Chapter 376: Studying Weapon Techniques

Zhou Family Village has raised a whole litter of Hungry Tigers! Ever since Zhou You began taking on students, the craze for practicing fist arts has grown ever stronger, with sparring partners everywhere.

Each person's aptitude differs, and their understanding of fist techniques varies—some have grasped the true meaning of the Hungry Tiger's ferocity, while others lean toward the cleverness of divided attention. In short, each has gained something.

That day, after Zhou Sheng broke through to Qi and Blood, he was immediately taken in as a disciple by Zhou You.

A Qi and Blood warrior is a precious talent in any era—a fearsome presence who can take on ten in melee combat.

Originally he was just a farming boy, but now he has leapt up to become Zhou You's disciple—truly a carp leaping through the dragon gate.

This event spurred more clansmen to practice fist arts with all their might, hoping to break through to Strength and even Qi and Blood as soon as possible.

Even if they cannot become someone of higher standing, they can still become a village guardian like Zhou Laiwei, earning the deep respect and reverence of the villagers and clansmen.

A rustic countryside village is never truly a peaceful place—one more measure of martial strength means one more means of self-protection.

"Weapon techniques are tremendously powerful; they require at least ten times compressed Qi and Blood to activate."

Zhou You, holding a sharp sword, was giving Qi Qingdi a private lesson.

Qi Qingdi had already reached the mid-stage of Qi and Blood, leaving the others far behind, and as Zhou You's trusted disciple, the curriculum he received was far ahead of the others.

Today's topic was weapon techniques.

"However, before that, first familiarize yourself with the grip and swing of the weapon. Once your Qi and Blood naturally matures, picking it up will be far easier."

Zhou You handed the longsword to Qi Qingdi. "Give it a try!"

Qi Qingdi gripped the longsword and felt the burning heat of the blade—the part he touched grew faintly hot.

He knew this was a characteristic of a Qi and Blood divine weapon: cold metal tempered and refined with Qi and Blood, able to heat up and grow hot on its own without being forged in fire.

One could well imagine that once Qi and Blood was channeled in, it would unleash terrifying power.

Thinking of this, he could not help but release a wisp of Qi and Blood into the sharp sword.

Qi Qingdi had now reached Qi and Blood 5th Stage, surging from behind to become the foremost person beneath Zhou You, and his Qi and Blood had officially been compressed by one fold.

However, he was still a long way from the late stage of Qi and Blood.

After his Qi and Blood flowed into the longsword, it had only seeped in a few inches before being torn apart by an invisible storm, utterly routed.

"Ah!"

The sword hilt suddenly grew hot and stinging, nearly causing him to lose his grip on the longsword.

Zhou You smiled and shook his head. "Without the strength, you must not rashly activate a Qi and Blood divine weapon."

"First learn the forms and the methods of channeling force at a distance. Once you reach the late stage of Qi and Blood, it will come naturally."

Zhou You now mastered quite a few weapon techniques as well: the Tiger Head Hammer from Subduing Tiger Fist, the Crane Beak Chisel, Crane Feather Sword, and Crane Talon Hook from Crane Fist, as well as the many weapons recorded in the Five Blessings Palm Fist Record.

But honed through real combat, his favorites remained the dagger, the longsword, and the flying hammer.

The dagger takes the Hungry Tiger's fangs as its true meaning—concealed and unused, but when used, it draws blood. It is called the Tiger Tooth Bijishou.

The longsword follows the path of Crane Fist, taking its meaning from a crane spreading its feathers—agile and light, with killing intent bursting forth.

The flying hammer follows the path of the Tiger Head Hammer; having grown used to it over time, at the critical moment a single hammer blow settles the outcome, with striking effect.

From experience, there is no strongest weapon technique—only the one that best suits oneself. What flows naturally from the hand is the strongest.

Zhou You understood this principle, and when teaching disciples he also tailored his instruction to the individual.

"Master, my family's inherited Iron Flute Technique also has weapon techniques. I feel they suit me better."

Qi Qingdi twirled the longsword a few times, then suddenly spoke to Zhou You. "Mm, let's hear it."

Although Qi Qingdi primarily cultivated the Double Body Tiger Form Fist, he had not neglected his family's inherited Iron Flute Technique. After all, he was a male of the family, bearing the responsibility of passing down the clan's fist arts, and he did not dare let this martial art fall into disuse.

He was seen to produce a cast-iron long flute, about seventy percent the length of an adult's arm, entirely black and matte.

Before his master, Qi Qingdi held nothing back and began introducing the secret essentials of the Iron Flute as a weapon.

"The Iron Flute belongs to the short-staff category, mainly using flicking and smashing strikes, with the many flute holes on the surface for grip."

"Master, my family's Iron Flute Technique differs from the common stuff outside—it contains eight hidden ultimate moves…"

Zhou You took the heavy Iron Flute, thinking the weight was no light matter—swinging it to crack open someone's skull would be effortless.

Setting aside its appearance, this was simply a hollow steel pipe—no wonder its striking method was identical to a short staff.

He also knew a thing or two about staff techniques! As the saying goes, no staff technique works without spinning. Whether long or short, when executed, the staff must spin and flick, using clever force to tear open the enemy's defense and strike straight at the vital point.

The key lies in the staff's axis. Once you grasp the axis, no matter how it spins, advances, or retreats, it remains as steady as a thousand-year-old tree, deeply rooted in the earth.

In the previous great battle at Gongliang City, Wanxiu Mountain's Xishan Duxiu used staff techniques—gripping any section of the staff, channeling force through the entire length, so that any point could deliver power, smashing an enemy's skull to pulp.

That was the true power of weapon techniques, and also a realm Zhou You had yet to reach.

"Qingdi, if you have the heart to practice the Iron Flute, that's good. Think it over more on your own."

Although Zhou You was not well-versed in staff techniques, Qi Qingdi's family-inherited Iron Flute Technique had a complete training process; what it lacked was nothing more than key pointers and corrections.

Zhou You had the function of the Palm Martial Arts Hall. He only needed to thoroughly digest the weapon techniques of the Iron Flute Technique, and teaching them in return would yield twice the result with half the effort.

The foundation of the Iron Flute Technique is staff technique, and getting started with staff technique is not difficult.

After all, staves and clubs belong to the broad category of blunt weapons, and the Tiger Head Hammer is precisely a blunt weapon—the underlying principles are the same.

Zhou You primarily cultivated the Tiger-Crane Dual Form Fist. The Tiger Form favored fierce power and steadiness, naturally suited to blunt weapons; the Crane Form was nimble and agile, suited to sharp weapons.

It could be said he had dabbled in both blunt and sharp weapons, but the Tiger Head Hammer was, after all, his first weapon technique, with a deep foundation.

"…"

Thud! The wooden staff struck the Stone Disc at the village entrance with a muffled sound. The staff was unharmed, while a corner of the Stone Disc was smashed off.

Zhou You pinched the staff and felt its internal structure—no cracks, no damage, the surface unbroken. This was the effect of using clever force: the weak defeating the strong.

Weapon techniques are not simply grabbing a piece of iron and brawling, nor are they picking up a broad blade to hack at people. They are a higher-level application of fist arts on a weapon—the force of a single fist amplified tenfold or even a hundredfold through the weapon.

This wooden staff was the most ordinary tree branch. If it were replaced with a Qi and Blood divine weapon, its power would be incalculable.

"What a pity—still can't do it!"

Zhou You sighed, unable to suppress the disappointment in his heart.

Taking Xishan Duxiu as his reference, he had studied the weapon techniques of the Iron Flute Technique, and his progress along the path of staff techniques had been rapid.

However, he could never achieve that kind of effortless, devastating power—strolling along and casually crushing skulls.

Thinking it over, he concluded that the force-application method within the opponent's fist art was unique, concealing even more exquisite and subtle techniques.

Wanxiu Mountain's fist art truly has capital to stand apart from the rest!

Qi Qingdi gazed at the shattered Stone Disc, her heart filled with utter worship for Zhou You.

An ordinary wooden stick, striking against the Stone Disc, did not break itself, but instead shattered the Stone Disc.

Master's weapon technique is simply miraculous—casually wielding a stick yields such power. When will I ever learn such skill? (End of Chapter)