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

Inside the Juyi Martial Arts Hall in Shenshan Market, Ji Shouyi gathered Lin Li, He Huan, and several other brothers, including Yu Shaowu, and they sat together, clinking glasses and enjoying themselves immensely.

After a few rounds of drinks, Lin Li, his face flushed, said with regret, "It's a real pity we didn't go into the mountains to hunt wolves today."

Ji Shouyi remained noncommittal, but smiled slightly and said, "Sixth Junior Brother, as the saying goes, fortune and misfortune are intertwined. Sometimes what you think is a good thing might actually be a terrible thing when it happens. In short, it's already very good that we can live well now."

His words came from the bottom of his heart, full of gratitude to God, and his face showed a contented expression.

"Yes," He Huan laughed from the side, "Although we didn't go into the mountains this time, thanks to the promotion of the prefecture government, the number of disciples recruited by our Juyi Martial Arts School in these few days is more than the number of disciples recruited by Tianxing Martial Arts School in two years. I'm worried that we won't be able to teach them all. There are only two sets of Yihe stances in the training ground, which is simply not enough for training."

"Yes," Lin Li said. "We'll go to the woods to the east and cut down some more trees to make more stakes, so that the disciples won't have to fight over them when they come to practice tomorrow, which would make our martial arts school look poor."

"That's not necessary," Yu Shaowu said. "Let's not be too optimistic. Most of the disciples who signed up these past few days were either hoping to make some money through unorthodox methods in the mountains or to get subsidies from the state government. Now that we can't exterminate these wolves, I estimate that many of the registered people won't come back tomorrow."

Everyone thought about it and agreed.

He Huan nodded and said, "That should be the case. Although Young Master Yu is young, he sees things much more clearly than I do."

A senior member of the Boxer Rebellion immediately corrected him, saying, "He Huan, you've been rude. This is your martial uncle."

He Huan suddenly remembered this matter, and his heart skipped a beat. He quickly stood up and bowed, saying, "Uncle-Master, please forgive my rudeness."

Martial arts schools place the utmost importance on lineage and hierarchy, which explains why Liu Xingye, despite his poor martial arts skills and questionable character, was able to take over the Tianxing Martial Arts School after Ji Xiuyuan's death.

At this moment, Ji Shouyi also said with a cold expression, "He Huan, be careful in the future, and don't call me by the wrong name again."

Yu Shaowu was very grateful for He Huan's father's kindness, so he waved his hand and said, "It's alright, it's alright."

He Huan breathed a sigh of relief and quickly poured himself a glass of wine, then poured another glass for Yu Shaowu, which he drank in one gulp as an apology.

This is one of the advantages of drinking at the table: many unpleasant things and grudges often dissipate with the wine in the glass, leaving no trace of discord.

Taking advantage of the situation, Lin Li said, "Senior Brother, I still don't understand why you don't let Junior Brother join the martial arts school. Today, while we're in high spirits, why don't we accept Junior Brother into the school? His talent is well-known, and he comes from a military family. With him joining, wouldn't it be like adding wings to a tiger? Surpassing Tianxing Martial Arts School will be just around the corner."

Ji Shouyi had previously hesitated to accept Yu Shaowu's offer to join because he didn't want Yu Shaowu to go into the mountains. Now that the crisis had passed, and hearing Lin Li mention it again, he looked at Yu Shaowu with questioning eyes, waiting for his attitude.

Yu Shaowu had no intention of rejecting the idea whatsoever. Firstly, Ji Shouyi had taken good care of him in many ways, and secondly, he greatly admired Ji Shouyi's righteousness. Both out of consideration for his feelings and his own sense of justice, he genuinely wanted to join the Juyi Martial Arts School.

Moreover, he knew that this world valued not only individual strength but also the foundation of one's influence. Having more fellow disciples meant having more support, which was far more reliable than being alone in crucial moments.

With this in mind, he immediately stood up, bowed deeply to Ji Shouyi, and said loudly, "Senior Brother, I wish to join the Juyi Martial Arts School. Please accept me."

Previously, Ji Shouyi was reluctant to let Yu Shaowu join because he was concerned about Yu Shaowu's safety. Now that there's no need to go up the mountain, joining the martial arts school is only natural.

Ji Shouyi had already regarded Yu Shaowu as the first person to promote the Yihequan in the future. He smiled and looked at everyone and said, "Everyone, since that's the case, let's choose an auspicious day and let our junior brother join the martial arts school."

"Why choose a day?" Lin Li laughed. "Isn't today the most suitable?"

At that moment, He Huan retrieved the martial arts school's roster, and Yu Shaowu solemnly added his name to it, placing himself at the back of the line, thus becoming one of the school's instructors upon entering.

It was late at night, and everyone was in high spirits, so all the formalities were skipped. After all, Yu Shaowu had already performed the apprenticeship ceremony.

After the banquet ended, Yu Shaowu and Ji Shouyi went into the inner hall to continue their study of internal energy techniques.

Previously, Yu Shaowu's initial training in internal energy cultivation only scratched the surface of Qi, a type of energy. The next step is to utilize the body's meridians to achieve more precise control over Qi.

At the same time, the meridians will continuously strengthen under the nourishment of Qi, and will contain more and more Qi.

When a certain point is reached, the channels of Qi between the meridians will be gradually opened. At that time, Qi will no longer be limited to the lungs and muscles, but will be slowly stored in the meridians.

The Qi (vital energy) circulating throughout the body via the meridians will bring a person's physical strength and energy to an astonishing level. In other words, it can gradually forge a person from a flesh and blood body into an indestructible one.

Strengthening the body will completely widen the gap in strength between martial artists and ordinary people.

When a person's Ren and Du meridians are fully opened, the Body Tempering Realm is completed, and they will enter the second realm—the Meridian Opening Realm.

However, since the founding of the Ming Dynasty, very few people have been able to reach the Opening Meridian Realm. Those who can reach the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm are enough to establish their own sect and stand out from the crowd.

For example, Ji Shouyi's ancestor who founded the Righteous Harmony Fist and carried it forward was at the ninth level of the Body Tempering Realm.

Yu Shaowu's efficiency in practicing the Boxer Rebellion was even higher than that of his ancestor. This is why Ji Shouyi treated Yu Shaowu so well and favored him.

As for how to internalize and retain the hidden strength of the Boxer Rebellion within the body, and how to refine the meridians, it is an extremely delicate practice. It requires not only verbal instruction but also demonstration.

Ji Shouyi saw Yu Shaowu as the hope for the revival of the Boxer Rebellion and told him everything he knew without holding anything back.

He was actually somewhat worried that Yu Shaowu would abandon him and the Tianxing Martial Arts School after fully mastering his skills. After all, people's hearts are not what they used to be these days; in the thousands of years of Chinese history, only three or five sages have ever emerged.

But for the sake of the rise of the Boxer Rebellion, he no longer cared.

Yu Shaowu knew this learning opportunity was hard-won, so he took a small notebook and eagerly absorbed Ji Shouyi's knowledge.

When he encounters a problem he really can't understand, he writes it down first and tries to figure it out later.

The two brothers, one teaching and the other learning, continued until dawn without showing any signs of fatigue.

After committing such a serious crime, Yu Shaowu never thought he could get away with it perfectly and was always preparing for the worst.

His greatest reliance is on personal improvement.