Translator: Myuu Editor: Myuu
For most people, pushing a huge, two thousand jin millstone from the foot of the hill to the top was pretty much a ‘mission impossible’ because this task posed a great challenge and required a ridiculous amount of strength.
Huge millstones were normally pulled by oxen or horse to level the ground when fixing a road. It would be quite challenging for even two oxen to pull this huge millstone uphill, let alone a person.
However, Yan Liqiang was an exception. Furthermore, he didn’t think that this Elder Li was joking around when he told him to push the millstone to the hilltop. That was because it would be impossible for someone to learn powerful spear techniques without possessing great physical strength. Yan Liqiang deeply understood this point over these days. Skills could make up for the lack of strength to a certain extent. Likewise, strength could also transcend skills to a certain extent. However, to excel in martial arts and spear techniques, one must unite both strength and skills. When Elder Li asked if he had perfected his basic spear technique, he was actually assessing the basic skills he had with the spear. He ordered Yan Liqiang push the millstone uphill because that was the minimum requirement for his strength. The more absurd the prerequisites were, the more powerful the techniques he would be taught later.
At this point, Elder Li probably had two objectives — one of them was to make Yan Liqiang quit after learning the difficulties. If Yan Liqiang was truly determined to learn from him, then he would train his strength for a few years first and persevere until his physical strength allowed him to push this millstone to the hilltop. Without any talent and willpower, it would be impossible for an ordinary person to train his physical strength to this level even if he took three years, five years, a decade, no, even a lifetime…
Yan Liqiang didn’t roll the millstone to the top of the hill because he felt that it would take too long. Instead, he directly lifted the millstone that weighed about two thousand jin with his hands and walked up from the foot of the hill.
The huge millstone was set on a conspicuous position at the highest point of the hilltop with a loud thud. Yan Liqiang only had a drop of sweat on his forehead. A sudden gust of cool wind blew across the hilltop. Yan Liqiang looked at the small thatched cottage at the foot of the hill. With a faint smile on his face, he strode downhill, approached the thatched cottage again, and yelled, “Elder Li, I have pushed the millstone to the hilltop! Please bestow your arts upon me!”
It hadn’t been three, five, or ten years since Yan Liqiang left and returned. Merely ten minutes had passed, less than the time it takes for an incense stick to burn [1].
Yan Liqiang yelled, but there was no sound from the thatched cottage. After a while, Yan Liqiang yelled again, but still there was no response. After some time passed, when Yan Liqiang was just about to yell for the third time, an angry voice finally rang out from inside the thatched cottage. “You damn brat, don’t go thinking that I wouldn’t dare to do anything to you just because you brought a bronze paiza here! I will cripple your legs today and teach you some manners first for trying to act smart and fooling me…!”
As soon as the voice was heard, the door of the thatched cottage flung open from the inside with a loud noise. Elder Li came out furiously with his dishevelled hair and shabby clothes, holding a pitch-black iron fire poker that was about three feet long in his hand. Without saying anything, he rushed toward Yan Liqiang and immediately swung the fire poker toward his legs.
F*CKKK!
Yan Liqiang was shocked. However, he already had his guard up when he saw Elder Li barge out from the thatched cottage with a poker in his hand. The moment he swung the poker, Yan Liqiang reflexively evaded with Nine Palace Wind Shadow Steps without delay. He flipped backward over the distance of a zhang and Elder Li’s poker met air.
“Not bad. No wonder why you dare to be insolent around here. I see that you have learned how to dodge like a cat or dog. Seems like I have underestimated you…” Elder Li snorted coldly. His figure flashed again as he thrust the poker toward Yan Liqiang’s legs again.
When the poker came flying at Yan Liqiang, he suddenly felt that he wouldn’t be able to dodge this one. He had a feeling that no matter how he tried to evade or jump over the poker, it would still ultimately hit his legs. When the poker came down the second time, it no longer looked like a stick to Yan Liqiang. It looked more like the shadow of his legs — who could possibly hide from his own shadow? It would have been great if that poker was only a shadow. Before the poker hit him, Yan Liqiang could already feel the force that was going hit his legs. He reckoned that even with the first layer of The Golden Bell Divine Protection Technique under his belt, his legs were probably going to break…
“ARE YOU BLIND, YOU DAMN OLD MAN!? LOOK BEHIND YOU…!” Yan Liqiang shouted furiously in the moment of desperation. He didn’t even try dodge; he just stood there in place, glaring at that sloppy old man unyieldingly.
The poker abruptly stopped, right up against the fabric of his leg pants and below his right knee. The poker that was moving stopped in just a split second. Yan Liqiang’s shin was fine, but the fabric of his trousers instantly had a two-finger long tear where the poker had made contact.
His pants clung to his shins. The poker tore the pant leg but his shin was fine, including every single hair on his leg. Such control of strength was simply unbelievable and as fascinating as magic.
Yan Liqiang stared at the tear made by the poker on his skintight pants. All of a sudden, he felt parched and involuntarily gulped a few times. Everything just felt so unreal.
The old man stopped and turned his head around to take a look. Indeed, that huge millstone had disappeared from the foot of the distant hill, and there it was at the hilltop. The sight of it stunned the old man because he knew how challenging it was to push that huge millstone to the highest point of the hill.
The old man turned his head back and stared at Yan Liqiang. The expression on his face darkened. “Say it. Who helped you push that millstone up there? I will smash his bones to pieces for trying to pull tricks in front of me!”
Yan Liqiang smiled coldly. He raised his head and had a look of defiance on his face. “It’s just a millstone of two thousand jin. Why would I need anyone’s help if I can easily move it up there myself?”
“You’re telling me that you moved it up there yourself?”
“Of course. Didn’t you tell me to come find you again when I moved it up there?”
“You do know what consequences you will face if you lie to me, right? I only wanted to cripple your legs just now. If you keep up this charade, don’t blame me if I break all your limbs!”
“Naturally. I will take responsibility for my own words!”
“Fine then. Go to the hilltop now and bring that millstone before me. Since you can move it up there in such a short time, then it surely wouldn’t be difficult for you to move it back down again. I will give you seven minutes. If you can’t bring it back, I shall break all your limbs so badly that you won’t be able to recover for ten years! You are welcome to try escaping if you want to!” The old man stared at Yan Liqiang coldly and struck the ground with the end of the poker.
“Fine, wait here then!” Yan Liqiang cast a glance at the old man. Without saying anything else, he turned around and strode to the hilltop under the old man’s gaze. In just a few minutes, Yan Liqiang arrived at the hilltop. He mustered his strength and lifted the gigantic millstone up with his hands, then placed it on his shoulder and came down from the hilltop with large strides. He walked in front of the old man and set the huge millstone down on the lawn outside the thatched cottage with a loud thud, instantly making a large depression.
The old man’s eyes shone brilliantly and his lips quivered when he saw Yan Liqiang actually move the huge millstone back to the bottom of the hill. As soon as Yan Liqiang set the millstone down, the old man suddenly grabbed him with his strange hands without any explanation. He seized Yan Liqiang’s wrists at lightning speed, then felt his bones, tendons, and muscles with his fingers, just like some bone fortune teller. He studied Yan Liqiang carefully, from his wrists, arms, elbows and to his back…
“Ah… what are you doing…?” Yan Liqiang yelped. His skin broke out in goosebumps from getting groped by an old man.
“Don’t move if you want to learn from me…!” The old man solemnly berated him. Yan Liqiang stopped moving, but the old man’s hands didn’t stop. After reaching Yan Liqiang’s back, he started feeling every spinal disc of his before finally moving onto his thighs, knees, and calves. The old man stood up again and looked at Yan Liqiang. His chilling gaze was enough to make Yan Liqiang’s hair stand on end.
“Oh right, you said your name was Yan… Yan something…?” The old man’s voice suddenly softened by tenfold. He even squeezed out a friendly smile to Yan Liqiang, flashing his yellowish teeth that had been stained from smoking, causing Yan Liqiang to shiver involuntarily.
“My name is Yan Liqiang!”
“Right, your name is Yan Liqiang. It’s a good name — courteous and self-reliant!” The old man nodded in approval. “From today onward, I shall be your master and you shall be my disciple…”
“Wait… this…”
“What? You want to back out now?!” The expression on the old man’s face suddenly turned fiendish as he shot a glare at Yan Liqiang. “When I asked you to move this millstone up the hill, doing so means that you are acknowledging the fact that you will be my disciple. I never bother with that nonsense when accepting a disciple. All I care about is the sincerity. You can’t back out now. It’s not that bad to be my disciple anyway. I will impart all my ultimate spear techniques to you — what else can you possibly complain about? You should know how many people cried and begged just to learn a little from me and I rejected all of them. You are indeed blessed to be accepted as my disciple…”
Yan Liqiang didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Why did he always end up meeting people who were aggressive when accepting disciples? Was this his destiny? Even though this old man was a little strange and sloppy, he didn’t seem like a bad person. People who lived peacefully among the wilderness in seclusion instead of chasing after wealth, fame, and luxurious lifestyles couldn’t be all that bad. After all, how could one be bad if he didn’t squander? The old man’s spectacular display of skill in swinging the poker just now showed that he was definitely an impressive individual. Naturally, it was only appropriate for Yan Liqiang to call him ‘Master’ if he wished to learn from him.
Thinking up to this point, Yan Liqiang found more peace with himself. He smoothened out his clothes and bowed deeply to the old man. With a solemn face, he said, “Greetings, Master!”
