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

Inside the church, several young masters from prominent families surrounded Zhang Shijie, who was leaning against a bench.

Behind him, Si Tianhu skillfully kneaded Zhang Shijie's shoulder blades, his fingertips applying just the right amount of pressure, specifically targeting the acupoints where martial artists' shoulders and necks were sore and swollen. His posture was as humble as a servant's, his face full of flattery.

"These peasants are really shameless. They all talk about being righteous and upright now, but behind the scenes, they're all scrambling to curry favor with wealthy and powerful families."

"The dregs of medicine that Young Master Zhang casually throws away are enough for these poor bastards to use for a lifetime."

The mysterious death of Si Dezhao dealt a significant blow to Si Tianhu.

A few days ago, Si Tianhu was not only short of money, but he also lost his usual arrogance when he encountered students he used to bully.

It wasn't until the day of Si Dezhao's burial that Si Tianhu acknowledged Zhang Shijie as his elder brother. Only then did he resume his arrogant and domineering ways, showing no fear of losing his power. He developed a knack for flattery and fawning over Zhang Shijie.

Zhang Shijie was pleased with Si Tianhu's flattery and allowed his newly adopted brother to flaunt his power in the martial arts hall.

"Young Master Zhang."

Si Tianhu rhythmically tapped Zhang Shijie's shoulders and back with both hands, and Zhang Shijie comfortably squinted his eyes: "Go on."

"The Zhang family's businesses are spread throughout Jiangcheng and even extend to surrounding cities. They shouldn't lack martial arts resources like the Martial Arts Hall, right? Why would they specifically set up this martial arts competition?"

With a fawning expression, Si Tianhu leaned close to Zhang Shijie's ear and whispered a curious question.

Zhang Shijie lazily lifted his eyelids, a white jade pendant twirling in his hand, his tone full of disgust:

"Don't you think it's disgusting enough that you're breathing the same air as these peasants?"

"Martial arts are a skill that only the upper class are qualified to practice. They are born lowly, how dare they defile the martial arts with this, aspire to practice martial arts, and even think they can be on equal footing with me!"

In Zhang Shijie's view, those peasants were born to be confined to docks and car dealerships, and had no right to get involved in martial arts.

Si Tianhu quickly echoed, his hand continuously tapping on Zhang Shijie's shoulder:

"Young Master Zhang sees things clearly. They have nothing of value, so why give them a chance to compete with us?"

As the two were talking, several scions of prominent families entered the classroom, surrounding Zhang Shijie and his companions. They sat down in front of Zhang Shijie and his group, their faces full of flattery.

"Young Master Zhang, there's a peasant guy outside named Bai Xiaonian who just reached the Rank 1 level and broke through to the Skin Refining stage."

Zhang Shijie slowly raised his eyelids, looking at Si Tianhu with amusement: "Isn't this the prostitute's brother?"

Upon hearing this, Si Tianhu paused in his actions, his heart filled with horror; the thing he feared most had come to pass.

Bai Xiaonian breaks through!

"Tianhu, I'm telling you, you need to put in some effort. How come you can't even compare to a peasant?" Zhang Shijie waved his hand, dismissing Si Tianhu, and sat up.

Si Tianhu gave an awkward, sheepish smile. He knew his own limitations; the path of martial arts wasn't something that could be achieved simply through hard work. Quickly changing the subject, he realized that...

"Young Master Zhang, even before Bai Xiaonian reached the rank of Refining Skin, he could fight to a draw with ordinary Skin Refining cultivators. Now that he's broken through to the Skin Refining stage, those poor kids will probably send him to represent the Skin Refining stage in battle. We might just win another victory then!"

As soon as Si Tianhu finished speaking, Zhang Shijie burst into laughter.

"Seriously, Tianhu? You're terrified by a mere skin-refining expert from the Martial Arts Hall?"

"The Chuishan Fist set from the Martial Hall is riddled with flaws. Anyone can easily defeat it by learning a simple counter-fist. What's there to be afraid of?"

The worry in Si Tianhu's eyes faded, and flattery returned. Just as he was about to speak, Zhang Shijie waved his hand to stop him.

"You all go out, I want to be alone for a while too."

Si Tianhu dropped his flattery and followed the others out of the classroom.

Zhang Shijie looked out the window and his gaze fell on the heroic figure on the training ground in the distance.

The dashing figure was holding the arm of a poor boy, adjusting the boy's punching stance.

Seeing this, Zhang Shijie narrowed his eyes, a fierce glint in them:

"If the old man doesn't let me get closer to you, I won't come to a place where lowly people gather."

……

At noon in June, the blazing sun beat down on the bluestone floor of the martial arts hall.

The heat swept through the entire martial arts hall, causing even the most diligent and hardworking students to disappear from the training ground.

A rattan chair had appeared in Lin Ji's room at some point, and he was lying on it, squinting and fanning himself with a palm-leaf fan.

On the broken table next to it was a rough porcelain bowl that had been covered up, and the aroma of meat wafted from the rim of the bowl, filling the entire small house.

Lin Ji twitched his nose every now and then, afraid that the fragrance would escape from his small house, and pondered to himself:

We need to speed up the bone-refining process!

Li Jinsi's defeat has created a sense of impending doom in Jiangcheng these past two days.

The matter with the Sea Dragon Gang needs to be put on the agenda.

If that woman surnamed Shen doesn't come knocking on my door, I'll have to take the initiative to check her out.

The image of Shen Jinluan's stunning beauty flashed through Lin Ji's mind. His eyes narrowed slightly; there was always an inexplicable sense of danger about this woman. Then, Lin Ji muttered to himself:

I wonder how the arms ban is progressing.

The foreigners in Wuhan should be making a move soon.

We must improve our strength as soon as possible.

"Tap—tap—tap!"

A knocking sound came from the open door of the gatehouse, pulling Lin Ji out of his reverie.

Lin Ji opened his eyes and removed the palm-leaf fan from his face. Bai Xiaonian's familiar figure peeked in, glanced at him, and then came out carrying an iron lunchbox with two multigrain steamed buns.

Lin Ji looked up and saw that the lunchbox still contained stewed cabbage and pork.

Stepping inside, Bai Xiaonian snorted, "What's that smell? It smells so good!"

Lin Ji turned around, lifted the lid of the rough porcelain bowl on the table, and a rich aroma of meat wafted out.

"Braised pork!"

Bai Xiaonian's eyes narrowed suddenly. He looked down at the food in his bowl, and the food instantly lost its appeal.

"Where did you get the braised pork?"

Lin Ji grinned, keeping everyone in suspense as he asked, "That's all the old man can do. How else do you think I could have gotten it?"

"Tell a story?" Bai Xiaonian asked tentatively, puzzled.

Lin Ji sat up, picked up a piece of braised pork and stuffed it into his mouth, saying as he chewed:

"That's right! Chef Wang in the cafeteria also likes to hear stories. My stories are novel, so he's happy to listen. That's how I earn some money."

"Is it still Rainbow Cat and Blue Rabbit: The Seven Swordsmen?" Bai Xiaonian asked curiously, remembering that the last time Lin Ji pulled the lantern was this story.

"No, that's more suitable for adults... cough cough, let's not talk about that now."

Lin Ji opened his mouth to respond, but the three words were stopped by a cough. He hesitated and changed his words:

"Congratulations on breaking through to the Skin Refinement stage! You'll be a martial artist from now on!" This morning, the students in the training ground were giving you a huge round of congratulations.

Bai Xiaonian was still pondering what kind of adult story could be exchanged for braised pork when he heard the congratulations and instinctively responded.

"Thank you, Grandpa Lin."

Bai Xiaonian called out sincerely, then took out an item from his pocket and handed it to Lin Ji.

"This is for you."