Chapter 28: Martial Arts Are Not Acrobatics

  As it was a remarriage, and the Hu people's wedding customs were very different from those of the Han people, after deciding to welcome Hu Xiang'er into their home three days later, Zhao Xing did not have to work as hard as he did when he married Xu Wanting. This time, the marriage was handled by Jia Yu, who arranged for a new house to be set up in the backyard and had some good wine sent over from the Xu family's winery. The whole household was decorated with lanterns and streamers, waiting only for the day to arrive when Zhao Xing would ride his horse to go and bring Hu Xiang'er back home.

  There's a saying that "when people encounter happy events, their spirits are lifted", but Zhao Xing hasn't felt uplifted at all these past two days! At night, he was constantly being nagged by Xu Wanting, as if she intentionally wanted to leave him without any energy on the night of his wedding, which can also be seen as indirectly giving the bride a warning. During the day, he was dragged by Guan Yu to the plaza to practice martial arts, saying it's to practice martial arts, but in reality it's almost like being abused.

  Zhao Xing's skills are currently enough to hold his own against either Zhou or Pei for a hundred moves without falling behind, but if he were to encounter Guan Gong at the peak of his strength and vigor, who else could he possibly defeat?

  "Hah, hah... Brother Guan, I'm not coming, I'm not coming. Let me rest for a moment..." Zhao Xing, who was knocked to the ground by Guan Yu's knife handle once again, pretended to be dead and refused to get up.

  But Guan Yu held a long knife in his hand, his face red and not breathing (Guan's face was originally red), facing Zhao Xing's rascal appearance, without any temper.

  However, Guan Yu had a different idea in his mind: Zhao Xing may look weak, but when it comes to real combat, he has endless tricks up his sleeve. If not for his own exceptional martial arts skills and the fact that Zhao Xing is still young and hasn't reached his full strength, defeating him wouldn't be an easy task. But now, with the current chaotic situation, the northern borders are frequently breached by the Xianbei and Qiang tribes, and the emperor favors eunuchs, selling official positions and titles more recklessly than ever. Once chaos erupts, even if Zhao Xing has exceptional wisdom and strategic thinking, without solid martial arts skills to protect himself, all his accumulated achievements might be taken over by others in an instant.

  In front of him, lying on the ground was a young man with an air of recklessness, who referred to himself as "brother". In fact, he was not unscrupulous and dissolute, nor was he arrogant and indulgent. He had built his business from scratch, and by the time he was barely out of his teenage years, he had already established such a large enterprise. He treated his hometown with kindness and generosity, resettling refugees with compassion and justice. Now, in Changzi County, he is renowned for his noble reputation, and when the winds of fortune change, he will surely soar to great heights.

  "For the sake of the village that he came from, and for his own ambitions in his heart, even if it's forcing him, he must let him grow up sooner!" Guan Yu said to himself.

  "With your current skills, on the battlefield, you can only be a ghost under someone else's knife. How can you bring peace to the people of the world?" Guan Yu said sternly to Zhao Xing.

  "Although Guan Big Brother scolded the right person, it was actually Guo Chang who was lazy." Hearing this, Zhao Xing gritted his teeth, flipped over and got up, holding a long spear like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey, thrusting towards Guan Yu, "Come again, hey, look at my move 'Panlong Chutou'!"

  The square was filled with flashing knives and guns for a moment, and the two men were fighting hard again!

  Across the construction site of the arena, a pair of barbarian men and women were intently gazing over at the fighting.

  "That red-faced big man is quite fierce, his skills are unknown in depth!" Hu Che'er said seriously to her sister Hu Xiang'er.

  "How about compared with his brother?" Beside her, Hu Xiang'er's beautiful eyes were following the thin figure in the distance.

  "If we go all out, you will definitely lose within ten moves!" Hu Che'er replied. "However, your future husband is not simple either, looking like a young and innocent face, but every move is ruthless, making it hard to defend against!"

  "Brother is also talking nonsense, that's not called sinister, that's called using one's own strengths to attack the enemy's weaknesses. His strength can't compare to the red-faced big man, his moves are stylish but can't overcome the red-faced man's knife skills. If he didn't use this method, he would have lost long ago!" Hu Xiang'er said disapprovingly from the side, pouting her bright red lips.

  "You're still unmarried and yet you're helping outsiders plot against your own brother!" Hu Che'er's pitiful expression only earned her a withering stare from Hu Xiang'er.

  On the other side, Hu Che Er brother and sister were still teasing each other from a distance, while Zhao Xing and Guan Yu stopped. It was Zhao Xing who encountered an inexplicable situation and asked Guan Yu for guidance.

  "Brother Guan, what are your views on the way of martial arts?" Zhao Xing asked sincerely.

  "Martial arts are divided into two types: the melee on the battlefield and close combat when two tigers meet on a narrow road." Guan Yu thought for a moment before answering, "On the battlefield, it's about grand openings and closings, not letting enemy soldiers get close, relying on fierce momentum to intimidate the enemy's courage, in order to come and go freely. When two people engage in close combat, however, it's about being prepared for both offense and defense, finding the weaknesses in the opponent's moves while conserving energy, and retreating immediately if one strike doesn't land! But no matter which type of melee, they all come from repeated tempering and accumulating experience in battle. In martial arts, experience against enemies is extremely important, but relying solely on bravery to wildly slash around will only lead to becoming a soul under someone else's sword."

  "Big brother is absolutely right!" Zhao Xing said with a sincere and admiring tone, but in his heart, he was recalling all the martial arts movies he had seen in his previous life. "Martial arts are indeed not just special effects from TMD movies. They can't defy the law of universal gravitation or go against biological common sense. Without any supporting points or external forces that counteract gravity, how is it possible to 'float lightly' or 'fly on grass'? As for a person's strength being great, who has ever seen someone stronger than an elephant? On screen, one person can lift a huge cauldron and jump around, flying back and forth - it's simply nonsense!"

  "Big brother, how about this set of fist techniques I created?" After speaking, Zhao Xing started a set of moves with concise and simple fist techniques, only a dozen or so routes.

  Watching Zhao Xing's military boxing, Guan Yu's eyes lit up, but in his heart, a storm was brewing. "Guo Chang's road fist method is simple and clear, yet every move can take the enemy's vital points, suitable for civilians without martial arts foundation to practice! If used for training lower-level soldiers, it should have an extraordinary effect!"

  "Guo Chang is exactly what I mean, so I will name this set of fist method as 'Wò Hǔ Quán' (Reclining Tiger Fist), to be used for physical training and strengthening the body, as the foundation for the martial arts practice of our family's soldiers. What do you think, Guan?" Zhao Xing asked.

  "Excellent! Please let Guo Chang perform it again." Guan Yu replied.

  When Zhao Xing finished practicing the military body fist again, Guan Yu had actually learned it completely and practiced a set against Zhao Xing, amazingly without any mistakes. "Awesome, someone who can be worshipped as a god by later generations is indeed awesome!" Zhao Xing was shocked in his heart, at that time he himself spent a whole week learning this set of fist techniques!