Chapter 7: One Hundred and Eight Iron Tiger Fists

"The Iron Tiger Fist is the ancestral secret art of Master Jian Xiong's family; once mastered, it possesses the divine strength to subdue the fierce tigers of the mountains."

"This set of fist techniques consists of eighteen stances in total, each stance having six variations, deriving a total of one hundred and eight moves."

"As new entrants, you must begin by learning the foundations; remember not to be greedy for quantity."

On the spacious ground of the Outer Courtyard, Lu Qiang stood before a crowd of Apprentices to provide Instruction in fist martial arts.

He was burly and tall, with a personality extremely steady; just standing there, he was like a towering mountain.

"Big Senior Brother is a genuine Blood-Qi Warrior, nicknamed 'Iron Tiger'."

Among the crowd of novice Apprentices, Song Fugui whispered to remind Zhou You.

Regardless of how long new Apprentices stay, the content of their learning is much the same: bitter training in basic skills.

Only by breaking through in force and becoming a Zhengshi Xuitu can one learn more things.

Although Zhou You arrived the latest, he still listened to the lecture together with the other Apprentices in the novice stage.

"Listen well, martial arts practice is also called fist training; why is that?"

"Because fist technique is the source of martial arts, the foundation of martial arts, and the root of martial arts; all martial arts take the fist as their ancestor, so practicing martial arts requires training the fist."

"When a punch is thrown, it is not just the hand, elbow, arm, and shoulder; one must mobilize the power of the spine, waist, hips, and legs."

"Since you are all newcomers, do not aim too high; you must still start by practicing the Defense-Attack Hands and the Square-Circle Steps."

Zhou You perked up; finally, the key points were being discussed.

However, the Apprentices around him who had arrived earlier all looked listless and uninterested when they heard about Defense-Attack Hands and Square-Circle Steps.

Lu Qiang seemed not to notice this and continued to explain clearly, word by word.

"Defense-Attack Hands are the foundation of the fist technique; broken down, they consist of two parts: the Defense Hand and the Attack Hand."

"Martial arts are for combat, and where there is combat, there is offense and Defense; one back and one forth makes a round."

"The Defense Hand is the defensive technique, while the Attack Hand is the offensive technique."

"When you throw a punch, that is an Attack Hand; when the opponent raises an arm to block, that is also an Attack Hand."

"Defense-Attack Hands belong to the two sides of a single yin-yang entity; they coexist and are indispensable to one another."

"For example, when you are hitting someone, you cannot completely abandon your own protection; otherwise, if the opponent dodges, they can hit you back with a counter-strike."

"Defense-Attack Hands combine offense and defense, whether in a fifty-fifty split or a thirty-seventy ratio; they can both strike others and defend against being struck."

After Lu Qiang finished his explanation, he called two Apprentices forward to demonstrate the techniques.

The process of demonstrating techniques is a rigid, step-by-step drill.

The two Apprentices traded punches and kicks; it looked lively, but in reality, they were stopping just before making contact.

Looking at them, they could go on for a whole day without getting hurt, at most sweating a little or panting heavily.

Zhou You watched carefully, thinking to himself that this was what they called "methodology."

The fist paths sound illusory, but in reality, they all have rules to be explored; to defeat an enemy with the least amount of force, one must seek out their vital points.

Therefore, the core of any fist technique is to attack the enemy's weakest parts with the fastest speed and the strongest force.

Offense is like this, and defense follows the same principle.

Defense-Attack Hands are the routines for attacking and defending against the vital points of the human body.

This Big Senior Brother, Lu Qiang, spoke with great reason; this is the root of martial arts practice.

But most of the Apprentices around him had little interest in this.

Their minds were filled with the three-month deadline, and they all wanted to learn the exquisite moves of the Iron Tiger Fist to meet the requirements for entry as soon as possible.

Lu Qiang finished explaining the Defense-Attack Hands, and next came the Square-Circle Steps.

"Heaven is round and Earth is square; when a person walks between Heaven and Earth, their steps do not depart from the square and the circle."

"The circle follows an arc, the square must be straight; having give and take is the key to victory."

"Master once passed down a saying: 'Better to walk a circle than a straight line'; why is this?"

"Because going straight back and forth is the most dangerous, leaving no room for maneuver."

"When facing an enemy, you open up distance with your feet; if you want to hit someone, you close in, and if you encounter a counter-attack, you immediately step back; by retracting in an arc, it seems like a retreat, but in reality, it leaves room for a counter-strike."

"If you move straight forward and backward, you are just a foolish roe deer."

Lu Qiang gestured as he spoke, taking a few steps forward and then a few steps back.

One could see that he seemed to advance while actually retreating; he appeared steady, but whenever one tried to capture his position, he felt elusive and uncertain.

Once engaged in combat with him, it would certainly be difficult to land a hit on his body.

After Lu Qiang finished his explanation, he emphasized a few more key points and let the Apprentices pair up to practice the techniques.

"Zhou You, let's pair up!"

Song Fugui approached Zhou You with a grin.

His original sparring partner was Ning Daliang, who had moved away, and since Zhou You was a newcomer who didn't know anyone, they happened to make a pair.

The other Apprentices also found their respective partners and began to practice with each other.

But upon observation, one could see that their fist paths were sharper and had more variations.

One after another, they whistled and leaped, their steps carrying pressing gusts of wind, their force extremely strong.

"Don't just watch; they have learned the stances of the Iron Tiger Fist."

Song Fugui told Zhou You, "You won't learn the moves until the afternoon; you should practice the basic Defense-Attack Hands and Square-Circle Steps with me first."

Zhou You had been listening intently just now, constantly pondering the principles within.

He was also literate and knew that the true secret teachings were all contained in a few casual sentences.

Lu Qiang was responsible for the Instruction of the Outer Courtyard Apprentices; besides his character and personality, his insight into fist martial arts was also extraordinary.

"Then I thank you."

Through observation, Zhou You also discovered that there was much to be said about how one paired up.

Capable Apprentices improve their strength through sparring, and they look down on Apprentices weaker than themselves.

Song Fugui seems to be the weakest among the new students, which is why he sought out Zhou You to spar.

Zhou You took a deep breath, set his stance, and positioned his hands one inside and one outside, assuming a posture that combined both offense and defense.

His left and right toes pointed in two different directions, which is exactly what the jargon calls a "neither-ding-nor-ba" stance.

A gust of wind struck, Song Fugui arrived right in front of him, and his fist grew larger in his field of vision.

The force of this punch exceeded the level of 5 Strength.

Zhou You raised his crossed arms and pushed outward, blocking the opponent's fist.

As the force traveled into his body, he swayed twice and instinctively wanted to step back.

The phrase "rather walk in a circle than walk in a square" appeared in his mind, and he scraped his feet against the ground, tracing an arc to dodge to Song Fugui's left side.

"Imperial Striking Hands, defense, offense; you are within me, and I am within you."

Zhou You spotted a flaw under Song Fugui's ribs, stretched out his arms, and swung the fist Zang in his chest like lightning.

Thud!

Song Fugui flipped his palm to catch the fist, then staggered back two steps and stopped.

"Not bad, you're learning quite fast."

Although the exchange between the two just now was brief, it was a complete round with give and take.

Zhou You was facing Song Fugui, who had been learning for two months, yet he was actually able to hold his own.

Song Fugui clicked his tongue in wonder, "Again, again."

Having finally found a sparring partner who was a match for him, he was worked up into a fever.

By the time the lunch break arrived, the two were basically tied.

Song Fugui's strength was a cut above, but his application of Imperial Striking Hands had actually been surpassed by Zhou You.

"You're a talent; you're progressing rapidly. Maybe in three months, you really might be able to enter the gate."

A line of text appeared on Zhou You's interface.

"You practiced the new skill 'Imperial Striking Hands' for two hours, Experience Points +2."

"You practiced the new skill 'Square and Circle Steps' for two hours, Experience Points +2."

"Once a skill is perfected, practicing it will no longer increase Experience Points."