Starting from a peasant family, he mastered the profound art of martial arts.

Chapter 13 The Incident

It was early morning, but the sun was already exceptionally strong.

Du Zhong, dressed in casual clothes, began to demonstrate a set of boxing techniques.

He moved slowly, completing a set of punches. After finishing, he smiled and looked at Qi and Meng, asking, "Did you remember it?"

This boxing technique consists of eight sections and is not complicated. Moreover, Du Zhong performs it very slowly, and Meng Chen has already memorized it.

"You guys put on a show and let me see." Du Zhong sat down in the armchair again.

Meng Chen obeyed and did as instructed, but he found it difficult once he started practicing. It wasn't that he couldn't remember the movement techniques, but rather that when he was practicing his fists, he always felt a bit awkward, as if his bones and flesh were stuck together.

After stumbling through a set of punches, I was drenched in sweat, more tired than harvesting half an acre of wheat.

Qi Yun was a bit less capable; he could remember the beginning, but not the end.

"None of them are bad." Du Zhong was very kind and said with a smile, "This is Bahequan, which is divided into eight parts. It's simple and easy to learn."

He pointed at Meng Chen and continued, "For example, you are good at farming, and your strength is certainly not lacking. But harvesting wheat and hoeing the fields are just repeating the same set of physical exertion every day. In addition, you are already sixteen years old, and your body has grown up. If you continue like this, your body will inevitably become stiff. That is, what is commonly referred to as a rigid and inflexible body."

Du Ren, who had been watching from the sidelines, smiled and interjected, "This set of boxing techniques is to loosen your muscles and bones."

"Not bad." Du Zhong nodded and stroked his beard, smiling as he looked at Qi Yun and Meng Chen, saying, "From now on, you two will practice Bahequan every day. Don't worry about your movements being wrong or your strength being wrong. Just practice. When you get bored or tired of it, run around, push the stone roller, or stand on the wooden stake. When you can practice a set of Bahequan without sweating and feel refreshed, I will then teach you the method of breaking through barriers."

"Thank you, Master Du." The two bowed and clasped their hands in thanks.

"Practice hard, we'll talk about the challenge later." Du Zhong smiled and patted Meng Chen and Qi Yun on the shoulder before walking among the apprentices. He whispered a few words of advice to one of them, and asked about their progress to another. He frowned for a moment, and smiled for a moment, but he showed no impatience.

When it was lunchtime, the food was the same as last night, but each person received an extra bowl of fatty pork.

Meng Chen and Qi Yun arrived on the same day and practiced the same set of boxing techniques, so whenever they felt sore or tired, they would massage each other's bodies.

As a result, and given that the two were from the same hometown, their relationship became even closer.

Moreover, Qi Yun was quick-witted. After finding out that there was a fellow villager from Dazexiang in the martial arts school, he pulled Meng Chen to call him senior brother and they sat together during meals.

This fellow villager arrived earlier than Qi and Meng. His name was Gong Ziming. He was an introverted and gloomy person who didn't talk much.

However, being from the same hometown and living under the same roof, the three young men, though strangers, unconsciously joined the group and ate and slept together.

After three days, Meng Chen had become very proficient in Bahequan, and the feeling of stagnation had diminished considerably, but he still could not achieve the "exhilarating" feeling that Master Du had described.

Qi Yun was the same, and seemed to be somewhat inferior to Meng Chen.

However, over the past three days, Meng Chen and Qi Yun have become more and more familiar with each other, while Gong Ziming, on the other hand, is aloof and gloomy, and rarely speaks.

That noon, the three of them got together for lunch again.

There was meat for lunch. Meng Chen had been practicing Bahequan all morning and was starving. He wolfed down the meat and then broke off a steamed bun to dip in the broth.

Qi Yun ate quickly, muttering to himself, "Xiao Meng, Brother Gong, don't let my family's business of slaughtering fool you. We've hardly ever eaten pork properly; we mostly eat offal."

"I've barely even eaten pig offal a few times," Meng Chen said.

"Whenever I have some free time, I'll take you to my house. There's plenty of pig offal!" Qi Yun laughed happily. He then nudged Gong Ziming beside him and asked, "Brother Gong, who is that guy? I always see him gnawing on beef, and there are always people surrounding him."

"His name is Gao Yuan, and he is the son of Gao Dianshi," Gong Ziming said sullenly.

"The son of a clerk? That's someone in charge of criminal justice and thieves, he wields considerable power!" Qi Yun glanced at Gao Yuan a few times, clearly showing some envy, and eagerly asked, "Brother Gong, are you acquainted with him? Introduce us, please!"

Gong Ziming sneered upon hearing this, saying, "Are you here to learn martial arts, or to lick someone's ass?"

Upon hearing this, Qi Yun's face immediately fell, and he remained silent.

After lunch and a short rest, the apprentices resumed their diligent practice under the scorching sun.

While Meng Chen practiced diligently, he kept his eyes wide open, doing more to observe and listen and less to speak.

On the morning of the fifth day, when Meng Chen practiced Bahequan, he finally felt that the stagnation had disappeared, and his punches and kicks became much more natural.

After finishing his practice, Meng Chen felt light and refreshed, as if he were wielding his most handy sickle and harvesting two acres of wheat.

Suppressing his joy, Meng Chen looked at Master Du sitting below the hall, and saw Du Zhong smiling and waving at him.

Meng Chen stepped forward and bowed.

Qi Yun also ran over there; it turned out he had also mastered the Eight Harmonies Fist.

"You two came on the same day, succeeded one after the other, and are from the same hometown, so you should support each other even more in the future."

Du Zhong nodded and smiled slightly, then got down to business, "This Bahequan (Eight Harmonies Fist) is for stretching muscles and bones. Whether you two follow the path of martial arts or not, practicing a set sooner or later will strengthen your body and prolong your life."

"Yes," Qi and Meng replied respectfully.

"Now that you've stretched out, it's time to teach you the method of overcoming obstacles." Du Zhong picked up his teacup, took a slow sip, and continued, "What is an obstacle? It means a pass or a mountain gate. It's an hurdle that we martial artists must overcome on our path. Passing an obstacle and opening a door means progress."

"Martial arts have nine realms, from the first to the ninth, which can be described as a gradual progression."

"Before the sixth realm, each realm has three barriers that must be overcome one by one in order to advance to the next realm."

"In our Qingshui County, reaching the third realm is considered quite a feat. Take Yan Long, whom you all talk about all the time, for example. He's a fourth-realm martial artist, but we're not entirely sure how many levels he's broken through."

"As your teacher, I am only at the second stage of the Three Gates, and my cultivation is shallow. I am like a scholar in the countryside who can only do small things like opening a school and giving enlightenment."

"The three barriers of this first realm are also progressive. The first barrier is the Qi and Blood barrier, which is to strengthen one's own Qi and Blood; the second barrier is the Tendons and Bones barrier, which is to strengthen the Tendons and Bones; and the third barrier is the Skin and Flesh barrier, which is to make the flesh and blood stronger. These three barriers, from the inside out, are all preparations for breaking through to the next realm."

"It's like farming. You have to fertilize, turn the soil, and irrigate. Only by taking good care of the land can the wheat grow tall."

"The first hurdle is the Qi and Blood hurdle. Only by overcoming this hurdle can one be considered to have truly entered the path of martial arts."

"What is Qi and Blood? It is one's own Qi and essence, which is what we often call essence, Qi and spirit. Those who are sickly or have overindulged in sex have insufficient Qi and Blood, or even a deficiency of both. If these people want to practice martial arts, they must first nourish their bodies and cannot practice fierce methods. They must choose some simple and easy methods to regulate their bodies."

"Young people like you are mostly full of energy and blood, but it's still not enough."

"Because we martial artists follow the path of generating our own energy and exhausting our own strength, we believe that all techniques originate from ourselves, and we focus on drawing from within."

"Therefore, it is especially important to have abundant Qi and blood. We must replenish our Qi and blood and cultivate our essence, Qi, and spirit. It's like heating a furnace to a high temperature, so that the water will boil faster! Once that happens, further training will be easier."

After Du Zhong finished speaking, he put down his teacup, stood up, and walked down the steps with his hands behind his back. He slowly said, "If you want your Qi and blood to be full and boiling, you must cultivate your strength. Food and medicine can only be supplementary. The most important thing is to generate your own Qi."

He slowly lowered his waist, stood with his feet parallel and shoulder-width apart, arms hanging down, toes pointing forward, and knees slightly bent, neither straight nor bent.

"This is the Returning to Origin Technique. It means returning to one's source, gathering one's spirit, and cultivating one's inner essence, energy, and spirit." Du Zhong spoke slowly, then continued, "Look carefully, this is the first movement. Keep your head and neck straight, chin slightly tucked in, and tongue tip lightly touching the upper palate to form a bridge. Remember, the key to this movement is to be relaxed without being slack, and tense without being stiff."

After a short while, Du Zhong slowly raised his arms to chest level, then placed his palms together with his fingers slightly tucked in, as if he were holding a bag of wheat chaff.

"This is a punch." Before Du Zhong finished speaking, he retracted his arms and then pushed them outwards. At the same time, he stepped forward with his left foot, rotated his waist, and pointed continuously, saying, "When you exhale, it should be fine and even, and the exhale should be long and slow. The so-called inhalation is gathering and storing. Exhalation is opening and releasing. The key point of this move is that its root is in the feet, the hands and legs work together, and the power comes from the waist."

He was in his fifties or sixties, but he was incredibly agile, his movements were extremely fluid, his breathing was steady, and not a single bead of sweat appeared on his face.

After the rehearsal was over, Du Zhong stopped practicing and returned to the first move. Then he smiled and said, "You two, do it once and let me see."

Meng Chen obeyed and did as instructed. The first stance was not difficult, but when he raised his arms to practice the second stance, he felt a little uncomfortable. Moreover, the more he practiced, the more hot he felt inside his body, and even his breathing became unstable.

Qi Yun did just as well, and seemed even more fluent than Meng Chen.

"Both are good."

Du Zhong corrected Meng Chen and Qi Yun's movements, then instructed them: "From now on, you must diligently practice the Guiyuan Gong every day. For the first form, you must stand for at least fifteen minutes. For the second form, you must practice until your breathing and mind are undisturbed. Remember, do not practice when you are too full or too hungry, or when you are agitated or confused. Also, you need to cultivate your strength; you can have Du Ren teach you that."

After giving his instructions, Du Zhong had Qi and Meng practice the second move several times. Just as he was correcting their movements, Du Ren rushed over in a hurry.

"Something's happened! Something really bad!" Du Ren's face showed surprise, but also seemed to hide a hint of schadenfreude.

"How many times have I told you? Keep your mind calm and your temper even." Du Zhong, hands behind his back, frowned and reprimanded Du Ren, then asked, "What is it?"

Du Ren rubbed his hands together, took two steps forward, and without bothering to hide Meng Chen's presence, said directly, "Yan Bao is dead!"