Gao Wu Da Ming: Starting as a military household and ascending to the rank of Martial Saint

After leaving the garrison, Yu Shaowu eagerly opened the box that Li Zhencai had given him and examined it carefully.

Inside the box, wrapped in silk, lay five light red pills, which were Body Tempering Pills.

Yu Shaowu had seen this kind of elixir when he was a child. When military officers practiced it, they would hold it in their mouths to effectively enhance their training results.

There are roughly three types of pills that aid in cultivation: Body Tempering Pills, Meridian Opening Pills, and Qi Gathering Pills. Among them, Body Tempering Pills correspond to the Body Forging Realm.

However, the effects of the Body Tempering Pills vary depending on the ingredients used. According to Yu Shaowu's understanding, the quality of these pills could already be considered mid-grade.

For Li Zhencai, a commander of a thousand households, to send him pills of such high quality was a clear indication of his sincerity in trying to win him over.

Although this guy hadn't treated him well before, and had even been a bit harsh on him, Yu Shaowu still intended to accept his kindness.

He sensed that this commander didn't harbor much ill will towards him. Otherwise, he wouldn't have passed this test so easily.

With the imperial court's authority in place, some things are beyond the control of a mere thousand-household commander.

In any case, this time it was a close call. Not only did we get these Body Tempering Pills, but we also got to know Li Zhencai's attitude.

He put the elixir into his pocket, found a donkey cart at the entrance of the Thousand Household Office, and set off for the sacred mountain market.

Firstly, he wanted to bring the Wan family home; secondly, he was eager to ask Ji Shouyi for the Yihequan manual and then test the efficacy of these body-tempering pills.

After swaying on the donkey cart for more than two hours, Yu Shaowu finally arrived at Shenshan Market in the southwest of Baode Prefecture.

Speaking of which, the thing that Yu Shaowu finds most difficult to adapt to in this era is transportation.

The vehicles were rudimentary, the roads were difficult to traverse, there was almost no system in place, and the efficiency was extremely low.

Yu Shaowu still remembers riding that warhorse with his father when he was still a child. It could easily travel 800 li in a day.

That feeling of speed and power left a deep impression on the original owner, and thus remained etched in his memory. Even now, whenever he recalls it, Yu Shaowu still feels a deep sense of nostalgia.

I wonder when I'll be able to own a mount that can travel a thousand miles a day.

Ji Shouyi's new martial arts school was located on the main street of Shenshan Market, only fifty steps away from the busiest Lanyue Tower. Before long, Yu Shaowu arrived at the school.

Upon entering the martial arts school, they saw He Huan coming to greet them. Both were delighted to see each other again, exchanged greetings, and then sat down to chat.

During their conversation, Yu Shaowu learned that Madam Wan had arrived two hours earlier and was in the inner room being accompanied by Sister-in-law Ji.

Meanwhile, Ji Shouyi, Lin Li, and others were receiving officials from the state government. To put it bluntly, these officials were using the opening of the martial arts school as an excuse to freeload.

Yu Shaowu had a very poor impression of these officials. After all, if Hu Nan was that kind of person, these officials in the prefecture were naturally no better.

However, opening a martial arts school in Baode Prefecture requires government oversight, so showing these officials some respect is reasonable. As long as they don't cause too much trouble, they are already considered good officials.

Before long, Ji's eldest sister-in-law brought Wan out to meet Yu Shaowu. Wan was extremely worried about being summoned by the commander, and now that she saw Yu Shaowu return unharmed, she was overjoyed and wished she could rush into his arms.

This era was similar to the original Ming Dynasty; women could also appear in public, and there wasn't such a strict separation between men and women. So, the group sat in the living room and chatted.

After waiting for a long time, Yu Shaowu finally heard Ji Shouyi and Lin Li leave to see the guests off. When the two returned, Yu Shaowu could clearly see the worry on their faces. However, when they saw him, they both discreetly concealed their negative emotions.

After exchanging greetings, Ji Shouyi smiled and said, "Young Master Yu, have you made any progress after practicing the Yihe stance for the past few days? If there are any areas you are still unclear about, please feel free to ask, and we will gladly share all our knowledge with you."

Yu Shaowu said, "To be honest, I have already mastered the Yihe stance. I have come today to ask for the rest of the boxing manual."

Everyone was quite surprised when they heard this.

Lin Li was immediately agitated, waving his hand and saying, "Young Master Yu, please don't joke. Mastering the Yihe Stance is no easy feat; it requires years of arduous practice. Even my master, a genius in his time, spent at least three months achieving results. How could you possibly have mastered it in just three days?"

Ji Shouyi also said, "Young Master Yu, it's not enough to just walk through it once. You must be able to move without hindrance and move with the speed of a charging tiger to be considered to have mastered it."

Seeing that the crowd did not believe him, Yu Shaowu said in a deep voice, "Do you have any wooden stakes here? I will demonstrate for you all, and please feel free to offer your corrections."

"Of course there is, it's in the newly built training ground." Lin Li said, and immediately got up to lead the way.

Eager to see what kind of effect Yu Shaowu's so-called mastery would have, everyone followed Lin Li to the training ground.

Because of the prime location of Shenshan Market, this newly built training ground is not as large as Tianxing Martial Arts School, but it also has two sets of Yihe Pile Formations, and the materials used are much better than those in Yu Shaowu's courtyard.

Seeing that the stake was exactly the same as his own, Yu Shaowu immediately understood. He rushed forward, leaped, and nimbly landed on the first stake.

Ji Shouyi, Lin Li, and others were all veterans of the Boxer Rebellion. Judging from Yu Shaowu's stance, they knew that his leg strength was more than sufficient.

Even so, they still didn't believe that Yu Shaowu could master the Yihe stance within three days.

However, what happened next completely shocked them.

Yu Shaowu first took a few steps, and after getting used to it, he suddenly began to exert his strength and sped across the nine piles.

Ji Shouyi and Lin Li had never seen a beginner walk the Yihe stance so freely and gracefully, with such fluid movements. His steps were also exceptionally swift, full of the momentum of a tiger.

Although the others didn't understand, they were also greatly amazed by Yu Shaowu's speed and momentum. Especially He Huan, who was standing to the side, considered himself to have decent talent, but it still took him five months to master the Yihe stance.

When he mastered the skill, his senior brother Ji praised him for his extraordinary talent. He was quite pleased with himself for it.

However, after seeing Yu Shaowu's performance today, he finally realized that he was nothing compared to a true genius.

Thinking back to when his father strongly praised Yu Shaowu, he had scoffed at it. Now it seems that he was the most foolish one.

As Yu Shaowu finished his set of stances and stood on the stake, awaiting everyone's evaluation, the crowd was stunned. How could they possibly judge the quality of Yu Shaowu's movements?

After a long silence, Ji Shouyi sighed softly, "A frog in a well cannot fathom the mighty Peng bird of the Northern Sea. Young Master Yu, you have indeed mastered the Yihe Stance in just three days. I am truly filled with admiration."

Yu Shaowu smiled slightly and said, "Brother Ji, you flatter me. So, I should be able to start learning the rest of the boxing manual now, right?"

Ji Shou nodded and said, "I will gladly present you with the boxing manual. However, there is something I need to inform Young Master Yu in advance."

"What is it?" Yu Shaowu asked as he jumped down from the stake.

Ji Shouyi and Lin Li exchanged a glance, and Ji Shouyi said in a very solemn tone, "Although Young Master Yu is learning boxing here, I can only teach him in private. Young Master Yu cannot be included in the martial arts school's roster, and there is no master-disciple relationship between us."

Yu Shaowu asked, somewhat puzzled, "Why is that?"

Ji Shouyi shook his head and said, "We have our own difficulties, and we hope Young Master Yu will understand."

Lin Li added, "Young Master Yu, it's not that we're unwilling to accept you, but we have unavoidable circumstances. However, rest assured, we will teach you the Yihe Fist technique without reservation, without holding back a single word."

Yu Shaowu looked at the two of them, wondering what they were up to. However, he knew that improving himself was the most important thing right now. As long as he could learn martial arts, whether or not he joined a martial arts school wasn't that important.

He nodded, bowed, and said, "The fact that you two have taught me the Boxer Rebellion is already a great kindness. As for other matters, I will leave it to Brother Ji."