Building a Martial Dao Celestial Family by Laying Low

Lingxi.

Chen Shouheng and Liu Zongying rode back to the Chen home on horseback.

Outside the gates of the residence.

Liu Zongying swung himself off his horse, his gaze sweeping over the courtyard before him.

The bricks were green-gray and the tiles were dark; the courtyard was neat and orderly.

His brow furrowed slightly as a trace of doubt rose in his heart.

In his mind, a family that could produce a young Spirit Realm expert like Chen Shouheng, even if not some reclusive, great Noble Family, should at least be a Martial Dao Family with deep roots.

However, what stood before him, while not the shabby home of a Humble Family, was clearly just the residence of a well-to-do family in the countryside—a far cry from what he had imagined.

’Could it be... I truly misjudged them? Guessed their background wrong?’

Liu Zongying wondered, a deeper sense of confusion in his eyes.

"Elder Liu, please."

Chen Shouheng said respectfully, gesturing for him to enter.

Liu Zongying nodded slightly and followed Chen Shouheng through the gates.

Passing a spirit screen, they entered the main hall.

The hall was simply furnished. The tables and chairs were all made of hardwood, wiped spotlessly clean.

Soon, a maidservant served hot tea. The liquid was clear, and while the aroma wasn’t rich, it was pure and mellow.

"Elder Liu, please have a seat and drink some tea. This junior will go and fetch my father."

After settling Liu Zongying in, Chen Shouheng excused himself.

After asking a servant where his father was, he hurried through the covered corridor and headed straight for the rear of the residence.

The small training courtyard.

Chen Li stood in the courtyard with his hands behind his back, his calm gaze fixed on the two people sparring in the center.

Chen Shouyue moved with agile grace, executing the Five Directions Twenty-Four Solar Terms Wuxiang Fist.

As her fists moved, it was like a myriad of phenomena surging forth. The movements were complex, and her breath flowed and grew naturally with the momentum of her punches. The twenty-four solar term variations cycled endlessly, generating boundless energy.

Sun Shouyi used the Eight-direction Saber Technique. His moves were simple, following a fierce and powerful path that couldn’t compare to the sophistication of the Wuxiang Fist.

But in Sun Shouyi’s hands, this ordinary Saber Technique displayed an extraordinary quality. His saber movements were wide and sweeping, each slash carrying a relentless, sharp momentum as the wind from his blade whistled.

With just his Marrow Refining Realm Cultivation, he was actually withstanding Chen Shouyue’s tide-like torrent of sophisticated fist techniques. Though he was defending more than attacking, he didn’t yield a single step and held his ground.

Chen Shouheng approached his father’s side and quietly recounted the entire process of recruiting Liu Zongying.

He left nothing out, from being rejected by the martial arts schools in Ping County and Qingshui County, to his chance encounter with Zuo Hong and learning of Liu Zongying’s existence, to Liu Zongying’s past, his feud with the three current branches of the Liu Family, and finally, the conditions he set for accepting the instructor position.

Chen Li listened quietly, his expression calm, showing no hint of blame.

His own circumstances were unique, making it incredibly difficult to find a suitable instructor in the first place.

It was already quite an achievement for his eldest son to have found anyone at all.

As for the trouble from the Liu Family that might arise because of Liu Zongying...

"Let’s go. We’ll go meet him."

Chen Li nodded, then turned and left the small courtyard, heading toward the main hall in the front yard.

The main hall.

Liu Zongying was holding his teacup, his eyes surveying his surroundings.

Chen Li strode in with a gentle smile on his face. "Elder Liu, you honor us with your presence. I, Chen, was remiss in not greeting you sooner. I hope you’ll forgive me."

"Patriarch Chen, you’re too kind."

Liu Zongying set down his teacup, rose to return the courtesy, and sized up Chen Li with a flicker of confusion.

Chen Li’s Heart Spirit stirred, and his Divine Sense silently extended toward the other man.

In an instant, he understood the old man’s condition.

His Divine Sense was weak and his meridians were severed. The possibility of recovery was minuscule.

’His Divine Hall Acupoint is still intact. In his prime, he must have been a Grandmaster who at least reached the Divine Hall... What a pity. His foundation is destroyed, not even a tenth of it remains. The damage is too severe to be reversed. Recovery is hopeless.’

Chen Li sighed softly.

As Chen Li was observing him, Liu Zongying was also observing Chen Li.

Intuition told him that this seemingly gentle member of the gentry possessed an unfathomably deep Cultivation, perhaps even far surpassing his own at its peak.

The feeling was abstruse and mysterious, yet exceptionally strong.

But when he relied on reason and careful observation, he found the man to be ordinary in every way, without a single trace of the characteristics a Martial Dao expert should have.

This caused a thicket of doubts to grow in Liu Zongying’s mind, and his brow furrowed even tighter.

Chen Li cut to the chase, smiling. "Elder Liu, I, Chen, am untalented. I dabbled in staff fighting for a few days in my youth, but unfortunately, family matters arose, and I let my practice fall by the wayside for a long time. Now that I have a bit of leisure, I’d like to pick it up again. I wonder if you might offer me some guidance?"

"Oh?"

Hearing this, Liu Zongying’s salt-and-pepper eyebrows shot up, the surprise in his eyes deepening.

He had assumed the Chen Family wanted to hire him to teach the younger generation of the clan.

He never would have expected that the Patriarch himself wanted to learn the staff.

This was truly beyond his expectations.

Liu Zongying suppressed his doubts. Since he had already agreed to be the Chen Family’s instructor, it made no difference whom he taught. He decided to proceed according to standard practice.

He immediately spoke up. "As Patriarch Chen commands, this old man will certainly do my best. However, in the path of martial arts, empty talk is useless. This is especially true for Staff Technique, where the fundamentals are paramount.

"Please, Patriarch Chen, first demonstrate a set of the Staff Technique you normally practice. Let this old man see what your foundation is like, so I can tailor my instruction to your needs."

"As it should be."

Chen Li nodded and turned to have Shouheng go to the study and fetch the Iron Staff from the corner.

Before long, Chen Shouheng returned with a dark, heavy Iron Staff that was about seven feet long.

This staff was not the Qiankun Ruyi Staff. Instead, it was one Chen Li had commissioned in his early years, spending a hundred taels of patterned silver and adding a good deal of Profound Iron, made by the most skilled blacksmith in the county.

It was extremely heavy; an ordinary Martial Artist would find it quite strenuous to wield.

When he saw this Iron Staff, Liu Zongying’s expression instantly became exceedingly strange, and the corner of his mouth even gave an almost imperceptible twitch.

His face showed a mixture of disbelief, exasperation, and the speechlessness of someone witnessing an amateur’s blunder. "Patriarch Chen, don’t tell this old man that... this is what you normally use to practice the staff?"

Chen Li answered frankly, "That’s right. I had a craftsman forge it in my early years. It may be crude, but it feels right in my hands. Is there something wrong with it?"

"Wrong? Of course it’s wrong!"

Liu Zongying shook his head repeatedly, his tone tinged with a helplessness and agitation that completely upended his composure. His voice rose unconsciously. "The problem is huge. Staff practice isn’t a life-or-death battle! How can you use such a heavy Iron Staff? A beginner must start with a wooden staff. Waxwood is best, but other hardwoods will do! And why?"

He took a deep breath and explained, "The subtleties of Staff Technique all lie in the variations within that last inch of the staff’s tip. Tapping, smashing, flicking, sweeping, raising, hooking... the ingenious application of all kinds of Power depends on this.

"The elasticity of a wooden staff provides clear feedback for these subtle variations in Power, transmitting them to your palms and wrists. This makes it easier for you to perceive and understand the magnitude of the force, the balance between hard and soft, and the transition between feint and reality. Only by progressing step-by-step can you truly grasp what it means for Power to permeate the staff’s tip and for your strength to follow the staff’s movement."

He pointed at the Profound Iron Staff, his voice rising again. "But when you use this iron staff, it’s rigid, clumsy, and completely lacking in Spirituality. Your Power is just straightforward and direct; what variations can there possibly be? Besides developing brute strength, what else can you train? It’s detrimental to understanding the essence of Staff Technique, not beneficial."

Chen Li nodded. In the past, he had indeed used his Inner Qi to forcefully wield the Iron Staff, pursuing fierce power to overwhelm opponents with sheer force. He had habitually ignored these subtle applications of Power. "I see. I have learned something. I’ll go find a suitable wooden staff right now."

He then said, "Shouheng, first accompany Elder Liu to the training courtyard in the back. Shouyue and Shouyi are sparring; please ask Elder Liu to give them some pointers while he’s there. I’ll be right back."

"Yes, Father."

Chen Shouheng agreed and said to Liu Zongying, "Elder Liu, please follow me."

Liu Zongying grunted noncommittally. Inwardly, he was both amused and speechless.

’And to think I’d guessed he might be a master with profound Cultivation. He doesn’t even know this basic common sense. How could he possibly have reached any advanced Realm? He’s probably just developed some brute strength, and that’s all.’

As he followed Chen Shouheng to the training courtyard in the back, his gaze was immediately drawn to the two people sparring there.

Chen Shouyue’s movements were nimble, and as she executed her Fist Technique, she projected a stern and imposing aura. Her movements were intricate, and her Inner Breath flowed and grew naturally with the momentum of her fists.

Liu Zongying watched for only a moment before surprise flashed in his eyes.

’This little girl is young, but her Inner Qi accumulation is already approaching Perfection. With another year or two of work, breaking through to Qi Realm Perfection should be a natural accomplishment.’

’What’s even rarer is that her Fist Technique and Inner Power Heart Method complement each other. Their quality is extraordinary; it’s clearly a Superior Martial Dao inheritance.’

Turning his attention to the youth sparring with Chen Shouyue, Sun Shouyi, Liu Zongying didn’t pay him much mind at first.

The boy’s Cultivation was at the Marrow Refining Realm, which wasn’t particularly outstanding.

The Saber Technique he used was also a common Sword Path, not some profound Martial Arts.

But after watching for a few more moments, Liu Zongying gradually sensed that something was amiss.

Although the boy’s saber style was simple, it had a unique quality to it.

They were clearly just basic Sword Techniques, yet he somehow wielded them with the tragic fierceness of a battle-hardened general on the field.

Though he defended more than he attacked, he didn’t retreat a single step, guarding his position and responding appropriately.

"Stop."

Liu Zongying suddenly called out.

Chen Shouyue and Sun Shouyi both stopped at the sound of his voice and looked at him in confusion.

Sun Shouyi looked to Chen Shouheng, and only after seeing him nod did he walk over to Liu Zongying.

"Big Brother, who is this old grandpa?"

Chen Shouyue asked in a low voice.

"He’s Instructor Liu, whom the family has hired. He will be guiding you in your Martial Arts from now on."

Chen Shouheng explained with a smile.

Liu Zongying ignored them and said only to Sun Shouyi, "Boy, come here."

Sun Shouyi did as he was told and stepped forward.

Liu Zongying reached out a withered hand and carefully felt his arm bones and shoulder blades, then pressed down along his spine, and finally gripped his arm...

Upon this examination, Liu Zongying was instantly astonished.

The boy’s bone structure was well-proportioned, his joints were flexible yet stable, and his meridians were unobstructed. He was definitely a fine prospect, one in a hundred.

Even rarer, he seemed to have excellent comprehension, able to use a crude Saber Technique to produce power far beyond its normal limits. This showed he was good at grasping the essence of Martial Arts and was not bound by form.

"And you’re just letting him learn this Saber Technique?"

Liu Zongying looked up at Chen Shouheng, his tone laced with clear dissatisfaction.

Chen Shouheng was taken aback for a moment. "Elder, is something wrong?"

"A waste! An absolute waste!"

Liu Zongying shook his head and turned his gaze to Sun Shouyi. "Boy, this old man has a superior Cultivation Technique. Are you willing to take me as your master? If you agree, I will devote all my efforts to training you. All I ask is that you help me with one thing after your Cultivation is successful."

Sun Shouyi didn’t answer immediately. Instead, he looked at Chen Shouheng. "I’ll do whatever Brother Shouheng says."

A thought struck Chen Shouheng, and he already had a guess. He asked, "Elder, could the Cultivation Technique you wish to impart be the one from the Liu Family’s past?"

Having his thoughts exposed, Liu Zongying’s expression stiffened, and a flicker of unease crossed his face.

Then he snorted and said, "Those traitorous branches only threatened me not to teach it to the Eldest Branch. What’s wrong with me taking my own disciple and teaching them myself?"