Urban Martial Saint

At this point, Tie Yongwen regained his spirit and turned to Gao Shusen, saying, ”Shusen, go put on a protective barrier and let’s test the boxing technique!”

”Yes!” Gao Shusen hurried into the inner room and before long, he emerged clad in protective gear, with even his head wrapped securely. He approached Tie Yongwen and got into a stable horse stance.

Tie Yongwen declared loudly, ”Northern Fist is known for its wide-open and expansive movements, its power and dominance unparalleled. Therefore, it doesn’t emphasize defense or the technique of using the opponent’s force. Southern Fist, on the other hand, focuses more on defense and the tactics of borrowing force. For instance, the Inch Power of Wing Chun, the Short Bridge Narrow Stance of Hung Gar, and the Half-Step Collapse Fist of our Southern Xingyi Quan are all techniques that involve borrowing force. Take our Half-Step Collapse Fist as an example; when you throw a punch, you also take a half-step, which is the method of using force. The amount of power you can generate from your footwork equals the power in your hands, this is the essence of the Southern Fist!”

As he spoke, Tie Yongwen suddenly stepped half a step forward; the moment his foot landed, there was a loud snap. His right fist shot out half a meter and struck Gao Shusen squarely. With just one blow, Gao Shusen flew backward like a cannonball, crashing into the wall behind before coming to a stop. Fortunately, he wore full protective gear, otherwise, even if he hadn’t died from the impact, he would’ve suffered severe muscle and bone injuries.

All those present were stunned. They had trained the Half-Step Collapse Fist too, but none had the strength of Tie Yongwen.

Ye Qing was also astonished; his own Bajiquan Stick to the Mountain was powerful, but he was not yet capable of sending Gao Shusen flying that far. Moreover, the crucial point was that Stick to the Mountain required distance for a sprint, at least two meters. However, Tie Yongwen’s punch used just half a step, without any build-up of power, and yet it possessed such might. This demonstrated that the borrowing of force in Southern Fist was indeed terrifying!

”The stone tablet! The stone tablet has cracked!”

Someone exclaimed, and everyone immediately looked down at the stone slab beneath Tie Yongwen’s feet. Sure enough, the stone slab he had stepped on had numerous fine cracks, looking as though it could crumble at any moment.

Once again everyone was taken aback. The stone slabs in the training ground were specially selected marble, which, although not very thick, was laid perfectly flat on the ground. Usually, one would need to hammer it several times to break it, yet Tie Yongwen’s footstep had caused it to crack. Such strength was awe-inspiring!

Ye Qing was also deeply amazed, reflecting on Tie Yongwen’s words. The greater the force from the feet, the stronger the power of the hands; the essence of borrowing force in Southern Fist was indeed very exquisite.

Tie Yongwen did not bother to look at the stone slab, seeming to consider it a trivial matter. He waved his hand to signal the crowd to disperse and led Ye Qing back into the living room.

After drinking a cup of tea, Tie Yongwen slowly said, ”Most boxing techniques have divisions between the North and the South. For example, my Southern Xingyi Fist also has a Northern Xingyi Fist, with each having different martial arts philosophies. And your Bajiquan has many branches too, although in the North the Li Style Bajiquan is revered. Bajiquan is powerful and dominant, and when performed with Southern Fist style it seems somewhat out of place, losing the original essence of Bajiquan. Thus, Bajiquan is not compatible with the philosophy of Southern Fist.”

Ye Qing’s heart was even more shocked. Bajiquan was not suitable for the philosophy of Southern Fist, yet Tie Yongwen had managed to beat him using Bajiquan – what level had Tie Yongwen’s strength reached?

”When I used Bajiquan against you just now, I wanted to illustrate this theory. The true purpose of fighting is to defeat the opponent. Techniques and strength are not that important. What’s crucial is actual combat,” Tie Yongwen said. ”You have plenty of real combat experience, but lack experience against true masters. Therefore, once you face a master, your flaws are exposed. You could try practicing Southern Fist; if you can make progress, it will help you correct these flaws and your strength will increase dramatically. Furthermore, your Inner Strength is already quite good, now you just lack an opportunity. If you can manage to release Inner Strength externally, your strength will surge!”

At this, Ye Qing eagerly asked, ”Internal Energy Release does not seem easy. I’ve tried to use Inner Strength to break through the meridians before, but ended up seriously injured, nearly paralyzed for life. Although many of my acupoints have now been unblocked, there are still meridians that are clogged. I often try to use Inner Strength to challenge the blockages, but it always injures the meridians, so I dare not force a breakthrough anymore.”

Tie Yongwen smiled faintly and said, ”Indeed, External Release of Inner Strength is not easy. Among the countless martial artists in the world, perhaps not even one in a thousand can achieve it. But those who do manage to release Inner Strength externally will undoubtedly achieve great things in martial arts. People like East State Poisonous Mantis, who did it at thirteen; Xikou Fire Butterfly, who did it at fifteen; and Shen Qianyue from Xi Hang, considered an exceptional talent of the Shen Family, achieved it at eight years old.”

Hearing this, Ye Qing couldn’t help feeling a bit gloomy. He was already twenty-five or twenty-six and had not yet achieved this; could it be that he truly lacked the opportunity?

”However...” Tie Yongwen suddenly made a turn, looking at Ye Qing and saying, ”All these individuals started practicing martial arts from a young age and the Internal Style Martial Arts they learned were authentic. Thus, their achievements are not surprising. However, you started martial arts late, already past the age for laying a foundation. Yet to have achieved what you have today is truly remarkable. It’s just that you’ve passed eighteen, and various aspects of your body have matured. Not breaking through the meridians before adulthood means they’ve become clogged, making it very difficult to break through again. To achieve External Release of Inner Strength, you certainly need an opportunity.”

Moved by the conversation, Ye Qing asked, ”What opportunity?”

Tie Yongwen gave a faint smile, looked at Ye Qing, and said, ”All thirty-six major acupoints around your body need to be unblocked, and breaking through the meridians will just be a matter of time.”

”Actually, these thirty-six acupoints were opened up using external force,” Ye Qing said. ”Could the meridians also be opened up in this way?”

”External force?” Tie Yongwen was taken aback and asked, ”What kind of external force? How were they opened?”

Tie Yongwen was unaware of the incident with Ou Keren saving Ye Qing. Ye Qing did not hide this and told the story of how Ou Keren had pierced his acupoints with steel needles.

After hearing Ye Qing’s words, Tie Yongwen was momentarily stunned. It took him a while to come back to his senses, frowning deeply, he said in a heavy voice, ”How is that possible? How is that possible? How could this be possible?”

”Is there a problem?” Ye Qingqi asked.

”Golden Needle Acupoint Piercing to open up the meridians is not something an ordinary person can do. I remember, Shen Da once told me, in this world, aside from Sai Hua Tuo and the Black-hearted Medical Saint, there is no third person who can achieve this!” Tie Yongwen stood up, seeming very agitated, pacing back and forth in the room, muttering to himself in a low voice, ”Is it Sai Hua Tuo, or the Black-hearted Medical Saint? Who exactly is it? Who exactly is it?”

Ye Qing had no idea what was going on with Tie Yongwen and watched him, completely baffled, unable to help but ask, ”Uncle Tie, what exactly happened?”

Tie Yongwen was still pacing back and forth when suddenly he turned his head to look at Ye Qing and said urgently, ”The girl you talked about, what is her name?”

”Ou Keren,” Ye Qing replied.

”Ou Keren? She... her surname is Ou?” Tie Yongwen was even more surprised, his eyes widened as he said, ”Her surname is Ou? How is that possible? How could she possibly have the surname Ou? Shouldn’t she bear the surname Ning?”

Ye Qing stared at Tie Yongwen, dumbfounded. This was the first time he had seen such a loss of composure in this incredibly powerful elder. Who exactly were Sai Hua Tuo and the Black-hearted Medical Saint he mentioned? And what did they have to do with Ou Keren? Why was he so agitated upon hearing that Ou Keren used steel needles to pierce her own major acupoints? Moreover, why did he insist that Ou Keren should have the surname Ning?

Ye Qing recalled the previous incident when Fire Butterfly Chen Si saw Ou Keren, he too had seemed quite astonished and even exchanged blows with her. At that time, Chen Si also asked for her name and inquired about her relationship with Ning Qianshu. Now considering what Tie Yongwen said about the Ning surname, could it be related to that Ning Qianshu?

”Uncle Tie, Fire Butterfly has already confirmed last time that she is not a descendant of Ning Qianshu!” Ye Qing said softly.

”Ning Qianshu!” Tie Yongwen suddenly turned his head to look at Ye Qing and said, ”You know of Ning Qianshu too?”

”I only heard about him from Fire Butterfly...” Ye Qing hesitated for a moment before asking, ”Uncle Tie, who exactly is Ning Qianshu?”

Tie Yongwen furrowed his brows tightly and did not respond to Ye Qing’s question. After a while, he finally looked at Ye Qing and said, ”Fire Butterfly really confirmed it?”

Ye Qing nodded and replied, ”She asked her personally and even fought with Ou Keren.”

Tie Yongwen was surprised and said, ”She fought with that Ou Keren and confirmed she is not a Ning?”

”Yes!” Ye Qing responded.

The agitation in Tie Yongwen slowly subsided, and he nodded slowly, saying, ”It seems I was overly concerned. She really shouldn’t be a descendant of Ning Qianshu. Nevertheless, there truly are many remarkable people in this world, someone else actually knows the method of Golden Needle Acupoint Piercing; I wonder who she learned it from.”

Tie Yongwen paused for a moment before looking at Ye Qing and saying, ”When you have the time, could you possibly let me meet this girl in person?”

”I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Ye Qing shook his head and said, ”She has already gone back to Xiangjiang, and she might not come back to the Mainland again.”

”Oh, she’s from Xiangjiang.” Hearing this, Tie Yongwen breathed a sigh of relief and said, ”So she’s from Xiangjiang, that’s good, that’s good.”

Ye Qing was even more puzzled and couldn’t help but ask, ”Uncle Tie, what exactly happened?”

”This matter...” Tie Yongwen gave a wry smile and shook his head, saying, ”This matter involves a case from decades ago, it doesn’t have much to do with your younger generation, it’s just as well if you don’t know. But in this case, there were too many deaths and injuries, my Southern Xingyi Quan Sect lost one hundred and seventy-three people, nearly wiped out in this case, and I was the only one who survived. Other sects, there are even those who were completely annihilated, the deaths and injuries were too tragic. So, I got a bit too agitated!”