ATPnovel Chapter 13: One True Word Outweighs Ten Thousand Scrolls
Chapter 13: One True Word Outweighs Ten Thousand Scrolls
Lunch was over.By east building custom, on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, Liu Tang would spend half an hour in the afternoon coaching the guards in basic fist and foot techniques.
As an outer disciple of Baolin Martial Hall, he couldn’t pass on the hall’s core combat skills, so he taught only common moves.
But coming from a ninth-rank bone-tempering martial artist, even basic techniques carried deeper meaning.
After all, in all of Forty-Nine City, beyond martial halls and warlord camps, where could you find a ranked martial artist?
Even Qingfeng Street’s deputy police chief, Sun, had pulled strings to get his brother Fat Yong into Harmony as a guard, all for Liu Tang’s status as a Baolin outer disciple.
Sadly, today was Tuesday, and Xiangzi missed Liu Tang’s lesson.
In the east building’s ground floor, a spacious room served as the guards’ training hall.
Compared to Baolin Martial Hall, the setup here was far humbler.
A few rickety wooden dummies, some hanging sandbags, and stone weights of various sizes piled by the wall.
Just past lunch, the hall was sparse.
Guards practiced in twos and threes: some shadowboxed, others sparred, a few pounded sandbags.
The of coarse cloth shoes on the floor, the of fists and shins on sandbags, mingled with the sweaty air, pulsing with life.
One figure stood out—a lean silhouette slowly walking through stances in the corner.
Compared to the morning, Xiangzi’s steps were much smoother, surprising a few guards.
But stance work was just basic training. A picture-perfect stance was just a hollow show.
At eighteen, starting martial arts—
The guards smirked to themselves, losing interest.
They were all aiming for ninth-rank bone-tempering; no need to fuss over a late starter.
As the sun dipped west, the training hall dimmed, leaving only two figures.
One was Xiangzi, the other a shirtless middle-aged guard practicing stances and forms.
The man’s knotted muscles gleamed in the twilight. Finishing his set, he exhaled deeply, steadying his breath, and was about to leave when his gaze fell on Xiangzi, diligently walking stances in the corner’s shadows.
The middle-aged guard paused.
It was none other than Uncle Jie, who’d bailed Xiangzi out under the locust tree.
For years, he’d been the last to leave the training hall—until today.
Arms crossed, Uncle Jie watched Xiangzi’s steps, his brow twitching.
Mastering a stance in one day?
“” Uncle Jie said, stepping forward, eyeing Xiangzi’s footwork. “”
Xiangzi blinked, realizing the advice was for him.
He loosened his rigid posture, and his stance flowed smoother.
Soon, a prompt flashed in his mind:
Xiangzi’s heart leaped. An afternoon’s training earned six points; Uncle Jie’s pointer added two more!
Uncle Jie watched Xiangzi’s form grow fluid, surprise in his eyes.
He began coaching in detail, from steps to breathing.
As he spoke, Xiangzi’s mind flashed with prompts, his stance taking on a rounded, seamless quality.
Lost in practice, a commotion outside broke his focus—dinnertime had arrived.
Uncle Jie smiled. “”
Xiangzi stopped, bowing deeply. “”
Uncle Jie’s smile widened, and he asked, “” Read complete versıon only at novelhall.com
Xiangzi paused. “”
Uncle Jie nodded, a nostalgic glint in his eyes. “”
Stepping closer, he patted Xiangzi’s shoulder. “”
Xiangzi understood why Uncle Jie treated him differently.
They chatted about home—village locust trees, wild jujube groves on the back hills—growing closer quickly.
When Xiangzi mentioned his few acres of land seized by warlords, Uncle Jie’s face darkened.
Clearly, Xiangzi’s story stirred old wounds.
He sighed, muttering through gritted teeth, “”
Shaking off his melancholy, Uncle Jie said, “”
He had no idea Xiangzi, with his panel, had already awakened a wisp of vitality on his first day.
Xiangzi caught a key detail. “”
Uncle Jie sighed. “”
“”
“”
“”
“”
First time hearing it, Xiangzi pressed, “”
Uncle Jie nodded. “”
Xiangzi asked, “”
Uncle Jie shook his head, a bitter smile forming. “”
“” His voice dropped. “”
Xiangzi blurted, “”