Chapter 27: Chapter 27: Instructor Lin No matter how agile the leap, or how flashy the flying kick, in the face of absolute strength, they will all fade into insignificance. The scene was silent, and Lou Yi looked at the tree trunk. There was now a fist mark about an inch deep. It looked as if a craftsman had spent time carefully chiseling it. Lou Yi had not used all his strength. But now, even a casual strike from him carried more than ten times the power of an average person. The effect created was naturally extremely exaggerated. Of course, it could also be because this tree was usually battered by wind and rain, with loosely attached fruit and leaves. "Impressive..." the old master Wang En was the first to exclaim. Others, as if awakening from a daze, also praised one after another. "No wonder the landlord values him so much; he is indeed extraordinary!" "With this punch, if it hit me, I doubt I’d see the sun tomorrow." The Tiger-Striped Man who had just provoked him now walked forward with an expression of admiration, cupping his fists and said, "I was blind just now, and failed to recognize a true hero, my apologies!" "This is my first time here, and I hope to learn a lot from everyone." Lou Yi smiled. "No, not at all." Others saw that Lou Yi’s attitude remained humble, which made them even more favorable towards him. Of course, if Lou Yi hadn’t displayed his strength, people would just think he was cowardly. With a small display of his skills, Lou Yi intimidated everyone, and soon the scene returned to normal, with everyone focusing back on their training. Besides practicing on wooden dummies to lay a foundation in fist techniques, the guards of the Jia Family also had another major training course: the spear technique. Out in the field, they often faced danger and would easily suffer with bare hands, so they must master at least one weapon. The spear is the king of all weapons, with obvious advantages in real combat. However, the Jia Family used the long stick instead because the court strictly forbade dangerous weapons like bows and spears. But the training for the long stick is similar to that of the spear; when equipped with a spearhead it’s a spear, without it, it’s a stick. The person teaching the spear technique was the other old master, Cui Yuan. He had a dark complexion and a somewhat honest appearance. "When we escort goods for the landlord, we often encounter all sorts of beasts and even bandits." "If you don’t learn the spear technique well, forget completing the task, you wouldn’t even be able to save your own life!" "Using the stick as a spear, come, follow me with this stance!" Once Cui Yuan began teaching, his demeanor became serious, as if transformed into another person. He clamped the long stick under his right arm, pressing it against his waist, holding the stick shaft with his left hand, his legs spread in a bow step, the stick tip firmly pointing forward. "Hold this posture for half an hour! Anyone who moves won’t have meat for lunch!" "What?" someone was dumbfounded, "Why are we practicing this again?" "A tall building starts from the ground," Cui Yuan glanced at him, warning. Lou Yi understood that it was probably also to accommodate himself as a newcomer. He mimicked Cui Yuan’s actions and began practicing. His movements were quite standard, earning an approving nod from Cui Yuan. "Tuck in your hips, push out your chest, stand properly!" Cui Yuan lightly tapped someone’s buttocks with a stick, reprimanding. "Relax your waist, pull your belly in, otherwise you’ll struggle to stand tomorrow!" "Hold the spear horizontally, no raising it!" "You, your knee is bent so much, are you planning to kneel?" ’Clack, clack, clack.’ Cui Yuan began pacing the ground, his sharp gaze scrutinizing everyone’s movements, the sound of his blue cloth boots constantly echoing. Lou Yi suddenly felt a sense of déjà vu from military training in his past life. After half an hour, Cui Yuan let the crowd take a short break, and then started another round of standing training with the stick. After two rounds, the training had a new variation based on the original. "With the stance just now, thrust forward forcefully!" "Keep the shoulders level, the spear tip level, and don’t move your feet!" "Thrust it hard for me! Each person starts with three hundred thrusts!" Until noon, with the sun high in the sky, training continued. Most people were flushed and weak. Lou Yi had barely broken a sweat; after all, his physique was monstrous. "Food’s here!" A servant-like person in blue clothing, about thirty or forty years old, pushed a cart with three large wooden barrels into the courtyard. The irresistible aroma of food made everyone’s gaze involuntarily turn towards it. But since Cui Yuan hadn’t said stop, no one dared put down their actions. "Eat!" With Cui Yuan’s order, many people sat down on the ground, while some ran frantically toward the cart. One large barrel contained wooden bowls and chopsticks. Another large barrel had clear soup with faint oil flowers floating on top. The third large barrel was filled with a big portion of food, a mix of wild vegetable roots, beans, millet, and rice. Lou Yi was surprised to find bits of meat in the food, and there was even a faint salty taste. ’Truly worthy of Jia Family Manor, indeed wealthy.’ Raising a group of guards, providing food, lodging, and training, Landlord Jia clearly had a grand plan. In the gap of Lou Yi’s thoughts, he had already quickly finished two bowls of rice. Of course, this was not nearly enough to make him full. The third bowl, fourth bowl, fifth bowl... Everyone present, regardless of whether they were full or not, stared dumbfounded at Lou Yi eating. Until the seventh bowl, Lou Yi finally put down his chopsticks and went to get a bowl of clear soup. This made everyone unable to help but breathe a sigh of relief. "Now I know why his strength is so immense." "With such an appetite, the landlord won’t regret recruiting him, would he?" Lou Yi naturally could hear the surrounding discussions, but fortunately, he was mentally prepared, so his expression remained unchanged. ’Actually, I only ate until I was seventy percent full. Initially, I should hold back a bit, can’t scare you all too much.’ he thought to himself. After the meal, there was a half-hour rest period. Most people simply lay down on the ground, while Lou Yi casually chatted with the Tiger-Striped Man. The Tiger-Striped Man, who had initially provoked Lou Yi, was named Shi Zhan. Seemingly impressed by Lou Yi’s skills, he actively came up to chat. "This spear technique is easy to learn but hard to master. For ordinary people, it takes months to get started, but going further is not something time alone can achieve," Shi Zhan consoled, "But Brother Lou, with your incredible strength, once you get the hang of it, even Brother Cui or Brother Wang will have to avoid you." Lou Yi curiously asked, "Brother Cui Yuan is outstanding in spear techniques, I wonder who he learned from?" "That person is currently in our manor," Shi Zhan looked around, then whispered, "Living in the courtyard on the far west side, even the landlord is respectful to him. His surname is Lin, and we all call him Master Lin." "Master Lin, he might truly be a Martial Artist!" "Martial Artist?" Lou Yi was startled. Wasn’t it said that Xinxiang only had a single Martial Artist, the Man Slaughter? How could the Jia Family Manor have one too? "Does Master Lin always stay at Jia Family Manor?" Lou Yi asked curiously. "No, Master Lin is elusive, only occasionally coming by," Shi Zhan said, "But Master Lin seems to have an agreement with the landlord, he comes to the manor every so often and stays for a few days before leaving." "I heard, Master Lin was very close with the late elder landlord!" another person added. Lou Yi couldn’t help but develop a strong interest in Master Lin, wanting to witness the prowess of this world’s ultimate combat power. He came around the courtyard where Master Lin lived and found the entrance guarded, clearly indicating that Landlord Jia didn’t want anyone to disturb him easily. A hoarse yet full-of-vigor scolding voice came clearly from within the courtyard: "Pah, is this even called wine? Damn, it’s nothing but water?" "Master, this is the most renowned Peach Blossom Wine in Xinxiang, famed for miles around. Ordinary people can’t even buy it." The attending person explained, somewhat grievances. "Get out, don’t try to fool me with this stuff, tell Jia Rong to bring the green plums out. I don’t have that much time to waste here!" Upon hearing this, Lou Yi couldn’t help but imagine a scruffy, wine-loving elder with great skill in his mind. ’I’ll find another opportunity later.’ ...