Chapter 37: Turning Their Own Moves into My Own Path (Part 1)

In Canshan, Xia Boxing, and the Qi Family Martial Arts Arena, with a soft creak, seventeen-year-old Qi Shiyan executed a clean and crisp "reverse scoop of the sand" at the window near the back door, landing lightly on the ground. Then, with a hunched back, he sneaked out from the corridor toward the outside. His years of painstaking practice in the divided-bow walking horse stance showed miraculous effects here, allowing him to move at great speed with absolute lightness and silence.

Xia Boxing was originally not a martial art native to the Guangdong region; it was first brought to Guangzhou from Emei in Sichuan. Legend has it that it was passed down by a generation of legendary swashbuckler, Li Huzi, and it enjoyed widespread popularity in Guangzhou, Nanhai, and Canshan.

This boxing style favored long bridges and wide stances, long-range force, and numerous straight-arm sweeping attacks, earning a reputation for having peerless hands and feet. It boasted famous ultimate techniques such as the Three Hammer Secret Futs (Whip Hammer, Toss Hammer, and Lash Hammer) and the Tiger Claw Tiangang Hand, making it a prominent and well-known martial art in Guangdong.

Qi Shiyan was the third nephew of the Qi family's master and also his most talented disciple. He had already practiced Xia Boxing to the point where long bridges and wide stances merged seamlessly with narrow stances and close-quarters combat, reaching the realm of the Twelve Branch Bridges. According to the classification of martial arts, he had already attained a level above "profound and refined."

When he reached the narrow exit of the back door, two young men of similar age were already waiting there. Upon seeing Qi Shiyan, their faces were filled with a mixture of excitement and apprehension.

"Shiyan, if we sneak away just like this, won't the old master be angry?" one of them asked.

"That's right, and even if we leave like this, what if the Feng Mansion refuses to take us in?"

Qi Shiyan waved his hand and whispered, "What do you know? Right now, the Feng Mansion is the banner of our Guangdong martial arts community, and they even have an imperial princess backing them. If we go there, not only can we forge a promising future, but we can also fiercely teach those Japanese slaves a lesson. On the surface, the masters might be displeased, but in their hearts, they couldn't be happier."

Seeing that the other two still hesitated, Qi Shiyan thought for a moment and dropped a bombshell: "You probably didn't know this, but Third-Elder Xu from the Dragon Gate Boxing and Foolish Hu from the White Eyebrow Boxing have already agreed with me. We are joining the Feng Mansion to beat the Japanese slaves to death!"

Upon hearing that two young talents from Dragon Gate Boxing and White Eyebrow Boxing had also made up their minds, the two no longer hesitated. With their agility, they effortlessly scaled the perimeter wall and slipped away.

After the three of them left, two middle-aged men slowly emerged from behind a pillar. One was a martial arts arena instructor, and the other was the current head of Xia Boxing, Qi Huzi.

"Are we just going to let them go like this? What if the prefect finds out, what should we do? Besides, the Japanese nation has sent all their strongest fighters this time, and the Feng Mansion side has only won for a single day after all."

"If they had truly won completely, I wouldn't have just let them sneak away," Qi Huzi said without turning his head. "Those old fellows in Guangdong think too wishfully. They want to avoid trouble, stay out of official power struggles, not provoke local bullies, yet not offend Princess Feng either—such fussy old women seeking only self-preservation."

"Yet they fail to realize that martial arts are never calculated through scheming. I let Shiyan and the others go not to sit on the fence, but to allow them to temper their martial arts in genuine life-and-death combat. Back then, when maritime disasters ran rampant and brought calamity to the common people, it was actually a blessing for martial artists. How many genius talents emerged, and those who finally fought their way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood became the Six Grandmasters. It was precisely because of this that Guangdong transformed from a remote martial arts circle far from the Central Plains into one of the top five boxing guilds today."

"Yet nowadays, money and power have instead worn away people's ambitions. That is sheer foolishness."

"But people have to make a living in this world, and no one can escape convention," the instructor could not help saying.

"Therefore, since Princess Feng is willing to use political power to stir up the winds and clouds in Guangdong, let these three lads have a go," Qi Huzi laughed heartily. "Who knows, the next generation of grand boxing masters might just come from my school."

"That is far too perilous," the instructor muttered.

...

On the edge of the Guangdong region, the Min River flowed swiftly. It happened to be pouring with heavy rain, and the rainwater mixed with the river water, creating towering waves and churning billows that seemed to engulf the mud and rocks of the riverbanks, stirring them into a rolling tide of mud and turbid water like a dragon.

Even the fishermen with the best swimming skills dared not enter the water at such a time.

Yet amidst these turbid waves, a large, plump white man was floating on the crest of a wave. With a round head, big ears, sesame-seed eyes, and an onion-like nose, he looked utterly comical. His pregnant-like belly resembled a large air balloon, and his plump hands and feet paddled furiously like a dog swimming. No matter how ferocious the waves were, they could not sink him; at most, he would spin, leap, and be carried from the upper reaches to the lower downstream.

This skill was the exclusive method of the perfected internal-energy Tai Chi Ball, combined with perfected tendon refinement, distended skin and membranes, and contracting meridians. His whole body's internal Qi and blood were constantly retracting and releasing force. Thus, even when battered by huge, rolling waves, he always remained like an inflated balloon that could never be overturned, no matter how much it rolled.

Furthermore, to cross the Min River in such extremely atrocious weather required an expenditure of physical energy akin to a pouring river, and one had to train their force to every single part of their body. This was the realm of perfected internal force.

This plump white man was actually a great boxing master who had attained mastery of internal force!

Suddenly, a thunderclap cracked across the sky. The plump white man was startled so badly that his whole body shuddered, his heart leaped, and his force dissipated. Instantly, like a deflated ball, he sank straight to the bottom of the river.

Fortunately, he was not far from the bank. After a long while, the plump white man crawled out as if emerging from a cesspit, leaving a muddy footprint with every step. Covered in yellow mud, he said with grief and indignation, "Damn it, why is fatty so unlucky? Just taking a boat ride and I run into a river demon. Are the people at the Immortal-Retaining Residence even doing their jobs? By the way, is this already Guangdong? I heard that the little bitch I'm here to kill is right here—some Princess Feng. Let's see if fatty doesn't turn you into a roasted hen to vent my hatred for the annihilation of my entire clan!"

Another clap of thunder sounded from the horizon, causing the plump white man's entire body to shudder again. His cheeks twitched, and with a "blech," he spat out a small green-shelled, white-clawed crab. The little mung-bean-sized eyes glanced contemptuously at the fat man before it arrogantly leaped back into the river.

"Ahhhhh! Even a little eight-legged creature like you looks down on fatty! If you have the guts, jump out of the river and fight me, I'll bite you to death..."

At the very same time, a drizzling rain began to drift down from the skies over Guangdong. Yet inside the Feng Mansion, not a trace of coldness could be felt; the entire grand hall was warm and cozy.

Kou Li's arms felt like bone staves, and his entire body was burning hot. Step by step, wielding his staff, inner rings nested within inner rings, and outer rings nested within outer rings. Between the interlocking rings, his joints made metallic clanging sounds.

The primary reason why the Bodhidharma Staff was known as the ultimate supreme staff technique for subduing demons in Luohan Temple was not merely because it was a simple set of staff routines, but because it incorporated body-refining methods for regulating Qi, nourishing blood, relaxing tendons, strengthening bones, and developing muscles.

Therefore, it could potentially be simulated as the next level of force for the Bamboo Hand.

After Kou Li's special tactile perception was developed once again, his simulation ability improved further. Not only could he grasp the essentials of his opponent's boxing techniques during a fight, but as long as it was within his tactile range and visible to his eyes, he could steal the techniques.

This was somewhat like the renowned ultimate technique "Move the Stars and Change Dippers." However, this was no longer using the enemy's own methods to return blows to them, but rather using the enemy's moves to forge one's own path.

Moments later, the sound of the ring-bells grew increasingly rapid, accompanied even by the roaring sound of rushing torrents. The Bodhidharma Staff, also known as the Demon-Subduing Staff, also incorporated changes in Qi and blood.

Parting clouds to gaze at the moon, blocking the path to slay the river dragon, horizontal staff blocks, ancient tree roots coiling, old fisherman angling, magpie crossing branches, raising the whip to urge the horse, leaping dragon in the sky.

Each and every movement grew increasingly rapid, becoming more and more similar to the momentum and essence that Ghost God Pill had displayed during the day. Yet it no longer used the momentum of ghosts and gods to suppress people's hearts, but rather the majesty of Arhats to subdue demons and monsters!

The final three moves—hooking the head and turning the horse, sweeping across a horde of demons, and the Bodhidharma embracing the staff—were executed all at once. Air currents exploded, shadows lengthened and surged, and the flames in the surrounding braziers suddenly rose by half a foot, causing the temperature in the hall to rise once again.

The Bodhidharma Staff, subduing demons and monsters, bone staff force—completed!

Kou Li took a deep breath and muttered to himself, "Using their moves to forge my path, pooling the strength of all the strongest fighters in the entire Japanese nation, should be enough to push the Bamboo Hand to the seventeenth level of force."

The Japanese nation had successfully deduced an evil boxing style similar to Buddhist boxing by combining Central Plains martial arts with indigenous Shintoism. In return, he would fight fire with fire, using their special boxing styles to perfect his own boxing path. This could also be considered an eye for an eye.

Of course, achieving this was not so simple. Merely stealing techniques through special tactile perception required the opponent's boxing style to have entered the realm of transformation and bones (the realm of mastery), and they had to execute all the essential details of their moves fully.

This in and of itself was extremely difficult, and furthermore, the Japanese diplomatic mission would never allow him to accomplish it so easily.

...

In the official posthouse, inside a room heavily guarded, dozens of incense-shinto Buddhist monks chanted sutras in strange voices, intermingled with practices akin to sacrificial dances.

Right in the midst of the monks, upon the dismembered corpse and scattered remains of Ghost God Pill, wisps of black Qi gradually began to emerge. The black Qi intertwined and coiled, slowly fusing together amidst the sacrificial rites and chanting. Finally, its eyes snapped open, a flash of blood-red light gleamed, and it sat upright, completely intact and unharmed.

Ghost God Pill, dead yet undying—a ghost samurai!