Human Martial Saint: Starting with Bajiquan

Chapter 3 Sparring

The two walked out of the martial arts gym.

On their way to the market, the two saw members of the Beggars' Sect and the Mingsha Sect shoving each other.

Neither side entered the market, nor did they actually fight.

Liu Sheng saw that Lai San was leading the Beggars' Gang again.

This aroused in him an instinctive sense of disgust.

At this moment, Lai San looked every bit the scoundrel.

He yelled and cursed at the members of the Mingsha Gang, his nose, mouth, and chin all contorted in anger.

When the other side pressed forward, Lai San quickly hid behind several beggars, not running far, but just staying there, continuing to shout and curse.

Liu Sheng frowned deeply upon seeing this.

"Let's go, we'll take a detour."

If you can't afford to offend them, you can at least avoid them.

Liu Sheng then took Ye Qi and took another route to the market in the center of the county town.

Today, there is no longer any interference from the two gangs.

The market was as lively as ever.

Camel bells jingled, vendors called out, and the air was filled with the mixed smells of livestock, spices, and dust.

Although it wasn't as tidy as the commercial street on the west side of the county town, Liu Sheng felt that it had a more lively and down-to-earth atmosphere.

Seeing this, my mood gradually improved.

Ye Qi, standing to the side, was still completely bewildered.

I vaguely remember that on the way, Liu Sheng explained to him that he wanted to spar with him, so he was treating him to meat.

Is this rich kid addicted to being beaten?

The two arrived at Old Man Kang's barbecue stall. Old Man Kang looked to them and seemed to be in good health.

If Liu Sheng hadn't seen it with his own eyes, he would never have imagined that this vigorous old man had just been brutally beaten by the Beggars' Gang yesterday.

When Old Man Kang saw Liu Sheng, he chuckled:

"Shengwa, you're the kid who called for the constables yesterday, aren't you?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Sheng felt guilty and started making a scene in the street, lying about it. This would earn him 80 strokes of the cane.

He quickly told Old Man Kang to keep his voice down.

"So it was you!" This time it was Ye Qi's turn to shout.

Liu Shengren was completely dumbfounded.

No, how did you know that too?

Before Liu Sheng had even observed him, he could tell that Ye Qi's family was not wealthy, and he had also heard that his father was a farmer from a village in the nearby Mingsha Mountain valley.

The scattered mountain valleys in the desert have land that is barely arable, but it is extremely barren.

It's easy to imagine that supporting Ye Qi to learn martial arts at the school was already a huge strain on his family's finances.

That's when Liu Sheng came up with the plan to win him over with barbecue.

To win people over, you must start when you're down on your luck!

And if you can give something, never give money directly!

These are all valuable experiences from Liu Sheng's previous life.

What he didn't know was that Ye Qi's mother often came to the market in the county center to sell vegetables in order to supplement the family income.

Yesterday, I was in the market and witnessed the chaotic battle between the Beggars' Gang and the Mingsha Gang.

It was precisely because of Liu Sheng's shout that the people were spared from disaster.

When she got back, she told Ye Qi that some kid had shouted something, and as a result, the constables never arrived, but they had scared away the thugs from both gangs, which was a good thing.

The three of them spoke softly, and the truth finally came to light.

It turns out Liu Sheng has this side to him.

This made Ye Qi look at him with less wariness and more complicated feelings.

Old Man Kang smiled and said, "Come on, Shengwa, have some meat. This meat is a gift for you!"

When Liu Sheng looked closely, the skewer of meat was glistening with oil and covered in cumin seeds. The amount of meat looked to be a full tael of silver. Old Man Kang really wanted to thank him!

Without hesitation, he took the large piece of meat skewered on the stick and handed it to Ye Qi beside him.

"Ah... this, this isn't right. What will you do if I eat it all? How about we share it?"

Liu Sheng waved his hand: "No need, no need, this will do... Old Kang, get me another skewer of meat worth two qian of silver, and make it lean!"

Ye Qi shut up, his resentment towards the rich starting to rise again.

So he took a big bite of the meat in his hand... It smelled so good! As his resentment towards the rich subsided, Ye Qi's opinion of Liu Sheng rose even higher.

"Old Kang, what are you going to tell us today?"

It turns out that when the neighborhood kids are craving meat, they like to come to Old Man Kang's place to buy roasted meat.

And Old Man Kang really loved children.

No matter how much money the children bring.

Even with just a single copper coin, Old Man Kang could slice off a tiny piece of meat as thin as a cicada's wing and stuff it into the child's mouth.

They can't afford meat; they're just here for fun.

Old Man Kang was also willing to serve a small wooden cup of soup so that the children could taste the flavor of the broth.

Therefore, children from the market and nearby households especially like to gather here.

Whenever there are many people.

Old Kang would then recount the strange and wonderful stories of this great Fan Dynasty.

How far is Shazhou City from Yueya County? And what about Yizhou, Ganzhou, and Liangzhou near Shazhou?

Which demon races rule the Great Fan Kingdom? What kind of life did the human race live in the past? And which wealthy families are there in Crescent Moon County and Sand City? Who are the high-ranking officials among the human race?

Anyway, there were always so many interesting people and things to talk about. Before Liu Sheng awakened his innate wisdom, he especially loved to come and play.

Now... now he loves it even more!

Just kidding, it's not easy to have a ready-made intelligence system here. The more we know about this world, the better our chances of survival in the future.

Don't let yourself get into big trouble one day without knowing anything about it.

Moreover, looking back now, Liu Sheng always felt that Old Man Kang's daily remarks seemed a bit dangerous, and that he had the potential to become a "rebel".

Old Man Kang said with a smile:

"Today, I'll tell you the story of Yan Chenhu, the last Martial Saint of the human race, who single-handedly defended Shazhou City."

Liu Sheng had originally planned to sit on the small stool and listen attentively, but then, remembering his tight schedule for martial arts practice, he urged:

"Then you'd better hurry up and tell me, I've been busy with martial arts training lately... Hey, why is the Last Martial Saint named again? Last time it was called [Guo Xiao]."

Old Man Kang was surprised that young Liu Sheng had actually listened attentively and even remembered it.

So he explained with relief:

"Our human race had four last Martial Saints, and this one is no exception. He alone, with only a Mo Dao (a type of long-handled sword), and 800 golden-armored soldiers under his command, single-handedly faced 4 troops from the Great Barbarian Army, holding the city of Shazhou for 11 years. It was a time of desolate desert smoke and the setting sun over the long river. General Yan..."

Seeing that Old Man Kang was starting to tell stories again, the children from the neighborhood gathered around.

Those with stools squeezed together to sit on them, while those without squatted around the stalls.

According to Old Man Kang, Yan Chenhu was incredibly strong and possessed superhuman strength, making him invulnerable to swords and spears.

In a single battle, he single-handedly killed over a thousand enemy soldiers.

The children were amazed and cheered!

Finally, when the city ran out of food, the Martial Saint Yan Chenhu surrendered to the Great Fan army on the condition that the city's human population would not be relocated or enslaved.

Martial Saint Yan Chenhu, confident in his superior martial arts skills, surrendered, only to bear some infamy himself. As long as he remains, he can continue to protect the people of this region.

Unexpectedly, the Tibetan army broke its promise.

They actually bribed a traitor to gather intelligence.

They learned that when Yan Chenhu was young, the skin-refining technique he practiced had a weakness: his feet.

Then, the imperial court sent assassins to poison Yan Chenhu by putting scorpion venom in his boots.

After Yan Chenhu died, the court still relocated many people to the capital city of Lhasa to become slaves.

It was only through the intervention of the Zhang family, a local powerful clan in Shazhou, that the subsequent migration was stopped.

The children are young and don't understand much.

Towards the end, there were also expressions of resentment and youthful sighs. From the initial clamor, everyone had fallen silent.

Liu Sheng could imagine that these stories, one by one, were slowly planted in their hearts, sowing seeds that were just waiting for the day they would sprout.

Hearing this, he asked curiously, "The Zhang family? Is it the Zhang family from that sandbar now?"

"It's the Zhang family, the same family from which the current Jiedushi of Shazhou, Lord Zhang Tianxing, comes from!"

Old Man Kang sighed, "Thinking back, the Zhang family has been around for over 600 years!"

Having heard enough of the story, Liu Sheng pulled Ye Qi, who was still somewhat unsatisfied, up and headed back.

"What, still reluctant to leave?"

Ye Qi is still immersed in the story he just heard:

"One day, I will definitely become a Martial Saint like Lord Yan and protect the human race!"

Liu Sheng nodded. Not bad. The young man is ambitious, a genius in martial arts, and seems to have a good family education and sound values.

He thought about it again. If he were to have that kind of power one day, at least he wouldn't have to worry about the extra pay from the imperial court or the donations from the Beggars' Sect every day.

But now.

Now we should go back and practice our martial arts properly, and deal with these beggar gang scoundrels in front of us!

"Come on, let's go back and spar. Let's make that clear first."

Liu Sheng blinked: "Go all out in a bit, don't worry about hurting me... but if you knock me out again, you won't get any meat tomorrow!"

"Huh?! Will there be meat to eat tomorrow?" Ye Qi's eyes were blank.

"You're really stubborn!"

The two chatted and laughed all the way back to the martial arts school.

Lu You breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the two were unharmed and even seemed to be on good terms with each other.

After all, he was responsible for teaching all the new disciples, so if anything happened, it would be his responsibility.

However, Lu discovered that the matter concerning the two children seemed far from over.

Liu Sheng and Ye Qi began helping each other put on simple protective gear.

A large piece of felt was attached to the front of the chest and abdomen.

The elbows and shoulders are lined with tanned camel hide.

All of these protective gear pieces were secured with leather straps and hemp ropes.

Unfortunately, the private martial arts school had limited resources and didn't have a suitable helmet; otherwise, Liu Sheng wouldn't have been knocked unconscious with just one punch a few days ago.

The disciples around, seeing that there was something to watch, immediately gathered around.

This also freed up a circular open space in the center of the field, about two zhang in diameter.

Since the novice disciples had not yet formally learned Zhan Zhuang Gong (standing meditation), Liu Sheng and Ye Qi both assumed a simple starting stance.

Both sides gradually tested each other.

Seeing the two sparring, Lu You also came over. He still needed to stay close to prevent any unforeseen events.

As expected, Yang Hongliu also came to watch the battle from the sidelines.

My junior sister, probably because she grew up in a restaurant, also enjoys watching a good show.

Even if there are just shrewish women arguing in the street in front of the martial arts school, she would immediately rush up the wall to watch, and occasionally share the memorable quotes with Lu You.

Not to mention, there's a friendly sparring match right before our eyes right now.

At this moment, Yang Hongliu skillfully took out a bag of raisins—a must-have for any group—from her sleeve, grabbed a handful, and handed it over: "Senior Brother, want some?"

"Thank you, junior sister... Who do you think is the best?"

"Liu Sheng is 16 years old this year. He is half a head taller and has a stronger physique. He is also quite good-looking. He originally had a great advantage, but unfortunately, he has neglected to practice his skills before."

What does it mean that being good-looking is an advantage?

Lu felt that he didn't quite understand.

Yang Hongliu then looked in the other direction:

"Ye Qi is 15 years old this year. His height and physique are inferior, but his talent for boxing is undeniable. Although his master hasn't examined his bone structure yet, I guess he should have superior bone structure... I bet on him!"

"Oh? I actually favor Liu Sheng." Lu You smiled with a hint of amusement.

After all, he had seen Liu Sheng's hard work and progress over the past few days. Deep down, Lu You still held a sliver of hope that Liu Sheng could win, or at least not lose too badly.

Otherwise, Lu You was afraid that his junior brother would suffer too much of a blow and then give up on himself, returning to square one.

Then, he heard Liu Sheng say something extremely arrogant:

"Push harder, haven't you eaten?"

Lu sighed, rubbing his forehead.

It turns out that Ye Qi was ultimately indebted to those who offered him food and drink.

I exchanged a few punches at first, but I was too embarrassed to hit hard.

Now it seems that Liu Sheng is serious.

In addition, with his fellow students watching, he couldn't go too far, so he started to take it seriously.

Ye Qi's eyes narrowed, and his slender figure suddenly darted out, delivering a simple yet powerful palm strike with his right hand straight at Liu Sheng's chest.

Although his punches still carried the frailty of a young man, his power was crisp and fierce, and should not be underestimated.

Faced with the palm strike, Liu Sheng neither dodged nor avoided, but blocked with his left arm, although the movement was somewhat stiff.

However, thanks to his taller and stronger physique, he managed to barely parry Ye Qi's fierce attack.

But Ye Qi seemed to have anticipated this. When his first attack failed, he changed his right palm into an upward punch and struck in the opposite direction, actually knocking away Liu Sheng's left hand that was trying to block.

In an instant, Liu Sheng's empty gate appeared.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Ye Qi raised his right fist, then swung it back to his side with a smooth, fluid motion, before switching to a cross-shaped punch with his left hand!

However, as everyone saw, Liu Sheng remained unchanged in the face of all changes, turning to the side and shrinking back. This time, he used his right hand to wrap diagonally, and just right, he broke through the supporting hammer.

It turned out that Liu Sheng knew that his Bajiquan was not as proficient as Ye Qi's, so he could only use his height advantage to defend first.

Applying force from top to bottom will easily neutralize the opponent's attack.

Yang Hongliu popped a raisin into her mouth, her eyes sparkling:

"That kid Ye Qi really has talent in Bajiquan. When his push palm failed, he switched to a backhand supporting hammer. His center of gravity was stable, and his movements were smooth. He's truly a promising martial arts student!"

Ye Qi, seeing that the combo that had worked the day before had failed today, began to change his strategy.

He stepped forward lightly, knees together, took a big stride, and then delivered another powerful push.

Liu Sheng once again entangled and neutralized the force.

Unexpectedly, Ye Qi didn't care at all. He used the momentum to press forward and quickly closed in on Liu Sheng.

Immediately afterwards, palms, fists, and elbows rained down on Liu Sheng's waist, abdomen, and ribs.

It even has a sense of continuous flow!

Seeing that Liu Sheng was in a disadvantageous situation, Lu You frowned slightly.

But when he looked closely, he discovered...

Although Liu Sheng appeared to be on the defensive throughout, his blocking stance was constantly being subtly adjusted with each exchange of punches.

It's quite incredible how the initial stiff block gradually developed into a coiling force.

It should be noted that Liu Sheng was only a beginner disciple.

Without learning Zhan Zhuang Gong and the complete small frame, he should theoretically not have been able to access the core coiling energy.

It now seems that Liu Sheng was able to comprehend the core of Bajiquan, the coiling force, on his own, which surprised Lu You somewhat.

"This Liu Sheng... he can actually be self-taught?"

What the eldest disciple Lu You didn't know was that at this moment, Liu Sheng was simultaneously defending and counterattacking while also enjoying the experience boost:

[Bajiquan Proficiency +3]

[Bajiquan Proficiency +3]

[Bajiquan Proficiency +3]

……

Even after Ye Qi changed his strategy and switched to close-quarters combat, he still couldn't take down Liu Sheng.

I gradually became anxious.

His family wasn't wealthy to begin with, and you could say that the amount of meat he ate at lunchtime during that month at the martial arts school was more than he had eaten in the previous ten years.

In addition, he was younger and his strength was not as good as Liu Sheng's to begin with.

He originally thought that this series of attacks would be enough to keep the opponent busy, but he never expected that Liu Sheng would become as tough as waterlogged cowhide.

At first, they could only barely defend, but then they were able to occasionally launch a counterattack or two.

Now, he has even become so powerful that he can gradually rival Ye Qi, to the point that Ye Qi's boxing skills are becoming increasingly scattered.

"My turn!"

Liu Sheng roared, seized the opportunity, and took a sudden step forward while Ye Qi's old strength was exhausted and his new strength had not yet been generated!

The step was so heavy that it kicked up dust from the ground.

Immediately following was a horse stance push palm strike, the palm touching Ye Qi's left shoulder.

Ye Qi finally exhausted himself and couldn't hold on any longer, falling backward.

They were defeated on the spot.

The outcome is decided.

The surrounding disciples were buzzing with discussion, and when they saw the outcome, they cheered loudly. Clearly, the excitement and result of this sparring match were somewhat unexpected.

They hadn't expected Liu Sheng to improve so much after just a few days of hard training.

Of course, no one thought Ye Qi was too weak.

【Bajiquan (487/1000 Beginner Level)】

Liu Sheng took one last look at the experience progress, then quickly went forward and helped Ye Qi up.

Clearly, he didn't use much force in the final palm strike; Ye Qi simply ran out of energy, which is why he couldn't stand up on his own.

"Thank you very much, Senior Brother Liu!" Ye Qi said sincerely.

His mind raced, recalling the details of their earlier exchange. The more he thought about it, the more he admired Liu Sheng's clear thinking. Compared to him, he felt like a reckless fool.

In particular, Liu Sheng's improvement and progress were clearly visible as he sparred with the opponent.

As the one who directly faced him, he felt it most intensely.

Most importantly, Liu Sheng did not take the opportunity to retaliate. In the end, he simply slapped himself to the ground lightly, stopping short of causing serious injury.

All of this was observed by the eldest disciple, Lu You.

It can be said that a weight was finally lifted from Lu You's heart, and a relieved smile appeared on his face.

He turned to his second junior sister, Yang Hongliu, and teased her, "If I had known this would happen, I should have made a bet with you earlier."

Yang Hongliu popped the last few raisins into her mouth, clapped her hands contentedly, and laughed heartily.

"How about dinner at my restaurant tonight? After watching such a great show today, it's only fair that I treat!"