Chapter 1037

Hu Xiaotian actually already fully understood the principle: when the moon is full it wanes, when water is full it overflows; if one could make one's body into a reservoir regulating water quantity, then there would be no worries; the Shooting the Sun True Classic is undoubtedly the best solution.

Old beggar said: "There is a martial art called God-Demon World-Exterminating Fist, its power is enormous, yet few people practice it; first, because the internal strength requirements for practitioners are extremely high; second, because this fist style consumes a huge amount of internal energy; those truly qualified to practice God-Demon World-Exterminating Fist can all be called masters, and masters of this level understand weighing pros and cons, so very few will practice this internal-energy-consuming martial art."

Hu Xiaotian said: "I don't fear consumption; the more consumption, the better."

Old beggar said: "What's the rush? Did I say I would definitely teach you?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed and said: "Old sir, you couldn't have just happened to appear here, could you? In my heart you treat me better than my own father; if my grandfather hadn't died long ago, I would surely think you are my paternal grandfather." He saw the old beggar's facial expression was very strange, paused a moment, then said: "By the way, I also have a maternal grandfather, but he left home and wandered away forty years ago; you couldn't be my maternal grandfather, could you?"

Old beggar furrowed his brows: "Stinky brat, stop trying to claim kinship with me; I, the old beggar, have remained unmarried all my life, living alone, what relatives do I have!"

Hu Xiaotian said: "Being unmarried all one's life doesn't mean one never touched a woman; looking at you, old sir, ever vigorous and imposing, in your youth you must have been a tall, mighty, graceful, handsome, suave young man; the beauties who wanted to pursue you would surely be countless."

Old beggar, having been flattered by this stream of praise, felt quite pleased, nodded and said: "That's not wrong; when I was young I was more handsome than you, and my character was even more upright."

Hu Xiaotian said: "But there are no truly upright gentlemen who can sit with a woman without impropriety in the world; you were so handsome back then, attracting bees and butterflies was inevitable; young people's blood is vigorous, momentarily losing control and playing around ** is common; perhaps several female confidantes secretly conceived, bearing you illegitimate sons and daughters; you may not know it, but perhaps your descendants already fill the world."

Old beggar flushed with anger: "You're full of shit! I'm not that kind of casual person!"

Hu Xiaotian certainly wasn't afraid of him. He chuckled and said, "You're certainly not that casual a person these days, old sir—after all, you're old, willing but unable, so there's no need in that regard anymore. But when you were young, your liver fire was exuberant; unless you were a eunuch, it's impossible not to have had such demands..."

The old beggar stammered, "Bullshit! Bullshit! Pure nonsense. Do you think I'm like you, philandering everywhere and leaving affection everywhere?"

Hu Xiaotian sighed and said, "I also feel I've been a bit too affectionate."

"Not just affectionate—downright licentious!" the old beggar finally found a chance for revenge, speaking without mercy.

Hu Xiaotian said, "How strange—people say children's dispositions come from their parents, but my father is an honest man who values love and righteousness; he only has my mother as his wife, never glancing at another woman, and my mother is good only to my father, wholly devoted. So I must look to the previous generation for the cause. It's said my grandfather was a true gentleman of utmost emotion and holiness, so the fault must lie with my maternal grandfather." Hu Xiaotian glanced sideways at the old beggar, seeing him scratching his ear and cheek, looking quite uncomfortable.

Hu Xiaotian secretly laughed. There's an eighty to ninety percent chance this old beggar is my maternal grandfather Xu Lingkong; otherwise why would he treat me so well? He said, "If I may say, my maternal grandfather was also a prominent figure—his name was Xu Lingkong. Back then he was handsome and suave, young and wealthy, but he was by nature amorous, fond of the new and tired of the old, philandering, and extremely irresponsible toward his family. Forty years ago he actually abandoned his long-suffering wife, left his children, and ran away from home; since then he has vanished from the world, leaving no trace."

The old beggar said, "This guy is truly a scoundrel, but wasn't your maternal grandfather surnamed Xu? How did his surname become Xu?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "I only found this out with great difficulty—Xu Lingkong is indeed my maternal grandfather. Don't laugh at me, but I always feel you are Xu Lingkong, that you are my irresponsible maternal grandfather."

"Bullshit! Pure nonsense!" the old beggar seemed to have no other rebuttal besides that line.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Otherwise why would you be so kind to help me?"

The old beggar couldn't help cursing, "Damn it! Meeting you, this conscience-less turtle-grandson, has been eight lifetimes of bad luck for this old beggar. I pitied you, did good deeds with a kind heart, and you actually think ill of me? You you you... you're really pissing me off!"

Hu Xiaotian sighed and said, "Senior, to be frank, I had already despaired of this world, thinking human relations were all deceit and mutual cheating, profit-driven, full of scheming. But seeing you today I finally realized that there is still genuine feeling in this world, and there are still good people."

The old beggar pursed his lips: "Of course!"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Although I know you can't be my maternal grandfather, I still hope in my heart that you are; having a grandfather like you would be a blessing cultivated in my past life."

The old beggar said, "Cut the nonsense—are you going to learn the God-Demon Annihilation Fist or not?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded repeatedly and said, "Learn, of course I want to learn! But you surely won't teach me this martial art for free—there must be some condition, right?"

The old beggar hehe-laughed, "Indeed smart—there's no such thing as a free lunch under heaven."

Hu Xiaotian clutched his chest with both hands, feigning alarm, and said, "We agreed beforehand—I will never agree to sacrifice my looks!"

The old beggar, made to laugh and cry by this guy, pointed at his nose and said, "Go piss and look at your bearish appearance—I can still tell whether you're male or female."

Hu Xiaotian laughed and said, "You mean you've given up on me because I'm a man? If I were a young maiden, wouldn't lust just spring from your heart?"

"I spit! How could Hu Buwei have begotten a misshapen melon and cracked date like you?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "When the beam is not straight, the rafters grow crooked—this isn't my father's fault; it's all his father-in-law's fault." He had firmly decided the old beggar was his maternal grandfather Xu Lingkong, so he deliberately said this to provoke him.

Anyone else would have flicked their sleeves and left long ago, but the old beggar endured all this disrespect and still stayed to teach Hu Xiaotian the God-Demon Annihilation Fist. They came to the rear courtyard, and the old beggar said, "This set of God-Demon Annihilation Fist was created by the former dynasty's master Ji Tianxing; after his death, no one managed to master it for three hundred years."

Hu Xiaotian interjected, "You haven't mastered it either, have you?"

The old beggar glared and said, "Of course I haven't mastered it? I have plenty of martial arts manuals to practice—why bother with a technique that kills ten thousand while damaging oneself five thousand?"

Hu Xiaotian said, "Then how has it been passed down for three hundred years?" This hit the crux—since no one besides Ji Tianxing succeeded in cultivating it, how exactly has this martial art been transmitted?

The old beggar said, "More than ten years ago I happened upon this fist manual in a stone cavern—the very cavern where Ji Tianxing once secluded himself to train. I saw that this fist technique is astonishingly powerful, but it consumes enormous internal energy; often a single use drains much of one's internal force. One could say that unless one's internal energy has reached the peak of perfection, practicing this martial art is harmful with no benefit. I didn't practice it myself; I merely copied down the manual."

Hu Xiaotian, hearing him speak seriously, put away his jokes and earnestly began learning the God-Demon Annihilation Fist from the old beggar. This fist technique emphasizes the use of internal energy; the old beggar only taught Hu Xiaotian the moves and postures. As for the method of internal energy application, he had Hu Xiaotian recite the manual once, so Hu Xiaotian would firmly remember it—true cultivation still depends on Hu Xiaotian himself. The intention in teaching him this fist technique was to make him expend internal energy. Hu Xiaotian's internal energy now qualifies as having reached the peak of perfection; in the present age scarcely anyone can match him, not even the old beggar. However, in the aspect of internal energy application, Hu Xiaotian still lags far behind in skill.

By the time Hu Xiaotian had memorized the entire fist technique, it was already the First Update. The old beggar watched him perform the moves flawlessly, nodded satisfied, picked up his wine gourd, and took a few more swigs.

Hu Xiaotian wiped the sweat from his forehead, sat beside him, and asked, "Senior, do you know Xu Lingkong?"

The old beggar nodded and said, "I've heard of that person, but I've never had any dealings with him."

Hu Xiaotian said, "And Chu Fufeng?"

I've also heard of him; it's said Chu Fufeng is the number one extraordinary person under heaven, versed in astronomy above and geography below, versed in countless arts of divination and astrology.

Hu Xiaotian said, "Senior, are you familiar with Hong Beimo?"

"Hong Beimo? Do you mean the Hong Beimo who heads the Bureau of Heavenly Secrets?"

Hu Xiaotian nodded and said, "Exactly!"

"He seems to be a medicine boy who prepares elixirs beside Chu Fufeng."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Senior, do you know that Chu Fufeng, Xu Lingkong, and the present Emperor are sworn brothers?"

The old beggar took another sip of wine, his eyes showing a bewildered hue: "I've heard a bit about that, but martial world rumors aren't necessarily reliable."

Hu Xiaotian said, "Senior, if you've heard any rumors, do share them with me—after all, we're teacher and student."

The old beggar coldly said, "You're not my disciple; I'm helping you only because someone entrusted me." He set down the wine gourd, lifted his head to gaze at the night moon, pondered for a while, then said, "I've heard Chu Fufeng wrote a book titled Creation of Heaven and Earth; this Creation of Heaven and Earth contains the essence of his lifelong painstaking work, and when Chu Fufeng died, only a part of it was missing."

Hu Xiaotian said, "But the Alchemy Cauldron Chapter?"

The old beggar nodded and said, "It seems you know about this."

Hu Xiaotian said, "I heard some of this at Heavenly Dragon Temple—some say Chu Fufeng realized the way to eternal life, and the Alchemy Cauldron Chapter records exactly that content."

The old beggar said, "I've never read Creation of Heaven and Earth, let alone had a chance to see its Alchemy Cauldron Chapter, so I cannot tell whether the claim of immortality is true or false. However, everything in this world has its limits—not just humans, but even mountains, rivers, grasses, and trees cannot endure forever."

Three More update—earnestly seeking votes! (To be continued~^~)