The Martial Lord of the Troubled World

Chapter 12 Natural Martial Arts
As dusk fell, the Fu family finished their evening meal, and lights gradually came on everywhere.

By convention, the guards who were not on duty at this time should have been practicing their boxing in the open space in the backyard, or drinking and playing cards in the side courtyard.

Today, however, things were different. A dozen or so strong men followed Wang Shuisheng toward the young master's private training room.

The group followed behind Wang Shuisheng, exchanging glances from time to time. The closer they got to the brightly lit training room, the more hesitant they became.

Although everyone envies Wang Shuisheng's job as a sparring partner—it's easy work and pays well—they are actually quite uneasy now that they have a real chance to take his lucrative position.

Wang Shuisheng spoke eloquently, but who knows if the young master will blame them for being unruly?
Sun Youzhu, who was walking in front, tried to remain calm. Seeing that he was still able to keep his composure, the others had no choice but to bite the bullet and follow.

The practice room was brightly lit, with the Western-style chandelier illuminating every corner.

The young master, Fu Juemin, was lounging in his armchair, chatting casually with Li Tong.

Little Locust Flower stood quietly to one side, occasionally refilling their cups with hot tea.

"Is something wrong?"

Seeing a group of guards gathered at the entrance, Fu Juemin put down his teacup, his brows furrowing slightly.

Everyone lowered their heads in unison, except for Wang Shuisheng, who quickly stepped forward and whispered his report to Fu Juemin.

Soon, Fu Juemin's tightly furrowed brows gradually relaxed, and he even chuckled softly.

He slowly stood up, his dark silk robe gleaming under the lamplight.

"You all want to practice boxing with me, young master?"

He cracked his knuckles, his gaze sweeping across everyone's faces. "Okay."

He casually pointed with his finger: "Sun Youzhu, Wang Mancang, and Zhao, the three of you will do."

The three people whose names were called walked out of the crowd one after another.

Fu Juemin unbuttoned his collar, strode to the center of the area, and waved to the three men: "Don't just stand there, come at me all at once."

Sun Youzhu and the other two stood on the soft pine floor of the training room, looking at each other, none of them daring to make the first move.

Finally, after being given a look by Sun Youzhu, Wang Mancang reluctantly stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and said, "Young Master, please forgive me!"

Fu Juemin smiled, his figure swayed, and he threw a straight punch at Wang Mancang first.

Wang Mancang instinctively raised his arm to block. Although it was his first time serving as a sparring partner, he knew what a good sparring partner was—to defend and block as much as possible, to feign attacks when appropriate, and to please the young master so that he could receive a reward.

He had planned everything in his mind before going on stage, but he never expected that Fu Juemin would suddenly turn his fist into a claw halfway through, his five fingers gripping his wrist like iron hooks, and pulling him down with a swift motion—

Wang Mancang felt an overwhelming force surge through him, and his nearly 200-pound body was lifted up like a sack of straw and slammed heavily onto a soft mat several meters away.
This scene stunned all the guards watching from the sidelines.

This was completely different from what they had all expected. Although Wang Mancang was not a Bone Forging cultivator, he was still considered a skilled guard among those in the Skin Polishing Realm. Even if he intentionally held back during the fight, how could someone who had only been practicing martial arts for a little over a month be able to throw someone like a broken sack?

Seeing Wang Mancang's bewildered expression as he crashed heavily to the ground, Sun Youzhu and the other man who hadn't yet made a move also looked on in surprise.

The two exchanged a glance, and without further hesitation, attacked Fu Juemin from the left and right.

The guard surnamed Zhao threw a fierce punch, aiming straight for Fu Juemin's face; Sun Youzhu, on the other hand, raised a leg like a whip, choosing to block Fu Juemin's lower body.

Seeing the two of them like this, Fu Juemin's smile grew even brighter, but instead of retreating, he advanced.

He first raised his hand and casually exchanged a punch with the Zhao-surname guard from the Skin-Polishing Realm. Then, he lightly tapped his right foot to dodge Sun Youzhu's sweeping kick. He then lowered his shoulder and took a side step, cutting into Sun Youzhu's open space like a fish swimming in front of him.

Before Sun Youzhu could react, Fu Juemin's shoulders and back trembled slightly, and he slammed half of his body heavily into Sun Youzhu's chest in a sideways, close-to-back position.
"Crack—" The guards watching from the sidelines didn't know how many times they heard the sound of bones cracking. First, the guard surnamed Zhao, who had exchanged punches with Fu Juemin, staggered back, clutching his wrist with a deathly pale face. Then, Wang Mancang's "history" repeated itself. The tall and strong Sun Youzhu was sent flying backward like a cannonball, as if he had been hit head-on by a speeding carriage, and crashed heavily to the ground with a "bang".

Sun Youzhu, who had fallen to the ground, was pressing one hand tightly against his chest, his face flushed, and he appeared to be having difficulty breathing. He tried to get up several times but was unable to, clearly indicating that he had injured his ribs.
In the blink of an eye, a three-person sparring session came to an end.

The huge practice room fell into a deathly silence.

"That's it for today."

As Fu Juemin took the hot towel from Huaihua and wiped his hands, he spoke calmly:
"Those who are injured will be granted three days' leave, and each will receive twenty silver dollars from the accounting office."

After saying that, he slowly sat back down in the armchair, as if he had only stood up to make himself a pot of tea.

A group of guards helped the injured Sun Youzhu and his companions out of the training room in a daze.

It wasn't until they had passed through the covered walkway that someone finally couldn't help but speak up:
"Young Master...Young Master really only practiced martial arts for a month?!"

As soon as these words were spoken, the previously slow-moving procession came to an abrupt halt.

But no one answered the question. Only Wang Shuisheng, who had been expressionless since he arrived, let out a cold laugh.

"You think that practicing boxing with the young master is like playing house with children?"

Wang Shuisheng scanned the crowd, his eyes full of undisguised mockery and ridicule. "I might as well tell you that the young master is a natural martial arts talent. He has practiced standing meditation for ten days and skin polishing for a month. Now, he has already entered the bone forging stage!"

Moreover, the young master is heavy-handed, not just ordinary heavy-handed. Even proper bone-forging boxing masters like Sun Youzhu and me couldn't withstand more than a few of his full-force punches.”

Wang Shuisheng paused slightly, then softened his tone and continued, "However, the young master is kind-hearted and knows his limits, so he doesn't beat people to death or maim them. He also provides ample medicine and rewards."

"Anyone who wants to spar with the young master tomorrow, meet at the usual place at this time!"

After saying that, Wang Shuisheng turned and left.

He left behind only a group of guards looking at each other, their expressions shifting.

"These guys are going to gang up on me and try to force me out of office."

Inside the training room, Fu Juemin took a sip of tea, shook his head, and said to Li Tong beside him, "Only Uncle Tong can keep them in check."

Li Tong said calmly, "After tonight, young master will be able to make them obedient."

Fu Juemin neither agreed nor disagreed.

Sun Youzhu and his group gathered to "block the door," which made him quite angry tonight, so he deliberately went a little too far.

Of course, there was also the thought of taking the opportunity to test his current abilities.

Three days ago, he completed the skin resurfacing process and officially began bone forging.

After exchanging blows with two "veteran" Bone Forging Realm experts, Wang Shuisheng and Sun Youzhu, Fu Juemin felt that he was probably stronger than the average Bone Forging Realm expert.

But exactly how much stronger is unclear.

After all, he usually sparred with his own family's bodyguards, and who knew how much of their skill was being compromised when they fought him?

Thinking of this, Fu Juemin couldn't help but ask Li Tong, "Uncle Tong, do you think I should find a few real opponents to practice against?"

(End of this chapter)