Republic of China era: A hundred-year-old still practicing martial arts? Is that right?

Under the moonlight, a graceful figure wore a red brocade cheongsam, and the jade on her pipe gleamed green.

The graceful figure held the jade pipe, but did not light it.

He stretched out his pipe, parted the paper window of the side room, and peeked inside.

A broken table, an old cabinet, a wooden bed, and a thin figure curled up on the bed, occasionally murmuring in his sleep.

"father……"

"mother……"

The pipe was retracted, and the window paper fell back into the distance.

Shen Jinluan came here to see what was so strange about the old man, but she couldn't even see him. Her beautiful eyes under her willow-leaf eyebrows couldn't help but show disappointment.

Her gaze swept over the furnishings in the courtyard once more.

A simple earthen stove stands beside two low-ceilinged houses.

Simple and unpretentious are enough to describe everything about the courtyard.

With a raised eyebrow, Shen Jinluan's gaze fell on the wooden stake that had been split in two.

She stepped forward and reached out to touch the broken part of the wooden stake. Under the moonlight, Shen Jinluan's eyes narrowed suddenly.

A single punch shattered it?

Late stage of meat refinement!

This old man is truly a master of disguise!

Since she couldn't see Lin Ji and her curiosity remained unanswered, Shen Jinluan didn't linger.

With a light touch of her feet, her graceful figure leaped onto the roof like a fluttering butterfly and disappeared into the night.

Only a faint scent of rouge lingered in the evening breeze.

……

After seeing Bai Xiaonian off, Lin Ji turned around and pushed open the door to go inside.

In the clay pot on the stove, a pale red, viscous medicinal liquid churned and bubbled.

Lin Ji carefully held the handle of the clay pot, poured the viscous medicine into a porcelain bowl, let it cool slightly, and then drank it down in one gulp.

In the warm medicinal liquid, the torrent of medicinal power transformed into a warm current, flowing along the eight extraordinary meridians to the limbs and bones. Lin Ji's face flushed red, and beads of sweat seeped from his forehead.

With the help of the medicine.

Lin Ji slowly began practicing Tai Chi inside the room.

After repeating it two or three times, his internal martial bones trembled slightly, stirring Lin Ji's emotions.

The scene of training in the martial arts field during the day is clearly visible.

Lin Ji's hand movements suddenly changed, no longer the circular and coiling movements of Tai Chi.

Instead, he learned from the image in his mind, lowered his waist and assumed a horse stance, and threw a punch.

Instantly! A powerful and domineering fist, carrying the force of the Chuishan Fist, exploded inside the room.

"Snapped!"

Unite our efforts.

"Slap! Slap! Slap!"

Three more punches!

After three punches landed, Lin Ji twisted his wrist, and the fierce punching force instantly snaked out. He lightly tapped his feet back and forth, stepping out in a Tai Chi stance.

The blend of strength and gentleness is seamless in him.

"Excellent! The Chuishan Fist is fierce and domineering, while Tai Chi is gentle and soft like water. One is strong and the other is soft, complementing each other."

After finishing a set of punches, Lin Ji clenched his fists tightly, his blood and qi surged, and his physical strength became even more solid.

Early the next morning.

As dawn broke and the sky began to lighten, Lin Ji pushed open the doors of the martial arts hall.

I just pushed open the door to the martial arts hall.

Gu Yanqiu stood at the door, dressed in a slightly sweat-dampened outfit. When Lin Ji opened the door, she stopped her punches and said, "I got up a little early. I was afraid of disturbing your rest, so I climbed over the wall to practice for a while."

As the vermilion gate was fully opened, Gu Yanqiu's gaze fell on Lin Ji: "Old sir, you look much better than yesterday."

Lin Ji's heart stirred slightly, but his expression remained unchanged, and his tone was calm: "It's rare to have such a quiet place in the martial arts hall; the old man is sleeping soundly."

Gu Yanqiu gave Lin Ji a deep look, neither agreeing nor disagreeing, then nodded and walked away.

During the day, Lin Ji, as usual, hunched over, sweeping the courtyard and guarding the gate.

As he swept the area outside the classroom where the theory class was being taught, Lin Ji's movements unconsciously slowed down.

The sound of preaching came from inside the church:

"Inhale evenly, exhale steadily; exhale to generate power when punching, inhale to store power when retracting the fist..."

"Keep your back straight, shoulders relaxed, elbows drooping, and hands clasped in a rounded shape..."

"These are all basic techniques for refining skin to the next level." Lin Ji leaned against the wall, his feet subtly tapping out rhythmic steps. He paused, then grinned and shook his head. "You're wrong about this!"

But Lin Ji did not leave from the base of the wall, and patiently listened to the entire lesson.

"Learning from the detours of others is always less effort than figuring it out on your own."

That night, Lin Ji brewed some medicine, poured it into his stomach, and once again used the medicine to start punching.

The punches were powerful and forceful, combining both strength and gentleness.

Lin Ji used the Chuishan Fist, but the domineering and fierce fist shadow was mixed with a touch of gentleness.

The internal martial bones trembled, merging the fierce power of Chuishan Fist with the gentle energy of Tai Chi.

The hard training of the previous day finally paid off, with the balance of strength and gentleness making Lin Ji's punches smoother and smoother.

After finishing his move, Lin Ji walked to the training ground, picked up a hundred-pound stone block with one hand, and steadily lifted it above his head.

The power has increased again!

……

The days at the martial arts academy were solid and regular.

Five days passed in the blink of an eye.

Lin Ji would stay at the martial arts hall every day, listening to the theories from outside the church window in the morning and watching the practice from the front of the hall in the afternoon.

At first, because the domineering force of Chuishanquan is the opposite of the gentle force of Taijiquan, I felt a little awkward in practicing Chuishanquan.

Today, standing in the front courtyard of the martial arts hall with a broom, I can clearly see every flaw of the students in the training ground.

"That kid, for days now, his shoulder loses power before he throws a punch."

"They can't even master this basic breathing technique; their breathing movements are completely disconnected."

……

Lin Ji glanced at the other side of the training ground.

The two boys looked quite young, and were a few years younger than Bai Xiaonian.

His muscles and bones were smooth and supple, and his fists were powerful and sharp, earning him high praise from the supervising instructors.

"Good young man, this is how a young man should be."

Lin Ji's eyes held a hint of envy.

In a corner of the training ground.

The bruises on Bai Xiaonian's face were fading, but new injuries appeared. His training clothes were soaked with sweat and stuck to his back.

The boy ignored everything, his eyes sharp as a blade, every punch and move displaying fierce power!

It looks like it won't be long before the product is ready.

Standing guard at the entrance of the martial arts hall, Lin Ji took in all of Bai Xiaonian's diligent practice over the past few days.

Spurred by Bai Yu'er's crisis, Bai Xiaonian trained like a madman, going to the training ground to practice his stances before dawn every day and not returning to the school dormitory until late at night.

Morning exercise over.

"Clang—Clang—"

The bronze bell tolled gently during the morning theory class.

The students were reluctant to leave, and they chased and played around in twos and threes, arms around each other's shoulders.

"Tomorrow's a day off! My dad said he'll take me to the south of the city for Peking duck!"

"I want to go see the street performers!"

……

The bronze bell rang three times, but half of the students were still lingering in the training ground.

The instructors, their faces grim, stood in front of the church, shouting at their students:

"Haven't you heard the school bell ring three times?"

"Get in the classroom, all of you!"

The students reluctantly shuffled into the classroom, dawdling along.

The classroom was even more chaotic.

The crumpled paper flew around overhead.

Two boys in the back row were wrestling with their arms, their faces flushed red.

"Quiet!"

Instructor Li slammed her lesson plan onto the podium, sending up a cloud of chalk dust.

"Look at the state of you all! Have you forgotten the rules of the martial arts hall? Forgotten the requirements of the no-martial-skills order? You think you don't have to work just because you have a day off tomorrow?"

The classroom finally quieted down.

"Today we'll discuss the crucial breakthrough from physical refinement to bone refinement, which is the key to whether you can even touch the threshold of internal energy in your lifetime..."

Outside the window, Lin Ji was sweeping a broom, idly brushing away imaginary dust from the ground.

Upon hearing this, Lin Ji's ears perked up, and he slowed down his movements.

"Refining the flesh cultivates abundant qi and blood; refining the bones requires understanding how to transform and strengthen them..."

"Only when you refine your bones to a deep level and your qi and blood seep into your bone marrow can you generate the first wisp of qi sensation. This is the threshold for you to reach the Ming Jin (manifest strength) level."

……

Outside the window, Lin Ji held his breath, his martial bones trembling violently.

The bronze bell of the martial arts hall rang once again!

"Clang—Clang—"

The students rushed out of the classroom in a swarm.

Several teenagers, holding newspapers, ran and shouted:

"Extra number! Extra number!"

"The day after tomorrow afternoon! The city's fighting arena! The Thirteen Protectors versus the foreigners!"