Realm-Hopping Martial Master

*Looks like this bargain of a master of his still had quite a bit of wool to be sheared.*

*He'd thought that at Antelope Martial Arts Hall, the only thing he'd get to learn next would be Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength. Who could have guessed that today's spar with Qi Yuan would give him such a huge surprise?*

Famished Tiger Sterilizing Claw.

*If he could master it, his full strength unleashed would definitely let him square off against a Stone Skin Realm Martial Artist!*

*Xuanxing's Martial Arts were developing too, it was true.*

*But for now, what had been passed down were only training methods.*

*No combat techniques.*

"I'll do whatever Senior Brother arranges," Jiang said, his thoughts flickering as he cupped his fist toward Qi Yuan and spoke loudly.

"Good."

A few days later.

The small courtyard.

When Jiang arrived, there were already five men in martial dress chatting leisurely with Qi Yuan in the yard.

"Qi, I heard you quit drinking and I didn't believe it, but now it seems it wasn't just a rumor. What a shame—guess I won't have anyone to drink with anymore."

"Qi Yuan, last time I lost to you by half a move. Now that I'm at the Stone Skin Realm too, let's spar again."

"Damn, even drink-loving Qi is off the booze now? Looks like if we slack off any longer, who knows how far behind we'll be left."

"Where's the junior brother you mentioned? Why isn't he here yet?"

"What's the hurry? There he is."

Chatting as he scanned the area, Qi Yuan saw Jiang appear and immediately called out, pulling him over and introducing him one by one,

"This one who wanted to drink with me is Brother Li from Antelope Martial Arts Hall. He's reached the Stone Skin Realm—broke through even earlier than I did. But he comes from a regular farming family, used to hunt for a living, and every step of his journey's been tough as hell."

"This one who wants to spar, that's Brother Yuan from Red Ape Martial Arts Hall. The Red Ape schools' fists are fierce as hell—super powerful. When Yuan's sparring with my junior, you better go easy on him, man."

"The guy who's been asking about you is from Rotating Turtle Martial Arts Hall. Funny thing, Zhao from Rotating Turtle is super impatient, while Li from Antelope's so chill it's almost too much. We always joke, if the two of them had swapped schools at the start, maybe they'd have gotten even better, even faster."

Following Qi Yuan's introduction, Jiang cupped his fist to each one in turn.

Among the group, some were Stone Skin, and some, like him, were just beginning in the Cowhide Realm.

After some friendly banter.

It was of course Zhao Li, still in the Cowhide Realm, who stepped out first to spar with Jiang.

"I'm being bold here—I'll call you Junior too, Jiang."

Zhao Li cupped his fist, set himself in that solid Rotating Turtle Carrying Mountain stance, and after a moment saw Jiang squat low in a Famished Tiger Squatting Cave posture.

He couldn't hold back anymore—suddenly stomped hard enough to make the boards crack and dust fly, then swung his palm with a sharp wind right at Jiang.

Jiang slid to the side, not rushing, dialing down his own power, fending off Zhao Li's attacks again and again.

*After half a month of sparring with Senior Qi Yuan, how could he get pulled along by someone like Zhao?*

He took the hits at a relaxed pace, tossing out an occasional move for Zhao to deal with.

Their fight was neck and neck, back and forth.

The people in the yard watched and analyzed as they chatted; only Qi Yuan tried hard to hide a bitter smile. No one else could see it, but he sure could—wasn't Jiang just letting Zhao Li save face?

Otherwise, ten bouts ago, he would have pounded Zhao back several steps with a few shots.

*His little junior, huh.*

Before long, both Zhao Li and Jiang stepped back three paces on the field, ending up barely tied.

"Junior Jiang, you're tough!"

Zhao Li twitched his lips, glanced at his threadbare cloth shoes, then cupped his fist.

"You let me off easy, Zhao."

Jiang cupped his fist, too. In fact, he wasn't really holding back on purpose. He just wanted to see more of other halls' Martial Arts, and with a few extra moves from Zhao, he'd get to understand more.

Soon after, the rest went up in turn to spar with him.

He memorized some new moves and thought over them in private.

Rotating Turtle's Martial Arts really weren't weak. The problem was Zhao Li was simply too hasty. Their stance drills focused on defense—he should've been pulling his opponent into his own pace, then counterattacking.

Skin Grinding Realm folks might all have that tough membrane on their skin,

but the Martial Arts differed—the focus of their power training was different, too.

Famished Tiger Roar Mountain Strength focused on hands, waist, and legs. That's why their fists and kicks were so brutal and imposing.

As for Rotating Turtle, from what he saw, the focus was chest and back—giving them more resistance to blows.

Alcohol.

Tea.

Fruit and veggies.

Big slabs of meat.

After filling up, the group dispersed.

Only Qi Yuan and Jiang were left in the courtyard.

"How do you feel?"

He called an old servant to clean up the mess, then Qi Yuan sat on one side of the yard, chatting with Jiang,

"Red Ape's Martial Arts are the fiercest. Yuan did hold back while sparring with me, but honestly, even if we both went all out, chances are I couldn't beat him."

"His stance is rock-steady. I felt like even with my all, he could just stand there and go blow for blow with me."

"Antelope's Martial Arts aren't weak, either. Just from the name, you'd think an antelope's no match for a tiger, but not true. Li's feet are just as fierce. For our school, in the Slice move, we use the leg as if it's the tiger's tail—putting the strength in the leg. But for Brother Li, the power's in his steps."

"If he stomped down with full force, probably even stone tiles would break."

Jiang didn't hold back, just voiced his thoughts and what he'd learned in the match.

"In Red Ape Hall, they visualize the red ape itself. And apes are like us humans—just with an extra tail for balance. Their stance training is all about that sense of balance. That's why you found Yuan's stance so stable."

"And Antelope Hall has a saying, 'Hands are just two gates, but all the hitting comes from the feet.' For them, hands are for blocking—your real danger's in their feet."

"Some people don't get it, first time they face Li—the guy swings his arms, so they think the power's up top. Their lower guard's wide open, and that's how they pay for it."

"That's why we spar. Only by learning more moves can we really know Martial Arts. Even if someday we're up against Martial Artists from outside Pingling County, we'll be able to figure out their strengths and weak spots just from subtleties in their movements."

Qi Yuan explained everything in detail. He may've wasted some time slacking off on his own Martial Arts, but when it came to sizing up Martial Arts and making friends, he knew far more than Jiang ever could.

Watching Jiang fall into thought, Qi Yuan paused, and after a moment, went on,

"Of course, at our gatherings, we're only seeing a small sliver of Pingling's Martial Arts."

"If you're talking about Martial Art variety, nothing beats the magistrate's office."

"If you're talking about resources, no one's got more than the big families."

"The County Office has a copy of every school's Martial Arts in Pingling County, except for the absolute core skills some big households keep private. You just have to join the County Office, and you can learn them for a price. That's the upside of serving in government."

"If a county office can have the Martial Arts of a whole county, just think about what the offices of a whole province or state would look like."

Qi Yuan couldn't help but give a bitter laugh and went on, "The Martial Artists from big families are all direct blood sons, or else favored illegitimate ones—they never run out of resources. At fourteen or fifteen, they're soaking in herbal baths; at fifteen or sixteen, they're already training. Even with zero natural talent, in a year or two, they'll pound out a Martial Artist for sure."

"Compared to guys like that, us common Martial Artists are born with less talent, and way fewer resources."

"If we don't hustle, keep learning, keep broadening our horizons, then the day we face them—same Realm—it's just one word for us: death."