Madman!

Chapter 13: The Body Has Five Bows

In the days that followed, Chen Wujun maintained his routine—training at the martial arts school every morning, helping out at the dental clinic in the afternoon, and practicing his stance work there whenever no patients came in.

Without the pressure of money weighing on him, his mind settled considerably.

Through these days of diligent stance training, he could clearly feel the strength growing in his toes, the soles of his feet, his legs, and his waist. His stability and agility had improved dramatically as well.

After a week, even when holding the Golden Rooster Stance, a sudden kick from Senior Li no longer sent him tumbling.

At the moment, Chen Wujun had just finished six hundred knee strikes. He sat slumped on the ground, one hand holding a towel as he wiped his face.

"Hey, did you hear? Someone's put out a ten-thousand-dollar bounty to find a guy! Ten thousand!" Lin Zetao had picked up the gossip from who-knows-where and plopped down beside him, buzzing with excitement.

Ten thousand dollars was a serious sum of money.

"Find who?"

"No idea. Supposedly the guy stole a pile of cash and killed someone!"

"You don't even know the details, so why are you running your mouth?" Chen Wujun smacked the back of his head.The loan sharks were still hunting for the killer in the Walled City—they'd even posted a bounty—but none of it had touched him.

"Perfect timing, actually. Go wipe down the hemp rope for me," Chen Wujun said.

"Why me?"

"Because I told you to!" Chen Wujun smacked the back of his head again.

Then he pressed his fingers against the newly grown skin on his knees. It felt like ox hide—tough, resilient, with a slight hardness to it.

Reaching this stage so quickly was partly thanks to the medicine Senior Li had given him, but mostly because over the past two weeks, Chen Wujun had never flinched—not even when his knees were a raw, bloody mess every single day.

The skin and flesh on his knees had been destroyed and regrown over and over, torn apart and then healed with the ointment, again and again, until what grew back was as tough as leather.

Now, when he slammed his knee into the Wooden Stake at full force, he barely felt any pain at all.

That was why he'd told Lin Zetao to wipe the dried, blackened blood off the hemp rope's surface. At the very least, it could be a bit cleaner.

Lin Zetao grumbled, "Give me the towel then!"

"Use your own. I still need this one!"

"I'm wiping your rope for you, and I have to use my own towel?" Lin Zetao fumed.

But one look from Chen Wujun was all it took. He immediately got up and went to find a rag.

Deep down, he was genuinely afraid of Chen Wujun.

Back in school, Chen Wujun had always been getting into fights and causing trouble.

Even though Lin Zetao had joined the school first, Chen Wujun's rate of progress far outstripped his own.

And the way he'd grit his teeth and keep training even with his knees a bloody ruin—that kind of ferocity only deepened the fear Lin Zetao felt.

Chen Wujun wasn't just ruthless toward others; he was ruthless toward himself. Just watching from the sidelines these past weeks had made Lin Zetao wince.

Senior Li sat off to the side sipping tea. His gaze swept over Lin Zetao, who was busy wiping down the hemp rope, then settled on Chen Wujun. "If you truly want to achieve something in martial arts, you should come in the afternoons as well."

The school only operated in the mornings; it closed in the afternoon.

But Senior Li genuinely admired Chen Wujun's talent and wanted to give him some private instruction.

Chen Wujun nodded without hesitation. "Alright!"

He'd been at the school for almost a month now. From here on, he'd just say he was doing cleaning work at the school—then he wouldn't need to go to the dental clinic anymore.

At noon, he headed back to the clinic for lunch. His mother, Huang Meizhen, brought a meal over every day around midday.

While eating, Chen Wujun mentioned, "Starting today, I'll be cleaning the martial arts school in the afternoons, so I won't be coming to help here anymore."

"If you're going, do it properly!" his father, Chen Hanliang, replied.

"I know!"

After finishing his meal and resting for a short while, Chen Wujun headed straight to the school.

The school's doors were closed. Chen Wujun gave one a push and it swung open. Inside, Senior Li was sitting in a chair.

Seeing Chen Wujun arrive, Senior Li stood and said, "You're different from the others. You have talent, and you can endure hardship. If you stay focused, you'll definitely achieve something great down the road."

"Today, I'm going to properly explain Wolf Fist to you. Wolf Fist is a battlefield art—its purpose is to kill. So unless you absolutely must, don't throw a strike. Otherwise, if you beat someone to death, you'll be rotting in a prison cell."

As Senior Li spoke these words, there wasn't much warning in his tone. His gaze, however, carried a certain deeper meaning.

"The primary stance of Wolf Fist is the Charge Stance. It builds your power, and more importantly, it hones your awareness to its peak."

"In combat, the Golden Rooster Stance is the core. It can be used for both defense and offense. Beyond the Golden Rooster Stance, there's footwork. Wolf Fist footwork is the Snake Step—cutting around to your opponent's flank."

"On top of that, Wolf Fist has its Twenty-Four Forms."

"The common attacks in Wolf Fist include: for fists—the straight, the hook, and the swing; for elbows—the straight elbow, the chopping elbow, the horizontal elbow, the rising elbow, and the reverse elbow; for kicks—the front kick, the side thrust, the rear low sweep, and the spinning kick; for knees—the straight knee, the diagonal knee, the jumping knee, and so on..."

"The Wolf Fist Twenty-Four Forms encompass all these strikes and their methods of generating power."

"Beyond that, there's also a set called Four Gates Eight Locks, which includes techniques like seizing, coiling, locking, hooking, twisting, snapping, grappling, and pressing. It's specifically designed for close-range clinch fighting—tearing open gaps in your opponent's guard."

"I'll be teaching you all of these, one by one. Once you've mastered them, Wolf Fist can be considered at the basic completion stage."

Chen Wujun found this odd. In any normal martial arts school, the Wolf Fist Twenty-Four Forms would be taught first to keep students interested and motivated.

Yet from the moment he'd stepped through the door, it had been stance training first, then knee strikes, and only now—nearly a month later—were the Twenty-Four Forms being taught.

And that was only because his talent was decent. For anyone else, it would take several months at least.

Lin Zetao had been here for two months and was still doing knee strikes. He'd complained about it in private more times than Chen Wujun could count.

Chen Wujun still remembered how proud Lin Zetao had looked when he'd first mentioned the school's master. Now, the guy was barely hanging on.

The other students were the same. When Chen Wujun first arrived, there had been nine students total, five of whom were doing stance training.

Now, including Lin Zetao, only two of those five remained.

With senior high school about to start, Lin Zetao wouldn't even be able to come in a few more days.

Chen Wujun was starting to think the master hadn't opened this school to make money.

Teaching students this way—how many could possibly stick it out?

Another curious thing was that he still hadn't met the master. It had always been Senior Li running everything.

When anyone asked, Senior Li would simply say the master was busy, that his instruction was sufficient, and that once they'd mastered Wolf Fist, they'd have the chance to meet the master.

Though Chen Wujun found all of this strange, not a trace of it showed on his face. He agreed immediately, his eyes brimming with anticipation.

"Today, I'll start by teaching you the Wolf Fist Twenty-Four Forms! Watch closely!"

"Salutation Form... Opening Form... Riding Horse... Striking Horse... Immortal Points the Way... Crown Strike... Tiger-Slaying Heart Thrust..."

With each name Senior Li called out, he executed the corresponding move. His movements weren't particularly fast, yet every step he took drew a sharp, resounding crack from the stone floor. Every elbow and knee he threw carried tremendous weight and ferocity. Despite the seemingly moderate speed, each strike split the air with an audible snap.

Chen Wujun watched from the side, marveling internally with each technique.

Senior Li hadn't exaggerated. A single knee or elbow like that would shatter bones and tear tendons.

The destructive power of elbows and knees was far greater than that of fists!

An ordinary person's elbow or knee strike couldn't kill, of course. But someone who had trained for years and reached a certain level? A single blow being lethal was no exaggeration whatsoever.

Some of the form names were rather peculiar, though. "Crown Strike," "Drying the Grain"...

Senior Li finished the entire set, then turned to Chen Wujun. "Did you see everything clearly?"

"I saw it clearly, but I haven't memorized it all," Chen Wujun answered honestly.

Twenty-four forms was, frankly, a fair bit to take in.

"Seeing it clearly is enough. You should have also noticed that while Wolf Fist combines punches and elbows, most of the time the primary offensive weapons are the elbows and knees, because those two have the greatest killing power."

"As the saying goes: better to take ten punches than one elbow, and better to take ten elbows than one knee!"

"The feet, most of the time, are used for movement and disrupting your opponent's balance!"

"Now, follow along and learn each movement one at a time. Wolf Fist is all about close-quarters combat—fierce, hard, and with real power behind every strike..."

"Salutation Form and Opening Form—these are for gathering your focus and sensing the environment around you."

"Riding Horse, Striking Horse! Defend first, then counter. When your opponent throws a punch, raise your arm to block, then answer with both fists!"

"Immortal Points the Way, Crown Strike... After creating distance from your opponent, step in with a swing, drive an elbow into their chest or face—or step in with a thrusting elbow!"

"Drying the Grain... When your opponent throws a kick, turn your body to catch their foot, chop down with your elbow to snap their leg bone, then spin with a horizontal elbow aimed at their neck, jaw, or temple..."

"Remember—your spine must store and release power like a bowstring, transferring the force of your waist and hips through your limbs, generating whole-body power... Only then can force flow seamlessly through every joint and explode at a single point in an instant."

"Think of it like throwing a stone. How far can you throw one? Forty meters? Fifty? Even the strongest ordinary person might manage a hundred meters at best. But with a bow, you can easily launch an arrow two or three hundred meters! A skilled person can manage four or five hundred."

"Why? Because the bow stores energy! Then releases it in a burst!"

"During practice, you must also coordinate your breathing with vocalizations—let your voice amplify your force, let your breath drive your power! Since you're just starting, you need to let that breath out in a shout so your energy flows unobstructed."

Senior Li explained each movement one by one, and Chen Wujun learned them one by one.

"Senior Li, why are some of these form names so strange?"

"Do they seem crude to you? This fighting style was never some refined, esoteric art. It was originally used in the military. A lot of the moves were derived from farm work and animal movements." Senior Li explained.

"Senior Li, are there more advanced fighting styles?" The explanation stirred something in Chen Wujun's heart.

"Naturally. But those will have to wait until you've mastered Wolf Fist and the master gives his approval." Senior Li looked at the eager expression on Chen Wujun's face and smiled faintly.

He'd been through this exact same stage himself.

Having his answer, Chen Wujun felt a surge of longing.

If even a rough, basic style like Wolf Fist was this ferocious, how devastating must those advanced arts be?

"Still, don't underestimate Wolf Fist just because it's basic. In real combat, it's anything but weak," Senior Li added.

Despite the reassurance, Chen Wujun still felt that the advanced styles had to be superior.

Why else would they be called advanced?

Chen Wujun learned quickly. After just one or two corrections per movement, his body locked in the memory.

As Senior Li demonstrated and corrected his form, he continued his explanation:

"The spine is the body's bow, and the major tendons and joints are the bowstring!"

"Your body has Five Bows—one body bow, two arm bows, and two leg bows!"

"The body bow runs from the cervical vertebrae to the tailbone, with the waist as the bow's grip... The arm bow runs from the wrist to the shoulder, with the elbow as the grip. The leg bow runs from the hip to the heel, with the knee as the grip..."

"Every single movement must harness the power of all Five Bows!"

Wolf Fist had no elaborate or overly complex techniques. Its most critical core principle was the spring-like release of power through the spine, with every movement utilizing the force of the Five Bows.

It took Chen Wujun a little over two hours to memorize all twenty-four forms and their power generation methods.

But memorizing was all it was for now.

He moved to one side to practice on his own, punctuating each strike with a sharp "Ha!" as he released his power.

Senior Li sipped his tea, watching Chen Wujun train.

Chen Wujun's movements were still slow. After each form, he had to pause and think before transitioning to the next.

Yet even when his movements were imprecise, he didn't need Senior Li to point it out—after a few repetitions, Chen Wujun corrected himself.

'He memorized everything after a single demonstration, and after just a few run-throughs, he's already getting it mostly right!'

Senior Li watched as Chen Wujun went from being unable to feel the Five Bows at all to grasping a faint sense of them after just a handful of repetitions.