Qingfeng Hall, placed within Weian Town, was in fact not very large in scale.
Although cultivators of body martial arts had emerged from it before, that had to be traced back more than ten years ago.
Xu Fu, as the head master, taught the Cloak Sword Art, which was fairly easy to pick up, but merely obtaining iron weapons was already enough to stump the majority of people.
Weian Town lay close to mountain ranges, yet metal ores still had to be purchased from elsewhere, resulting in bare-handed martial arts being relatively common.
The frontage of Qingfeng Hall was simply a courtyard, only that the vegetation had been replaced by a spacious martial training ground.
Scattered across the training ground stood thirty to forty martial practitioners, the majority being young children, all holding stone weights to temper their strength.
The martial arts taught were not as mysterious as imagined; they did not involve internal cultivation at all, mainly focusing on exercising the body and mastering techniques.
"Martial training requires daily practice; otherwise, it all comes to nothing."
Xu Fu continuously let out loud shouts, his furrowed brows sweeping across the disciples as he reminded them to standardize their movements.
Compared to the Chen Clan Hall, which emphasized tempering the body, and Blackstone Hall, which focused on fists and palms, Qingfeng Hall indeed had no advantage whatsoever.
It had even been unable to recruit apprentices recently, and could only select from orphans.
But the problem was that these children came from impoverished backgrounds and were fundamentally unable to obtain resources for martial training, inevitably requiring subsidies from the Martial Instruction Hall.
"Ah..."
Xu Fu pinched his temples.
He sat gloomily on a stone bench, took out a piece of diseased rice given by Xu Sanliang from his robe, and chewed it. Only then did his spirits perk up.
After all, Xu Fu had not mastered body martial arts, so he dared not grind diseased rice into powder and smoke it as dry tobacco, as it could very easily damage the lungs.
Lost in thought, he failed to notice several children whispering among themselves.
Xu Tu awkwardly held up a stone ball, drawing frequent frowns from the senior brothers around him. If not for Xu Fu being present, someone would have already stepped forward to teach him a lesson.
"Gouzi, martial training is way too tiring. Are you sure you can become a constable?"
The child named Gouzi sighed and replied, "I don't know either, but before my father died, he always wanted to send me here..."
Gouzi's nose twitched as he silently continued to sweat through his training.
Xu Tu's gaze flickered. In order to secure the resources needed for martial training, they had spent no small amount of effort procuring grain, yet still found it difficult to even get started.
Moreover, according to what he had heard, just laying the foundation required two or three years, but looking at the few senior brothers who had reached that stage, they did not seem particularly strong either.
The only thing Xu Tu looked forward to was that after successfully completing training, he could take up a post at the yamen, earning enough silver to support his younger siblings.
"All right, all right, you few kids stop for now and go squat into horse stance."
Xu Fu walked into the training ground, gesturing for Xu Tu and the others to go practice horse stance at the side, incidentally training the breathing method of the Qingfeng Sword Art.
The breathing method was used to enhance lung capacity and was unique to Qingfeng Hall, but at most it allowed one to hold breath longer and had nothing particularly special.
Xu Tu naturally complied. Compared to sword techniques he could not practice well, horse stance was undoubtedly far more familiar.
After all, they had climbed walls since childhood; even ordinary adults might not be able to catch them. This was also what Xu Fu valued about them.
Holding a wooden whip, Xu Fu continuously guided the disciples' movements, imparting the experience and insights he had accumulated over decades of martial training.
"Master, I heard that Senior Brother Xu Sanliang has come to the Martial Instruction Hall these past few days?"
The one speaking was Zhao Liangxin, considered the senior-most disciple of the same generation in Qingfeng Hall. Usually, after Xu Fu finished teaching, it was Zhao Liangxin who guided the junior brothers.
"He should come again today."
Xu Fu's wrinkles relaxed. Although he and Xu Sanliang had no master-disciple relationship, the latter specially coming to Qingfeng Hall was still something to take pride in.
The other disciples turned their gazes toward Xu Fu. They did not know about body martial arts, but Xu Sanliang's name was extremely famous in Weian Town.
He had quite a reputation in the Weian Town area several years ago, but later rarely took action.
"Master, I heard that that outsider will also practice martial arts at our Qingfeng Hall?"
Xu Fu recalled the matter and explained, "That is indeed the case, but don't spread nonsense. Wang Shanlu is not an outsider..."
He recounted the prearranged explanation, only telling the disciples that Wang Shanlu was originally from Weian Town, but had lived elsewhere since childhood.
Xu Fu mainly feared that during routine sparring, the disciples might strike too hard. With Wang Shanlu's extremely frail physique, accidents could easily occur.
Xu Tu and the others exchanged glances.
Wasn't Wang Shanlu the sickly dying ghost they had encountered a few days ago? No matter how one looked at him, he seemed like he could breathe his last at any moment, yet the aura he displayed carried an inexplicable deterrence.
The disciples privately discussed Xu Sanliang, incidentally chatting about Wang Shanlu.
Although they had not seen him in person, they all knew Wang Shanlu suffered from a serious chronic illness. This showed just how big a stir Wang Qi's bringing him back to town had caused.
Xu Fu felt a slight headache. Suddenly, he noticed figures approaching in the distance and immediately reminded them, "All of you train properly. Maybe when Xu Sanliang arrives, he'll take a liking to you."
"Yes, Master."
The disciples fell silent and began practicing the movements of the Qingfeng Sword Art.
Soon, everyone's attention focused on the two approaching figures. The heavy footsteps seemed to fall directly into their hearts.
The more Xu Fu looked, the more something felt off. Then his gaze turned vacant, his mouth gaping as he stared at the tall man beside Xu Sanliang.
This was... Wang Shanlu?
Zhao Liangxin swallowed and could not help but sigh, "As expected of Senior Xu Sanliang. Just looking at his appearance, you can tell he's not someone to contend with..."
The junior brothers echoed, "Senior Brother Zhao, indeed so."
"But Wang Shanlu isn't thin and weak like the rumors say at all. It's just that he looks rather mature, not like someone in their teens."
"It must be the chronic illness causing it."
"My second uncle's family has a kid barely over three years old, already full of wrinkles..."
As the crowd chattered, Xu Tu felt something was off. No matter how he looked at it, this was not the sickly dying ghost from the courtyard a few days ago.
Could it be the one beside him?
He narrowed his eyes and carefully examined Ren Qing. When he noticed the Double Pupils on Ren Qing's forehead, his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.
In Xu Tu's eyes, Ren Qing's walking posture increasingly resembled that of a ferocious tiger.
Terrifying pressure surged head-on, as if he would open his mouth and bite someone in the blink of an eye.
When the two arrived at the training ground, Xu Sanliang spoke to Xu Fu, "Head Master, I'll leave Wang Shanlu to you."
As soon as these words fell, utter silence followed.
Ren Qing's two-meter height was completely different from the Wang Shanlu in their impressions, resulting in an incomparable shock.
"This..."
Xu Fu looked at Ren Qing's arms, thicker than Xu Tu's thighs, and immediately made a guess, it was very likely that Wang Shanlu's disease type had manifested.
But such a terrifying transformation appearing like this was unprecedented in Weian Town.
Immediately, Xu Fu was overjoyed. Just looking at Wang Shanlu made it clear how terrifying his talent was. If he were to achieve body martial arts in the future, all the head masters of the Martial Instruction Halls would have to look at him differently.
Not to mention that it would also affect the annual allocation of silver to the Martial Instruction Hall by the clan elders.
Xu Sanliang took out a money pouch, weighed it in his hand, and said, "Just teach martial arts as usual. Shanlu's daily food expenses will be on me."
Xu Fu naturally prepared to refuse. "No need- I-"
"I know Qingfeng Hall's current situation. At any rate, I came out of this place myself. There's no need to draw such a clear line."
Xu Sanliang handed the money pouch to Xu Fu.
Xu Fu said nothing more and instead turned his head to stare unblinkingly at Ren Qing.
Dozens of pairs of eyes landed on Ren Qing, making him immediately feel uncomfortable. But to maintain his taciturn image, he could only keep his mouth shut and stand there.
After standing stunned for several full minutes, Xu Sanliang finally interrupted, "Head Master, since he's entering Qingfeng Hall, what do you think, "
Xu Fu slapped his forehead. "I almost forgot. Shanlu, go try the stone weights, so I can get a sense of things."
Afraid that Ren Qing might not understand, he gestured while demonstrating.
Ren Qing walked straight to the edge of the training ground, where several vaguely human-shaped stone statues were placed. Their appearance had nothing to do with the Gods of Fortune, Prosperity, or Longevity.
Xu Fu and Xu Sanliang exchanged a glance. As long as basic communication was no problem, it was enough.
Everyone said Wang Shanlu was mentally dull, but as long as he could understand human speech, coupled with his extraordinary physique, his martial talent was already extremely terrifying.
Ren Qing had no intention of holding back, since his time was truly limited.
The Netherworld Heavenly Insect Method could indeed extend lifespan, but once the disease types advanced, the rate of lifespan consumption would definitely increase accordingly.
Ren Qing casually grabbed a stone weight of five or six jin, then placed it back on the ground, and walked toward the largest stone weight.
This stone weight weighed at least over a hundred jin. Aside from Xu Fu occasionally lifting it a few times, the disciples could not even hope to compare.
Ren Qing wrapped his arms around the stone weight. At the moment he lifted it, his feet staggered and he nearly fell.
Xu Sanliang and Xu Fu both sucked in a breath of cold air. Outsiders would only think Ren Qing had struggled while lifting, causing his footing to become unstable.
But the truth was clearly that Ren Qing had misjudged the weight of the stone weight and thus exerted too much force, which was why he almost fell.
Xu Fu swallowed and leaned close to Xu Sanliang's ear, whispering, "Sanliang, are you sure Wang Shanlu needs to practice martial arts?"
"Let him practice first..."
Xu Sanliang also did not know what to say, and could only wait until Wang Qi recovered from his injuries.
He felt that with Wang Shanlu's physique, there was a very high chance he could master body martial arts, of course, on the premise that he would not inexplicably go mad.
"Let's do it this way. Shanlu stays at Qingfeng Hall during the day and returns home to rest at night. Head Master, you... teach him as you see fit."
After saying this, Xu Sanliang prepared to leave in a hurry.
Xu Fu asked in a low voice, "Wait. Has things been unstable lately?"
"Yes. There should still be survivors in the ashes of the destroyed Weiwang Town, and judging by the clan elders' intentions, reconstruction may begin in the near future."
Much of Xu Fu's joy was dispelled. At his age, even without mastering body martial arts, he could still come into contact with certain secrets.
Whenever it involved "immortals," when had it not affected hundreds of people...
Xu Sanliang did not linger. Qingfeng Hall was far safer than ordinary residential courtyards, and besides, ordinary people nowadays could not possibly deal with Wang Shanlu.
When Xu Fu came back to his senses, the disciples had already resumed practicing their stances, only they were subtly keeping a distance of more than ten meters from Ren Qing.
He then hesitated over what martial art to teach Ren Qing.
With Ren Qing's burly physique, no matter how one looked at it, he was actually unsuited to sword practice. Taking the straightforward path of overwhelming strength seemed the proper route...
Just as Xu Fu hesitated, Ren Qing silently began practicing Tiger-Subduing Fist.
The disciples instinctively dodged away. Sounds like dragon roars and tiger howls seemed to resound out of nowhere, mixed with the noise of tearing air.
Xu Fu's expression was complicated. It seemed martial techniques were unnecessary, better to prepare some weighted equipment and focus on tempering the body instead.