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

"I must test my limits..."

Late at night, Yu Shaowu, dressed in armor and shorts, was walking back and forth on the wooden stakes in the courtyard.

He had been practicing continuously for nine and a half hours, and apart from eating and drinking, he had been almost constantly awake.

He had thought he could easily last a day, but now he was finding it hard to keep going. His legs felt like lead, and almost every muscle in his body ached.

Even so, he persisted, coordinating his steps with the moves, striving to perfect every action.

He is now mainly practicing the routines for boxing, and the key is to coordinate them with a unique breathing method when performing actual combat routines.

The routines are easy to learn, but the breathing techniques are quite difficult. This is because each movement has a corresponding breathing method, and there are strict rules about when to exhale, when to inhale, whether to take a big or small breath, and whether to use the nose or the mouth.

And the effects of doing so are indeed very obvious. Sometimes when you do this action, breathing according to the instructions will make it twice as effective. If you don't follow the instructions, not only will it be difficult to complete, but you may even feel that your breathing is disordered and you can't control yourself.

Even worse, it could lead to qi deviation, blood stasis, and cause stroke or hemiplegia.

Therefore, even though he was exhausted at that moment, he still performed every movement meticulously and without the slightest error.

Just as he was about to give up, he suddenly felt a sense of clarity. His muscles suddenly warmed up, as if something had rushed into his blood vessels and was slowly circulating through his meridians.

Then several lines of information appeared:

[Boxer Rebellion: Ming Jin (Masterful Skill)]

[Mastering the ultimate skill: Mountain-Crushing Force]

[Realm Advancement: Body Tempering Realm (Pending Breakthrough)]

Upon seeing these lines of information, Yu Shaowu felt as if the clouds had parted and the fog had lifted. His hard work over the past few days had finally yielded a substantial reward.

Like other external martial arts, Yihequan is divided into three major stages: Mingjin (manifest strength), Anjin (hidden strength), and Huajin (transformation strength).

Both Ming Jin and An Jin are important stages in the Body Tempering Realm, and each advancement represents a significant leap forward.

The fact that he is about to break through to the Body Tempering Realm also means that his body has reached the strength of the Body Tempering Realm and is ready to be reborn at any time.

Once Yu Shaowu reaches the Body Tempering Realm, it means he has officially become a martial artist and is qualified to participate in the martial arts examinations held by the imperial court.

Of course, as a convict, his path to the imperial examinations was blocked. However, his reason for practicing martial arts was not originally to participate in the imperial examinations.

As for the newly mastered Mountain-Crushing Force, it involves sinking the stance and concentrating energy to shatter a mountain with a single strike. This move is an extremely powerful killing technique, separate from the routines of the Boxer Rebellion and unique to him.

Yu Shaowu was eager to test the power of the Mountain-Crushing Force, but he was too dizzy to fight properly and could only jump down from the wooden stake.

Madam Wan didn't sleep. She moved a stool to the side and sat down to do needlework, looking at her husband with a pained expression. Several times she almost blurted out the words to urge him to go to bed early, but she swallowed them back each time.

Since her husband was working so hard, why let him get discouraged? She would cook for him when he was hungry and bring him water when he was thirsty. If he didn't sleep, she wouldn't sleep either, silently keeping him company. She wanted him to know that she was always by his side.

Seeing that Yu Shaowu had finally finished his cultivation, she was overjoyed. She quickly brought a bowl of warm water to Yu Shaowu and said gently, "Husband, you must be exhausted."

Yu Shaowu took the warm water, his wrist trembling so badly he could barely hold the bowl. It took a lot of effort to finally bring the water to his mouth.

Seeing this, Madam Wan felt a pang of heartache and said, "Husband, you've been practicing at this high intensity for five days since you got the boxing manual. Why don't you take a good rest tomorrow? Remember, haste makes waste."

"It's alright," Yu Shaowu comforted with a smile. "Practicing martial arts is a wonderful thing. Although it hurts, it's incredibly rewarding. A few hours of practice is nothing."

He spoke casually, but his body was in great pain, and he was also somewhat anxious.

After returning from the Juyi Martial Arts School, he kept thinking about the wolf packs on Tumen Mountain and the things that Ji Shouyi and the others were afraid of.

Yu Shaowu felt that the prefect Hu Nan had sent them up the mountain to feed the wolves. It was only his appearance that changed things.

If this weren't the case, it wouldn't explain why a high-ranking prefect would forgo the merit of suppressing a beast tide and instead send a group of civilians to their deaths. Moreover, the armor on the wolves is clear evidence that they were domesticated.

The hunt on Tumen Mountain was a huge success for the hunters and the local people. But for Hu Nan, it was a huge failure.

In this situation, would Hu Nan or some forces secretly in control let it go? Yu Shaowu thinks it's unlikely.

Therefore, this matter is not yet over.

But how things would develop was unknown to Yu Shaowu. As an outsider, he knew far too little.

In this situation where he was completely blind, all he could do was keep practicing martial arts and improving himself.

This was also his biggest motivation to practice so hard after returning from the Kinabalu Market.

Now that he has reached the peak of the Ming Jin of the Yihequan style and officially entered the Body Tempering Realm, his mind has become a little more at ease.

He finished the water in the bowl in one gulp, took a few deep breaths, and thought about practicing some more. But when he rubbed his sore arms, he really felt weak.

Madam Wan felt a pang of heartache and grabbed Yu Shaowu's arm, saying, "Husband, come inside. Let me help you relax."

Yu Shaowu said with a wry smile, "My wife, I really am powerless to help you right now."

Madam Wan blushed and spat, "I just wanted to give you a massage, what are you thinking?"

"Then you'd better behave yourself. If you accidentally tempt me, I won't be able to resist."

Wan pulled him inside, laughing, "Stop bragging, I don't believe you still have the energy."

The couple were enjoying their drive when Yu Shaowu suddenly sensed something was wrong. He turned around and saw two men in black suddenly appear on the top of the courtyard wall.

Then, the two men in black leaped over the wall and stood steadily in the courtyard, quietly watching Yu Shaowu.

Upon suddenly encountering this situation, Yu Shaowu was greatly shocked, and cold sweat immediately broke out on his forehead.

Although he had mastered the Boxer Rebellion and his strength had greatly increased, his body was also in an unprecedented period of weakness.

He deeply regretted that he had overtrained himself, which made him unable to cope with the sudden situation.

For now, the only option is to do everything in our power to deal with them.

"Didn't you ask?"

Yu Shaowu clasped his hands in a polite gesture, while silently shielding Wan Shi behind him.

Neither of the two men in black spoke; instead, they both took two steps forward simultaneously.

Yu Shaowu led Wan Shi back a step and continued, "Brothers, are you here for money or for your lives? If there is no deep-seated hatred, we can talk."

The two men in black remained silent and took another step forward.

At this moment, Yu Shaowu had retreated to the windowsill, where a wood-chopping knife lay. Yu Shaowu intended to use this to launch a surprise attack.

Just as he was trying again to avoid conflict with words, the man in black on his left suddenly moved.

He first moved to the left, then made an unexpected turn, slashing fiercely with his knife. His target was not Yu Shaowu, but Wan Shi behind him.

Yu Shaowu immediately tried to move to the left, but he was too weak. In this critical moment, he could only grab the wood-chopping knife on the windowsill in an attempt to block the opponent's attack.

This machete was originally intended for attack, but now it has been forced to be used for defense, putting it at a complete disadvantage.

With a clang, the two swords clashed. Yu Shaowu lost his grip, his wrist went numb from the impact, and he took another big step back.

The man in black on the right, who was also about to make a move, stood still and did not join the battle when he saw Yu Shaowu retreat.

Yu Shaowu took a deep breath and roared at Wan Shi, "Go back inside! Don't come out!" He stepped forward again, his body slightly tilted, and swung his wood-chopping knife horizontally. The other woman rolled to the side, easily dodging the attack, and then slashed at Yu Shaowu's left shoulder.

The two exchanged blows for more than ten moves. Yu Shaowu originally did not know how to use a sword, but since he was a beginner in Yihequan, some of his moves were naturally executed through swordsmanship.

But this was not enough to defeat his enemy. After a dozen or so moves, his steps became unsteady, his wrists trembled, and he could no longer hold the knife, and was sent flying by his opponent.

The next moment, the man in black held a knife to Yu Shaowu's neck and said sternly, "Give me the money."

"We have money! We have money!" Madam Wan shouted from inside the house, carrying a wooden box out and placing it in front of the man in black, saying, "I offer all my possessions, and I beg you, brave man, to spare my husband's life."

She spoke in a steady tone, but her hands trembled involuntarily, clearly trying to appear calm.

Yu Shaowu said in a low voice, "Didn't I tell you not to come out?" Wan looked at him, her eyes full of tenderness.

The man in black took the box, opened it, glanced at it, and said to the other man in black who had been watching closely, "Quite a haul. Spare their lives and get out of here!"

The two walked to the wall together, and with a flip, they disappeared over the wall.

After the two left, Madam Wan rushed to Yu Shaowu's side and asked in a trembling voice, "Husband, are you alright?"

"I'm fine," Yu Shaowu said, gently patting Wan's hand to comfort her. He then asked, "You gave away all our savings?"

Seeing that Yu Shaowu was unharmed, Madam Wan was overjoyed and wept, saying, "If something had happened to you, I certainly wouldn't have lived alone. What use would I have for all that rubbish? However, I've divided the money into separate portions; that's only a part..."

Yu Shaowu immediately felt relieved and smiled slightly, saying, "That's right, wealth shouldn't be hoarded. My wife is a thrifty person."

At this moment, his legs stopped shaking, his hands stopped trembling, and his eyes silently stared in the direction the other person had left.

His exceptional insight allowed him to recognize his opponent after only a few exchanges. He also realized that his opponent didn't seem to intend to kill him; every strike was a test of his strength, as if the opponent was probing his abilities.

Realizing this, he didn't use any of his special fighting techniques, but instead tested his opponent's moves a few times.

After the test, he had a general understanding of the opponent's strength.

"Commander Yang... is nothing special."

He thought to himself. The intensity of his sparring was so great that it didn't even require the slightest effort he'd put into practicing on the stake. It even felt like a warm-up.

In the exchange just now, he could have killed his opponent at any moment. The only reason he didn't was that he didn't want to kill someone in his own yard.

The fact that a hundred-household commander in a thousand-household garrison was so weak demonstrates the corruption of the imperial military system.

After a moment's thought, Yu Shaowu turned to Wan and asked, "Do you know how to make Fujian fish balls?"

Wan was stunned for a moment, then nodded blankly and said, "I can do a little."

Yu Shaowu smiled slightly and said, "Make me two, wrap some soil inside, I'm going to take a nap, they'll be very useful when I wake up."