Becoming a Martial Master: Starting as a Swordsmith

习武

Shen Chu waved to his father, then turned and followed behind Old Sun. As Shen Chu left, Master Liu, who had been extremely respectful, straightened up and continued selecting children. Shen's father was all smiles, surrounded by envious villagers. Just now, he had received a large sum of money, ensuring he would have no worries about food and drink for the rest of his life!

Old Sun led Shen Chu northwards, but to Shen Chu's surprise, they did not arrive at the Divine Fist Sect's headquarters, but instead came to a secluded mountain valley.

Nestled in the mountain valley is a simple courtyard surrounded by a bamboo fence. In the center of the courtyard stands an old locust tree, its branches and leaves spreading a large expanse of green shade.

Judging from the mottled wood, you can tell that this courtyard has been around for a long time.

"arrive."

Old Sun pushed open the bamboo fence gate, glanced back at Shen Chu, and said, "You'll be living here from now on."

Shen Chu stood at the gate of the courtyard, looking around at the place where he might live for a long time. Although he felt a little strange, he did not feel any sense of loss. Whether in his past life or this life, he was a child who grew up in a mountain village, so this environment felt particularly familiar to him.

Old Master Sun led him to the empty room on the west side. The room was simply furnished with a wooden bed, an old table, and not even some bedding or a change of clothes. "You should tidy up and get some rest for the night," Old Master Sun said. "Tomorrow morning, we will officially begin practicing."

Shen Chu nodded without asking any further questions. Fortunately, he had accepted the bundle handed to him by his father before leaving. There were a few clothes inside. The weather wasn't cold yet, so sleeping on a bare bed at night wouldn't be a big deal. The cleaning tools in the yard were quite complete. Shen Chu cleaned the house himself and then folded the few changes of clothes he had brought with him and placed them on the bedside table to use as a pillow.

That evening, Old Master Sun personally cooked dinner. Although the meal was simple, it was a rare treat for Shen Chu, who had been busy all day and was starving.

He ate two large bowls of rice, licking the soup from the bottom of the bowls clean.

Old Sun smiled at the way he was wolfing down his food, but said nothing.

The next day, before dawn, Shen Chu was woken up by Old Master Sun.

"For those who practice martial arts, the first essential thing is to get up early." Old Sun stood in the courtyard, holding a white waxwood stick in his hand, his tone solemn. "The day's plan begins at the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), when the spiritual energy between heaven and earth is most abundant and the blood and qi are most active, making it the best time to practice martial arts."

This body is still too small. Shen Chu rubbed her sleepy eyes, forced herself to perk up, and stood in the courtyard.

Old Sun handed him the white waxwood stick: "Run fifty laps around the yard first, to warm up."

Shen Chu took the pole and started running without saying a word.

The yard wasn't big, only about thirty or forty steps around. After running fifty laps, Shen Chu was already panting heavily, with beads of sweat on his forehead.

But as she ran, Shen Chu discovered that her small frame seemed to have a pretty good foundation. Although she was tired, she wasn't about to collapse. In any case, it was better than her original physical condition in reality.

Master Sun nodded, seemingly satisfied with his performance, and then said, "Today I'll teach you a set of basic skills, the starting stance of the 'Thirteen Forms of Divine Fist.' This set of fist techniques is the foundation of the Divine Fist School, and it was the first set of fist techniques I learned when I first entered the school. Watch carefully, I'll only demonstrate it once."

After saying that, Old Master Sun spread his feet apart, shoulder-width apart, lowered his shoulders and elbows, and then slowly performed a set of boxing techniques.

His movements were slow, yet every detail was clearly visible: how he threw a punch, how he finished his stance, how he turned his waist, and how he generated power.

Even at such a slow pace, Shen Chu could still feel the power contained in every move, like a sleeping tiger stretching its limbs, seemingly peaceful but actually harboring murderous intent.

After finishing his set of punches, Old Sun stood still, neither flushed nor out of breath, and looked at Shen Chu: "How much of it did you remember?"

Shen Chu closed her eyes and mentally reviewed Sun Lao's actions from beginning to end.

Thanks to his soul strength at the Marrow Cleansing Realm and the subtle support of the system, his memory far surpasses that of his peers. Although he dares not say that it is 100% accurate, he still has about 70% or 80% of it.

"I've memorized most of it," Shen Chu replied truthfully.

Old Sun raised an eyebrow, seemingly somewhat surprised, but didn't say anything more, only gesturing, "Play it for me to see."

Shen Chu then imitated Elder Sun, spreading his feet apart, lowering his shoulders and elbows, and began to perform the starting stance.

His movements were certainly not as fluid and graceful as Master Sun's; his power generation was not accurate enough in many places, and his posture was somewhat stiff. However, he managed to execute the entire set of boxing techniques without missing a single movement.

After reading it, Old Sun remained silent for a long while, a barely perceptible glint flashing in his eyes.

He didn't praise Shen Chu, but simply said, "Not bad, not stupid. But just memorizing the form isn't enough. You have to practice the boxing technique to the bone to truly learn it. Starting today, run fifty laps every morning to warm up, and then practice this starting stance a hundred times. When you can perform it with your eyes closed without making a mistake, we'll learn the next move."

Shen Chu didn't complain. She nodded, resumed her stance, and began practicing the starting posture over and over again.

And so, Shen Chu's life in the mountains was settled.

I get up at 3 AM every day, warm up with a run, and then repeatedly practice the starting stance of the Thirteen Forms of Divine Fist, sometimes for the entire morning.

After lunch, we rested for half an hour and then continued practicing in the afternoon until dark.

After dinner, Old Master Sun would explain some basic boxing principles and internal energy cultivation methods to him. Although he hadn't formally started practicing internal energy cultivation yet, the theoretical knowledge had already greatly benefited Shen Chu.

These days are monotonous yet fulfilling.

For the first few days, Shen Chu's arms and legs ached so much that she could barely lift them, and she tossed and turned in bed at night, unable to sleep.

But he gritted his teeth and persevered, knowing that every effort he made in this dream world would translate into increased strength in reality. No pain, no gain.

Half a month later, he was able to smoothly execute the complete starting stance. Although his movements were not yet perfect, they were already quite impressive.

A month later, he could perform the entire starting stance with his eyes closed, and the power points for each movement had been developed into muscles.

memory.

That morning, as usual, Shen Chu finished practicing the starting stance a hundred times in the courtyard and stood still. However, he found that Old Sun was not sitting under the eaves drinking tea as usual, but standing in the middle of the courtyard, holding two white wax sticks in his hands.