Volume 1: Kyoto Winds and Clouds Chapter 33: Martial Arts Competition

  Liu Zhang did not dare to be careless, he knew that his talent was not good, so he carefully stared at Tong Yuan's every move, not seeking to understand each move and style, but seeking to remember all of these moves. After about half a time, Tong Yuan put away his spear and stood upright, proudly standing in the courtyard, with an aura like a mountain range. And Liu Zhang, after Tong Yuan finished his moves, immediately closed his eyes and stood still, recalling every move and style that Tong Yuan had used. Another half time passed, and Liu Zhang opened his eyes, he had actually deeply engraved the Bai Niao Chao Feng spear in his heart.

  Talent is a very vague thing, including wit, brainpower, physical strength and so on. However, martial artists place the most emphasis on physical quality. After all, if you want to achieve a certain level of martial arts, you must start practicing from a young age. If you miss the age for practicing martial arts, even if your wit and brainpower are excellent, it will be useless. But how many people can see these conditions in their childhood? Therefore, when some powerful warriors choose apprentices, they first look at physical quality. Only if the physical quality is strong will they accept an apprentice, otherwise, they will only give guidance.

  Liu Zhang's physical quality is not good, at most it can be said to be slightly above average. He doesn't have the innate divine power like Lü Bu or Guan Yu, but he has extremely high intelligence and super strong memory. In his previous life, Liu Zhang relied on his extraordinary memory to excel in learning, and with his keen observational skills and super strong intelligence, he learned the art of deception from books. As for willpower, Liu Zhang never lacked it. A person who can study hard while practicing martial arts at the same time, if you say he lacks willpower, no one would believe it!

  Unfortunately, Liu Zhang's abilities were not immediately apparent, which was also the reason for Tong Yuan's test. From a physical standpoint, Tong Yuan couldn't muster up the interest to teach him martial arts, and if it weren't for Liu Zhang having some heroic spirit, plus having Shi Ah by his side, it would be good enough if Tong Yuan could give him guidance for just one or two days. As for the trial period being one month, Tong Yuan was thinking of letting Liu Zhang learn the entire set of Bai Niao Chao Feng spear techniques, after all, Liu Zhang wasn't exactly Tong Yuan's ideal disciple! And yet, the Bai Niao Chao Feng spear technique was merely the basic spear technique required of Tong Yuan's disciples.

  Liu Zhang opened his eyes, and Tong Yuan took out a wooden spear and said: "How much did you remember just now? Try it out!"

  Taking the wooden spear, Liu Zhang made a move with a board and eyes, and started to play. In Tong Yuan's view, with the complexity of the Hundred Birds朝凤枪, if Liu Zhang could make ten moves after reading it once, he would be considered talented; if he could make twenty moves, he would be considered profound; if he could make more than thirty moves, he could be called a genius. However, as time passed by one minute and one second, Liu Zhang surprisingly didn't have the intention to stop at all, and was about to play until the end, what kind of understanding was this?

  "Master, I've finished!" In Tong Yuan's stunned gaze, Liu Zhang put away his gun and stood up, his momentum not as majestic as Tong Yuan's, but still extraordinary. Of course, Liu Zhang had only practiced once, and there were many imperfections in his movements.

  "Alas!" Tong Yuan sighed and said: "What a pity... what a pity..."

  Tong Yuan's words made Liu Zhang uneasy, after all, his shooting skills were copied, and many of the movements were forced to be performed, not quite up to par. Liu Zhang said weakly: "Master, is it that the disciple did something wrong? You can speak frankly, if it's not right, you can beat the apprentice!"

  Tong Yuan looked at his overbearing little disciple, and unexpectedly showed such an expression. He couldn't help but touch his head and say: "You're doing very well, extremely well! You've already exceeded your master's expectations. Your master only feels a pity that if your physical quality was a bit better, or if you had innate divine power, perhaps you could become the top warrior of the Great Han!"

  Liu Zhang asked in surprise: "Master, what state is a top martial general?"

  "Top-notch!" Tong Yuan thought for a moment and said: "Exceeding Master by one point, similar to Xiang Yu, the Overlord of Western Chu 400 years ago!"

  "I'd rather not be a top martial artist!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "Master, everything can't reach an extreme limit. As the saying goes, 'the strongest is easy to break', 'the softest is weak'. Only by combining yin and yang can one achieve self-realization."

  "Yin and Yang complement each other?" Tong Yuan suddenly had an epiphany, his long spear stabbing out non-stop. However, the originally swift and fierce spear technique became dull and unremarkable, even somewhat slow and clumsy. Suddenly, Tong Yuan burst into loud laughter: "No wonder people say that the Middle Plain Spear is the king of spears, but being in the middle is the hardest to achieve. My good disciple, you've actually grasped the realm of martial arts already! Not bad, not bad! I, the old man, have underestimated you!"

  "Master, it's not that I've reached a profound level of martial arts understanding, but rather I somehow learned a set of fist techniques, and the intent behind those techniques is exactly this!" Liu Zhang smiled as he recited the Tai Chi fist scripture from memory. This very scripture startled Tong Yuan. As a master of martial arts, Tong Yuan had already explored some principles similar to Tai Chi, such as using four ounces of force to deflect a thousand pounds. But now, someone had produced a more perfect and systematic boxing classic, with martial arts principles that he had never heard of before. And the person who spoke of these principles was his own disciple! Even though Tong Yuan had reached a state of being unmoved by fame or fortune, and his heart was as calm as still water, he couldn't help but be shocked beyond recognition. It was as if someone had just created a hand grenade, only to discover that their apprentice was building an atomic bomb - the two were different, but the impact was roughly the same.

  "Disciple, don't you really know where this boxing manual comes from?" Tong Yuan looked at Liu Zhang very seriously and said: "This boxing method is a kind of ultimate skill. If you secretly learned it from someone else, it's better not to show it off, lest others seek revenge!"

  "Don't worry, Master, this set of fist techniques is my original creation, no one will seek revenge!" Liu Zhang understood Tong Yuan's idea, but the ancestor who created Tai Chi Fist was not born for several hundred years. By then, the title of Tai Chi Sect Master would have fallen to Liu Zhang!

  Tong Yuan furrowed his brow and said: "Don't you know the origin of this boxing technique? How can you be so confident?"

  "I don't know the origin of this fist, but I do know that it has been in my mind since before I was born!" Liu Zhang smiled and said: "The first time I practiced martial arts, I unconsciously used something that had already become similar to my instincts. Master, is it still possible for me to have learned it from someone else under these circumstances?"

  "What...!" Tong Yuan exclaimed in great surprise: "Could it be a divine fist technique?"

  Liu Zhang shook his head and shrugged to indicate that he didn't know. Tong Yuan carefully examined Liu Zhang and said, "Good disciple, I officially accept you as my apprentice. However, after a while, I will find a place to settle down and teach you the gun techniques in detail. For now, don't practice the Hundred Birds Returning to the Phoenix Gun Style, just practice the basic gun techniques first!"

  The basic spear techniques include stabbing, collapsing, pointing, piercing, chopping, circling, lifting, brushing, thrusting, whipping, throwing, wrapping, blocking, grasping, pouncing and flourishing. The most famous moves in the Hundred Birds Salute Spear, such as the Phoenix Three-Pointed Head and the Silver Snake Spitting Core, are all composed of these basic movements. If one can master all these movements to the point of instinctive reaction, even if they don't know any spear techniques, they would still be a top-notch spear expert! Of course, from ancient times to the present, no one has been able to achieve this, which is why various schools of spear techniques have emerged. In fact, all spear techniques rely on these basic movements.

  In the eyes of the aristocratic families, Liu Zhang was a tyrant, but in front of his teacher, he was a good boy. When Tong Yuan told him to practice basic marksmanship, Liu Zhang didn't have any doubts. In his opinion, his teacher would never harm him. Looking at Liu Zhang's expression, Tong Yuan felt a pang of regret again - if only Liu Zhang's physical quality were stronger!

  Tong Yuan stayed at Liu Yan's residence for a month before leaving. During this month, Liu Zhang benefited greatly. Now, without using any martial arts, relying solely on basic marksmanship, he can defeat the fierce soldiers in the army. Before leaving, Tong Yuan also told Liu Zhang that he would find some talented treasures to strengthen his body, which made Liu Zhang very happy. After Tong Yuan left, Liu Zhang did not slack off and practiced diligently every day. Seeing Liu Zhang's diligence, Huang Xu and Shi A felt a sense of pressure.

  Three months passed in the blink of an eye, and it was time for Liu Zhang and Yan Yan's agreed-upon competition. Although in the last month, Huang Zhong's soldiers not only trained in marching and standing, but also began to learn combat skills, but in Yan Yan's view, one month of training couldn't compare to his three months of instruction. So Yan Yan wanted to cancel the competition, giving Liu Zhang a way out, but Liu Zhang was confident, how could he possibly cancel?

  In the grand arena of Youzhou, Liu Yan sat in the main seat, while the officials of Youzhou were seated on both sides. The news of the competition between Liu Zhang and Yan Yan had already spread throughout Youzhou. It was thought that as the deadline approached, it would definitely be cancelled, but unexpectedly, the competition really took place. Under Liu Yan's order, Liu Zhang and Yan Yan each led 1,000 men into the arena. However, when both sides' soldiers entered the arena, all the officials present were shocked. It turned out that Yan Yan's 1,000 men were all robust men around 30 years old, while Liu Zhang's 1,000 men were a mix of veteran soldiers and young boys! Of course, the 1,000 men led by Liu Zhang were commanded by Huang Zhong.

  As soon as the two sides entered the scene, they were shocked by the quality of the troops. The behavior of the soldiers after entering the scene was even more astonishing. Only to see Yan Yan's soldiers, looking at Liu Zhang's soldiers with great disdain, whispering and muttering repeatedly. On the other hand, Liu Zhang's troops stood upright, not making a single sound!

  "Immobile as a mountain!" A hint of surprise appeared in Yan's eyes, but he still looked down on Liu Zhang's military training methods. Yan thought to himself, "What use is this empty 'immobility'?"

  With Liu Yan's order, the trial began!

  "Shields! Spears! Advance!" Huang Zhong gave the order loudly, and the young men in the front row raised their large shields, while the old soldiers in the back row held up their long spears. The troops moved forward in an orderly manner, but their formation did not become disordered.

  Yan's face turned pale as he took a deep breath, the elite level of Liu Zhang's troops had exceeded his imagination. However, he still held onto a glimmer of hope, after all, an army that had never seen blood was limited even if they were elite. Yan raised his battle knife and shouted loudly: "Kill!"