Chapter 56: Chapter 55 Accepting a Disciple (Congratulations to the Night Lord for pulling muscles!)_1 Chapter 56: Chapter 55 Accepting a Disciple (Congratulations to the Night Lord for pulling muscles!)_1 Two months later.
In Tri-element City, at the Youjian Martial Arts School.
It was still so quiet inside that one could hear a pin drop.
Fang Xi didn’t care at all.
At this moment, he was lying on the taishi chair, removing the book that had been covering his face, and with a hint of cheerfulness, he said, “Ever since I unraveled the Three Talents Array Pattern, I’ve finally begun to understand a bit of that inheritance…”
Although the bit he understood was only the beginning, Fang Xi still maintained great enthusiasm.
He knew full well that even as a great practitioner with Foundation Establishment and Divine Consciousness to aid him, making progress in the four arts of cultivation still depended on talent and the resources invested later on!
For example, an alchemist at the Foundation Establishment stage might quickly concoct first-level pills, and with a substantial investment in resources, they could even attempt to create second-level pills, but the input versus output might not break even.
In the end, what level one could reach was still a matter of innate talent!
Not to mention, the array path was even more exceptional.
His talent was clearly of the type that was all effort but no appreciation.
He was left with no choice… wasn’t he?
Since the only Array Skill Inheritance he had was of this level, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and persevere.
“Humph… ha…”
On the training field in front of the school, it wasn’t completely devoid of people.
At this moment, there was a girl in red practicing her boxing against a wooden dummy.
Her figure stood out among her peers, her cheeks flushed with exertion. Though she was not exceedingly beautiful, she had a certain charm.
“Martial Teacher, how did I do?”
Afetr completing a set of boxing techniques, the girl looked expectantly at Fang Xi.
“Not bad, not bad…” Fang Xi praised without a hint of sincerity, “If you can perform the ‘Mixed Origin Fist’ with such spirit and vigor, it won’t be long before you can initially grasp Qi and Blood and reach the Qi Blood First Transformation level. In the future, cultivating True Power and becoming a famed martial hero in the Martial World is just around the corner… just around the corner…”
This girl was named ‘Sun Hongdie’, the daughter of Mr. Sun, their neighbor.
For some reason, she had taken a fancy to practicing martial arts, but the Sun family didn’t have enough money for the hefty entrance fees of other martial schools.
Fortunately, Fang Xi’s martial school was right next door, convenient for Sun Hongdie to return home and also very affordable.
Thus, both parties quickly reached an agreement and Sun Hongdie joined the Youjian Martial Arts School.
And…
“Hongdie, you haven’t finished chopping the firewood at home!”
A man’s head suddenly popped up from over the wall next door; it was none other than Mr. Sun.
“Oh!”
Sun Hongdie had no choice but to put down her dream of martial arts and go back to carrying water and chopping wood…
By the time she returned, she hadn’t practiced for even an incense stick’s time.
“Hongdie, it’s time to cook…”
This time, a woman’s head peeked out from next door, and it was Sun Hongdie’s mother.
“Oh!”
Hongdie responded with a hint of displeasure in her voice.
Just as she was about to leave, she squinted her eyes, sizing up Fang Xi like a sly fox, “Martial Teacher… did you make a deal with my family? You tricked me into practicing martial arts, didn’t you?”
She had long suspected that something was off because the fees of this martial school were only one-tenth of other schools and they even gave her family a further thirty percent discount!
That was just too cheap!
“This… I truly didn’t, you must believe me as your teacher,” Fang Xi responded, his eyes wide as if filled with sincerity.
“I don’t believe you at all! This ‘Mixed Origin Fist’ doesn’t even seem very powerful…” Sun Hongdie muttered to herself.
At that moment, Mr. Sun from next door walked into the school with a smile, “Fang Leng, my nephew, how about we have a drink together tonight? I just chopped up some fine pork head!”
“Mmm, that sounds good!” Fang Xi put down his book and smiled in response.
“That’s great, I’ll ask the missus to fry a couple more dishes!”
Mr. Sun was chuckling happily.
In reality, he had it all figured out. Although Fang Leng was a foreigner and the martial school didn’t have many apprentices, he had money!
He had inquired around and found out that the place wasn’t rented but bought outright!
Moreover, if you can open a martial school, you definitely have martial skills and are healthy!
Money, youth, good looks, health… what was this? This was a prime son-in-law material!
His daughter Hongdie was fifteen already and not yet wed, which was nearly driving him mad with worry.
Moreover, the girl was crazily declaring her desire to practice martial arts. Was martial arts a woman’s pursuit?
Eventually, he agreed, not because the Youjian Martial Arts School was cheap, but because being close to the water tower gets the moon first!
As for the tuition fees? What was given now would definitely be recouped later—He’d even have to beg them to accept the money!
Thinking of this, Mr. Sun couldn’t help but touch his mustache with a smug grin.
Sun Hongdie glared at her father, always feeling he was conspiring something.
However, she didn’t know that Mr. Sun already planned to trade his salty daughter for a nice dowry…
The braised pork head was fragrant, and old Zhang’s family brewed rice wine at the alley entrance wasn’t bad either.
Fang Xi had a rather good time eating, it was only slightly annoying that Mr. Sun kept asking Sun Hongdie to bring dishes and pour wine.
But he didn’t mind; he was Sun Hongdie’s teacher, a teacher for a day is a father for life.
A daughter serving her father during a meal, isn’t that what she’s supposed to do?
…
Late at night.
After a fulfilling meal and drinks, Fang Xi hummed a tune on his way to fish out the keys to open the door of the martial arts school when he suddenly glanced to the side.
In the cold night breeze, it seemed like two dark objects were wriggling, like stray dogs.
“Homeless children?”
With Fang Xi’s remarkable eyesight, he directly saw that crouching in the corner were not any stray cats or dogs, but… people!
Two thin kids with tattered clothes, squatting in a corner to shelter from the wind and keep warm, looking like little beggars.
“You… where do you beggars come from?”
Fang Xi walked over and asked the bigger one.
The larger beggar’s hair was a mess. When he looked up, he revealed a pleading smile, “Sir… we’re from the temple of the land, but the temple has been taken over by a few outside beggars… Please be kind, give us something to eat…”
This slightly larger beggar looked about the same age as a twelve or thirteen-year-old child, but Fang Xi, through his observation of the beggar’s qi and blood, felt that he was probably fifteen, suffering from long-term malnutrition.
“Life is so hard… What’s your name?” Fang Xi thought of Zhang Mingding and couldn’t help but ask.
“Qing… Qing Sang!”
Qing Sang looked up at the big man with a pleading gaze.
If they couldn’t get some food soon, they might starve to death the next day.
However, he saw the other party open the main door, walk in, and then… bang!
The door slammed shut harshly.
Qing Sang’s head drooped, the hope in his eyes gradually fading…
“Big brother… I’m hungry!”
The smaller beggar murmured, unclear if he was delirious from hunger or dreaming.
The cold wind continued as usual.
No one knew how much time had passed.
Crack!
From inside the courtyard, a few white objects were thrown out, landing at their feet.
“These are… steamed buns? Dai, get up… there are steamed buns to eat.”
Qing Sang grabbed the steamed buns and stuffed them into his mouth, that sweet, filling sensation, how long had it been since he last experienced it?
The one beside him, Dai, was also devouring the steamed buns as if he was no longer human, but a wild beast!
…
The next day.
Early morning.
Fang Xi opened the door of the martial arts school and stretched comfortably in the sunlight.
“Sir…!”
A timid voice called out from beside him.
“Oh? It’s you guys? Still not leaving?”
Fang Xi’s eyes slightly narrowed.
Gratitude for a spoonful of rice can turn into hatred for a sackful.
If this beggar thought Fang Xi was easy to talk to, hoping to snag a long-term meal ticket, then…
“Thank you, benefactor, for the meal yesterday!”
Qing Sang, along with Dai, knocked their heads on the ground with a bang, and then stood up to leave.
Having mingled in the markets for many years, he clearly understood that one couldn’t always depend on the kindness and charity of others…
“Wait!”
Just then, Fang Xi suddenly called the two back, “You’ve seen that I run a martial arts school. Since we’re fated to meet, I will teach you a move!”
Small beggars in the street were easy targets for adult beggars, after all, they were young and weak.
Qing Sang immediately stopped, staring intently at Fang Xi.
Fang Xi didn’t hesitate, extending his right hand with fingers clenched into a fist, swinging it backward, and then suddenly lashed out with force!
Bang!
The air exploded with a boom.
“This move, moon-stealing style, is best suited for someone short in stature… When you execute it, remember to channel the strength from your feet up to your waist…”
He explained a few points in detail.
This was not any Qi and Blood Martial Arts technique, but rather a few small, ancillary skills.
Even if practiced to perfection, they couldn’t enter the Qi Blood First Transformation, and might actually damage their own bodies instead.
They were akin to ‘finishing moves’!
But… it can’t be denied that they have a very quick effect! Once mastered, they’re not suitable against masters, but against an untrained person, they’re deadly accurate!
Especially this ‘moon-stealing style,’ when executed by a child, targets the lower areas. A slight lack of caution and there’s a risk of getting crushed…
If used in a serious martial arts competition, one would be showered with verbal abuse from the audience.
But what do beggars care about that?
As for bodily harm? If one can’t get food, perhaps Qing Sang and his friend wouldn’t survive the next few days due to starvation…
Compared to the imminent threat of death, any future damage was insignificant.
“Alright, go on now!”
After teaching the two beggars, Fang Xi returned to the martial arts school.
This time, it was just a whim, a spontaneous act.
He was also curious to see what kind of future the seeds he now planted would grow into.
Back at the school, he spread out a sheet of white paper in his quiet room and, holding a brush, he began to practice calligraphy!
Yes, calligraphy!
According to the secrets of the Yuanhe Wulei Hand passed down by Linghu Shan, the fourth step for a Martial Teacher, God and Strength Fusion, mainly relied on comprehension.
But there were also secrets to speed up the process.
The secret technique of Yuanhe Mountain was… calligraphy!
By continuously writing, one adjusts the True Strength in the wrists and fingers, combining it with the brush to strive for writing where each character embodies both form and spirit!
As Linghu Shan said, he once broke through on the spot while drunk, spontaneously splashing ink to imitate an essay by an ancient writer…
“God and Strength Fusion, hand and force combined, ultimately expressed on paper…”
Fang Xi looked at the character ‘eternity’ he had written, knitting his brows; it was seriously lopsided.
But there was nothing to be done; controlling the True Strength in his wrist in a special pattern while writing was already a bothersome task.
It’s like asking a regular person to write with their arms tied to dozens of pounds of stone; being able to write at all was an achievement.
“It seems… I still need to accumulate experience,” Fang Xi thought somewhat helplessly.