Extraordinary Realm from Persuasion System

Chapter 79: Chapter 76: You’re so talented, it makes me seem useless.

After a round of formalities, Elder Chen walked at the front with his hands clasped behind his back, smiling. Liu Yi followed right behind Elder Chen, and Zhang Beixing walked behind Liu Yi. Such an arrangement made the identity and status of each man instantly recognizable.

The three of them walked out the door. The moment Elder Chen appeared, the noisy chattering outside ceased instantly. Only faint breathing could be heard, proving the presence of the people outside. Realizing this, Zhang Beixing peered from behind Liu Yi and took a quick glance. He saw that more than a dozen people were standing in front of the door, looking at Elder Chen and Liu Yi with respect.

These people varied in height and build. The oldest among them appeared to be in their forties, but due to their practice of the Eight Pieces of Brocade, they looked much younger; their actual age was probably over fifty. The youngest appeared to be only in their teens. However, one thing puzzled Zhang Beixing: why were there no women among the group? It was entirely made up of men.

What’s going on? Zhang Beixing wondered. Is the Chen Family a monastery?

Witnessing this, Zhang Beixing maintained a composed demeanor, but internally he was pondering.

Sensing his thoughts, Elder Chen glanced around, frowning slightly before turning to the Steward and asking, ”Why only these people? Didn’t I ask you to call everyone, including Rourou and the others?”

Hearing this, the Steward was taken aback, his expression troubled. His gaze wandered, avoiding eye contact with Elder Chen. Seeing him like this, Elder Chen’s expression grew even darker. Just as he was about to press further for answers, a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties stepped forward from the crowd, bowing to Elder Chen and saying, ”Father, considering that Rourou and the other girls have not been trained and might not keep up with us, I let them depart earlier.”

Fortunately, Elder Chen was not an unreasonable man. After thinking it over, he found the reasoning sound and gestured for the man to stand up. Otherwise, had it been another old man who was very rigid, he would have surely reprimanded him right then.

Of course, besides not being rigid, another factor for Elder Chen’s lenience was the presence of Liu Yi and Zhang Beixing. As previously mentioned, Martial Artists are a very protective group. And protectiveness can also be interpreted as being concerned about face. Although Elder Chen and Liu Yi shared a close personal relationship and did not normally mind such things, the problem was that it wasn’t only Liu Yi who had come this time. Zhang Beixing, Liu Yi’s disciple, was also there! And it was their first meeting today. He surely could not reprimand his own family in front of him on their first meeting! What would this young man think of him then?

***

Despite this little mishap, it did not hinder Elder Chen’s eagerness to spar. He called on Liu Yi and Zhang Beixing to proceed to the martial arts training field together.

On the way, Elder Chen, leading the way, chatted with Liu Yi, who was half a step behind him, about the happenings of recent years. Liu Yi responded, also sharing his own experiences. Zhang Beixing and the middle-aged man from earlier walked side by side, half a step behind the two.

Technically, given his age, Zhang Beixing should not have been in that position. But the issue was, among Martial Artists, what matters is not age but seniority and strength! Zhang Beixing’s strength aside, Liu Yi held a high rank and was treated as an equal by Elder Chen, the two being close friends regardless of age. Thus, this also positioned Zhang Beixing, Liu Yi’s disciple, quite high in the ranks within the Chen Family. He could be considered on equal footing with Elder Chen’s eldest son!

How come this brother looks somewhat familiar? Glancing at him out of the corner of his eye, Zhang Beixing was somewhat perplexed. He was absolutely certain that whether in his past life or this life, he had never met the man before. Yet, looking at the man’s face, Zhang Beixing felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity, which he found very strange.

Just as Zhang Beixing was scrutinizing the middle-aged man, the middle-aged man also slightly turned his head, examining Zhang Beixing thoughtfully.

”Brother, have we met before?” Unable to hold back any longer, Zhang Beixing initiated a conversation. Considering the matter of seniority, Zhang Beixing could not present himself as a junior, as it would be an affront to Teacher Liu, which was crucial in their circle. Zhang Beixing took this seriously. Moreover, raising his own status out of the blue wasn’t a bad thing—after all, who wants to be considered lesser, right?

”Brother, forgive my poor eyesight, but I do not think we have met,” the man responded in kind, addressing him as brother. He couldn’t be abrupt since this was Master Liu’s disciple. He then asked, ”May I know how to address you?”

”I am Zhang Beixing.” He then declared himself the sole disciple of Teacher Liu, practicing Yue Family Boxing. Zhang Beixing didn’t hesitate to embellish his status; after all, he rationalized, he was indeed Teacher Liu’s student at Shi University, so it wasn’t entirely false.

”Sole disciple? I’ve long heard of you! I am Chen Fenghua, and my father is Chen Hongguo.”

”Your esteemed father is Chen Taishan? I’ve long admired him! Let’s spar more often. Since we’re both in Shishi, we should get out and drink together often.”

”That... sounds good!”

Having finished their mutual flattery, the group walked on and gradually fell silent.

After about ten minutes, they finally stopped in front of a suspension bridge. The bridge wasn’t very long, just over thirty meters. However, it had no railings on either side, and only a few dozen sturdy wooden planks, each about two feet wide, were hanging there, serving as footholds. Such a bridge would probably start to sway with even a slight increase in wind, let alone support people standing on it.

Glancing at the bridge, the slowly flowing Lily Waters below it, and the protective measures on the side, Zhang Beixing raised his eyebrows, not quite understanding why such a thing was designed.

Noticing the change in his expression, Elder Chen immediately understood what he was thinking. Thus, he looked at Zhang Beixing and asked, ”Zhang, my nephew, are you curious why such a peculiar bridge was designed in front of this martial arts training ground?”

”This junior is ignorant. Kindly enlighten me, Elder Chen!” Zhang Beixing bowed slightly, clasping his hands in response.

Elder Chen chuckled and said, ”Since you are curious, my young friend, let me introduce it to you. This suspension bridge is named the ’Entry into Martial Arts Bridge.’ It was invented by my Chen Family ancestors to test whether the Chen descendants have properly mastered their lower body fundamentals. If they succeed in crossing, they can achieve Entry Level and learn our Chen Family’s ancestral Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade. If they fail, they must return and train diligently.”

He continued, ”To this day, this bridge has been around for three hundred years and holds significant meaning for our Chen Family. Thus, every five years, we invite people to renovate it.”

So that’s how it is! Zhang Beixing suddenly realized. He thought to himself, Learning martial arts sure is troublesome.

At the same time, he silently felt fortunate that Yue Family Boxing was the first Martial Art he encountered, rather than this Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade. Otherwise, with Zhang Beixing’s previous capabilities, just this entry-level threshold would likely have stumped him for at least two weeks!

Upon reflection, Yue Family Boxing, although strenuous on the body, also has its merits! At least it’s simpler to practice! Zhang Beixing pondered this silently.

It was a good thing Liu Yi didn’t know his thoughts; otherwise, Liu Yi would undoubtedly have smacked the back of Zhang Beixing’s head a few times to bring him to his senses.

***

Any martial art requires a period of basic training upon entry, for the master to determine from your performance whether you can learn that martial art and whether to take you as a disciple. And Yue Family Boxing, being a Martial Art primarily focused on combat, has foundational training that is naturally much harder compared to health-preserving Martial Arts like the Northern Sect Eight Pieces of Brocade. In addition to practicing the Horse Stance as the most basic requirement, one must also train finger strength and reaction speed.

It was only because Zhang Beixing was lucky enough to encounter Liu Yi when he was thinking of retiring from the pugilist world that he received the Yue Family Boxing Martial Arts Secret Manual from Liu Yi, allowing him to master Yue Family Boxing. Otherwise, if he had followed the regular training process, Zhang Beixing, let alone reaching the ’Integration’ level for Yue Family Boxing, probably wouldn’t have even achieved Entry Level yet. He would still be at the training ground daily, practicing the Horse Stance, finger strength, and reaction speed!

”Brat, can you make it across? If not, stick with me, I’ll lead you,” Liu Yi whispered to Zhang Beixing, tilting his head slightly after Elder Chen finished introducing the ’Entry into Martial Arts Bridge.’

From his words, Zhang Beixing was taken aback, sensing Liu Yi’s almost overflowing skepticism. His pride was instantly pricked.

Hold on. Does Teacher Liu still think I’m the same Zhang Beixing from over half a month ago? I’m now at least at the ’Integration’ level, not to mention I’ve been diligently training my lower-body strength for a while! Isn’t he underestimating me a bit too much?

Zhang Beixing gave Teacher Liu a sidelong glance and said nothing.

At this moment, as the Chen Family descendants began crossing the bridge one by one, CREAK, CREAK sounds followed. As they moved, the bridge swayed more and more drastically and unpredictably, which was exactly where the difficulty of the ’Entry into Martial Arts Bridge’ lay.

But Zhang Beixing ignored it all. He took a step forward, his foot pressing down on a wooden plank, feeling the wobble beneath him.

He smirked internally. It seems a bit harder than just walking a tightrope, but it’s much easier than practicing boxing on a wire! Is that all?

He had thought it would be much harder. Now, it seemed it was nothing special after all!

Standing on the ’Entry into Martial Arts Bridge,’ Zhang Beixing looked completely at ease, as if he were walking on flat ground. He even had the leisure to turn around and raise an eyebrow at Teacher Liu.

Seeing this, Elder Chen’s eyebrows rose slightly, visibly surprised. Because of preconceived notions, although Elder Chen kept calling him ’Zhang, my nephew,’ deep down, he, like Liu Yi, didn’t think highly of Zhang Beixing. After all, Zhang Beixing had been practicing martial arts for less than a month. He was still at a stage comparable to an infant who hadn’t yet learned to crawl. Challenging him to cross the ’Entry into Martial Arts Bridge’ was indeed asking a bit much of him. He had assumed that faced with their Chen Family’s ’Entry into Martial Arts Bridge,’ Zhang Beixing would cower, seek Liu Yi’s help, or simply struggle through and humiliate himself.

But the reality was, Zhang Beixing’s legs seemed glued to the bridge. No matter how much it swayed, he remained unshakably stable, unaffected in the slightest. In contrast, those Chen Family descendants in front, who were around Zhang Beixing’s age and had spent years strengthening their lower bodies and Horse Stance skills, were now awkwardly staggering on the bridge, their bodies contorted as they struggled to move forward.

This...

”Interesting!” Elder Chen exclaimed. ”Solid lower body foundations! The young man is good!”

He then turned to Liu Yi, asking with keen interest, ”Brother Liu, did you teach him these lower body techniques?”

Hearing this, Liu Yi was completely stunned! Though Zhang Beixing verbally claimed to be his disciple, Liu Yi knew in his heart that he really wasn’t. He had simply given Zhang Beixing a ’Yue Family Boxing’ Martial Arts Secret Manual and had demonstrated Yue Family Boxing to him once in the small woods! The reason Zhang Beixing mastered Yue Family Boxing was purely through his own efforts and talent. He certainly hadn’t taught Zhang Beixing or specifically trained his lower body skills.

Perhaps this kid doesn’t even know what lower-body skills are, Liu Yi thought.

What the heck is going on? Clearly, when I watched the surveillance footage earlier, Zhang Beixing’s stance wasn’t this stable. How has his lower body skill become so solid in just half a month?

Watching Zhang Beixing stand at the bridgehead looking back at him smugly, Teacher Liu took a deep breath, gave him a stern look, and muttered inwardly, Good lad. Let’s see you take a few steps then!