Urban Martial Saint

Ye Qing looked at Shen Tianjun, and at this moment, Shen Tianjun’s expression was extremely serious. It seemed that what he was discussing now was truly the most crucial matter.

Shen Tianjun said, ”During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, some people proposed the concept of Martial Arts to enhance a person’s potential and thereby strengthen one’s physical power. However, by the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, certain gifted individuals discovered that the human body has limits. Therefore, these people no longer confined themselves to the potential of the human body alone but started paying attention to the forces of nature, pondering how to convert nature’s power for their own use!”

”Can nature’s power really be converted for personal use?” Ye Qingqi wondered.

”Of course, nature’s power cannot be controlled by human strength. However, when studying natural forces, people have uncovered certain patterns,” Shen Tianjun turned his head to look at Ye Qing and said, ”Let me give you a simple example. Why do boxers repetitively hit a punching bag with the same movement every day?”

”To build strength,” Ye Qing replied.

”If they want to build strength, why not engage in a variety of strength training exercises, such as lifting dumbbells and such? That would provide more of a workout!” Shen Tianjun said.

Ye Qing was momentarily speechless, truly unable to understand the reason behind it. Nevertheless, when he was in the military, he had undergone such training, repeatedly hitting a punching bag many times every day, and he still couldn’t grasp the purpose of it.

”Actually, if you pay close attention, you will find the reason,” Shen Tianjun said. ”These people repetitively hit the punching bag, actually searching for a method to maximize their punching power. Just like in modern boxing matches, maximizing your power isn’t as simple as throwing all your strength into a punch. In reality, when punching, one often mobilizes the strength of the entire body, especially the power of the waist, to exert their strength to the fullest extent. Moreover, a punch won’t have the same force from every angle; this requires experience to determine. So, while they seem to be repeatedly practicing the same method when hitting the punching bag, in fact, they’re also trying and judging how to punch to achieve the best effect.”

Ye Qing suddenly realized that in fact, when he was hitting the punching bag, he had indeed found many better ways to attack. However, he simply hadn’t paid that much attention.

”During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the martial artists who were not satisfied with the limits of the human body began to gradually observe these aspects,” Shen Tianjun continued. ”Even if they had reached the limits of the human body, how could they punch to maximize their power? How to strike to achieve the fastest speed? How to distribute their strength as evenly as possible? All of this is determined by natural laws and physical phenomena. Hence, people often say martial arts are contrary to science, but in fact, Martial Arts truly are the closest to science. A martial arts master, even without much formal education, definitely understands some physical laws better than some physicists!”

Ye Qing’s eyes widened in astonishment; he had never considered that Martial Arts could be connected to physical knowledge, which seemed inconceivable.

Shen Tianjun picked up a dry twig from the ground and handed it to Ye Qing, saying, ”Try knocking that tree with this twig.”

Taking the dry twig, Ye Qing walked over to the tree, took a deep breath, and struck it forcefully. The twig snapped instantly, but the tree remained motionless. The twig, after all, was really too frail to withstand the force.

Shen Tianjun walked over and broke off another piece of dry twig, saying, ”Watch carefully.”

Ye Qing focused intently on Shen Tianjun, who swung the twig down just as he did. However, as the twig was about to strike the trunk, Shen Tianjun’s wrist gave a slight flick; the twig spun around and then collided with the tree trunk. With just that one hit, the tree shook as if someone had pushed it forcefully, but the dry twig remained undamaged, still held in Shen Tianjun’s hand.

Ye Qing was stupefied; he couldn’t believe that such a simple twist of the twig could result in such a dramatic effect.

”When you hit the tree directly, both objects must bear the maximum force, and the dry twig obviously couldn’t bear it. However, we practice Neijia Kung Fu, which includes many techniques for leveraging advantage,” Shen Tianjun explained. ”When you strike forcefully, the Inner Strength has already been transferred. But, just before the impact, if you can shed the force that the twig should bear, you can ensure that you are not affected by the rebound. However, the force exerted on the tree trunk remains the same. Thus, the tree moves, but the twig does not break!”

”So... just by spinning the twig, you can shed the force it bears?” Ye Qingqi asked in surprise.

”That’s why I say, the way of Martial Arts must follow these natural laws without any deviation!” Shen Tianjun smiled and said, ”Actually, you still didn’t observe closely. I rotated the twig, but in reality, I paused for a moment and flicked the twig further away. In fact, this is the Dao of ’Four Taels Shifts Thousand Catties’ in the realm of mechanics.”

Ye Qing had a sudden realization; his mind was even more astounded. Even though Shen Tianjun had demonstrated a straightforward technique, the principles embedded within were profound enough to ponder for a long time. It seemed becoming a master like Shen Tianjun was truly not an easy task!

”Today, I will just teach you this. Tomorrow, I’ll teach you Swordsmanship and Boxing Technique!” Shen Tianjun turned around, gave a faint smile, and patted Ye Qing’s shoulder, saying, ”If you can truly grasp this concept, you needn’t fear even Wang Tian’an when you meet him!”

”Really?” Ye Qing was overjoyed; Wang Tian’an was so powerful that if Ye Qing truly had the strength to fight him, he would have a chance to stand his ground against those people when he returned to Shenchuan City.

”Hehe...” Shen Tianjun chuckled softly but didn’t answer, merely turning around to return to the back room.

Ye Qing didn’t know that what Shen Tianjun had taught him was among the most profound principles in martial arts. In the past, Cui Yulong had only followed the Purple Robe Lama for two years, and the Lama hadn’t really taught him much, yet Cui Yulong’s strength had increased so much. This time, Shen Tianjun was passing on all he could to Ye Qing, and although Ye Qing hadn’t learned for long, what he had learned was no less than what Cui Yulong had learned from the Purple Robe Lama.

Filled with excitement, Ye Qing picked up the dry branch from before and thought about Shen Tianjun’s method. After a moment of silence and a deep breath, he suddenly smashed the dry branch down. Just as the branch was about to hit the tree truck, he hastily tried to spin it, but was ultimately too slow, and before the branch could complete the turn, it hit the tree trunk and snapped.

Ye Qing was dumbfounded for a moment; it had seemed so effortless when Shen Tianjun did it. But in fact, when it was his turn, it was not so easy.

Actually, this was normal; these principles were the culmination of a lifetime’s realizations by the Southern Fist King Shen Tianjun. If Ye Qing could learn them so quickly, then wouldn’t Shen Tianjun’s life have been lived in vain?

Ye Qing, undeterred, broke off another dozen or so dry branches and stood by the tree to continue practicing.

One branch, two branches, three branches...

All dozen or so branches were broken, without exception. Ye Qing simply couldn’t round out that spin. This maneuver that looked so simple was actually quite difficult to execute!

Ye Qing gritted his teeth and gathered another dozen dry branches, continuing his practice. This time, however, he wasn’t as hasty as before and slowed down his movements a lot, hoping to first master the action slowly and then speed up.

Inside the living room, Shen Tianjun was brewing a cup of tea, sitting with Old Madame Shen and watching Ye Qing practice that move outside. Shen Lingwei was sitting beside them, and Shen Qingyi stood outside, watching Ye Qing. Her heart was entirely focused on Ye Qing now.

”This child is good!” Old Madame Shen smiled slightly and said, ”He’s very tenacious, and he handles matters calmly and methodically. His clarity in dealing with gratitude and grudges is quite rare.”

”Third Brother Li San’s chosen successor definitely can’t be wrong,” Shen Tianjun also smiled and picked up the Seven-Star Ancient Sword lying nearby. His expression, however, showed some surprise as he said, ”However, I always feel that there are many odd things about him.”

”What oddities?” Old Madame Shen asked with curiosity.

”His meridians were completely sealed; it was impossible for him to cultivate Inner Strength,” Shen Tianjun said. ”The first time I met him, he didn’t understand Inner Strength at all. But in only a few months, the Inner Strength within his body has become so strong. Even with the Breathing Method in the Acupoint Seeking Technique, given his condition, it should not be possible for him to develop Inner Strength. And even if he really could, it couldn’t become so strong in such a short time!”

Old Madame Shen was surprised too and said, ”Then what’s the reason for this?”

”And this Seven-Star Ancient Sword...” Shen Tianjun continued, ”So many people from the Huangfu Household couldn’t subdue the sword, but when he touched it, the Ancient Sword recognized him right away. How is this possible?”

”Has anything like this ever happened before?” Old Madame Shen asked.

”It has happened, but...” Shen Tianjun gritted his teeth and said, ”But the situation was somewhat special at the time.”

”How was it special?” Old Madame Shen inquired.

Shen Tianjun was silent for a while before saying, ”According to legend, at the end of the Ming dynasty, there was an unparalleled expert who transferred all his Inner Strength to his son before dying. His son, having inherited that Inner Strength, was consequently recognized by his weapon. When he grabbed the weapon, it immediately accepted him!”

”Ah?” Old Madame Shen’s expression changed, and she turned to look outside at Ye Qing with a trembling voice, ”Based on what you’re saying, could it be that Third Brother Li San back then... did he possibly...”

Shen Tianjun, observing Ye Qing outside, bore the same expression and said, ”The Inner Strength in his body is definitely what someone who practiced Neijia Kung Fu for decades would have. Moreover, with the Seven-Star Ancient Sword recognizing him like this, I... I can’t help but suspect that Third Brother Li San also transferred all his Inner Strength to him!”