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

For an ordinary person, seven or eight days would hardly yield any progress in martial arts. But for Yu Shaowu, it was enough time to accomplish a great deal.

At this moment, he had real-time data feedback from the panel, and the speed at which he absorbed Qi through the Qi Guiding and Returning Flow technique, coupled with the attribute bonuses brought by the Xuanlang Armor, meant that the efficiency of his five days of training was at least equivalent to several months for an ordinary person.

Therefore, Yu Shaowu planned to use these few days to continue practicing the hidden strength of the Boxer Rebellion. Even if he couldn't master it in seven days, he could at least get a basic understanding of one of its unique techniques.

Moreover, he still had some questions about the application of certain breathing techniques in the boxing manual, and he wanted to ask Ji Shouyi for guidance as well.

The road to learning is long, and Yu Shaowu dared not waste any time. After saying goodbye to Wan, he immediately rode his donkey to Shenshan Market.

Before even reaching the entrance of Juyi Martial Arts School, Yu Shaowu saw a large crowd gathered in front of the school, queuing up.

He was immediately surprised. Was Ji Shouyi's reputation in Baode Prefecture really that great? That he could attract so many people to come and learn martial arts.

He reached the end of the line and asked the last man, "Brother, why is there such a long line at this martial arts school? Is learning martial arts free?"

The man said, "Don't you know? The prefecture has issued a decree that everyone who comes to Juyi Martial Arts School to learn martial arts can receive one tael of silver for free, and they can also participate in the upcoming wolf extermination operation in Sanglin Mountain. Not to mention the reward silver, just the chance to kill a wild animal can fetch a lot of money."

"Is this a call from the state government?" Yu Shaowu was taken aback at first, but then quickly realized that the authorities had gone to great lengths to organize this pig-butchering scam.

You covet the government's reward money, but the government wants your life.

He advised in a deep voice, "Brother, the alpha wolf of that pack is so big, how can it be easily wiped out? Don't go into the mountains and end up being surrounded by the wolves."

The man glared at him and said, "You really are something! I'm kindly telling you this, and you want to stop my path to wealth and power? Everyone knows that the wolf has already been killed by the grandson of Duke Wu Xiang. Now that the pack is leaderless, it's the perfect time to wipe them out."

As he spoke, he waved his hand at Yu Shaowu and said, "Go away, stop making noise here and ruining our good time."

Yu Shaowu didn't argue with him and walked straight to the front of the line. It was He Huan there helping with the registration.

The two men bowed to each other, and Yu Shaowu asked in a deep voice, "Is Senior Brother Ji at the martial arts school?"

"I'm here." He Huan pointed to the long queue and said apologetically, "Young Master Yu, you can go to the martial arts hall. I have too many people to attend to here."

"It's alright."

Yu Shaowu nodded and went straight to the martial arts hall, where he found Ji Shouyi practicing martial arts, using the Yihequan style.

After watching for a while, he realized that he and this expert in Boxer Rebellion were not much different, so he went up to him and started practicing together.

The two people moved in perfect unison, one in front of the other, a sight to behold.

After a long while, the sixty-four moves were finished. The two stood facing each other, smiled at each other, and immediately felt a sense of kinship.

Ji Shouyi sighed slightly and said, "Young Master Yu is exceptionally talented. His speed in learning martial arts is truly unparalleled in my life. I admire him greatly."

"Mr. Ji, you flatter me." Yu Shaowu said, "I have come here to ask you about the breathing techniques in the first volume, as well as the hidden strength parts in the second and third volumes."

Even though Yu Shaowu was already so skilled in his routines, Ji Shouyi was still greatly surprised to hear that he wanted to learn the hidden strength technique.

Back then, it took him three whole years to learn Ming Jin, which was already considered a rare genius in Tianxing Martial Arts School. But Yu Shaowu seemed to have only taken five days.

When Ji Shouyi was young, he remembered his father telling him that one of their ancestors had mastered the Ming Jin (明劲) of the Yihequan (义和拳) style within a month. By the age of thirty, he had reached the Hua Jin (化劲) level of the Yihequan, and his martial arts realm had broken through to the eighth level of the Kai Mai (开脉) realm.

Now it seems that this Young Master Yu is even more powerful than his ancestor.

Ji Shouyi really wanted to spar with the prodigy in front of him, but he knew that the gap in their comprehension was too great, and the other party was destined to surpass him. A temporary spar would be meaningless.

So he just smiled slightly and said, "I can teach you the breathing method of Ming Jin, but the ancestral method of An Jin, the inheritance of Yi He Quan, requires a master."

Yu Shaowu asked, "May I become your disciple?"

"no."

Ji Shouyi shook his head and said with a wry smile, "I am not qualified to teach you."

Yu Shaowu thought that Ji Shouyi didn't want to teach him, and just as he was wondering, he heard Ji Shouyi say again: "However, I can take on a disciple on behalf of my father."

"Taking on behalf of his father to become an apprentice?" Yu Shaowu was somewhat taken aback.

Ji Shouyi said, "My father's name was Shangxiu Yuan. He was the former head of Tianxing Martial Arts School and the fifth-generation successor of Yihequan. Although he passed away early, his Yihequan cultivation had reached the level of mastery of internal strength, and his martial arts realm had reached the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm. Only he is qualified to be your master."

Yu Shaowu never expected that Ji Shouyi would be so respectful to him, even foregoing the title of master and disciple and elevating his seniority by one level.

He humbly declined, saying, "How could I possibly be qualified to become your father's disciple? It is already an immense honor to be able to take Mr. Ji as my teacher."

Ji Shouyi smiled slightly, patted his shoulder and said, "Young Master Yu, there's no need to be so modest. Your future achievements will surely surpass mine. You might even surpass my father. Without further ado, let's perform the apprenticeship ceremony now, and then I can pass on the entire manual of the Dark Force Fist to you."

At that moment, Ji Shouyi called over Lin Li, He Huan, and other core members of the martial arts school, as well as two uncles from the previous generation, to witness the event.

Next, everyone entered the ancestral hall, worshipped the incense burner, offered three kinds of sacrificial animals, and under the guidance of two uncles, performed the grand ceremony of becoming apprentices.

Ji Shouyi's father, Ji Xiuyuan, had six disciples in his lifetime, three of whom died, one escaped, and two survived. Ji Shouyi is forty-one years old this year, and the youngest, Lin Li, is already thirty-two.

After this apprenticeship ceremony, Ji Men gained another junior brother, making the whole team feel younger.

Ji Shouyi had two sons and disciples such as He Huan. Some of them were even older than Yu Shaowu, but they all respectfully addressed Yu Shaowu as "Uncle-Master".

Logically speaking, a formal apprenticeship ceremony should include a lavish feast. Although Ji Shouyi instructed that everything be kept simple, Yu Shaowu still went to the Shenshan market to make a purchase and arranged a sumptuous feast.

In his view, the ancients were extremely particular about etiquette, as evidenced by the numerous bows and kowtows performed daily. Therefore, even if Ji Shouyi didn't care, others might not think the same way.

After all, taking on a disciple on behalf of one's father is an astonishing act in itself, let alone being so young, one must be meticulous in doing so.

Only by observing proper etiquette can these people be silenced. Yu Shaowu didn't actually care about these people, but it would be good if Ji Shouyi could avoid so much criticism.

After the banquet, Ji Shouyi dared not waste any time. He immediately closed the door and began to teach Yu Shaowu about internal strength.

The so-called hidden strength is actually the absorption of Qi from the outside world by the Body Tempering Realm and its integration into the muscles, which then penetrates into the enemy's body with the attack.

In layman's terms, it means that internal force is intertwined with external force, resulting in a double blow to the enemy.

Because the amount of Qi available in the Body Tempering Realm is not very large, it forms a kind of Yin-like, hidden power.

However, although this power is not obvious, the damage it causes is extremely profound. The most typical characteristic is that it is silent and insidious, destroying the interior.

For example, if you press your palm against a brick, the surface may remain intact, but the inside may be shattered; or if you punch an opponent in the chest, there may only be a faint red mark on the outside, but the heart and internal organs may have been severely damaged. This is the penetrating effect of "hidden strength".

The ability to leave no trace on snow and form a ball from water, to be so precise that not even a feather can be added or a fly can land, all demonstrate the unique power of hidden strength.

This kind of energy control is very abstract, and therefore much more difficult than Ming Jin (manifested strength). The control of power also becomes much more precise.

Therefore, some people may only need a year or two to learn Ming Jin (manifest strength), but it may take more than ten or even several decades to learn An Jin (hidden strength).

Of course, being able to learn it already qualifies one as an expert. Some people, however, never master this power in their entire lives.

Even Ji Shouyi, who had studied the internal energy techniques of the Boxer Rebellion for twenty years, could not fully grasp their essence. His father had died young, and he didn't know who to learn from.

But he still told Yu Shaowu all these mental techniques at once. He knew that just because he couldn't understand them didn't mean Yu Shaowu couldn't.

The continuation of the Ji family's Righteous Harmony Fist might just fall on this young man from the Yu family.

Ji Shouyi had high expectations for this.