When Zhao Lin returned home, his family was surprised to see him in the attire of a Martial Artist.

"Dad, Mom, I’ve joined a martial arts hall in the city. I’ll be learning martial arts from now on!"

Zhao Lin explained.

Ordinary people couldn’t distinguish between a martial arts hall and a sect, so calling it a martial arts hall made it easier for them to understand.

"Learning martial arts is a good thing! Once you’re strong, no one will be able to bully us anymore."

Zhao Shan said with envy, happy for his brother. "By the way, I heard learning martial arts costs money. Is it very expensive?"

"Well, it’s not too bad..."

When his brother brought up money, Zhao Lin dragged out his reply, reluctantly repeating the same story he had used earlier.

Mrs. Zhao, however, wasn’t concerned about the money. She was worried about Zhao Lin’s safety.

"I’ve heard that people who practice martial arts are always fighting and killing. One slip-up, and you could lose your life. I think you’d be better off finding a proper, honest job."

Zhao Lin reassured her, "Don’t worry, Mom! I’m learning martial arts to stay fit. I’ll stay away from anything dangerous."

’If she knew I went into the mountains to kill variant beasts and even took care of a few bandits, she’d probably be scared to death,’ he thought.

Zhao Lin’s father said nothing, silently smoking his long-stemmed pipe.

After dinner, his father pulled Zhao Lin aside.

"I asked Qian Sanming. He said it cost ten taels of silver to get your brother out of trouble. Where did you get that money?"

"Dad, so you already know..."

Zhao Lin sighed inwardly. He knew he couldn’t hide the truth forever, but he hadn’t expected to be exposed so quickly. He silently cursed Qian Sanming’s loose tongue.

"Dad, it’s not that I meant to hide it from you. It’s just... I can’t reveal where the money came from right now."

"But you can rest assured. I swear to the heavens—I didn’t steal it, and I didn’t rob anyone for it. I earned every bit of it through my own hard work."

His father glanced at him and didn’t press the matter. "There have been some strangers around town lately. They don’t look like good people. Does that have anything to do with you?"

Zhao Lin’s expression didn’t change. "No, absolutely not."

His father sighed. "You’re a grown man now, and you have your own mind. Just be careful out there. Take care of yourself."

"I know, Dad," Zhao Lin said earnestly.

The next morning, Zhao Lin woke before dawn.

Most of the Liuhe Sect’s disciples lived in the county seat. Since he was the only one living in the mountains, he had to set out early.

When he arrived at the hall, a few other early disciples were already moving equipment. Zhao Lin went to lend them a hand.

As the sky grew bright, a man and a woman walked into the hall.

The man was tall and straight-backed with a handsome face. The woman was petite and delicate, with elegant features and considerable charm.

"Morning, Senior Sister Zhang."

"Morning, Senior Brother Chu."

Zhao Lin and a few other disciples greeted them.

"Morning."

The pair nodded and walked across the courtyard toward the back.

The day before, Yuan Cheng had given Zhao Lin a general overview of the Liuhe Sect.

The Sect Leader, Zhu Huaishan, had only ever accepted six inner disciples.

The first senior brother was named Gao Yuan, the second was Fu Guangming, and Yuan Cheng himself was ranked third.

The woman who had just walked by was Zhang Ying, the only female inner disciple in the Liuhe Sect. The handsome man was Chu Liu. They were ranked fourth and fifth, respectively.

The sixth-ranked disciple was Qian Chengfei, whom Zhu Huaishan had only accepted last year.

The ones training in the front courtyard were all apprentices and, strictly speaking, not considered official disciples of the Liuhe Sect.

It being his first day of training, Zhao Lin wasn’t sure what to do, so he just copied the others, lifting stone locks and running across the plum blossom posts.

After a while, Yuan Cheng arrived as well.

"Not bad. Good to see you training on your own."

Yuan Cheng said approvingly. "Since it’s your first day, let me first explain the martial philosophy of our Liuhe Sect."

"Once you understand the philosophy, your training will be more pur... pur... what was the word?"

"Purposeful," Zhao Lin supplied.

"Right, purposeful."

Yuan Cheng sniffled. "They all say practicing martial arts can nurture one’s health and lead to a long life, but how many people are really in it for that? Isn’t it just about having hard fists and being able to beat people up?"

"Martial Artists often engage in dangerous business. Getting injured or killed is commonplace. If you want a long life, you should quit martial arts early. Eat well, drink well, go for a walk now and then—you’ll probably live a few years longer that way. Wouldn’t you agree?"

Zhao Lin chimed in, "You’re speaking the honest truth, Senior Brother."

"Our sect is named Liuhe, and the name has two layers of meaning."

With the preamble out of the way, Yuan Cheng finally got to the main point. "The first layer of meaning for Liuhe refers to the coordination of six parts of the human body: the hands, feet, elbows, knees, shoulders, and hips."

"Power originates in the feet, is supported by the legs, surges through the hips, twists at the waist, is delivered by the shoulders, and is released through the hands. This is called the Six Harmonies Force, and it’s where our name comes from."

"The second layer refers to the coordination of mind, intention, qi, strength, courage, and wisdom. Our techniques aren’t about mindlessly following a routine from start to finish. Only by combining wisdom, bravery, power, and skill can you be certain of victory."

"This is the combat method of our Liuhe Sect. On a grander scale, you could call it our Dao."

Zhao Lin thought about it for a moment before asking, "I understand the first meaning, but could you be more specific about the second?"

"The fact that you’re asking questions shows you were really listening."

Yuan Cheng said with satisfaction, "Let me give you an example. Say there’s a guy who’s great at hitting a sandbag. He can unleash all kinds of Fist Skills and moves on it perfectly. Now, imagine two people are facing each other across a table, and they both attack at the same time."

"The sandbag-hitter gets into his stance and throws a straight punch at his opponent’s face, but it hits nothing but air. An instant later, a sharp pain blossoms in his gut—he’s been hit. His opponent ducked under the table and punched him."

"Does this mean the sandbag-hitter isn’t skilled? No. It’s because circumstances change. The table changed the space of the fight. The biggest mistake in training is a lack of consideration. Martial arts are, by their very nature, about adapting to your environment."

At this point, Yuan Cheng paused. Seeing Zhao Lin listening with rapt attention, he continued, "Now, let me tell you what we actually train. Martial arts comes down to four things: strength, speed, technique, and durability."

"With greater strength, your strikes are more effective. With greater speed and superior technique, you can actually land those strikes and dodge your opponent’s attacks."

"That last one, durability, actually has two sides: a tough body and hard fists. It means you can take a hit without issue, but when you hit someone else, they go down instantly."

"Makes sense, right?"

Zhao Lin nodded. "It does."

"There’s a saying in the martial world: ’Train your qi internally; train your muscles, bones, and skin externally.’ That’s what training these aspects is all about."

At this, Yuan Cheng called over an apprentice. "He Jin, go grab a cobblestone from the flowerbed. Pick a hard one."

The apprentice named He Jin did as he was told.

The apprentice was clearly an earnest one, returning with a cobblestone the size of a large soup bowl.

Yuan Cheng said, "Smash it."

Without a word, He Jin raised his fist and, with a single punch, shattered the hard cobblestone.

Zhao Lin sucked in a sharp breath. ’An apprentice is this powerful?’ he thought.

Yuan Cheng turned to Zhao Lin. "See that? He Jin isn’t as strong as you, but if you punched him, he might not even feel it. If he punched *you*, though, you definitely couldn’t take it!"

"Such a hard fist!"

Zhao Lin deeply agreed. Suddenly remembering something, he asked He Jin, "What layer of the Power Realm are you?"

"Second Layer of the Power Realm," He Jin replied.

After sending He Jin away, Yuan Cheng continued, "As you probably know, the first stage of martial training is the Power Realm. It begins with the skin, bones, and sinews. You first train the skin, then the bones, and finally, the sinews."

"These correspond to the three layers of the Power Realm, which you can think of as three minor stages."

Zhao Lin thought for a moment. "Then the second stage must be the Qi Realm, right?" he asked.