Chapter 102 Colorful Garments Wrapped in Silk, Azure Silk Completion

At the entrance of the village.

Zhou Yitong, a second-class guard, was ordered to relay a message.

He lingered at the village entrance, shouting a few times before waiting in place. He knew that Heihe Village was a poor and dangerous place and did not want to go there.

He spat lightly, thinking that if he didn't come out in another half an hour, he would consider him dead.

Such a wonderful opportunity was out of his reach.

It won't be long.

A figure was seen approaching.

"Hey, he's not dead yet."

Zhou Yitong was stunned. After so long, Li Xian seemed even more vigorous than before. He had fair skin and a tall, slender figure, neither overly robust nor thin. Yet, he exuded a subtle, powerful aura…

"Brother Li, it's been a long time. How have you been?" Zhou Yitong greeted him with a smile and clasped his hands in a respectful bow.

"Brother Zhou, long time no see! I'm doing well." Li Xian returned the greeting and asked, "Brother Zhou, you said that Madam summoned me back to the manor? Is there something you need?"

Zhou Yitong laughed and said, "That's a good thing, Li Xian. We'll talk about it on the way."

"good."

Li Xian called over Uncle Fu, gave him a few simple instructions, and then followed Zhou Yitong back to the village.

On the way, Zhou Yitong said, "This trip isn't just to call you back to the manor. All the guards stationed outside have also been summoned."

“You’ve only been in the manor for less than six months, so you don’t know this. Every three years, the lady of our manor will spend half a day instructing the guards in martial arts.”

"I called you back today for this very reason."

Li Xian was overjoyed, "This is truly a wonderful thing."

Li Xianzong has the destiny of "Heaven rewards diligence," meaning he can make progress through hard work. However, if he receives guidance from a senior, he will benefit greatly.

"Yes, so go back quickly."

"This afternoon."

Zhou Yitong said impatiently.

...

...

In Yihe Village.

As noon approached, a wide-open meadow appeared in the village, where the four ranks of guards, A, B, C, and D, had all gathered.

The crowd was large, and many of them were new faces.

Li Xian hurried back to the manor and went to the front of the procession. The guards of the second class were clearly marked, and the other guards respectfully gave way.

"Since I started practicing martial arts, I have never been instructed by anyone."

"The Four Directions Fist has reached its pinnacle and needs no further instruction. The Clear Breeze Leg has also reached perfection. It just so happens that the Azure Palm is currently in perfect mastery. If I could receive guidance from you, Madam, I would surely gain a great deal."

After waiting a while longer.

The noisy environment fell silent instantly; the lady had arrived.

The lady's appearance remained unchanged, dignified and gentle, with an indescribable air of nobility. She wore only a thin gauze silk dress, which perfectly accentuated her figure.

Her long hair was tied up and secured with three hairpins, with crystal-clear jade beads hanging from the ends of the hairpins.

As they walked, the jade beads clashed together, making a crisp, tinkling sound.

It's her.

Li Xian noticed another woman beside his wife. She wore a fox-fur coat and cloak, with red lips and delicate eyebrows. Because she was less experienced than his wife, she resembled a budding flower, lacking the youthful beauty of her husband, but she was still young and charming.

It was the woman he had met in the Dan Pavilion that day.

"She really is a guest at the manor," Li Xian thought to himself. "This woman is no ordinary person."

The lady took her seat, and Qiuyue served her hot tea. She took a small sip, slightly raising her eyebrows. Pang Long understood, and said to everyone, "Let's begin!"

Hua Hanying, a Class A nurse, ranked first and was the first to appear.

"Han Ying, use your Fire Eagle Claws," Pang Long laughed.

"good!"

Hua Hanying unleashed his attack, extending both hands forward, his fingers curling into claws, his bones cracking with a series of sounds. He first executed a move called "Falcon Pounces on Tiger," striking down from a height, the sound of an eagle's cry seemingly audible.

He then unleashed several more claw strikes, horizontal and vertical claws, displaying overwhelming killing intent and ferocious power.

All the guards exclaimed in surprise, and Pang Long nodded in satisfaction.

However, Li Xian frowned slightly, "Although I have never learned claw techniques, my fist techniques have reached their peak."

"There seem to be traces of boxing techniques remaining in the claws of this Hua Han Eagle."

The dance is over.

The lady raised her eyebrows slightly and said only one sentence, "When Qi is condensed, it is not solid; when Qi is scattered, the mind is restless, as if there is a fist shadow." Then she let Hua Hanying comprehend it on his own.

Li Xian was slightly pleased, the phrase "as if there were shadows of fists" proved that his idea was correct.

In martial arts competitions, experience and knowledge are crucial. Knowing yourself and your enemy is the key to victory in every battle.

Li Xian thought to himself that this was a golden opportunity to quickly accumulate knowledge and experience in martial arts. So he watched the guards' moves more attentively than others, trying to analyze their strengths and weaknesses.

The lady was sparing with her words, but she often got straight to the point.

For example, there is a Class B guard who practices the "Zhengping Fist" method.

This boxing style is perfectly balanced and even, making it difficult to go astray. However, this guard's right leg has a blocked acupoint, which obstructs the flow of internal energy. Although he has achieved some success in boxing, his shoulders always swell and ache every time he practices.

The lady then said, "Take a hot medicine to relieve the symptoms."

He not only pointed out the flaws in the boxing technique, but also discerned the patient's old ailments and the depth of his martial arts skill, which filled Li Xian with admiration.

The path of martial arts, if guided by a renowned master, is truly like taking a shortcut. It allows you to achieve twice the results with half the effort!

Soon they arrived at Jiang Yun's place.

She unleashed the "Azure Palm," but her palm technique was a complex and intricate one, resembling a tangled mess of yarn.

Although the palm strikes were swift, they shifted erratically, sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right, resulting in a somewhat chaotic movement.

Li Xian took a look and secretly shook his head. This Jiang Yun entered the Leisure Martial Pavilion to practice the "Azure Palm". However, due to the limited number of times she entered the pavilion, her knowledge and learning were somewhat inaccurate.

The lady was slightly taken aback, glanced at Qiuyue, and then her expression returned to normal. After Jiang Yun finished her palm technique, the lady said, "The Azure Palm was created by me. You have already mislearned it. There is no need to delve into it further. Let's change to another martial art."

“This…” Jiang Yun’s face turned pale.

She has put a great deal of effort into this palm technique, so should it be rendered useless?

But how could she dare disobey the lady's orders?

After Jiang Yun, three second-class guards passed before it was Li Xian's turn.

Pang Long nodded to him and said, "Li Xian, the second-class guard, let's begin."

Li Xian unleashed both palms simultaneously, also employing the Azure Palm technique. The lady let out a slight exclamation, thinking to herself, "The Azure Palm again. Although this martial art is mediocre, it was created by my own Qi Xing."

Upon closer inspection, although Li Xianbi's palm technique was not as skilled as Jiang Yun's, it had not gone astray. Her palm techniques varied in speed and intensity, ranging from the might of a raging river to the gentleness of a trickle.

The lady raised her eyebrows slightly and said, "It's rare that your palm technique has no flaws."

With a flick of her slender fingers, she pulled a silk thread from Pang Long's robe. With a gentle gust of wind, the thread landed in Li Xian's hand.

Li Xian focused his attention and looked closely.

The silk threads have been tied into a complex, intractable knot.

The lady said no more and gestured for Li Xian to leave.

Li Xian held the ball of silk, utterly perplexed. The other guards, regardless of their martial arts skills, were always given pointers by the Madam. Only he had been given a ball of silk thread.

What does this mean?

"Could it be that Madam's guidance is all in this ball of hemp thread?" Li Xian examined the hemp thread but couldn't figure it out for the time being.

I simply put it in my pocket.

We'll study this further in the future.

Time flew by, and it was already evening.

After the lady's instruction concluded, Li Xian still needed to be stationed elsewhere and prepared to return to Heihe Village.

Pang Long personally saw her off. Li Xian asked, "Commander Pang, what do you think is the meaning behind Madam's actions?"

He took out the ball of hemp thread.

“I don’t know either.” Pang Long shook his head, patted Li Xian on the shoulder, and reminded him, “Be careful when you go back to Heihe Village. Zheng Xuezhang is seriously injured and will not recover for several months, but his son is not weak.”

Li Xian nodded, then suddenly asked, "Yes, Commander Pang, there have been quite a few casualties in the manor recently? I've seen quite a few new faces."

"You're quite thoughtful," Pang Long said. "There should have been another six months before Madam gave you her guidance. But recently, unrest broke out in the county, so Madam has brought forward her guidance to allow me to go into seclusion in peace."

"There's been a disturbance in the county?" Li Xian was taken aback.

Pang Long said, "That's right. It seems there's a group of rebels stationed outside Qingning County. The matter is complicated, and I can't figure it out right now."

"It might not be a bad thing that you're stationed in Heihe Village. After all, two of the second-class guards have died recently. Things are not very peaceful."

Li Xian asked, "What is your opinion on this matter, Madam?" He wanted to judge the importance of the matter based on Madam's reaction.

However, it did not go as planned.

“Madam is as usual,” Pang Long said.

...

...

Li Xian returned home under the moonlight, feeling a surge of emotion.

In times of chaos, where can one find a tranquil lake?

Only by mastering martial arts like the lady can one be safe and sound.

Heihe Village.

Between the small wooden houses in the west of the village.

Li Xian held the ball of thread, puzzled. He wondered, "Could this be a method of circulating Qi?"

He then channeled his Qi and followed the spool of thread. However, the spool was complex, and his Qi moved erratically within it, nearly injuring himself.

"Fine, if I can't figure it out, I'll just use my own clumsy method and study it over and over again!"

He immediately began practicing the palm technique. Once, twice… the palm strikes whistled through the air. Suddenly, in a fleeting moment, Li Xian had an epiphany, remembering how his wife had pulled a thread from her clothes. With a flick of his palm, a thin strand of fabric transformed into a ball of thread…

"Does this mean I need to use the force of my palm to untangle this ball of thread?!"

Li Xian's heart pounded wildly. He took out a ball of thread and tossed it into the air.

The ball of yarn, like goose down, drifted slowly down. Li Xian clapped his palm, the wind from which blew the yarn away. "Not good!" Li Xian jumped up and grabbed the yarn.

The ground is covered in snow.

If he fell into the snow, even with Li Xian's extraordinary skills, he would have a hard time finding him. He immediately returned to his house, where the snow no longer bothered him, and began practicing his martial arts again.

"If the palm strike is too strong, it will blow far away; if the palm strike is too weak, the ball of yarn will fall to the ground."

Li Xian used the force of his palm to lift the ball of thread. He carefully controlled the amount of force, ensuring the thread remained suspended and did not fall.

However, the tangled thread was so complicated that it was difficult to untangle even with fingers. How much more difficult would it be with gusts of palm wind?

"When the palm flutters, it inevitably stirs up a breeze. This breeze can be strong or gentle, but how can one entangle the silk threads into a ball, and how can one untangle them?"

Li Xian recalled the unique feature of the Azure Palm: it could unleash more than ten different types of internal energy simultaneously with a single strike.

View the palm wind as an extension of internal energy. When you strike out with your palm, the energy flows out of your palm and transforms into a dozen or so nimble wisps of wind, just like the complex turbulent currents beneath the surface of water.

Perhaps that's the reason.

We immediately put it into practice.

[You've just mastered the Azure Palm technique; your proficiency has increased by 12.]

Indeed, the results were extremely rapid.

Li Xian was overjoyed and practiced even harder.

[You've just mastered the basics of the Azure Palm technique, your proficiency has increased by 4.]

...

Fueled by this momentum, Li Xian once again stayed up all night to study diligently.

The next day, at noon.

The sun is a bit strong today, and the weather is warming up.

Counting the days, December is coming to an end and January is just around the corner.

The cold winter is more than halfway over.

Things will gradually get better in the days to come.

Although Li Xian still hasn't untangled the knotted thread, he has broken through the shackles of mastery in the martial art [Azure Palm] and has entered the [Minor Success] realm in one fell swoop.

[Azure Palm]

[Proficiency: 124/6000 Minor Mastery]

[Description: A jade-green palm holds a hidden secret. Under the guidance of a senior, you diligently practiced your palm techniques, prematurely grasping the characteristics of "condensed qi like silk" and "entwined silk like rope."]

Li Xian sat cross-legged on the spot, his breathing long and even. He had stayed up all night practicing, all for this moment of breakthrough.

Looking inward, one sees one's inner energy continuously growing...

The Qi Lake surged and expanded continuously, reaching 22 feet, 23 feet... until it reached 24 feet before finally showing signs of stopping.

(End of this chapter)