Physical enlightenment begins with Xingyi Quan

Chen Jianghe pushed open the peeling wooden door.

The courtyard wasn't large, paved with blue bricks, with dark green moss accumulating in the cracks between the bricks. In the corner, there were a few stone locks and wooden dummy sets, their paint peeling off, looking quite old. Several men dressed in faded coarse cloth short jackets were practicing their boxing skills in silence.

A young disciple was squatting by the door. He looked up and glanced at him, asking, "Who are you looking for?"

"My name is Chen Jianghe. I have come to become your disciple and learn boxing," Chen Jianghe said, cupping his hands in greeting.

The disciple excitedly shouted into the house, "Senior Brother He! Someone wants to become my disciple!"

A voice responded from inside, and soon a lean man in his thirties emerged. He wore a faded gray cotton jacket with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, revealing his muscular forearms. His face was square, but expressionless.

He looked Chen Jianghe up and down a few times, then said in a flat voice, "Come with me."

Chen Jianghe followed him through the front yard.

The backyard was even more dilapidated than the front yard, with broken earthenware pots piled up in the corner and a bamboo recliner placed under the old locust tree.

A gaunt old man in his fifties was lying on the chair, drinking a little wine with a dish of salted edamame, while cracking sunflower seeds with his other hand.

"Master, I'm becoming your disciple." He Shouzhou stopped, his voice still flat.

The head of Li Chengyue's Xingyi Martial Arts School didn't even raise his eyelids, only grunting and spitting out two sunflower seed shells: "Where did you come from? How old are you?"

"I'm from Mudskipper Bay, and I'm seventeen this year," Chen Jianghe replied respectfully.

Li Chengyue finally lifted his eyelids, his gaze casually sweeping over Chen Jianghe's face: "A fisherman?"

"Yes. My father went missing while serving in a labor service in his early years, and now he and my mother depend on each other for survival."

Li Chengyue slowly sat up, placed the wine bowl on the low stool next to him, and beckoned to Chen Jianghe: "Come here."

Chen Jianghe took two steps forward.

Li Chengyue stretched out his withered hand and pinched his shoulder blades, arms, waist and hips a few times.

The fingers were incredibly strong, squeezing so hard that the knuckles cracked. Chen Jianghe gritted his teeth and endured it without uttering a sound.

Li Chengyue withdrew his hand, lay back down, and said lazily, "His aptitude is neither good nor bad, just below average. But he's a bit too old; starting at this age is tough!"

Upon hearing this, Chen Jianghe felt anxious, fearing that he had lost this opportunity to change his fate.

He quickly replied, "This disciple is capable of enduring hardship! I will certainly study and practice diligently, and never slack off!"

Li Chengyue lifted his eyelids and glanced at him again, then slowly said, "What's the rush? Have I finished speaking?"

Li Chengyue slowly picked up his wine bowl, took a sip, and smacked his lips, saying, "Talent is given by God and cannot be changed. But in this world, those who are willing to put in a lot of hard work will go further than those who are talented but lazy. Since you say you can endure hardship..."

He extended his hand to Chen Jianghe, palm up, fingers hooked: "Ten taels of silver, a year's tuition. Pay the money, and you can begin training. Whether you become a dragon or a worm depends on your own destiny."

Upon hearing this, Chen Jianghe felt a great weight lifted from his heart. He quickly took out the silver ingots he had prepared beforehand, held them with both hands, and respectfully handed them to Li Chengyue.

Li Chengyue then took a proper look at the silver, reached out and took it, weighed it in his palm, and casually tossed it to He Shouzhou beside him: "Put it in the account."

After saying that, he picked up the wine bowl again, took a sip, and gestured with his chin to the other side: "Derong! Stop hiding there watching the show, come out here! Show the newcomer around and teach her the rules."

"Hey—Master's here!"

The person who answered was a young man in his early twenties, dressed in a black, narrow-sleeved satin casual suit. The young man strolled in.

He was holding a folding fan in his hand, which he quickly closed and walked forward with a smile.

He first bowed to Li Chengyue, then turned to Chen Jianghe, looked him up and down, and gently patted Chen Jianghe's shoulder with his fan, saying with a smile, "I am Su Derong, the third in my family. From now on, just call me Third Senior Brother."

.....

Su Derong led Chen Jianghe around the front yard at a leisurely pace, sometimes opening his folding fan and fanning himself a couple of times, and sometimes closing it and pointing.

"See this area? This is where we usually practice our boxing. That's the equipment room over there. It has some stone weights, sticks, knives, and spears. They're a bit old, but they're still usable."

He then pointed to a low-ceilinged house on the west side: "That's the kitchen. We eat two meals a day, breakfast at the beginning of Chenshi (7-9 AM) and dinner at the beginning of Youshi (5-7 PM). The food is just this simple fare, enough to fill you up, but don't expect anything oily or flavorful. If you want something better, you have to buy it outside."

He then pointed with his fan to a row of large communal rooms to the north: "Those are the disciples' rooms, with large communal beds inside. Newcomers usually sleep near the door or window. In the summer, they get bitten by mosquitoes, and in the winter, they get chilled by the wind. You'll get used to it."

Finally, they moved to a shed piled with miscellaneous items in the corner: "Come on, come with me to get a set of training clothes."

Su Derong went to the storeroom, took out a coarse cloth short jacket made from old fabric, just like the ones the men he had seen wearing when he entered, and casually tossed it to Chen Jianghe.

"Here we go. This is the set. It's the hand-me-downs from whichever senior brother wore it before. If it doesn't fit, just make do. If it tears, sew it up yourself."

Chen Jianghe took the clothes and nodded silently.

"Alright, come with me. I'll teach you the basics of Xingyi Quan!"

Upon hearing that he was to be taught boxing techniques, Chen Jianghe's heart warmed, and he said, "Thank you, Third Senior Brother!"

Chen Jianghe was also filled with curiosity about Xingyi Quan in this world. Was it as the saying in his previous life went, "Ten years of Tai Chi without leaving home, one year of Xingyi and you can kill a man!"

He hoped that he could also make a living in this chaotic world by relying on Xingyi Quan.

Su Derong led Chen Jianghe back to the courtyard, stopped in front of a wooden stake, turned around, leaned against the stake, crossed his arms and said, "There aren't many people here, only about ten disciples including you. As for rules, there aren't many. Master is too lazy to set too many rules, but I have to talk to you about them before you start learning martial arts."

Chen Jianghe respectfully cupped his hands and said, "Please enlighten me, Senior Brother."

Su Derong nodded, then extended four fingers and pressed them down one by one:

"First, your master is the greatest. You don't need to argue with him, whether he's right or wrong, just listen to him."

"Second, before you've completed your apprenticeship, don't mention that you practice Xingyi Quan outside, and absolutely do not cause trouble. It's shameful."

"Third, fellow disciples are not allowed to fight privately. If you fight in private, no matter who is in the right, you will all be kicked out."

"Fourth, and most importantly—"

Su Derong leaned closer and lowered his voice: "When Master is drinking, never bother him. If he's in a good mood, he might give you some pointers; if he's annoyed, a beating is the least of your worries."

Chen Jianghe twitched his lips: "Thank you for your guidance, Senior Brother."

Su Derong put down his fan and said seriously, "Now that you've entered the gate, I'll first tell you about the fundamentals of Xingyi Quan. Xingyi Quan is also called Xinyi Liuhe Quan. It emphasizes hard fighting and advancing, preferring to advance with one thought rather than stop with one thought. It's a true killing technique, not the kind of fancy moves that those 'hanging around' outside only know how to perform."

He patted a wooden stake and continued, "Since you're new here, your first challenge isn't learning boxing, but 'changing your energy'."

"Change of energy?"

Su Derong extended his hand and slowly clenched his fist: "That's right! Ordinary people generate power by tensing their muscles. But muscle strength is finite and easily fatigued. What we martial artists need to train is the strength of our tendons and bones."

He suddenly punched the wooden stake.

"Bang!"

"See that? This isn't about brute force; it's about stretching your tendons and bones, letting the power rise from the ground, flow through your entire body, and finally emerge from your fist." Su Derong withdrew his hand. "The first lesson you need to learn is to change your habit of using your muscles to use your tendons and bones."

He walked to the open space in the center of the courtyard, stood up in a half-squat position, stepped forward with his left foot, stretched his left hand forward to chest level, placed his right hand against his navel, looked at his left fingers, and shifted his weight to his right leg. He assumed a posture that seemed simple but was extremely awkward.

"This is called the 'Three-Body Stance,' a method for practicing energy transformation and the source of all techniques in Xingyi Quan. If you stand in the stance correctly, you've entered the door; if you don't stand in the stance correctly, you'll never even get close to the threshold in your entire life."

Chen Jianghe tried to imitate his stance, but felt awkward all over, unsteady, and his arms ached.

Su Derong circled around him, patting him here and pressing him there: "Head suspended, shoulders down, waist slumped, hips sitting... Yes, just like that, hold it."

Chen Jianghe had only stood there for less than ten breaths when he felt his thighs trembling and sweat beading on his forehead.

Su Derong laughed and said, "It's uncomfortable, isn't it? That's good. When you can stand in this stance and be calm and composed, as if standing on flat ground, then you can be considered to have entered the realm of 'changing energy'. As for the martial arts realm after 'changing energy', it's useless for me to talk to you about it now. Everything will wait until you successfully 'change energy'."

He stepped back two paces, crossed his arms, and said, "Although your master has accepted your tuition for a year, let me make this clear: if you cannot master the basics of strength and power within a hundred days, then this hundred-day foundation building will be considered a failure, and you will have no chance to inherit the true essence of Xingyi Quan."

He glanced at Chen Jianghe with a half-smile: "Although I've accepted your tuition for a year, you'll still have to leave when the time comes."

Chen Jianghe could only smile bitterly to himself, thinking that this cheap martial arts school was indeed full of tricks.

But he remained respectful, cupping his fists and saying, "This disciple will certainly study diligently and practice hard, so as not to fail the guidance of Master and Senior Brother."

Su Derong nodded, picked up the folding fan from his waist, unfolded it with a "whoosh," and leisurely went to the backyard.

Chen Jianghe followed suit and assumed the Three-Body Stance.

The posture may seem simple, but it is actually quite difficult to do.

Stand in a half-squat position, step forward with your left foot so that it is aligned with your right heel, extend your left hand forward to chest level, place your right hand on your navel, look at your left index finger, shift your weight to your right leg, and keep your body upright.

Within a few breaths, he felt all the muscles in his body struggling against each other, and a surge of soreness, swelling, numbness, and pain rushed up all at once, and fine sweat quickly seeped from his forehead.

He gritted his teeth and persevered, adjusting his breathing and trying to feel the process little by little.

He didn't know how much time had passed, but just as his legs began to tremble uncontrollably, that familiar panel appeared in his mind:

[Destiny: Diligence is rewarded by Heaven; success is inevitable]

Current skill: Three-Body Stance (beginner level)

Progress: 1%

[Effect: None]

Chen Jianghe looked at the "1%" progress, took a deep breath, and slowly stopped.

Although my whole body ached, I felt calm.