"Brother Yuan, let's not. This feels so embarrassing."
Fatty's lips moved as he spoke in a voice only the two of them could hear.
"What have you got to be embarrassed about? If my advice doesn't work, wouldn't I be the one losing face?"
"But you covered your face."
Xu Yuan: "..."
"Cut the crap and get on with it. If you really lose face, I'll treat you to a few good meals to make up for it."
Fatty hadn't had much of an opinion of his own to begin with. Hearing that, he sighed and stood in front of the practice dummy again as if resigning himself to his fate.
Seeing this, the onlookers couldn't help mocking him.
"Fatty, this guy's obviously a scammer. You actually believe him?"
"Hurry up and make him refund you. We'll be your witnesses!"
Fatty pretended not to hear and silently assumed the opening stance of Mountain-Crushing Strike.
"Power starts at the feet. Fist half an inch lower, elbow three-tenths of an inch higher, shoulder tilted one point six inches, breathing rhythm..."
Recalling Xu Yuan's instructions, he unleashed Mountain-Crushing Strike once more!
Boom!!!
That chubby-looking fist smashed savagely into the practice dummy again!
The onlookers had still been talking and laughing, waiting to see Xu Yuan make a fool of himself.
But the next instant, every sound vanished!
Their mocking expressions all froze on their faces!
Where Fatty's fist struck, the dummy's chest caved in again, only this time, the depression was clearly more than twice as deep as before!
Even the dummy's back bulged slightly!
"What happened?"
"How did its power increase so much all at once?!"
Fatty stood rooted to the spot too.
Smooth!
That punch had been so smooth!
It was completely different from the punch he had thrown earlier!
It was like a sluggish machine had suddenly been oiled, leaving not a trace of resistance as it ran!
"Yuan... Master, you're the real deal?!"
Fatty turned his neck stiffly, trying hard to widen his tiny, slit-like eyes to express his shock.
But Xu Yuan said, "You're applying force at the wrong point. When you push off the ground, don't plant your entire foot. It's too clumsy. Use the ball of your foot. Again!"
"Oh, okay! I'll try again!"
Executing martial techniques consumed enormous stamina. After two Mountain-Crushing Strikes, Fatty was already breathing much harder than before.
Yet now, he seemed even more motivated and energetic than before!
Boom!!!
Another punch slammed down. It was a little weaker than the last, but almost thirty percent faster!
"Huff, huff... I-I reached minor mastery! Minor mastery!!!"
Panting heavily, Fatty stared at his fist, his plump face flushed red!
"Yes, minor mastery. Go to the side and review and consolidate it yourself."
Xu Yuan clasped his hands behind his back, every inch an accomplished expert.
The onlookers were completely dumbstruck, like wooden chickens.
Everything they had witnessed in those few short minutes had practically smashed their established understanding of "martial technique instruction" to pieces!
"This Fatty... is he a shill?"
Only after more than ten seconds did someone speak dryly.
"No. Fatty's in our class. He used Mountain-Crushing Strike in yesterday's martial techniques lesson too. It was just like his first attempt here."
Zhang Chao shook his head as he spoke, his gaze on the master before him gradually turning fervent!
But before he could act, a girl stepped in front of Xu Yuan ahead of him.
"Beginner-level Wind-Swayed Sword. I'll scan your code!"
Wind-Swayed Sword was the martial technique chosen by almost every girl in Yang City's martial arts classes.
Girls, after all, loved beauty.
Compared with fierce fist techniques, elbow techniques, and the like, graceful, elegant sword techniques naturally appealed more to girls.
Xu Yuan had thought these people would hesitate a little longer. He hadn't expected someone to step forward so soon.
Delighted, he immediately displayed his payment code.
Soon, a system notification popped up from Tianxin Pay confirming a payment of five hundred.
"Begin."
Xu Yuan put away his phone and gestured for the girl to demonstrate.
The girl was decisive and swift by nature. Hearing him, she cupped her fist, stepped back twice, and drew an unsharpened longsword with a clang before executing Wind-Swayed Sword!
At once, the sword moved like a willow swaying in the wind, its graceful elegance carrying a hint of sharpness!
"Not bad. You're still at the beginner level, but you're very close to minor mastery."
Once the girl finished her sword technique, Xu Yuan offered pointers in the same fashion: "Adjust two things. First, when you twirl the sword upward, don't bend your wrist inward too far. Reduce the angle by about ten degrees."
"Second, there's a problem with your breathing rhythm too. Follow me..."
Two minutes later, the girl performed Wind-Swayed Sword again. The entire technique immediately became smooth and seamless. She had successfully crossed into minor mastery!
"Thank you for your guidance, Master!"
The girl looked excited, her little face flushed as she cupped her fist and bowed to Xu Yuan.
"You're welcome. But if you truly want to become proficient with the sword, you still need to practice fundamentals like thrusting, cleaving, pointing, lifting, and slashing. Otherwise, you'll be rootless duckweed, unable to amount to much."
Seeing how polite she was, Xu Yuan couldn't help offering another pointer.
Martial techniques were like skills in a game.
Once learned, they could be unleashed.
But how quickly and accurately they could be unleashed, and whether they could accurately hit an opponent in actual combat, still depended on the fundamentals.
That applied to sword techniques, and equally to fist, saber, and spear techniques.
Divine martial artists possessed extraordinary strength, speed, and reflexes, greatly reducing their need for fundamentals.
But that did not mean fundamentals were useless.
The power of the same martial technique in the hands of someone without fundamentals and someone with solid fundamentals was as different as heaven and earth!
These were all insights the Martial God's brain had passed along incidentally while transmitting martial technique comprehension to Xu Yuan.
"Thank you, Master. I'll practice diligently!" The girl thanked him and bowed again before respectfully stepping away.
"My turn!"
"Me first!"
"First, my ass! I was clearly standing ahead of you!"
As the girl stepped away, everyone who practiced Savage Bull Heart-Shattering Butt, Wind-Swayed Sword, or Mountain-Crushing Strike went completely wild!
At that moment, no one doubted Xu Yuan's abilities anymore!
Instead, every gaze burned with fervor, like forty-year-old virgins suddenly catching sight of a stark-naked, peerless beauty!
They lunged forward like mad!
Those who practiced Savage Bull Heart-Shattering Butt, in particular, had gone red-eyed!
The base staff were startled and hurried over to maintain order.
And so, a long line formed in front of stall seven, leaving the other stallholders dumbfounded.
They often set up stalls here. Some had even been doing it for years and had built reputations for themselves.
Yet even they had never seen anything like this.
"What's the deal with this fucker?"
"No idea. He was surrounded just now. I couldn't see what happened."
Several stallholders who knew one another couldn't help muttering.
But soon, after Xu Yuan finished instructing the third person and took their Savage Bull Heart-Shattering Butt straight from minor mastery to major mastery, the stallholders understood what was going on.
A real fucking master had shown up!
Several stallholders who also practiced Savage Bull Heart-Shattering Butt abandoned their stalls and joined the line.
Xu Yuan turned no one away, and the balance in his Tianxin Pay account began shooting up!
[Tianxin Pay: 1,000 yuan received!] [Tianxin Pay: 500 yuan received!] [Tianxin Pay: 500 yuan received!] [Tianxin Pay: 1,000 yuan received!]
In truth, judged by the other stallholders' pricing standards, Xu Yuan was seriously shortchanging himself.
But raising prices on the spot could easily provoke public outrage. Right now, Xu Yuan only wanted to earn enough money for medicine without trouble, not invite complications, so he simply treated it as a grand opening promotion.
Three hours later, the line in front of stall seven was gone, and Xu Yuan's Heavenly Messenger account balance had gone from zero to 47,000!
"All right, that's all for today. This old man will take his leave. May money bring us together again!"
Xu Yuan packed up and left without hesitation.
Most people might have thought that, with teaching that awesome, everyone present would surely promote him within their respective circles.
If he simply waited here, he could keep earning.
But Xu Yuan knew that wasn't how it worked.
Forget helping spread the word and attract customers-these fuckers probably wished they could seal off all news of this place!
Because, to them, their fellow students were competitors!
Especially the third-year martial arts students, whose assessment was next Monday. Who would want their competitors improving at a time like this?
If they didn't lie to their circles and say the base hadn't opened today, that already counted as having a conscience. How could they possibly volunteer that there was a master at the base who guaranteed mastery?
"Master, are you coming tomorrow?" someone asked loudly.
"You can't resist bragging to your classmates, but you're afraid I'll keep coming tomorrow, right?"
Xu Yuan saw straight through the fellow's thoughts. Waving, he strode away. "Go ahead and brag. I'm not coming tomorrow."
The person who asked blushed at first, but immediately whipped out his phone, unable to wait.
Everyone else did the same.
And so, news that an insanely awesome martial techniques instructor had appeared at the Azure Cloud Martial Arts Base spread rapidly through Yang City's martial arts circles over the internet!