Cultivation: I Have Studied Abroad in the Modern World-Chapter 16 - Songhe Stance

Before the drill ground, Mr. Xu was already there waiting.

His upper body naked, his robust muscles covered with a thick layer of sweat; in his hands, he held a long spear, polishing his martial skills.

Seeing Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan, he flicked his arm, and the long spear flew like a swimming dragon, landing precisely on the weapon rack.

"Arrived?" He looked at the two, his face wearing a teasing smile: "What, got rejected by the Seventh Young Master?"

Zheng Fa, Gao Yuan: "..."

"Everyone says that Attendant Student is a cut above the rest in the Zhao Mansion, but this is already the sixth time I'm teaching for the Seventh Young Master." Mr. Xu's voice carried a hint of sympathy.

Zheng Fa remembered, Gao Yuan had once mentioned that the Seventh Young Master did indeed have five Attendant Students.

The color of Gao Yuan's face grew even more sullen.

"The Seventh Young Master is hard to serve, and it's rare for any Attendant Student to stay by his side for long, but almost everyone in the Zhao Family is willing to do this job. Why do you think that is?"

Mr. Xu suddenly changed the topic.

Zheng Fa and the others looked at him.

"It's for the martial arts that I will teach you later!"

Mr. Xu continued: "Our venerable ancestor of the Zhao Family was a disciple of the Immortal Sect, and with each generation, someone has managed to join the Immortal Sect for cultivation, achieving our millennial status as a county family."

"But Immortal Law is elusive, and we ourselves are of humble origins; divine fate for us is something longed for but unattainable."

Mr. Xu's face darkened slightly, but he immediately became vehement: "However, the Zhao Family not only has a connection with the Immortal Clan but also possesses the martial arts that dominate the mortal world. By learning martial arts, one is no longer weak! Even if one isn't an Attendant Student in the future, they still have a foundation to stand on!"

"Like me, having learned martial arts and acquired skills, I can train Protectors in the Zhao Family, enjoying the finest food! Outside, who wouldn't respect me a bit more?"

Mr. Xu's words made Gao Yuan's eyes next to Zheng Fa shine.

Zheng Fa, however, found it oddly familiar—compared with modern-day course selling, it's still far from the mark.

Shouldn't he first generate a sense of anxiety, at the very least?

Mr. Xu, looking at Zheng Fa and the others, was also somewhat puzzled.

Knowing himself to be not eloquent, he pondered long and hard before coming up with a few fancy phrases.

To his surprise, Gao Yuan, who hails from a fine background and has seen the world, was almost howling with motivation.

But Zheng Fa had little reaction?

He glanced at Zheng Fa and asked Gao Yuan: "You've studied martial arts; do you know what it takes to study at a martial arts school in the State City of Jingzhou?"

Gao Yuan thought for a while and replied: "Generally speaking, first, you have to pay the entry tuition, I think the lowest... at least twenty pieces of Silver?"

"What else?"

"I heard that according to the rules of the outside martial arts schools, it's three years to learn the art, and five years of servitude?"

"Correct!" Mr. Xu said loudly while caressing his palm: "Studying martial arts outside, whether you can truly learn something is one thing, but you also have to slave away for years."

"Whereas in our Zhao Family, the lady thinks although you are currently nothing more than the Seventh Young Master's Attendant Students, in the future you can manage part of the Zhao Family's affairs, thus granting you the favor of learning martial arts from me! This is the immense kindness of the lady!"

Zheng Fa found himself in agreement upon hearing this.

Being a servant of the Zhao Family might not sound prestigious, but in this world, it's considered a fortune.

It's because essentially, the Zhao Family occupies immense social resources; just sharing a bit with those below puts them in a much better position than the true common folk outside.

"Moreover, could the martial arts taught in those outside schools possibly compare with the martial arts treasured by our Zhao Family?"

"Mr. Xu, how do you determine the superiority of martial arts?" Gao Yuan asked curiously.

Mr. Xu proudly smiled and explained: "The martial arts of the Xuanwei Realm, in the end, all originate from one place—the Immortal Sect!"

"The Immortal Sect?"

"Legend has it, the disciples of the Immortal Sect have countless Divine Skills, and their Cultivation Techniques are infinitely powerful. But one thing—these techniques require Immortal Talent; without the aptitude, one cannot cultivate Immortal Law. Those disciples of the Immortal Sect, surely they have relatives and friends without the talent, right?"

"So was martial arts created for them?"

"It's not exactly appropriate to say 'created'; the initial martial arts were simplified versions of Immortal Sect techniques, or rather, incomplete versions." Mr. Xu's eyes dimmed somewhat as he spoke: "Those without the qualifications for cultivation, once they practiced martial arts, could be stronger than others. Of course, they are nowhere near the one in ten thousand power of the Immortal Law."

Hearing this, Gao Yuan whispered, "Then, I still want to cultivate."

"Nonsense, who wouldn't? Not to mention whether you have the talent for cultivation, within the Zhao Family, even Seventh Young Master who has a bit of an immortal's grace, is he able to cultivate?"

"Seventh Young Master? Why not?" Gao Yuan asked, puzzled.

Mr. Xu lightly patted his cheek, visibly annoyed at himself for letting slip a secret out of hasty talk.

"Shut up! The martial arts passed down in the city's training halls are those spread by the descendants of the fallen Immortal Clan, the legacy becoming increasingly lost; the descendants lack the ability, it's very likely incomplete, nowhere near as powerful as the original."

"But the Zhao Family is different, our Zhao Family, generation after generation, we have Immortals! The Zhao Family's martial arts, in fact, have been refined by generations of disciples from the Immortal Sect, in terms of sophistication, they are even superior to the original."

Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan both believed this, after all, the Zhao Family's thousand-year reputation was stronger than that of those training halls.

"Today, I will pass on to the two of you a Cultivation Technique from our Zhao Family's heritage, called the 'Songhe Stance'." Mr. Xu, perhaps due to his earlier slip of the tongue, seemed inclined not to waste further words.

"Watch closely!"

He posed, one foot in front of the other, the front foot lightly touching the ground, the toes of the back foot tensed, the instep arched inside the shoe like a bridge, fists clenched slightly withdrawn.

The most peculiar was his upper body movement.

From the waist to the neck, he stood in a bow shape, resembling a crane singing loudly to the sky.

"Watch my movements clearly! Follow and learn!" he said to Zheng Fa, "You need to root your feet! Dig five holes in the ground with your toes! But keep your torso relaxed!"

Seeing both of them assume similar postures, he continued, "Follow my breath! Exhale, inhale!"

When he inhaled, the muscles on his upper body rolled like a wheel until his chest and abdomen became a large ball.

Upon exhaling, a long breath flowed from his throat, turning into a clear and resonant crane's cry.

Zheng Fa kept following and learning, but somehow it felt awkward.

Mr. Xu circled around him, continuously patting his body.

"Arch your back, not too much!"

"Your belly, your belly!"

"Pay attention to the rhythm of your breath!"

Under Mr. Xu's guidance, Zheng Fa seemed to find some feeling—a warm current following his breath flowed throughout his body, circulating up and down.

After practicing for a while, Zheng Fa felt sore all over and could no longer maintain the posture.

Gao Yuan was also grimacing at the side.

"Instructor, this 'Songhe Stance' is really hard!"

"Hard because it's powerful!"

"What's so powerful about it?" Gao Yuan inquired.

Mr. Xu glanced at them, spreading his arms, and his entire body soared like a bird.

This man, with bulging muscles, now moved with utmost grace, almost as if riding the wind with elegance.

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When he landed, he had leaped over a distance of five or six zhangs!

"Can... can you fly?" Gao Yuan asked, wide-eyed.

"Of course not, but once you've mastered the Songhe Stance, you'll be the most formidable qinggong master among the mortals," Mr. Xu said proudly. "Moreover, the Songhe Stance comes from a legendary Immortal Law that is said to grant immortality; at its ultimate mastery, you could..."

"Immortality?" Gao Yuan excitedly asked.

"Stop dreaming, it just prolongs life!" Mr. Xu rolled his eyes.

"This..." Gao Yuan pondered, feeling his expectations were a bit too fanciful, "So how long do I need to practice to reach the pinnacle?"

"For someone like you, maybe thirty years," Mr. Xu gave him a look.

"And how many more years can I live after mastering it?"

"Twenty years?"

"...Wouldn't that be a net loss of ten years?"

Gao Yuan, the little math prodigy, commented as such.