Starting with the titmouse, seventy-two transformations

Chapter 12 Black Tiger Rifting Wind Blade
"I……"

Zhou's sister-in-law's surname is Liu and her given name is Yu. She is from the neighboring Qiaoxi Village and is known as Yu Niang.

He was around twenty years old, with a decent appearance, but his face was haggard and he was very thin.

She wrung her calloused hands, glanced at Liu Sheng, and stammered:

“That Er Ya…”

"We'll raise him in the Liu family, and when he grows up, we'll find him a good family to marry into!"

Grandma Liu readily gave her assurance, and then followed up with a question:

"Give me a straight answer, is it a hit or not!"

"…middle."

Yu Niang (Zhou's sister-in-law) nodded, her voice barely audible, her cheeks already flushed.

"Okay, it's settled then. You can bring Er Ya to move in today. Anyway, our house is big."

Grandma Liu made the decision on the spot, cutting through the mess quickly, without giving Liu Sheng a chance to speak.

Then, adopting the demeanor of a matriarch, she directed Liu Sheng and the other man to work.

They were all poor families, without the many rules and customs of the city. They finished most of their miscellaneous tasks by the afternoon.

When Zhao Lei's family found out, they also came to help, bringing several good hides, more than ten kilograms of cured meat, and so on.

Dinner was plentiful, with eight main dishes. Er Ya and Gou Wa, the two little ones, ate until their faces were shiny with oil and their bellies were bulging.

After seeing Zhao Lei's family off, it was just getting dark when Granny Liu took Er Ya to the east wing.

Everything that followed fell into place naturally...

The tender, freshly peeled chicken head meat is as smooth and lustrous as the first bite of crispy pastry.

Greedy for a while.

Looking at Yu Niang sleeping soundly beside him, Liu Sheng recovered from his earlier shock.

"I guess I've finally...put down roots in this world."

He muttered to himself, feeling a mix of emotions.

There was joy, there was loss, there was relief, there was anticipation…

The burden on my shoulders is even heavier now!
……

The next night, before midnight.

Liu Sheng then went to the woods behind the village and met Wu Song, who was already waiting there.

"Master, I'm late..."

"good."

Wu Song was still dressed in black monk's robes, his whole body seemingly blending into the darkness, with only his eyes shining brightly like light bulbs, and two knives lying at his feet.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Wu Song officially began teaching traditional martial arts.

"What is martial arts? The Great Yu Martial Classic says that stopping violence and war is martial arts."

"To be honest, that's nonsense! The seal script character for 'martial' depicts someone standing with a spear in hand, wielding a sharp weapon, and with killing intent arising spontaneously..."

"Therefore, martial arts is the way to survive and fight. To put it simply, it is to kill the enemy and protect yourself."

"There are two methods. One is to improve one's physical strength, speed, agility and other qualities. This is called 'skill'."

Secondly, it's about increasing efficiency, amplifying the power of the "fundamentals," making one unit of capital yield three units of effect... This is called "skill."

"But all techniques and methods begin with stance training. Do you know why?"

When asked, Liu Sheng raised an eyebrow and hesitated before replying:

"Qi and blood?"

"Indeed, a tall building rises from the ground, and martial arts begin with qi and blood. Therefore, stance training, which can generate qi and blood, is the foundation of all martial arts techniques."

Wu Song nodded, picked up his monk's knife, squatted down with his legs apart, swung his arms and extended the knife, assuming a stance.

It bears some resemblance to the Black Tiger Stake, but is even more exquisite and profound!

"This is the Black Tiger Stake, remember it!"

Is this the Black Tiger Stake?
What were you teaching at the Tong family's martial arts training ground?
Don't think I haven't seen it!
"...Or is it that you, Master, held back a secret when you were teaching martial arts at the Tong family?"

Liu Sheng's lips twitched. He hadn't expected that his master, with his rough and rugged appearance, had such a delicate mind.

"I am going to teach you the 'Black Tiger Splitting Wind Blade' technique, which has an inner and outer aspect. The inner aspect is the stance, and the outer aspect is the blade, which is connected by breathing techniques!"
"The stance training, swordsmanship, and breathing techniques, when practiced together, combine movement and stillness, complementing each other perfectly, allowing you to get started more quickly." After demonstrating, Wu Song flicked his right sleeve, rolled up another long sword, and handed it to Liu Sheng, indicating that he should imitate the Black Tiger stance.

"This knife weighs at least thirty pounds!"

Liu Sheng brandished his knife a few times, quickly becoming adept at wielding it.

It's as if he was born knowing how to use this knife, making it easier and more lethal.

It seems that his talent as a "born swordsman" applies to all types of swords!

Seeing this, Wu Song's eyes gleamed with admiration, and his attitude became even more amiable:

"Power originates from the ground, flows through the hips and back, so the feet should be taut, the hips relaxed, the breath three short and one long, and the chest should hold six parts of foul air..."

He patiently corrected Liu Sheng's movements and postures, constantly pointing out the key points of breathing techniques.

Compared to his rudeness and perfunctory attitude when he was teaching martial arts at the Tong family, he was a completely different person.

"Not bad, you've grasped the basics of this technique. Next, I'll teach you the Rending Wind Blade..."

After Liu Sheng had mastered the Black Tiger stance and learned the breathing technique, Wu Song slowly pushed his sword forward:

"This sword technique has eight moves. Today I will teach you the first move... The Ferocious Tiger Sitting on the Slope. Watch carefully!"

……

An hour later, Wu Song left, leaving Liu Sheng to continue his arduous training.

This "Wind-Splitting Blade" is a fast-paced sword technique that uses a heavy blade to achieve great speed and power, making it fierce and domineering.

Sweeping, chopping, slashing, cutting, and thrusting—the eight techniques combine to create a style that is both ancient and brutal.

Liu Shenggang has just learned the six forms, and he can already perform them quite well with remarkable results. Combined with breathing techniques, it is far better than simply standing in a stance alone.

He practiced for another hour, until his legs were trembling, he was exhausted, and he was covered in sweat. Only then did he sheath his sword and head home.

Today I need to go to the county town to select an incarnation and harvest spiritual points.

When I got home, Liu Yu was already busy at the stove.

She changed into a clean new outfit, her hair was put up, and her face had a rosy glow.

Er Ya followed behind her, circling around, always thinking that her mother looked much better than usual.

Liu Sheng put down his knife, said a few words to them, and then took a bucket of water to take a shower.

After giving his instructions after the meal, he headed straight for the county town, eager to get started.

Having learned from his previous experience, Liu Sheng went to a tailor shop after arriving in the city and spent two taels of silver to buy a black satin long gown before heading to his destination…

West Market!

The West Market covers an area of ​​about two blocks, and in addition to a wide variety of shops, there are also many vendors selling their goods.

Originally, due to a lack of money, he only planned to upgrade the tortoise to an ox.

But with the hundred taels of silver sponsored by his master, he decided to level up again and go to the rare birds and animals area.

The birds and beasts sold in this area are mostly exotic beasts, transcending the category of ordinary animals and possessing divine qualities.

Ordinary people can't handle them at all; they are all captured in the wild by martial arts masters.

Bronze Tortoise, Iron Feather Eagle, One-Horned Iron Ox, Fire Jade Fox…

Liu Sheng was overwhelmed by the variety of choices and took a liking to several, but when he asked about the prices, he could only chuckle.

More than a hundred taels of silver is simply not enough to spend.

Any one of them would cost several hundred taels of silver, like that one-horned iron ox, with its copper skin and iron bones, and immense strength.

The asking price of four hundred taels of silver left him only able to sigh in despair at the sight of the ox.

After wandering around for a while, Liu Sheng finally stopped at a snake stall.

This is one of the few stalls he can afford to frequent.

"I have six kinds of exotic snakes and thirty-eight kinds of common snakes. Which one would you like, sir?"

The stall owner was a man around fifty years old, with narrow, sharp eyes, dressed in shorts, his muscles as tough as iron, and his aura was sullen.

He was clearly a martial arts master, and his strength was even greater than his!
Liu Sheng roused himself and stated his demands:
"Is there a strange snake that has hard scales, great strength, strong venom, and a small body?"

Upon hearing this, the stall owner's eyelids twitched, and after a moment's hesitation, he said tentatively:
"Yes, there is... but that snake is about to die."

(End of this chapter)