Chinese martial arts: From human punching bags to martial arts mastery

Hai hour!

The Fan Gua Nong shantytown was completely enveloped by a light drizzle.

Inside the reed shed.

Lin Sao had already caught a cold, and today she was humiliated. After returning home, she swallowed a bowl of coarse medicine and fell into a deep sleep.

Chen Feng sat on a small stool at the entrance of the reed shed, using the white light of the lightning to sharpen the rusty kitchen knife on the whetstone.

"Shh...shh...shh..."

The two silver dollars he carried in his arms felt heavy against his chest, like a stone—not enough, far from enough!

That crippled old man who taught real kung fu always demanded twenty silver dollars as an apprenticeship fee.

Without any killing skills, relying solely on the "hard qigong" as a shield, facing Big Gold Tooth's axe team tomorrow will only lead to certain death.

"Since we don't have the money to learn boxing, we'll have to risk our lives!"

Chen Feng tested the blade; it wasn't particularly fast, but it was enough to sever a neck.

His eyes shone eerily in the darkness, the kind of eyes a lone wolf has when cornered.

Suddenly.

A refreshing, fragrant breeze broke through the rain and mist, carrying a faint scent of perfume that overpowered the musty and muddy smells of the shantytown.

"Um!"

Chen Feng instinctively hid the kitchen knife behind his back, his knuckles gripping the handle, his muscles tensing instantly.

Followed by.

A woman wearing a black trench coat over a slit cheongsam walked slowly by, holding an oil-paper umbrella.

She is Chen Feng's neighbor—Xiao Aqiao!

The attic house they lived in was a rare "swallow's nest" in this area, hundreds of times better than the reed hut.

Xiao Aqiao is a backup dancer at the Black Swan Ballroom. She always wears heavy makeup and has a slightly worldly air about her.

But at this moment, the drizzle smudged her makeup, revealing a delicate beauty in her plain features.

The pair of embroidered cloth shoes, which were about 80% new, were covered in mud, and the trouser legs were wet. He was walking with a limp, probably because he had just twisted his ankle.

Xiao Aqiao spotted Chen Feng, who looked like a demon at the entrance of the reed shed below the embankment, and also caught a glimpse of the cold, hard blade protruding from his sleeve.

"Why are you sharpening knives so late at night instead of sleeping?"

Xiao Aqiao reached her front door, closed her oil-paper umbrella, shook off the water, and her hoarse voice pierced through the rain: "Want to kill Big Gold Tooth? That's suicide!"

"None of your business!"

Chen Feng's voice was cold and hard, but a hint of doubt stirred within him: "How did she know?"

"Yes, yes, yes...it's none of my business, but what will happen to Aunt Lin if you die? Will she just wait to be thrown into the Suzhou River?"

Xiao Aqiao leaned against the door frame, took out a cigarette from her handbag, lit it, and took a deep drag. The sparks flickered in the darkness, like the light in her eyes.

Chen Feng fell silent, the veins on his hand gripping the knife bulging.

"call--"

Xiao Aqiao exhaled a smoke ring and stared blankly at Chen Feng.

a long time!!

She suddenly cursed "What a terrible thing to do!" and turned to go into her room.

After a while.

She came out again, holding a rusty biscuit tin.

"Come in!"

She kicked Chen Feng's leg.

Chen Feng hesitated for a moment, then followed her into her little house.

With a "whoosh".

Little Aqiao dumped everything from the tin box onto the small wooden table.

It was a pile of crumpled legal tender, copper coins, and a few silver dollars.

Those fragments, those were what she painstakingly collected from a glass of wine and a drop of tears in this cannibalistic city.

"This is about twenty silver dollars!"

Xiao Aqiao pushed the money in front of Chen Feng, her eyes somewhat unfocused: "I've saved up for three years, originally intending to buy my freedom! But then I think, where could I go after buying my freedom? This world is a living hell!"

Chen Feng's pupils contracted sharply. He knew the weight of this money—it was this woman's life!

"This money is too heavy, I can't carry it!"

He turned to leave.

"stop!"

Xiao Aqiao suddenly let out a low shout, rushed forward a few steps, and shoved the money into Chen Feng's arms. Her hands gripped Chen Feng's collar tightly, and her eyes were terribly red.

"Chen Feng, listen to me! This money isn't for nothing! I'm giving it to you because you seem like a wolf that can bite, much better than those good-for-nothings here who just loaf around and wait to die!"

"Take the money, learn some skills, and crush scum like Big Gold Tooth under your feet!"

"If you win, you'll take me away from this godforsaken place; if you lose... well, consider these past three years of my life as feeding dogs!"

Chen Feng felt the warmth of the banknotes in his arms, which made his chest tighten.

He looked at the woman in front of him, who usually had a worldly air about her, but now had tears in her eyes.

"good!"

Chen Feng did not kneel down or swear an oath; he simply nodded heavily.

"Wait for me to come back!"

……

On the high ground of Fangualong, the gates of the Tongbei Boxing Gym were tightly closed.

"Boom—!"

The heavy rain, like a hail of bullets, covered the entire Zhabei district.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Chen Feng pounded on the door like a madman.

A long time passed.

"Creak—!"

The door opened a crack, revealing a withered and impatient old face—it was the owner of the museum, Yan Tieqiao.

In his early years, he was a renowned boxer at the Wusong Wharf. Later, his leg was broken by an enemy, and he went into hiding in this Gualong area, where he became eccentric and greedy.

"A funeral? Didn't you check the time?" Yan Tieqiao cursed, his cane thumping against the bluestone slab.

"Learn martial arts!"

Without uttering a single word, Chen Feng slammed the handful of loose banknotes and silver dollars, which he had managed to gather, onto the door.

Yan Tieqiao's cloudy eyes lit up instantly; it was the light of seeing money.

He glanced at Chen Feng's soaking wet clothes and bloodshot eyes, and finally stepped aside.

"Come on in! Coming here in this awful weather? Looks like you've run into an insurmountable obstacle!"

Inside the boxing gym, there was only a dim oil lamp.

"Twenty silver dollars, just for the basics, no refunds!"

Yan Tieqiao counted the money without looking up: "What do you want to learn? Techniques? Or health preservation?"

"I want to learn how to kill!"

Chen Feng's voice was cold and firm, each word resolute: "The fastest one, we need it tomorrow!"

Yan Tieqiao paused in counting the money, then looked up at Chen Feng: "You need it tomorrow? Do you think this is buying groceries? Take it back, I don't accept money from the dead!"

"I won't back out!"

Chen Feng stood there, exuding a fierce aura: "You just teach me. Whether I learn it or not, whether I survive or not, that's my business!"

Yan Tieqiao stared at him for a long time, then suddenly grinned, revealing a set of broken, yellow teeth.

"Interesting! Looking at your muscular physique, you're a good candidate for a beating!"

He slowly stood up, leaning on his cane. His hunched back straightened, and a sharp glint suddenly shot from his cloudy eyes, like a knife that had been hidden for many years, finally drawn from its sheath.

"Tongbei Quan doesn't emphasize fancy techniques, but rather coldness, crispness, and hardness; it's all about wide, sweeping movements and striking from a distance!"

"Since you want to be fast, I'll only teach you one move—Mother Fist, Hammer Support!"

"Watch closely! This move is called 'Swift Arrow Shot from a Broken Bow'."

Yan Tieqiao exerted force with one leg, his whole body like a fully drawn bow, his withered right arm whistling through the air as he punched a wooden stake in the courtyard.

"Bang—!"

The wooden stake, as thick as a bowl, was snapped in half by this seemingly withered fist, sending wood chips flying everywhere.

"Power rises from the ground, the spine is like a dragon, the arms like whip tips, and the fists like shooting stars!"

Yan Tieqiao finished his stance, his breathing surprisingly calm as before, as if that punch had been nothing more than a casual gesture.

Leaning on his cane, his voice deep and resonant, he said, "This is the essence of Tongbei Quan's power generation! Tonight, you'll practice right here in this courtyard until dawn! How much you grasp depends on your own destiny!"

Chen Feng nodded vigorously; he understood the three layers of meaning in Yan Tieqiao's words.

First, they must leave before dawn; the boxing gym must never be involved in any murder cases.

Secondly, the best chance of killing someone and escaping is to act before dawn.

Third, if you can't practice before dawn, get out of here!

"Boom!"

Lightning flashed across the sky, and the rain intensified.

"Hey--"

Chen Feng stood in the muddy courtyard, repeating that single, powerful push.

He imitated Yan Tieqiao's steps, waist twisting, back flexing, and punching!

"Bang--!"

He slammed his fist into the wooden stake, the impact numbing his knuckles, but the brute force left no faint mark.

Heaven rewards diligence; success is inevitable.

[Tongbei Fist - Support Hammer: Proficiency +1 (1/100)]

"Not ruthless enough! Not fast enough!"

Chen Feng roared and swung his fist again. In his mind, there was only the image of his mother kneeling on the ground, the plate of meat that Zhang's father and son had fed to the dog, and Xiao Aqiao stuffing the crumpled money into his arms.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

He growled, his voice swallowed by the rain, and pounded his fists on the wooden stakes.

Even with knuckles worn raw, blood seeping out, and fists smeared with rainwater and mud.

But he didn't pause for a moment; the ruthlessness in his heart only burned brighter and brighter.

After a while.

As Chen Feng threw a punch, he suddenly felt the flow and integration of energy clearly—no longer a scattered brute force, but one that originated from the soles of his feet, traveled through his waist and spine, and gathered at the tip of his fist, breaking through in one strike!

"That's the feeling!"

Chen Feng was overjoyed, as if he had found the right answer, and then he started doing practice problems non-stop.

[Tongbei Fist - Support Hammer: Proficiency +1 (2/100)]

[Tongbei Fist - Support Hammer: Proficiency +1 (3/100)]

......

The proficiency level is fluctuating wildly.

Combined with the enhanced physical abilities granted by his [Hard Qigong], his punches grew heavier and heavier, and the sound of wind breaking through the air became louder and louder.

End of Yin hour!

When Chen Feng threw his thousandth punch and his body was almost at its limit—his destiny shone brightly once more!

Heaven rewards diligence; success is inevitable.

[Tongbeiquan - Support Hammer (Proficient) → Tongbeiquan - Support Hammer (Beginner)]

[Tongbeiquan - Support Hammer Beginner: 0/500]

[Hint: Through countless hours of practice, you have mastered Tongbei Quan - Supporting Hammer]

A warm current rose from my spine, soaring up my back like a dragon, instantly flowing through my arms and throughout my entire body.

He felt that beneath his skin, which had long been hardened like wood and stone, his muscles and bones seemed to be connected into a large bow.

"suck--!"

Chen Feng stood before the jujube wood post, took a deep breath, and channeled all his strength into his spine like a tidal wave. He pushed off the ground, causing mud and water to explode, his back arched like a bow, his right arm lashed out like a whip, and his fist shot out like a meteor—"Bang!"

The jujube wood stake, as hard as iron, suddenly trembled. Where the fist landed, a deep fist imprint was left, penetrating deep into the wood. The edges of the wood cracked and bore faint traces of blood.

[Tongbeiquan - Support Hammer (Beginner 1/500)]

Under the eaves, Yan Tieqiao, who had been dozing, suddenly opened his eyes. A glint of light flashed in his cloudy eyes, and he nodded with great satisfaction: "This apprentice has rolled it up just like I did back in the day!"

Chen Feng stood with his fist clenched, his body steaming with white heat.

Defenses are full, fangs have been grown.

"Big Gold Tooth, the Axe Gang..."