Divine Tang Era

After lunch, Xu Dan didn't rest. He immediately ran to find the carpenter who had renovated the inn last time to build the wall.

For convenience, he had the carpenter demolish and rebuild the walls surrounding the inn so that runes could be drawn on them. Once everything was arranged, he handed over the remaining chores to Yunniang and went to the Mo Clan Martial Arts School to learn martial arts.

"Bang!"

Xu Dan practiced the Demon-Subduing Fist according to Lu Shizong's instructions, and then threw the last punch at the wooden stake.

The mighty and fearless Behemoth, with its indomitable spirit, slammed into the wooden stake with tremendous force. With a deafening roar, the stake shattered into pieces. Spikes, sharp as ever, embedded themselves powerfully into the wall behind it, no different from before, only now deeper.

Lu Shizong nodded repeatedly, "You've mastered the Demon-Slaying Fist; you just need to practice more in the future."

When you concentrate your strength on one point and break the wooden stake in the middle, as if cutting through gold and jade, without leaving any wood chips, that is when you enter the realm of hidden strength.

The three levels of martial arts power are: Manifest Power, Hidden Power, and Transformative Power. Manifest Power is the ever-changing nature of force, extremely strong and powerful, fierce and formidable; Hidden Power is the yin within yang, containing softness within strength, concealing deadly intent; Transformative Power is the harmony of yin and yang, the mutual support of strength and softness, formless and invisible, killing without warning. These levels are the beginning of the transformation of qi and blood, the foundation for building an unbreakable legacy.

If you experience unusual changes within your body, don't be anxious; this is part of your martial arts growth process. Once these changes are complete, you will find that the world has changed.

Xu Dan didn't know what he meant, but seeing how mysterious he spoke, he nodded in agreement.

"From now on, you don't need to practice the Demon-Slaying Fist at the martial arts school anymore. Just practice it at home."

Starting today, learn about acupoints and meridians with me. The universe is a vast expanse, the human body a microcosm. Within this expanse, there are 365 acupoints, like the sun, moon, and stars, distributed throughout the body. There are also twelve meridians, like mountains and rivers, flowing through the entire body and reaching the earth. In the path of martial arts, ignorance of acupoints and meridians is like a scholar who cannot read—ultimately, one will not go far.

As Lu Shizong spoke, he led him to a house next to the courtyard.

The room was filled with various items such as martial arts equipment, weapons, books, and bronze figures, making it seem like a storage room.

Lu Shizong selected a bronze figure from among the many bronze figures, one that was about the same height as Xu Dan and contained a book recording acupoints and meridians. He then carried the bronze figure out of the house and into an empty room next door with tables and chairs.

"You will study here from now on."

Lu Shizong put down the bronze figure, pointed at it, and said, "The acupoints and meridians on it represent all the meridians in the human body. There are no tricks to learning these; it's all about rote memorization. You can only start learning swordsmanship when you've memorized them all; no one is an exception. Now, take the book and refer to the acupoints and meridians on it. I'll come back later." After saying this, he walked out.

Xu Dan picked up the book and saw the dense acupoints and meridians on the bronze figure, speechless.

I never imagined that even after two lifetimes, I still couldn't escape learning.

But what can we do?

Helpless, he could only refer to the books. Fortunately, he had been studying the books and bronze figures he brought back from the Mo family martial arts school recently, and he had memorized most of the acupoints and the twelve meridians. Otherwise, he didn't know how long it would have taken him to learn.

Xu Dan was reading a book while looking at the acupoints and meridians on the bronze figure.

The bronze figure was cast in brass, with twelve meridians engraved on it, each painted a different color, making them easy to identify. Each meridian's acupoint was inlaid with a transparent jade stone, giving the entire bronze figure a very noble appearance. Xu Dan couldn't help but feel curious and reached out to touch the jade stones.

"Baihui acupoint, also known as 'Sanyang Wuhui', belongs to the Governing Vessel. It is located on the head, 7 cun above the midpoint of the posterior hairline, directly above the tips of both ears, at the midpoint of the top of the head."

Suddenly, a voice came from the bronze figure.

Xu Dan was startled. What was that thing? It could even talk.

After waiting a while, the bronze figure still didn't speak, which didn't seem strange. So he stood in front of it and began to observe it carefully. Unfortunately, after looking for a long time, he still couldn't figure out where the bronze figure's voice was coming from. Suddenly, an idea struck him, and he pointed his finger at the bronze figure again.

"The Tanzhong acupoint, also known as Yuan'er, Xiongtang, Yuanjian, and Shangqihai."

It belongs to the Ren meridian, located on the anterior midline, level with the 4th intercostal space, at the midpoint of the line connecting the two nipples, on the body of the sternum.

"Guanyuan acupoint, also known as Dantian, Xiaji, Cimen, and Dazhongji, belongs to the Ren meridian. It is the meeting point of the three Yin meridians of the foot and the Ren meridian. It is located in the lower abdomen, on the anterior midline, 3 cun below the umbilicus."

......

Xu Dan nodded several times, and the bronze figures answered one by one.

After observing for a while, he finally discovered several small holes in the bronze figure's chest, from which the sound was emanating. It was a pity he couldn't remove it; otherwise, he would have really wanted to see how the bronze figure could produce sound in an era without any technology.

After a while, Lu Shizong came in and asked, "How do you remember?"

"That's about it."

"Then let me test you."

Instead of having Xu Dan memorize the book, Lu Shizong reached out and pressed acupoints on his body for him to identify. Xu Dan already remembered most of them, and since they were acupoints on his own body, which he had personally experienced, he remembered them even more clearly.

After testing you for a while, Lu Shizong said with satisfaction, "You recited it well, but there are still some mistakes. Remember to memorize it all when you get back. Once you've memorized it, I'll teach you how to disassemble bones and massage to heal injuries."

"Does your martial arts school teach these things?"

"certainly."

Lu Shizong said, "When we practice martial arts, we inevitably get bumps, bruises, sprains, and abrasions. If we don't treat them in time, the wounds will rot, bones will become dislocated or broken, and blood will accumulate in the body. Over time, this will develop into a serious illness, damaging our foundation and making it difficult to progress in martial arts. Therefore, when learning martial arts, we must also learn how to heal our injuries. If we don't understand anything and only learn some fist and foot techniques, we will only end up being a brute with some strength."

"clear."

Xu Dan nodded, then asked, "Senior brother, how can the bronze figure talk?"

"This bronze figure was crafted by a senior student from the Institute of Mechanical Engineering. Inside it is a spirit stone engraved with a communication talisman. The name of an acupoint is pre-recorded inside the talisman. As long as it is pressed on the jade stone, the jade stone will press against the runes inside, triggering the mechanism on the communication talisman to speak."

"Senior brother is really amazing, he even knows about this kind of thing," Xu Dan praised.

Lu Shizong was ashamed. "I only heard it from the senior brother who introduced me to the school. I was completely clueless and didn't know anything about it."

"The senior brother from the Mechanism Institute you mentioned, could it be the institute next door where they make mechanisms?"

"Yes. The senior brothers over there are actually from our martial arts school. They are all fellow students who feel they haven't achieved much in martial arts but are interested in mechanical arts. Although they live in two separate courtyards from the martial arts school, they are all part of the same entity. After completing their martial arts training, our martial arts school disciples generally have two options besides returning home or starting their own businesses."

One option is to enter the government agency to learn about the manufacture of government machinery. With this skill, one can make a living anywhere.

One option is to join a security escort agency.

Our Mo Family Martial Arts School's escort agency is considered quite reputable in Jingning City; many of our apprentices who have completed their training work there.

Xu Dan initially thought the martial arts school was just a place that charged money to teach boxing, but he was surprised to find that it also offered further education and employment, making it far more ethical than some of the schools he had seen.

"Alright, that's all for today. Go back and learn the rest on your own. Come back here and I'll test you again. If you pass, I'll teach you how to disassemble bones and perform massage therapy."

Xu Dan hadn't expected things to happen so quickly today. Sigh, sometimes there's nothing you can do about being too talented. So, he bid farewell to Lu Shizong and went to the pharmacy to get his medicine. Seeing that it was still early, he didn't go back, but instead went to the nearby government compound to find Dong Yeyu.

I had planned to give him the blueprints for the tricycle and the toy car for Xiao Que'er this morning, but he walked away so fast that I forgot.

Unfortunately, Dongye Yu is nowhere to be found and isn't home. Oh well, I'll just have to give it to him next time.