When Casio arrived at the edge of the martial arts field, Li Chu's queue was taking a break. The two of them moved to a corner.
"Sis, eat these two eggs," Casio pulled out two eggs from his chest, still warm from his body heat.
Just as Casio had anticipated, an argument soon ensued.
In the end, Casio used the phrase "Instructor Lixia is still waiting for me." Li Chu finally lowered her head, peeled the eggs, and started to eat.
Li Chu's eyes were a bit red, but she didn't want her bad mood to affect her younger brother, so she forcefully held back her tears. Even though their parents had left them, her brother had suddenly matured.
Starting today, they had to live well.
She was only fourteen and her brother was just thirteen. They still had plenty of time and potential ahead of them, they couldn't give up on themselves.
Li Chu swallowed her feelings, consuming the egg yolks bite by bite.
Casio supervised Li Chu until she finished both eggs before leaving. He had a very simplistic universal value.
Whoever was kind to him, he would be kind in return. Fair is fair.
Of course, the opposite was also true.
"Hmph...Hmph...Hmph..." Casio panted heavily as he ran up the stairs, his slender arms and legs lacked energy.
"Instructor Lixia, I'm back." He opened the door.
"Carry on."
An egg flew over with the instruction.
Casio caught it, looking somewhat surprised.
The hospitals of the Wind Elephant Gate Youth Training Camp were a hundred meters away from the martial arts field. Could Instructor Lixia see this far? Incredible.
"Let's go, we're heading to the little sports field by the hospital." Lixia walked slowly, reaching out her rough hand to lightly pat Casio's shoulders.
"Ok, instructor."
Casio followed Lixia to the sports field.
This was a rectangular field, with two grey-white buildings in the distance used to store training equipment.
The field was a light yellow color and there was a running track around the edge.
A few wooden stakes stood at the left of the center.
Next to the wooden stakes, under the shade of the trees.
Lixia leaned against the tree with her arms folded, sunlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves casting a speckled golden light; her short hair looked glossy.
Casio stood opposite her, waiting quietly.
"Li Wei, you've missed four days of lessons. The only way I can help you make it up is to give you extra lessons. Tomorrow morning, you need to train like the rest of the group." Lixia said.
"Thank you, instructor." Casio replied gratefully.
"No need, it's my duty as an instructor." Lixia shook her head slightly, then asked Casio a question.
"Do you know what martial arts is? Have you ever heard of it?" she asked.
Casio thought for a moment, "Martial Arts is the art of killing, being able to kill others, and maybe fight ten at once?"
"Correct, your explanation is crude, but the meaning is basically the same. But what I want to say is, martial arts doesn't only allow you to fight against ten people, but also a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand!"
Lixia looked straight into Casio's eyes, "Do you believe me?"
"I ..." Before Casio could answer, he realized that this world was not as ordinary as the world he had lived in for twenty-five years. Instead, there were deeper layers hidden within it.
That transcendent plane was out of reach to ordinary people.
Could a martial artist in the flesh resist firearms? What if they trained their speed to dodge bullets, or trained their bodies to be as strong as steel?
Nothing was absolute, especially in a possibly supernatural world.
Casio thought for a moment, then slowly nodded, "I believe."
Lixia smiled, then spread out her hand, "Look here."
Casio looked down, seeing a rough hand full of calluses. The large knuckles weren't what you'd expect a girl's hand to look like.
Besides that, there didn't seem to be anything special.
Just when Casio was feeling confused.
Lixia stretched out her other hand and gently flicked a tree branch.
An oval leaf floated down from mid-air and was caught by her slightly curved palm. The green leaf didn't touch her skin at all but began to spin like a spinning top above her palm, much like a fan's blade.
"This…" Casio's eyes widened.
The next second, the leaf was like a little green flatboat rapidly weaving through the gaps in Lixia's right hand fingers.
She gently lifted her hand and flicked a finger.
The leaf in her hand instantly exploded into dust.
"Give me your hand." Lixia spoke indifferently.
Casio hesitated a moment, but still extended his hand. His hand was suddenly seized by Lixia, causing him to stiffen on the spot.
The reason was simple, because Instructor Lixia's hand was covered with a layer of energy that felt like quicksand, it was moving in different directions and rubbing against Casio's palm. The speed and direction of the energy kept changing.
The feeling was just like being rubbed with sandpaper.
If the force was a little bit stronger, perhaps his skin would be rubbed raw.
"Alright, you can let go now."
Casio quickly let go of his hand and inspected his palm, which was slightly reddened and felt like it was burning.
"Right now, I'm just showing you the potential future of martial arts and providing you with a goal. Remember not to have unrealistic expectations; diligence and hard work are the most important and fundamental elements in martial arts training. Sweat doesn't lie, with dedication you can make up for lack of talent. There is a long way to go ..." Lixia explained.
Next, Lixia started to introduce Basic Fighting Technique.
In simple terms, there were three aspects: training stance, combat movements, and explosive techniques.
Training stance, could be simplified as stake training. It's similar to the horse stance in the previous world, but slightly different. Training stance can activate the entire muscle group of the body, enhancing body control and coordination.
Combat movements, as the name suggests. It is about simplifying a set of boxing methods to the smallest unit, the most basic skill. Swing punch, straight punch, uppercut, etc.
The concept also applies to elbows, legs, etc.
It's about basic actions. Once you get the basic movements right, you can combine them into a boxing routine.
The third was explosive techniques. It's best to learn this when you are proficient in the first two, otherwise, it could harm the body.
Explosive techniques allow practitioners to exert strength better. How to hit faster? How to exert stronger power? All these have to do with explosive techniques.
Apart from this, there's also physical fitness training, such as running, push-ups, deep squats, etc. These can assist in the use of the Basic Fighting Technique, allowing one to progress faster.
Lixia demonstrated the Wind Elephant Basic Combat Technique several times for Casio.
Casio also practiced all morning. He somewhat got the hang of the stake training, but of the combat movements, he only remembered one.
Swinging!
Mainly because Instructor Lixia had left a deep impression.
While demonstrating earlier, Instructor Lixia said that the swing punch is the essence of Wind Elephant Gate and the true standard was like an elephant swinging its trunk.
She then turned around and swung a punch.
With a bang, on the half-human thick wooden stake, a deep fist imprint was instantly left, sunk five centimeters deep into the stake.
If this hit a person.
Broken ribs? Puncture the heart or lungs?