Water Ink Panel: Starting with Bow Technique to Hunt the Sun and Patrol the Skies

Shen Qing said without hesitation, "To become stronger, and then to be able to beat others."

Ouyang Tiezhu clapped his hands and laughed, "Right, exactly. We practice martial arts to be able to beat others. As long as you can beat others, your martial arts training wasn't in vain."

Ouyang Tiezhu then sobered up and asked, "Do you know what it means to be strong, junior brother?"

Shen Qing frowned and involuntarily recalled every experience of killing he had, saying, "In my view, no matter what means you use, as long as you kill the other person before they can kill you, that's being strong."

Ouyang Tiezhu couldn't help but take a second look at Shen Qing, thinking to himself that it was no wonder their master said he was a natural martial arts talent.

His temperament was truly…

"That's right. As long as others can't kill you and you can kill others, you are strong," he said, nodding and smiling in agreement. "Practicing martial arts is not child's play; we train to master all sorts of killing abilities, using every method to make our bodies stronger, and then to beat and kill others."

Shen Qing looked up and asked, "So how can I become stronger?"

Ouyang Tiezhu, knowing everything, did not hide anything and replied, "Returning to what we said before, what is strong? Killing others, beating others, that's strong. To beat and kill others, there are really just three points."

Shen Qing grew serious, perked up his ears, and listened intently to Ouyang Tiezhu's next words.

At this moment, he was extremely curious.

What was the martial arts of the Great Zhou Dynasty really like?

Ouyang Tiezhu did not play coy and continued talking, "Those three points are speed, strength, and endurance. As long as you are faster than your opponent, stronger than your opponent, and can take more hits than your opponent, there's no chance of losing."

"All the major martial arts halls and gangs in this county revolve around these three points, trying by all means to make themselves faster, stronger, and tougher."

Shen Qing had thought that the martial arts of the Great Zhou Dynasty might have some magical aspects, but never expected it to be such a simple truth.

Shen Qing remembered that Great Zhou had its own armory, had seized the world's martial mechanisms, and couldn't possibly not involve martial arts.

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He heard Ouyang Tiezhu mention martial arts halls and gangs, seemingly deliberately avoiding the Great Zhou government. He asked curiously, "What about the government office?"

"Them?" Ouyang Tiezhu shook his head, "They are different from us. The principle of becoming stronger is simple, but it is very difficult to practice to that level. We ordinary people have limited energy and can't cover all bases, we can only focus on one. Anyone who can excel in any one of these three points is doing well."

"At Linfeng Hall, we pursue speed, to 'control all with one finger', and to break the game with swiftness."

"But the Great Zhou Court is different; ever since the Grand Ancestor consolidated the world's martial mechanisms, anyone from the court can harness Essence Qi, practicing 'Refining Body and Returning to Truth.' They strive for growth in all three areas; it's hard for us to compete."

Shen Qing frowned, not expecting that there were such intricacies.

Seeing Shen Qing like this, Ouyang Tiezhu thought he might be losing heart. He stepped forward, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Don't worry. Once you've mastered the skill of our master, you can take part in the county's martial examinations. Once you rank, you'll also be able to get a martial title, just like those gentlemen."

Martial title?

Shen Qing's interest was piqued, and he said with a fist salute, "Thank you for the guidance, senior brother."

"Let's go, I'll introduce you to the Wooden Dummy first." Ouyang Tiezhu led the way and took Shen Qing to a Wooden Dummy.

He slapped the Wooden Dummy and said, "I see that junior brother has trained well in Qi-Blood. Later on, it's almost enough to maintain daily supplementation. Just like the other junior brothers, you can go straight to training movement technique."

"Movement technique?"

"Do you know what our master's signature skill is?"

Shen Qing shook his head.

"Our master's signature skill is a Finger Skill called 'Wind Defying Finger'," Ouyang Tiezhu puffed out his chest, a hint of pride on his face. "It is said that many martial masters in the city cannot stand against our master's finger."

As he spoke, Ouyang Tiezhu's eyes changed, he joined his hands in a sword-finger gesture, and casually pointed out.

Shen Qing only saw a black shadow flash by, and with a thud, wood chips burst out from the Wooden Dummy.

Ouyang Tiezhu had actually driven his fingers two inches deep into the dummy, both joints of his fingers fully embedded in the wood.

Shen Qing's eyelids twitched.

If it had been flesh and bone, it probably would have been pierced straight through.

Ouyang Tiezhu shook his head, feeling somewhat dissatisfied, "The move I used was Master's Wind Defying Finger. It's only that I haven't mastered it well. If it were Master using it, even a stone in front would easily be perforated and shattered. The fingers are like sharp swords, indestructible."

Shen Qing drew a sharp breath, finally gaining a more concrete understanding of the martial arts in this world.

"However, before you train in Finger Skill, you need to first train your movement technique."

Ouyang Tiezhu slapped the Wooden Dummy's protruding stick, and the Wooden Dummy attacked with two other sticks from behind.

Ouyang Tiezhu acted as if he had eyes on the back of his head, smoothly catching them before the two iron sticks could land their blows.

With a kick of his foot, he intercepted another attack from the opposite side, repeating the process again and again, his speed increasing all the while.

The sticks on the Wooden Dummy almost turned into a series of afterimages, yet they still couldn't touch Ouyang Tiezhu in the least.

Bang!

Ouyang Tiezhu stopped the Wooden Dummy he was facing forcefully, "Junior brother, you try."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qing did as Ouyang Tiezhu instructed and pushed the long stick of the Wooden Dummy.

Gurgle, gurgle.

The Wooden Dummy began to rotate.

Using his "Never Forget" skill, Shen Qing recalled the scenes he had just witnessed and then mimicked Ouyang Tiezhu's movements.

Thanks to his breakthrough in hunting skills earlier, he had some foundation in movement technique, so it wasn't very difficult to learn.

Bang!

Ouyang Tiezhu saw that Shen Qing caught the dummy on his first try and his eyes couldn't help but show a bit of surprise.

He's got something indeed.

After catching the stick, Shen Qing's face lit up with joy, and he began to speed up his movements, imitating Ouyang Tiezhu.

Bang, bang, bang, bang bang, bang bang, bang-bang-bang...

Ouyang Tiezhu, watching from the side, suddenly bulged his eyes, staring at Shen Qing intently, his expression becoming tense in the blink of an eye.

After reaching a certain speed, Shen Qing missed a move and got struck in the shoulder by the rapidly spinning Wooden Dummy, crying out in pain.

Seeing this, Ouyang Tiezhu let out a heavy sigh of relief as if a stone had settled in his heart, feeling greatly relieved.

He approached and comforted, "It's like this the first time you train. After you practice more, you'll get used to it."

"Mhm,"

Shen Qing responded absently.

At that moment, his attention was on the Water Ink Panel that had just appeared in his vision.

[Skill: Wind Defying Finger (Entry Level)]

[Progress: 1/100 points]

[Status: Cannot improve]

[Note: Practice diligently through the bitter cold of winter and the scorching heat of summer to master this skill and increase skill proficiency.]

When he had been trying to hit the Wooden Dummy earlier, the sudden appearance of this Water Ink Panel had taken him by surprise.

He had not expected he would enter the gates of Master Li Linfeng's exclusive skill so quickly.

From now on, all he had to do was to continue practicing.

Suddenly, Shen Qing felt a vague sense of excitement.