The corner gives the wooden martial arts master, whose martial arts are equivalent to a harem.

"Then, Teacher Ling, how about I defeat the Chu Ci for you?"

Gu Chuanhen was like a fearless calf that had crashed into a haunted mass grave that was about to be leveled by the artillery company, running in a panic.

In fact, the ancient legend of hatred is like saying "Zongfang doesn't actually drink alcohol"—they have no idea what kind of martial arts monster Chu Ci really is.

"Okay." Ling Feixing nodded slightly, without saying anything more.

She simply sat down at the dining table and ladled two bowls of rice from the wooden bucket, which, even when packed tightly, were piled up like small mountains.

He ate one bowl himself and placed the other in front of Gu Chuanhen, who was seated.

The pretty older sister's manners were neither elegant nor rude. She ate and chewed slowly and deliberately, picking up food with her chopsticks and putting it into her mouth. The rice in her bowl was gradually shaving off at a relatively fast and even pace.

She picked up a piece of steamed pork with rice flour and thoughtfully placed it into Gu Chuanhen's rice bowl.

After putting away her chopsticks, she glanced to the left. The mountain was covered with trees, which at night transformed into strange and menacing shapes, like a giant maw of demons, breeding evil spirits and demons that ordinary people call "ghosts and gods".

With a hint of disdain, Fei Xing asked Gu Chuanhen, "Little Gu, have you ever heard a saying?"

"What are you saying?" Gu Chuanhen swallowed the food in his mouth and asked back.

"With Bajiquan and Piguazhang combined, even gods and ghosts are afraid."

She spoke as if she didn't even care about ghosts and gods.

He stretched slightly, making his body appear as if he were a monkey climbing vines on both banks, or even the Great Sage Equal to Heaven wearing the precious armor, boots, armbands, and crown of the Dragon Palace of the Four Seas.

Gu Chuanhen sensed it, causing Fei Xing's normally gentle and mild temperament to open up like molten iron in a steel mill, colliding with his soaring spirit to create a scorching temperature.

Ling Feixing's mere stretching of his body seemed to be linked to a grand spectacle of havoc in the Heavenly Palace originating from his spirit, as if the audience were witnessing the heavenly army breaking through the celestial court and shattering into pieces.

The cool mountain forest was unusually hot at night, and the rustling sounds from the shadows were no longer audible. Even the eerie trees seemed much more pleasing to the eye and obedient.

It was as if a whole horde of ghosts and spirits had been frightened away and dared not approach the mountain again.

Gu Chuanhen felt that something must have happened, but he wasn't sure what it was.

"Teacher Ling, do ghosts and gods really exist in this world?" he asked.

She replied, "The village party secretary forbade me to say."

This answer is somewhat ambiguous, like there is no answer.

It seems like there is.

-

The next day.

Gu Chuanhen cranked the well pulley, watching the hemp rope coil around and the bucket at the bottom of the well rise rapidly.

A 26-year-old woman standing to the side handed out the water she had prepared to the villagers, while various homegrown vegetables and fruits were piled on a cloth spread out on the ground beside her.

That's how social interactions work in the village. For example, in the old story, villagers would fetch water in exchange for various fruits and vegetables, and the villagers who fetched the well water would then carry the water to the brewer's house at the west end of the village to exchange for boiled water.

In traditional brewing and distillation, the water in the distillation vessel needs to be changed frequently. The main purpose of changing the water is to maintain cooling efficiency and ensure that the alcohol vapor can be fully liquefied into liquid alcohol.

In winter, villagers would spontaneously bring buckets to change the water, so they could wash clothes, vegetables, or take a bath; while in summer, they could mix hot water with cold water to make it lukewarm enough for their children to bathe.

"Thank you so much, Teacher Ling, and thank you for your help, Xiao Gu." The woman carrying water smiled and expressed her gratitude. "Did Teacher Ling teach Xiao Gu martial arts again today?"

"You're welcome, Aunt Wang," Teacher Ling replied with a smile. "Yes, I'm teaching Xiao Gu a new martial art today."

"Hey, I think Xiao Gu is a resilient and hardworking kid. He'll definitely amount to something great in the future," the woman said auspiciously, stuffing a handful of peanuts into Xiao Gu's pocket.

"Yes, this child will definitely become a great talent in the future," Teacher Ling replied tactfully.

"Thank you for the compliment, Aunt Wang." Xiao Gu thanked her politely, his face beaming with joy. Of course, a sixteen-year-old boy would be happy to be praised.

Just as Aunt Wang was walking back, Gu Chuanhen turned his head to look at Ling Feixing.

"Teacher, can I drink the fruit wine that Uncle Lai makes?"

"You can take a couple of sips and savor the taste." Ling Feixing smiled and talked about his childhood. "When I was little, my grandfather would dip his chopsticks in some fruit wine and let me taste it. It was made from watermelon. My grandmother would also make watermelon jam from watermelon rinds."

Her memories were happy, and she spoke of just the right amount of joy.

She stopped reminiscing briefly and then began her lesson.

"As I told you before, Bajiquan is a short-range fighting style, and its punches are powerful and fierce; while Piguazhang is a long-range style. Because the fist techniques often use the palm, it is also called Piguazhang. Its nature is soft. It can strike from a distance and strike up close, and it can be controlled freely."

Combining Bajiquan with Piguazhang is a balance of strength and flexibility, taking advantage of each other's strengths and compensating for each other's weaknesses, and can be used to fight at close, medium and long range.

Also, do you think the name "Great Sage Splitting the Heavens" is imposing?

The older sister gave a slightly mischievous smile and asked, "Is it imposing or not?"

The topic seems to have gone a bit off track. Shouldn't we be talking about boxing principles or something at this point? Gu Chuanhen thought to himself. And what's with that slightly wicked smile?

"That's pretty impressive." Despite the heavy load hindering his progress, he wasn't exhausted yet, so his voice was full of energy.

The fact that it can be prefixed with "Great Sage" speaks volumes about its prestige, right? It must be an old-school boxing style that existed as early as the Ming Dynasty, Gu Chuanhen thought to himself.

"Da Sheng Pi Gua, initially created during the Republic of China period, was founded by the elder Geng Dehai. He created it by combining the essence of his family's Pi Gua boxing with the monkey boxing passed down by the elder Kou Si."

Monkey Fist is the origin, and "Great Sage" is a borrowed name. However, although its essence is "monkey," you have to cultivate this "monkey" into a true Great Sage.

But you are human. If you want to transform from a 'monkey' into a true Great Sage, you must first transform yourself into a monkey.

Gu Chuanhen grasped the key point that made Feixing grin mischievously. He paused, his hand gripping the windlass handle, and asked hesitantly, "Could it be? I'm going to live with the monkey troop?"

"No, that's not true." Ling Feixing's answer relieved Gu Chuanhen.

"Ha~" He exhaled a breath.

"It means you should live like a monkey. You can start by watching animal documentaries, studying them, and then imitating monkeys."

"Hmph!"

Gu Chuanhen raised his breath again and uttered a loud "hum" and "ha".

"Teacher, you might as well let me live with a troop of monkeys," Gu Chuanhen muttered to himself. "With my current skills, I could probably fight my way up to the level of a monkey king."

Fei Xing looked somewhat helpless, but suppressed a laugh and turned his head away: "Actually, it was possible before, but the past is the past, and the present is the present."

"Then why not now?" Gu Chuanhen turned his head away, like an owl.

"Most monkeys living in the wild are first- or second-class national protected animals. Of course, there are also privately kept animals with permits, but they don't form a troop structure, and the spiritual essence they can learn is limited. Also,..."

Most invasive monkeys live in zoos. Do you really want to go to a zoo and live with monkeys, only to be seen by a high school girl and suffer social death?

Oh, this? That's a very practical reason.

"To be honest, around 2000, the regulations weren't too strict, and the higher-ups were quite supportive of the talent development program. So they turned a blind eye to martial artists practicing animal-style boxing. But after a certain martial artist surnamed Chu beat a group of golden monkeys half to death in order to learn monkey boxing, things became much stricter."

As for why he beat up a group of golden monkeys, it's because although Chu Ci wasn't popular with women, he was quite popular with monkeys. It's said that some female monkeys were jealous of him. After all, there's a different kind of worship of the strong in the animal world. Chu Ci trained like a monkey, but he was bigger than the average monkey, which made the female monkeys feel very safe.

So when mating season arrives, all the male monkeys go and beat him up; it's like going to jail and finding the most ruthless-looking person to beat up to establish authority, right?

Anyway, knowing the truth, I'm practically dying of laughter (๑˃̵ᴗ˂̵)و」

"What's with all the loud laughter? It's nonsensical! There's no need to say more. The strong who stand on this earth must accept challenges from the strong in the sky, the earth, the water, and even the earth's core! Even if it's double or triple the strength, can they still defeat them? Yes! Absolutely! Easily! Because that's the power of the strong! Domineering! Powerful!" (The word "powerful" is bolded and highlighted.)

Bajiquan represents the strong wielding their swords against the even stronger, truly embodying chivalry with tenderness as their courage—a resounding display of strength!

The sudden change in tone from the powerful figure made Gu Chuanhen not want to complain. What he wanted to complain about was the cheat code: the cheat code even used "mouth and teeth" as a suffix to describe it. Have you been corrupted by 990,000 horsepower of magnetic field power?

However, it's a bit disheartening that Bajiquan doesn't have a self-guided strategy to increase favorability, which makes Gu Chuanhen feel a little disappointed.

This feeling of loneliness is just like that of a girl who used to follow you around and call your name from time to time, and when you turn around, she smiles and says, "You can see me as long as you turn around~".

But gradually, she stopped calling your name and stopped smiling at you, and it was as if you couldn't see her even when you turned around.

It's true, just a tiny bit of disappointment.

Wait, what? Why is your cheat system starting to describe me? And with that youthful, melancholic literary flavor? I prefer older sister types like Misato Katsuragi! But speaking of which... I also really like rational older sisters like Ritsuko Akagi. I really don't understand what's wrong with people who like Rei Ayanami. Are they mother-fixators? Nonsense! A sarcastic comment on a classic case of resentment.

He didn't realize that he had also developed some of the verbal tics and vocabulary of a powerful person.

Putting aside his inner complaints, he asked Ling Feixing with a hint of curiosity as he cranked the waterwheel. He was genuinely curious about what happened to Chu Ci afterward.

"So what happened next? What happened then?"

"Afterwards, this martial artist received severe criticism, paid a fine, was detained for fifteen days, and was required to write a 10,000-word self-criticism. How could someone who dropped out of junior high school possibly produce 10,000 words?"

Seeing the person who defeated him suffer a setback was something Fei Xing could be happy about, and he couldn't help but laugh out loud. There was also a hint of smugness in his body language.

"Hahahaha." She laughed heartily, hands on her hips, a laugh that spoke volumes.

"So there really are people who skip school just to practice martial arts?" Xiao Gu said, while his mind was playing out "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber: The Demon Cult Leader".

It happened right after Zhang Wuji finished learning the Great Shift of the Universe and destroyed the stone wall that recorded the Great Shift of the Universe.

"Because those who came before me got caught in the rain, they tore up the umbrellas for those who came after. Chu Ci, you are so gentle, you are truly a good senior." Gu Chuanhen didn't know whether to express gratitude or grit his teeth.

No, it's less about "gentleness" and more about "terrifying"? What were his thoughts when he chose the arduous path of martial arts over the promising future of academics? Or was it a belief? Or perhaps the ancient philosophy of "the Way"?

Seeing Gu Chuanhen deep in thought, Fei Xing blinked, as if she could see through his thoughts.

She knew that Gu Chuanhen only learned martial arts to "supplement the family income" and "gain extra points in the college entrance examination," but she also trusted her own judgment.

In her eyes, Gu Chuanhen was only afraid of being exhausted; he didn't actually dislike learning martial arts. What does not disliking it mean? That's right, not disliking it means liking it.

The logic is crude and simple, but it does have some merit; at least if you don't dislike someone, your favorability rating will increase faster.

So Fei Xing stopped mocking the strongman who defeated her, and looked at Gu Chuanhen with her crescent-shaped eyes blinking, changing the subject back to martial arts.

"However, even the Great Sage's Splitting Palm technique has its own branch. I had you come to the well to fetch water so that you could grasp the essence of the Splitting Palm technique." After she finished speaking, her eyes suddenly became sharp.

The sharp gaze drifted to the end of the line for water.

There are now only three people left in line, and for someone with a long walking distance, the distance between them is no more than seven steps.

Seven steps away, someone revealed to Ling Feixing what was really going on.

"The wheelbarrow overturned."

The speaker was thin and short, with one leg longer than the other. The shorter leg was wearing high-top Martin boots with thick soles, which made the difference in leg length appear to be covered.

His face was rough, his fists were calloused, and his expression concealed a fierceness, along with a disdainful and sinister smile.

Just standing there, it gives the impression of a tiger that has come to life, its spirit as fierce as a tiger, its horns and scales resembling a dragon soaring within its body, its life force as coiled as a dragon.

The first impression Gu Chuanhen had of him was that he was like a dragon coiled and a tiger crouching.

As if they had encountered their natural enemy, the villagers fled the scene in terror.

Although not the primary target, Gu Chuanhen felt a chill creep down his spine, as if a ferocious dragon or tiger was eyeing him menacingly.

Unable to move, unable to stand, sweat pouring down his body, he could only exhale with a hum or a "ha" sound to keep his balance and prevent himself from collapsing to the ground.

His hands, having lost their strength, could no longer grip the crank handle of the well. Startled, he closed his eyes and saw only a residual image.

The hemp rope, coiled into loops, descended, while the crank kept turning, spinning relentlessly, plummeting downwards—the winch overturned.

"Master Feng Yuxiu, have you mastered the Secret Fist: Dragon Form Tiger God?" Ling Feixing stood in front of Gu Chuanhen.

Like a mother hen, she shielded the little chick Gu Chuanhen behind her back without turning her head, but simply reached out her fair and clean left hand to gently stroke the top of the short boy's head.

After the warmth of her palm soothed the boy's mind, she brushed away the insects from his collar and then straightened the slightly wrinkled fabric.

"I had a breakthrough on the brink of life and death a day ago." He appeared joyful, but could not hide the grief that had driven him to madness. Then, this grief was erased by his murderous words.

"The martial arts masters I know are all proficient in only one or two or three martial arts styles, unlike you promising talents who have absorbed the strengths of various schools. It's good to compete with them, but the life-or-death situations are still less exciting."

Now that you have surpassed us, I, Feng Yuxiu, have come to seek your guidance.

"You and I are destined to be different, and even to live or die."

He clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, with his right hand covering his left, a gesture known as the "bowing to the dead."

"The ancient legend of hatred, the fierce, savage, extremely fierce, godlike—do you understand now? No matter how you've been defeated, or how you've won, you'll witness this 'fierce martial art' today. It's that powerful! That domineering! That strong! How could anyone not love or dislike this universal and all-encompassing martial principle? Without the fighting spirit to become strong, how could a weak person skillfully apply this martial principle?"

You will then unleash your supreme domineering ambition to its fullest extent! To your heart's content, you will manipulate ferocity and violence to your heart's content!

You must treat him like a weak, pathetic paramecium in a mold and rape him mercilessly! Because the strong ruthlessly humiliate the weak!

A cold, manic smile appeared on the face of this unparalleled, powerful short-range boxing technique... followed by unrestrained, ferocious, and savage expression.

Pain, blood, and death will soon appear here.

It will then permeate all directions and all corners of the world, turning it into a land of ferocious beasts!

Even with his eyes closed, the golden finger projected words into the darkness of his vision, and the frenzied, wild punches violently shook his still-developing mind and body.

The female martial artist did not respond to the boy's obeisance; she sensed the boy trembling.

The older sister said softly, "Don't be afraid, my disciple, I'm here."

The female master, who had always addressed Gu Chuanhen as her student, changed her address for the first time, shattering the tremor in her mind caused by the fierce and violent words.

Perhaps she knew that if she didn't say it now, she might never be able to say it again.

She didn't want to address Gu Chuanhan as "disciple" or "apprentice" simply because she—

Ling Feixing shook his head, inwardly mocking himself: "Ling Feixing, it's not like you to be so stubborn at a time like this."

She ultimately didn't want to explain why she was only changing her tune now.

Her next words calmed the fearful boy's mind.

"As long as you open your eyes, you can see me in front of you."

Gu Chuanhen opened his eyes and saw the martial artist in front of him standing tall and straight, like a mountain composed of various fist techniques.

Then, the mountain that had transformed from fists into martial arts came to life.

In a flash, a tall, upright figure disappeared, and the blinding summer sunlight pierced my eyes.

He only saw two fists meet seven steps away.

Their fists clashed like needles against wheat awns, and the surging air from their fists stirred up sand and stones.

Fine particles were driven into the wooden barrel, and upon closer inspection, many tiny fragments were already broken up.

The cracked, ink-splashed cement floor caused the glass in the surrounding buildings to vibrate and hum.

A "crack" sound was heard, and cracks had already appeared in the glass.

And the martial artists also displayed their skills.

The ancients were so meticulous that they didn't want to blink, for fear of missing anything.

"Is this the world of martial artists?"

As he murmured, a strange, inexplicable surge of emotion welled up within him.