Martial Arts: Starting with Bajiquan, I will prove my divine power through the ultimate path!

Li Tiezhu laughed and said, "Junior Brother Shi, I think you're a good person. I'll recommend you to Senior Sister Zhou and the others later. That way, we can work together and you can help each other out."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Li."

Shi Wen bowed to express his gratitude.

Li Tiezhu smiled but didn't say anything. He then left to chat with a few outer court disciples.

Soon.

The news was circulating throughout the entire School of Foreign Languages.

Many people have stopped practicing and are now gathering in small groups to talk about this.

Soon, someone came out from the inner courtyard.

We put together a table under the banyan tree.

Several inner court disciples sat in front of the table with great pomp and circumstance. Among them were Yan Kai, Zhou Heling, and the genius disciple Qin Huan, whom Shi Wen had met before. They were chatting and laughing, clearly preparing to hold a talent selection meeting here.

The leader was a young man with a large frame.

His name is Sun Mingting. I heard he is a master in the Blood Coagulation stage, the leader of this small circle, and also one of the ten disciples of the Inner Court, ranking tenth!

"Li Tiezhu, Zhao You, Yang Cheng, come here."

Li Tiezhu and two strong young men who were about to refine their qi and blood walked past with their heads held high and chests out, amidst the envious gazes of many outer court disciples.

Shi Wen remained silent, focusing solely on practicing his skills.

"Greetings, senior brother/sister..."

At the respectful greetings of Li Tiezhu and the others, Sun Mingting and Yan Kai huddled together and discussed for a few words.

They then standardized the criteria for selecting the next batch of people: they should look tall, preferably with a fierce expression, and able to command respect.

Soon, several tall and fierce-looking disciples from the outer courtyard were selected.

They were all eager to try, their faces full of excitement.

But we are still short a few people.

So, after discussing it, the group agreed on a standard: to select disciples from the outer academy who were good at practicing martial arts.

Sun Mingting looked at them and said, "Li Tiezhu, Zhao You, Yang Chenghuan, you've all been in the outer courtyard for a long time, do you have anyone to recommend?"

Zhao You, quick-witted as ever, recommended several people at once.

Yang Chenghuan, being a dull and taciturn person, shook his head to indicate that there was no one suitable.

Li Tiezhu then recommended, "Senior Brother Sun, I know a junior brother named Shi Wen. He's quite good at boxing and is diligent and hardworking. I recommend him."

After saying that, Li Tiezhu quickly waved to Shi Wen.

Shi Wen walked over amidst the envious gazes of many outer court disciples, and bowed to greet the inner court members.

"Shiwen?"

Sun Mingting glanced at Shi Wen and, seeing his odd-looking face, decided against making a choice. "What do you think?"

Yan Kai glanced at Shi Wen and said with a smile, "This young man is quite hardworking. Giving him a chance is worthwhile."

"Hmm, what about you guys?" Sun Mingting looked at the others, but his expression was calm, clearly not satisfied.

"He's too skinny. He's a disgrace to our boxing academy. The resident boxer is the face of our academy. What kind of person would send a skinny monkey like that?"

Zhou Heling shook her head, and Wei Shan also shook his head, indicating that he did not agree.

The genius Qin Huan glanced at him once and then looked away, completely disregarding this insignificant person.

The statements from the group effectively eliminated Shi Wen from the game.

Yan Kai argued for a couple of minutes, but couldn't change the outcome, so he stopped talking.

The outer court disciples, both those who were chosen and those who weren't, looked at Shi Wen with mocking eyes.

In the end, Shi Wen became a laughing stock among the outer disciples.

Everyone laughed at him for his delusions, and the laughter never stopped.

Shi Wen didn't show much emotion and returned to his usual spot to practice his boxing silently, while Li Tiezhu secretly came over to apologize to him, feeling very guilty.

It's time to get out of school.

Shi Wen was still the disciple who practiced the latest. As usual, he tidied up the scattered equipment in the outer courtyard.

I went home.

But they didn't know why Lao Shi wasn't home.

After waiting for a long time, Shi Wen went out to look for the person with a worried heart, and just happened to run into Old Shi who was returning.

"Dad, you're back? Dinner's ready."

"Um."

Old Shi's eyes were red and swollen, his clothes were covered in dust, and he looked very haggard.

And this is how Lao Shi has looked these past few days.

Shi Wen had been subtly inquiring about the matter these past few days and had learned from his mother that his father had gone to the old house to retrieve the money his grandfather had borrowed.

But seeing his father come home every day looking disheveled, he knew things weren't going well.

"Awen, take this money. You're practicing martial arts now, and you'll need a lot of money for that. Don't try to save me any."

Old Shi suddenly pulled out a money bag and gave it to him.

After giving the money to Shi Wen, he looked relieved, but when he turned around, his back seemed to be much more hunched.

Shi Wen glanced at the money pouch and was also shocked.

There were a full thirty-two strings of copper coins inside!

As Shi Wen held the money, recalling Old Shi's haggard and distressed appearance just now, a lump formed in his throat.

From his past life's memories, he learned that his father was not favored, so one can imagine how much his father had to pay to get the money back from the old house.

"You must master the basics to a certain level, and then try to join one of those gangs to earn resources for your cultivation."

Shi Wen's expression was resolute.

The next day, Shi Wen arrived at the boxing academy early in the morning.

He first found Li Qianqian and paid her an extra 1 guan as payment for unlimited medicinal soup this month.

Then he went to find Yan Kai to ask how to nourish his body.

Shi Wen had a premonition that his "Basic Skill" was different from others. Once he mastered the Basic Skill, unexpected phenomena would occur!

"Senior brother, here's two strings of cash to repay you."

Shi Wen returned the money to Yan Kai, which surprised Yan Kai, as Shi Wen was the first person to repay a loan.

"It's not much money, Junior Brother Shi, aren't you being too polite?"

"Senior brother, one thing at a time, it must be repaid."

"Alright, you're an interesting one."

Yan Kai smiled, and after learning Shi Wen's purpose, he said, "You've come to the right person. My family runs a business, and it just so happens to be related to what you want to buy, Junior Brother."

"If you want to nourish your body, you should buy dried beast meat and medicinal powders. These are the most nourishing. Martial artists in the Blood Tempering stage also rely on dried beast meat and medicinal powders to maintain their bodily functions. Otherwise, how many meals a day would you have to eat to avoid feeling hungry?"

"So normally, martial artists rely on eating dried animal meat and drinking medicinal powders to sustain themselves."

"In addition, those who are about to generate Qi and blood also need to eat these things to replenish their bodies, otherwise it will be difficult for Qi and blood to be generated, and forcibly nurturing them will also deplete the body."

"Senior brother, do you have any recommendations?" Shi Wen nodded, seemingly understanding.

"What my family sells cheap but effective is Shisheng meat. This is meat from a strange beast, processed using a special method. It can maintain a martial artist's physical functions. It sells for about 8 guan per jin in the market. Junior brother, since you are an acquaintance, I can sell it to you for 5 guan per jin. As for medicinal powder, there is blood-nourishing ointment, which is specially made for nourishing blood. It is made from medicinal herbs that are over ten years old. One dose of ointment costs 2 guan. This is the cheapest one."

Although Yan Kai is usually carefree, he is very serious when introducing things.

"So expensive?"

Upon hearing this, Shi Wen was somewhat taken aback.

Currently, pork in the market costs around 100 copper coins per jin (500g), or 5 guan per jin, which is approximately 5000 copper coins per jin!

If we convert it to ingots, wouldn't that be 10 ingots?

A pound of meat costs 10 coins. How could this not shock Shi Wen?

He never dared to even imagine it before!

"This is really cheap. Junior brother, you can go to the market and ask around. It's just that I felt a little guilty for not being able to help you get the on-site qualification yesterday, so I'm giving you an even cheaper price. Otherwise, if you wanted to buy it, it would cost at least 7 guan per jin."

Yan Kai said seriously, "If you go and buy it yourself, you really have to pay the original price; there's not much of a discount."

"Thank you, senior brother. Please also help me buy 5 catties of raw meat and 3 doses of blood-nourishing ointment."

Shi Wen handed the money bag to Yan Kai.

Yan Kai glanced at it, somewhat surprised. "Junior brother, 5 catties of raw stone meat and 3 doses of blood-nourishing powder only cost 28 strings of cash. What are you giving me 29 strings for?"

"I'd like to trouble you to run this errand, senior brother. Please have some tea with me," Shi Wen said earnestly. After all, he didn't have much of a relationship with Yan Kai, and he had to give him something in return when asking him to do something.

"Hahaha, no need, really no need."

Yan Kai laughed heartily, took out the hanging coin and gave it to him, saying, "If I ever encounter any trouble in the future, Junior Brother, you can help me, okay?"

Yan Kai said this without expecting anything in return.

Little did he know that he would later actually survive a near-death experience thanks to Shi Wen's help!

"Then thank you very much, Senior Brother."

Shi Wen silently put the money back and continued practicing his skills.

My heart was filled with emotion.

32 strings of cash were spent in no time; indeed, the poor are scholars, the rich are warriors!

Want to be a martial artist when you have no money?

Standing meditation, stepping forward, facing palm, splitting mountain palm, iron mountain lean, silk-reeling crushing fist, supporting punch, heart-piercing elbow...

Shi Wen completed a set of basic skills in one go.

He could skillfully switch between various deadly moves, demonstrating masterful technique!

After finishing his punches, Shi Wen took a deep breath and looked at his palm.

【Extreme Seal】

[Bajiquan Basic Skills for Beginners: Introduction (49/50)]

"Just one more turn and I'll have mastered the basics, but I have to wait for Senior Brother Yan's materials to arrive before I can try, otherwise I might end up physically exhausted!"

"If the foundation is damaged, it will be difficult to cultivate in the future."

Shi Wen took a deep breath.

They weren't practicing.

Although he didn't understand why the process of generating qi and blood would occur when his basic skills were only at the stage of minor advancement, he dared not gamble!

Yan Kai went out for a while and returned around lunchtime.

They also handed him a basket and told him how to use it.

Shi Wen opened it to take a look and was somewhat surprised.

The skin of the stone-grown meat was stone-brown, and the meat was blue. It had a texture similar to beef jerky. After eating only half a piece of jerky the size of a thumb and drinking a bowl of coarse tea, his stomach indeed felt bloated.

The blood-nourishing ointment was a dark red ointment wrapped in oiled paper, and it had a smell similar to red dates and goji berries.

It's about the size of a toothpaste tube.

Take a small amount and put it in your mouth; it immediately smells sweet, like jujube candy. The ointment you swallow feels like a warm current.

I feel quite energetic after eating just a little bit.

"Thank you, senior brother."

Shi Wen gratefully cupped his hands in a gesture of respect, but the latter left without paying any attention.

Pack your things away.

Shi Wen silently practiced his stance training, sparring with Li Tiezhu and familiarizing himself with various killing moves.

During this time, Shi Wen learned from Li Tiezhu that Taiping Lane had changed hands.

The once rampant gang of thieves was wiped out by the robbers, and the gang leader, Chen Shuisheng, also disappeared.

Shi Wen practiced his skills silently, but his moves became more sophisticated and ruthless. Even Li Tiezhu was struggling to defend himself and almost had to use all his strength to deal with him several times.

After school, Shi Wen packed his things as usual.

On my way home, I bought 10 jin of coarse rice and 2 jin of pork with alternating layers of fat and lean meat.

After dinner, take a rest.

Until night fell.

Shi Wen brought the raw meat and blood-nourishing ointment he had bought during the day to the backyard.

After taking a deep breath and calming down,

Shi Wen began practicing standing meditation and taking the "breakthrough" step.

Complete the last set of "Basic Skills" exercises.

[Bajiquan Basic Skills for Beginners: Minor Success (1/100)]

boom!

When the data on the graph is refreshed

Shi Wen's expression changed drastically as he instantly sensed a tremendous change occurring within his body!

He was experiencing tinnitus, at which point the sound of his heart pounding and the sound of blood circulating in his veins were amplified infinitely!

He felt a burning sensation all over his body, especially in his arms, where it felt like tiny needles were pricking him.

The muscles in my body felt like they were being torn apart by something.

Simultaneously.

An extreme hunger erupted instantly, and the excruciating pain in his stomach, as if his intestines had been wrung out, caused Shi Wen to curl up on the ground and roll around, his short clothes soaked with large beads of sweat.

With red eyes, he lunged at the raw meat and blood-nourishing paste, desperately stuffing the jerky into his mouth.

He ate a third of the raw meat in the basket and two tubes of blood-nourishing paste.

The hunger and cramps gradually subsided.

after a long time,

Shi Wen had just regained his senses, and a look of lingering fear appeared on his face.

If he hadn't had the Stone Flesh and Blood Nourishing Paste, and instead had rashly chosen to increase his proficiency, it might have really caused very serious consequences!

"Why is this happening? Isn't it only when you cultivate the 'Basic Skills' to the point of perfection that you can refine your Qi and blood? Why am I experiencing this process after only reaching the minor perfection stage of the 'Basic Skills'?"

"I never expected to reach the Blood Tempering stage so quickly."

"Is this what qi and blood are?"

Shi Wen closed his eyes and silently felt a thread of qi and blood the size of an embroidery needle moving in his dantian.

Once he circulated his qi and blood, the muscles in his arms bulged as if forged from refined iron, and his forearms became several times thicker. With one punch, the edge of the old millstone next to him was instantly chipped with a stone-sized chip, and his hand felt no pain at all.

"rise!"

Shi Wen grabbed the millstone, which weighed at least 300 jin (150 catties), and lifted it up with only a little effort!

When the last wisp of blood and energy in his arms was exhausted, he was too weak to support himself and threw the millstone to the ground.

Shi Wen, panting slightly, ate two pieces of dried meat to regain his strength.

He placed the millstone, stepped on the Heavenly Spring, twisted his waist and hips, and instantly concentrated all his strength in his elbow, while also bursting out that wisp of blood and qi!

There was a loud 'boom'!

Like a thunderclap from a clear sky, the 300-pound upper millstone was smashed in two by Shi Wen's elbow, and the center of the millstone shattered into small and large pebbles that crashed to the ground.

On the contrary, Shi Wen was completely unharmed!

The noise startled the sleeping neighbors, and even woke up the parents inside the house. They were only able to go back to sleep after being comforted by Shi Wen.