From a refugee to a martial artist

Chapter 16: Entry
By the evening, the students who had been out for the whole afternoon came back one after another.

The food in the evening was a little worse, just pork stewed with cabbage, served with white steamed buns.

As they ate, they talked about going out, some went to take a hot bath, some went to see their relatives, and some just took a walk.

As they spent every day together, everyone noticed the changes in Meng Yuan, but no one found it strange. They just thought that he looked more handsome and his eyes were brighter than before.

Meng Yuan didn't talk much to anyone, just focused on eating.

Now the essence fire is only the size of a soybean. After eating a meal of pork and cabbage, the essence fire still absorbs nutrients and grows a little stronger, but it grows slower than before.

"It seems that it will be more difficult to grow the essence and fire than before. I need to eat more meat." Meng Yuan secretly summarized the uses of the essence and fire.

No one knows where this essence fire is stored in the body, but it can be nourished through diet, and it will also feed back into the body when the body is weak or injured.

Moreover, as the essence and fire become complete and are absorbed by the body, they will impact the acupoints in the body and have a certain effect of tempering the body.

"It's only the first time that it has been completed and it has helped me open my acupoints. It will be even more difficult to cultivate it until the next time it is completed. Will the effect be stronger by then?"

"Also, I didn't eat much meat before, so my body is growing slowly. I have to find a way to eat more meat in the future..."

Meng Yuan couldn't help but think of his aunt, wondering if he could try some monsters. After all, these were creatures that were born and raised by nature, and contained essence and spirit.

Of course, he still had to be cautious. Meng Yuan planned to seek advice from Master Nie and learn more about martial arts.

The next day, Meng Yuan got up before the cock crowed.

After morning exercise and breakfast, it’s time for morning training.

It was not until mid-morning that Nie Yannian finally arrived.

As soon as he arrived, he asked Wu Changsheng to fetch a recliner from the warehouse of the training ground, clean it with water, and then gave a few casual instructions, asking the young men to increase their training volume. Then he lay down in front of the students to rest.

Meng Yuan thought about it again and again and decided to ask.

Now is not the time to hide your shortcomings, but to show your talents appropriately, and strive to learn more and know more. After all, you are still wearing clothes that were cut by the little girl, so you have to take over as soon as possible.

After finishing his training, Meng Yuan walked forward, squatted beside the recliner, and whispered, "Master Nie, I seem to have opened up an acupoint."

Nie Yannian didn't even open his eyes, and asked lazily: "Oh? The acupoints were opened? Whose girl did you open?"

Why does this guy always make dirty jokes every other sentence?
"She's not someone's daughter." Meng Yuan said in a serious tone, "Master Nie taught me the holding pole exercise yesterday, saying that the combination of looseness and tightness can help open the acupoints. When I was practicing in the afternoon, I felt a stream of energy rushing straight to the top of my head, as if something had been opened up."

Nie Yannian finally opened his eyes. He tilted his head and saw Meng Yuan was serious, so he asked, "What else do you feel?"

"I feel my mind is clear and I don't get irritated easily. My eyes, nose and ears are also much smarter. I could see the target a hundred steps away before, but now I can even see a leaf a hundred steps away," said Meng Yuan.

After hearing this, Nie Yannian straightened his waist, sat up and grabbed Meng Yuan's wrist.

Meng Yuan immediately felt a warm current passing through his wrist, then up from his arm, then across his whole body, and then suddenly retracted.

Nie Yannian's expression changed, looking happy and surprised. He looked at Meng Yuan carefully, as if he had seen some treasure.

"How old are you this year?" Nie Yannian asked.

"It's just seventeen after the New Year." Meng Yuan replied.

"You've really never learned martial arts before? Have you ever learned something like the Baozhuang Yangyuan Gong?" Nie Yannian asked again.

"No, I didn't know this before." Meng Yuan replied.

Nie Yannian believed it. He had seen Meng Yuan practicing boxing. Although he was smart and learned quickly, he was indeed a rookie.

"Have you eaten anything? For example, some exotic herbs or rare meats?" Nie Yannian asked again. "I have never been out of the training grounds. I eat the same food as everyone else." Meng Yuan answered.

"So you've only practiced for a month?" Nie Yannian pointed at Meng Yuan's nose and scolded him with a smile: "Hey! Then you really are a genius!"

"..."Meng Yuan was speechless.

"But you are so fair and tender, and your face is so pretty, you don't look like a martial artist. You'd better take care of your crotch, I will introduce you to a business later!" Nie Yannian rubbed his hands happily, and it didn't seem like he was joking.

"Master Nie, what business?" Meng Yuan thought about Nie Yannian's usual behavior and felt a little scared for no reason.

"You know, some widows are afraid of not being able to keep their money, so they have to find someone to guard their house." Nie Yannian said seriously, not joking, and whispered, "We can go and help with this."

So why not just sell yourself! What's the point of being a whore and setting up a family? I just made some achievements, and you don't praise me, but you want to lead me astray? You just praised me as a genius, and you treat a genius like this? Does the princess know that you take private jobs?
"I only protect the princess." Meng Yuan felt that life was boring. As a man of eight feet tall, selling himself as a slave was already a last resort, but he still had to sell himself? Anyone with a little ambition would not do such a thing!
"You are so ambitious!" Nie Yannian scolded him, then comforted him, "Actually, she is not ugly, and she is well-fed. She is still young at 40 or 50 years old! Besides, I let you sleep with a woman for free, but you are still shy about it? If I were ten years younger, would it be your turn?"

Why is this martial arts teacher acting like a pimp right from the start? I learned martial arts just to avoid selling myself out! Meng Yuan hasn't fallen to this level yet!

Warriors, you must have backbone!
"One thousand taels a night, we split it 50-50!" Nie Yannian whispered.

"Then let me try?" Meng Yuan was really afraid of being poor.

"This boy is teachable." Nie Yannian patted Meng Yuan's shoulder with great satisfaction.

"Master Nie, am I considered to have entered the rank? What should I do in the future?" Meng Yuan realized that he had been led astray by Nie Yannian and had forgotten to ask the important questions.

"It is indeed qualified, but don't be proud. You have just asked for the way to the brothel, and you are still far from entering the alley!" Nie Yannian made up a metaphor and clapped his hands, signaling everyone to stop.

"Come, come, come!" Nie Yannian waved to the young men.

A group of students gathered around, looked at Meng Yuan in confusion, and then looked at Nie Yannian in unison.

Nie Yannian crossed his legs and sat on the recliner. He looked around at everyone and said, "I thought it would take at least three or four months for someone to come to the fore, but I didn't expect someone to come to the fore so soon!"

All the young men looked at Meng Yuan. Although they didn't know what acupuncture points were, it must be very difficult for ordinary people to achieve it in three or four months.

For a moment, some people were surprised, some were envious, but most people were still confused.

Hu Qian was also surprised. She looked at Meng Yuan and thought, this kid asks me for advice on standing posture and body movements every now and then, how come he can do it so quickly? Could it be related to the person who sent him something yesterday? But that person was just an ordinary farmer, nothing special.

She looked at Zhao Tieniu again, but saw Tieniu smiling foolishly, as if he had suddenly found enlightenment.

"Are you jealous? If you are jealous, you need to practice hard!"

Nie Yannian laughed and said, "You are either from refugee families or children of the old people in the palace. You have heard about cultivation to some extent, but you probably don't understand it very well."

Hearing this, Meng Yuan pricked up his ears and listened attentively.

"I was thinking of telling you about it later, but today the little gelder is making progress, and it would be a waste of time if I told him about it alone, so I'll let everyone come and listen."

Nie Yannian finally looked a bit like a teacher. He looked much more serious and continued, "We are on the path of a warrior, which is one of many paths. Starting from the ninth grade, the first grade is the highest. The so-called entry into the grade is to open the acupoints, which is also the starting point for truly entering the path of a warrior."

"Master Nie means that there are other ways?" Meng Yuan asked.

"Of course. Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism have been passed down for thousands of years, and they all have their own paths to advancement, all from the ninth rank to the first rank. This is very different from the path we take as warriors. You will understand the mystery of it when you see the world in the future."

Nie Yannian smiled slightly, quite proud, and continued: "Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism are naturally good, but the path of us warriors is the oldest, most mature, and has the largest number of people. This is because this path can be learned by everyone, from peddlers and country monsters to kings and nobles, and it is not difficult to enter the rank."

"Master Nie, are there other ways to go besides Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism?" Wu Changsheng asked.

“There are, but they all belong to the miscellaneous school. Not many people practice them, so it cannot be considered a great doctrine,” said Nie Yannian.

(End of this chapter)