Martial Arts Crossover: My master tricked Huang Rong into becoming my wife!

"What's that noise?!"

A roar came from the backyard, followed by a series of hurried footsteps.

Liao Langzhong rushed out in a hurry, still clutching a muddy medicine hoe in his hand.

With just one glance, Doctor Liao saw the mess on the stone table and the purplish-red fragments scattered on the ground.

The old man's eyes widened instantly, almost popping out of their sockets. He pointed tremblingly at the shards on the ground, his lips quivering, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

That's his teapot!

That was a treasure he had spent fifty taels of silver to have someone bring it back from Yixing! He usually had to use the softest silk cloth to wipe it, afraid of bumping or scratching it. Now, it's all shattered into pieces!

"Chen! Yan! Zhou!"

A roar echoed through the sky, startling the birds in the trees into flight.

Chen Yanzhou shrank back, chuckled dryly, and retreated hastily, saying, "Master, please let me explain... this was actually an accident..."

Liao, the physician, was so angry that his beard trembled. He picked up his medicine hoe and chased after him, yelling, "You good-for-nothing! That's a Zisha teapot! Not an earthenware pot! If you want to practice your skills, then practice them. Why are you taking your anger out on my teapot?!"

"Master, please calm down! Please calm down! I'll compensate you! I'll compensate you, okay?!"

As Chen Yanzhou circled the grape trellis and the pillar, he shouted, "I'll have someone get you an even better one! One that Emperor Huizong of Song used!"

"Bullshit! Emperor Huizong of Song was an emperor. How could his pot end up in your hands? You stop right there!"

Amidst the chaos, Xiao Hu peeked out from behind the medicine cabinet, looked at the master and apprentice running around the yard, shook his head helplessly, and continued grinding the medicine.

This kind of drama happens every few days at Baicaotang, and he's used to it.

……

Half an hour later.

Chen Yanzhou, with his messy hair, sat dejectedly on the threshold, staring blankly at a fragment of a purple clay teapot in his hand.

After cursing for a while, Physician Liao was sitting in the hall drinking water—in a large, coarse porcelain bowl.

"There's no reason why I can't master this Dragon-Capturing Skill."

Chen Yanzhou ignored his master's eye roll, his mind completely absorbed in the failure of his palm strike just now.

Once the internal force from that palm strike left his body, there was no turning back; he couldn't take it back even if he wanted to.

Wait a minute, the "Regretful Dragon" technique emphasizes conserving power for oneself. The remaining three-tenths of the power circulates within the meridians, which is one's own territory and naturally obeys commands.

The Dragon-Capturing Skill requires sending out force and making that force obey commands on someone else's territory. This is as difficult as making a kite fly back on its own without a string.

"No wires..."

Chen Yanzhou muttered those two words to himself, then his eyes suddenly lit up.

If a kite breaks its string and can't come back, what if the string doesn't break?

The previous thinking was misled by the word "remote". The so-called "remote" is not actually generating power from nothing, but rather the external release of internal force to form an invisible connection.

Like a spider spinning its web, Chen Yanzhou suddenly stood up, his gaze sweeping around the courtyard before finally settling on a withered sycamore leaf that had just fallen to the ground four steps away.

The leaves are thin and light, and can withstand very little force, making them perfect targets for testing techniques.

He held his breath, gripped the ground with both feet, and didn't strike any grand or sweeping poses; he simply let his hands hang naturally at his sides.

The internal energy within his dantian began to surge, gathering at the Laogong acupoint in his palm. Chen Yanzhou raised his hand, his five fingers slightly spread, his palm facing the withered leaf.

A burst of air shot out; the feeling was very strange.

It's like reaching out in the dark, or trying to extend your arm.

Chen Yanzhou could even vaguely sense the crisp texture of the withered leaf's edge through this energy.

It's now!

Chen Yanzhou suddenly flicked his wrist, his five fingers instantly turning into claws, and pulled backward.

The force that was supposed to burst out at the moment of contact was forcibly stopped by him and turned into a force that pulled back.

"Splash!"

The withered sycamore leaves on the ground seemed to be suddenly pulled up by an invisible hand, rising into the air without warning and swirling towards Chen Yanzhou's palm.

Overjoyed, Chen Yanzhou was momentarily distracted. The withered leaf, which had been flying in mid-air, lost its grip and, like a butterfly with broken wings, drifted down two steps away from Chen Yanzhou.

Although they couldn't actually grab it, the significance of it was worlds apart.

Chen Yanzhou looked at the leaf lying quietly on the ground and couldn't help but grin, thinking to himself, "So that's how it is."

If we compare internal energy to water, an ordinary martial artist's move is like splashing water; the force is strong, but once it's splashed out, it can't be taken back.

But this Dragon-Capturing Skill requires condensing the water into a rope, so that it can be released and then pulled back.

There are two fatal flaws here.

Firstly, one must have abundant internal strength; without substantial internal strength, one will lack the strength to sustain it.

Secondly, it is the control of internal energy.

This is the real threshold for screening people. Most martial artists practice qi cultivation by focusing on sinking qi to the dantian and penetrating the paper. Who would bother to figure out how to use the released qi as their fingers? That would take so much effort.

A strange smile appeared on Chen Yanzhou's lips.

In recent years, when he takes medicinal baths, he circulates his internal energy and travels through his eight extraordinary meridians each time.

Day after day, year after year.

This allowed him to make rapid progress in his control over internal energy.

Would you call this an unexpected success?

Thinking of this, Chen Yanzhou was in a great mood.

With this unique skill, the Dog-Beating Stick Technique would probably be no match for him.

If it were a direct confrontation, my abilities would certainly be no match for my master, but if I were to launch a surprise attack…

Chen Yanzhou chuckled, glancing towards the branch headquarters with a sly look in his eyes.

"Master, no wonder your disciple lacks martial ethics."

……

By the time they returned to the Beggars' Sect branch, the sun had already set.

Hong Qigong lay sprawled on the branch of the old locust tree in the courtyard, waving a purplish-red wine gourd in his hand and humming an unknown tune.

Hearing footsteps, Hong Qigong didn't even lift his eyelids: "You're back?"

Chen Yanzhou hummed in response, paying no further attention. He stepped into the open space in the courtyard, not even bothering to change into a neat set of shorts; the hem of his long robe swayed gently in the night breeze.

"call--"

Exhaling a breath of stale air, Chen Yanzhou slightly closed his eyes, and his right palm drew an arc from his waist upwards in a seemingly slow motion, but in fact it contained immense power.

He practiced his palm strikes one after another, progressing from "Regretful Dragon" to "Flying Dragon in the Sky" and then to "Dragon Appearing in the Field".

Every move and every stance is more fluid and seamless than yesterday's.

Half an hour passed in the blink of an eye.

Chen Yanzhou looked as if he had been pulled out of the water; his clothes were soaked and clung tightly to his back.

His once full dantian was now completely empty, and the feeling of being hollowed out made his legs tremble slightly.

But instead of collapsing, he sat down cross-legged on the spot.

The Hundredfold Return to Origin Technique is activated in the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

Wisps of white steam rose from Chen Yanzhou's head, and his originally pale face regained its rosy hue at a visible speed.

He slowly opened his eyes and exhaled a long breath of warm, stale air.

Feeling his dantian replenished and even more refined than before, Chen Yanzhou couldn't help but smile, his lips curving upwards until he revealed a set of bright white teeth, his smile dazzlingly radiant.

"Clatter".

A dark shadow descended from the sky and landed steadily in front of Chen Yanzhou, stirring up a cloud of dust.

Hong Qigong, with his hands behind his back, looked at Chen Yanzhou: "What are you laughing at? You look like a weasel that's stolen some fish, with a cunning look on your face."

Chen Yanzhou immediately wiped the smile off his face, adopting a serious expression. He sprang to his feet, patted his bottom, and said, "Master, what are you saying? I was just having some insights into my training and feeling joyful. How does that make me a villain?"

He naturally wouldn't reveal the prototype of "Dragon-Capturing Skill" now; he was saving it for a "big surprise" for his master later.

Chen Yanzhou's eyes darted around, and he immediately changed the subject, moving closer to Hong Qigong, rubbing his hands together and saying with a smile, "Master, you see, I've almost mastered this palm technique. I know the first fifteen palms by heart. The remaining three palms... shouldn't you pass them on to me?"

The last three palms of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms are the essence of the entire set of palm techniques, possessing the greatest power and the most complex variations.

Hong Qigong glanced at him sideways, picked up the wine gourd and shook it, listening to the sloshing sound of the little wine left inside, and slowly said, "Don't bite off more than you can chew. Your fifteen palm strikes now are just a formality. When you can strike out with one palm and shake the old locust tree in this courtyard until its leaves fall but its branches don't move, I'll teach you the last three palm strikes."

"Leaves fall, but branches remain unmoved?" Chen Yanzhou glanced at the old locust tree, so thick it would take two people to encircle it, and his lips twitched. "Master, are you asking me to practice palm techniques or embroidery?"

"Enough with the nonsense." Hong Qigong lightly tapped his buttocks with his Dog-Beating Stick. "The way of martial arts lies in purity. We'll talk about it in a couple of days."

Chen Yanzhou rubbed his bottom, not really annoyed.

"Okay, okay, I'll listen to you." Chen Yanzhou stretched, and his stomach rumbled loudly in perfect unison.

Practicing martial arts is really expensive and time-consuming.

Upon hearing the commotion, Hong Qigong's eyes immediately lit up. He swallowed hard and asked, "Hungry? What shall we eat tonight, father and son?"

Chen Yanzhou chuckled to himself as he watched his master's greedy expression. This old beggar was willing to negotiate anything as long as there was food.

He chuckled, a glint of shrewdness flashing in his eyes, "Today we're going into town, and I'll take you to try something new—a whole roasted lamb."

"Roasted whole lamb?" Hong Qigong raised an eyebrow, his beard twitching. "I've eaten that stuff before. It's very gamey and the meat is tough. It's only good for the pleasure of eating big chunks of meat; it doesn't have much flavor."

"That's because they don't know how to grill." Chen Yanzhou said confidently. "My method uses a secret spice recipe that the Yiyun Division got from the Western Regions caravans—cumin, paired with our local Xiangyang goat. The skin is crispy and the meat is tender. When you bite into it, it sizzles with oil. The aroma is... tsk tsk."

As he spoke, Chen Yanzhou deliberately made a blissful expression and even slurped his saliva.

Hong Qigong's Adam's apple bobbed as he listened to Chen Yanzhou's words, and he almost dropped his wine gourd. He grabbed Chen Yanzhou's arm and dragged him outside, saying, "What are you waiting for! Let's go! If we're late, the city gates will be closed, and we'll have to climb over the wall, which is a hassle!"

"Hey, hey, Master, slow down! I haven't put my shoes on yet!"

……