The Song Dynasty was the king for thirteen years before he knew that he was Tianlong.

Chapter 412 Martial Arts Profound Understanding (Seeking Monthly Tickets)

Zhao Ti's palm flashed with four-colored light as he used eight-tenths of his strength to strike the bed.

Then there was a loud crash, and the bed collapsed instantly, sending wood chips flying and dust billowing everywhere.

How could it be so powerful? Zhao Ti slumped down in the middle of the collapsed bed, his face blank with shock.

This bed was made by Zhao's father. It was made of hardwood from the mountains and forests, and it was a full inch and three-tenths thick. It was so thick that it would be extremely difficult to break it even if you hit it with an axe or hammer, let alone with your palm. But now it was broken in half.

He crawled out from under the damaged bed frame, his heart filled with turmoil.

Unexpectedly, what Yang Jian said was all true. This Four Illuminations Divine Skill is an unparalleled martial art, yet it has such power even in its initial stage.

But... how did I learn so quickly?

Even the most outstanding geniuses need three months, but I've only been here for less than an hour. It's really strange.

Could it be that my martial arts aptitude is even better than that of a peerless genius? If it's better than a genius, then what should I call him?

Born with a martial arts talent? Innate martial arts embryo? Physique of all martial arts? Chosen by heaven? Unparalleled genius?

Zhao Ti fell into deep thought for a moment.

At that moment, the window opened silently, and a crow flew in: "Brother, what happened? Why did the bed collapse?"

Zhao Ti looked at the crow and recounted how he had rapidly mastered his martial arts.

The crow was stunned after hearing this, and it took him a long time to say, "Does my brother mean that he mastered the family's martial arts technique in less than an hour and then broke this hardwood bed with a single palm strike?"

Zhao Ti shrugged and nodded.

Uta flew over to the collapsed bed and glanced at it a few times. Then, in a very strange tone, he said, "Brother, your family's martial arts are extraordinary. You've already achieved such power at the junior level..."

Zhao Ti said, "According to the technique, when you reach the intermediate level, you will be able to release your internal energy and use four-colored palm energy to injure people. It can melt gold and stone, and is indestructible. When you reach the advanced level, four pillars of light will emerge around your body to protect you, making you immune to all poisons and difficult for evil spirits to enter."

"This is an unparalleled divine skill!" the crow exclaimed, flapping its wings and hovering in the void.

“But the cultivation method says that even the most outstanding geniuses need three months to achieve a minor success, and others, even those with good aptitude, need several years or even thirty years to see results. As for those with ordinary talent, they may not even be able to get started after a lifetime of practice. Yet I mastered it in less than an hour… This is really too strange.” Zhao Ti frowned.

“Brother, you…” Crow looked Zhao Ti up and down and slowly said, “I think your talent is even stronger than that of a peerless genius, and by a lot. You are very likely to have the legendary Martial Heart Clarity Physique.”

"Martial Heart Clarity?" Zhao Ti exclaimed in astonishment, "What kind of physique is this? It's even stronger than that of a peerless genius?"

“This is a legendary physique, only recorded in ancient books. It may not appear even once every few thousand years…” Crow sighed. “This physique is miraculously compatible with martial arts. No matter what kind of martial art it is, it can be learned in no time, understood in a moment, and mastered in one practice.”

"What?" Zhao Ti was taken aback: "You can learn it in no time, understand it immediately, and master it with just one practice session?"

The crow nodded: "That's right, that's why it's called Martial Mind Clarity. It means that there are no doubts or confusions about martial arts. All martial arts are clear to one. One can learn them just by looking at them and master them immediately. It's even more powerful than the Body of Ten Thousand Martial Arts."

"Is there really such a physique?" Zhao Ti was utterly shocked. This was practically cheating. Could he really have this kind of martial arts physique? Wouldn't it be even better if he could do this while studying?

“This kind of physique is only recorded in classical texts, and I have never heard of or encountered it in reality. However, I think my brother has this legendary physique, otherwise there would be no way to explain how he could master a top-level martial art to a minor level within an hour,” Crow said thoughtfully.

Zhao Ti nodded, and was about to speak when he heard footsteps outside. It was Zhao's father who came in carrying an oil lamp.

"Tier, what are you doing, making such a commotion..." Father Zhao's gaze fell on the collapsed wooden bed, and his eyes widened immediately: "What, how did this bed break?"

“Father…” Zhao Ti’s lips twitched: “I’ve broken the bed while sleeping on it.”

"You broke the bed while sleeping?" Zhao's father looked at him suspiciously. "You're asleep so early? Don't you study?"

"I... I misspoke. It wasn't that it collapsed from sleeping on it, it collapsed from sitting on it by accident," Zhao Ti quickly corrected himself.

He didn't want his parents to know about his martial arts training for the time being. He didn't have any other special thoughts, but mainly, Zhao's father and Yang Jian seemed a bit awkward. If the other party had given him the training method, Zhao's father might have been resentful and prevented him from practicing.

At this moment, the Heavenly Demon has lost his arm, and it's impossible for him not to practice martial arts. He must do everything he can to stop this arm from causing trouble, to wear down its demonic nature, or even to refine it.

Moreover, he was afraid that even if he didn't say that the technique came from Yang Jian, his parents would still prevent him from practicing it under the pretext of affecting his studies, and tell him to focus on his studies and not to be distracted by anything else.

"You broke it by sitting on it?" Zhao's father's eyes spun around Zhao Ti. "Are you heavy enough to break this inch-thick hardwood bed board by sitting on it?"

“I…” Zhao Ti rubbed his temples.

“Besides, even if you have a thousand pounds, this hardwood plank is very sturdy. It can support two thousand pounds. How could you possibly collapse it by sitting on it? Even if you had a heavy hammer, you couldn’t smash this hardwood bed into this state in just a few blows.” Zhao’s father frowned as he looked at Zhao Ti.

“This…” Zhao Ti glanced at the crow out of the corner of his eye. The crow was perched on his shoulder with its head buried under its wings, no longer communicating with him telepathically, and pretending to be drowsy and unconscious.

“Father, this might be a matter of skill.” Zhao Ti said slowly with a serious expression, “I read an article that said, ‘Four ounces can move a thousand pounds,’ which means using four ounces of force to move a thousand pounds of weight. This is a kind of skillful technique. I’m wondering if I accidentally used this kind of force just now, which is why the wooden bed collapsed?”

"Is that how you explain using four ounces to move a thousand pounds?" Father Zhao's eyes widened in astonishment.

“Hmm…that’s what the book says,” Zhao Ti hurriedly replied. “Which book says that?” Zhao’s father said angrily, “I want to see who wrote the book. Such a haphazard arrangement is misleading the children.”

“My father was a great man in the medieval period.” Zhao Ti hadn’t expected the other party to ask so many questions, so he had no choice but to bite the bullet and say it.

"A great master from the Middle Ages?" Zhao's father frowned, his eyebrows furrowing like silkworms, and stretched out a hand: "Let me see it."

“I didn’t bring the book back from the state school, sir, you’re going to lecture on it tomorrow…” Zhao Ti said without changing his expression.

"Alright, alright." Father Zhao nodded: "The book says that it's normal for a large bed to collapse with a clever move of using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds. However, the book was written by someone from the Middle Ages, but it was left in the school and not brought back. If I ask you to retrieve the book tomorrow, should this book be thrown away? Even if it's not thrown away, it will be damaged and difficult to identify?"

"I don't know what Father is talking about." Although Zhao Ti felt guilty, he remained very calm.

At this moment, Zhao's father stepped forward and carefully examined the collapsed bed. After a moment, he suddenly asked, "Who came just now?"

Zhao Ti was stunned upon hearing this, and shook his head, saying, "No one is coming."

“This bed was clearly broken by someone with superb internal strength. How could it have been broken by someone without martial arts skills? Let me see what kind of technique this is…” Father Zhao bent down and picked up a piece of wood to examine the shape and characteristics of the broken part.

Zhao Ti asked in bewilderment, "Father, what kind of martial arts technique can you discern? You... know martial arts?"

Father Zhao snorted, "Who said you have to know martial arts? Does that mean you can't tell if someone doesn't know martial arts? You may not know how to cook, but you can still recognize the names of dishes and taste the quality when you go to a restaurant, can you?"

Zhao Ti stared in disbelief: "Father, this...this isn't the same thing..."

"What's the difference? It's the same principle as your 'using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds' technique; it's all from books," Zhao's father scoffed.

Zhao Ti scratched his head, thinking to himself that what he said was a lie, and his father was also lying. Could it be that he really knew martial arts? Otherwise, how could he identify the techniques?

Then Zhao's father picked up a broken plank, his expression shifting, and suddenly asked, "Has Yang Jian come back?"

"Huh?" Zhao Ti was taken aback, then shook his head and said, "Didn't Uncle leave Yuzhou? I haven't seen him since he left last time."

Father Zhao lightly tapped the broken edge of the bed board with his finger: "This was made by the Yang family's Four Illuminations Divine Skill. Judging from the skill level, it's not just a minor achievement, but also very refined. It's the result of years of practice. Who else could it be but him?"

Upon hearing this, Zhao Ti blinked, his expression serious. The crow on his shoulder half-opened its crimson eyes and glanced at Zhao's father.

"Father, Uncle really hasn't come back. Are you sure you're not mistaken?"

“How could I be wrong? These are the traces of the Four Illuminations Divine Skill. The broken part of this wooden board is not neat, but has splinters in all directions. I have seen Yang Jian use the Four Illuminations Divine Skill to strike wood and stone before, and this is the kind of mark it left.”

"Father, have you ever seen Uncle use martial arts?" Zhao Ti asked curiously. "Was he very skilled?"

“Of course I’ve seen it. Otherwise, I don’t know martial arts, so how would I recognize what kind of martial art it is?” Zhao’s father said. “As for whether it’s powerful or not, I don’t know, but a casual palm strike could definitely collapse this hardwood bed.”

“Father, this wasn’t done by my uncle…” Zhao Ti said, thinking that he absolutely could not pin this on Yang Jian. When Yang Jian left, he said that he would come back soon to bring something to Zhao’s mother, and when the three parties confronted each other, the truth would be revealed.

"If it wasn't him, could it have been another member of the Yang family? This Four Illuminations Divine Skill is not passed down to anyone outside the core members of the Yang family. Who exactly came just now? And why did they smash your bed?" Father Zhao asked, puzzled.

"Who's here..." Zhao Ti's face twitched, thinking to himself that he didn't know anyone else in the Yang family, so where could he make up someone?

"I don't recognize you..."

"Don't you recognize me? What do you look like?"

"I didn't see clearly..."

"Didn't you see clearly? Were you wearing black clothes and a mask?"

“This… Father is right, this is how we should dress.” Zhao Ti nodded quickly.

"Didn't he say anything?" Zhao's father's expression grew even more puzzled.

"He said one thing: he didn't want me to reveal that he broke the bed, so I said I broke it by sitting on it," Zhao Ti said, forcing himself to speak.

"That's so strange. He came here, broke a wooden bed, and left without even telling you." Father Zhao pondered for a moment. "Could it be Yang Dian? Only he acts so erratically and unpredictably. Did he get the news about your mother and me from Yang Jian and come here to show off?"

"Father, who is Yang Dian?" Zhao Ti asked.

“He’s also one of your uncles…” Zhao’s father said, then glanced at the wooden board in his hand: “You can make do at the desk tonight, and I’ll make you a new bed tomorrow.”

“Yes, Father…” Zhao Ti quickly replied as he watched his father turn and walk out the door.

"By the way, if he comes back again, just shout loudly, and I'll come and catch him. Let's see what kind of madness he's causing in Yuzhou," Zhao's father said as he walked.

"I understand, son." Seeing his father leave, Zhao Ti breathed a sigh of relief. He glanced at the tattered bed, then at the desk, a bitter smile appearing on his lips. He really would have to make do for one more night…

(End of this chapter)