Chapter 93: Wu Family Martial Arts System

Other families find it incredibly difficult to obtain even a single genuine Internal Energy Heart Technique; the Wu Clan has had only the Yan Qing Fist's breathing method for over a hundred years.

Therefore, the Wu Clan can only be considered a local powerful clan; no one has ever regarded the Wu Family as a martial arts aristocratic family — bearing the surname Wu in vain, the lack of a good Internal Energy Heart Technique is the greatest defect.

Being able to produce three mid-level techniques each with distinct characteristics after careful selection, while setting aside top-level supreme arts for the time being — such generosity can be called lavish.

Only Wu Chengyu, having obtained the Murong Family inheritance and the Nine Yin Manual Lower Volume, along with the Bamboo Slips as guidance, could accomplish this.

But with so many Secret Manuals in hand, Wu Chengyu — who often lamented having no time to cultivate and thus wasting resources — was unwilling to stop there; having only Internal Force without corresponding techniques was also unacceptable, at least it would not do justice to the hand he held.

Wu Chengyu wanted to construct a complete Wu family martial arts system; even if not high-end at the start, it must have everything it should.

Besides two Internal Force methods targeting different aspects, the hard skill Iron Cloth Shirt — previously specialized in external defense — was selected first; martial arts, when all is said and done, is about fighting, and the saying goes: learn martial arts by taking beatings first; only by enduring can you win.

Guiyuan Heart Sutra cultivates Qi, Mangniu Great Strength Technique cultivates power, Iron Cloth Shirt cultivates defense; if all three are truly cultivated to a certain level, even encountering someone with higher martial arts, I believe the opponent would have an even worse headache — in a prolonged fight, like a copper pea, very difficult to defeat easily.

However, this is only the best-case scenario; besides the Guiyuan Heart Sutra serving as the main cultivation technique for the Wu Family's young disciples.

Iron Cloth Shirt and Mangniu Great Strength Technique are destined to only be supplementary practices; without good aptitude and massive resources, wanting to cultivate all three simultaneously is destined to only waste time and energy — the loss outweighs the gain.

Regarding fist and palm techniques, Wu Chengyu prepared two types according to different functions; the first is the Great Splitting Coffin Hand.

The Great Splitting Coffin Hand is similar to Shaolin Temple's Great Palm Splitting Stele Hand; it has long existed in the martial world, and has nothing to do with the Ye family's Great Splitting Coffin in Joy of Life.

This palm technique is fierce and sharp, with great momentum and heavy power, strong killing power, most suitable for breaking through defenses; used as a killing move when locked in a stalemate with an enemy, it is inevitably hard to parry, and once it connects, it inevitably causes severe injury.

There are many in the martial world who know the Great Splitting Coffin Hand, but they only know scattered moves; only the Murong Family possesses the complete version — nine moves total, each move lethal.

But the Great Splitting Coffin Hand's drawback is that it consumes Internal Force extremely; when fighting desperately one naturally holds nothing back, but unless Internal Force is extremely profound, after unleashing all nine moves consecutively, Internal Force is basically exhausted — if the opponent doesn't die, you die; it is truly unsuitable for fighting to the death right from the start.

At this time, a fist technique is needed that wins through exquisite moves, consumes little Internal Force, excels at prolonged combat, and also possesses certain killing power.

This time Wu Chengyu chose the Eagle Claw Grasping Technique — of which the Murong Family collection had quite many versions, a rather common variety.

But although the Eagle Claw Grasping Technique met Wu Chengyu's requirements, it was really too ordinary.

Under the Bamboo Slips' guidance, Wu Chengyu took the Dividing Muscles and Displacing Bones specialty of the Jie Gu Qin Na Shou, as well as some methods from the Nine Yin Manual for enhancing finger strength, and slightly modified the Eagle Claw Gong, giving it a quite domineering name: Hawk Transformation Capturing Hand.

The modified Hawk Transformation Capturing Hand reached the upper limit of high-level fist techniques in the martial world; it cannot compare to supreme arts like the Falling Petals Divine Sword Palm, but it is more than enough for the Wu Family's use.

Regarding Lightness Skill, the Murong Family's collection was not extensive, and all were common varieties.

Wu Chengyu combined three very ordinary Lightness Skills in the martial world: Grass-Top Flying, Roof-Running Wall-Crossing, and Eight Steps Catching Cicada.

Sometimes the lower-end a martial art, the more widely it spreads — there must be its excellence; Grass-Top Flying excels at long-distance running with low consumption; Roof-Running Wall-Crossing is a high-end version of parkour, skilled at light-body leaping; Eight Steps Catching Cicada is a short-distance acceleration ambush technique.

These three Lightness Skills, combined with basic footwork like Lingyuan Step, Linked Step, Plum Blossom Stakes, and Reverse Treading Seven Stars Step, under the Bamboo Slips' guidance, Wu Chengyu created a Hundred Changes Divine Travel Method; currently no aspect is top-tier, yet it can handle various different environments.

Finally, weapons — Wu Chengyu chose to focus on Blade Art; Blade Art is quick to learn, powerful, and more suited for jianghu people.

In this aspect Wu Chengyu is not considered proficient; he has hardly practiced weapons to this day, only selecting two Blade Arts and one array method from the Murong Family collection.

The Five Tigers Breaking Gate Blade renowned for ferocity, the sinister and vicious Hidden Killing Blade Art, and a Five Elements Blade Array.

The Battle Array Method given to Lu Zhiyi is more suited for those battlefield brave generals; this Five Elements Blade Array is most suited for jianghu figures surrounding and attacking a master or fighting outnumbered.

Once this system is established, selecting trustworthy Wu Family young disciples to teach — in at least ten years, the Wu Family will produce a batch of true martial arts masters.

According to Wu Chengyu's estimation, in ten years they will basically all be above Ke Zhen'e — the strongest in martial arts among the Seven Freaks of Jiangnan; if cultivation exceeds fifteen years, they will inevitably closely pursue powerholders like Sha Tongtian and Peng Lianhu.

At that time, the strength possessed by the entire Wu Clan will be extremely terrifying.

Moreover, if these Wu Family disciples have sufficient aptitude and character worthy of Wu Chengyu's trust, fifteen years later Wu Chengyu absolutely believes he will already stand at the pinnacle of the martial world; then quasi-supreme arts like the Longcheng Heart Method and those of the Murong Family Stewards, he would not hesitate to teach either.

When Wu Chengyu presented these martial arts to Wu Zhengliang, Wu Zhengliang was greatly shocked; on the surface some of these martial arts look like common varieties, but to truly collect them all, or obtain the authentic transmission, is not that easy — these are exactly what the Wu Clan has always lacked.

Especially the Hawk Transformation Capturing Hand and Hundred Changes Divine Travel Method modified by Wu Chengyu — Wu Zhengliang's martial arts are not high, but he still clicked his tongue in wonder at the extraordinariness these two martial arts revealed.

Asked about the origins of these martial arts, Wu Chengyu did not want to lie, so he could only guarantee absolutely no future troubles, outsiders would not find out, and the true origins he kept his mouth shut about.

That night Wu Zhengliang gathered the Family Head, clan elders, and the helmsmen of the Main House and Second House; these Secret Manuals immediately drew gasps of amazement from them — only Wu Chengyu sat to the side smiling silently, with quite a bit of a "displaying holiness before others" posture.

These Elders deliberated the whole night, finally deciding that all martial arts are currently limited to the Wu family direct line; collateral branch members with good aptitude and more loyalty will wait until the direct line disciples grow up before reconsidering; Outside Surname Disciples currently have no qualification to receive transmission.

And those in the direct line who usually slack off and muddle through days were also excluded; only those with decent character and cultivation value were selected; the Wu Family's future gains would set aside a portion specifically to purchase resources for these direct line disciples who received transmission.

Finally, after greatly praising Wu Chengyu, the Elders gave him an informal position of Wu Family Slope Chief Instructor.

Actually the Wu Family is clear in rewards and punishments; a contribution like his would inevitably warrant a heavy reward; unfortunately Wu Chengyu lacks nothing — the Family Head thought for half a day and couldn't think of how to reward him, so could only temporarily shelve it.

However, thanks to Wu Chengyu, the Wu Clan Third Branch gained much more say in the family; Wu Chengyu's status in the family is incomparable to before — no one treats him as a junior anymore.

(Chapter End)