Fleshly Body Realm, diligence makes up for lack of talent (celebrating alliance leader Nuclear Explosion Double Helix!)

[Inscription: Never tire of fine food, never tire of abundant spirit]

[Guidance: Do not scorn its small mouth; it can swallow all phenomena. Satisfy its cravings and reap its benefits.]

The way to "raise" this greedy little snake is to feed it plenty and fill its belly?

Lu Sui lifted the little green snake, as slender as a chopstick, and brought it before his eyes for a closer look.

The little fellow knew how to act cute. It rolled over to expose its snow-white belly, and the tip of its tail wagged twice as if trying to please him.

I just don't know what it can eat. Rice water and thin porridge? Candied fruit and pastries? Or perhaps... precious medicinal herbs?

Lu Sui pondered for a good while without coming up with an answer, then simply left the ancient temple for now.

He seemed to have lingered in the temple for a long time, but in fact, only an instant had passed.

When he opened his eyes, the clamor of the outside world surged over him like a tide.

Dou Xiaowen still wore a face full of astonishment, Heiwa was still dumbstruck, and the sturdy men in the courtyard still stood frozen in place.

"Uncle Wen, was my stance alive or dead?"

Lu Sui held on for another half-quarter of an hour before slowly releasing that breath of Qi.

After nearly half an hour of stance training, the originally thumb-thick strand of Qi had actually grown a size larger.

It coiled like a little snake three inches below his navel, radiating warmth.

"Young master, if only you had shown your talent a few years earlier."

Dou Xiaowen sighed.

"In the end, I'm just a self-taught dabbler who took this up halfway through life. I stumbled into what little skill I have through luck and teaching myself.

"I can only teach you some rudimentary martial arts. I have no way to truly bring you into the profession."

Releasing the ball clamped beneath his crotch, Lu Sui straightened his back and stood upright.

He felt the muscles in his thighs twitching, hard as cast iron.

Stance training was far more exhausting than breathing exercises!

Panting heavily, he asked with a smile,

"Uncle Wen, what would count as truly entering the profession?"

Dou Xiaowen did not hurry to answer. He waited until Xiaohuan, who had accompanied Lu Sui, finished wiping away his sweat with a handkerchief, then said,

"Young master, come inside with me."

Lu Sui undid the buttons of his front-opening long gown and stepped over the threshold.

The curtain fell behind him, shutting out the amazed gazes of everyone in the courtyard.

Dou Xiaowen led him into the inner room and pointed at the kang bed against the wall.

"Young master, take off your upper garments and outer trousers, then lie facedown."

What was this for?

Lu Sui did not understand, but he did as instructed.

Compared with his rib-thin frame of a while ago, he looked much better now.

At least the muscles throughout his body were gradually growing fuller and stronger, showing faint definition.

Lu Sui lay facedown on the kang while Dou Xiaowen opened the large wooden chest in the corner and took out a sealed copper jar.

He pressed down hard with his thumb. The clay seal shattered at once, releasing a strong medicinal smell.

"Young master, you grasped the feel of the stance on your very first attempt and brought it to life. In terms of talent alone, I've never seen your equal."

Dou Xiaowen walked to the kang and called outside,

"Miss Xiaohuan, come lend a hand."

Once Xiaohuan entered, he handed her the copper jar and had her coat both hands with ointment.

"Shoulders, back, waist, hips, thighs, calves... apply it everywhere."

Dou Xiaowen directed her from the side as he explained,

"Stance training increases strength and toughens the body because it engages the whole body, constantly stretching the sinews and bones and twisting the muscles.

"People who don't understand it and blindly work themselves hard, burying their heads in lifeless stance training, do themselves harm rather than good.

"Applying this Blood-Invigorating Ointment and following it with massage ensures that no hidden injuries remain."

No wonder they said the poor studied letters while the rich practiced martial arts.

Lu Sui understood. Martial artists spent money like flowing water.

For someone born poor, hoping to enter a martial arts school and turn their fortunes around through training was probably a pipe dream.

Not only would their progress be extremely slow and cost them silver, they could easily waste their years and leave themselves with chronic ailments...

"Take those men in the courtyard. Once they pass forty, all sorts of problems will surface, all because they trained their stances too fiercely."

Dou Xiaowen spoke unhurriedly.

"From now on, whenever you train your stance for more than half an hour in a day, have Miss Xiaohuan apply ointment and massage you.

"The strength they take four or five years of stance training to gain will take you only two or three months."

Good thing I'm the young master.

Feeling Xiaohuan's gentle movements and the fiery sting of ointment seeping into his skin, Lu Sui could not help feeling fortunate.

"Young master, to be honest, when you first came to the courtyard asking to learn martial arts, I didn't take it seriously."

Dou Xiaowen looked solemn. Lu Sui's two monstrous displays had already shaken him deeply.

"In the Land Beyond the Pass, the martial path is collectively called the Fleshly Body Realm. It has four thresholds.

"The first is called Internal Nourishment. You must cultivate a sense for Qi, strengthen your blood and Qi, temper your force, then extend it throughout your limbs.

"Young master, you're at this stage now. Once that strand of Qi can grow and advance no further, you can begin 'renewing the blood and strengthening the bones.'

"Only after crossing that threshold will you truly enter the martial profession and be able to enroll at the major schools to study training methods and fighting methods."

Fleshly Body Realm, first stage, Internal Nourishment. Qi suffuses every bone, then the blood is renewed...

Lu Sui committed it to memory and asked,

"Uncle Wen, what stage would I need to reach to deal with demonic calamities?"

Dou Xiaowen's eyelids jerked, and his face twitched.

"Demonic calamities? Where did you hear about those, young master... Never mind, you would have to learn sooner or later.

"If you break through to the second stage of the Fleshly Body Realm, Fetus Embracing, and refine all your meridians until your blood and Qi are like a blazing furnace, you'll be able to weather minor calamities and troubles safely."

Lu Sui asked another question.

"Uncle Wen, have you reached Fetus Embracing?"

Dou Xiaowen raised a hand to gesture and grinned.

"I'm still a little short."

Lu Sui silently made Dou Xiaowen his unit of combat strength, thinking,

Uncle Wen made it through Shaqing Pass, yet he hasn't reached Fetus Embracing. It seems breaking through to the second stage of the Fleshly Body Realm isn't easy.

He considered for a moment, then asked,

"Uncle Wen, do you mean that if I want to aim for the second stage of the Fleshly Body Realm, I'd best find a martial arts school to enroll in?"

Dou Xiaowen nodded.

"It's not that I'm holding anything back or reluctant to teach you, young master.

"The Turtle-Snake Stance is a nourishing method I obtained in the mountains, and my own mastery of it isn't particularly profound.

"As for the skill I practice, it's an external hard-body art, a fighting method rather than a training method.

"You're at the stage of laying a firm foundation now, young master. In my opinion, you'd be better off finding a proper master and learning a training method."

Lu Sui considered this and found it very reasonable.

Everyone had their own specialty. Uncle Wen did not make his living running a school and teaching disciples, so naturally he had never studied training methods.

"Then I'll tell Father and have him choose a suitable martial arts school later."

Lu Sui never concealed his astonishing training speed, mainly because he wanted Lu Yulin's support.

He knew full well that everyone in the Lu household respected only his title of "young master." He had no personal authority to speak of.

Whatever he did, even going out, required Lu Yulin's approval, let alone drawing silver and spending freely.

I have to change my former image of weakness and gradually gain a say. Otherwise, being this young master will feel stifling and restrictive...

As his thoughts turned, Lu Sui asked casually,

"Uncle Wen, what's that signature external hard-body art of yours? Is it powerful?"

A few wrinkles gathered at the corners of Dou Xiaowen's eyes as he smiled.

"Just the Iron Cloth Shirt you can find everywhere. If you want to learn it, young master, I'll teach you once your Internal Qi grows strong and you enter blood renewal.

"My external art has seven levels. Each level eliminates one vulnerable point.

"You're still a virgin, young master, so you can start with the first level, Iron Crotch."

Iron Crotch?

The corner of Lu Sui's mouth twitched as agonizing images of forcefully pounding his lower body surfaced in his mind.

Maybe I should forget it...

"Young master, lie here for a full quarter of an hour and let the ointment take full effect before washing it off."

After leaving those instructions, Dou Xiaowen went off to "report" to Lu Yulin.

The Lu Family's sole heir was a born martial talent!

The master would surely be deeply gratified to learn of it.

He might even abandon his original idea of sending the young master back to the village.

As time passed, the fiery sting on Lu Sui's skin intensified, scorching hot as dripping candle wax.

Lu Sui thought,

With money to afford ointment, two or three months can equal someone else's four or five years. But the suffering I have to endure still has to be endured. There's no avoiding it.

[Seeing your lively Qi giving off a fragrance, the Turtle-Snake Stance's appetite stirred!]

[It actually drooled, eager to feast to its heart's content...]

Fragrance?

Lu Sui scanned the emerging text, filled with puzzlement.

The next instant, something seemed to seize the fiery medicinal potency scorching his skin, drawing it into his body thread by thread.

The greedy little snake is getting to work?

Lu Sui paid close attention. The pain of candle wax dripping onto his skin faded, and the scorching heat vanished with it, leaving only pure medicinal potency nourishing his sinews and bones.

Do not scorn its small mouth; it can swallow all phenomena... So that's what it means.

Understanding dawned on Lu Sui. The greedy little snake swallowing the medicinal potency was equivalent to his perfectly absorbing it himself.

In that case, whenever he encountered a bottleneck or hurdle in training, couldn't he just pop pills freely?

By the time Dou Xiaowen returned to the courtyard, dusk had fallen.

It was mealtime, and the sturdy men had spent a grueling day practicing their stances.

Like reincarnated hungry ghosts, they crowded in front of the stove with bowls in hand, waiting to eat.

Only Heiwa remained in the courtyard, holding the Subduing Tiger Stance and moving slowly.

Dou Xiaowen watched for a while before speaking.

"Heiwa, your Subduing Tiger Stance is nearly at minor attainment too. Your Qi is growing thicker and more distinct.

"But training needs a balance of exertion and rest. Go eat first."

Beads of sweat rolled down Heiwa's forehead, each splattering into eight pieces on the ground.

He answered in a muffled voice,

"Master Dou, I want to train a little longer!"

"What the young master said today was absolutely right! The clumsy bird flies first, and diligence makes up for lack of talent. As long as I work hard, I'll gain something!"

"My talent can't compare with the young master's. He reached minor attainment in half a month. If I put in three times the effort, surely I'll make some progress in three months!"

The corner of Dou Xiaowen's eye twitched, but in the end, he said nothing.

Listening to the young master's nonsense!

At his pace-grasping a sense for Qi in five days, reaching minor attainment in nearly half a month, figuring out the feel of a stance in half an hour.

How could effort alone possibly achieve that!

"Then practice your stance properly. I'll have them save you some food."

Dou Xiaowen walked toward the house with his hands behind his back, muttering inwardly,

Diligence makes up for lack of talent. That's certainly true.

But genius is the most unreasonable thing there is. How could 'diligence' ever make up for that!

In the blink of an eye, the end of August arrived, with the autumn tiger of lingering heat showing its might.

Outside, the sun blazed fiercely and the cicadas shrilled.

Beneath the inner courtyard's covered walkway, Xiaohuan and Xiaotang directed the other maids to splash water over the blue-brick ground to relieve the heat.

Lu Sui slowly moved through his stance beneath the grape arbor. The strand of Qi coursing through his chest and abdomen swam like a nimble snake, passing through sinews, bones, skin, and membranes, driving his blood along.

Before long, his inner robe was soaked through and clung tightly to his back.

"Sister Xiaotang, the young master's been growing stronger and sturdier since he started training."

Xiaohuan's dark, gleaming eyes stared fixedly at Lu Sui as sweat poured off him like rain.

"You little thing, where are you looking?"

Xiaotang chided softly.

She followed Xiaohuan's gaze toward the young master practicing his stance.

His shoulders and back stretched out, revealing muscle definition in just the right proportions.

Not only had he lost his former bedridden weakness and withered appearance, he now exuded a masculine air.

It made one want to reach out and touch him...

"She's just pretty, that's all. It's not like I was lying."

Xiaohuan turned and asked in puzzlement.

"Sister Xiaotang, why are you blushing?"

"...It's too hot."

Xiaotang hastily raised a hand and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear:

"Hurry over to Second Madam's courtyard and bring that jar of chilled sour plum soup. Young Master will want a bowl to ease his fatigue once he finishes practicing."

"Okay!"

Xiaohuan replied cheerfully.

Xiaotang alone remained beneath the covered walkway, watching Lu Sui practice his stance in complete concentration, her thoughts drifting a little.

In another few years, Young Master would be having his coming-of-age ceremony.

[Seeing you persist in stance practice, "Turtle-Snake Stance" was greatly encouraged!]

[Guiding Qi with complete concentration, it actually achieved a breakthrough...]

Lu Sui suddenly felt the pores all over his body open. He felt as though he were soaking in warm water, relaxing without realizing it.

If only I could find this state every time I practiced my stance.

When Turtle-Breathing Tuna and Spirit Snake Circulating Qi operated together, they occasionally produced this surging of Qi that cleansed him inside and out.

This was probably the health-nourishing aspect of "Turtle-Snake Stance."

Through breathing exercises and stance practice, his Qi circulated through a full heavenly circuit, increasing his strength and blood Qi, which in turn nourished his physique.

This kind of tangible feedback and improvement feels so much better than working out...

Lu Sui immersed himself in the exhilarating sensation of his Qi growing stronger, until he was utterly exhausted.

"Whew!"

He let out a long breath of turbid air, stripped off his sweat-soaked inner robe, and sat down at the edge of the walkway.

Two maids assigned to heavy chores carried over a large basin of ice and set it beside him.

Other maids fanned him from either side, stirring threads of cool air that washed over his back, refreshing him all over.

So far, I haven't found any downsides to being a young master.

Lu Sui marveled. Wealthy households harvested ice and stored it in cellars for summer use, and it worked hardly any worse than a refrigerator.

"Young Master, here's the sour plum soup."

Xiaohuan offered him a porcelain bowl as though presenting a treasure.

"Chilled to the core. Now that hits the spot."

Lu Sui took it and tipped his head back, gulping down more than half the bowl. A hint of tartness ran through the sweetness, making it wonderfully refreshing.

"Young Master, let this servant give you a massage."

Xiaotang rolled up her sleeves, scraped a layer of blood-activating ointment from a copper jar, and melted it in her palms before pressing her hands to Lu Sui's shoulders and back, kneading gently.

Sister Xiaotang beat me to that job.

Xiaohuan stole a glance. Lu Sui had both hands braced on his legs, his shoulders and back spread flat, making them look especially broad. Ridges of muscle tapered down along his waist, a very pleasing sight.

Next time, it should be my turn to massage Young Master.

Lu Sui had no idea he had become "scenery" for the maids to admire. As the blood-activating ointment seeped into his skin, the burning pain flared up again.

Before long, however, the familiar text sprang out.

[Seeing your lively Qi and the fragrance you gave off, "Turtle-Snake Stance" felt its appetite stir!]

[Nibbling away at the medicinal potency, slowly digesting...]

This greedy little snake might not be as diligent as the little turtle in helping me practice, but it has its own uses.

As the saying went, every medicine was three parts poison.

Aside from blood-activating ointment, practicing martial arts inevitably involved dealing with tiger-and-wolf medicines, whether to break through barriers or strengthen the sinews and bones.

If the greedy little snake can digest every one of them, wouldn't that mean I could pop pills without any side effects?

Lu Sui's thoughts wandered. Once he had learned training methods and fighting methods, he might as well give it a try.

He put aside his stray thoughts and asked casually:

"Xiaohuan, has something happened in the household lately? Why is Father away from home so often?"

Xiaohuan scratched her head, her face utterly blank.

Well, that was a waste of a question!

Lu Sui shook his head. This little maid spent all day in a muddle, caring only about eating and sleeping.

"Young Master, you may not know this, but the end of the year is drawing near. The head shopkeepers of all the shops have to return to the main establishment to collect their dividends."

Without pausing her hands, Xiaotang took up the conversation:

"Also, something happened on Shopkeeper Luo's end at West Mountain. Five large cartloads of goods sent to Yongning Prefecture ten days ago were robbed while crossing a mountain ridge. The master is probably terribly troubled right now."

Someone dared rob the Lu Family's goods within Changle County?

Lu Sui's brows abruptly drew tight.