The next day,
Four Seas Martial Arts Hall.
Huang Sihai gathered everyone together and asked, "Besides Liu Chun, who else has broken through to Purple Membrane?"
Liu Chun stood proudly among the crowd, basking in the envious looks around him.
"Me!" Big Silly Qiang bared his arm. The thick, solid skin and membrane had taken on a purplish-blue sheen, heavy and full of power. That purplish-blue hue was the hallmark of newly entering Purple Membrane.
"Purple Membrane? Big Silly Qiang is that impressive?" the students murmured in admiration.
"Master, leave this hall visit to me!" Big Silly Qiang declared proudly.
Huang Sihai showed a hint of gratification. "Not bad. Reaching Purple Membrane within two months of entry might not match the makings of a superior, but among ordinary men, it's definitely outstanding."
Liu Chun smiled. "Big Silly Qiang has what it takes. On top of that, he has innate divine strength. If I hadn't reached Black Membrane not long ago, I really might not be his match."
He seemed to be praising Big Silly Qiang, but in truth he was flattering himself, quietly letting everyone know he had already reached Black Membrane.
"What? Black Membrane? Black Membrane in three months?" The others were indeed stunned.
"Senior Brother Liu Chun will definitely go up to the second floor this year," Ah Zhen said, giving a thumbs-up.
"What about you? Made it to Purple Membrane yet?" Huang Sihai asked Ah Zhen.
"Almost, Master," Ah Zhen replied, hanging her head.
"Your talent isn't worse than Big Silly Qiang's—you just lack diligence. If you had even half of Ah Wen's dedication, you would have reached Purple Membrane long ago." Huang Sihai shook his head.
"Ah Wen is just too diligent. It's like learning martial arts is fun for him," Ah Zhen said with a shrug.
Liu Chun sighed. "Unfortunately, diligence cannot overcome one's innate physique. In the martial path, talent is everything in the end. Diligence without talent is ultimately like drawing water with a wicker basket—all for nothing."
Big Silly Qiang looked at the silent Ah Wen in the corner and said, "Senior Brother Chun, those words will hurt Ah Wen's feelings... With hard work and diligence, great talents mature late."
Huang Sihai also frowned. "Those with talent in this world are a minority, after all. For ordinary people, diligence is the only way out."
He also knew that with talent like Li Xiuwen's, it was hard to achieve great things. But as a senior brother, Liu Chun shouldn't say such things openly.
If he talked like that and disheartened Li Xiuwen and the ordinary disciples into dropping out, what then?
Wouldn't that hurt his business?
So while Liu Chun was good in every other way, his temperament and conduct left something to be desired.
He was only sixteen, from a wealthy family, had never needed to manage a household early on, and lacked life experience.
"My apologies, I spoke too bluntly," Liu Chun said with a bow, realizing his words had carried a sting.
Huang Sihai asked, "Ah Wen, are you confident about reaching Purple Membrane this month? With two fish balls helping you, there shouldn't be any problem, right?"
Li Xiuwen smiled. "I'm confident."
Liu Chun raised his eyes and looked at Li Xiuwen, thinking to himself, *He's actually eating fish balls to accumulate blood and qi? What's his angle—competing with me for the second floor?*
It was common knowledge that fish balls were toxic and generally not used except for breakthroughs.
To build blood and qi in everyday training, bitter practice was best to establish a solid foundation.
Ah Wen's approach was no different from pulling up shoots to help them grow.
The martial arts world was much like the fitness world, possessing an unspoken chain of contempt: bitter practitioners looked down on pill-poppers.
On second thought, Liu Chun considered, *Downing two fish balls without even having reached Purple Membrane yet—he's destined to fail. Nothing to fear from him.*
Huang Sihai nodded and said, "Today I want you all to get a clear understanding of the Night Heron style, as well as the Four Talents of Pine Hall that I've scouted out.
Gaojiao Qi, Wen Wu, Hei Gou, Tian Er... These four are Night Heron Martial Arts Hall's most outstanding prospects this year."
...
By evening,
Li Xiuwen went to an herbal pharmacy and spent twenty dollars buying ingredients for a dose of Blood-Transforming Paste.
Using them sparingly, this would be enough for one day of cultivation.
He had only four hundred dollars left, and he only planned to spend one hundred on this trial.
The remaining three hundred could not be touched, or he would go hungry this month.
In fact, for the first layer of the Armor-Binding Art to show remarkable results, one would have to spend over a hundred dollars a day.
Although Blood-Transforming Paste was a secret medicine, concocting it wasn't difficult.
Li Xiuwen used the clay pot his aunt used for stewing soup and simmered it over a gentle flame for an hour.
Once cooled, it congealed into a pot of jujube-red gelatin, much like pork skin jelly.
"What are you making?" his aunt asked curiously.
"Brewing medicine. It aids my cultivation," Li Xiuwen said with a smile.
"How much did this pot cost?"
"Twenty."
"Martial arts really is hard..." His aunt sighed with emotion and walked away.
With the Blood-Transforming Paste prepared, Li Xiuwen grabbed a quarter-pound hammer and headed up to the rooftop.
"Forty for a small hammer, eighty for a big one..."
Following the essential points of the Armor-Binding Art, he began circulating his internal arts. While striking himself, he sensed the flow of the so-called blood and qi within his body.
The principle of the Armor-Binding Art was to transport blood and qi from all across the body along the meridians to the skin and membrane at the surface for tempering,
raising the skin and membrane's resistance to blows to the absolute peak of the current realm.
The so-called external conditioning, in the context of this world, literally meant horizontal training—an extreme enhancement across the horizontal dimension!
After practicing for a while, Li Xiuwen realized something was off.
*If I circulate my energy, I can't strike myself properly. If I focus on striking, I can't circulate the technique...*
*Cultivating this hard qigong really requires an assistant dedicated to the strike-beating.*
...
A short while later,
Li Xiuwen brought his aunt up to the rooftop. He handed her the hammer and took off his jacket.
His aunt couldn't help laughing. "In all my life, I've never heard of such a request."
Ah Wen was actually asking her to hit him with a hammer.
Li Xiuwen said, "Aunt, except for Uncle, don't let anyone else know about this."
"I know. Should I strike now?" She raised the small hammer.
"The hammer is very light, and you don't have much strength, so just hit me as hard as you can. Strike wherever I tell you to. Start with both arms," Li Xiuwen instructed.
*Clang!*
The hammer came down.
It was an iron hammer after all. Even though light, striking flesh still hurt considerably.
Through the Green Membrane, it left behind a purple welt.
"Does it hurt?"
"If it didn't hurt, why bother practicing martial arts? Keep going, put some force into it!"
"Alright, I'll hit harder then."
On the rooftop, Li Xiuwen silently chanted the mnemonic chant for the first layer of cultivation.
"Close the Earth Door, block the Mysterious Female, let qi flow to Yongquan like sinking roots..."
His aunt tapped and struck him in a measured rhythm following his directions.
...
Late at night,
his uncle returned from finishing work at the factory and came up to the rooftop. "Why are you hitting Ah Wen? What did he do wrong?"
"You probably won't believe it, but Ah Wen asked for it himself... Here, I'm tired, take over for me."
After a brief explanation, his uncle joined in as Li Xiuwen's assistant.
With the mixed doubles hammering him for two hours, the major muscle groups all over Li Xiuwen's body took on purplish-blue bruises and swelled up red.
"Is this really practicing martial arts? It's not some demonic art, is it?" His uncle had read plenty of martial legends.
"This is exactly how it's practiced. Don't worry, with my constitution, I'll apply the ointment, sleep through the night, and be fine tomorrow," Li Xiuwen said.
His aunt said, "Alright, but go easy on yourself, Ah Wen. I'm worried sick about you."
Li Xiuwen asked, "Did Brother Ji show up today?"
"No. Could he really have been killed by someone?" His aunt was somewhat puzzled too.
"That would be for the best." His uncle sighed and turned to leave.
...
That night,
Li Xiuwen applied the medicinal paste and lay in bed, tossing and turning for a long time before falling asleep.
The pain was one thing, and still manageable.
The hardest part to endure was the itching!
His muscles felt as though they were sprouting, shooting outward relentlessly.
He did not move, yet a faint, rustling sound emanated from his skin and membrane.
Li Xiuwen was overjoyed. According to the manual's description, this meant the training had hit the mark.
With hard qigong, one underwent strike-beating by day; while sleeping at night, the meridians automatically transported the paste's energy to repair the injuries and bolster blood and qi.
Sure enough, when he woke up the next day,
Li Xiuwen moved his sore body, ate breakfast to replenish his energy, and looked toward the incense burner.
A new stick of incense stood upright, curling with wisping blue smoke.
[Li Xiuwen]
[Martial Skill]
[Armor-Binding Art: Entry (1%)]
Chapter 22