Porter's Immortal Cultivation: I Have Level 5 Full Inscriptions

After giving his instructions, Wu began to introduce himself to everyone.

The shortest section, no higher than the knee, is called the "soft-footed stake enclosure," which consists of eighteen wooden stakes of varying heights, with each stake half a step apart.

This is to lay the foundation for everyone. The requirement for passing the test is to be able to carry an empty carrying pole, move swiftly, and move forward and backward freely.

An ordinary porter, after a month or two of training, falling and getting bruised and battered, should be considered to have mastered the basics.

Then, one must be able to carry fifty pounds of goods, and walk on the pile with the weight as if carrying it empty, before one is considered to have passed.

Only when the load reaches another hundred or so pounds, and the carrying capacity is similar to the former, can it be considered complete.

The ones that reach waist height are called the "Zhengjiao Zhuangwei" (正脚桩围), and there are thirty-six of them. The distance between the piles is about one step. The training method is the same as the previous ones. You start by practicing in three steps: empty load, light load, and heavy load. Once you can lift 100 jin (approximately 50 kg), you are considered to have mastered it.

The circumference of the stakes, which is as tall as a person, is the hard-footed stake circumference. There are seventy-two wooden stakes, and the spacing between the stakes is one and a half steps. It is difficult to walk at that height, but to expect people to walk briskly while carrying heavy loads is too difficult. The requirements are not much different from the previous training methods.

After Wu Tou'er finished speaking,

"Watch closely, I'll demonstrate it for you..."

He waved his hand, and someone immediately carefully carried over a carrying pole.

This is no ordinary bamboo; it's brownish-yellow with a reddish tinge, indicating it's old bamboo that's been soaked in oil. Two large bundles are hooked under the carrying pole, showing that it's quite heavy.

With a single step, Wu Tou'er leaped onto the soft-footed stakes like the wind. His movements were swift, and the carrying pole on his shoulder swayed rhythmically without flailing wildly.

In the blink of an eye, he had stepped on all eighteen stakes.

Lift your foot again, take a step sideways across half a zhang, and you will be on the main foot stake, thus passing through smoothly.

"Hi……"

With a shout, Wu Tou'er pushed off with his feet and leaped high while carrying the load, his muscles tensing as if a bowstring were being released.

He leaped over ten feet, carrying his goods, and landed on the hard-footed stakes. He bent his knees slightly, his center of gravity was stable and did not sway, his feet moved like springs, and his toes bent like iron hooks when he landed on the stakes. He took a big leap and rushed over the seventy-two stakes.

shuh...

Wu Tou'er flashed to the ground, his face flushed, his heart pounding, his head sweating, and he was breathing heavily. He was clearly not having an easy time, but he still had the strength to finish the task cleanly and efficiently.

"color……"

The porters clapped enthusiastically, their eyes lighting up immediately, and the previously somewhat gloomy atmosphere was lifted.

These three-legged stakes look impressive.

If one can carry a hundred-pound weight on a stake and leap with incredible speed, what would it be like on flat ground?

No wonder those tough guys can make so much money; they deserve it.

Seeing that everyone was convinced, Wu Tou'er nodded in satisfaction.

"Alright, this is the training method."

"But practicing stance training isn't about brute force. Before stepping onto the stances, you must first practice stance training on flat ground..."

He assumed a slightly squatting posture, raising his arms as if holding a ball.

"Watch closely..."

"The so-called three-legged stance means that the feet should be firmly rooted like nails, and the body should be as upright as bamboo..."

Wu Touer explained to everyone in detail that when practicing, one should imagine the human body as a bamboo, with the soles of the feet rooted in the earth, the lower body stable, and the body as flexible as a bamboo, unafraid of winds from all directions. One should learn to rise and fall with the momentum and adjust the breathing rhythm to match it.

Once you can stand for an hour without your legs feeling tired or your back aching, and your body feels comfortable as if you're soaking in a hot spring, then you've practiced correctly. In the future, it's simply a matter of continuing to deepen your skills.

First, stand on an empty platform, then put on a light load, and then a heavy load. Learn to become one with the load as you move up and down the ground. Once you've mastered this basic stance, you can then proceed to more advanced stances.

Becoming a "hard-legged Ding" is simple: just carry 100 pounds and run through the straight-legged stake in one go, and you've succeeded. As for actually being able to complete the hard-legged stake, there are very few people in the association who can do it.

"This is a grueling skill; there are absolutely no shortcuts!"

"As long as you can endure hardship and aren't stubborn, and you're given enough meat and are willing to spend money on herbal medicine, you can train in six months to a year or two if you're fast!"

"You won't need to work for the next two weeks. You'll be paid daily, so just stay here and focus on your training!"

"After half a month, we will provide a free meal and medicine for bruises and sprains every day after work. If you feel confident, you can try it on the stake."

"You can train for a year. If you don't succeed in a year, you can come here to train, but you'll have to pay for your own meals and medicine."

"But if you can't improve after a while, then don't persist. It just means you're not cut out for it."

"Practice with confidence. If you don't understand anything, just ask me. We're all brothers in the guild, and I'll tell you everything I know."

Wu Tou'er was spitting as he spoke, and Yang Silang could tell that the last time the association trained tough guys was probably a few years ago. Today, he had come out of retirement as an instructor. At first, he pretended to be serious, but now he was showing signs of wanting to teach others.

"Boss, have some water..." A clever fellow handed over a water bag and casually asked, "I heard that the stance training in the martial arts school requires developing a body of steel and the ability to sense energy and locate acupoints."

"Don't we need these three-legged stakes?"

Wu Tou'er was taken aback, then chuckled—what good ideas are you having?

To become an apprentice at a martial arts school, one needs to pay twenty or thirty taels of silver. A year's worth of medicine, equipment, and meat also cost several tens of taels of silver. Only by eating well can one maintain their vital energy during training and become a copper-skinned martial artist or an iron-boned martial artist.

With this level of skill, if one were to take the martial arts examination, one could become a martial arts scholar or a martial arts graduate!

As for sensing qi and finding acupoints, that's a realm above martial arts master. Those who master it become grand martial arts masters, with internal organs as strong as steel. Even in our Gongzhou Prefecture, there's only one. If placed in the army, he would be a general; if placed in the martial arts world, he could establish his own sect.

Putting aside everything else, even the copper-skinned warriors were made with silver.

They spend a hundred taels of silver a year. You, even with the guild's subsidies and your own expenses, are lucky to have ten or twenty taels. How can you compare to them?

Besides, we only practice carrying loads, while others want to learn killing weapons and routines. Do you think we can compare?

Once you've mastered the skills, you'll be considered qualified junior martial arts apprentices at best. If you wish to become apprentices at a martial arts school, the guild won't stop you. Just pay five taels of silver to repay the cost of the medicine you received during your training, and you can leave.

But think about it, can you save up enough money to learn martial arts?

The clever porter blushed and was speechless.

Yes, there's no need to go into grand principles; just looking at the amount of money invested, you can see how big the difference is.

Throughout history, it has always been the case that scholars are poor while warriors are rich.

"Stop thinking about all that nonsense, let's start training now..." Martial arts leader waved his hand, "The more you train now and sweat more, the more money you'll make in the future."

"You're no good. Save up some money and if your children or grandchildren are talented, spend it on them. Maybe you can train a martial artist."

The porters dared not say a word and all imitated the stance of a three-legged stake.

Wu Tou'er held a wooden stick, and if he saw anything wrong, he would immediately strike or hit it with the stick.

"No, you have to follow your breath, imagine yourself as a living bamboo shoot. If you're stiff and unyielding, you'll just become a dead piece of wood."

"Straighten your back. If you don't straighten your back when you practice, won't you collapse under the weight of a load?"

Yang Silang also struck a pose with the others, but was hit a few times with a stick. Then Wu Tou'er went to deal with the others.

He didn't take it seriously. Even a three-legged stance is still a stance. If he could master it, he would be equivalent to a junior martial arts apprentice, which would mean he was connected to the martial arts world and could find a way out.

With his hands behind his back, Wu Tou'er casually swung his stick down.

Yang Silang noticed that Wang Daniu next to him was hit more than anyone else, Li Erhu was next, and Xiong Shan was the best, almost never being hit.

The four men stood drenched in sweat, but they persevered with all their might. Their goal was simple—to be the best porters, the ones who could earn the most money…