Chapter 46: Touching Feet

Logically speaking, this version of *The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber* featured many actors from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.

Su Youpeng, Jia Jingwen, Guo Feili (who played Yin Susu), and Chen Xiuli (who played Xiao Zhao).

However, none of them appeared at the training site.

There was no time to overthink; the training had already begun.

Ma Yuchen was experienced and chose a set of relatively low-difficulty martial arts forms to start with.

To be honest, it was almost impossible to become a true martial artist in just one week; one could only learn some superficial flourishes.

The main purpose of this training was to improve the actors' physical fitness and to help them adapt to the rigorous filming conditions in advance.

Ma Yuchen taught them move by move. After every single action, he would call a pause and step forward to correct each person individually.

It was similar to how university students are corrected on their marching posture during military training.

It took over an hour to complete the routine. The men, including Zhang Yuan, were doing alright, but the actresses were already exhausted.

"Alright, is anyone willing to step forward and perform the sequence we just practiced to demonstrate the results to everyone?"

As Ma Yuchen spoke, his eyes were fixed on Zhang Yuan.

He knew Zhang Yuan had a foundation, so he wanted him to take the lead.

Before Zhang Yuan could respond, Ma Dongyan, who was beside him, excitedly raised his hand.

"I'll do it!"

Why was he so eager?

Well, it was because he had been provoked by Zhang Yuan.

The way Zhang Yuan had instantly blended in with the group of beautiful women just now had delivered a massive shock to their "not-so-young" hearts.

After some discussion, they had concluded that it was a "face" issue.

*This kid is much more handsome than the three of us; we just can't compete!*

Males in their mating season are like peacocks; they always need an opportunity to spread their feathers.

For Ma Dongyan, who had undergone martial arts training with the *Young Shaolin Zhang Sanfeng* crew just last year, he had finally found an opportunity to showcase himself.

Ma Yuchen did not refuse and let him take his position.

Did Ma Dongyan actually have the skill?

Yes, but not much.

But at this moment, seeing so many beauties watching him, his blood was surging with excitement.

He vowed to exert 120% of his strength.

Sure enough, the martial arts form Ma Yuchen had just taught flowed vigorously in his hands.

The actors all showed mutual respect; the older ones, Xiao Taohong and Chen Zihan, led the applause.

The applause only served to fuel him; Ma Dongyan became even more spirited, his movements becoming more violent and his range wider.

When he reached the move "Turning to Gaze at the Moon," there was a crisp *crack*, and then... there was no "then."

Ma Dongyan froze in place, maintaining the turning posture, while a muffled groan, similar to a leaking bicycle tire, escaped his mouth.

Ma Yuchen reacted quickly, and Zhang Yuan immediately stepped forward.

"He threw his back out!" Old Ma made an instant judgment. "Get him to the hospital, quickly."

Zhang Yuan thought to himself, *Why are you acting so tough...*

"Wait a moment, lay him flat first." Zhang Yuan motioned for Ma Yuchen to lay Ma Dongyan face down on the ground.

This time, everyone crowded around, their faces filled with worry.

"Zhang Yuan, what are you trying to do..." Just as Ma Yuchen finished his question, he suddenly realized.

This kid studied the Natural School (Ziran Men) style, and the Natural School had two specialties: martial arts and medicine.

However, Zhang Yuan had not obtained the Natural School's ability to manufacture medicine or cure diseases; he had only managed to scavenge a small amount of "Tui Na Massage" points from Wang Zhao.

The second and third generation masters of the Natural School were figures similar to Wong Fei-hung; besides martial arts, they were skilled in treating bruises and injuries. After all, martial artists are frequently injured, so understanding medical principles is essential.

Zhang Yuan pulled back the waistband of Ma Dongyan's clothes, felt several vertebrae with his hand, and then slowly applied pressure with his fingers, continuously kneading.

About five minutes later, Zhang Yuan withdrew his hand.

Ma Dongyan immediately stood up and started hopping around... In his dreams! How could that be possible? This wasn't a Xianxia drama.

All Zhang Yuan could do was slightly alleviate the symptoms, allowing the previously immobile Ma Dongyan to walk while gritting his teeth.

"Rest well for the next two days. I'll go get you some medicated patches." Ma Yuchen breathed a sigh of relief. If there were casualties due to his training before filming even started, the director would inevitably blame him.

【Received thanks from Ma Yuchen: Martial Arts Foundation +2, Tan Tui +1, Hung Gar +1!】

Zhang Yuan looked at his attribute points. Cheng Xiaodong had studied many Northern and Southern styles, and it seemed Ma Yuchen, as his student, had inherited them as well.

"Zhang Yuan, you know massage too?" Chen Zihan's beautiful eyes widened.

"Just a little bit."

"Then can you help me massage mine?" Chen Zihan pointed to her ankle.

She had studied folk dance since childhood, and almost all professional dancers suffer from chronic issues in their legs.

Usually, she was fine, but whenever she walked too much or engaged in high-intensity exercise, her ankle would ache faintly.

"Of course. Find a place to sit down."

Since she had been so enthusiastic earlier, Zhang Yuan took the opportunity to return the favor.

Slender jade feet, skin like congealed fat... that was all fantasy. When Chen Zihan removed her shoes and socks, although her feet were delicate and her skin was excellent, her big toe bone was slightly deformed and turned outward.

"Prosperous in public, suffering in private"—the saying was absolutely true.

Zhang Yuan massaged her ankle. After about five minutes, Chen Zihan felt her joint warming up, and after about fifteen minutes, most of the discomfort had vanished.

"I feel much better, thank you, little brother." Chen Zihan smiled brightly, feeling as if she had just visited the massage department of a Chinese medicine hospital.

【Received thanks from Chen Zihan: Acting +1, Dance Foundation +2!】

Lin Jing and Xiao Taohong were doing alright; one had a dance background and the other had a foundation in synchronized swimming, so their physical fitness and flexibility were quite good. Although the routine was tiring, they could endure it.

But Gao Yuanyuan was different.

She had no specialized foundation in dance, sports, or martial arts. Although she looked tall and slim with a good figure, her movements when performing the forms could be described in two words: stiff.

By now, her calves were already cramping, twitching in waves.

Chen Zihan possessed the frankness and passion of a woman from the Sichuan-Chongqing region, and with the connection through Chen Kun, it wasn't unreasonable for her to ask Zhang Yuan for help.

However, Gao Yuanyuan was only in her early twenties and had not yet become worldly. Having a colleague she had just met touch her legs was somewhat difficult to bring up.

Zhang Yuan had previously scavenged quite a bit of the "reading people" attribute from the airport general manager, Song Jianguo, so he was very sensitive to the reactions of those around him.

Noticing Gao Yuanyuan's hesitation, he spoke up.

"If your legs feel uncomfortable normally, I can teach you a few acupoints. Pressing them yourself will make you feel much better."

As he spoke, he pulled up his own pant leg to use himself as an example.

Gao Yuanyuan followed suit and tried it herself; indeed, she felt much more relaxed.

【Received thanks from Gao Yuanyuan: Mindset +1!】

She thanked him silently in her heart, while also becoming interested in Zhang Yuan.

*He's quite interesting. Not only does he remember everyone's breakout works, but he also knows massage. He's so different from typical guys.*

After a short break, Ma Yuchen asked Zhang Yuan to step forward and perform the martial arts sequence again.

After all, with his various martial arts foundation attribute points, while not perfect, his movements were fluid and exceptionally smooth.

Coupled with the previous contrast of Ma Dongyan "trying to act cool but throwing his back out," the actresses increasingly felt that Zhang Yuan was unfathomable.

"He can actually perform martial arts?"

"It looks like he has a foundation."

"He's handsome and can fight, so dashing."

Sitting to the side, Ma Dongyan felt like a complete clown...

The hard work of the day passed quickly. After wrapping up, Chen Zihan led the other girls to proactively find Zhang Yuan.

"Zhang Yuan, seeing your performance, have you practiced martial arts before?"

"Mhm," Zhang Yuan replied softly.

"Then could you teach us privately? None of us have a foundation, and it's very tiring to learn. We're afraid we won't be able to keep up with the pace."

"Of course, no problem," Zhang Yuan answered with a smile. "But you'll have to treat me to dinner."

A give-and-take relationship is what makes friends. Since Zhang Yuan set a condition, the girls were actually more willing.

If Zhang Yuan had agreed unconditionally, they would have felt a psychological burden, feeling as though they owed him something.

Zhang Yuan was surrounded by the girls as they went to dinner.

Behind them, the two men—one being carried and the other shouting in pain—watched his "flower-adorned" silhouette.

"Does he have some kind of superpower?"

"Why is it that after just one day, all the women are revolving around him?"

Enduring his back pain, Ma Dongyan grinned and said, "Duh!"

"If we had his looks, his body, and his skills, would we be sitting here wallowing in self-pity?"

In truth, although Ma Dongyan had been very enthusiastic toward Zhang Yuan at first, he had actually harbored a hint of resentment deep down.

Because during the auditions, he had seen that Director Yang Tao had a close relationship with Zhang Yuan, so he had automatically categorized him as a "nepotism hire."

But after actual contact and seeing Zhang Yuan's performance...

His speech, his ability, and his social grace were all seamless. Although Ma Dongyan was older, he had to admit he was inferior.

"I think even if he didn't have the director's connection, he would still thrive in this crew," Ma Dongyan said, rubbing his lower back.

【Received thanks from Ma Dongyan: Stamina +5!】

And so, they trained during the day, and at night, the beautiful women would treat him to dinner for private lessons.

Zhang Yuan lived very comfortably in the film crew.

A week passed quickly, and the day the crew was set to officially begin arrived.

But no one expected that on the day of filming, a massive chaos would break out...

(End of Chapter)