Chapter 24

Regarding national martial arts...

No, it should be said that for any systematic power system, keeping one's own secrets is the norm.

Not to mention this kind of extraordinary power or near-extraordinary power where great power belongs to oneself, even for power systems like science that require collective effort, various countries still maintain strict blockades.

Even though Wu Pifu's Tiger Demon Art came easily, and the first random draw from the shelter he established gave him the full set of techniques—nourishing, training, and fighting—he also knew that a full set of national martial arts techniques were the secret of each family. It wasn't just the saying of "passing to sons but not daughters"; it was directly a matter of whether it would even be passed to the next generation, and if not, they would simply take it to the grave.

Lin Heier was prostrating herself at this moment, saying she would teach the full set of the Yellow Lotus Holy Mother Art. Wu Pifu hadn't spoken yet, but Xu Rongyu beside him was already swallowing his saliva repeatedly.

Only people in this world knew what such a complete set of techniques meant.

Wu Pifu was naturally tempted. Not to mention anything else, if Lin Heier's "straddling strike" from before was used in a duel between the two, even if he wasn't killed by a single punch, he would likely be severely injured. Now he knew this was simulating Dan Force techniques, which was simply exaggerated.

Ming Force, Hidden Force, Transformation Force, Dan Force, Gang Force, Seeing God Not Bad—there is a huge gap between the six tiers of national martial arts, almost an overwhelming gap. And being able to briefly simulate Dan Force at the Hidden Force stage was not just a comeback move in battle, but more importantly, it allowed one to slowly explore the mysteries of Dan Force through this simulation. This was its most important value.

It could be said that based on this alone, the Yellow Lotus Holy Mother Art exceeded the Tiger Demon Art by who knows how much. The three major techniques of the Tiger Demon Art—nourishing, training, and fighting—were actually mediocre; only its general outline, which could train a "sleepless spiritual sense," was slightly worth looking at.

Wu Pifu didn't answer immediately. He pondered for a moment before saying, "I don't have absolute certainty either. At a height of about fifty meters, even if a tool like a catapult can send me up, whether I can hit it and whether I can break it are both open questions. After dawn tomorrow, I can make this launcher with Amadai, but everything else will depend on heaven's will."

Lin Heier was overjoyed. She bowed deeply again and said, "Then there is no time to lose. I will teach Master the key points of the Lotus-Sitting Force now."

The two then went to the side hall. Xu Rongyu watched with envy and sighed repeatedly: "My big brother really has had a stroke of luck. This is the Yellow Lotus Holy Mother Scripture, a secret-level technique..."

Unfortunately, the two people listening to him came from the Third and Fourth World Wars, and they had no idea what he was talking about. It was truly playing the lute to a cow.

That night, nothing happened. Early the next morning, everyone came out of the main hall and saw Wu Pifu squatting slightly on the dam field outside, his legs slightly crossed. Although it wasn't Lin Heier's lotus-sitting form, it carried a sense of true qi being mixed and unified.

The so-called Dan Force is actually the gathering of qi in the dantian, transporting the human body's true qi and blood to the dantian to form a mixed, unified whole.

The saying "Only after swallowing a golden pill into the belly do I know my fate is in my own hands, not heaven's"—in the context of national martial arts, this refers to Dan Force. This is truly the beginning of the human body opening the door to another evolution, from which the human body gradually begins to step into the realm of physical transcendence and holiness.

"...Truly gifted."

Lin Heier was guiding Wu Pifu beside him. Seeing him finally sit and straddle down, she couldn't help but mutter this.

At this time, the others also came out. Amadai couldn't help but say from the side, "This is different from the Guanyin-sitting-on-the-lotus posture you had yesterday."

Lin Heier's pretty face flushed, and she immediately said angrily, "What nonsense are you talking about! That is called Lotus-Sitting Force, not some Guanyin-sitting... Bah! Truly a barbarian!"

Amadai scratched his head and said, "Is there any difference?"

Lin Heier naturally refused to say anything more to Amadai. Xu Rongyu pulled Amadai from the side and said, "This 'Guanyin sitting on the lotus' is a saying about... men and women. How can it be applied to martial arts? And when martial arts reach a high level, it requires spiritual resemblance rather than formal resemblance."

Amadai still didn't understand. He was a veteran of the Third World War, and his head was full of a complete set of scientific war knowledge. He asked curiously, "Do you understand standardization? The error of every screw cannot exceed one nanometer. Their movements are even different, and you tell me this is the same set of martial arts? I think this little lady is just fooling Wu Pifu."

Lin Heier considered herself a master. Although she was ashamed and angry at this time, she didn't say a word. And Xu Rongyu wasn't even a Ming Force martial artist; he had only heard some martial arts principles from his father, so he could say it required "spiritual resemblance rather than formal resemblance," but he didn't know why, so he naturally couldn't explain it.

Instead, Wu Pifu, while squatting and gathering qi, actually had the energy to speak: "Because everyone's body structure has subtle differences. National martial arts require following the book at the beginning, but when practiced to a high level, adjustments need to be made according to one's own subtle structure. I am a man, so naturally, I cannot sit in that deep-squat lotus seat posture. After changing it, my Lotus-Sitting Force is in this form."

When it came to this, Amadai understood, because during the Third World War, there was also biochemical technology used for the development of combat power on the human side, and because everyone had different genes, heights, bloodlines, aptitudes, etc., the parameters required for biochemical enhancement were also different.

Lin Heier, however, circled Wu Pifu in surprise. She sighed again: "Truly gifted. Your true qi and blood are so thick that you don't seem like a human. Even while gathering qi in the dantian, you can still speak without hindrance..."

Wu Pifu just smiled and didn't explain. He said to Amadai while training, "You can start making the launcher. There are only two requirements: first, throw me towards the distorted human figure, and second, the throwing height must not be lower than the distorted human figure. I will solve the accuracy and other things."

Amadai didn't care either. He turned and walked towards the warehouse, and the others were busy with their own things. Xu Shilan went to make breakfast, Xu Rongyu went to check the torches and oil, and patrolled the buildings of the righteous manor. Not to mention Amadai and the others, even Xu Rongyu, who was originally a hostage, was now willing to contribute.

On the other side, Wu Pifu practiced the Lotus-Sitting Force with all his heart. The more he practiced, the more he felt its infinite mysteries.

Realizing the mystery of the Dan Force stage from the Hidden Force stage, the various aspects were simply wonderful.

The most critical thing was that he had a guide!

Although Wu Pifu obtained the complete version of the Tiger Demon Art's three methods from the main brain—nourishing, training, and fighting—it was, after all, information poured into his brain, lacking some detailed understanding. This actually required a master or a guide.

For him to practice blindly like this, and with such a dangerous weapon, not only did he not die suddenly, but he even practiced to the Hidden Force level. It's hard to say whether he was just a fool with a fool's luck, or if he was truly gifted.

At this time, with Lin Heier's dedicated guidance, even though it was all about the explanation of this Lotus-Sitting Force, it allowed him to have a systematic combing of the entire national martial arts system, which could be said to have laid a deep foundation for his future achievements.

That day, those paper effigies disappeared without a trace, but everyone's mood was heavy. By nightfall, the sound of ghosts crying came again, but this ghost crying was much less than before. It seemed that the paper effigies had almost finished devouring all the ghosts in this righteous manor.

Everyone slept in fear all night. The next day, when everyone came out of the main hall, they saw Wu Pifu squatting slightly on the dam field outside. By dusk, everyone suddenly heard the sound of horse hooves and screams from afar. Xu Rongyu, who was helping Amadai tighten the vines to make a catapult-like device, jumped up upon hearing this and shouted loudly: "Big Brother Wu, save me! Big Brother Wu, save me!"

Wu Pifu was currently practicing with a kitchen knife under Lin Heier's explanation.

"A punch is like a spear, a claw is like a knife. In martial arts principles, empty-handed martial arts actually have the same principles as knives, spears, and sticks."

Lin Heier said while pointing out Wu Pifu's knife-wielding techniques: "I have seen three grandmasters. Mr. Sun Lutang, the 'Tiger-Headed Young Guardian,' learned the most and had the highest martial arts. Mr. Du Xinwu, the 'Southern and Northern Hero,' learned the most miscellaneous and had the most peculiar martial arts; although he is younger than me, he is a Transformation Force grandmaster. The last one is Mr. Li Shuwen, the 'Divine Fist Without Second Strike,' who learned the most refined and had the most ferocious martial arts. I once asked the three of them what the result would be if they fought the other two. The three answered the same: Mr. Li Shuwen would be injured, and the other two would die. This is because Mr. Li Shuwen combined fist principles with weapons; a long spear is invincible within ten meters."

"And what you learned is the Tiger Form in Xingyi, but it has variations. The moves are ferocious, quite like a mad demon or a mad tiger. In this case, it is best for you to practice claws and knives together, seeking refinement within refinement. Plus your gifted body, your future achievements will be limitless..."

Just at this moment, Xu Rongyu's shouting came. The two looked over at the same time. At the same time, they also heard the sound of horse hooves, crying, and occasional gunshots coming from outside the righteous manor.

Xu Rongyu rushed over while shouting, then knelt on the ground and shouted loudly: "I beg Big Brother Wu to save my father!"

"So fast!?" Wu Pifu also knew the situation was urgent. He immediately ran to the righteous manor's dam field, grabbed two torches, and rushed out of the righteous manor.

Lin Heier followed closely behind, then Xu Rongyu, while Amadai and Xu Shilan guarded the righteous manor.

There were more sounds of horse hooves and gunshots. Without a doubt, this was the team of Xu Rongyu's father, Xu Zhenshan, and also the largest group of bandits in the Xuanhua area and outside the Great Wall.

Xu Rongyu said anxiously while running: "I came to Xuanhua Prefecture this time on my father's orders to see the senior sister of the Red Lantern Society. After I set off, my father would also lead a team to set off, for the sake of participating in the grand event, to support the Qing and destroy the foreigners together with the senior sister. So the news of me being kidnapped was sent back; there was no need to return to the mountain hollow. My father could know halfway. Calculating the time, if he hurried, he could arrive within three days."

Today was the third day Wu Pifu and the others arrived in this dream world, and it was dusk, so the visitor could indeed be Xu Zhenshan's team.

The three ran forward, but after running for seven or eight minutes, there was only the road, woodland, and the vast front ahead.

Wu Pifu stood still abruptly, then roared to the sky. The roar was like thunder and whistling. In an instant, the view ahead suddenly opened up. Less than a hundred meters in front of the three, more than a hundred horses were tossing and turning everywhere, and more than a hundred people were crying and howling. A dozen paper effigies were flying around among these hundred people. Any bandit who came into contact with them either died on the spot or their bodies gradually turned into paper.

And in the middle of this group of crying and howling bandits, a middle-aged strong man was surrounded by four paper effigies, which used paper scissors, paper hammers, paper pitchforks, and paper hoes to press his limbs, and then the paperization began from his limbs.

With Wu Pifu's roar, these remaining bandits seemed to see the surrounding situation clearly, each screaming even more miserably. Those missing arms or legs wanted to run towards Wu Pifu and the other two.

"Father!" Xu Rongyu's eyes were about to split, and he roared as he wanted to rush forward.

And that middle-aged strong man was Xu Zhenshan. He seemed to have just woken up from some illusion at this time, but before he could do anything, the four paper effigies drove him and floated towards the depths of the woods.

The three waited to chase, but the next second, the view ahead turned into a vast expanse again.

They couldn't see anything.

(End of chapter)