As the words fell, Shan Wuju suddenly recalled Wei Tu’s background mentioned in Li Yaozu’s letter, and it all seemed quite reasonable now. The most likely martial arts Wei Tu could have been exposed to were the widely practiced longevity skills.

Advanced martial arts techniques each have a clear lineage, and it is impossible to fake them. Practitioners only need to mention the name of a technique, and masters can usually identify which province and which famous master took them in.

The martial arts community is neither too large nor too small.

“First, you’ll have to work hard as a long-term laborer. If you perform well, I will teach you some martial techniques.”

“It’s getting late.”

Shan Wuju glanced at the sky and said.

Upon hearing this, Wei Tu felt a bit disappointed but did not mind too much. If Shan Wuju were to teach him martial arts at this moment, it would mean he was truly valued as a direct disciple. Wei Tu did not believe that Li Yaozu’s letter could have such a significant effect. If it could, Li Yaozu wouldn’t have given away such a favor for free.

Then, Shan Wuju, who was reclining against a chair under the eaves, squinted his eyes and blew forcefully into the smoking pipe, sending ash onto his robe. He brushed off the ash, lit the tobacco leaves with a fire paper, took a few puffs, and then walked into the inner courtyard.

Wei Tu, still holding the stone lock he had used for testing his strength, watched as Shan Wuju walked away, feeling momentarily lost and unsure of what to do.

The inner courtyard was Shan’s private residence, where the family members lived. In a large household, the rules are the same: outside men are forbidden to enter.

However, before Wei Tu could ponder further, a young woman in her twenties, elegant in appearance, came out from the courtyard and greeted him.

The young woman had fair skin and wore a blue cloth gown with black trim and a pair of trousers. Her face was an elongated oval, and she had a pair of silver earrings, dressed in a very dignified manner.

“My name is Gao. You can call me Third Madam.”

“Follow me. I will arrange your accommodation. I am in charge of the long-term laborers in this courtyard. The First Madam has not been involved in such matters for a long time.”

After introducing herself briefly, Shan Gao led Wei Tu, guiding him along.

Upon learning that this young woman was Shan Wuju’s concubine, Wei Tu’s demeanor immediately became more subdued, and he stopped scrutinizing her.

Shortly, Shan Gao led Wei Tu to the first courtyard and arrived at the west room.

Opening the door to the west wing, they found a long-term laborer in his forties already residing there. The laborer quickly got up from the earthen bed and greeted, “Third Madam.”

“Deng An, you’ve been working at the Shan household for a long time. Please look after Wei Tu.”

“This year, we only recruited you two as long-term workers. The harvest is approaching, so rest up these days and don’t slack off on the small chores.”

After giving these instructions, Shan Gao turned and left the west wing.

Once Shan Gao left, Deng An got off the bed and took several deep breaths in the spot where Shan Gao had just been.

Wei Tu observed silently, neither stopping him nor reporting Deng An’s disrespectful behavior to Gao Shi.

Shan Wuju, having married a much younger woman, made Shan Gao, in her twenties, look like a future young widow in their village—a situation that naturally attracted attention.

Although Shan Wuju was vigorous and agile, Wei Tu could tell that he was likely in his sixties or seventies, though his martial training kept him from appearing old.

After a while, Deng An came back to his senses and greeted Wei Tu. They exchanged names and origins.

The two introduced themselves and shared their origins.

“You are from Changming Township? That’s quite a long distance from Sanyuan Township.”

Deng An was somewhat surprised. It was uncommon for laborers from Changming Township to travel all the way to Sanyuan Township; laborers usually worked in their own regions and rarely ventured far.

“The  journey took two days.” Wei Tu nodded and replied casually.

He did not mention his plan to take the martial examination to Deng An.

Understanding people’s appearances does not always reveal their true intentions. From the scene earlier, Wei Tu knew that Deng An’s intentions were not entirely pure. He had to be cautious.

Some people may not achieve success themselves but can certainly sabotage others’ efforts.

After putting away his luggage, Wei Tu stepped out of the room and began practicing the stances of the ‘Tortoise Breathing Technique’ under the moonlight.

Although the journey had been tiring these past few days, Wei Tu was determined not to let his longevity practice fall behind. He knew that diligence leads to mastery and neglect to decay, and he was not willing to let his effort be in vain.

The Longevity Technique required “nine practices a day.” Wei Tu wasn’t sure if this was a necessary condition for reaching the Qi Perception Realm, but he wasn’t willing to take the risk.

He needed to practice the technique at least nine times each day.

If he failed…

Even though he had made significant progress over the past five years, the feeling of a setback would be discouraging.

In the courtyard, Wei Tu stood in position, starting from the basic form of the Longevity Technique. His movements were slow and precise.

If Master Ruan were present, he would have noticed that Wei Tu’s movements perfectly matched those in the Longevity Technique manual, with no deviations.

One repetition.

Two repetitions.

After three or four repetitions, Wei Tu began to perform the technique from memory, allowing his mind to immerse in the essence of the stances and the flow of warmth through his body.

Gradually, Wei Tu’s thoughts became clear.

His steps became more fluid, and the technique became faster. The warmth in his body was condensed into a powerful force that traveled from his spine to his legs and then back to his chest and abdomen.

Whoosh!

With each exchange of punches and kicks, the air around Wei Tu vibrated, producing a resonant humming sound, reminiscent of the roar of tigers and leopards.

[Tortoise Breathing Technique (81/100): Nine times a day, mastery in five years]

“Have I reached major success?”

After finishing his practice, Wei Tu glanced at the progress of the Longevity Technique out of habit.

He was surprised to see that the progress had jumped from 63% yesterday to 81% now, an increase of 18 percentage points.

This meant that his recent practice was equivalent to several months of hard work.

“It must be a case of accumulating results over time. I wonder if I can master the Longevity Skill and enter the Qi Perception Realm before the five years are up.”

Since he started practicing the Longevity Skill, he had never been lax. He practiced not just nine times a day but multiple times, far exceeding the expectations of someone with a ‘late bloomer’ fate.

Now, halfway through the five-year period, he had reached 81% progress, his joy was understandable.

“I can’t slack off!”

“The later stages of the Longevity Skill are where the real difficulty begins. It’s possible that after several months of practice, there may be no noticeable progress.”

Wei Tu reminded himself to stay grounded.

In every field, getting started is easy, but becoming a top expert is extremely challenging. It requires much more effort and hard work. Becoming a painter is easy, but becoming a master painter is another story. 

This principle applies to the Longevity Technique, which is easy to learn but difficult to master, leading to its disdain among martial artists and its rare practice.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep