Martial Arts Room.
Ji Xuantong felt Lu Chengzhou's aura and suddenly asked,
"Have you reached the Second Rank?"
"Report to teacher, I haven't tested yet."
"Test yourself after class. Shi Ruyu said you had a breakthrough three months ago to the First Rank, if that's true, your cultivation speed... is quite impressive."
Having received affirmation, Lu Chenzhou said,
"It's all thanks to the teachers' good instruction."
Ji Xuantong asked,
"Did you take any Supplements during this period?"
Lu Chenzhou did not conceal.
"Qi-Boost #1, just one box."
Ji Xuantong was slightly startled.
If genuine, this Lu Chenzhou might not be just a Low-Class root bone, he had studied Lu Chenzhou's past nine years; his cultivation progress in the Low-Class root bone was indeed relatively fast, but that was due to hard study and practice, his comprehension was actually average.
"Could it be an 'Epiphany'?"
In olden days, there were always some naturally dull individuals, who would have an epiphany one day due to some incident or stimulus and their cultivation would advance by leaps and bounds.
An Epiphany meant that some potential within the body was activated.
It could even be a sign of awakening the "Martial Bone Dao Embryo."
He had taken Shi Ruyu as a disciple, seeing this very potential.
This girl also had a Low-Class root bone, relying on diligent study, practice, and decent family conditions, she barely met the special admission standards of Martial Arts University; four years later, since she couldn't meet the standards for further study at Pingjiang Martial Arts University, she entered the society.
During this period, he observed that Shi Ruyu had outstanding comprehension and her cultivation had progressed better than before, possibly awakening the Martial Bone Dao Embryo, thus he took her on as a True Inheritance.
Of course, these were his guesses. Regarding talents like the Martial Bone Dao Embryo, which transcend common sense and cannot be measured by science, no one could guarantee.
Moreover, if the awakening was too late, missing the prime opportunity to surge through the Martial Arts Realm, in the later years when Qi-Blood is declining, even after awakening, the upper limit wouldn't be too high.
Ji Xuantong decided to observe for some more time.
If Lu Chenzhou could maintain this momentum, he would take him as a True Inheritance.
As for the True Inheritance Fee, Lu Chenzhou's family was poor, a symbolic amount would suffice.
Martial Artists have limited energy, one cannot take on many True Inheritances in a lifetime, but once someone is taken as a disciple, they are to be trained as successors, like father and son!
In ancient times, the status of a master was even higher.
Ji Xuantong felt some anticipation inside.
The modest Flying Swallow Martial Arts Hall, boasting both Shi Ruyu and Lu Chenzhou as hidden gems, if both became Martial Artists in the future, he would reap endless benefits.
He had also secretly observed their characters.
Both should be grateful and righteous by nature.
Lu Chenzhou was known for his righteousness, and this was something he knew.
He admired this in the young man.
Pulling back his thoughts, Ji Xuantong took out a beautifully bound black book.
As thick as a dictionary, simple yet imposing.
"This is the 'Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile,' the most important part of your Martial Arts Cultivation from now on, bar none! First, skim through it briefly and share your thoughts with me."
Lu Chenzhou took the book, a hefty 720 pages!
He flipped open the first page and immediately saw a detailed chart of human acupoints, as intricate and interwoven as constellations, underlaid with 20 different bodily movements.
Approximately turning one more page, each page was similar.
"How is it? What do you feel?"
"Complex and profound."
Lu Chenzhou answered honestly. He had learned Pile Skill before, but compared to this, it was much simpler; as a basic Martial Arts training, he had never seen Pile Skill as arcane as this.
"Exactly, this is Martial Arts!"
Ji Xuantong suddenly emitted a terrifying aura, with faint sounds of surging waves and swallows chirping emanating from within him, even the floor seemed to tremble.
Lu Chenzhou blurted out:
"Harmony in sinew and bone?"
"Correct, it seems you know quite a bit about the common knowledge of Martial Artists. When you control the human body to the degree I do, you will achieve harmony in sinew and bone, producing your own 'Martial Arts Strong Sound,' integrating it with your aura and demeanor, transcending the mundane!"
At that moment,
Ji Xuantong seemed like a roaring machine, shaking the mountains and earth.
It was the first time Lu Chenzhou had witnessed a Martial Artist demonstrating his skills up close, and he was fascinated. It was nothing like watching on television—it was utterly shocking!
Ji Xuantong said,
"Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile is unlike ordinary dynamic and static Pile Skills. It is a Cultivation Technique that tempers the body's acupoints. Each acupoint corresponds to 20 different Pile Skills, totaling 14,400 kinds, and mastering them all can open up all 720 acupoints in the human body!"
Lu Chenzhou asked,
"So does this mean if one wants to become a Martial Artist, they need to open 720 acupoints?"
Ji Xuantong laughed,
"You're still thinking too simply. Do you know how many acupoints I have opened? I was born in the 70s as a Bright Winged Swallow with intermediate root bone. I started practicing Martial Arts at five, became a Martial Artist at thirty, and after 46 years of cultivation, I have only managed to open 66 acupoints."
Lu Chenzhou's first reaction was that Ji Xuantong was actually ten years older than his parents.
Yet, he looked so young.
That was the benefit of practicing Martial Arts.
He also realized the difficulty of the Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile.
Ji Xuantong, recalling something, smiled and said,
"If you can open 720 acupoints, you could converse effortlessly with the Cangtian Dragon King."
"I see, thank you for the guidance, Teacher."
Ji Xuantong stood with his hands behind his back, speaking sternly,
"Many people think that once you become a Martial Artist, you no longer need to practice Pile Skills, but they are utterly wrong! In fact, becoming a Martial Artist is just the beginning of practicing Pile Skills.
Ling Kong Shangren once said 'stretch the tendons, pull the bones, and the method of Piles leads to the Dao.' He emphasized the importance of Pile Skills very early on, so your first lesson will be Pile Standing.
..."
As a founder of the Elephant Form Sect, the theories of Ling Kong Shangren have greatly influenced subsequent generations of Martial Arts studies, and even the Cangtian Dragon King had to address him as a venerable predecessor.
After listening, Lu Chenzhou felt an overwhelming surge of emotions.
He didn't back down because of the difficulty.
He had just stepped into the grand gateway of Martial Arts today and was thrilled.
Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile was a prerequisite Cultivation Technique for all true skills in the current age.
After the establishment of New Da Xia, it took the Martial Arts Association enormous efforts to collect Pile Skills from various prestigious Martial Arts families and schoolhouses. Then, after generations of powerful Martial Artists worked together, they integrated thousands of methods into one, changing the landscape of Martial Arts, and thus the Heavenly Pile was born, primarily authored by the old principal of Dragon and Tiger Academy.
The old principal was also a descendant of Ling Kong Shangren from Dragon and Tiger Mountain.
Thus, it was named "Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile."
Having introduced the background, Ji Xuantong began to demonstrate,
"Before becoming a Martial Artist, people generally start practicing Pile Skills from acupoints on their palms or soles, developing those paths. Once you can condense 30 acupoints, you are just one step away from becoming a Martial Artist.
I'll teach you starting with the Middle Rush and other acupoints on your right hand. Of course, if you prefer to use your left hand as your main attacking fist, that works too. Eventually, when you reach the required Realm, there will be no distinction between the left and right hands—they are both essential gates."
Lu Chenzhou watched attentively.
Two thousand per lesson, not a second to waste!
Bolstered by "No Regrets in Fist Intention," his comprehension of the Fist Technique was clearly better than before. After watching this particular Pile Skill once, he felt quite confident.
Ji Xuantong, seeing his eagerness, said,
"Let me see you practice it once."
Lu Chenzhou immediately got into the state and began to demonstrate.
Ji Xuantong nodded slightly, praising,
"Not bad, learning Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile requires a foundation in Basic Boxing and Pile Skills. Many wealthy people want to start with this, but the results are usually not as good."
Of course, he didn't mind.
After all, making money was his main goal.
He suddenly asked,
"By the way, you have achieved Perfection in Basic Boxing, haven't you?"
"Yes."
Ji Xuantong's eyes sparkled with a hint of brilliance. Seeing how adept Lu Chenzhou was, he felt that he must have achieved Perfection in Basic Boxing, and indeed it was so.
He remembered that Lu Chenzhou had achieved Great Success three months ago. According to his previous progress trend, it would normally take half a year or even more to achieve Perfection.
Such speed was even faster than many of his students with intermediate root bones, and as for those with top-class root bones... sorry, he never taught any.
He might have found a treasure.