Chapter 19: Martial Arts is a Killing Technique

...

Liang Song sat by the stone table.

Holding a cup of hot tea, he watched Lin Zheyu practice his boxing with leisure.

When he saw that Lin Zheyu was already able to coordinate his boxing with the internal breathing technique, his eyes widened in surprise.

"I only taught him the internal breathing technique ten days ago, and he has already reached this level!"

Liang Song was astonished.

To be able to integrate breathing techniques into boxing, one must not only comprehend the breathing method but also undergo a period of bitter training.

A martial artist of average talent would not be able to achieve this even after several months of hard practice.

A genius might manage it in about a month.

Yet, Lin Zheyu had done it in just over ten days.

"This kid truly is a martial arts prodigy!"

Liang Song lamented, feeling a hint of envy in his heart.

He remembered when he first encountered the internal breathing technique; it had taken him a full month to integrate it into his martial arts.

Lin Zheyu had accomplished it in less than twenty days.

To encounter such a genius martial talent in a small place like Songyi City was truly an unexpected joy.

"If I had known, I would have paid more attention when I was teaching him before," Liang Song muttered softly to himself.

He watched Lin Zheyu's movements closely.

Lin Zheyu stood with his legs slightly apart, crouched his body, and took his stance. An invisible aura began to permeate from him.

He stomped his foot suddenly, his leg muscles exerting force.

Powerful strength surged from his legs, transmitted through his waist as a pivot to his arms. Immediately after, his upper body tilted slightly, and his fists, carrying immense power, struck out like two bull horns.

His entire body's muscles exploded in that instant, the strength pouring into his arms and transforming into a terrifying offensive as his fists hammered out.

*Crack—*

The moment his fists struck, the sound of bones and sinews resonating echoed from within Lin Zheyu's body.

Twenty minutes later, he finished one set of the boxing routine.

*Clap, clap, clap—*

"Not bad, very not bad," Liang Song said approvingly, clapping his hands.

"However, there are a few areas that need attention."

"The method for tempering bones is slightly different from the method for tempering flesh; do not train using the mindset you had during the flesh-tempering stage."

"First, when tempering bones, you need to focus here, here, and here..."

Liang Song began to instruct, pointing out the areas where Lin Zheyu needed improvement during his practice.

Without guidance, these details and precautions would have required a great deal of hard work to figure out on one's own.

As Lin Zheyu listened to Master Liang's explanations, his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Had it not been for Liang Song's guidance today, Lin Zheyu might have had to wait until his next entry into that special state and undergo long periods of training to gradually figure it out.

"Alright, try it one more time," Liang Song said.

"Yes, Master," Lin Zheyu replied respectfully.

He walked to the center of the courtyard, silently reflecting on Master Liang's instructions and comparing them one by one with his previous experience. His understanding of the Bullish Boxing deepened further.

*Bang!*

*Thud, thud!*

*Crack!*

The sounds of Lin Zheyu's boxing echoed in the courtyard, the cracking sounds of bone and sinew resonance becoming increasingly dense.

This was the sound produced by the collision and resonance of bones and sinews during bone tempering.

When the sounds became dense enough to reach a state where the bones and sinews throughout the entire body resonated in unison, it would be the sign of successful bone tempering.

"Good, good..."

Liang Song nodded continuously, becoming more and more satisfied as he watched Lin Zheyu.

He watched Lin Zheyu train, occasionally offering guidance and pointing out his mistakes.

Soon, more than two hours had passed.

"Take a break," Liang Song called out.

Lin Zheyu stopped, panting heavily, and sat down beside Master Liang, picking up the tea the master had brewed and drinking it in one gulp.

"Your Bullish Boxing has gained some proficiency. Next, I will teach you about actual combat," Liang Song said, slowly refilling the cup Lin Zheyu had just emptied.

"Martial arts are skills for killing; all martial training serves the purpose of killing."

"When facing an enemy, it is not always the case that the higher your martial realm or the greater your strength, the more certain your victory will be."

"In true combat, many factors influence the outcome. Martial will, martial killing moves, martial wisdom, and so on—there are many such factors."

"To put it simply, real combat is using strength to strike weakness."

"How to quickly see through an enemy's weakness and guide the situation to your advantage, creating a scenario where you strike their weakness with your strength—that is real combat."

"Using an opponent's force against them, assassination, ambushes, poisons, and so on—these are all means to guide a situation toward striking weakness with strength. True combat is extremely cruel."

"When facing an enemy, never show even a shred of mercy or hesitation, because you never know if what they are displaying is merely a trap to lure you in," Liang Song said slowly.

...

Liang Song recounted his combat experiences from most of his life to Lin Zheyu one by one.

He didn't care whether Lin Zheyu could absorb it all; he simply poured everything out, stuffing it into Lin Zheyu's mind.

This included dozens of classic combat experiences and hundreds of combat analyses.

"Master, please speak a bit slower," Lin Zheyu couldn't help but say.

Hearing this, Liang Song laughed helplessly; he had been too hasty.

It was simply because seeing Lin Zheyu's extraordinary talent, Liang Song wished he could teach him everything all at once.

"Let's stop here for today. Go back and think about it carefully. Come back tonight, and I will teach you true combat engagement," Liang Song said.

"Master, are you leaving Songyi City?"

Lin Zheyu hesitated before asking the question in his heart.

Liang Song's behavior today was somewhat strange, as if he were worried about not having enough time, eager to teach Lin Zheyu everything in one go.

"You noticed?"

Liang Song was not surprised. "I will be leaving in a few days to handle some matters. It will take a long time to return, or I might not return at all."

"Is it dangerous?"

Lin Zheyu felt worried.

Master Liang could be considered the best person to him since he arrived in this world.

Although Liang Song had not formally taken him as a disciple, Lin Zheyu had always called him Master.

"Don't worry, there is no danger."

"I'm just getting older and want to go see some old friends and settle some old grudges," Liang Song said with a carefree laugh.

"Alright, go on now. Remember to close the gate when you leave."

Liang Song waved his hand and picked up Lin Zheyu's manuscript to flip through it.

"The great hero serves the country and the people; this kid's stories are quite interesting."

Liang Song sipped his tea and read with a smile.

...

In the afternoon.

At the Bidan Teahouse.

It was much livelier than usual today, with many new faces.

"Manager Wu, who are those guys? They look unfamiliar; I haven't seen them before," Lin Zheyu asked curiously.

After more than a month, the audience at the Bidan Teahouse had become almost fixed.

The same people came and went, and Lin Zheyu had seen almost all of them, but today there were over a dozen unfamiliar faces.

"Passing merchant caravans," Manager Wu said.

"Songyi City has become quite lively lately. Affected by the wars, many merchant caravans from the border cities have fled and are passing through Songyi City on their way to the central regions."

The wars seemed to be expanding, and even Songyi City was being affected.

Gradually, people had become much more cautious with their spending, and the tips Lin Zheyu received every day had decreased significantly.

"No wonder they look unfamiliar."

Lin Zheyu nodded and stepped onto the storytelling platform.

*Clack!*

With a strike of the storyteller's gavel, the story began to unfold.

As the story progressed, the plot became increasingly captivating.

Master Liang sat by the window, listening very intently, occasionally drifting off into thought.

(End of Chapter)