"I wanted to come back to find some books to read, but I was chased out before I even entered, otherwise I wouldn’t have known about this."
"Why do you even look at those things? They’re all full of nonsense."
"I used to think so too, but now I see they’re not." Lin Yi said:
"The so-called Daoist martial arts do exist, they’re just not very systematic."
While speaking, Lin Yi seriously looked at Zhang Youfu.
"I suppose you’re even more aware of this than I am."
Before this, Lin Yi hadn’t thought much about Zhang Youfu.
Besides being a bit greedy and lustful, he didn’t seem to have any other faults.
But thinking back, Zhang Youfu’s background wasn’t simple either.
When I used to meditate on the back mountain, he would appear silently behind me several times, and I didn’t even notice.
"Oh, so that’s what you’re talking about." Zhang Yongfu said with a smile:
"Some of these things are indeed useful. The core is qi cultivation and power; mastering these two aspects can greatly enhance one’s skills."
"Qi and power..."
These two words weren’t unfamiliar to Lin Yi, but he didn’t dare say he fully understood them.
"You don’t understand this, do you?" Zhang Youfu said with a grin:
"Today, your senior can give you a lesson, otherwise you’ll definitely think all I know is greed and lust."
"To be honest, I did think so."
"Then today I’ll let you experience it firsthand."
Zhang Youfu said earnestly:
"But you’re an adult now, you should understand that there’s no such thing as a free lunch. Besides, I’m quite old. You can’t just expect me to teach for nothing, right? You’re not that kind of person."
"Get lost, not a cent."
"It’s been a while, you’ve become stingy."
"The money you’ve swindled from me could last you a lifetime even if you broke your leg. Don’t even think about extorting more."
"Alright, then let’s spar a bit."
"Huh?"
Hearing this, Li Yongnian and the others were all shocked.
"Master, don’t do it, Master Uncle could knock you out with one punch."
"If Master gets killed, will the funeral be on public expense? Will it affect our meals?"
"If he’s dead, why bother with a grave, just dig a pit and bury him."
"I haven’t had a feast in ages."
"Senior is right."
"You little rascals, planning a rebellion!"
Zhang Youfu cursed and stood in front of Lin Yi.
"Take it easy, I’m practically skin and bones and really can’t take a heavy punch from you."
"Got it."
Their sparring method was simple, it was about redirecting force.
They each stretched out their right arm, pressed them together, and exerted force against each other.
As soon as the pressure was applied, Lin Yi realized something was off.
Under normal circumstances, with the force he used, he could easily push Zhang Youfu over.
But he stood there unfazed.
Lin Yi increased the force, but found Zhang Youfu could still neutralize it and even respond in kind with significant strength.
Without overthinking, Lin Yi applied more force again, and this time Zhang Youfu couldn’t withstand it.
His body tilted backward and Lin Yi caught him to stop him from falling.
"How much force were you using?"
"Thirty percent."
"Exactly, normally at your level, I wouldn’t even withstand ten percent."
"So this is what you refer to as qi and power?"
"That’s right."
Zhang Youfu said:
"In martial arts novels, they always say ’sink the qi into the dantian.’ That’s essentially correct, but it’s only half the story. Besides sinking qi, there must be outward power like a tiger; this can greatly improve one’s strength."