In the evening, Tang Zhao planned to wait for Si Liyu to come, but he didn't come that night because he didn't know if he was busy. Tang Zhao was a little regretful but also a little lucky. Si Liyu put much more pressure on him than Guan Lei.
When he had free time, Tang Zhao turned on the light and read, and naturally he read the newly acquired "The Sound of Thunder on Martial Arts".
"The Sound of Thunder on Martial Arts" was obviously written by Guan Lei himself, recording common sense of martial arts and common sense of "learning martial arts".
The words in the book are just like Guan Lei's speaking tone, speaking in plain language but clearly. Not to mention that Tang Zhao has experienced the tempering of "Tonghua Attracts the Phoenix", even if he knows nothing about it, he can still read it smoothly.
Common sense of martial arts, such as the beginning, stages and realm of martial arts, the distinction between internal and external skills, the origin of weapons, fists and kicks, the contents and connections of martial arts, martial arts, martial arts and martial ethics, etc. The common sense of learning martial arts includes a rough but systematic introduction from the initial stretching and pile skills to boxing, footwork, body skills, mental skills and even the cultivation of energy and spirit.
Finally, there are some records of Jianghu rules and martial arts anecdotes. Although the writing is very exciting, it is short in length. Obviously the person who wrote the book did not care.
Although Tang Zhao only briefly read it once, he already guessed that Guan Lei had ambitions in writing this book. It was just like a military strategist writing about the art of war. He compiled and summarized what he had learned in order to be famous for centuries, and to record the history of officials and officials that were happening now. It doesn't make any sense.
From this point of view, Master Guan is a great person, ambitious and lofty.
Yuan Qing said that you don’t need to read a book to learn martial arts, but maybe starting from this book, you will need it.
Of course, this book is still a draft, or even an outline. Many of the introductions are too rough. Only the first few chapters can be read in detail, and the rest are just names. However, even if the manuscript is completed, it is impossible to complete all the contents of the book, otherwise it will not be able to be completed even if it is one million words, let alone one person.
Because it is too sketchy, I did not give this book a rating, and did not admit that it was a "gong method". I probably thought it was a "popular science book", and of course there was no annotation.
But popular science books are easier and more interesting to read than monographs, and easier to accept. The more useless knowledge is, the more interesting it is. The rules of martial arts are more interesting than the common sense of martial arts, and anecdotes are more interesting than the rules of martial arts.
Let's just say that the level of martial arts masters is not as strict as in the story. It is probably that those who have only learned basic fists and kicks are called "warriors". If they have a foundation in kung fu, they can be called "strong men" simply by being able to fly over walls and fly over walls. After reaching a certain level of internal and external skills, one can be called a "xiaoke", and those who can establish a sect and lead a trend will be called a "grandmaster". As for the heroes, just like the "righteous men" corresponding to the warrior stage, they have to be appointed by the government at the chivalrous stage. There is only one in a county, and they must be able to convince the public with their strength, reputation, and meritorious deeds.
But this is just a conventional name, not a golden rule. In the arena, everyone talks about "master" but not "hero". Except for "grandmaster", they generally dare not use the title. Heroes and righteous men must be certified by the court. All other titles are acceptable. Behind closed doors, they praise each other as "Zhang Xiake", "Zhang Xiake", "Master Li" is not uncommon.
As for the strength of the same level, it is even more unpredictable. We are all strong men, and one person may fight ten of them. And the countless figures who are active in the world are basically all knights at the first level, and their strength is even more different. Even if two people have the same name, they are not necessarily indistinguishable, and one can be knocked down by the other's move. Even if the heroes awarded by the imperial court are not necessarily stronger than the knights, it does not mean that the heroes in a county are the strongest, but the imperial court certification is the imperial court certification. Even if you beat the heroes all over the head, the authority will not be transferred to you.
Finally, Guan Lei also mentioned that there is no shortage of good people in the world to rank the masters, and various lists emerge one after another. But most of them are full of errors and omissions, and are extremely regional. Today, the most valuable reference in the martial arts world is the "Hundred Soldiers Manual" of the Star Observation Tower. The information is detailed, updated rapidly, and has gradually become a public opinion. In particular, the Hundred Military Manual is divided into prefectures and counties, and there are various rankings, and even a complete ranking of first- and second-rate masters. It is clear that it has its own system.
On top of it, there is the imperial court's Jiuzhou Loyalty List. Regardless of martial arts, the ranking is only based on merit. It is related to the level of martial arts, but it still cannot be generalized. When it comes to authority, there is no one better than the imperial court. However, there has always been an invisible gap between the government and the world. Although the government regards the world as an indiscriminate and reckless person, how can martial arts masters look down on the "lackeys" and "minions" of the government? Therefore, when the Jiuzhou Loyalty Ranking was launched, not only was it not sought after by the martial arts world, but it was repeatedly deliberately ignored. Especially the underworld, they are even ashamed to be on the list.
However, this phenomenon is gradually changing. Firstly, the evil has become more and more serious in recent years, and the martial arts people can no longer stay away. Even the underworld is always under the threat of evil, and not only one or two forces are wiped out. Secondly... the court also gave too much.
In order to reward loyalty, all the righteous people on the list can exchange their merits for benefits, including secret books of exercises, magic weapons, tonics and wound medicines. In particular, there are two types of "mysterious skills" and "technical tools".
It is said that these two are the keys to transcending the realm of knights.
"Thunder on Martial Arts" is vague here. It does not explain what "transcendence from the chivalrous realm" is, nor does it explain what "mysterious skills" and "technical weapons" are. It only says that they are not included in the discussion of "On Martial Arts".
I don't know if Tang Zhao has a villain's heart, but he always feels that Guan Lei's wording here is a bit sour.
Xuan Gong...
Tang Zhao thought about it and realized that what he was most familiar with was Xuan Gong, and the only skill he mastered, "The Divine Bird Bathing in Fire Technique", was Xuan Gong.
Was it actually such an advanced technique?
Although it did not involve Xuan Gong itself, he finally knew where Xuan Gong originated.
The starting point of Xuan Gong is the end point of "Martial Arts" in a general sense.
According to this book, the end point of martial arts is "perfection." This perfection refers to the perfection of the body, which is also the perfection of "essence, energy and spirit". It reaches the state of perfection both internally and externally, reaching the "state of no leakage".
Reaching this point can be regarded as the peak of martial arts. There are only a few people in the world. At this point, the road of martial arts has come to an end. In theory, it is still possible to accumulate internal strength, which will become deeper and more refined. In martial arts, one can surpass his peers and become proud of the world.
But this is only a quantitative change, not a qualitative change. In essence, he is still a knight. Internal strength can delay aging, but it has its limit. Eventually, the body will become weak and unable to maintain the state, and the five degenerates of heaven and humans will eventually turn into white bones.
Seeing this, Tang Zhao couldn't help but worry secretly - is the threshold for Xuan Gong so high?
To put it this way, it would take decades of effort to reach the threshold of cultivation, and it would take a martial arts genius to complete it. Then wouldn’t he, an ordinary person, have no hope in his life?
Is there no way to speed it up?
Maybe there is, but Guan Lei didn't write it in the book. He only wrote two routes of martial arts - internal training and external training.
To put it bluntly, it means practicing internal and external skills.
External Kung Fu starts from the muscles, bones and skin and goes from the outside to the inside. Internal Kung Fu is the opposite. When the internal Qi is filled, the muscles and bones will strengthen. Both paths are correct. External skills are more effective but more difficult and dangerous. Internal skills are better because of long-lasting stamina, but the initial results are less effective.
Tang Zhaoxue's body-building chapter is a preliminary exercise for external training. This is normal. He has limited time. If he uses this month to practice internal skills, he may not even be able to touch it.
It's just that he still has some regrets - the inner martial arts sounds more handsome.
Just keep practicing step by step. The masters and famous teachers hired by others will never let him go wrong. What's more, he also has glasses as a supplement, and he can also use the flame diagram to train his spirit. A month will not be wasted.
Early the next morning, Tang Zhao got up early and put on new gray coarse cloth clothes for practicing.
After finishing his stretching exercises, he walked out the door and saw that all the disciples in gray clothes in the courtyard had already gotten up for morning exercises, some were standing in stances, and some were practicing boxing. Judging from their condition, they have obviously been practicing for a while.
Tang Zhao couldn't help but clicked his tongue and thought to himself: I thought I had gotten up early enough, but it turned out that so many people were earlier than me! It seems that practicing martial arts requires more diligence than studying. The ancients said: "When you hear the chicken, it dances". It seems that I will have to be more diligent in the future!
As agreed yesterday, he jogged to Guan Lei's yard and ran to the door, his body already warm.
I don't know when there was a rock in the yard that was as tall as a person. It was not hollow and porous like a rockery, but a solid piece that almost sunk the ground.
This person is as tall as a strong man, almost twice as tall as him!
Guan Lei stood by the rock, holding on to the rock that was half a head shorter and said: "Tang Zhao, come here."
Tang Zhao walked over and clasped his fists and said, "Good morning, teacher."
Guan Lei nodded and said: "Azhao, do you know what the strongest animal in the world is?"
Tang Zhao replied without hesitation: "Ant."
Guan Lei was stunned for a moment and said: "Well...cough, that's right. You might say it's a tiger, a bear..."
Tang Zhao thought to himself: I just said it was an ant.
"But those animals are just big in body. The little ant is the strongest. It can lift several times the weight of its own body. It is really powerful. And the longest strength in my martial art is called 'ant' Strength'. And you are small and weak, so you are about to learn from the ants. Let's train our physical strength, starting from moving the stone. First set a small goal, and ask you to move this stone in one month!"
Although Tang Zhao felt that 'Yi Li Jin' didn't sound impressive enough, he was still excited and said: "Okay!"
Guan Lei thought to himself that this child, despite his weak strength, was full of confidence. With such a big stone placed in front of him, he was not afraid of difficulties at all.
Little did he know that the ignorant are fearless. Tang Zhao had no idea about martial arts in reality, but he had unlimited fantasies about martial arts in stories. Let alone a mere stone, he would dare to move a mountain in a month.
Before hitting the south wall, Tang Zhao was a fool in martial arts.
Guan Lei asked Tang Zhao to stand in front of the big stone and push the big stone according to the posture of exerting force as mentioned yesterday.
The boulder naturally remained motionless. Tang Zhao pushed hard for a while, but he had exhausted all his strength and could no longer exert any force.
Guan Lei said: "Tired?"
Tang Zhao was sweating and said, "A little bit."
Guan Lei said: "It can't last long. You can't use extreme force like this. Just use normal force." After saying that, he adjusted his stance, asked him to squat on the horse with his waist down, his arms slightly bent, and gave some instructions. Tips for exerting force.
Following his instructions, Tang Zhao restrained his strength and continued to push. Sure enough, he saved some energy, but he was still exhausted for a while.
Guan Lei told him to reduce his strength, but his posture remained unchanged. He just adjusted his breathing to rest. The rhythm of breathing is different this time. It is not just relaxing, but also controlling the breath inhaled, storing it in the body for a while before spitting it out.
Tang Zhao followed the instructions and memorized them, confirming in his mind that external training was indeed closely related to the breathing method. Every skill had its own breathing method.
After relaxing, Tang Zhao pushed the stone again, working hard and resting for a while. In the end, his arms were so weak that he could no longer lift them, and his legs were numb.
It wasn't until Tang Zhao was about to die from exhaustion that Guan Lei asked him to get up, gave him the tea cup in his hand, and said, "Drink some water and rest."
Tang Zhao took a sip and felt the smell of the medicine hit his nose, making him miserable and unable to swallow it.
Guan Lei said with a smile: "Azhao has good perseverance and can endure hardships. I was worried that you were squeamish before, but it seems that I was worried in vain."
Tang Zhao couldn't help but smile and said: "It's okay, it's just average." He took a few sips.
The herbal tea was astonishingly effective. As soon as I drank it, heat spread throughout my body, and I immediately regained a lot of strength. Guan Lei was not in a hurry and asked him to push the stone again after he had rested enough.
I spent the whole morning squatting and pushing stones. Lunch was a large piece of meat. It looked red and oily, but tasted terrible. I didn’t know what ingredients were added to it, making it sour and bitter. Tang Zhao's tongue was numb from eating it.
After the lunch break, Guan Lei took Tang Zhao to the other side of the stone. The rocks on this side are pitted with many shallow pits. He asked again: "What do you think is the highest jumping animal in the world?"
Without waiting for Tang Zhao to answer, he said: "Maybe you say it's a rabbit, but it's actually a grasshopper..."
Tang Zhao didn't have the nerve to correct him: "It must be a flea, right?"
Guan Lei continued: "When a grasshopper jumps, it jumps several times higher than its own height. What would it be like if a person could jump so high?"
Tang Zhao imagines it, it’s almost like flying, right?
However, it’s normal for Qinggong to be the same as flying, right?
So, his Qing Gong is going to be like that of a grasshopper?
Is it called "Grasshopper Kung Fu" this time?
When ordinary people practice martial arts, they all learn from dragons and tigers, and even when they are in trouble, they still want to learn from leopards, but Teacher Guan asked him to learn from insects.
But if you think about it carefully, insects are actually more powerful than tigers and wolves, which is a miracle of nature. So what does it matter whether the name is majestic or not?
Guan Lei said: "Let's learn the grasshopper's leaping technique now, and set a small goal. Within one month, you have to jump on the same spot, without using other strength, to jump on this stone."
Teacher Guan then taught him some key points to strengthen his waist and legs. He first jumped along the shallow hole on the stone to the top, and then jumped down from the opposite side.
Practicing jumping is much more tiring and dangerous than pushing rocks. Even though Guan Lei spread a thick layer of straw on the ground, Tang Zhao fell hard. He almost hit his head when he fell several times. Guan Lei watched from the side. If there was a risk of falling to a vital point, he would immediately come to the rescue. If he just touched the flesh, he would ignore it.
After practicing for more than an hour, Tang Zhao's legs were sore and painful. In the end, he couldn't jump even while holding on to the rocks, so Teacher Guan let him rest.
It was already dinner time, but Guan Lei didn't ask him to eat. Instead, he rushed him to take a bath. The bath water was of course medicinal soup.
Bathing is not just about taking a bath. Guan Lei taught him several techniques. During the medicinal bath, he kept patting and massaging his body to relax his muscles and speed up the infusion of medicinal power. I soaked until I came out before dinner. Sure enough, almost all the siltation was gone, and I also regained a lot of strength.
Dinner was still the stewed meat with medicinal herbs. Tang Zhao, who had worked out hard all day without complaining, felt suspicious of his life - even if medicinal herbs were added, it wouldn't be so unpalatable, right? It's almost like a deliberately dark dish.
Tang Zhao couldn't help but said to Wei Changle, who had not seen anyone all day long: "Can't we boil the medicinal materials directly into soup and drink it, so as not to waste the meat?"
Wei Changle was called by Guan Lei in the morning to teach separately. If a famous teacher teaches according to his aptitude, even if there are only two people, they will make different plans. I didn't see him until dinner. It was also very painful to eat, but I still pinched my nose and swallowed, saying: "I think if the smell of medicine hadn't been masked, it would have been more unpalatable. The fishy smell was hidden in it..." Jian Tang Zhao's face turned green and he said hurriedly, "But I think this should be a tonic, not an ordinary meat meal."
"Haha, Changle is still knowledgeable." Guan Lei came over with a large bowl like a basin, casually sat on a stone, which was taller than the two of them standing, and said:
"These are the meat of ferocious beasts. Have you heard of them? Fierce beasts are beasts that have been transformed by the misfortune moon. They wreak havoc on the world, far better than tigers and wolves. This area is relatively peaceful. Going further east, beyond the boundaries of Yunzhou, the market You can often hear about ferocious beasts cannibalizing people. Now it is on your desk, turning into blood to replenish your body. Isn’t this a blessing? When I was young and learning martial arts, I could get some ferocious beast meat. It's good to do it, but how pungent is the beast's blood? You have to grit your teeth and drink it raw. How can you be so rich? How much do you think a piece of meat like this would cost outside?"
Tang Zhao naturally guessed at Guili: "Ten taels of silver?"
Guan Lei said: "Almost, fifty taels."
...where is it almost done? Isn't it five times worse?
Fifty taels...that is, Tang Zhao's entire net worth is not enough to feed him for two days! And those farmers who have worked hard for a year can’t even afford the meat scraps!
"Why don't we say that we are poor in culture and rich in martial arts?"
However, it still tastes terrible!
Tang Zhao stretched his head to take a look and found that Guan Lei's bowl was filled with fragrant chicken, duck and fish. They were all normal dishes. He hurriedly picked up a piece of ferocious beast meat and said, "Teacher, please eat something good."
Guan Lei shrunk his bowl and said: "I won't eat it. It's useless for me to eat it. This thing is too unpalatable. Who would eat it if not for martial arts training?"
…
