Chapter 20 The Second Style of Zhenwu Boxing
The county government office.
In the exercise room of the back office.
Li Mu was sitting cross-legged on the rush cushion in meditation. He was breathing rhythmically and practicing Xiantian Skill.
He was practicing melting the power of the snake blood inside.
A stream of transpiring white mist rose from his head as if it was a steamer.
Li Mu could feel clearly that as he was practicing Xiantian Skill, the burning pain and the heat of snake blood in the limbs of his body were fading away slowly and turning into a very comfortable warm current, which provided a feeling like a hot spring that was spreading all over his body.
The heterogeneous boa constrictor, which was called Green Dragon by Sikong Jing and kept in Shennong Faction with various magic medicine as well as magic, almost had psychic powers while there were some horns on the head and it would soon become a dragon. It had some magic value for those martial art masters since it activated qi and blood, improved the internal qi and even changed the physical condition so that you could resist nearly all of the poisons. As a result, it could be considered that its entire body was a treasure.
Sikong Jing spent over ten years of hard work in raising this snake for the preparation to improve his strength.
He might have taken the snake blood and killed Li Mu if it didn’t happen this time.
Time passed.
In a blink of an eye, three days passed.
Li Mu was covered with white boiling steam as if he was placed in the steamer. Hot air came out of every pore.
The temperature increased over ten degrees in the secret chamber of the exercise room.
“Whirring…” With a long breath, he opened his eyes and stood up slowly, feeling only comfortable.
Especially the wound on his shoulder, which made him feel no pain at all.
Li Mu removed the bandage and looked at it with great surprise.
“Wow? The wound had completely recovered… There’s no scar left?”
He had never expected this.
Because this wound was a hole when he pulled out the fine steel wolf teeth arrow forcibly since he wanted to be the pretender so that the tearing might get worse and even both sides had become transparent. But now, it recovered completely without any scars at all in half a day.
Why?
“Was it because of the mixing with the snake blood or the effect of the Xiantian Skill?”
Li Mu was too excited to make the judgment at this moment.
Then he found a knife happily and tried to cut on his arm to check whether the wound could recover quickly or not. But finally, he gave it up since he felt suddenly that it might hurt a lot.
Anyway, it was good news since such serious wound could recover in half a day.
What was more, Li Mu felt vaguely that his physical condition had changed at some degree, and gained more strength than when he attacked the office of Shennong Faction. He felt that his body was full of strength as if he could break the sky and smash the earth with one punch, which made him feel that there was nothing he couldn’t lift in the world.
Besides, Li Mu also felt he had a great improvement in the five sense organs after this great battle. It seemed that the chains were broken inside, which made him feel so flexible at each joint and the ligaments also became extremely soft too.
Li Mu tried to practice the Zhenwu Boxing.
And he finished the Lifting Pole Style so easily.
There was no feeling of previous restraint, ligament pain, muscle swelling, and numbness when he practiced the first style of Rocking-sky Hammer, instead, it was unprecedented ease. The power came between the waist and abdomen and then went through the spine like the whistling giant dragon, and went out between the fists and legs. As he showed, there was a gas explosion like the thundering.
Li Mu was so deeply attracted by this feeling.
After he finished the first Rocking-sky Hammer, he didn’t continue with the second style of Sky Hammer but repeated the Rocking-sky Hammer.
As he practiced, his movement became more and more stretching and graceful.
Li Mu felt that there was a kind of strange information appearing in his mind; it was the skill to store and supply the power which was so good just like the sudden illumination. And it made Li Mu feel in his mind and he melted it through the whole body ultimately for the instinct of muscles through the style changes of Rocking-sky Hammer.
It was unknown how long it was and Li Mu was so sweaty. However, there was no gas explosion during the styles any longer. As he practiced, it was just like the floating clouds sweeping across the sky or the stream gurgling across the flat bend without any smoke, you would never feel what kind of power it contained.
Li Mu stopped.
He knew he had a deeper understanding of his own power.
Though Zhenwu Boxing was not the martial arts for killing and fighting, it had unmatched effect in the aspects of physical condition improvement, concentrating, enlightening and even opening up the wisdom of martial arts, which was called the simples movement but with big effects. The old faker said that Zhenwu Boxing was a kind of immortal fist and now Li Mu was convinced.
Indeed, it was impossible for common martial arts to have such kind of effects.
Zhenwu Boxing and Xiantian Skill would all be the greatest secret for Li Mu, and they should never be disclosed.
Or else, such an innocent man would get into trouble because of his wealth.
If those martial art masters in this world knew he had such kind of Cultivation Method, it might cause bloody competitions and fights just like the situation when the Age of Wulin appeared in the underworld described in martial arts novels of Jin Yong. Although Li Mu was confident, he needed more time to grow up. He was almost peerless since he had killed the Shennong Faction, but Shennong Faction was just a small faction in the county and Li Mu might not be confident enough when he was facing the real giant martial art power.
Li Mu was moving the limbs in the exercise room.
He came to the stone table for kung fu, and didn’t store force. He shook his fist slowly and punched on the stone table, while the fist sank as if it dropped on the soft dirt and there were no cracks appeared on the tablet.
This was the sign when the strength had converged to the extreme.
Li Mu realized so and punched with heavy force.
Bang!
Here came a dull thud.
The stone tablets, which were as hard as the iron, suddenly burst open like a mass of dry flour without warning and turned into a mass of stone chip powder.
Li Mu blew away the stone power on him, he was quite satisfied with this power.
He realized that what the first style of Rocking-sky Hammer from the Zhenwu Boxing contained was its power supply meaning of “handling complicated matters with ease”. It was a mighty fist but he just showed it so easily just like the straw floating in the wind, which might absolutely defeat the opponent.
“The only regret is that it seems that I cannot get the internal qi and this is required by the martial art masters in this world?”
Li Mu was a little incomprehensible.
The Xiantian Skill didn’t seem to be used for practicing the internal qi, though there was also a kind of warm current inside the meridians when he was breathing, this feeling disappeared after the practice and it didn’t store in the body.
“Maybe I need to try the martial art Cultivation Method of this world?”
Anyway, Xiantian Skill and Zhenwu Boxing were more like a supplementary skill to enhance strength and physique than a real way to fight.
Li Mu was thinking while walking out of the room.
It was deep night outside.
The moonlight was bright and gentle, like shining water flowing slowly.
One thin figure stood next to the rockery outside the door and was silent like a ghost.
“Hello?” Li Mu was frightened; he went close and found it was the young attendant Ming Yue. Then he asked, “Damn, why are you sneaking and standing here? You scared me.”
Ming Yue turned back, her eyes were shining like the crescent moon just like the two streaming moonlight. Then she said with dissatisfaction, “Hello, Master, you use the wrong word, I’m not sneaky but watching the moon… Well, by the way, what’s that flatterer called Feng or what? He’s waiting for you in the office, he has been there for one hour already.”
As Li Mu heard so, he wanted to laugh.
Even this young child Ming Yue found that Feng Yuanxing was a flatterer?
Maybe he came for the follow-up report on today’s events.
He was about to go out to meet him when suddenly he thought about something, and spoke to Ming Yue with a smile, “Are there any animals like chicken or ducks in our back office?”
Under the moonlight, the little attendant, whose skin was white as ice and snow, had a delicate and pleasant appearance. She held the black braid, tilted her head and thought about it, nodded and replied, “Maybe yes… Master, are you going to kill and eat them? I want to eat chicken buttocks.”
Li Mu touched his head hopelessly and said, “All right, the buttock belongs to you. Go and kill the chicken and get a bowl of chicken blood for me.”
…
…
At the front government office.
Feng Yuanxing was waiting in a rather nervous state.
He had been waiting there for one hour and felt so anxious, but he dared not let out a trace of discontent on his face.
While he was waiting, Feng Yuanxing was recalling what had happened in the office of Shennong Faction. And each time as he did so, he was feeling deeper reverence for Li Mu.
Today, in the beginning, he betrayed Zhou Wu without hesitation since he thought Li Mu was young and easy to get impulsive and might be controlled by proper plan though he had strong power. Feng Yuanxing was so cunning and staying with the local bullies for such a long time and he was confident enough about his strategy and shrewdness, thinking that he might control Li Mu and let this young county magistrate follow him, so that he might be the great power to rule Taibai County. But now, he was more and more uncertain.
Li Mu’s performance made him feel fear in his heart.
The noise of many footsteps came.
Feng Yuanxing felt a shock in his heart, he knew it was the county magistrate coming. Then he stood up quickly, tidied the official robe for a solemn and respectful welcome.
But as he looked up, he was stunned at the sight of the figure coming in through the back-side door.
It was indeed Li Mu.
But he was totally different from what he had expected.
Li Mu, who was now standing in front of him, was wrapped in exaggerated gauzes on his upper body; the blood stains penetrated the bandage, which looked shocking. He looked a little tired with a crutch in his hand, walking very slowly, and showed a look of severe injury which was totally different with the fierce prestige who was living dragons and tigers suppressing all sides during the day. Instead, it was another appearance which was weak to the extreme.
“Hello, Master.” Feng Yuanxing was temporarily at a loss, then hurried up and saluted.