Chapter 50: Taking a Disciple
The youth took a shallow breath.
He began to speak.
"Master Lu, my name is Lin Yan. I am fourteen years old and a native of Jiangzhou."
The youth slowly explained his story.
Lin Yan was a native of Jiangzhou.
He was the descendant of a fallen Martial Arts Family.
His mother had died young, and his father passed away not long after. Lin Yan was raised by relatives.
His father was said to have been a fairly skilled Swordsman, so Lin Yan’s childhood dream was to become a Swordsman as well.
He had started saving money from a young age.
However, the fees for martial arts halls that specialized in teaching Swordsmanship were generally not cheap.
That is, until Lin Yan heard about the Changle Martial Arts Hall and the existence of Lu Changfeng.
He had overheard a conversation on the street and learned that the master of this new Martial Arts Hall was skilled in Swordsmanship. He also learned that the master had defeated an opponent last night, becoming the fifth Blood Forging Realm Swordsman of the Five Horses Street martial arts halls.
That’s why he had come to ask about the Martial Arts Hall’s prices, hoping to give it a try.
"Master Lu, I’ve only managed to save up twelve taels of silver. I was hoping I could join the Martial Arts Hall first and pay you the rest of the fees slowly over time. Would that be okay?"
Lin Yan looked at Lu Changfeng with hopeful eyes.
Naturally, Lu Changfeng wasn’t the kind of person who cared about a few taels of silver.
He reached out, took the twelve taels of silver from Lin Yan, and weighed them in his hand.
"I have a proposal. It would allow you to become a Disciple of this Martial Arts Hall for free. Hear me out, and then you can decide if you’re interested."
Lu Changfeng then explained his idea.
He had already made some headway on the First Layer of the [Storm Body Forging Sword Skill].
However, he needed someone to cultivate it from the very beginning, allowing Lu Changfeng to record their progress and make improvements. Only then could he perfectly create this Body Forging Technique.
Lu Changfeng was extremely dedicated to creating the [Storm Body Forging Sword Skill].
If he succeeded in creating a Body Forging Swordsmanship, then even if he were to drop dead one day, he would have at least left his mark on the world.
And Lu Changfeng’s proposal was to have Lin Yan become the test subject for his Cultivation Technique.
For his part, Lin Yan agreed without a second thought. "I’m willing, Master Lu!"
Lin Yan had a lonely and difficult childhood, and he had endured endless scorn and ridicule while living with his relatives.
He was already grateful just to have a place where he could be relatively independent, let alone be taught a Body Forging Swordsmanship.
"Good. In that case, you are the first Disciple I have accepted since opening my hall on Five Horses Street."
"My Changle Martial Arts Hall distinguishes between Named Disciples, Ordinary Disciples, and True Disciples. As of today, you are an Ordinary Disciple of the hall."
"In the Martial Arts Hall, I will personally teach you Body Forging Swordsmanship. To learn Lightweight Skill, you can go to my wife, Chunzhu, and for Fist Technique, you can find your Eldest Brother, Hei Niu."
"If you have nowhere to live, you can pick a side room in the Martial Arts Hall’s grounds to live in. Your three daily meals can also be taken care of here. These are the benefits for cooperating with my experiment."
Gratefully, Lin Yan knelt and kowtowed three times to Lu Changfeng. "Disciple Lin Yan pays his respects to Master!"
Lu Changfeng did not stop him, calmly accepting the three prostrations.
Afterward, he led him to the training grounds and handed Lin Yan a weighted longsword.
"Do you have any foundation in Martial Arts?"
Lin Yan struggled to brandish the longsword. "I’ve practiced with the sword on my own in secret, but I don’t know much."
Lu Changfeng could see that the way Lin Yan drew and struck with the sword followed a proper form. This ten-jin sword was the type used for the first layer of Body Forging Swordsmanship.
It was three times heavier than a normal sword; an ordinary person’s arm would grow sore after just a few swings.
Yet Lin Yan, at only fourteen, could wield it decently.
’As expected of someone with Swordsmanship Talent,’ Lu Changfeng thought. ’To develop a decent form just by practicing in secret...’
"Mm, not bad. In that case, I will directly impart to you the First Layer of the [Storm Body Forging Sword Skill]."
"This Body Forging Swordsmanship is my own unique creation. It is quite difficult to cultivate and not suited for ordinary people. Only those with a certain degree of Swordsmanship Talent can hope to master it."
When Lin Yan heard that this Body Forging Technique was Lu Changfeng’s own creation, an expression of reverence appeared on his face.
But after hearing the next sentence, his expression turned ashamed. "Master, what if I can’t learn it...?"
"Don’t worry. My judgment of character is accurate. As long as you’re willing to put in the effort, mastering it is only a matter of time."
Reassured by Lu Changfeng, Lin Yan gradually suppressed the panic in his heart.
Lu Changfeng began to teach Lin Yan the First Layer of the [Storm Body Forging Sword Skill].
Lin Yan studied diligently, while Lu Changfeng, in the course of teaching, used Lin Yan’s physical reactions to modify some of the Swordsmanship’s variable moves and breathing formulas.
An hour later, under Lu Changfeng’s personal guidance, Lin Yan had completed a full run-through of the First Layer of the Body Forging Swordsmanship.
He collapsed to the ground, drenched in sweat and gasping for air.
Lu Changfeng’s gains were quite good. He had revised the First Layer once through. After having Lin Yan practice it a few more times, he should be able to finalize the template.
"Good. Rest for a bit. We’ll continue practicing in a little while."
Lu Changfeng paused his instruction.
Just then, Chunzhu walked into the Martial Arts Hall with several middle-aged men and women.
With the Martial Arts Hall officially open, it naturally needed some servants.
These men and women were all Jiangzhou locals, responsible for cooking, cleaning, laundry, and other chores. They were diligent, and their wages weren’t high.
Chunzhu had arranged all these matters perfectly, leaving Lu Changfeng with nothing to worry about.
In the afternoon, a few more youths arrived at the Martial Arts Hall with their parents to register.
These youths all appeared to come from wealthy backgrounds. Although their Talent Root Bone was lacking, their parents paid the fees in full. Moreover, the boys were just practicing as an extracurricular activity, coming for at most one hour a day.
Thus, Lu Changfeng accepted the three youths as Named Disciples and had Hei Niu teach them a Body Forging Technique.
Hei Niu’s cultivation had already reached the Blood Forging Third Layer. Coupled with his Middle Grade Fist Technique Talent, he was more than capable of teaching these Disciples a Body Forging Technique.
The next day, the Martial Arts Hall gained five more Named Disciples.
On the third day, the hall added three more Named Disciples, bringing the total number of Disciples past ten.
On the fourth day, the hall gained one Ordinary Disciple.
This Ordinary Disciple was named Cui Tianyu. He was fifteen, from a wealthy family, and at the Blood Forging Second Layer. He possessed a Lower A Class Root Bone and was extremely fond of Swordsmanship, but unfortunately, his Talent for it was zero.
He had gone to many martial arts halls to cultivate Swordsmanship but had never succeeded. This time, he joined the Changle Martial Arts Hall with the attitude of just giving it a try.
Lu Changfeng happened to be in need of another test subject for his [Storm Body Forging Sword Skill], so he let Cui Tianyu join the Martial Arts Hall to cultivate under him alongside Lin Yan.
Body Forging Swordsmanship was extremely rare in Jiangnan Prefecture. Most Body Forging Techniques were based on Fist Technique, Palm Technique, or other External Skills.
Upon hearing that this Body Forging Swordsmanship was Lu Changfeng’s own creation, Cui Tianyu immediately decided to train hard under him.
If even Lu Changfeng, the creator of this Body Forging Swordsmanship, couldn’t help him succeed in his Swordsmanship cultivation, then Cui Tianyu felt he might as well give up his dream of becoming a Swordsman.
「On the fifth day.」
Early in the morning, after Lu Changfeng practiced the Second Layer of the [Fengtian Forging Body Saber Skill] once through,
Hei Niu came to the rear courtyard to report that someone from the martial arts tournament grounds had arrived to inform Lu Changfeng that he had an opponent for a duel tonight.
Lu Changfeng threw on an outer robe and went to the Martial Arts Hall’s reception pavilion to meet the visitor.