Arhat Fist

"Come on, drop into a horse stance, get your posture right, and let's start learning Arhat Fist." Lu Yang copied Meng Jingzhou's previous movements, sinking his qi into his dantian, throwing his chest out, holding his head high, stepping half a pace to the left with his left foot, and tracing an arc with both palms. "Ha!" "Not loud enough! Again!" "Ha!" "Louder!" "Ha!" Lu Yang's shouts grew louder and louder until they finally met Meng Jingzhou's standard. "Master taught me that shouting in battle is a way to cast off your restraints. The louder you yell, the better you can unleash your true strength—or even surpass your ordinary power." "When throwing a punch, keep your arm level with your line of sight." "Clench your fists tight. Imagine you're gripping a pebble in your hand, squeezing it with all your might as if trying to crush it to powder." These were the pointers Third Elder had taught Meng Jingzhou when he learned fist techniques, and now Meng Jingzhou passed them all on to Lu Yang. "Arhat Fist emphasizes harmony between upper and lower body, your steps following your hands, and balancing firmness with gentleness in your force. Your moves are too stiff! Link them together, make them fluid!" Meng Jingzhou pointed out Lu Yang's mistakes one by one and corrected them. These were all common errors in fist training. Lu Yang had quite a talent for martial arts, as proven when it took him less than half a day to learn Imitation Fist and another half day to improve it into Lu Clan Imitation Fist. "The sea of bitterness is boundless; turn back and there is the shore!" Lu Yang quickly got the hang of it. A monk-like benevolence appeared between his brows, making him look like a great philanthropist at first glance. Meng Jingzhou's earnest teachings echoed in Lu Yang's ears: "Master told me that Arhat Fist is a martial art meant to persuade people toward goodness. As the saying goes, 'The sea of bitterness is boundless; turn back and there is the shore.' If a single set of fist forms can make someone lay down their butcher's cleaver and turn toward virtue, then your Arhat Fist has attained great accomplishment. "It's just a pity that mortals are mostly foolish, unable to lay down their weapons and dedicate themselves to goodness. That's why in all of history, only two or three people have ever mastered Arhat Fist to great accomplishment." Meng Jingzhou held one hand before his chest, genuinely looking the part of an accomplished, eminent monk. "When learning Arhat Fist, your state of mind is also crucial. It's best to imagine yourself as a Buddhist disciple. When I was learning it, I even studied Buddhist sutras for a while for that very reason." "Reciting Buddhist sutras?" Lu Yang felt he had vaguely caught onto the method. Lu Yang didn't need to learn any sutras on the spot. Back when he was in the Scripture Pavilion, he had browsed through Buddhist sutras like the Diamond Sutra, the Wisdom King Sutra, and the Heart Sutra in his spare time—their sleep-inducing effects were top-notch. He slowly closed his eyes, and the delicate, pretty face of the Immortal Fairy appeared in his mind. Dressed in beige pajamas, the Immortal Fairy tilted her head, meeting Lu Yang's gaze. "...Fairy, could you stand off to the side of my spiritual space? I'm trying to recall some Buddhist sutras." "Oh." With the Immortal Fairy out of his line of sight, Lu Yang began to recall the sutras. Passages from the Diamond Sutra, the Wisdom King Sutra, and the Heart Sutra surfaced before his mind's eye. Lu Yang pondered and grasped the mindset of the scriptures' authors, immersing himself in their state of mind. In reality, Meng Jingzhou looked at Lu Yang in astonishment. Lu Yang's eyes were tightly shut. His movements were slower than before, resembling an old man withered like dried wood, yet every gesture and step carried the aura of a benevolent, eminent monk. Could it be that this kid Lu Yang is suited for the monastic life? Meng Jingzhou secretly wondered. As Lu Yang's comprehension of the sutras and Arhat Fist deepened, his movements became increasingly fluid, flowing like clouds and water without the slightest pause. It was as if he had practiced them hundreds or thousands of times, the forms long memorized by heart and turned into pure instinct. Bang! Bang! With every punch Lu Yang threw, the air burst with explosive cracks. Faint Buddhist chants echoed around him, as though an old monk were reciting scriptures in the void, teaching the world to treat others with kindness. With his eyes closed, Lu Yang practiced his forms from dawn to dusk. Seeing that he had nothing left to teach, Meng Jingzhou squatted off to the side, waiting to see when this punk Lu Yang would finally open his eyes. "Phew—" Finishing a full routine, Lu Yang drew a deep breath to finish his practice and opened his eyes. His pupils were clear, bright, and spirited. "You've mastered it?" Meng Jingzhou stared at Lu Yang in shock. It had taken him three whole days to learn it, yet this kid had pulled it off in just one day? Where was the justice in that? "Only a modest accomplishment," Lu Yang said modestly. "Let's spar." Meng Jingzhou's hands itched. He wanted to see how well Lu Yang had learned. He refused to believe that after practicing for over half a month, he couldn't beat Lu Yang, who had only learned for a day! "Let's try it, then." Lu Yang's hands were itching as well; he wanted to spar and gauge his own level. Exchanging a glance, both took their stances and unleashed Arhat Fist in unison, engaging in a pure clash of technique. "Black Tiger Steals Heart!" "Black Tiger Steals Heart!" "Downward Smashing Hammer!" "Downward Smashing Hammer!" Fists and feet collided with ferocious power, bursting across the arena like claps of thunder and rattling the leaves of the ancient trees around the martial arts field with rustling noise. With identical moves and matched strength, they fought with reckless abandon, unable to determine a victor for the time being. "Who would've thought? After just one day of practice, you've already entered the threshold of Arhat Fist just like me. Who knows, maybe one day you'll reach great accomplishment and persuade people toward goodness!" "Just pure luck," Lu Yang said, though the smug expression plastered across his face had nothing whatsoever to do with luck. Just as Lu Yang was about to play modest for a few more sentences, his gaze inadvertently drifted to the crown of Meng Jingzhou's head, and his expression shifted slightly. "What's wrong? Is there something on my head?" Meng Jingzhou asked, utterly baffled. "N-nothing's wrong." Lu Yang's eyes darted away, looking like someone with a guilty conscience. Meng Jingzhou eyed Lu Yang suspiciously and subconsciously reached up to touch his head. Wait. Was something missing from his head? "Where's my hair?!" Meng Jingzhou fished a small mirror from his identity jade pendant and inspected his head for a long time. His head was slick and smooth—even a sparrow would slip trying to land on it. He was bald. Just like an arhat. Inside the spiritual space, the Immortal Fairy was doubled over with laughter. "Lu Yang, you better explain this to me! What the hell happened?!" Meng Jingzhou's immediate reaction was to suspect Lu Yang. His hair was part of his Body Tempering! How could it fall out for no reason? He only just noticed that the ground around his feet was littered with clumps of hair—freshly fallen. "I-I don't know either! While we were sparring just now, I noticed your hair was falling out super fast. By the time I wanted to warn you, it was already all gone!" Lu Yang panicked a little. He truly had no idea what had gone wrong. At that point, Lu Yang seemed to figure something out, struck by sudden enlightenment. "I get it now!" "Get what?" "Think about it. Isn't the purpose of Arhat Fist to persuade people toward goodness? And where does evil come from? From worldly troubles! Buddhism talks about the 'three thousand strands of trouble.' Once those three thousand strands are gone, there's no more malice, so one can turn toward goodness! "Besides, look at you now—you look just like an arhat! It goes great with Arhat Fist!" Hearing that, Meng Jingzhou pounced at Lu Yang like a starving tiger lunging for prey. "You're the one who looks like an arhat!" Conscience-stricken, Lu Yang took off running. "Mine has reached great accomplishment! You can't hit me!" "That's not Arhat Fist at all, that's a head-shaving technique! Get back here!"