Martial Arts Awakening, Bloodfire Fist Master

With the second form mastered, Zhang Qingshan could feel his muscles subtly increasing and adjusting, and his strength being subtly replenished. He now fully reached 500 jin of strength, and perhaps even exceeded it slightly.

It's not just that the foundation has become more solid; it also indicates that one can start practicing the next stance training and look forward to the next level of martial arts realm.

A slight feeling of hunger came over me, but I could still resist it, since it wasn't a dramatic breakthrough or change in my body.

Chang Yueshan, the sixth senior brother who was instructing others, happened to witness this scene.

His eyes lit up, and he wondered if this person was the type to have an epiphany? Just ten days ago, he seemed to have only average comprehension, but he hadn't expected that the second stance training he had just performed was so perfect. It was clear that he had thoroughly mastered it.

He walked up to Zhang Qingshan and nodded in satisfaction.

"Not bad, as expected of someone with a foundation. You've already gotten on the right track with the martial arts path of my Qinghe Martial Arts School. You don't need to practice the first and second moves anymore. For a level two martial artist like you, they won't help you improve. Just start practicing the third move directly."

"Although you have a strong foundation in the first two stance training exercises, it proves that your comprehension ability is indeed quite good. If you can maintain this, becoming a level three martial artist will not be difficult, and becoming one of our inner disciples is also a great prospect. Keep it up."

Zhang Qingshan cupped his hands in thanks and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Sixth Senior Brother."

Then assume the posture and begin practicing the third form, Wave Stance. This form is also the origin of the name of the exercise. It is an improvement on the first two forms and has the effect of further stimulating the physical body.

[I've started practicing the third form of the Wave Stance. Although I'm a little rusty, it feels very familiar deep within my inherited instincts, and everything is effortless...]

Chang Yueshan nodded, took a few steps, subconsciously turned his head, and then his eyes lit up. Although the other party's stance in the third form was a bit forced, it was not stiff, as if a master was guiding him step by step.

After thinking for a moment, he said, "It seems that stance training is not difficult for you. Hmm, you can come and listen when I teach Water Soft Fist."

Zhang Qingshan's eyes lit up. "Thank you, Senior Brother."

"Okay, let's practice."

Once the sixth senior brother of the inner sect had walked a little further away, the nearby disciples swarmed over.

"Brother Zhang, my family's butcher shop just slaughtered a few sheep. I'll get you a leg of lamb for dinner tonight."

"Senior Brother Zhang, I've been practicing this Water Carrying Technique, and while my body has clearly undergone some changes, I always feel like something's missing. Could you take a look?"

"Brother Zhang, this is some dried meat my mother prepared. You've been working hard cultivating, have some to relieve your hunger."

Seeing this, someone in the other group sneered, "Heh, a self-taught peasant, I didn't expect him to have some talent."

Some people were equally disdainful, saying, "And those people are just second-level martial artists. In our families, which one doesn't have a few martial artists as guards? What are they? Just like Senior Brother Zhou and Senior Brother Jiang, not only are they already fourth- or fifth-level martial artists, but their families also have no shortage of body-refining experts. If it weren't for broadening their horizons, why would they need to train at a martial arts school?"

Everyone around them praised them and showered them with flattery.

Of course, some of them also showed a little embarrassment, after all, their families didn't have many martial arts guards, and martial arts were not something that could be humiliated at will in their families.

Among them was Rong Teng, a landlord from Xiaoqing Township. After his initial embarrassment, seeing the confidence of the other young masters and ladies, he suddenly felt inferior.

He said indignantly, "Hmph, fellow senior brothers and sisters, you should also forgive those ordinary disciples for making such a fuss. They are all frogs in a well. After all, if the martial arts school hadn't opened its doors to them so readily these days, how would they, from their small families, have had the opportunity to learn such a well-established martial arts tradition?"

After saying that, he pointed.

"That guy named Wang something, his family seems to own a tailor shop. And that one, his family probably owns a butcher shop. I guess they had to squeeze out money to pay for his martial arts training. And that Li Liang, he's a little better off, but his family only has a little over a hundred acres of paddy fields. These people are from small, humble families, so naturally their knowledge is limited."

Upon hearing Rong Teng mention a small, humble family, some of the people surrounded exchanged glances and then looked at him with strange expressions.

Even the small landlords in Xiaoqing Township spoke ill of others as "humble households." Jiang Yuanjian, the son of the county magistrate, and Zhou Xishui, the son of the Zhou family, revealed mocking smiles. Qin Jun, from the family of the head constable, had an idea and was ready to help find some amusement.

He chuckled twice. "Brother Rong, that new junior brother who's a self-taught practitioner is actually from your Xiaoqing Township, huh? Tsk tsk tsk, I heard his family is even worse off than the 'small and humble' family you mentioned. He's just a farmer's son, without a hundred acres of paddy fields, only three or five acres of dry land, but..."

A playful smile appeared on his face.

"But they're already testing the path to level three martial arts, while you, Junior Brother Rong, haven't even broken through to level two yet. You can't be inferior to even a peasant from a small, insignificant family, can you? Hahaha."

Upon hearing this, some others laughed out loud and mocked Rong Teng, while others watched with strange expressions.

Rong Teng's face flushed red instantly, as if he had a fever. His whole body stiffened, and his lips trembled a few times before he murmured a rebuttal, "I, I, my family's guards also have level three martial artists. I'm just building a better foundation."

"Haha, Junior Brother Rong, I was just joking, don't take it to heart."

"Hmm, Xiao Rong, Junior Brother Qin has always been impetuous. I think you're not bad, after all, your family has... a level three martial artist, hehe."

"Brother Jiang, and everyone else, let's stop playing around, lest we ruin our harmony. Xiao Rongzi has been quite respectful to us. We're all fellow disciples. If we keep making a fuss, Senior Brother Chang from the Inner Sect will start causing trouble again."

"Senior Brother Zhou is right. Keep practicing, Senior Brother Zhou. I've always been clueless about Level 4 Strength. Could you please give me some pointers?"

These people also began to cultivate, but in reality, they didn't take Rong Teng's embarrassment seriously at all.

Even if there were people among them with similar family backgrounds to his, he only glanced at them without offering any comfort. Instead, he sought advice from his senior brother, who had an extraordinary family background and strong abilities.

Rong Teng's face turned red and stiff; he couldn't afford to offend any of the people who had mocked him.

Even Qin Jun, who was just the son of a constable, was not someone his rural wealthy family could afford to offend; his father was one of the four constables in the outer city.

Putting aside his subordinates, even if he himself wasn't a body-refining expert, he must have been a high-level martial artist, otherwise he wouldn't have been able to keep his subordinates in check.

His expression shifted from flushed to red, but he slowly composed himself before putting on a fawning smile and squeezing in to flatter and ask for advice.

No one else was surprised by the result.

While asking for guidance, Rong Teng occasionally turned his head to look at the person who was seriously cultivating. His eyes were cold and his expression was resentful. If it weren't for this person, he wouldn't be laughed at. It's all his fault. You're just a peasant. Why should you be the one to laugh at him?

Zhang Qingshan focused on his cultivation.

I could faintly hear some laughter coming from over there, and occasionally some peasant talk, as well as various kinds of glances flying over.

He didn't care. When he was a laborer, he was often scolded for being a lowly peasant. He was just a peasant. That's how the villagers in Zhangjia Village introduced themselves when facing important people or fierce people. The more lowly they were, the better.

But—[The Wave-Stopping Pillar knew the arrogant nature of those people. Recalling the past, it felt indignant, and flames rose within it. Just wait and see; it wanted more and stronger power. So it immersed itself in cultivation even more deeply, wanting to squeeze out the true meaning within its innate heritage, to unleash its power and burn...]

[My understanding of the third form of the Wave Stance deepens continuously. The malice seems to surge like waves, and I feel as if I have become the waves... I've directly entered the Wave Stance... I'm improving in the Wave Stance... I'm entering the proficient stage of the Wave Stance... I feel my physical body is being sublimated... Practice, practice, practice...]

Although the disciples who were secretly observing Zhang Qingshan did not understand the third stance training, they could feel that Zhang Qingshan's stance training was becoming more and more proficient and natural.

The thought of making sure to explain things properly to Senior Brother Zhang became even stronger in my mind.

At the same time, a certain idea arose: if Senior Brother Zhang can do it, so can I. The martial arts school did not keep it a secret, and with the spread of some big mouths, many people vaguely knew about Zhang Qingshan's impoverished background.

As a result, these ordinary disciples practiced even harder. They also cherished this opportunity to learn martial arts. If they had martial arts skills, their family business would not be bullied. If they could become inner disciples, just by having that title, those gang members would not dare to offend their families.