Chapter 31

Back at Uncle Zhao Zhenxing’s place, due to the cold weather, Zhao Zhenxing’s body couldn’t take it, and his midday rest was longer than before. This gave Zhao Jin ample time to go into the shop and record the things he had talked about in the morning.

Blowing on the ink to dry it, he used a brush to write down the text, his strokes uneven. Standing in front of the counter, he had carved many patterns on its side, such as the poses of the halberdiers from his memory, and some breakdowns of movements. Thanks to his previous life, military books were very detailed, and even if the translations weren’t great, the illustrations were always complete.

When carving these patterns, Zhao Jin was just afraid of forgetting, but after his uncle’s narration in the morning, these strange movements had new meanings, and Zhao Jin began to understand.

Everything that day seemed normal to Zhao Jin until he noticed something was off when he returned home in the evening. While Zhao Zhentang and He Cuihua were chatting during dinner, the conversation somehow turned to Zhao Jin.

"Practicing martial arts, what good will it do? Look at the Wang family; the father passed the imperial examination, and the son is definitely a scholar. He will pass the exams in the future..."

Hearing this, Zhao Jin realized that the Wang family, who were officials in the capital, should be a family of scholars. Their children should focus on the imperial examinations. In this era, literature was valued over martial arts, and such families would look down on martial artists. How could they let their children practice martial arts? Even if the Wang’s son wasn’t the heir, a nephew or cousin would still be considered a disgrace to the family.

Zhao Jin didn’t want to think too much about it. He would know what he needed to know eventually. What he was thinking about was that he needed to increase his strength training in the evenings.

The next day, when practicing martial arts, Uncle Zhao Zhenxing was still as strict, but the examples he gave were becoming more varied, clearly mixed with many memories. As he spoke, his expression became somewhat absent-minded.

In his narration, Zhao Zhenxing highly praised the halberd, saying that in large battles, no other weapons were as useful as the halberd. Besides that, only cannons and bows were effective. Being hit by a cannonball would certainly cause casualties, and being shot by an arrow would make it impossible to continue fighting even if you didn’t die. Zhao Jin subconsciously thought his uncle had forgotten to mention muskets, so he boldly mentioned it. Zhao Zhenxing immediately showed disdain: "As long as you cover your eyes, the worst that could happen is getting a few scars on your face. What use is that thing? It can’t even penetrate a cotton jacket."

This statement left Zhao Jin speechless. He didn’t know the power of muskets, but he knew the power of modern firearms, and in his memory, muskets in the Spanish phalanx were very important and had significant firepower. He didn’t understand why his uncle would have this opinion.

Zhao Jin didn’t think his uncle Zhao Zhenxing was talking nonsense. From various aspects, it was clear that his uncle had experienced many battles.

The next day at noon on the sparring ground, Zhao Jin saw the young master of the Wang family again. Compared to yesterday, the young man had changed into a black tight-fitting short robe, with a wide leather belt, wrist guards, and leg bindings. His hair was tied with a silk band. Seeing this, everyone understood that he was also going to participate in the sparring.

The young master of the Wang family still had a servant following him, a strong man in his thirties, watching from a distance at the street corner.

"First place, Chen Sheng!" Zhao Jin shouted, and there was a round of applause. Now everyone was familiar with this routine, not as excited as before, but the young master of the Wang family’s eyes became a bit more intense.

"You guys are too weak. My brother is so bored with eating snacks every day," Chen Sheng shouted, and everyone laughed. If Chen Sheng had said this before, everyone would have dispersed, but now they just laughed. The young men participated in the sparring more for the sake of competition, and getting the first place title was the most important thing.

"Everyone, get your tokens!" Zhao Jin called out, and the young men rushed forward. There were more people than tokens, so not everyone could get one. Chen Sheng originally wanted to make more, but Zhao Jin said it wasn’t necessary. Being able to push to the front was itself a competition. If you couldn’t even push through the crowd, what kind of martial arts could you practice?

Everyone had experience now. Arriving early and getting as close to the platform as possible was one strategy. Relying on strength to push through was another. But the most crucial point was to get to the front when the first place was announced, otherwise, you wouldn’t be able to get a token once the distribution started.

The new young master of the Wang family clearly didn’t know this rule. At first, he didn’t want to crowd with everyone, and when it was time to get the tokens, he realized something was wrong.

What surprised Zhao Jin was that this wealthy young master actually managed to push through. In the crowd, no one cared about status or background, and some even secretly tried to trip him, but this young master easily pushed through, even pushing away those who tried to block him. His strength and agility were truly impressive.

When the young man was getting his token, Zhao Jin noticed he was carrying a short stick. Thinking it was similar to Chen Sheng’s, he warned him, "We fight bare-handed here, no weapons allowed."

The young man was taken aback but smiled and nodded.

Actually, there were other new participants today, but everyone’s attention was on this wealthy young master. The seventh match was his.

The two entered the circle according to the rules. The young master had inquired in detail the previous day, so he didn’t need much guidance and followed the rules well.

Before the match started, Zhao Jin smiled and said, "This is a new participant. May I know your name and where you’re from?"

"My name is Wang Zhaojing, my father’s name is Wang You Shan. I am new here, please take care of me," Wang Zhaojing introduced himself calmly, bowing in greeting.

The phrase "my father’s name is Wang You Shan" was a bit awkward for Zhao Jin, but he quickly understood that the father was Wang You Shan, the official who had just returned to the countryside.

Such a scholar-official, whose son actually liked martial arts and fighting, and it didn’t seem like he had snuck out; his family must have known.

Wang Zhaojing’s opponent was quite strong, having made it to the top eight several times. Seeing Wang Zhaojing, he sneered confidently. Everyone knew what he was thinking: a pampered rich kid wouldn’t know how to fight.

The short stick was already set aside. Wang Zhaojing’s stick was different from Chen Sheng’s, which had a curve to mimic a Japanese sword. Wang Zhaojing’s was a straight short stick.

Chen Hong shouted "Begin," and Wang Zhaojing’s opponent charged directly. Wang Zhaojing didn’t dodge; when the opponent was close, he stepped to the right and punched the opponent’s rib, causing the young man to fall to the ground.

The entire crowd fell silent. The best backgrounds among the spectators were like Chen Sheng’s, and Shi Manqiang’s family was already considered good. Wang Zhaojing’s background was far superior, and his calm and composed demeanor made everyone else seem rustic.

With such a significant difference and the tendency to bully the new, many people looked at this new wealthy young master unfavorably. They subconsciously thought that such a pampered young master would be weak in martial arts and would come to the sparring for a fresh experience, only to be taught a lesson and cry his way back home.

No one expected this result. Wang Zhaojing won with a single move. With so much experience and discernment, everyone immediately recognized the strength of this wealthy young master, surprised by his skill.

Today was different from usual. No one paid much attention to the victories of Zhao Jin, Chen Sheng, and other strong young men. Many people were following Wang Zhaojing’s matches.

In the second round, the young man tried to grapple with Wang Zhaojing, a strategy the sparring ground young men had summarized. When fighting someone skilled, you had to get close and use your strength to overpower them, leaving no room for their skills to be effective.

Unexpectedly, after taking two punches, he grappled with Wang Zhaojing. Seeing the wealthy young master use his waist strength, his body swayed, and the young man was lifted off the ground. With a light shout, Wang Zhaojing threw him to the ground.

"…This kid has trained," Chen Sheng said, standing behind Zhao Jin.

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