Chinese Martial Arts: My Super Beast Clone

In the following days, Yangcheng Street was filled with marching groups. Lin Hai found an excuse to ask Zhang Yuanshan for a day off.

The next morning, just as dawn was breaking.

Lin Hai changed into a clean short jacket, counted out fifteen silver dollars, and stuffed them into his pocket.

He went out the door, walked through the outer city, and headed towards the eastern district.

Fuhu Martial Arts School is located in an alley called "Dingwu Lane" in Dongcheng District.

At the entrance of the alley stands a stone archway with the two characters "Dingwu" carved on it in a flamboyant style, the characters already somewhat mottled.

As soon as Lin Hai reached the alley entrance, he heard a series of unified shouts coming from deep within the alley.

"drink!"

"ha!"

Lin Hai's spirits lifted, and he quickened his pace.

The alley was short, and at the end stood a vermilion gate with a black plaque bearing the four large characters "Fuhu Martial Arts School" in gold lettering.

The door was wide open. Lin Hai composed himself and stepped inside.

Inside the gate is a spacious stone-paved courtyard, about half the size of a football field.

On both sides of the courtyard, there are training equipment such as stone locks, sandbags, and wooden dummy stakes.

At this moment, there were more than thirty disciples wearing blue short jackets in the courtyard, lined up in four rows, practicing with punches and kicks.

Lin Hai's gaze was drawn to the disciples practicing martial arts. He stood at the doorway, momentarily forgetting to move.

A young disciple who was wiping his weapon nearby noticed him and walked over.

"Hello, who are you looking for?"

"Hello, I've come to ask to become your apprentice," Lin Hai said politely, snapping out of his daze.

The disciple looked him up and down.

"Wait here, I'll go inform them." The young disciple said this and turned to run towards the leading man in the center of the courtyard.

The man was about thirty-five or thirty-six years old, tall and muscular, with a square face that looked somewhat honest, but his eyes were bright and piercing. He wore the same blue short jacket as the other disciples, but his muscular arms were a whole size thicker than the others.

The man shouted to the group, "Keep practicing! Slow down your movements and feel the power!"

After saying that, he strode towards the forest.

"You want to enter the museum?" The man's voice was loud and clear.

"Yes." Lin Hai nodded.

"My name is Chen Wu, and I'm the senior disciple here," Chen Wu introduced himself. "Follow me; Master is in the backyard."

He turned and left, and Lin Hai quickly followed.

After passing through the courtyard where martial arts were practiced and then through a central courtyard planted with flowers and plants, the two arrived at a moon gate.

"Master, someone wants to join the temple," Chen Wu called out respectfully from outside the door.

"Come in." A slightly hoarse voice came from inside.

Chen Wu pushed open the door and led Lin Hai inside.

The backyard wasn't large, but it had a big locust tree planted in it, and a bamboo recliner was placed under the tree.

A middle-aged man in a gray long gown was reclining in a chair, puffing away on a long brass pipe.

His face was obscured by the swirling smoke.

"Master." Chen Wu stopped and stood respectfully with his hands at his sides.

Lin Hai was a little nervous. He knew that the person in front of him was Lu Zhengchuan, the master of Fuhu Martial Arts School, a martial arts expert at the peak of Ming Jin.

Lu Zhengchuan tapped his pipe lightly on the sole of his shoe to shake off the ash.

"Want to learn boxing?"

"Yes, I want to learn a skill to make a living," Lin Hai replied neither humbly nor arrogantly.

"Make a living?" Lu Zhengchuan's lips twitched, and he scoffed, "These days, making a living isn't easy."

He stood up and walked up to Lin Hai.

"Reach out your hand."

Lin Haiyi extended his right hand as instructed.

Lu Zhengchuan reached out and placed his hand on Lin Hai's wrist. His fingers were unusually rough, covered with calluses, like two iron clamps.

Then, his hand moved up Lin Hai's arm, pinching his shoulder and pressing his back and hips.

His movements were slow, but each strike landed on key joints and tendons.

Lin Hai felt waves of soreness and numbness emanating from the places where he had been touched. He could sense that the old man's fingers, though seemingly casual, contained a peculiar strength that seemed to penetrate the skin and flesh, directly probing the condition of the tendons and bones.

Is this the method of a martial arts master?

A moment later, Lu Zhengchuan withdrew his hand, sat back down in the recliner, picked up the pipe, and slowly filled it with tobacco.

Chen Wu watched from the side, not daring to utter a sound.

Lin Hai's heart was hanging in mid-air.

"Body physique..." Lu Zhengchuan lit a cigarette, took a deep drag, and exhaled a thick cloud of smoke. "Below average."

Lin Hai's heart sank.

"However, you're still young and your bones are still strong enough," Lu Zhengchuan added. "If you want to learn, just pay up. It's twelve silver dollars a month for an entry-level disciple. Lunch is included. How long you can train and what you can achieve depends on your own fate."

Without hesitation, Lin Hai counted out twelve silver dollars and presented them with both hands.

"Master, this is the tuition fee."

Chen Wu, who was standing to the side, took it and looked at Lu Zhengchuan.

Lu Zhengchuan glanced at the silver dollars and nodded.

"Wu'er, take him to get his clothes and teach him the rules of the martial arts school, starting with the Tiger-Taming Stance."

"Yes, Master," Chen Wu replied.

He led Lin Hai out of the backyard.

"Don't take it to heart." After leaving the house, Chen Wu suddenly spoke up, "When your master judges a person, he looks at their aptitude first, and their character second. Although your aptitude is average, as long as you persevere and work hard, you can still achieve something."

Lin Hai was slightly taken aback, not expecting his seemingly simple and honest senior brother to be so thoughtful.

"The worst thing for a martial artist is to lose their focus and energy, otherwise they won't be able to learn anything." Chen Wu patted Lin Hai on the shoulder. "Talent determines how fast you can go, but your character determines how far you can go. At our Fuhu Martial Arts School, we don't care about superficial things; we only care whether you're willing to put in the hard work."

"Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother," Lin Hai said sincerely.

"From now on, we're all brothers, no need to be so polite," Chen Wu grinned.

Chen Wu led him to a side room, rummaged through a large wooden box, and pulled out a brand-new set of blue short jacket and trousers, handing them to him.

"These are your training clothes, please change into them."

Lin Hai changed his clothes, and they fit him perfectly. The fabric was coarse cotton, very sturdy.

Chen Wu took him back to the outer courtyard.

By this time, the morning training had ended, and the disciples dispersed in twos and threes, some drinking water and resting, and others practicing on their own.

Chen Meng led him to a corner of the courtyard, where it was relatively quiet.

"My master once said, 'If the foundation is not solid, the earth will shake.'"

"To learn martial arts, one must first practice stance training. Stance training is the foundation of martial arts."

"The basic skill of our Fuhu Martial Arts School is called Fuhu Stance. There are twelve stances in total."

He stood opposite Lin Hai, his feet shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent.

"Watch closely."

His body sank down, his arms stretched forward, his ten fingers spread, and his tiger's mouth rounded.

"The first move, the tiger-pouncing stance."

Lin Hai watched his movements closely, noting down every detail.