Chapter 9: The Spread of Martial Arts

As they were laughing, Mu Yin jumped down again. "Hey, that's three meters high—ah!" The people picking tea below cried out in alarm, but before they could finish speaking, they were stunned.

Although Mu Yin didn't land as lightly as those in TV shows, after she touched the ground, she made another effortless leap, returning to the top—a full three meters.

"Heavens, she actually jumped back up!" The people above, though not as close as those below, were still amazed since they could see how high it was. Mu Yin's direct leap left them all astonished.

The group stopped picking tea and hurried over to Mu Yin. A few even checked the three-meter-high embankment she had jumped. "It's really more than three meters."

"How did you do that?"

"Did you really learn martial arts?"

"Is this lightness skill?"

They surrounded Mu Yin, bombarding her with questions, excitement brightening their young faces. It was natural. The oldest among them was only sixteen, an age filled with longing for martial arts. With martial arts dramas so popular these days, they were even more thrilled.

"So, do you believe me now?" Mu Yin looked at the group encircling her, arms crossed, one eyebrow slightly raised.

"We believe you! Teach us, please!" They hurriedly nodded, recalling that Mu Yin had offered to teach them. Their longing gazes returned to her.

"If you want to learn, that's fine. But it's not easy. You'll have to persevere and be willing to bear hardships," Mu Yin said, nodding—she had planned this all along.

"No problem, we can do it," they all replied eagerly. Martial arts techniques! They had thought such things only existed in novels.

"Let's finish picking tea first. We'll talk later," Mu Yin said. The tea plantation belonged to their village, not any one family. Anyone from the village could pick tea and sell it for money. For the children, it was one of the only two ways to earn pocket money—the other was collecting scrap.

"Oh." They were a bit reluctant, but seeing Mu Yin return to picking tea, they followed, stealing glances at her. Watching Mu Yin move with such ease only made them more eager.

Their last doubts about her martial arts vanished. Mu Yin had done this on purpose—she knew that unless she let them see clearly, they'd still harbor suspicions. Once these were dispelled, they'd learn with greater conviction.

Given the dangers that lay ahead, Mu Yin hoped more people could become stronger. The physical arts she planned to teach were developed in the future, combining technology with cultivators’ techniques, perfect for strengthening the body. Aside from needing to eat more to absorb energy, they required little spiritual energy.

This was why physical arts succeeded in the future. Now, though spiritual energy was sparse, it was still better than what the future would be. Even the energy in food now was stronger than in the future, when plants were grown hydroponically. Though still nutritious, after the apocalypse Mu Yin knew they lacked a vital earth essence.

Humans cannot do without the five elements, which are absorbed from all aspects of daily life. Food is one source. Food combines metal, wood, water, fire, and earth: plants grow in soil (earth), are wood in nature or carry other attributes, cooked in metal pots (metal), and the act of cooking is fire. Even stir-fried dishes have broth (water).

She had heard some cultivators lecture about these things—once dismissed as superstition, but she understood. By the time of the apocalypse, with mutated plants, hydroponics were no longer needed.

So, even with scant spiritual energy, as long as there was enough food, one could train in physical arts. Mu Yin intended, in fact, to find ways to popularize these arts across the country and the world, preparing for the future.

At noon, they went to sell the tea. Mu Yin had only picked half a pound—the least by weight—but earned the most, because she had picked only the tender tips, which fetched a higher price.

In the afternoon, everyone gathered at Mu Yin's house. "Are you all here to see Yin? Yin, Lily and the others are here for you!" her grandmother called out.

"Alright," Mu Yin replied, coming down from her room. "Let's go to the playground."

At the playground, Mu Yin began to instruct them in physical arts. The movements were both forceful and gentle. Many seemed extreme, almost impossible, but were actually within the body's limits.

Physical arts were not yoga, nor were they martial forms—they resembled gymnastics. After watching Mu Yin demonstrate the basic movements, they all realized martial arts were not so easily learned.

The initial movements were simple, meant to lay the foundation by stretching the meridians and loosening the bones—much like learning dance, and easier the younger one started.

"What's wrong, don't want to learn anymore?" Mu Yin stopped and saw their dejected faces, so she laughed. "If you don't want to, I'll just go home."

"Of course we want to learn, but this doesn't look like martial arts—it looks more like dance," said Bai Ling, frowning. She was petite, but that didn’t mean she was flexible.

"This is just the foundation, to stretch your ligaments and bones. Martial arts are different from dance, but this part is the same. This is the soft training; the hard training is running and holding horse stance," Mu Yin explained.

"Isn't there any other way?" They tried, but even bending backward to touch the ground with their palms proved impossible.

"No. If martial arts were easy, everyone in the world would be a master," Mu Yin said with a shrug. In fact, physical arts were already relatively easy to start.

"But..." They hesitated. Mu Yin's earlier leaps had been amazing, but now all they were doing was backbends, splits, leg stretches, and other such exercises.

"How about this: I'll show you the first level of physical arts." Seeing their lack of enthusiasm, Mu Yin decided she needed to demonstrate.

These basic exercises were just as she had said, stretching the body; they were not yet the true movements. Now that she had reached the first level, her demonstration of the basic set was smooth and graceful.

It looked as if she were just doing backbends and splits, but when performed in a seamless sequence, it was a beautiful display of physical art. The movements flowed together, and their order could not be changed, because only by following the correct sequence could energy flow into the meridians and begin to circulate within the body.