From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 14: Perfection of Essence and Fire
Sure enough!

When Meng Yuan saw Nie Yannian driving people away, he felt relieved.

The young man whose name was called finally understood that these people were slacking off in training and thought they could continue to get by, but they didn't expect Nie Yannian to eliminate them.

"Master Nie, Master Nie..."

Seeing that he had no chance to learn martial arts, Liu He panicked for a moment, knelt down, hugged Nie Yannian's legs, and begged, "Master Nie, please keep me, I will definitely learn well!"

He was in tears and very scared, obviously his parents had high hopes for him.

The rest of the people who were named also knelt down and kowtowed to beg for mercy.

Nie Yannian was amiable, smiling and saying, "If one wants to move up, the only way is to study and practice martial arts. You can't study, so you can only practice martial arts. For us martial artists, either you have outstanding talent or you are diligent and hardworking, but you have neither, so what's the point of learning? You only want to be lazy and slack off, without any self-control. Can you endure the hardship of training in the hottest days of summer and the coldest days of winter?"

"I can bear it! I will change! I will definitely change!" Liu He kowtowed on the ground and begged in tears: "Master Nie, please give me another chance for my father's sake!"

"I'm telling you all this just for your father's sake. People have to make their own way. You're not cut out for martial arts, so there's no point wasting your time." Nie Yannian smiled warmly, "Anyway, your father is here. Whether you go to the farm or do something else, even if you become a rabbit god, you won't starve."

Seeing that Nie Yannian's tone was gentle but he had no intention of changing his mind, Liu He could not help but collapse to the ground.

"Get out of here, quickly! Stop wasting time, or else time will waste you." Although Nie Yannian was cursing, his tone was encouraging.

Seeing that Liu He's pleading was useless, the boys and girls who were called out couldn't help but burst into tears. They all hung their heads in dejection, went back to the dormitory to get their bags, and then left reluctantly.

Liu He walked to the gate of the training ground with dull eyes, stopped, and looked back at the people who stayed behind. He saw that Hu Qian looked normal, as if she had known this would happen. Wu Changsheng and Zhao Tieniu both had uncontrollable joy on their faces, but Meng Yuan had no expression on his face. He didn't even laugh at his victory, and he didn't even bother to look at him.

"If you want to be respected in front of others, you must suffer behind their backs. This principle is the same no matter what profession you are in. In the future, what you will have to practice and learn will be ten times more difficult and tiring than now."

Nie Yannian looked around at the people who stayed behind, pointed at Liu He who was far away at the entrance of the training ground, and asked, "Is there anyone who wants to exchange with him?"

No one answered.

"Good, all of you are great!" Nie Yannian was very pleased, and walked forward with a smile, patting the man on the shoulder and the woman on the head. After praising them several times, he said, "Today is the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, and the princess has distributed meat. You will have enough for lunch today!"

There was always oil and water in the meals at the training ground, but the young men had never eaten large pieces of meat. When they heard what Nie Yannian said, they all started smacking their lips.

"However, since it's not noon yet, I will teach you a breathing method." As Nie Yannian spoke, he lowered his body with his feet parallel and shoulder-width apart, which was quite similar to the horse stance.

"This is the "Bao Zhuang Yang Yuan Gong". You need to keep your body straight and your back straight. Relax your shoulders and put your arms around your chest, as if you were hugging a fat girl."

Nie Yannian spoke very slowly. After the young men did the same thing, he continued, "Exhale long and inhale short. Keep your body steady and your mind calm. Imagine yourself in the mountains or in the woods, or in a beautiful place with flowers, and then feel the changes in your body."

Then he moved his arms slightly, as if he was kneading a big ball.

After completing the whole set of movements, Nie Yannian taught it twice more before finishing the training.

This so-called "Bao Zhuang Yang Yuan Gong" is not difficult to learn. The movements are simple, and the three most important points are the rhythm of breathing, and calming the mind and concentration.

"I know you are wondering why we are teaching this bullshit Yang Yuan Gong instead of the real combat method."

Nie Yannian put his hands behind his back and said word by word, "I tell you, when we follow the path of martial arts, we must combine relaxation and tension. Recently, everyone has been practicing hard and training hard to build up their strength, which is tension. What is relaxation? Nourishing the Qi and nourishing the mind is relaxation, and calming the mind and qi is relaxation. This holding the pole to nourish the essence is relaxation."

He casually corrected the movements of several students, saying, "Relax and unwind, open and close, fast and slow, this is the way to improve martial arts. You entered the martial arts late, only this can help open the acupoints in your body."

"Master Nie, what is the opening point?" Wu Changsheng asked bravely. This is also what all the students wanted to ask.

"You'll know when the time comes." Nie Yannian said with a smile.

"What will happen after the acupoints are opened?" Meng Yuan also asked.

"When the acupoints are opened, it means you have reached the highest level. That is when you can truly embark on the path of martial arts." Nie Yannian smiled, "Then the sky will be high and the sea will be vast, and the magical uses will be endless!"

"What is a qualified teacher?" Tie Niu asked in confusion. However, Nie Yannian was obviously not a qualified teacher, nor was he patient. He said unhappily, "Ask me, ask me, do you have to ask me how to sleep after you get married?"

"Master Nie, will you teach me?" Tie Niu asked.

"Hiss..." Nie Yannian couldn't help but take a breath of cold air when he saw that the other person didn't understand his dirty talk at all. He bared his teeth, smiled helplessly, and said, "We'll talk about what happens after you've opened the acupoints. From now on, practice Baozhuang Yangyuan Gong once every morning, noon, and evening. Practice it again when you're tired. If you feel uncomfortable or feel warm somewhere, come and tell me."

"Everyone take a break in the afternoon. Those who want to go out and find their mother to drink milk can go. Those who want to take a nap can sleep. Just don't go to whores! We'll do it for real tomorrow!" Nie Yannian did not explain what the opening acupoints were, let alone what wonderful uses they had. He just muttered a few words, patted his butt and left.

Everyone practiced a few more times and then it was time for dinner.

Today's meal in the kitchen was freshly braised beef and a basket of hot steamed buns.

Cows are used for farming. The killing of cows was strictly prohibited in the Kingdom of Qing. The slaughter of sick or injured cows had to be reported to the government. Therefore, it was rare for ordinary people to eat beef.

"Don't fight for it!" Meng Yuan shouted, acting righteously. He picked up a steamed bun, tore a slit in it, put in a few chunks of beef dripping with hot oil, and then handed it to Tie Niu.

"Brother, you are so nice!" Tie Niu took it and ate most of it in one bite, almost bursting into tears. "It smells so good!"

Meng Yuan had already been drooling, so he quickly picked up the hot steamed bun, put some beef in it, and ignoring the expectation revealed by Hu Qian, he just stuffed it into his mouth.

I haven't eaten meat in a long time, and this feeling is simply irresistible.

I swallowed it whole, and every bit of nutrition was absorbed by the essence and fire. It was several times better than eating cabbage and tofu!
"This is the first time I've eaten beef..." This was the first time Meng Yuan had eaten such delicious meat since coming to this world. He ate seven steamed buns with meat in one go, and only then did he have time to express his feelings.

"Brother, you forgot that you have eaten bull eggs. Hiccup..." Tie Niu corrected.

"..."After hearing this, Meng Yuan couldn't help but think of the little girl in Mu Manor. He wondered how the girl was doing.

I have to work hard. I don't have to make a big name for myself, but at least I can make sure Uncle Jiang and Jiang Tang can live a comfortable life!
Thinking of this, Meng Yuan stuffed it into his mouth again.

Overeating is not something warriors should do, but they are all young people after all. They have no self-control and they just keep eating without stopping.

Even Hu Qian was rubbing her belly with a satisfied look on her face.

There were a total of 27 students this time, 16 of whom were driven away, leaving only 11, six men and five women.

For those who stayed, today was a great day. After eating, everyone told jokes and chatted in the cafeteria, happily comparing who could eat more and who had more strength.

In the end, it was determined that Meng Yuan was the biggest eater, and Tie Niu was the strongest.

When it came to judging who was the most beautiful, Hu Qian turned her face away and said that warriors didn't care about beauty or ugliness, so there was no need to judge the most beautiful woman.

In fact, she is the best looking among the female students here.

Hu Qian didn't say much and walked straight out of the training ground.

All the students were so frustrated that those who had families in the city went back to visit them, and those who didn't went out for some fresh air.

Meng Yuan had no intention of going out for a walk, because after eating a big meal of beef, his whole body was filled with heat.

And it is no longer growing, it has clearly reached its limit and is already perfect.

Meng Yuan felt that as long as he thought about it, the energy contained in this essence fire would return to him in some way.

But Meng Yuan had no idea what would happen then.

After returning to the dormitory with Tieniu, Tieniu started to wash clothes, "Brother, why is there a hole in your clothes again?"

The two were packing their things when they saw Hu Qian and a female student find the dormitory. "Meng Yuan, Tie Niu, someone is looking for you two!"

(End of this chapter)