From slave trader to the Immortal Lord of Ten Thousand Laws

"Go and summon Niu Da."

As soon as Li Nian finished speaking, the footsteps outside the courtyard stopped.

He looked up and saw a few figures moving sideways. After a few moments, he saw two members of the Money Gang walk into the courtyard.

The two men, one on the left and one on the right, were led by the henchmen who had been informed earlier. The one on the left was the clerk, and the one on the right was Scarface.

Li Nian flicked his sleeve and raised his hand in a salute:

"You two distinguished guests have come from afar, and I, Li, have failed to greet you properly. I am truly sorry for my rudeness. I hope you will forgive me."

"Haha, you flatter me, my lord."

The advisor chuckled a few times, his face all smiles, as if he could chat with anyone.

Upon hearing that the other person identified himself as Li, he suddenly remembered something and asked blankly, "May I ask... are you Guard Li in person?"

"What you are saying is indeed my father."

Seeing that the other party had admitted his mistake, Li Nian was not angry, but instead showed a bit of pride.

His father, Li Wengu, was the head guard of the Xu family, a position of great importance and influence.

You must never leave for even a moment.

Being respected is a common occurrence, but it turns out that this White Fan of the Money Gang had also heard of it.

It's truly delightful.

"So it was your father! Like father, like son!"

The advisor offered a flattering remark and asked in a gentle voice, "May I ask if it is Young Master Li testing his martial arts today?"

"Your insight is brilliant, but it is not my own."

Li Nian shook his head, glanced at Liu Shun behind him, clasped his hands and said gently, "It is my brother here who wishes to ask you two for guidance."

"Well, I wouldn't call it giving pointers, it's just a friendly exchange."

The advisor shook his head and said some polite words.

The scarred man behind him could no longer contain himself. He stepped forward abruptly, clasped his hands in a fist salute, bowed to both sides, and said in a deep voice:

"My name is Wang Dao. I humbly request your guidance."

Before he finished speaking, he slightly angled his left palm and placed his right fist on his waist, assuming a "please" gesture:

"please!"

"please."

Liu Shun responded with a shout, his legs suddenly parted, his toes turned inward like a plow digging into the ground, then he lowered his waist and hips, his spine straightening like a dragon, bursting out with an unstoppable momentum. Then he bent his left elbow forward, his fist facing the sky, like a fully drawn bow; his right fist was pulled under his ribs, his five fingers slowly clenching, as if he were squeezing a walnut, the knuckles rubbing together and making a "crackling" sound.

"Hiss—"

Liu Shun's chest heaved as he took a long breath.

As the saying goes, one must train one's muscles, bones, and skin externally, and cultivate one's inner energy internally. For a martial artist to reach a certain level, one must enter the realm of training one's skin.

To pass the test, one must execute a complete set of fist techniques in one smooth, flowing motion; only then can one be considered to have barely touched the threshold of the Skin Refining Realm. Afterward, one's skin becomes as tough as an ox's, as resilient as a drumhead. Ordinary punches and kicks striking it only produce a muffled "thump" sound, but can hardly cause any damage. Only then can one be considered to have entered the next level.

Although Liu Shun possessed the family's secret technique, the "Gold-Dissolving Cave," he lacked natural talent. In one breath, he could only execute half a set of boxing techniques. Every time he reached the middle, his breath would suddenly become stagnant, like an old ox exhausted from plowing a field, and his boxing moves would become chaotic.

This, however, is the drawback of his family's secret technique, the Gold-Destroying Cave.

"Oh? Bajiquan?!"

Wang Dao's gaze sharpened, and with just a cold glance, he recognized it as the killing technique from Bajiquan—Liangyi Ding!

"Bajiquan, Xingyiquan, Tongbeiquan, Changquan... These eight types of boxing are the foundation of the martial arts examination system of our Great Qian Dynasty. If you want to pass the martial arts examination and serve the court, you must learn one of these eight boxing styles. After passing the examinations of the prefecture and county and being tested on your boxing skills, you can then take the provincial, metropolitan, and palace examinations and advance step by step until you reach the ears of the emperor."

The advisor squinted and stood aside explaining.

The Eight Great Fists are like the Eight-Legged Essay; if one wants to pass the martial arts examination, one must learn them and put them into practice.

Therefore, after mastering both literary and martial arts, they sold their skills to the emperor.

The Eight Great Fists are also known as the "Eight Great Boards".

"The reason why Wang Dao could tell that this boxing style was Bajiquan was because the 'Liangyi Ding' (Two Elements Peak) is a set of routines from the small frame of Bajiquan, which is a widely circulated style of boxing among the 'Eight Great Boards'. He had also practiced this style of boxing in a martial arts school in the past when he was preparing for the martial arts examination. Therefore, he knew it was Bajiquan as soon as the boxing style was completed."

"But I never expected to see him again today..."

Wang Dao's eyes were deep, as if concealing a thousand kinds of hatred. He gritted his teeth, but then calmed himself down and thought:

"But one must not lose one's composure."

This fist technique was, after all, taught by Chen Kun, the Thunderbolt Hand. Although it's unknown which of his disciples was among them, this person should not be underestimated.

He thought to himself that Chen Kun, the Thunderbolt, wouldn't stoop so low as to use some common, low-quality stuff to pass off as genuine.

This Bajiquan... must be different!

...

"Bajiquan (Eight Extremities Fist) 1".

"How could the renowned Thunderbolt Master Chen Kun teach such commonplace techniques? We must not be fooled by this 'Two Elements Peak' move."

Inside the room, Jiang She, who had just seen off Doctor Wang, habitually dispersed his spiritual senses as soon as he returned to his room.

Divine sense does not consume much magical power; rather, it is more like a pair of eyes. It can look around or form a circle, and can see every detail within a radius of ten feet. However, if one goes straight ahead and enters a long way, one can see more than sixty feet away.

"What is this? When you circle around with your divine sense, your divine sense becomes the radius of the circle, and when you look at only one point, what your divine sense sees is the circumference of the circle."

Jiang She was delighted with this outcome; after a little thought, he discovered another great use for his divine sense.

but....

Li Nian's residence and the rear house were quite far apart; if viewed in a straight line, they were about sixty zhang apart.

Although this place is far away, it is still within Jiang She's reach by divine sense.

"Know your enemy and know yourself, and you will win every battle. Let's just wait and see. If we can figure out his boxing style and techniques, we can give young Sun the upper hand and save him some trouble."

Jiang She pondered, thinking of tomorrow's competition, and after a moment's thought, he simply shook his head and said:

"This trick probably won't work."

"Jiang She is an upright man; he would never even consider doing such a petty theft."

Sigh, life is so tiring.

Living up to how others see you... is even more tiring.

He sighed, then focused his gaze again, using his divine sense to look at the distant blue-brick hut.

...

"please!"

Liu Shun grunted and assumed the "Two Forms Top" stance from Bajiquan.

However, in the small frame of Bajiquan, the starting stance of the fist technique is the double sheep top. After this stance, a series of moves are performed before it evolves into the fixed stance of "two elements top".

Therefore, judging from the order of the moves, this "Two Elements Top" should not appear in the starting stance.

Even the advisor, who had never practiced Bajiquan, could see something amiss. However, seeing the impropriety in the stance, he dared not say anything more and could only tactfully say:

"Young Master Li, this gentleman... could it be that he is unfamiliar with martial etiquette?"

Martial etiquette refers to the greeting exchanged before a sparring match.

However, "Liangyi Ding" is a move in Bajiquan, and using it as a stance is obviously against the rules.

But Li Nian was taken aback:

"Huh? What's that?"

He frowned and turned to look at the advisor.

The advisor remained silent, only giving an awkward smile, glancing sideways at Liu Shun from time to time.

Seeing that his gaze repeatedly fell on Liu Shun's boxing stance, Li Nian immediately understood and realized what he meant.

But he smiled and said vaguely:

"Master, just watch, this style of boxing will surely impress you."