stjorthotic Chapter 8 Wasted Skills
Chapter 8 Wasted Skills
Chen Dingkun was dissatisfied.
But Chen Hongzhi was thrilled by what he saw.
"You bastard, Lu Lin! I always thought you were a good buddy, but I never expected you to be hiding your true strength!"
"Dad just said that Liu Cheng is a skin-refining martial artist."
"You can even block attacks from a martial artist, and you're telling me you can usually just barely block my attacks?"
As Chen Hongzhi pondered, his eyes remained fixed on Liu Cheng.
This is a martial artist.
He doesn't need to learn defensive skills like the Golden Bell Cover like Lu Lin.
He wanted to become a powerful warrior like Liu Cheng.
The Liu Cheng of today is the Liu Cheng of tomorrow.
No! The future Chen Hongzhi will definitely be stronger than Liu Cheng, and he might even be stronger than Mr. Hou!
Chen Hongzhi looked on with anticipation, Chen Dingkun was filled with anger, Lu Lin was excited, only Liu Cheng... was anxious, angry, ashamed, and had a variety of other emotions.
But soon, all his emotions converged into one.
"This is bad!"
Liu Cheng had no idea how much time had passed.
But he clearly felt that his strength was running out.
If it's a desperate, blood-soaked battle, he can also stimulate his vital energy.
But in the current situation, there is absolutely no need for that.
With a sudden thought, Liu Cheng stopped, took three steps back, took a deep breath, and regulated his breathing. "Not bad. I didn't expect that a mere sparring partner like you would have such stamina."
"Master Chen, if Lu Lin usually spars with the Fourth Young Master like this, then... what the Fourth Young Master said is true."
Liu Cheng thought to himself, "I'm just a skin-refining martial artist."
The breath was long and deep.
Physically strong.
But when facing Lu Lin, this freak, he couldn't break through either, and he couldn't fight for long.
If Lu Lin's strength is still somewhat inferior to Chen Hongzhi's, then isn't Chen Hongzhi not far from becoming a martial artist?
It's only March now, but the entrance exams for Mozhu Academy won't start until the end of August.
Five months is enough time for Chen Hongzhi to grow rapidly.
"Oh?"
Chen Dingkun harbored doubts, but remained outwardly composed. "Alright, since Master Liu says so, then I'll believe him."
"Madam, please give this young sparring partner ten taels of silver as a reward later. I'll go see Mr. Hou right now."
Chen Dingkun looked at Chen Hongzhi and said, "Fourth son, your father has agreed to your request. Remember, you must cultivate diligently and stay away from those shady characters outside."
"Yes, Father."
Chen Dingkun didn't say much and quickly left.
Liu Cheng followed closely behind.
The two left the Chen residence and immediately took a carriage to a secluded courtyard outside the city.
"Bang bang bang".
Chen Dingkun knocked on the wooden gate, said "Excuse me" and walked into the courtyard.
……
That night.
Chen Dingkun sent Hu Sanshan with a message.
"Mr. Hou will be here in five days."
"real?"
Overjoyed, Chen Hongzhi jumped out of bed.
"Of course, young master, this is what the master told me to tell you, why would I lie to you?"
"Thank you, thank you, I will definitely be prepared."
Hu Sanshan left.
Excited, Chen Hongzhi tossed and turned in bed for a long time before finally falling asleep at dawn.
"Fourth Young Master, you...really went to Qingyanlou last night?"
Looking at Chen Hongzhi, who was yawning repeatedly, Lu Lin asked.
"Bullshit, who would go to Qingyan Tower? Women would only slow down my cultivation."
Chen Hongzhi yawned. "Lu Lin, Mr. Hou will be coming to our house in four days. The last time he came was before the Lunar New Year."
"Mr. Hou? Is he very capable?"
"Very powerful? He's incredibly powerful!" Chen Hongzhi looked up at the sky, as if he could see Mr. Hou's imposing figure there. "Mr. Hou is a master of the Five Organs level, and a very strong one at that. He once traveled all over the world from the capital city of Da'an alone before finally settling down in our Jinshan Prefecture."
"By the way, didn't you want to learn more martial arts? If you treat Mr. Hou with more respect, you'll definitely reap the rewards."
Hearing this, Lu Lin couldn't help but feel hopeful.
The Great Liang Dynasty had very strict control over martial arts.
Only the Mozhu Academy, the three major sects, the city defense forces in various regions, and the twelve guards of the capital city of Da'an are qualified to teach martial arts.
Independent cultivators? They don't exist.
Every martial arts practitioner must be recorded.
Every martial artist's training methods and skills must be recorded.
A knight-errant uses his martial arts to break the law.
The Great Liang Dynasty naturally attached great importance to it.
Lu Lin had wanted to learn fist techniques, palm techniques, and even weapon usage techniques, but was told that they could not be taught.
Apart from common martial arts like the Golden Bell Cover.
The days of waiting are always hard to endure.
Fortunately, the Chen brothers, Hongjie and Hongming, returned and had Lu Lin spar with them.
The day before Mr. Hou arrived, the eldest son, Chen Hongyu, also made another appearance.
Even the four young masters of the Chen family valued it so much, and Lu Lin regarded Mr. Hou's arrival as an opportunity for himself.
As long as you learn new martial arts.
His strength can grow rapidly.
He even wanted to know how to become a skin-refining martial artist.
……
at last.
It was just dawn.
The servants of the Chen household began cleaning and preparing meals.
Butler Chen Tong stood quietly outside the gate of the Chen residence.
Captain Hu Sanshan directed the guards to stand guard.
Chen Dingkun, who is usually elusive, was also sitting in the lobby drinking morning tea early in the morning.
On the training ground.
The four young masters, without exception, donned clean training clothes and waited quietly.
Not to mention the boys who were training with him.
One by one, they couldn't help but peek out, eager to be the first to see the legendary Mr. Hou.
The sun rises.
A hearty laugh came from outside the moon gate.
Chen Dingkun walked side by side with a tall, thin man.
The man was wearing a long black robe, and his black hair was casually draped over his shoulders.
Long legs.
Each step covered more than three feet, forcing Chen Dingkun, who was following beside him, to quicken his pace.
While walking.
The man's upper body remained as steady as a rock, not moving an inch.
"You four little brats, you always talk about Mr. Hou all the time, how come you don't even know how to greet him when he comes?"
Chen Dingkun's words prompted the four excited young masters.
The four men bowed in unison, "Greetings, Mr. Hou."
"You're welcome."
Mr. Hou stopped and looked at the four teenagers in front of him.
He pointed at the eldest son, Chen Hongyu, and said, "You haven't practiced martial arts for over a month, and you were even sick a month ago. I told you before, practicing martial arts isn't to get you into the academy, but to help you get better. If you don't listen, don't expect to see me again."
Chen Hongyu looked extremely embarrassed.
He stammered and couldn't get the words out.
It was Chen Dingkun who smoothed things over, and the matter was dropped.
Mr. Hou then commented on the cultivation practices of Chen Hongming, Chen Hongjie, and Chen Hongzhi.
"You brothers are eating too well, you don't need to. It's not too late to eat and drink to your heart's content after you've condensed your Qi and blood and entered the Skin Refining stage."
"Fourth brother, you..."
Mr. Hou was unsure of Chen Hongzhi's condition, so he grabbed Chen Hongzhi's arm and felt it. "Did you take some kind of pill?"
Mr. Hou's face darkened.
Despite it being April, the training ground felt as cold as the dead of winter.
"No, I didn't eat."
Chen Hongzhi shrank his neck. "Mr. Hou, you specifically instructed me that if I don't become a martial artist, I can't enter the skin-refining stage, and I absolutely cannot take any pills."
"Hmm?" Mr. Hou knew that Chen Hongzhi would not lie to him, but his doubts deepened.
"Then how did you master the Overlapping Wave Fist that I taught you?"
Dacheng!
Mr. Hou spoke without thinking, but the Chen brothers, Hongjie and Hongming, who overheard his words, were deeply shaken.
They started practicing the Overlapping Wave Fist six months earlier than Chen Hongzhi, and they have only achieved minor success. To achieve major success, they will need at least two or three more months, or even longer.
But this fourth brother actually mastered the Overlapping Wave Fist without making a sound!
How is that possible?
"Mr. Hou, so that's what it is."
Chen Hongzhi thought to himself that it was a false alarm, and then glanced gratefully in Lu Lin's direction. "Mr. Hou, this is all thanks to my sparring partner, Lu Lin. He always said that my fists were not hard enough, my palm techniques were not fierce enough, and my footwork was not fast enough. There was nothing I could do. I am a competitive person, so I practiced during the day, at night, and even in my dreams. I finally mastered the Die Lang Fist."
"Lu Lin?"
Following Chen Hongzhi's gaze, Mr. Hou saw Lu Lin, who stood out among the sparring boys.
Without him making any move, Mr. Hou appeared in front of Lu Lin the next second.
He placed one hand on Lu Lin's wrist, pondered for a long time, and then spoke.
"Lu Lin, you must immediately cripple your martial arts, kneel down, and become my disciple."