Chapter 9

Day by day, as Ji Aojian stood in the horse stance, the time it took for him to recover from extreme fatigue became shorter and shorter. He could wake up after a brief rest in the afternoon.

His younger sister, who was a skilled doctor, had told him that if he had energy in the afternoon, he could practice boxing and weapon skills.

Ji Aojian was eager to try. His strength and qi had grown stronger, but without martial arts techniques, it was not proper.

So Ji Aojian asked the maid beside him, "Xun, what kind of boxing should I practice?"

Xun replied, "Young Master, I think you should practice archery."

Practice archery? This was a weapon skill, which seemed like a good choice. "Why do you think I should practice archery?"

Xun said, "Young Master, as long as you have strength and accuracy, you can take the martial arts examination to become a martial champion. These two are the most important."

Ji Aojian thought for a moment. In ancient times, the martial arts examination mainly tested horse riding, archery, sword dancing, and stone lifting. Indeed, it only examined archery and strength, and of course, horseback archery also required riding skills.

"Archery is most important for accuracy. This is what you don't need to worry about, Young Master. Your horse stance is solid, your head is as steady as the sky, and your body is stable. You will definitely be accurate when shooting arrows."

Seeing Xun strongly recommend archery, Ji Aojian was curious, "Xun, have you practiced archery before?"

Xun smiled and took out a slingshot from her pocket, shooting it out the window. With a puff, feathers flew, and a sparrow fell from the tree outside.

"Young Master, everyone in our Lu Family Village practices archery from a young age."

Ji Aojian then learned that Xun's surname was Lu. "Xun, are you also from a martial arts family?"

Xun shook her head. "Young Master, our village is just a regular farming village. We practice farming techniques. But in recent years, with the world being unstable, most villages and manors have been practicing martial arts for self-defense, including archery and spear skills."

Farmers turned into soldiers, and soldiers turned into farmers. This integration of farmers and soldiers was the most common military system in China for two thousand years.

Ji Aojian thought of the prowess of Hua Rong, the "Little Li Guang" from the Water Margin. With a bow in hand, even the best martial artist in the world, Lu Junyi, could not escape being shot if he could not get close. And Xiao Yangyouji Pang Wanchun was like a sniper, eliminating many heroes from the Water Margin.

From this, it seemed that with such good conditions for practicing archery, if he could master it, his long-range combat ability would greatly improve, and he would have another means to win in the martial world.

Xun said, "Young Master, if you practice archery well, when a thief comes at night, you don't need to chase him with lightness skills or fight him with your fists. You can just shoot him with an arrow, which is the most convenient."

Ji Aojian was surprised by her suggestion to shoot the thief directly. "Do you understand these martial world rules?"

Xun said, "This is the law of the Great Ming. For burglars who break into homes, the homeowner can shoot them without hesitation. This applies not only to martial arts families but also to ordinary households."

Ji Aojian was impressed. The laws of the new Great Ming were somewhat like the gun control laws in the United States. It seemed that the people were indeed strong and fierce.

Thinking about this era, the United States had been founded for more than half a century...

The two then went to the training ground and set up a target to practice archery. This day, the Qingshan Manor had all kinds of weapons.

Ji Aojian had seen many archery competitions before and had Xun, an expert, giving him tips. Soon, his posture became quite proper.

After practicing the horse stance for ten days, he had a good understanding of stability. Now, with his right hand holding the bow, his feet spread apart, and his body motionless, he gradually got the hang of aiming, and his hits on the target became more frequent.

Seeing that he could hit the bullseye seven or eight times out of ten at thirty paces, Xun's competitive spirit was aroused. "Young Master, let's have a competition."

So, they quickly...

"Young Master, you are stronger than me, so you should use a harder bow and shoot from forty paces."

"You should use an even harder bow and shoot from fifty paces."

"Stand at sixty paces!"

Xun was somewhat embarrassed and angry. Her accuracy at thirty paces was not as good as Ji Aojian's at sixty paces, which was a huge blow to her self-esteem.

Ji Aojian's shooting became more stable, and he felt that as long as he had the "sky" above his head, he could do anything with ease.

Indeed, it felt much better without the bowl of water on his head.

Seeing Xun's disappointed face, he felt sympathetic. "Xun, you can also practice the 'sky' above your head."

Xun shook her head. "Young Master, the medicinal dishes you use are too expensive for me. And I really can't hold it for two hours."

Then, his sister's voice came from behind. "Brother, you should practice archery with the 'sky' above your head."

Ji Aojian was surprised; he didn't know when she had arrived.

Lately, his sensitivity to his surroundings had greatly improved, and he could sense people walking by from a distance. But whether it was last night or today, he hadn't noticed Ji Xiaosu's presence before she spoke.

It seemed that his sister's mental strength was definitely superior to his.

Xun was delighted. "Miss Su is right. Young Master, practicing archery with the 'sky' above your head will definitely help you improve faster."

Ji Aojian thought it made sense. To improve his accuracy, he needed to increase the difficulty. It seemed that the 'sky' above the head could be applied to many other skills.

He followed his sister's advice and practiced archery with a bowl of water on his head.

Then, he found that he almost couldn't exert any force.

When standing in the horse stance, he only needed to keep his body stable to prevent the 'sky' from collapsing.

But now, he was shooting arrows, and pulling the bow and releasing the string required force. Once he exerted force, his body would move, and the 'sky' would collapse.

Ji Aojian tried a few times and said helplessly, "I can't even shoot the arrow!"

Ji Xiaosu said, "Brother, you don't need to shoot from sixty paces. Move closer and shoot with less force, and the 'sky' won't collapse."

This made sense, so Ji Aojian walked closer to the target.

Xun asked, "Young Master, at what distance will you shoot?"

Ji Aojian said seriously, "I have confidence at five paces."

Xun was speechless.

Ji Xiaosu remained calm. "Practice should be gradual. Today, five paces; tomorrow, five hundred paces."

Ji Aojian was shocked. "Five hundred paces?"

This range was almost like a rifle!

Ji Xiaosu said calmly, "Of course. With a strong bow, my sisters can shoot five hundred paces."

Ji Aojian was speechless. Could martial arts really develop such powerful strength?

After a long time, he sighed. "Why is there such a big gap between me and my sisters?"

Ji Xiaosu said, "Don't think like that. You are just coming of age and entering your prime. At fifteen or sixteen, the body is fully grown, and it's the peak period for external martial arts and qi improvement. You didn't neglect your early training, having practiced the horse stance for eight years. Now is the time to reap the rewards. With a year of hard training, you can become a skilled martial artist, and with three years, a top martial artist. In our Ji family, with hard work, becoming a top martial artist before twenty is almost certain."

Ji Aojian was surprised. He had practiced the horse stance for eight years, which was a solid foundation.

Ji Xiaosu counted on her fingers. "You had already reached the fourth level of qi last year. If you had trained diligently, you should have reached the fifth level when Yuan Jiankong came. You should reach the sixth level this year and the seventh level by next year, which is the threshold for skilled martial artists."

Ji Aojian was both surprised and delighted. "It can be that fast?"

He remembered that Xiaosu had repeatedly said he should reach the ninth level of qi within three years and become a top martial artist before twenty. With so many examples of his sisters, how could he not endure a few years of hardship?

It was probably the eight years of horse stance practice that had worn out his patience. After his father passed away, with no one to supervise him, he had become indulgent. Instead of improving, he had regressed, and a serious injury had set him back to the third level.

He must practice gradually and diligently, and not repeat his mistakes.

Ji Xiaosu added, "Moreover, our Qingshan Manor's martial arts are profound and can develop a strong mental state. At the same level of power, our combat ability far surpasses other schools. My second sister, at the fifth level of qi, once killed a top martial artist with a sword. She was fifteen that year."

Ji Aojian thought of the split rock and was shocked again. His second sister was too powerful. It seemed that in his family, defeating stronger opponents was the norm.

He asked, "Yuan Jiankong is only at the seventh level of qi. If I had reached the fifth level when he came, could I have defeated him?"

Ji Xiaosu said, "Still no. Your boxing skills are not at a high enough level, and your mental strength is not enough. These aspects cannot make up for the gap in power."

Ji Aojian thought, even at the same level of power, there was a quality difference in combat ability. Reaching the fifth level was not comparable to his second sister.

But he would reach the seventh level of qi in a year, and with roughly the same power as Yuan Jiankong, he could rely on his family's deep martial arts foundation to seek revenge.

Ji Xiaosu said, "Actually, this time, with me, we might be able to defeat Yuan Jiankong."

Ji Aojian was surprised. "You?"

Ji Xiaosu said, "When faced with a bully, we naturally stand together."

Ji Aojian shook his head. How could he let a little girl fight? He would seek revenge on Yuan Jiankong himself in a year.

Ji Xiaosu watched him continue shooting and said, "In a few years, when you become a top martial artist, guarding the family will no longer be a problem, and I can leave with peace of mind."

Ji Aojian was shocked. "Xiaosu, are you going to follow the same path as your sisters?"

Ji Xiaosu nodded. "Of course. I don't think I'm inferior to my sisters. What they can do, I can do. Only by leaving home and traveling the world can I understand the mindset of a grandmaster."

Ji Aojian thought, his sisters and younger sister had such high aspirations. It seemed they all aimed to become grandmasters.

Remembering that Xiaosu had said she would be satisfied if he rebuilt the human character archway, he realized she knew that staying at home could only make one a top martial artist. To become a grandmaster or a great grandmaster, one must travel and gain insights.

He asked, "Should I also go out and explore my path to becoming a grandmaster?"

Ji Xiaosu said, "If you want to continue advancing in martial arts, you should travel and visit famous masters to hone your skills."

Ji Aojian was excited. The ninth level of qi was just the beginning. The path of martial arts was vast and boundless. What would it feel like to reach the grandmaster level?

Ji Xiaosu added, "Brother, let's change to a new horse stance tomorrow."

Ji Aojian was surprised. "Change to what horse stance?"

Ji Xiaosu said calmly, "A method to help you overcome your fear of heights."

Ji Aojian said, "I'm not afraid of heights anymore."

Ji Xiaosu said, "Not being afraid on a wall is not enough."

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