Liang Song sat beside the stone table.
Holding a cup of hot tea, he leisurely watched Lin Zheyu practicing his martial arts.
When he saw Lin Zheyu was able to combine his boxing with the internal breathing technique, his eyes widened in amazement.
"I only taught the internal breathing technique to him a dozen days ago, and yet he has mastered it to this extent!"
Liang Song was astonished.
To incorporate the breathing technique into martial arts, one must thoroughly understand the breathing technique and undergo rigorous practice.
Ordinary martial artists with average talent couldn't achieve it even after months of hard work.
For those with exceptional talent, it might take only about a month.
And yet, Lin Zheyu had accomplished it in just over ten days.
"This kid truly lives up to the name of a martial arts genius!"
Liang Song sighed, feeling a tinge of envy.
Back when he first encountered the internal breathing technique, it took him a whole month to integrate it into his martial arts practice.
And yet, Lin Zheyu had managed it in less than twenty days.
Encountering such a martial arts prodigy in a small place like Songyi City was indeed an unexpected joy.
"If only I had paid more attention when I was teaching him earlier."
Liang Song muttered softly.
He carefully observed Lin Zheyu's movements.
Lin Zheyu slightly widened his legs, squatted down, assumed a stance, and exuded an invisible aura.
With a sudden step, his leg muscles exerted tremendous force.
The powerful force transmitted from his legs to his waist, then to his arms through the waist as a fulcrum. Subsequently, his upper body slightly tilted, and his fists, carrying incomparable strength, surged forward like two bull horns.
The muscles all over his body erupted in this moment, pouring strength into his arms, forming a terrifying offensive, as his fists thundered out.
Crackling—
At the moment his fist thundered out, Lin Zheyu's body emitted the sound of bones resonating.
After more than twenty minutes, he finished a set of boxing techniques.
Clap, clap, clap—
"Well done, very well done," Liang Song applauded approvingly.
"However, there are a few areas that need attention."
"The method of forging bones and the method of muscle training have slight differences. Do not practice them with the same mindset as muscle training."
"Firstly, when forging bones, you need to focus on here, here, and here..."
Liang Song began to point out the areas where Lin Zheyu needed improvement in his boxing practice.
Without guidance, it would take a lot of effort to figure out these details.
As Lin Zheyu listened to Master Liang's explanation, his eyes lit up more and more.
If it weren't for Master Liang's guidance today, Lin Zheyu might have needed to enter that special state again and undergo long-term training to gradually figure it out.
"Alright, let's try it again," Liang Song said.
"Yes, Master."
Lin Zheyu respectfully replied.
He walked to the center of the courtyard, silently recalling Master Liang's teachings just now, and compared them with his previous experiences. His understanding of the Barbarian Bull Fist deepened.
Bang
Clang, clang
Crackle
The sound of Lin Zheyu's boxing practice echoed in the courtyard, and the crackling sound of bones resonating became more and more frequent.
This was the sound produced by the collision and resonance of bones during forging.
When the sound became more intense, reaching the state of all bones resonating throughout the body, it was a sign of successful bone forging.
"Not bad, not bad..."
Liang Song kept nodding, becoming more and more satisfied with Lin Zheyu's performance.
He watched Lin Zheyu exercise, occasionally giving pointers and pointing out where Lin Zheyu went wrong.
Soon, more than two hours passed.
"Take a break," Liang Song shouted.
Lin Zheyu stopped panting and sat next to Master Liang, picking up the cup of tea Master Liang had prepared and drinking it all in one gulp.
"Your Barbarian Bull Fist has reached a certain level. Next, I'll talk to you about practical combat," Liang Song said, slowly refilling Lin Zheyu's cup.
"Martial arts are techniques for killing. Practicing martial arts is ultimately for the purpose of killing."
"In the face of an enemy, it's not necessarily the higher martial arts realm or stronger strength that ensures victory."
"The key to real combat involves many factors. Martial will, martial skills, martial wisdom, and so on, are all important."
"In simple terms, practical combat is about using your strength to overwhelm your opponent's weakness."
"How to quickly identify the weaknesses of the enemy, guide the situation to a favorable position for oneself, and create a scenario where your strength overcomes his weakness — that's what practical combat is about."
"There are many leverages such as assassination, ambush, poison, and so on, these are all means to tilt the situation to a favorable position. Real combat is extremely brutal."
"When facing an enemy, never show the slightest mercy or hesitation because you never know if what he shows may be merely a ploy to deceive you."
Liang Song spoke slowly.
Liang Song recounted his decades of combat experience to Lin Zheyu one by one.
He didn't care whether Lin Zheyu could absorb it or not, he just blurted it all out and stuffed it into Lin Zheyu's mind.
This included dozens of classic combat experiences and analyses of hundreds of battles.
"Master, please slow down," Lin Zheyu couldn't help but speak up.
Liang Song chuckled at the remark, realizing he had been too eager.
Indeed, upon seeing Lin Zheyu's outstanding talent, Liang Song couldn't help but want to teach him everything at once.
"Let's stop here for today. Go back and think it over. Come back tonight, and I'll teach you about real combat against enemies," Liang Song said.
"Master, are you leaving Songyi City?" Lin Zheyu hesitated for a moment but finally asked the question on his mind.
Liang Song's behavior today was a bit strange, as if he was worried about running out of time and eager to impart all his knowledge to Lin Zheyu.
"You've noticed?" Liang Song responded nonchalantly, "I'll be leaving in a few days to take care of some things. It might take a long time to come back, or I might not come back at all."
"Is it dangerous?" Lin Zheyu was worried.
Master Liang could be said to be the closest person to him since he came to this world.
Although Liang Song hadn't formally taken him as his disciple, Lin Zheyu had always called him Master.
"Don't worry, there's no danger."
"It's just that I'm getting older and want to visit some old friends and settle some old grudges," Liang Song said with a relaxed smile.
"Well, you should go now. Remember to close the door when you go out."
Liang Song waved his hand, picked up Lin Zheyu's manuscript, and started reading it.
"The hero serves the country and the people. The stories this kid writes are interesting."
Liang Song chuckled as he drank his tea and read the book.
...
In the afternoon.
At the Jade Dan Teahouse.
Today was much livelier than usual, with many new faces.
"Manager Wu, who are those guys? They look unfamiliar. Haven't seen them before," Lin Zheyu asked curiously.
"After more than a month, the audience at the Jade Dan Teahouse had become quite familiar. The same people came and went, and Lin Zheyu had seen almost all of them, but today there were a dozen unfamiliar faces."
"They're passing merchant caravans."
"Recently, Songyi City has been lively. Affected by the war, many caravans from the border towns have come out and passed through Songyi City, heading to the central region," Manager Wu explained.
There seemed to be signs of the war spreading, and Songyi City was also affected.
Gradually, people became more cautious with their money, and Lin Zheyu received significantly fewer tips every day.
"No wonder they look unfamiliar," Lin Zheyu nodded and stepped onto the storytelling stage.
Clap!
The wooden clapper struck, and the story began to unfold.
As the story progressed, it became more and more captivating.
Master Liang sat by the window, listening attentively, occasionally lost in thought, pondering who knows what.