Starting with photographic memory, I've worked my way up to become a martial arts immortal.

"Master, why is this? Have I made a mistake?" Jiang Yuan asked in astonishment and fear.

"Don't be nervous." Wei Xuan waved his hand and said gently, "Old Wang has some connections with my family. In his letter, he asked me to accept you if you have the talent to learn martial arts. If you have no hope of learning martial arts, he asked me to tell you the truth and advise you to go back."

Jiang Yuan was stunned upon hearing this, feeling both regret and gratitude.

What I regret is that I shouldn't have taken out the envelope. I had already successfully become an apprentice, but my greed backfired and caused this mess.

What touched him was that the old man genuinely cared about him, worrying that he didn't have the talent and would just be wasting his money.

"Master, is your disciple really so bad that he can't even get started in martial arts?" Jiang Yuan asked incredulously.

"Not at all. You've been doing hard labor for years, and you've accumulated a lot of hidden injuries. Plus, you're getting old, so it's even harder for you to break through this barrier. You might as well take the money and go back to do something else," Wei Xuan explained patiently.

Without hesitation, Jiang Yuan solemnly replied, "Master, now that I have become your disciple, I will never back down halfway. Even if the road ahead is fraught with difficulties and dangers, I will not be afraid and will have no regrets!"

"This..." Wei Xuan's expression changed, and he sighed, "It is rare that you have such a desire for martial arts. Here's what we'll do: go back and think about it for the night. If you appear in my courtyard tomorrow morning, I will continue to teach you. If you don't come, I will send someone to deliver the tuition fee you paid to Elder Wang, and you can go and collect it yourself."

"Yes." Jiang Yuan bowed respectfully, then turned and took his leave.

As we passed through the courtyard, the noise subsided for a moment, then the enthusiastic shouts and cheers came rushing in again.

"Hey, why did that kid leave?"

"They didn't even pick up their training clothes, they must have been kicked out. Could it be that they were impersonating someone and the master found out?"

"Possibly, this is a classic case of trying to steal a chicken but losing the rice instead, hehe."

A few lazy men were chatting idly by the wall, their faces full of gloating smiles.

They had been at the martial arts school for almost three months, but their progress in boxing was slow. Feeling hopeless, they hoped that others could be like them, so that it wouldn't be that they were incapable, but that martial arts were too difficult.

Jiang Yuan ignored him and pushed open the door without looking to the side.

The servant sweeping the door saw him and asked in confusion, "Did you fail?"

Jiang Yuan shook his head: "No, I'll come again tomorrow. Jiang Yuan thanks you for showing me the way, young man."

"My name is Wei Chong. You can call me Third Senior Brother from now on."

Wei Chong puffed out his chest, adopting a mature and composed demeanor.

Jiang Yuan was taken aback.

······

The next day.

Jiang Yuan arrived at the White Crane Martial Arts School early and saw two people already standing in front of the door.

One was stocky and wore gray clothes, while the other was tall and strong and wore white clothes.

He glanced at the two men and greeted them, "Senior brothers, you've arrived early."

The tall man in white glanced at him but didn't say anything.

The other man grinned sheepishly. "My name is Niu Fan. I've been at the martial arts school for a month longer than you. You must be Jiang Yuan, who came to become an apprentice yesterday. I thought you failed to become an apprentice."

Looking at Niu Fan's smile, Jiang Yuan felt a sense of familiarity. Wasn't this the kind of disguise he used to like?

I've just made a lot of money recently, and my mindset has changed without me even realizing it.

He felt a chill run down his spine, reminding himself that his current situation was not much better than before, and he could not be careless.

"Master personally taught me today, Brother Niu, how much of what you just said applies?"

"It's not much. As long as you have a clean background and have paid your tuition, your master will usually give you a chance."

Just then, the martial arts school door creaked open, and Wei Chong's little head popped out.

"It's the two of you again, arriving so early today. No, there's another one."

"Third Senior Brother." Niu Fan hurriedly stepped forward.

Jiang Yuan called out from behind, but the tall man in white remained silent, stepping through the door with a cold expression.

"this?"

Jiang Yuan found it strange. He had already learned yesterday that Wei Chong was his master's son. As a disciple, even if he didn't want to get close to him, he shouldn't be so cold. He didn't even want to pretend.

Wei Chong didn't seem to care at all, and said with a grin, "Junior Brother Jiang, you really came. Father has already told me that you can go straight to the room to find him now that you're here."

"Thank you for informing me, Third Senior Brother." Jiang Yuan said with gratitude, and then walked into the martial arts hall with Niu Fan.

Niu Fan glanced at him and said in a low voice, "Are you wondering why that kid acted that way just now?"

"Yes," Jiang Yuan echoed.

"His name is Shao Tingfeng, and he comes from the Shao family in the inner city. Apart from my master, he looks down on people like us from the outer city."

"Could it be the Shao family, one of the three great families of the inner city?"

"That's right. Not only does he come from a good family, but he is also very strong. He has already reached the Ming Jin level. You should not provoke him." Niu Fan warned seriously.

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother Niu."

Niu Fan said nothing more and walked to the stone lock to prepare for cultivation.

"Ming Jin?"

Jiang Yuan muttered something to himself and quickly arrived at the front of the house.

The door was wide open, and Wei Xuan sat in the armchair as he had yesterday, seemingly waiting for him.

"Master!"

Wei Xuan put down his teacup and said seriously, "Since you're here, I'll keep you here. You must study martial arts diligently from now on and not let yourself down."

"Yes."

Wei Xuan nodded: "Next, I will tell you some basic martial arts knowledge."

Jiang Yuan's spirits lifted, and he pricked up his ears. All his previous efforts, even to the point of bloodshed, were for this very moment.

The boxing manual says: Learning boxing is easy, but mastering its power is difficult.

This force is the foundation of martial arts, and it is divided into three major stages: Ming Jin (manifest force), An Jin (hidden force), and Hua Jin (transformative force).

What is "jin" (劲, a kind of internal force or power)? It's actually not that mysterious, and quite easy to understand. Simply put, jin is force combined with skill. An average person can lift about half their own weight; any more and they're likely to sprain their back or legs—that's because they haven't mastered jin.

Jiang Yuan raised his head: "Master, can I understand it this way: if two people of similar build run fast and slow, does the faster one have more power?"

"You can understand it this way: the person who runs fast has better talent and a deeper understanding of running techniques, which is also an extension of strength."

Wei Xuan's phoenix eyes swept over Jiang Yuan, and he said indifferently:

"In fact, when people are in normal activities, the force they use contains several kinds of force, but most of them are based on instinct and are not systematic. We know what it is but not why it is. We martial arts practitioners start with standing meditation to feel the flow of force in our body. When we can grasp that bit of force, we can say that we have entered the door of force."

Jiang Yuan suddenly realized that his new master's explanation of internal force was simple, straightforward, and easy to understand.

The theories of Ming Jin, An Jin, and Hua Jin also existed in the martial arts circles of the previous life, but it is unknown whether they are the same as those here.

He had never been exposed to martial arts in his previous life, and only received some fragments of theory from movies and novels. He had almost no research in this area.

Wei Xuan took a sip of tea to moisten his throat and continued:

"As the saying goes, the nine sons of the dragon are all different. Each person has a different physique and bone structure, and naturally they are suited to different boxing styles."

Finding a suitable martial art makes practice much more efficient. Most martial arts schools in this outer city only teach one style. Disciples who don't understand the underlying principles, encountering a style incompatible with their own constitution, will find it difficult to master no matter how hard they practice.

Facing his newly initiated disciples, he subtly elevated his own martial arts school.

"Master, do you mean our martial arts school has more than one style of boxing?"

"That's right. The martial arts school currently teaches three styles of boxing: Tortoise Form, Tiger Form, and Crane Form," Wei Xuan said.

A strange idea popped into Jiang Yuan's mind:

"Turtle, tiger, crane? That's land, sea, and air!"