: 3 Minor Exercises, 3 Major Exercises

"Brother Zhong, thank you for your help these past few days. In another three months, I plan to send this brat to the county school outside the city."

In a small courtyard of the Zhang family residence.

After Zhong Xuan finished teaching Pei Wen the Three Character Classic, he sat down and had a drink with Pei Yong.

"County school?"

Congratulations!

Zhong Xuan offered his congratulations repeatedly.

Although county schools cannot compare to prefectural schools, they still produced several scholars, and even the county school of Baisha County once produced a Juren (a successful candidate in the provincial-level imperial examinations).

Pei Yong's son, Pei Wenneng, going to the county school was already an excellent way out.

Pei Yong chuckled:

"It was also good luck. When the second young master returned home, I happened to accompany him on an outing. Unexpectedly, the second young master turned out to be a fellow student of Instructor Sun of the county school, and that's how the matter was settled."

"I just hope this brat will study hard in the future, so that my Pei family can also produce a scholar."

As for the successful candidates in the imperial examinations...

I can't even imagine it.

A true dragon cannot be raised in shallow water, nor can a phoenix fly out of a chicken coop.

Pei Yong knew his own limitations.

Speaking of it.

It was quite a sigh.

These past few months, she had been so worried about her son's school enrollment, but unexpectedly, her second son, Zhang Linchun, solved the problem with just a few words.

What does it mean when "when one person attains enlightenment, even their chickens and dogs ascend to heaven"?

The second young master of the Zhang family has become successful, and even the martial arts master who guards the mansion can benefit from his success.

It is foreseeable that the Zhang family will continue to prosper for several more decades.

Zhong Xuan smiled as he drank his tea.

The second young master of the Zhang family is indeed quite capable, no wonder the patriarch of the Zhang family has been exceptionally generous lately.

He found an opportunity: "Brother Pei, I have a nephew who practices martial arts at a martial arts school in the city. He told me casually that one day he felt his blood rushing to his head. What could be the reason for this?"

Pei Yong laughed heartily.

Zhong Xuan taught his son to read, so he naturally wouldn't mind helping Zhong Xuan's nephew.

He dipped his finger in the wine and drew three horizontal lines on the table.

It happens to be the number three.

"Brother Zhong, there's a saying about three minor training sessions and three major training sessions in martial arts."

"The three minor exercises are training the skin, bones, and tendons."

"The three major training methods are training blood, training qi, and training qi energy."

Zhong Xuan's heart stirred slightly.

He spent most of his life studying classical texts, so he knew very little about the different levels of martial arts training.

He immediately focused and listened attentively.

"Three small training sessions, three large training sessions..."

Pei Yong continued:

"The first step in martial arts training is to train the skin, but this doesn't mean actually learning the Iron Palm technique to polish the skin. Instead, it means training external strength so that blood and qi flow outwards to nourish the skin. Those who master skin training can even withstand weapons with their bare hands and survive."

"That powerful?"

Zhong Xuan never expected that the three little ones who had just started training would be so domineering.

Pei Yong chuckled: "Brother Zhong, otherwise why do you think people would be scrambling to get into martial arts schools in the city even though they charge ten taels of silver a year for tuition?"

Zhong Xuan couldn't help but ask curiously, "What realm is Brother Pei at now?"

"Ten years ago, my Qi and blood reversed, and I entered the realm of skin refining."

"And what about ten years from now?"

Pei Yong was a little embarrassed: "Let's practice skincare instead."

He then added, "Brother Zhong, in the entire Baisha County, those who can practice bone training are all deputy directors of martial arts schools, or even directors of some small martial arts schools."

"The second young master is a bone-training expert."

Zhong Xuan chewed on his food in secret.

This skin-training process is easy to begin but difficult to master.

If he's not mistaken, the feeling of his blood and qi reversing three days ago should mean that he has entered the Skin Refining stage.

One can rightfully call oneself a warrior.

Pei Yong took a sip of his drink and asked curiously:

"How long did it take for your nephew to sense the reversal of his Qi and blood?"

Zhong Xuan: "I've been practicing martial arts for about ten months."

Pei Yong nodded: "This kid has some talent. Back in the day, it took me ten months to reach the Skin Refining Realm. If he can get a suitable cultivation technique, his future should be bright. At the very least, he can become a martial arts master who protects the house."

Zhong Xuan did not tell Pei Yong.

He has no nephews at all.

Moreover, it only took four months from practicing martial arts to reversing the flow of qi and blood.

"It must be because of the Eagle Strike Sword Technique that I was able to enter the Skin Training stage ahead of schedule."

Although Eagle Strike Sword Technique is a swordsmanship and not a stance training exercise, it can still improve one's qi and blood by combining internal and external strength.

The joy of accident!

Zhong Xuan drank a few more cups with Pei Yong, gaining a lot of common sense about martial arts. He left satisfied just before the city gates closed.

......

......

Xiahe Village is not far from Baisha County, so Zhong Xuan arrived at the village entrance before dark.

Looking from afar.

He then saw a large group of people walking towards him, holding torches.

"This is......"

Zhong Xuan frowned slightly and, as expected, made way for him.

Upon closer inspection, the leader was none other than the village chief, Xu Mao.

The Xu family is undoubtedly the most common surname in Xiahe Village. In Qingguo, the village head is almost always chosen from the most common surname in the village. This has almost become a customary rule, and Xiahe Village is no exception.

In the past, the village chiefs were all selected from the Xu clan.

The current village chief, Xu Mao, is in his early forties.

He had been out in the world for many years and was quite capable, which is why the Xu family elected him as the village head.

Over the years, he has accomplished several major tasks for Xiahe Village, the most commendable of which is the digging of the irrigation canal.

When Zhong Xuan saw that the village chief, Xu Maodu, had personally come forward, he knew that something serious must have happened. So he went to Old Wu, who was at the back of the group, and asked:

"Old Wu, what happened?"

Old Wu sighed and said:

"It's still about the irrigation canal."

"A few days ago, the water volume in the irrigation canal of our Xiahe Village suddenly decreased significantly, and today we have found the reason."

"It's the Sand Gang!"

"Those damned bastards actually changed our canal."

Upon hearing this, Zhong Xuan frowned slightly.

He already knew about the irrigation canal.

Farmers rely on the weather for their livelihood, and they suffer when there is bad rain. But if there are irrigation ditches, things will be much better. This is a great thing that benefits the local people.

The village head, Xu Mao, was so highly respected in Xiahe Village because he made great contributions to repairing the irrigation canal and even received commendation from the county magistrate.

A few days ago, the water volume in the irrigation canal suddenly decreased significantly, and Xu Mao personally led a team to investigate in the mountains for almost a month.

Therefore, the village chief Xu Mao did not show up at the scene involving Ma San that day.

I initially thought the ditch was blocked by the carcass of a wild animal.

Unexpectedly, it was actually related to the Sha Gang.

Normally, the people of Xiahe Village would never dare to provoke those guys from the Sand Gang.

But only farmers know the importance of water.

Cutting off the water supply would mean their deaths.

Even a rabbit will bite when cornered. Since they won't let us live, even the Sand Gang will take a piece of our flesh.

The young, strong men of Xiahe Village were going all out.

Each of them was either carrying a hoe or a sickle.

Zhong Xuan finally understood why such a large group of people were so indignant.

Today can be described as a critical moment for the survival of Xiahe Village.

Even Old Wu, who was over fifty, followed along.

It seems that in Xiahe Village, apart from women and children, every man with a son was involved.

Zhong Xuan knew he couldn't stay out of it, so he had no choice but to follow at the very back of the crowd, heading towards the mountains.