Taking a Master

"The second level teaches An Jin. I can't teach it here." Lu Yu forced down the shock in her heart and lowered her voice.

She glanced at the growing crowd of students around them, then simply took Su Han by the hand and led him toward the door.

"Come with me."

But by now, the training hall was in an uproar.

"Where's Senior Sister Lu taking him?"

"After that display, don't tell me he's already perfected Ming Jin?"

"Senior Sister Lu must be taking him to learn An Jin."

"Wait, isn't this only his first day?"

The martial arts school's disciples made no attempt to hide the envy and shock in their eyes. They had trained so hard for so long, yet their achievements couldn't compare to what the person before them had accomplished in a few moves.

Comparisons really could drive a person to death.

Some, especially Lu Yu's suitors, were already beginning to feel jealousy and hatred.

There was an office at the far end of the second floor.

Lu Yu pushed open the door and went in.

A middle-aged man sat inside, brewing tea.

He wasn't tall, but he had a large frame and wore loose training clothes.

When he saw Lu Yu come in, pulling an unfamiliar young man along, a startled look crossed his face.

"Dad." Lu Yu closed the door, her expression extremely solemn.

"There's something you need to see."

The man was none other than Lu Xunxiang, the head of the Celestial Phenomena Martial Arts School, a Hua Jin master, and Lu Yu's father.

Hearing his daughter's words, Lu Xunxiang set down the teapot and looked Su Han over. "A new student?"

"Yeah, he just signed up for the elite class." Lu Yu's voice was a little hurried.

"Dad, he's perfected his stance training, and he just learned Mountain-Splitting Jin in three tries."

Lu Xunxiang frowned.

"Learned Mountain-Splitting Jin in three tries? Xiaoyu, are you joking with me?"

"I saw it with my own eyes."

Lu Yu pointed at Su Han, her face full of shock.

"He also said he only learned the basic stances here for a few days half a year ago, and that he just came back today."

Lu Xunxiang looked at Su Han, his eyes narrowing slightly. "Half a year ago? What's your name?"

"Su Han."

Lu Xunxiang thought for a moment, but the name didn't ring a bell.

There were too many students at the school. Unless one stood out, he couldn't remember them.

"Perfected his stance training?"

Although Lu Xunxiang didn't quite believe it, he still stood up because his daughter had brought Su Han here.

"Show me."

Su Han wasted no words and immediately assumed his stance in the open space in the office.

He performed the nine stances as smoothly as flowing clouds and water.

When he reached the ninth stance, Ming Jin cracked through the air.

"Crack!"

The sound was especially sharp in the office.

Lu Xunxiang nodded slightly.

He stared at Su Han for several seconds before saying, "Now show me Mountain-Splitting Jin too."

Su Han assumed his stance and threw a few punches.

Ming Jin cracked with each one.

Lu Xunxiang said nothing.

He walked up to Su Han and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Use all your strength and hit me."

Su Han hesitated.

"Hit me," Lu Xunxiang said.

Su Han drew a breath and punched.

He didn't hold back on this punch, though of course he didn't use all his strength either. His physique was over two hundred now, and using all his strength might cause problems.

He calculated it and used the strength of his current martial arts realm alone.

Halfway through the punch, Lu Xunxiang blocked it with his palm.

"Thump!"

A muffled impact rang out.

Lu Xunxiang didn't budge, but his palm tingled slightly.

His eyes lit up.

"Again."

Su Han threw several more punches, each carrying Ming Jin.

Lu Xunxiang caught them all, his eyes growing brighter with each one.

Finally, he withdrew his hand and took a deep breath. "Have you practiced martial arts before? Taken a master?"

"No," Su Han said. "I only trained here for a few days half a year ago."

"A few days..." Lu Xunxiang murmured, then looked at Lu Yu. "Teach him the second level."

Lu Yu froze. "Now?"

"Now," Lu Xunxiang said. "I want to see."

Lu Yu nodded, turned to Su Han, and began teaching him.

"The second level is called Cloud-Piercing Jin. It's an An Jin training method."

"Watch closely. An Jin isn't the same as Ming Jin. Ming Jin strikes the outside, while An Jin strikes the inside..."

She began demonstrating, breaking down every movement and detail.

Su Han watched once.

His comprehension was already so high that it was as if a little figure in his mind were following Lu Yu's demonstration and learning it perfectly.

Then he assumed his stance. His gaze sharpened abruptly as he began to practice.

On the first attempt, his movements were a little awkward.

On the second, they became smooth.

Then came the third.

Su Han threw a punch.

The sound of his fist cutting through the air was faint, and it didn't seem as powerful as Ming Jin.

But there was something strange about the sound, like a muffled impact through cloth.

Both Lu Xunxiang and Lu Yu's eyes shook.

Nothing showed on the surface; the strike was aimed at the inside.

The truly terrifying power was all hidden in the depths.

He had mastered An Jin.

The office was so quiet that they could hear one another breathing.

Lu Xunxiang's mouth hung open for a long time.

Having seen it happen before, Lu Yu recovered more quickly this time. Seeing the same shocked expression on her father's face, she suddenly laughed.

"Dad, that look on your face just now-it was like you'd seen a ghost."

Lu Xunxiang ignored her.

He walked up to Su Han and looked him up and down, as though he were looking at some rare treasure.

"You... are you sure you've never learned it before?"

"I'm sure," Su Han said.

Lu Xunxiang took a deep breath, then slowly let it out.

Su Han had learned An Jin after practicing it only three times.

This was more than just talent. He was a monster.

In all his years teaching at the martial arts school, Lu Xunxiang had never seen anything like it!

"Su Han." Lu Xunxiang was utterly solemn now.

"I want to take you as my personal disciple."

Su Han was taken aback.

"Take me as your master, and I'll teach you the next three levels: Hua Jin, Baodan, and True Gang," Lu Xunxiang said.

Su Han fell silent for a moment, then spoke obliquely.

"I have a bit of trouble."

"What kind of trouble?" Lu Xunxiang asked.

"The kind people die from."

Lu Xunxiang laughed. "I, Lu Xunxiang, have lived for forty-eight years. What kind of trouble haven't I seen? I'm not afraid of trouble!"

"Besides, according to the rules, I can't teach you the rest unless you take me as your master. No amount of money would change that. Those are the inheritance rules of the Secret Martial Arts world."

Su Han looked at Lu Xunxiang and gave it serious thought.

He needed the rest of the Secret Martial Arts, and he needed to grow stronger.

Taking a master was the fastest path.

So Su Han addressed him respectfully.

"Master."

Lu Xunxiang's face immediately filled with pride and delight.

"Good! Good!" He patted Su Han on the shoulder, grinning from ear to ear.

"From today on, you're my, Lu Xunxiang's, personal disciple! Xiaoyu, this is your junior brother!"

Lu Yu looked at Su Han and smiled. "Junior Brother."

With the master-disciple bond established, the atmosphere relaxed at once.

Lu Xunxiang pulled Su Han over to sit down and poured him a cup of tea himself. "We'll make up the master-disciple ceremony later. First, let me tell you about Secret Martial Arts."

Su Han accepted the tea and listened respectfully.

"Secret Martial Arts, plainly put, are skills passed down from ancient times."

"Now that society has developed, there are other, more effective ways to grow stronger besides Secret Martial Arts."

"There are enhanced humans and modified humans. The former take enhancement serums to strengthen themselves, and their combat power starts at ten thousand at the very least."

"The latter pay an exorbitant price to modify themselves with machinery and technology. Their combat power starts at a hundred thousand at the very least,"

Lu Xunxiang continued.

"But we don't need to worry too much. Secret Martial Arts are still very useful."

"What we mainly train in is the technique of applying jin force: Ming Jin, An Jin, Hua Jin. We train deeper one level at a time. When it comes to techniques for applying force, no other method is as strong as ours."

"The only drawback is that Secret Martial Arts can't temper the body."

"Can't temper the body?" Su Han asked in confusion.

"That's right. Even a True Gang grandmaster's raw combat power is only on par with a white-rank enhanced human's."

"Why?"

"Because the body can't keep up."

Lu Xunxiang continued his explanation.

"Secret Martial Arts train technique and the application of jin force."

"But an enhanced human's body is several times as tough as yours, their speed several times yours, and their strength several times yours."

"No matter how well you can apply force, when they throw a punch at you, you can't even block it."

Su Han understood.

"So the truly strong people nowadays all switch from Secret Martial Arts to becoming enhanced humans," Lu Yu added.

"Several of the senior brothers who left our school later took enhancement serums."

"They have a foundation in Secret Martial Arts and know how to apply force. Add an enhanced body to that, and they're truly strong."

At that point, Lu Xunxiang suddenly sighed.

"Enhancement serums have enormous drawbacks. The older generation of Secret Martial Artists are extremely opposed to them now."

"But the reality is, without taking enhancement serums, the furthest you can go in Secret Martial Arts is to become a True Gang grandmaster, with a combat power of thirty thousand at the absolute limit. Enhanced humans, on the other hand, easily start in the tens of thousands."