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

When Xu Qing stepped into the yamen, Constable Qi was in a state of utter distress.

Officer Qi sat behind his desk, a thick stack of case files spread out in front of him. The top one was a newly delivered urgent file, the ink still wet.

He rubbed his temples with one hand, gripped the corner of the table with the other, his brows furrowed, and mumbled something indistinctly.

Hearing footsteps, he didn't even look up, just waved his hand: "Since you're back, go patrol the streets. Pay your wages as usual today, no deductions."

Xu Qing responded and turned to leave.

He walked along South Street and West Street. When the shopkeepers saw him, they smiled and greeted him with clasped hands, "Greetings, sir." He nodded in response, neither warm nor cold, neither making them feel friendly nor arrogant.

Unbeknownst to him, no sooner had he left the martial arts school than a follower dressed in a black and gray outfit arrived.

The attendant, holding a gold-flecked invitation, knocked on the door of the martial arts school.

Chen Wang went up to greet him and asked what their purpose was. The attendant said he was from the county magistrate's residence and had been sent by the second young master, Su Changhe, to invite Xu Qing, the young master of the Zhao family martial arts school, to a banquet at Furui Restaurant that evening.

"Xu Qing?" Chen Wang was taken aback, his brows furrowing slightly. He glanced back at Xu Qing, who was practicing stance training on the training ground. Xu Qing's legs were trembling, his waist and hips were as stiff as a door, and his stance was crooked and distorted.

Chen Wang turned his head, his lips moved as if he wanted to say something, but the attendant had already stuffed the invitation into his hand and turned to leave.

Chen Wang stood there, holding the invitation. He looked down at the name on the invitation. It was indeed "Xu Qing." He then looked up at the figure swaying on the plum blossom stakes in the distance, feeling that something was off, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it.

......

Xu Qing was practicing standing meditation on the training ground. His legs were trembling, veins were bulging on his forehead, and sweat was streaming down his temples and into his neck, making him feel itchy. He couldn't help but wipe it away, and with that one wipe, the stance he had finally managed to maintain loosened again.

He has been at the martial arts school for more than three months, but his progress in the Three Talents Stance has been slow. Every time he stands in the stance, it feels like he is being tortured.

Yesterday, during his day off, he went home and visited his second uncle's house with his mother, Tong. His second uncle, who had always doted on him, didn't look at him with the same warmth this time.

Xu Qing understood immediately.

It's all because of Xu Qing!

Xu Qing broke through to the Ming Jin realm and was appointed a constable. His second uncle felt that Xu Qing had become successful and looked down on him. He felt suffocated, as if a stone was pressing on his chest, making it hard to breathe. But he had to accept reality. Xu Qing was indeed better than him in every way, much better.

Just as he was getting annoyed, he saw Chen Wang walking towards him with a poster in his hand. The poster was dangling in Chen Wang's hand, and the gold-flecked cover glittered in the sunlight, making him squint.

He grumbled as he put down the stake, his legs buckling and he almost lost his balance. He assumed Chen Wang was going to make him run errands again, so he smirked and his face fell.

"Junior Brother Xu." Chen Wang walked up to him, handed him the invitation, his tone was flat, and his face was expressionless. "The second son of the county magistrate invites you to a banquet at Furui Restaurant tonight."

Xu Qing thought he had misheard. He stood there stunned for a while, his mouth slightly open, his eyes fixed on Chen Wang. It wasn't until Chen Wang shoved the invitation into his hand that he realized what was happening.

He looked down at the invitation in his hand, his fingers trembling slightly. He carefully opened it; a few lines of text were written on the gold-flecked paper, the handwriting elegant and the wording polite, the signature being "Su Changhe".

His eyes widened instantly, and his mouth gaped open, as if someone had hit him on the back of the head with a brick; he was completely dumbfounded.

Su Changhe, the second son of the county magistrate?

Invite him to a banquet at Fu Rui Lou?

Fu Rui Lou was the best restaurant in the county. A single meal there cost more money than his family's annual food expenses. Every time he passed by that street, he would look up at it, swallow hard, and think that when he became rich, he would definitely go in and have a feast.

He'd never even stepped foot inside the gates of Fu Rui Lou restaurant in his entire life. And now someone was inviting him to a banquet? And by the son of the county magistrate?

Xu Qing examined the invitation three times, making sure he wasn't dreaming and that no one was playing a joke on him. A surge of heat rushed from the soles of his feet to his head, making his cheeks burn and his heart pound.

He gripped the invitation tightly, the corners of his mouth unconsciously turning upwards, so much so that he couldn't suppress it.

"Now even the county magistrate's son has invited me to a banquet." He gritted his teeth, his jaw grinding, a surge of vicious pleasure welling up inside him. "Let's see who dares to look down on me now!"

......

Xu Qing patrolled the streets, said goodbye to his aunt and uncle, and headed towards the martial arts school.

He also had to practice standing meditation and boxing, and he couldn't miss a single day of it.

He knew better than anyone that he had inadvertently offended someone he shouldn't have. Although the Giant Whale Gang's actions had been handled cleanly, leaving no trace, Lin Mu wasn't stupid; he would eventually find out.

He had to become stronger, so strong that no one would dare touch his family, so strong that no one would dare mention the name "Lin Mu" in front of him.

As soon as he entered the martial arts school, a figure approached him, like a dog waiting there.

Xu Qing.

He held the invitation in his hand, deliberately showing it off. He had a smug look on his face, with the corners of his mouth and eyes smirking, his whole demeanor screaming "I'm so smug."

"Hey, Junior Brother Xu, you're back from patrolling the streets?" Xu Qing's voice was neither too loud nor too soft, just loud enough for the surrounding fellow disciples to hear. "I have something to tell you. Young Master Su from the County Magistrate's Office has invited me to a banquet at Fu Rui Lou tonight."

He tilted his head back, chin held high, and held up the invitation, beginning to boast: "See that? That's real skill. You think being a lowly constable running errands in the yamen makes you anything special?"

He emphasized the words "errand runner," his tone carrying an undisguised contempt.

"Young Master Su wouldn't even give you a second glance. I'm different. A distinguished person personally sent me an invitation. What does that mean? It means they think highly of me."

He puffed out his chest, raised his chin so high it almost touched the roof: "Don't think you're so great just because you're a disciple of a martial arts school. In this world, skill alone isn't enough; you also need connections and influence. Young Master Su invited me because he sees potential in my future. My future, Xu Qing's, may not be any worse than yours."

Several fellow disciples nearby looked over, some curious, some envious, whispering amongst themselves.

Zhou Wen leaned closer, like a dog that had smelled meat, his eyes fixed on the invitation, shining like two copper bells, as if he wanted to glue his eyeballs on.

"Junior Brother Xu, you're something else! So that's why Senior Brother Chen was looking for you. You kept it a secret, that's not very nice of you!" He slapped Xu Qing on the shoulder, making Xu Qing stagger and lose his footing, but he quickly straightened up.

"Even the county magistrate's son is inviting you; you're about to make it big!" Zhou Wen kept flattering him, his tone exaggerated as if Xu Qing had already become the county magistrate. "Don't forget your brother when you're successful!"

As Xu Qing listened to Zhou Wen's flattering words, his shoulders shrugged from being patted, and he couldn't stop smiling. He glanced sideways at Xu Qing, waiting for him to show an expression of envy or jealousy.

Xu Qing looked at him, her face expressionless. It was as if she were looking at a stone, a piece of wood.

"Get out of the way," he said, uttering just two words.

The voice wasn't loud, and the tone wasn't heavy, but those two words seemed to have been pulled out of an ice cellar, icy cold, chilling to the bone, so cold that Xu Qing involuntarily took half a step to the side.

Xu Qing walked past him without turning her head. Her pace was neither fast nor slow, just like usual, and she went straight into the inner courtyard.

Xu Qing's smile froze on his face, as if he had been slapped hard, the pain and spiciness burning his face. The smugness on his face hadn't even had time to fade before it shattered into pieces.

He clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm, spat at Xu Qing's retreating figure, and muttered under his breath, "Pah! What are you pretending for!"

The voice wasn't loud, but several fellow disciples nearby heard it. They looked at each other, but no one responded.

Xu Qing felt incredibly embarrassed, his face burning with shame, as if he had been slapped in the face in public. He turned around and went to find Zhou Wen to discuss what to wear that evening.

The two huddled together, heads close together, whispering to each other.

Just then, Wu Mingyuan walked over, his steps as unhurried as ever.

He glanced at Xu Qing, his gaze settling on the invitation. Xu Qing quickly handed it over, holding it with both hands as if presenting a memorial to the emperor: "Senior Brother Wu, please take a look."

Wu Mingyuan took it and glanced at it. His face was expressionless, but his fingers paused for a fleeting moment at the edge of the post, so brief as to be almost invisible.

He tossed the post back to Xu Qing, gave a curt "humph," and turned to continue his stance training without even offering a word of congratulations.

Xu Qing saw it all clearly. The moment Wu Mingyuan received the invitation, a glint flashed in his eyes, gone in an instant. It wasn't admiration, nor was it satisfaction; it was envy, jealousy, and the thought, "Why not me?"

Xu Qing's lips curled slightly, and he unconsciously puffed out his chest, making it bulge. He raised his head, and the angle between his chin and the roof widened even further.

Even Wu Mingyuan was jealous.

The anger that had been building up inside him finally subsided. Like a thunderclap that had been building up all summer, it finally struck, and the rain poured down, bringing a refreshing coolness.

If I can get close to Su Changhe in the future, who will still care about Wu Mingyuan's attitude?

In the inner courtyard, Xu Qing changed into his training clothes, stood on the plum blossom stakes, lowered his shoulders and elbows, focused his energy on his dantian, and began to throw punches.

What does Fu Rui Lou or Young Master Su have to do with him?

His path lies in his fists, not at the dinner table.

The sky gradually darkened.

Xu Qing lingered at home for a full half hour. He ironed the half-new blue cloth robe again and again, wiped the borrowed jade pendant again and again, spat in his palm, and slicked his hair until it was so shiny that even a fly would slip on it.

Before leaving the house, he looked at himself in the bronze mirror again and again, turning left and right to make sure that there was nothing wrong with his body, before taking a deep breath and stepping out of the room.

Fu Rui Lou is located at the most bustling intersection in the east of the city. It is a three-story wooden building with upturned eaves and red lanterns hanging under the eaves, making the whole street feel warm and cozy. Several sedan chairs are parked at the entrance, and the sedan chair bearers are squatting in the corner chatting idly.

Xu Qing stood at the entrance, looking up at the golden signboard. The three characters "Fu Rui Lou" were written with vigorous strokes, as if carved by a knife and axe. He swallowed hard, straightened his collar, and stepped inside.

The lobby had more than a dozen tables, all of which were occupied, with people clinking glasses and chatting.

The waiter came up to him, looked him up and down, and that look was quick, like a gust of wind, but Xu Qing felt that wind blow from his face to his feet and then back from his feet to his face.

The waiter's smile faded slightly: "How many guests are there?"

"I...I'm here for the banquet, invited by Young Master Su." Xu Qing handed over the invitation, his voice a little tense.

The waiter took the invitation and his face immediately changed. His smile widened, becoming obsequious, and he bowed deeply: "So you are Mr. Su's distinguished guest. Please come upstairs, please come upstairs."

He stepped aside, one hand lightly supporting Xu Qing's lower back; his fingers didn't actually touch Xu Qing's clothes, but the support was there. He guided Xu Qing towards the stairs with the other hand, his manner as attentive as if serving a father.

Xu Qing straightened up immediately, his chest lifted a little higher, and even his breathing became much smoother.

He followed the waiter upstairs.

The innermost private room on the third floor.

The waiter stopped at the door and gently knocked three times.

After knocking, he stepped aside and gestured "please" with his hand.