Chaos begins when one joins a martial arts school

Chapter 12 Martial Arts Progress
Yuhe County, Chengpingfang, Sun Family Martial Arts School.

In the front yard, the bluestone slabs were wet with morning dew, gleaming with a cool light.

Yang Jing arrived very early; there were only two or three people in the courtyard, including him.

At this moment, Yang Jing was shirtless, and beads of sweat dripped down his bronze back in the morning light, sliding down his taut muscles and leaving a small wet patch on the ground.

Time passed slowly.

The number of disciples practicing martial arts in the academy is also increasing.

“Junior Brother Yang, your boxing is getting more and more powerful. Come, let’s spar.” Liu Maolin said with a smile as he walked over.

Yang Jing's eyes lit up, and he quickly wiped his sweat with a cloth, saying, "I couldn't be happier, but senior brother, please go easy on me."

Over the past two months, Yang Jing has become quite familiar with Liu Maolin, and he speaks much more freely than before.

He knew that his fourth senior brother had already developed great strength and his mastery of the Mountain-Crushing Fist was far beyond his own.

Over the past two months, the two have often sparred. With the help of his fourth senior brother, each sparring session has enlightened him on many key points of exerting force, from which he has benefited greatly.

The two stood still, clasped their hands in a salute to each other, and then simultaneously lowered their waists and gathered their breath. Their starting stances were exactly the same, after all, they were taught by the same master.

"Junior brother, I'm here." Liu Maolin grinned, and his teeth looked exceptionally white and bright against his dark skin.

Yang Jing focused intently on the response.

Liu Maolin's punches appeared unhurried, yet he always managed to gently deflect Yang Jing's punches just as they were about to land, either by sidestepping or by skillfully neutralizing his force. He seemed to be handling the situation with ease, but in reality, every block and every guidance he made subtly aligned with the essence of the Bengshan Fist.

Yang Jing became increasingly engrossed in the fight, channeling all his insights from recent boxing practice, and his punches grew ever more powerful and fierce.

No matter how he changed his moves, Liu Maolin always easily deflected them. Occasionally, he would use the force of the collision to lightly press on Liu Maolin's arm, and that touch would be like a reminder, making Liu Maolin instantly realize the sluggishness in his exertion.

Yang Jing knew perfectly well that his fourth senior brother wasn't sparring at all; he was clearly practicing with him, deliberately holding back his strength to hone his moves.

This thoughtfulness warmed his heart more than any guidance, and he punched with even more force.

After dozens of rounds of fierce fighting, Yang Jing's forehead was covered in more sweat, and his breathing became somewhat rapid, but his eyes shone brightly, and his whole body felt exhilarated.

As Liu Maolin watched his fist techniques become smoother, a glint suddenly flashed in his eyes, and his originally gentle fist suddenly carried a heavy force.

This wasn't a vicious move; it was simply a matter of using the impact to subtly flip the wrist, sending a surge of energy down Yang Jing's arm.

Yang Jing felt a force like a tidal wave pushing him, and he involuntarily took three steps back before regaining his balance.

Just as he was about to go up again, he saw that Liu Maolin had already withdrawn his fist and said with a smile, "Junior brother has improved quite quickly. In a few days, it will probably be time for you to knock on the gate."

Yang Jing straightened up, solemnly clasped his hands and bowed, "Thank you for your guidance, Fourth Senior Brother. I have grasped a few more key points."

In a corner of the courtyard, the branches and leaves of an old locust tree swayed, concealing three figures.

Lü Yang leaned against the tree trunk, twirling a copper coin between his fingers, glancing sideways at the two who had stopped sparring in the arena, a mocking smile playing on his lips.

Zhou Lin stood to the side with her arms crossed, her eyebrows slightly raised. Her gaze swept over Yang Jing as if he were some rare and unusual object, before she finally chuckled and shook her head. Zhang Kehan, meanwhile, scratched his chin, his face filled with undisguised disdain.

"Heh, this kid's starting to put on airs." Lü Yang chuckled, the copper coin pausing between his fingers. "He used to be with us, but now he's following those greenhorns, practicing his boxing like an idiot all day long. Does he really think he can make something of himself?"

Zhou Lin snorted lightly, his voice slightly shrill, "Isn't that right? Fourth Senior Brother is quite good-natured, actually going along with him like this. That kid's moves just now looked a bit better than before, but when it comes to the essence of the Mountain-Crushing Fist, he's still far from it."

She glanced at Yang Jing, recalling how he used to fawn over them, drink and pay the bills, and now, seeing him sweating profusely, she found it irritating.

Zhang Kehan ​​chimed in, "So what if it looks decent? Don't forget, the next step is the final test. Tsk tsk, Ming Jin (a type of internal strength) isn't something you can achieve just by blindly practicing."

He paused, his contempt deepening, "How many people from our martial arts school are stuck here? Haven't most of our disciples been stopped at this point and had to leave dejectedly?"

Compared to Lü Yang and Zhou Lin, who came from wealthy families, Zhang Kehan's background was the most ordinary and the closest to Yang Jing's.

In the past, when Yang Jing followed behind them, he often treated Yang Jing like a younger brother. But now that Yang Jing no longer hangs out with them, he has become the lowest-ranking of the three, and all the trivial matters have become his responsibility.

Therefore, compared to Lü Yang and Zhou Lin, Zhang Kehan ​​was the one who hated Yang Jing the most and was the most dissatisfied with him. At this moment, he looked at Yang Jing's figure and sneered:

"How difficult is it to pass the test? Out of twenty or thirty people who try, perhaps only one will succeed."

"What kind of innate talent does Yang Jing have? He only has inferior innate talent, and he's even considered poor among inferior talents. Back when he was following behind us, he swayed more than others when he was doing a horse stance. With such poor innate talent, how could he possibly think of rising to the top in one step?"

Lu Yang nodded and said, "That's right, this challenge is no joke. If you're not careful, you can damage your meridians, and it will be much harder to try again next time. If you fail three times, you'll never have another chance in your life."

He flicked the copper coins in his hand and sneered, "I want to see what miserable state this kid will be in after failing to break through. Heh, does he really think that leaving us and following Liu Maolin will transform him?"

"In my opinion, he'd only dare to try it once at most."

Zhou Lin pursed his lips and said, "If he gets injured and cries for his parents in pain, he'll definitely want to play with us again. But whether we'll accept him then is another matter entirely, and—"

She changed the subject, her tone tinged with schadenfreude, "Senior Brother Lü and I have both gone through the trial once, and we know how dangerous it is. With Yang Jing's abilities, I'm afraid he won't even make it past the first trial and might become a cripple."

The three looked at Yang Jing with mockery.

Everyone was certain that Yang Jing would fail in his attempt to enter the gate, and they were looking forward to seeing the disastrous outcome of his failure.

They understood Yang Jing's inherent abilities and were all too aware of the difficulties in breaking through the barriers of martial arts.

Zhang Kehan ​​watched Yang Jing's figure grow increasingly irritating, silently waiting to see Yang Jing smash to pieces, so that he would understand that some things cannot be obtained through momentary passion.

If you lack the inherent talent, no amount of effort will help.

On the other side, Yang Jing did not notice Lü Yang and the other two, or rather, he did not care about them at all.

Yang Jing now devotes himself to cultivation all day long, having long forgotten about Lü Yang and the others.

At this moment, Yang Jing was looking at the panel data displaying his martial arts progress with some excitement—

(End of this chapter)