The Divine Spear Martial Hall only has one Hall Master, Li Shuxing.
And those who can be called true Disciples are only the Hall Master's Disciples, which means Li Shuxing's Disciples!
But... how is this possible?!
Junzi Jian's eyes were filled with disbelief.
One must know that even with his high Aptitude, he couldn't catch Li Shuxing's Dharma Eye back then.
How could this bumpkin, whom he had never taken seriously, suddenly transform and become Li Shuxing's Disciple?!
"Perhaps, I misheard... or perhaps... this bumpkin is Li Shuxing's illegitimate son?"
He would rather believe that Huo Yuanhong was taken in because he was related to Li Shuxing than believe that this person, whom he had once discarded like a worn-out shoe, could join the Divine Spear Martial Hall through his true abilities.
Otherwise... if it wasn't due to family ties, with Li Shuxing's discerning eye, even if he didn't recruit an unparalleled Genius, he would at least recruit a Genius with the potential to reach Transformation Force.
If he were to let go of a Genius with the potential to reach Transformation Force during his watch, and allow another Martial Hall to pick him up, such a disheartening matter reaching the ears of the Hall's high-ranking officials would definitely make them think he was a poor judge of character, which would hinder his future control over the Martial Hall.
Moreover, would the true Disciples Li Shuxing takes in really only have the potential to reach Transformation Force?
Thinking of this, Junzi Jian's expression grew even uglier.
Letting go of a Genius with the potential to reach Transformation Force was already troublesome enough; if he really let go of an unparalleled Genius who could surpass Transformation Force in the future... he would likely become the laughingstock of the entire martial arts world, a stain he would never be able to erase!
Even the entire Wen Jian Martial Arts School would be disgraced and become a joke!
Junzi Jian seemed to already see the furious expression of his Hall Master Master!
"Impossible, absolutely impossible. This bumpkin... how could his Aptitude be stronger than mine?"
Junzi Jian stared intently at Huo Yuanhong. Although he wanted to go forward and ask for clarification, he ultimately held back due to his indifferent image in front of his fellow Disciples.
Investigate!
He would use his family's influence to investigate everything thoroughly!
...The Divine Spear Martial Hall is located in the most prosperous area of Tianjin, covering an area of over a thousand square meters, with two large stone lions at the entrance, looking quite grand.
It's about a half-hour rickshaw ride from the Wen Jian Martial Arts School.
Upon arrival, the old steward first took Huo Yuanhong to register and familiarize him with the complex, winding layout of the Hall, so he wouldn't get lost later.
Not long after, Huo Yuanhong had two sets of gray training uniforms and a newly carved token in his hand.
As Li Shuxing's personal Disciple, not only did he not have to pay tuition fees, but he also received a monthly living allowance of one hundred silver yuan!
This was already comparable to a middle-class family with a shop in a bustling market, ten times more than what Father Huo earned in a whole month of hard work!
Huo Yuanhong deeply realized for the first time how easy it was to make money once one had status and position.
"Three days apart, things have changed!"
Three days ago, he was still the unappreciated apprentice of the Wen Jian Martial Arts School, carelessly expelled and with nowhere to go.
Now, three days later, he was already a true Disciple of the Divine Spear Martial Hall, receiving the attention of Tianjin's top expert.
With a faint sense of accomplishment, Huo Yuanhong changed into the training uniform provided by the Martial Hall and, guided by the old steward, walked towards the training area.
"Master."
Entering a spacious training room, Huo Yuanhong once again saw Li Shuxing, who was already waiting.
"Your spirit is good."
Li Shuxing observed Huo Yuanhong's upright posture in his training uniform, nodded with satisfaction, and tossed him an iron Card.
"This is a medicine token from Huichun Pharmacy. Take as much medicine as you need for the Manifest Force stage; it's all charged to your Senior Sister's account, so don't be stingy."
Li Shuxing said with a smile.
Looking at the medicine token in his hand, Huo Yuanhong's eyes immediately lit up.
This was exactly what he most urgently needed at the moment!
After entering Manifest Force, the medicine he originally bought at the pharmacy was clearly insufficient and couldn't keep up with his body's rapid transformation. Since the day before yesterday, he had been feeling hungry, getting hungrier the more he trained.
He had also consulted a pharmacy doctor, who said it was a symptom of training too fast, where nourishment couldn't keep up with consumption. If it continued for too long, it would lead to severe depletion and irreversible internal injuries.
But at that time, he could only afford the medicine for the force-training stage by pawning his family's jade bracelet. How could he afford the more expensive Manifest Force stage ointment? He could only make do with the force-training stage ointment and keep training.
And now... with the medicine token given by his Master, he no longer had to worry about his body's depletion at least during the Manifest Force stage, and could train with peace of mind!
"Alright, while it's still early, I'll teach you some real stuff today..."
"Baji Quan (Eight Extremities Fist) evolved from spear techniques. The fist and elbow techniques are also spear techniques. When practiced to a profound Realm, it can achieve the Realm of spear and elbow unity, where an elbow strike is like a spear thrust, with extremely strong penetrating power!"
"When practicing, you also need to practice with a long spear..."
Saying this, Li Shuxing took a white wax spear from a nearby weapon rack. It was about one and a half times a person's height.
This white wax spear was made from fifteen to twenty-year-old fluffy white wax wood, soaked in tung oil for seven days. The shaft was also wrapped in sharkskin, providing both anti-slip and shock-absorbing effects.
"Stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, with the butt of the spear resting three inches below your navel."
"Hold the spear shaft with your right hand about one-third of the way from the back, and lightly support the front section with your left hand. Your elbow should be lowered, level with the Danzhong acupoint."
Li Shuxing explained in detail. After demonstrating the spear-holding posture, he suddenly let out a low grunt, stomped his right foot heavily, and the white wax spear in his hand twisted with his waist and hips, suddenly thrusting out!
Swoosh!
With a slight sound, the spear tip directly pierced into the stacked rice paper on the wall, then was pulled out as smoothly as flowing water.
After Li Shuxing retrieved the spear, Huo Yuanhong carefully examined the pierced rice paper and was surprised to find:
On these ten layers of rice paper, which would tear with a slight pull, there was only a smooth, circular spear tip cross-section from inside to out, with no tearing marks from overflowing force.
It was as if it hadn't been pierced by a long spear, but rather meticulously carved out with a carving knife, flat and smooth.
What terrifying control! The force was completely concentrated at one point, without a single bit of leakage!
"When practicing the spear, you need to coordinate with breathing techniques. The Baji breathing technique, simply put, is the 'heng' and 'ha' sounds..."
"When stomping your foot to generate force, exhale through your nose and make a 'heng' sound. When retracting the spear, inhale through your mouth and relax with a 'ha' sound..."
"This basic practice method of stomping and thrusting the spear, practice it two hundred times a day. When you can thrust out ripples, you will have entered the inner sanctum. When the first three layers of rice paper show no extra damage, it will be considered Minor Achievement..."
Huo Yuanhong listened intently, completely engrossed. Finally having the opportunity to access such a secret martial art transmission filled him with joy.
"Your Aptitude is acceptable, but you must remember not to be arrogant or impatient. Back then, I achieved Manifest Force immediately upon starting, and reached Transformation Force at only twenty years old. You must work even harder and more diligently to hope to catch up with my pace..."
"Master, rest assured, Disciple will redouble his efforts."
After demonstrating a few times, Li Shuxing handed the white wax spear to Huo Yuanhong, and he himself left with his hands behind his back.
"So fast? Why didn't you teach him a bit longer?"
Outside the door, Senior Sister Fang Yu asked curiously.
"Let him practice on his own first. It's also good to let him know the difference between advanced training methods and those superficial tricks outside, so he doesn't get arrogant."
"Oh? What did you teach him, old man?"
"Paper piercing."
"What? Paper piercing? Senior Brother spent rooms full of paper and still couldn't master it, tormented to the point of almost doubting life itself? You're letting a newcomer practice this right away, without building a foundation???"
Fang Yu was stunned by the news.
"What's the big deal? When I first joined, your Grandmaster also taught me this, wanting to give me a challenge..."
Li Shuxing walked outside with his hands behind his back, leisurely saying, "As a result, I managed to thrust out ripples in just five days, without asking anyone for help, which was only about half a month faster than your Grandmaster..."
Thinking of his own Master's wonderful expression back then, even after decades, Li Shuxing still showed a faint smile.
This was also an old tradition of their lineage.
When they first joined, Masters always liked to give their Disciples a challenge to gauge their abilities.
But after many times, there were bound to be mishaps, like when his Master took him as a Disciple back then.
Fortunately... Li Shuxing's talent was high enough. No matter how much of a Genius his Disciples were, they were still not as good as him in his youth, so he had never had a mishap.
"The previous elbow technique was an accident. After all, this young fellow has been practicing Baji Quan (Eight Extremities Fist) for ten years, so his foundation is deep enough. It's reasonable for him to master it so quickly... But this time with the paper piercing technique, the young fellow has definitely never encountered it before. He's got his work cut out for him."
Li Shuxing smiled slightly, then lifted his leg and got into the car, Fang Yu quickly followed.
"Master, you should take it easy. Don't discourage Junior Brother too much. After all, not everyone is as exceptionally gifted and brilliant as you."
"Don't worry, how could I not know this? Of course, I won't truly follow my standards from back then..."
Li Shuxing chuckled.
On the path of martial arts, while it's not good to be arrogant and complacent, if one loses confidence, that's even more troublesome than arrogance.
Just enough to let the young fellow know that there are always others better than him, that's all.
"After a whole afternoon of hard practice without grasping the knack, the young fellow should understand the gap. Tomorrow morning, I'll go see him again and guide him to learn from scratch..."
..."Hoo!"
Holding the heavy long spear, Huo Yuanhong assumed his stance, mimicking the stomping, twisting of the waist, and thrusting!
"Swoosh—!"
The rice paper hanging on the wall was directly torn by the spear tip, scattering and mostly falling down.
【Baji Quan (Eight Extremities Fist) (Manifest Force 143/600)】
"Again."
Huo Yuanhong was not discouraged. After digesting the insights from that thrust, he thrust the spear again!
"Swoosh—!"
This time, although the rice paper was still torn, the degree of tearing was much lighter compared to the last time, with only half of it falling down.
"Continue."
【Baji Quan (Eight Extremities Fist) (Manifest Force 144/600)】
Huo Yuanhong pondered for a moment, then adjusted his posture and thrust the spear again!
"Swoosh!"
This time, only three sheets of rice paper were torn and fell down. The remaining seven sheets, though torn, were not as severely damaged as before and still hung on the wall.
【Baji Quan (Eight Extremities Fist) (Manifest Force 145/600)】
For the rest of the time, Huo Yuanhong stayed there, digesting the experience after each thrust, then thrusting again, and digesting the experience again.
Almost every thrust showed significant improvement over the previous one.
Not long after, he was able to ensure that no sheet of rice paper would be torn off.
This meant that he had already begun to gather his force and had glimpsed the essence of this practice method.
"Continue."
After gulping down the tea water nearby and eating a few bites of the Manifest Force stage ointment that his Master had prepared in the training room, Huo Yuanhong picked up the long spear again and began a new round of thrusting practice.
At this time, the training room was already filled with brand new rice paper.
This had been hastily replaced by the Hall's servants during the break when he was eating and drinking. Ten servants in total were waiting outside to attend to him alone—this was the treatment for a Hall Master's personal Disciple.
"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!..."
The whistling sound of the spear tip tearing through the air continuously echoed in the training room, accompanied by the "swoosh" of rice paper being pierced.
As evening approached, with Huo Yuanhong's spear thrust, ripples visible to the naked eye appeared on the rice paper, centered at the point of the spear tip, like ripples created by a stone dropped into water.
He had entered the inner sanctum!