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

"Auntie, don't worry, I won't do anything foolish."

Xu Qing smiled at Xu Yan, then turned to Xu Erniu and said, "Second Uncle, I want to go to the martial arts school to become an apprentice today."

Xu Erniu opened his mouth.

He was simple, but not stupid. How could he not see that Xu Qing was provoked by Chen Jiang's behavior?

He was angry and upset to see someone insulting his younger sister like that, but he was powerless to do anything about it.

"Alright!" Xu Erniu sighed and replied emphatically, "Let's go home and get the money!"

......

This round trip took two and a half hours.

On the way back, Xu Erniu took Xu Qing to the Zhao Family Martial Arts School to familiarize himself with the place. When they went into the city again, Xu Qing did not let his second uncle come with them.

Xu Qing stopped in front of the martial arts school's residence and took a breath.

This is a large courtyard with two entrances, a vermilion gate, and two stone lions crouching at the entrance, baring their teeth and looking quite imposing.

His martial arts journey began right here.

Without thinking twice, he stepped forward and knocked heavily on the door knocker.

A short while later, the door creaked open a crack, and a boy's head peeked out.

"Who should I look for?"

"I want to become your disciple," Xu Qing stated his purpose directly.

"Become my apprentice now?" The boy was taken aback, looked him up and down, and then pushed open the door and came out.

No wonder he was surprised; most people who came to the martial arts school to become disciples arrived early in the morning, and at the latest, no later than noon.

The martial arts school charges by the day; no matter when you come, you'll be charged for the entire day.

It's already past mid-day, and the day is almost over. It's not worth it to come and become an apprentice so late. If you calculate it by the day, it will cost 110 coins.

Judging from Xu Qing's attire, he doesn't seem to be from a wealthy family. He's already wasted almost a day's worth of money before even starting to practice martial arts.

The boy shook his head, thinking to himself that the person in front of him was not very smart and couldn't do math.

"Do you have enough for the ten taels of silver apprenticeship fee?" He didn't think twice and asked directly. If he didn't have enough money, he wouldn't bother with any more questions.

"I've brought enough."

"That's good, come in." Hearing that the money was enough, the young man's face immediately lit up with a smile. "My name is Qin Liang, I've only been here for a month, so I'm your senior brother. Master is in the backyard, I'll take you to the training ground first."

"Thank you for your trouble, Senior Brother Qin." Xu Qing cupped his hands in greeting.

"From now on, we're all fellow disciples, so don't be so polite." Qin Liang smiled and introduced them as they walked, "Including you, there are exactly twenty of us in the outer courtyard. There are also a few senior brothers and sisters in the inner courtyard..."

As they were talking, they arrived at the training ground.

At a glance, there are plum blossom stakes, wooden dummy stakes, stone locks, stone balls, sandbags, weapon racks... everything is there.

The training ground was extremely large, and the disciples were scattered throughout it without feeling crowded at all.

The wooden dummy was being pounded with a loud "thump, thump," and several people were standing on the plum blossom stakes, their feet firmly planted.

Some people were shouting as they lifted stone weights, some were bending over and rolling stone balls, and others were practicing boxing on the sidelines, their punches kicking up dust from the ground.

What caught Xu Qing's attention the most were the two people practicing together in the arena.

He didn't know what kind of fighting style the two were using, but it looked very intense and quite shocking.

The Zhao Family Martial Arts School teaches the Five Elements Fist, and the two people in the arena are using the Five Elements Fist.

A horizontal strike and a slash, a drill and a cannon shot, back and forth, every punch landing hard.

The horizontal punch is like a snake emerging from its hole, cunning and vicious; the chopping punch is like an axe splitting a mountain, unparalleled in its power and ferocity.

The tall, thin boy dodged a collapsing punch to the side, then followed up with a drilling punch from below, aiming straight for his opponent's jaw.

The short boy quickly tilted his head back to avoid the attack, but his feet didn't stop. He took a step forward and threw a powerful punch straight at the tall, thin boy's chest.

Instead of retreating, the tall, thin boy advanced, twisting his arms to forcefully deflect the punch. He then countered with a powerful chopping punch, as heavy as Mount Tai...

Xu Qing was so engrossed in watching that his palms were sweating.

He had never seen such martial arts before. Every move seemed to carry the sound of wind and thunder, far more exciting than the fight scenes in martial arts films on television in his previous life.

Seeing that he was engrossed in watching, Qin Liang patted him on the shoulder and laughed, "How about it? Pretty impressive, huh? You wait here for a bit, Senior Brother Chen Wang has gone to the inner courtyard to fetch Master."

Xu Qing smiled and nodded.

......

Bang!

The tall, thin boy threw another chopping punch. The short boy couldn't parry it in time and was hit on the shoulder. He groaned, staggered back three steps, and fell to the ground with a thud.

"Good!" Several disciples practicing their boxing nearby cheered in unison.

Xu Qing couldn't help but cheer and clap along with the crowd.

Just as they were clapping, they suddenly felt a gaze directed their way.

Turning his head, he saw a young man in black, dressed in a tight-fitting outfit, staring at him from the crowd. The man's face looked somewhat familiar.

Upon closer reflection, yes, it was Xu Qing.

He is the only son of his uncle's elder brother.

My uncle mentioned that Xu Qing also studied martial arts at the Zhao family's martial arts school.

The two had only met a few times, and each time Xu Qing would not even look at him properly, probably because he thought he was poor and was afraid of getting some bad luck from him.

Xu Qing noticed it, and Xu Qing recognized him too. He hesitated whether to go up and say hello, and just as a smile appeared on his face, Xu Qing suddenly frowned and turned his face away in disgust, as if he had seen something filthy.

Xu Qing immediately abandoned the idea of ​​greeting him, not wanting to make a fool of himself.

Before long, Senior Brother Chen, who had gone to the inner courtyard, returned, followed by an old man in a blue robe.

The old man was thin, with graying temples and a sharply defined face. Most frightening of all were his eyes—they gleamed with a sharp light, like two knives. Just one glance from him sent a chill down Xu Qing's spine, as if all his clothes had been stripped off.

Without needing an introduction, Xu Qing knew that this was the master of the Zhao Family Martial Arts School, the master he was to become her disciple.

"So you want to become my apprentice?" Master Zhao Yan's voice wasn't loud, but every word was clear, like nails driven into your ears.

"Yes." Xu Qing quickly bowed and said, "Disciple Xu Qing, a fisherman from Blackwater Bay, wishes to learn martial arts at the martial arts school."

Zhao Yan didn't respond, but looked him up and down before suddenly reaching out and grabbing his wrist.

Those hands looked thin and dry, but their strength was astonishing, like iron clamps.

Before Xu Qing could react, Zhao Yan had already grasped his arm and moved his hand up his back, then squeezed his leg bone, and finally patted his shoulder blade, uttering two words indifferently: "Below average."

Xu Qing immediately understood that this was a bone reading exercise, assessing one's innate talent and aptitude.

Zhao Yan released his grip, his tone indifferent: "Ordinary talent."

"However, once a martial arts school opens its doors to accepting students, there's no reason to turn anyone away. The apprenticeship fee is ten taels, which covers three months. If you want to stay at the school afterward, you need to pay two taels every month. There aren't many rules in the school: respect your teacher, do not bully others with your martial arts skills, and do not fight among your fellow students."

"If someone breaks the rules, they will be whipped at best, and expelled from the sect at worst if their tendons are severed."

Xu Qing, unaware of anything amiss, remained calm and took out his money pouch from his pocket, offering it to him with both hands.

Without Zhao Yan's prompting, someone took the money bag on their own.

"Chen Wang," Zhao Yan instructed again, "make proper arrangements for him. He should practice with you first, and you should teach him stance training. Start with stance training; once he can stand steadily, then we can talk about other things."

After saying that, he turned and left, walking very quickly, disappearing behind the courtyard gate in just a few steps.

A tall, burly man with a square face, thick eyebrows, and large eyes walked over, patted Xu Qing on the shoulder, grinned, and revealed a set of white teeth:

"Let's go, Junior Brother Xu. My name is Chen Wang. I'll take you to your lodgings and help you put your luggage away. I'll teach you basic kung fu later. Standing meditation is the foundation. If you can't even stand steadily, all your punches will be just fancy moves."

Xu Qing quickly cupped his hands in greeting: "Senior Brother Chen."

After settling Xu Qing into their lodgings, Chen Wang led her to an open space at the edge of the arena and said with a smile, "Our martial arts school teaches the Five Elements Fist and the Three Talents Stance. I'll demonstrate the stance for you first, so watch carefully."

As he practiced the stance, he explained: "Feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, shoulders relaxed and elbows dropped, chest slightly concave and back straight, tongue touching the roof of the mouth, eyes looking straight ahead..."

"Come here, try standing in the stance, let me see your foundation."

Xu Qing did as instructed and assumed the correct posture.

At first, I didn't feel anything, but after a while, my legs started to tremble, and my knees felt like they were filled with lead and started to drop.

Chen Wang paced back and forth with his hands behind his back, occasionally patting his shoulder and pressing his waist to correct his posture: "Lower your waist a little more, that's right... don't shrug your shoulders, relax your shoulders... calm your breathing, don't hold your breath..."

On the other side, Xu Qing leaned against the weapon rack, drinking water. He glanced sideways at this side, curled his lips, and whispered something to the person next to him. The two of them then laughed together.

Xu Qing heard it, but didn't move.

He gritted his teeth, staring at the ground in front of him, beads of sweat rolling down his forehead. His legs felt like lead, or like he was walking on cotton. Every breath he took felt like a struggle against his entire body.

Just when he felt he was about to give up—

Suddenly, a loud "boom" sounded in my mind, as if something had exploded.

It wasn't pain, but a kind of indescribable sense of clarity.

It was as if a gate that had been blocked inside the body had been suddenly opened, and a warm breath slowly rose from the dantian, spreading down the spine to the limbs and bones.

My legs, which had been sore and aching, suddenly felt lighter, my swaying body stabilized, and even my breathing became even and deep.

He suddenly understood what "sinking shoulders and dropping elbows" and "chest in and back straight" meant.

With roots firmly planted beneath my feet and my head suspended in mid-air, I felt as if I had plunged into the earth, or as if I were a tree growing out of the ground.

The next moment, a cold voice echoed in my mind:

【Three Talents Stance (Beginner): 1/100】

Become!

He stopped!

On the training ground, several disciples who were resting gradually noticed this side.

Chen Wang was drinking water from his bowl when he glanced at it unintentionally, and he almost dropped the bowl in his hand.

He saw through it. Xu Qing's breathing was even and deep, and his lower body was as stable as if rooted to the ground. This was clearly the beginning of his stance training!

How is that possible?!

He rubbed his eyes and looked at it again.

That's right!

Xu Qing stood firmly on his feet, his back straight, his shoulders relaxed and his elbows drooping. Although his posture was still a bit awkward, his "steadiness" clearly showed that he had entered the field.

Did Xu Qing learn the Three Powers Stance before?

Chen Wang's gaze sharpened, and he decisively shook his head.

Xu Qingchu's cluelessness during the standing meditation was undeniable, and whether he had a foundation in the Three Talents Stance could not escape his master's eyes.

"This..." Chen Wang opened his mouth, his face full of disbelief.

He clearly remembered that it took him five whole days to get the hang of standing meditation, and even Senior Brother Ning, who had excellent physique in the inner courtyard, took a whole day.

How long has Xu Qing been standing here? Half an incense stick's time?

The disciples next to him also stopped what they were doing and all looked at Xu Qing.

Xu Qing was squatting to the side wiping his sweat when he noticed that everyone's expressions were off. He followed their gaze and his face immediately changed.

He stared at Xu Qing's steady and solid frame, his eyes filled with a complex mix of surprise, disbelief, and a hint of inexplicable jealousy.

Xu Qing stopped at the stake?!

How long has he been here? Not even an incense stick has burned!

What right do these stinking fishermen in this bay have?!

-