Full-Time Martial Saint

For martial arts students, a carefully prepared nutritious meal is indeed the best for their health, but in terms of taste, it's ultimately a bit lacking.

After meeting up outside the school, Ning Yuhang took them to a high-end restaurant called Wang Xiaosheng, where they ordered a table full of dishes and two large kegs of draft beer.

With his mind preoccupied with activating his virtual account, his agreement with Zhang Kui, and verifying his Three Elements Stance Technique, Chen didn't touch a drop of alcohol during the meal.

During the hour-and-a-half dinner, he roughly figured out the background of several people.

Among the four, Ning Yuhang comes from the highest social standing. The Ning family patriarch was once the second-in-command of Xiangcheng. The family still wields considerable influence in both the political and business spheres. The Ning family is the agent for all virtual terminals, crystal helmets, and crystal capsules in Xiangcheng.

Both Huang Changhu and Yang Can have military backgrounds; their fathers both served in the Xiangcheng Garrison, and the two families are said to be old friends.

As for Hou Long, his identity seemed somewhat mysterious. During the meal, he was only vaguely mentioned that his father was in another city, without being told what he did.

After the gathering ended, Chen sent Zhao Cheng back to school with the other four, and then hailed an unmanned taxi by himself, heading towards Zhonghu Park.

Xiangcheng Zhonghu Park is not far from Xiangcheng No.1 Middle School, but Chen Cong spent money to take a taxi because he was afraid of being late.

At 7:55 p.m., the taxi stopped at the park entrance. He had only been standing there for less than two minutes when he saw Zhang Kui and a middle-aged woman walking slowly towards him from a path in the distance.

Upon meeting, Zhang Kui introduced, "This is my wife, Li Hong."

Chen Cong quickly bowed and called out "Master's wife".

With the help of the streetlights along the park road, he was shocked to discover that the teacher's wife, who had shoulder-length short hair, had a hideous wound on her left cheek, and the left half of her sleeve was empty from the elbow down, fluttering in the breeze.

"You teachers and students chat, I'll just wander around by myself."

After exchanging pleasantries, Li Hong smiled faintly and spoke, her voice carrying a roughness and hoarseness that was unusual for a woman.

Zhang Kui nodded, watched his wife walk away, and then looked at Chen Congdao: "Let's go."

The two walked slowly along the artificial lakeside path, neither of them speaking.

After walking for a while, Zhang Kui finally spoke in a deep voice: "Your master's wife used to be my comrade-in-arms. We went into many rifts together and killed many alien races and monsters; her face and arms were injured by a third-tier Blade Mantis of the Blade Ridge Beast Clan." He paused, "After I retired from the front lines, I took her to settle in Xiangcheng. Almost ten years have passed in the blink of an eye."

Chen didn't say anything, his gaze sweeping over the children running and laughing freely around him, and the young people chatting and laughing in groups of three or five on the grass in the distance. He couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.

Ordinary people will never see the rift between realms or the cruelty of those alien races in their entire lives, nor can they understand how many people are silently bleeding and sacrificing themselves every day behind the current peace.

"Chen Cong, do you know the origin of this Zhonghu Lake?"

Zhang Kui suddenly changed the subject and turned to ask.

Zhonghu? Chen Cong shook his head slightly: "I heard it's a mineral vein subsidence area."

Zhang Kui smiled.

"That's what ordinary people say. Martial artists generally know that this lake was formed by a D-level disordered fusion rift."

Class D disordered fusion rift!?

Chen Cong stared in astonishment at the Zhonghu Lake, which had been transformed into an ecological park, a peaceful and tranquil place, finding it hard to believe.

Zhang Kui explained, "Xiangcheng New City was built less than two hundred years ago, while the old Xiangcheng, which existed two hundred years ago, was destroyed in that great battle."

"Keep this to yourself, don't tell anyone, so as not to cause unnecessary panic and public opinion."

Chen Cong suppressed his shock and nodded to himself.

"You've come to see me, probably to ask about training methods after achieving a minor level of mastery in Bajiquan, right?"

The two continued walking for a while, then Zhang Kui stopped and asked again.

Clearly, he had already guessed Chen Cong's plan.

Chen Cong bowed slightly: "I'm sorry, Teacher Zhang, I..."

Zhang Kui waved his hand: "I have been teaching at Xiangcheng No.1 Middle School for nearly ten years. You are the student with the best aptitude for martial arts that I have ever seen, without exception."

"Since the birth of martial artists, the entire planet has defaulted to using comprehensive physical qualities as the standard for judging the strength of martial artists and their entry and advancement. This phenomenon cannot be judged by simple right or wrong."

"After all, most alien monsters are born with extremely strong strength and scales for defense. If your overall physical condition is poor and your strength is insufficient, no matter how good your skills are, hitting them is like tickling them and will not cause any damage at all."

"You have to admit that."

Upon hearing this, Chen Cong nodded and then spoke:

"Teacher Ma said that Da Xia is currently conducting new research, and he said that in a few years, overall physical fitness may no longer be an important indicator for judging a martial artist's advancement..."

A strange smile appeared on Zhang Kui's face, and he gently shook his head.

"No one can say what will happen in the future."

"Qingshan Martial Academy and Martial Peak Hall have been conducting research in various directions over the years, so let's not think about it too much for now."

The two continued on their way and soon arrived at a secluded place where no one was around.

Zhang Kui stopped and looked around, saying, "It's quiet here, so I'll tell you about the future direction of Bajiquan training."

The two sat down on the ground. Zhang Kui paused for a moment and then slowly asked, "Do you know what the 'Baji' in Bajiquan means?"

Chen Cong shook his head.

In both his past and present lives, he has only been exposed to Bajiquan for a little over a month at most, and he hasn't done much research on it.

"The name Bajiquan means that the power of the fist can reach all directions. Bajiquan takes the head and feet as the universe, the shoulders, knees, elbows and hips as the four directions, the arms in front and back are opposite each other, and the dantian in the center is the meaning of creating the school."

With intention guiding the qi, and qi driving the power, the three plates and six points are unified internally and externally, creating a magnificent momentum. Power is exerted from all directions, the whole body is an eye and a hand. Movement leads to change, change leads to transformation, transformation leads to agility, and its wonders are endless.

This style of boxing places great emphasis on the practice of offensive and defensive techniques. In terms of application, it emphasizes "touching, shouldering, squeezing, and leaning," seizing every opportunity and exploiting any gaps, without blocking or parrying, but responding to each move with a counter-move...

Having roughly grasped Chen Cong's martial arts aptitude, Zhang Kui spoke quickly, and what he said was clearly more profound, completely different from what was taught in a regular classroom.

Chen Cong sat opposite him, listening intently.

[By listening to the guidance of a master of Bajiquan, your progress in analyzing Bajiquan increases by 5 points.]

[Current progress of Bajiquan analysis: 0.1% (Minor Success).]

As the words slowly floated past him, Chen Cong couldn't help but frown.

The number of points being analyzed has decreased, and the progress seems to be slower...

Although he was not yet sure of the specific reason, he could guess that it might be related to the gap between his and Zhang Kui's mastery of Bajiquan.

Previously, Zhang Kui was a master of Bajiquan, while he had only just begun.

Listening to his guidance once will earn you 10 analysis points, and watching him demonstrate the key points will earn you 50 analysis points. The total of 60 analysis points can increase your analysis progress by nearly 3%.

Now that his Bajiquan has reached a minor level of mastery, the gap between him and Zhang Kui has narrowed. He can only gain 5 analysis points from each listening to guidance, and his analysis progress has only increased by 0.1%.

Based on this calculation, it would be impossible for Zhang Kui to help him achieve mastery of Bajiquan in a short period of time.

Chen Cong seemed to have anticipated this. His plan was simple: in the next nine months, he would learn more practical combat skills at the minor level from Zhang Kui and raise his martial arts skill score a bit more. He never thought he could master this boxing style before the college entrance examination.

The teacher and student chatted for more than half an hour. Zhang Kui slowly stopped talking, stood up and said, "That's all for today. You won't remember anything if I say too much. You should think about it carefully first. I'll practice with you later and see how much you've understood."

Chen Cong stood up, bowed, and began to practice on his own according to his understanding.

Zhang Kui stood quietly to the side, watching, his expression growing increasingly complex. "If this kid had started learning martial arts in his first year of high school, with his comprehension, he'd probably be at the threshold of mastery by now..."

Thinking to himself, Zhang Kui slowly stepped forward, took a step towards Chen Cong, who was practicing alone, and directly engaged him in combat.

"When you open the door and make a move, you must unify the six forces. When you throw a punch, you must concentrate your essence, energy and spirit. You must have a spirit of selflessness and altruism."

"Look at my feet, walking is like wading through mud, my feet can't go past my knees..."

As Zhang Kui countered the moves, he explained the key points in more detail.

Chen Congyue's joy grew stronger.

At first, he was still somewhat wary of Zhang Kui's identity and was a little reserved, but as the fight progressed, he forgot everything. His moves became smoother and more fluid, his body moved like a gentle breeze swaying a willow, and his power erupted like a volcanic eruption. The connection between his fists, palms, and body movements became noticeably more natural.

After exchanging dozens of moves, the moment Zhang Kui raised his palm, he suddenly unleashed an irresistible force that forced Chen Cong back.

"Stop, if we keep fighting we'll alert the Guard Division."

Chen Cong glanced at the trampled grass and mud around him, scratching his head somewhat embarrassedly: "Sorry, Teacher Zhang, I couldn't stop myself."

Zhang Kui waved his hand: "It's nothing. Your progress has surprised your teacher. Go back and think about it some more. If you don't understand anything, come to me next time."

He glanced at Li Hong, who was leaning against the railing in the distance, then looked at Chen Cong. "It's getting late, let's go back."

Chen Cong nodded, bowed respectfully to express his gratitude, and turned to leave Zhonghu Park at Zhang Kui's urging.

It's almost 9 PM, and I still need to activate my virtual account and verify the Three Elements Stance Skill. There's no time for that today; I'll have to wait until tomorrow morning.