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

When Wu Mingyuan returned to the martial arts school, it was already past noon.

He was dressed in a moon-white outfit with a light blue belt around his waist. He walked with a relaxed gait, clearly the demeanor of someone from a wealthy family.

Zhou Wen had been waiting at the gate for a while. As soon as he saw Wu Mingyuan, his eyes lit up and he quickly went to greet him.

"Senior Brother Wu! You're finally back!" His voice was filled with a mix of urgency and barely concealed excitement.

Wu Mingyuan glanced at him, without stopping, and uttered a few words indifferently: "What is it? Speak."

"It's Xu Qing! The new guy!" Zhou Wen leaned closer, lowering his voice, but couldn't hide the exaggeration in his tone. "You don't know, not long after you left, Xu Qing beat up Xu Qing! In front of the whole hospital! Xu Qing's mouth was bleeding!"

Wu Mingyuan paused slightly, glanced at Zhou Wen, and raised his eyebrows slightly.

"Xu Qing? That guy who used to be a fisherman?"

"Yes, yes, yes! It was him!" Zhou Wen nodded repeatedly, embellishing the story, "He beat up Xu Qing over such a trivial matter..."

Wu Mingyuan waved his hand to interrupt him: "He's only been here for three days. Xu Qing has been training for two months. How could he possibly beat Xu Qing?"

His focus wasn't on "Xu Qing being beaten," but on "Xu Qing never beat Xu Qing." This order is important.

Zhou Wenqian chuckled twice, then nodded with a forced smile: "That's right. It must have been Xu Qing's carelessness..."

Before he could finish speaking, Wu Mingyuan coldly interrupted him: "What exactly happened? Tell me the whole story clearly, without adding a single word."

Wu Mingyuan's voice wasn't loud, but it was like a thin knife scraping against the skin. Zhou Wen was startled by the words and dared not lie anymore, honestly recounting what had happened.

"You said that after he defeated Xu Qing, the restaurant added meat to his lunch and even gave him medicinal soup?" Wu Mingyuan's eyes narrowed slightly.

"That's right!" Zhou Wen saw Wu Mingyuan's expression change, or rather, saw that his expression had finally changed, and he got more and more excited as he spoke, "You didn't see it, the pomp and circumstance when Xu Qing drank the medicine soup! Zhang Ma from the kitchen personally brought it over, like serving an ancestor..."

Wu Mingyuan suddenly turned around and faced Zhou Wen.

Zhou Wen was startled by his sudden action. The words stuck in his throat, like a fishbone that he couldn't swallow or spit out, so he awkwardly shut his mouth.

"Junior Brother Zhou," Wu Mingyuan's voice was unhurried yet carried an undeniable composure, "you're saying all this to get me to stand up for Xu Qing?"

Zhou Wen opened his mouth, his expression somewhat stiff.

He definitely meant it. Xu Qing was one of their men, and he'd been publicly humiliated. As the "big brother," Wu Mingyuan should at least do something, right? Even if he didn't do it himself, he should at least reprimand Xu Qing a bit, shouldn't he?

But he didn't dare say it outright. He just kept forcing a laugh, a laugh that looked more like a grimace: "Senior Brother Wu, that's not what I meant, it's just... I just think Xu Qing is too arrogant..."

"Arrogant?" Wu Mingyuan suddenly chuckled, a faint smile, his eyes devoid of warmth. "He stood up for his aunt, engaging in a fair and square sparring match. Winning is considered arrogant?"

Zhou Wen was choked so badly that his face turned pale and then red.

Wu Mingyuan stopped looking at him, turned around and continued walking inside, his tone returning to its usual indifferent, nonchalant tone: "Three days to master the Five Elements Fist, half an incense stick's time to enter the basics of stance training, and the academy gives him extra benefits... You want me to go and cause trouble for someone like that?"

He didn't turn around, his voice drifting over with a hint of ambiguous laughter: "Junior Brother Zhou, if you're not satisfied, go find him and fight him yourself. I won't stop you."

Zhou Wen's face flushed red instantly. He opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, but couldn't utter a single word.

He stood there, his expression changing repeatedly, before finally stomping his foot hard, muttering something under his breath, and slinking off after them.

......

As dinner was about to start in the evening, Wu Mingyuan surprisingly didn't go out.

He stopped punching, took the towel Zhou Wen handed him to wipe his sweat, and his gaze swept around the yard before finally landing on Xu Qing, who was driving piles in the corner.

"Bang, bang, bang—"

Xu Qing was punching the wooden dummy one punch at a time, his voice neither hurried nor slow, his rhythm very steady.

Wu Mingyuan squinted for a while, his mind involuntarily recalling the day Xu Qinggang arrived.

Xu Qing was wearing a faded old dress with a frayed collar. He was dark-skinned and thin, looking exactly like a country bumpkin who had just been dragged off a fishing boat.

It's only been three days.

This country bumpkin looks like a completely different person.

The brand-new light blue outfit made him look exceptionally smart. He was already good-looking, with regular features and clear eyes, and now he was even more radiant. Apart from his slightly darker skin and thinner body, there was no trace of the rustic air of a country bumpkin left on him.

Wu Mingyuan watched for a while, then suddenly walked over.

Tao Qing and the others were stunned for a moment, exchanged glances, and then followed.

"Junior Brother Xu." Wu Mingyuan stood behind Xu Qing, his voice neither too loud nor too soft, carrying the composure unique to scions of noble families.

Xu Qing withdrew his fist, turned around, and saw Wu Mingyuan standing in front of him, with Tao Qing and two other senior brothers behind him.

He was slightly taken aback.

These past few days, Wu Mingyuan hasn't said a single word to him.

Every time they met, this illegitimate son of the Wu family would walk past with his head held high, not even lifting his eyelids, as if he found it dirty to even glance at Xu Qing.

"Senior Brother Wu," Xu Qing bowed respectfully, neither humble nor arrogant.

Wu Mingyuan sized him up, his gaze lingering on his face: "I heard Junior Brother Xu defeated Xu Qing? And you've mastered the Five Elements Fist?"

Xu Qing said calmly, "Just lucky."

"Just luck?" Wu Mingyuan chuckled. "To only grasp the basics of stance training after half an incense stick's time, is that also luck?"

Xu Qing didn't speak, she just looked at him, waiting for him to continue.

Wu Mingyuan seemed unconcerned by his coldness, and continued, "We practice martial arts together in the same courtyard, so we should be closer. If you have any questions in the future, you can ask me. I know the Five Elements Fist better than you do."

These words were spoken in a lukewarm tone, as if they were either a handout or an attempt to win someone over.

Xu Qing glanced at him, didn't reply, but simply cupped his hands in thanks, then turned around, took a few steps, and continued practicing his punches.

"Bang, bang, bang—"

The sound of punches rang out again, unhurried and steady, as if nothing had happened.

Tao Qing stood behind Wu Mingyuan, looking at Xu Qing's back, her brows furrowing slightly.

She leaned closer to Wu Mingyuan, lowered her voice, and said with a hint of dissatisfaction, "Senior Brother Wu, this person doesn't seem to appreciate it."

Wu Mingyuan didn't speak. He just watched Xu Qing's back as he practiced boxing, his gaze holding a hint of something unreadable.

After a while, he suddenly laughed. The laughter was very soft, as soft as the wind rustling through bamboo leaves, and then it was gone.

"It's better if you don't appreciate it. If you do, it'll just lose its meaning."

After saying that, he turned and left, walking calmly as if nothing had happened.

Tao Qing paused for a moment, then followed. After walking a few steps, she turned back to look at Xu Qing again—the handsome young man was still practicing his skills, punching each punch with complete focus and without distraction.

......

Over the next few days, Wu Mingyuan would occasionally exchange a few words with Xu Qing, his tone neither warm nor cold, as if he were testing her or observing her.

Tao Qing would sometimes chime in with a comment or two, and the other two senior brothers would occasionally nod in agreement.

Xu Qing's impression of the group was neither good nor bad.

They never looked at him properly, and he never looked at them properly either.

Now that Wu Mingyuan has taken the initiative to befriend him, he neither refuses nor panders. He continues practicing his martial arts and eating as usual, greeting each other with a cupped-hand salute and a "Senior Brother Wu" when they meet, neither too close nor too distant.

The most embarrassed were Xu Qing and Zhou Wen.

The next day, Xu Qing returned to the martial arts school. The first thing he did upon his return was to be asked by Wu Mingyuan to apologize to Xu Qing.

Although he was unwilling, he gritted his teeth and apologized. The "I was wrong" was squeezed out from between his teeth, as faint as a mosquito's buzz, but everyone heard it.

Previously, they had always mocked Xu Qing as a "country bumpkin," a "fisherman," and a "country bumpkin." Now, this "country bumpkin" has become someone even their "big brother" has to curry favor with.

Behind their backs, the two were often ridiculed by their fellow students in the academy.

They both became complete clowns.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

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