Wang Anfeng bowed respectfully and said, "Young Wang Anfeng has seen the old gentleman."
The elderly man stroked his beard with a slight smile and said nothing, while Mister Ying flicked his long sleeve with a hint of impatience, "There's no need for such trouble, boy. In Medicine King Valley, where medical poisoning is practiced, no one surpasses us. Starting today, Old Wu will teach you the foundation of the secret techniques of Medicine King Valley."
"A martial artist needs to understand medicine to avoid harming oneself. Study well!"
Wang Anfeng was slightly startled by these words. Seeing the elderly man merely smiling at him without any objection, he looked up at Master Ci, the monk in grey robes, who nodded slightly and gently said:
"From now on, you may also call Old Wu Master..."
Wang Anfeng fell silent for a moment, then bowed deeply and said:
"Disciple has seen... the second Master."
Mister Ying snickered, Master Ci appeared slightly astonished, but the elderly man laughed out loud. Before Wang Anfeng could react, a dry and warm hand gently patted his head, and the old voice chuckled:
"You seem gentle yet quite stubborn. Well, second Master it is then..."
He then looked up at Master Ci and said, "Master Ci, it seems that in the short term, this young fellow will only recognize you as his Master..."
Master Ci gave a bitter smile and pressed his palms together in a salute, "Old Wu, please do not take offense."
The elderly man shook his head with a smile, "No harm done, no harm done. Though we had no previous dealings... you indeed owe me a life-saving grace. It's good for the youngster to have character. Those pedantic scholars in the Academy should be even more pleased; they always favor those with a righteous nature."
After finishing, he glanced at the sky and then continued addressing Wang Anfeng:
"Time is short today... In terms of Inner Strength, although our Medicine King Valley has three unique scriptures, the foundational cultivation techniques of Song Mountain Shaolin Temple and Wudang Zixiao Palace are superior.
Both these Buddhist and Daoist schools are most orthodox and have a long tradition, ensuring that all martial arts schools can be learned without hitches, and even the transition to Divine Skills would face no obstacles. Therefore, it's not suitable to teach you that."
"As for Qinggong... though our Qinggong has its unique aspects, compared to the Divine Thieves Sect's Chasing Clouds and Moon or stepping up the Heavenly Staircase, it really isn't something to boast about."
The elderly man sighed softly, furrowed his brows in thought, and then said:
"Today is our first meeting, and according to Mister Ying, you've captured a bear... You are currently in the midst of your cultivation journey..."
Suddenly, Mister Ying coughed loudly twice. The elderly man paused for a moment, then nonchalantly continued, "... your punch power is inadequate to wrestle with it face-to-face, so I will first teach you a set of Whip Technique."
"Let the chain in your hand serve as the weapon. Although the technique is simple, it is also agile, like a spirit snake moving through grass, arriving swiftly, touching briefly then departing rapidly, erupting all of a sudden, which is a lethal move, life and death can be decided in a few breaths.
With your chains being heavy, I've thought about adding another move, like a huge python strangling its prey."
With those words, he raised his right hand, and from the sleeve a long whip like a spirit snake darted out, his wrist flicked, and it struck the air, making a sound like thunderous rumbling.
Zhao Xiujie was extremely excited today.
A young hero capable of wrestling fierce beasts, he had only read about such individuals in books, and today he had seen one in real flesh. The black bear had merely roared, causing his blood to freeze, his limbs to go weak, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to move.
But this young man, not much older than himself, had managed with just the chains on his body to subdue such a dominant forest creature, rendering it unconscious.
What incredible bravery!
And what astonishing methods!
Thus, he took his father along with a group of reclusive masters, and after asking for directions, he excitedly rushed to Wang Anfeng's old house, eagerly peeking inside. There, he saw what seemed to be a reclusive old master and a bold man laughing and talking loudly.
The black bear lay obediently on the ground, seemingly noticing his gaze, turned its head fiercely to glare at him with reddened eyes, and emitted a deep roar, appearing even angrier and more furious than before, which frightened Zhao Xiujie so much that he exclaimed and stepped back, almost falling over.
The strong man steadied him, and the youth, touching his wildly beating heart, looked again at the doorway just a step away, swallowed his saliva, and said tremblingly,
"No... let's just wait here, and not go inside,"
The strong man shook his head with a smile, his gaze then landing on Li Qidao and Wang Hongyi. He could tell that the latter had practiced basic boxing for a while and was at most a decent warrior, capable of defeating what the young master called a reclusive master. The older man, however, showed no signs of martial arts training at all, which made him even more cautious.
He bowed respectfully from a distance to the elder, who paid him no mind, while the robust man beckoned him with a smile.
Thus, Wang Anfeng's cabin took on a very strange appearance, with the soberly dressed duo chatting about household matters inside, while those in silk finery stood extremely restrained outside, occasionally mixed with the low, angry roar of the black bear.
About half an hour later, the door of the cabin was slowly pushed open, and Wang Anfeng, shackled, walked out slowly, slightly startled, and said,
"Uncle Li, Uncle, why are you here?"
Li Qidao rolled his eyes and said, "If I hadn't come, who knows what trouble this bear would have caused..."
Saying this, he raised his right hand and slapped the bear's face, eliciting an uneasy roar; Wang Anfeng was momentarily stunned, not understanding why the letter from Mr. Ying had lost its effect, but he also realized the danger just now. If the beast had rushed into the village, by the time he returned, it might have already turned into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
With this thought, a chill rose behind him, and he then felt a flicker of anger. His wrist flicked, the chains unwound with force, and, like a spirit snake, cleared the air, making a thunderous pop in the air before the bear's head, scaring it into shrinking back. The strong man outside changed his expression and said in a low voice,
"What domineering whip technique..."
At that moment, the youth's wrist tremored and pulled, and the chain silently extended quite a bit, the length held in his hand reaching that of a normal whip, winding through the air like a spirit snake, with the end of the chain making a rattling noise, chilling to the bone. The bear's fur bristled as it kept roaring lowly at Wang Anfeng. Li Qidao took a swig of wine and said with a chuckle,
"To dominate a pack of wolves, one must subdue the alpha in front of the pack. To tame a fierce beast, you need to subdue it yourself, kid. Let Uncle Li see how well the whip technique you learned on your journey really is."
Wang Anfeng took a deep breath, his expression becoming serious, and said,
"Please, Uncle Li, teach me."
Without visible effort, the chain twisted in the air like a spirit snake, each segment quivering, and the chains lightly chimed, truly like a giant python pressing through the jungle. Zhao Xiujie, standing outside, felt a chill down his spine, yet his eyes widened with an excited and anticipative expression.
But just then, he suddenly heard a squeak by his ear.
One moment Zhao Xiujie was mesmerized, watching the chain lash out; the next, all he saw were two yellowed door gods staring back at him, with his exclamation of "awesome" stuck uncomfortably in his throat. Wang Hongyi stepped out from the door, teasing him,
"Young master, watching elders instruct on martial arts sneakily is a big taboo in Jianghu."
Zhao Xiujie's face turned red, unable to speak, while the burly man laughed twice and said,
"Please wait, gentlemen, I still have to go back and slaughter a pig."
With that, he turned and walked away, muttering to himself about five-hundred-pound stone locks being too light, a thousand-pound stone mill, and other incomprehensible things. The youth glared at him irritably, hearing the chain's explosive noise and the bear's roar coming from inside the house, making him even more intensely curious.
"Oh... I really want to see..."