Beast King: From Mon-key to Mon-god

"The foundation of martial arts is divided into four passes: Skin, Flesh, Bone, and Blood. I suppose you've all heard about this, but in my opinion, it's not that complicated—it's all about the fundamental concept of 'refining'."

"Refining?"

"Yes, refining, refining with all your might, making your strength grow immense, so immense that a mere scrape would injure others, and a touch would kill. Only then can you be called a grandmaster of a generation."

Liang Qu followed behind Xiang Changsong and couldn't help but smirk when he heard this.

To become a saint through the physical body, right? But the key is how to refine it!

Olympic-level athletes from his previous life told Liang Qu that the human body has its limits; without special methods, it's absolutely impossible to split rocks and carve steles with one's body alone.

Xiang Changsong's next sentence proved this point.

"Of course, no matter how ordinary people refine themselves, there is a limit. Being a match for ten is the utmost one can achieve. To break through this limit, two things are indispensable: method and medicine!"

"Method and medicine?"

"That's right, method refers to the Dharma Points, such as the Three-Fist Technique that you will receive to practice if you join our Yang Family Martial Arts School. With these Dharma Points, one finally has the ladder to climb upwards."

Liang Qu asked, "And the medicine?"

Xiang Changsong answered, "The method paves the way for the upward climb, but this ladder is steep! Precarious! Rugged! In this case, you need a handrail to walk quickly and steadily, without falling and shattering to pieces. This is the role of medicine!"

"As you've all come from Yixing City, you must know about yesterday's news of the two Treasure Fish caught at the wharf in Yixing City, right?"

Liang Qu bowed with his fist in his palm, "Senior Brother Xiang, I'll not hide the fact that one of those two Treasure Fish was caught by me, a Bull Horn Pomfret weighing over three pounds, sold for six silver coins and five smaller denominations. Together with some savings, I just managed to gather enough silver coins to come and learn martial arts."

Xiang Changsong was stunned, then realizing it was probably the money from selling the Treasure Fish when he received the seven silver coins just now, he laughed and said, "Junior Brother Liang seems to have good fortune."

"Those Treasure Fish are actually the kind of medicine that we need. One Treasure Fish can almost replace a month's worth of cultivation. Besides that, there's also Treasure Meat, Treasure Plants—whatever can help us temper our blood and qi and increase our strength, all of it counts as medicine."

"Because of this, many martial arts have corresponding medicine recipes that complement each other, achieving an effect where one plus one is greater than two. For instance, the medicine recipes paired with our Three-Fist Technique are effective with other methods, but not as much as when combined with practicing the Three-Fist Technique."

"Of course, if there's really no option, eating more meat can contribute somewhat, to some extent."

Liang Qu listened with an active mind.

He had no access to Treasure Meat, but he was well-versed in Treasure Fish and Treasure Plants!

In the Jianghuai Zeye marshland, the number of Treasure Fish was beyond imagination. With the Fat Catfish found every few days, he could find two Treasure Fish; if this continued, wouldn't he soar?

Li Libo, on the other hand, was somewhat silent beside them.

Xiang Changsong noticed this but was not surprised; many people think joining a martial arts school would guarantee success, which is a big mistake.

"The rich excel in martial arts; children raised on meat are naturally stronger than those brought up on husks and vegetables."

Both junior brothers were just ordinary folks, probably somewhat disheartened.

He didn't speak to discourage them but rather comforted them, "Junior Brother Li, you don't need to be sad. Lack of medicine doesn't mean the path of martial arts will certainly be difficult. It's all up to the individual and there's nothing set in stone; geniuses exist in this world who don't use medicine but still walk the path swiftly and steadily."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Xiang. I'll remember that."

Xiang Changsong nodded and continued to lead them further in, "The so-called Skin, Flesh, Bone, and Blood are the four initial hurdles of martial arts. Overcoming each one brings different benefits and takes us to the next level."

In the following conversation with Xiang Changsong, Liang Qu gained a deeper understanding of the four passes.

Briefly, opening the Skin Pass makes the skin as tough as cowhide, resilient and unbreakable, greatly increasing defense.

When the Flesh Pass is opened, strength greatly increases, making lifting a person with one hand effortless.

After opening the Bone Pass, one can unleash power unrestrainedly, truly achieving the prowess to split stones and carve steles.

Opening the Blood Pass is like fiery oil on flames, flowers blooming splendidly, enhancing one in all aspects.

"If you can break through the Skin Pass within three months, you can stay in the school for an extra two months. If you can break through within seventy days, you might even get a chance to catch Teacher Yang's eye and become a true disciple, learning more advanced martial arts techniques."

These words fired up Li Libo, his heart surging with enthusiasm, and even Liang Qu couldn't help but want to learn martial arts skills as soon as possible.

At that moment, Xiang Changsong stood firm: "This is the Martial Arts Performance Ground, which also serves as our main place for daily exchange."

In the performance ground, there were about thirty or so people, some practicing stance training, some lifting stones, and others sparring. The youngest looked even younger than Liang Qu, and the oldest were probably over thirty. Most were men, with a few women, making it look like a large gym.

Liang Qu's eyes shone with envy. Even if each of these thirty-plus people paid the lowest tuition of seven taels, that was over two hundred taels! Two hundred taels in three months, almost a thousand taels in a year, would be enough to buy a large mansion.

And this was a conservative estimate. Including the transient population and those not in the performance ground, the figure would be even more staggering. When could he also make money just by lying down?

"On the last five days of each month, Teacher Yang will come here to teach martial arts personally. If you have any questions, you can ask him then."

"We only get to see Teacher Yang at the end of the month?" Li Libo was taken aback. He had thought that by joining the Martial Arts School, he would be under the direct tutelage of a real martial master. Was this it?

"What about the rest of the time?"

Xiang Changsong did not immediately answer, but instead shouted towards a brawny man lifting stones in the performance ground: "Senior Brother Hu!"

Liang Qu looked over curiously and was surprised to find that it was Martial Artist Hu, the same person who had bought fish from him the day before.

Indeed, there was no such thing as a coincidence.

It made sense, though, as there was a limited number of martial artists in Pingyang Town and running into Martial Artist Hu was not unusual.

While Martial Artist Hu was making his way over, Xiang Changsong explained: "On ordinary days, you'll be taught by Teacher Yang's direct disciple, Senior Brother Hu, who is on duty for this month. Senior Brother Hu is very knowledgeable and skilled in martial arts. According to the rules, from now on, you'll be learning from him. Alright, now that you're familiar with everything, I need to go back to keep watch at the door and record the comings and goings."

"Senior Brother Xiang, take care."

At that time, Senior Brother Hu came over and after looking at their wooden plaques, said, "Junior Brothers, I am Hu Qi, and from now on... Hmm? It's you?"

Liang Qu clasped his fists: "We meet again, Senior Brother Hu."

Hu Qi quickly pieced together the circumstances and laughed: "I didn't expect to encounter you so soon. From now on, you two will be learning martial arts from me. However, I need to check your constitution first."

"Constitution!?"

Li Libo's face lit up with excitement. Could he possibly be the martial arts prodigy of legends?

Hu Qi knew what Li Libo was thinking just by looking at him: "It's not that mysterious. A good constitution indeed allows for faster training and more powerful and fierce punches, but it's not absolute and doesn't completely represent talent.

Moreover, our Three-Fist Technique actually consists of three styles: Tiger, Crane, Ape. Depending on your constitution, you can choose the style that suits you best, which the other two martial arts schools don't have."

Having said that, Hu Qi then grabbed Li Libo's hand, squeezed his wrist bone, shoulder, and hip bone, and then said, "Bear with me a moment."

Hu Qi's fingers plunged in, reaching Li Libo's spine.

Hiss!

Liang Qu's eye twitched, knowing from Li Libo's sharp intake of breath that it must be painful.

He had once seen a movie where a beautiful secret agent killed people in this exact way.

Hu Qi withdrew his hand: "Above average. I would recommend you focus on the Ape Fist from the Three-Fist Technique."

Li Libo was greatly disappointed.

Then it was Liang Qu's turn. His wrist bone, shoulder, hip bone, and finally, his spine were examined just the same.

As Hu Qi's fingers plunged in, Liang Qu felt half his body go numb, but the person who ended up exclaiming wasn't him, it was Hu Qi.

"Eh, Junior Brother Liang, your constitution is unexpectedly this good?"