. At the touch of his chopsticks, it split open along a seam, revealing dark brown grain within.

He took a bite, and the meat melted in his mouth.

The rich fragrance of oil flowed down his throat. After chewing twice, Lu Li swallowed it whole. His stomach soon turned warm, as though a lamp had been lit inside it.

After eating, Zhao Kuo followed his master's instructions and took Lu Li around the martial hall.

The front courtyard was the training ground for new disciples, while the inner courtyard was where older disciples practiced.

The rear courtyard was Master's residence. One was generally not to enter without invitation; under normal circumstances, new disciples only had this opportunity during their first two days.

Beyond the practice grounds, there were storerooms, a dining hall, bath rooms, and everything else they could need.

Afterward, Zhao Kuo made Lu Li rest at noon for half an hour, saying that it was Master's instruction.

Master said that martial practice was not about forcing oneself to endure in one breath. One needed abundant essence, qi, and spirit. Sleeping nourished the spirit, and that too was training.

After waking from his nap.

Lu Li saw that most people in the courtyard were still resting. The blazing sun hung overhead as he silently returned to the rear courtyard's training room and jumped onto a wooden stake.

He stood the still stake over and over. Before long, sweat the size of beans streamed down.

Yet his body remained like a boulder, rigidly maintaining the stance of the stake art without moving in the slightest.

Until dusk deepened.

[Martial Art: Eight Trigrams Embracing-Circle Stake Art, Beginner (33/100)]