Chapter 17: Songhe Zhuang

At the training ground from before, Xu Jiaotou was already waiting there.

His upper body was bare, thick layers of sweat covering his powerful muscles, and he held a long spear in his hand, practicing his martial arts.

Seeing Zheng Fa and the other, he flicked his arm, and the spear, like a wandering dragon, flew accurately onto the weapon rack.

"You're here?" He looked at their faces, a mischievous smile on his lips: "What, did you get the short end of the stick from Seventh Young Master?"

Zheng Fa, Gao Yuan: "..."

"They say this book boy is the top dog in the Zhao household, but this is already the sixth time I've been assigned to teach Seventh Young Master's book boy." Xu Jiaotou's tone carried a hint of sympathy.

Zheng Fa remembered that Gao Yuan had once said that Seventh Young Master indeed had five book boys before.

Gao Yuan's face nearby looked even more gloomy.

"Seventh Young Master is hard to serve; not a single book boy stays by his side for long. Yet almost everyone in the Zhao household, from top to bottom, is willing to take this job. Tell me, why?"

Xu Jiaotou suddenly changed the subject.

Zheng Fa and the other looked at him.

"For the sake of the martial arts I am about to teach you!"

Xu Jiaotou continued: "Our Zhao family's Xuehe Laozu was a disciple of the Immortal Gate, and even in every generation, someone has been able to enter the Immortal Gate to cultivate. This is what established our Zhao family's thousand-year status as a prestigious clan."

"But the immortal technique is ethereal, and we are of humble origin. The opportunity for immortality is within our sight but beyond our reach."

Xu Jiaotou's face looked slightly gloomy, but his next words became impassioned: "But our Zhao family has not only the chance for immortality, but also the martial arts that allow us to dominate the mortal world. Learn martial arts, and you will no longer be weak! Even if you are not a book boy in the future, you will have a foundation to stand on!"

"Like me, having learned martial arts and acquired skills, I can train the household guards in the Zhao family, eating well and drinking well! When I go out, who does not look at me with higher regard?"

Xu Jiaotou's words made Gao Yuan, standing beside Zheng Fa,'s eyes sparkle.

Zheng Fa, however, felt strangely familiar—this stuff was still far behind modern course salesmen.

At the very least, they should create a bit of anxiety first?

Xu Jiaotou looked at Zheng Fa and the other, feeling a bit puzzled himself.

He knew he was clumsy with words and had thought for a long time just to come up with these few empty promises.

Yet Gao Yuan, who came from a good background and had seen the world, was so motivated he was practically howling.

But Zheng Fa showed no reaction at all?

He glanced at Zheng Fa twice, then asked Gao Yuan: "You have learned martial arts. Do you know what it takes to find a martial arts school in Jingzhou City to learn?"

Gao Yuan thought for a moment and answered: "Generally speaking, first you must pay the entrance tuition. It seems the minimum... the minimum is twenty taels of silver?"

"And what else?"

"I heard the rule at outside martial arts schools is three years of learning the art, five years of selling your body?"

"Correct!" Xu Jiaotou slapped his palm loudly: "Learning martial arts outside, whether you can learn real skills is one thing, but you still have to work like an ox or a horse for them for several years."

"And our Zhao family, the Lady, thinking that although you are currently just Seventh Young Master's book boys, you may one day manage a branch of our family's affairs, has graciously allowed you to learn martial arts from me! This is the Lady's boundless benevolence!"

Hearing this, Zheng Fa actually agreed.

The status of a Zhao family servant sounds unpleasant, but in this world, it is considered good fortune.

It is because, essentially, the Zhao family occupies so many social resources that even sharing a little with those below is far better than the true common people outside.

"Moreover, how can the martial arts taught in outside schools compare to the martial arts treasured by our Zhao family?"

"Jiaotou, how is the quality of martial arts judged?" Gao Yuan asked curiously.

Xu Jiaotou smiled proudly and explained: "The martial arts of our Xuanwei Realm, in the end, all come from one place—the Immortal Gate!"

"The Immortal Gate?"

"Legend has it that disciples of the Immortal Gate possess countless supernatural powers, and their cultivation techniques are infinitely powerful. But there is one point—these cultivation techniques require an immortal appearance. Without talent, one cannot cultivate the immortal technique. Do the disciples of the Immortal Gate not always have relatives or friends without talent?"

"So martial arts were created?"

"Actually, it cannot be said they were created. The earliest martial arts were simplified versions, or rather incomplete versions, of the Immortal Gate's cultivation techniques." Speaking here, Xu Jiaotou's eyes also grew dim: "Those without the talent for immortality, by practicing martial arts, can become stronger than others, of course, not even one ten-thousandth as powerful as the immortal technique."

Hearing this, Gao Yuan whispered, "Then I still want to cultivate immortality."

"Nonsense! Who doesn't want to? Not to mention whether you have the talent for immortality, look at our Zhao family. Even Seventh Young Master has a bit of an immortal appearance. Can he cultivate immortality?"

"Seventh Young Master? Why not?" Gao Yuan was stunned.

Xu Jiaotou gently patted his own cheek, clearly annoyed that he had let slip a secret by speaking too freely.

"Shut up! The martial arts passed down in the schools within the city were spread by the descendants of fallen immortal clans. The lineage is gradually lost, and the descendants lack the ability; they are likely incomplete and cannot compare to the original power."

"But our Zhao family is different. Our Zhao family has had immortals in every generation! The martial arts of the Zhao family have actually been corrected by generations of Immortal Gate disciples. In terms of refinement, they are even superior to the originals."

Both Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan believed this, after all, the Zhao family's thousand-year reputation was far better than those martial arts schools.

"Today, what I am to transmit to you two is a cultivation technique from our Zhao family's lineage, named 'Songhe Zhuang'." Xu Jiaotou, seemingly unwilling to waste more words after his slip, said.

"Watch closely!"

He assumed a stance, one foot forward and one back, the front foot lightly touching the ground, the five toes of the back foot tensed, the instep arched like a bridge inside the shoe, and his fists held slightly retracted.

The most peculiar thing was the movement of his upper body.

From his waist to his neck, he stood in a reverse arch, looking like an immortal crane raising its neck to sing.

"See my movements clearly! Learn from me!" He said to Zheng Fa and the other: "Your feet must take root! With your five toes, you must poke five holes in the floor for me! But your upper body must be loose!"

Seeing both of them had assumed similar postures, he continued: "Breathe with me! Exhale, inhale!"

When he inhaled, the muscles of his upper body rolled like wheels until his chest and abdomen became a large ball.

When he exhaled, a long breath flowed from his throat, turning into a clear and loud crane cry.

Zheng Fa had been following along, but he still felt awkward no matter what.

Xu Jiaotou walked around him a few times, his hands constantly patting him up and down.

"Tuck your back in, but don't tuck it too much!"

"Stomach, stomach!"

"Pay attention to the rhythm of your breathing!"

With Xu Jiaotou's training, Zheng Fa seemed to have found a hint of feeling—a stream of heat flowing with his breath, surging up and down his entire body.

After practicing for a while, Zheng Fa felt his whole body ache and could no longer maintain the posture.

Gao Yuan, standing nearby, also grimaced.

"Jiaotou, this 'Pine-Crane Post' is so difficult!"

"It's difficult because it's powerful!"

"Where is its power?" Gao Yuan pressed.

Xu Jiaotou glanced at the two, spread his arms, and the whole man flew up like a bird.

He was a man with muscles all over, looking extremely burly, yet his movements now were incredibly light, even possessing a floating grace as if riding the wind.

When he landed, he actually leaped across a distance of five or six zhang!

"Can... can you fly?" Gao Yuan asked with his mouth wide open.

"Fly? Of course you can't fly, but once the Pine-Crane Post is mastered, you will be the most skilled lightness expert in the mortal world." Xu Jiaotou said proudly: "Moreover, the Pine-Crane Post comes from an immortal technique said to grant eternal life; once practiced to the extreme, it can..."

"Eternal life?" Gao Yuan said excitedly.

"Dream on, you fool! It extends life!" Xu Jiaotou rolled his eyes.

"This..." Gao Yuan thought for a moment and felt his own idea was a bit too beautiful: "Then how long must I practice to reach the peak?"

"Someone like you? Maybe thirty years." Xu Jiaotou gave him a look.

"Then how many more years can I live once mastered?"

"Twenty years?"

"... Isn't that a net loss of ten years?"

This was the evaluation of the little math genius, Gao Yuan.