Breaking Limits in Martial Arts: Grinding Your Way to Becoming a Martial Saint in a Chaotic Era

Xu Qing's punch landed squarely.

Xu Qing grunted and flew backward. He crashed to the ground with a thud and slid three or four feet away.

He lay on his back, his chest aching, a sweet taste in his throat, and a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

The training ground was deathly silent.

Everyone was stunned.

Xu Yan stood on the sidelines, her mouth agape and her eyes wide open.

She had just been worried that Xu Qing would be taken advantage of, and even wanted to rush over and pull them apart. But now, it was Xu Qing lying on the ground.

Her nephew, who had been practicing martial arts for two months, was sent flying by a single punch from her own nephew, who had only been there for three days.

Chen Wang's mouth was wide open enough to fit an egg.

He subconsciously rubbed his eyes, wondering if he was seeing things.

Xu Qing has only been at the martial arts school for a few days? At most, three and a half days.

He mastered stance training in half an incense stick's time and achieved minor mastery of the Five Elements Fist in three days. Is this really just average to below-average talent? Isn't this level of comprehension a bit too extraordinary?

He recalled his master's reaction when he heard the news that day, and suddenly everything made sense.

The smile on Zhou Wen's face had long since frozen.

He leaned against the weapon rack and suddenly stood up straight!

He looked at Xu Qing lying on the ground, then at Xu Qing standing calmly in the center of the field, and was so shocked that he couldn't utter a single word.

The fellow apprentices who were watching were in an uproar.

"My God... Junior Brother Xu Qing won?"

"He's only been here a few days? Three or four days, I guess?"

"Xu Qing practiced for two months, and he lost just like that?"

"Did you see that? Xu Qing's set of punches just now, every move flowed seamlessly together, like water. Isn't that a minor mastery level?"

"It's definitely at least partially completed! I've seen Senior Brother Chen Wang make it, and it tastes exactly like this!"

"Mastered it in three days? That's insane comprehension..."

"Wasn't he said to have below-average talent? This level of comprehension is terrifying."

The buzzing of voices was like a swarm of bees hovering over the training ground.

Xu Qing ignored these voices.

He walked up to Xu Qing and looked down at him.

Xu Qing lay on the ground, his chest aching terribly, the blood at the corner of his mouth extremely glaring.

He looked up at Xu Qing, his eyes filled with disbelief and a deep sense of humiliation.

A fisherman who had been there for three and a half days, a country bumpkin, knocked him down with a single punch in front of all the fellow students in the academy.

Xu Qing stared at him for a couple of breaths, her eyes as cold as death.

Xu Qing felt a chill run down his spine from being stared at. He wanted to say something fierce, but he was too afraid to open his mouth.

"Get up, tidy up the food box, and then go apologize to your aunt!" Xu Qing said, her voice calm, but it was as cold as ice to Xu Qing's ears, like a thunderclap.

Xu Qing instinctively wanted to refuse, but then he glanced at Xu Qing's murderous eyes.

He gritted his teeth and gave in.

Xu Qing wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, got up without a word, picked up the food box, and packed all the dirt-covered buns and mutton into it.

He walked step by step to Xu Yan, head bowed, gritting his teeth as he said, "Second Aunt, I was wrong."

"Hey, it's alright, are you hurt?" Xu Yan took the food box and wanted to wipe the dirt off Xu Qing's body, but Xu Qing looked humiliated and ran out of the martial arts gym like a shot.

"Aqing..." Xu Yan wanted to call out to him, but before she could finish speaking, Xu Qing had disappeared.

"Sigh!" Xu Yan sighed, turned to look at Xu Qing, and tears suddenly fell again, this time tears of both heartache and pride.

She reached out and touched Xu Qing's face, her lips trembling, and after a long while, she managed to stammer, "Qing'er... are you... are you alright?"

"I'm fine." Xu Qing smiled and took the food box from Xu Yan's hand.

The steamed buns and mutton were covered in dirt, but they could still be eaten after washing them.

He turned to Qin Liang, who was still in a daze, and said with a smile, "Senior Brother Qin, lunch is almost here. You don't mind if the steamed buns and mutton have some dirt on them, do you?"

Before the fight started, Xu Qing scanned everyone's expressions. Qin Liang was the only one who was worried about him, besides his aunt and Chen Wang.

Upon hearing this, Qin Liang snapped out of his daze and quickly replied happily, "No problem at all! I'll go get a bowl from the kitchen."

Before long, Qin Liang happily went to the water room with steamed buns and mutton.

Xu Qing handed the food box to Xu Yan and said with a smile, "Auntie, you go back first. I'll come to see you again in a couple of days."

Xu Yan took the food box, opened her mouth, thought of Xu Qing, and wanted to say something, but ultimately didn't say anything.

She sighed, patted Xu Qing's head again, and turned to leave.

As she reached the door, she glanced back. Xu Qing was standing in the training ground, looking at her. His back was ramrod straight, and the sunlight made him look like he was gilded.

She suddenly felt that her older brother, seeing this scene from heaven, would probably be smiling too.

......

Inner courtyard.

Ning Yun was pouring tea for Zhao Yan, who was leaning back in his armchair with his eyes half-closed, as if he was about to fall asleep, or as if he was thinking about something.

Chen Wang rushed over in a flurry, his footsteps thumping loudly on the blue bricks.

"Master!" He first bowed to Zhao Yan, then smiled at Ning Yun, "Senior Brother Ning."

Zhao Yan opened her eyes, glared at him, and scolded him with a hint of feigned reprimand: "So impulsive and rash, what kind of behavior is this?"

Chen Wang scratched his head, chuckled, and didn't dare to argue back.

"Speak, what happened?" Zhao Yan picked up his teacup, blew on the floating leaves, and spoke in a calm tone.

"Master, it's Junior Brother Xu Qing!" Chen Wang leaned closer, his voice brimming with barely concealed excitement. "Master, Junior Brother Xu's Five Elements Fist has already reached a minor level of mastery!"

Chen Wang kept talking, recounting what had just happened in the front yard.

From Xu Yanlai bringing food, Xu Qing kicking over the food box, to how Xu Qing stood up and defeated Xu Qing in a sparring match.

Chen Wang became increasingly excited as he spoke, his voice rising several decibels: "He's only been at the martial arts school for a few days? At most three and a half! He's already mastered the Five Elements Fist in three days. Xu Qing came two months earlier than him, and he hasn't even touched the basics of the Five Elements Fist! And then there's stance training; Xu Qing has almost caught up with Xu Qing's progress in just a few days!"

He swallowed hard, carefully observing Zhao Yan's expression, and finally couldn't help but ask, "Master, you...you really didn't make a mistake? Junior Brother Xu's aptitude is truly below average?"

Zhao Yan remained silent.

His hand holding the teacup hovered in mid-air, his brows slightly furrowed.

Feeling the bones is never wrong.

This skill was passed down from my master and has been passed down for decades without a single mistake.

He had personally examined Xu Qing's bone structure, tendons, and blood circulation, and confirmed that Xu Qing was indeed of below-average talent. At best, he could break through the threshold of Ming Jin and An Jin... but he probably wouldn't be able to cross that threshold.

But how do we explain what Chen Wang said?

"One can master stance training in half an incense stick's time and achieve minor mastery of the Five Elements Fist in three days." Such progress is difficult even for disciples with excellent physical constitutions, let alone those with average or below-average constitutions.

Zhao Yan's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

unless......

A thought suddenly flashed through his mind—a special physique.

Some people may seem to have ordinary physical attributes, but they are naturally suited to certain martial arts techniques or styles.

Once you've mastered the right method, your progress in the early stages will be rapid, much faster than that of someone with exceptional natural talent.

Such people are rare, but they are recorded in books, and he had also heard his master mention them.

Could Xu Qing be one of these types?

But upon further thought, Zhao Yan shook his head inwardly.

His master also said that even if a special physique is a perfect match, it will only be "fast in the early stages".

Physical constitution is ultimately just physical constitution; it is the foundation of martial arts.

Unless one can find a rare medicine that can change one's physical constitution, being of average or below average is just average or below average; breaking through to the Ming Jin level is already the limit.

After reaching the Ming Jin level, the effect of skill matching becomes negligible. Relying on matching to break through the An Jin level is unlikely to be successful, and going further is extremely difficult.

Innate talent is the true gift from God.

Thinking of this, Zhao Yan picked up the teacup, slowly took a sip, and his expression returned to calm.

"His aptitude is below average, no doubt about it." His voice was calm, as if the hesitation he had just felt had never existed. "His progress is rapid, which must be due to his alignment with the Five Elements Fist style."

"Some people are just born that way. They can't learn other styles of boxing, but they can pick up a certain style very quickly. But that's only in the early stages. Later on, they'll still get stuck."

Chen Wang opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but was stopped by a look from Zhao Yan.

"Alright, I understand. You can go back now."

Chen Wang was somewhat unwilling, but since his master had spoken, he dared not say anything more and could only reply "Yes" before turning to leave.

"etc."

It was Ning Yun who spoke.