Days passed, and De Ming continued his training under Lao Jiu for the next three days, honing his battle instincts and learning to fight dirty. On his breaks, he would train the martial art Lao Jiu gave him, the Staggering Tiger's Claw
The Staggering Tiger's Claw is a Low-Bronze grade technique, the most fitting level for De Ming's cultivation. It's a clawing martial art that uses the body's instability and adrenaline to leverage for power, requiring little Qi to use. De Ming could use this art with minimal strain, even with his Qi's volatile nature, greatly expanding his options in combat.
The technique's mantra is:
"The tiger staggers, yet its fangs still bear."
A mantra that emphasizes resilience and ferocity. Lao Jiu had considered De Ming's unique fighting style and strengths before giving it to him
In three days, enabled by its high compatibility with him, De Ming managed to get it to proficiency level: Mastered, with relative ease, his latent talents of martial insight shining through
Tonight was the first match of the Gu fights. There's a total of sixty-four participants this time around, which means that De Ming would have to win six consecutive battles to win the whole thing.
This was gonna be a challenge without a doubt, but De Ming was confident, and Lao Jiu prepared him well
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De Ming woke up in the morning, stretching his sore muscles as he yawned. Lao Jiu's training was just tough enough not to leave lasting injuries, truly a master of his craft.
De Ming silently thanked his temporary teacher as he stood up and looked around the room. It was predictably messy, De Ming had been focusing all of his efforts on training; after all, he couldn't afford to spend time cleaning up. Suppressing his urges to clean was hard; habits from his servant days were too ingrained at this point
His resting room is numbered 004, right next to Zhu Lian's. At night, he would hear rustling in the middle of the night, it seemed like Zhu Lian's rolling habit persisted even far from home. The thought of her messy hair and dazed face he saw while she was treating his injuries post-Zhu Feng's bout, appeared in his mind every time. It amused him and eased his restless mind into sleep
De Ming got dressed and left his room to go downstairs, where he met up with Zhu Lian to eat breakfast together. This was their daily routine for the moment
De Ming had asked Zhu Lian to stay here for another week to finish the Gu fighting three days ago, Zhu Lian accepted and didn't even pry for why, she had no reason to distrust him, he had his reasons to not tell her yet.
During their time here at the Drifting Cloud Pavilion, Li Wei stopped by now and then to share hearty meals and chat, and they would talk about cultivation and the coming martial arts expo.
Li Wei didn't mention anything about De Ming's Chaotic Structure Syndrome during these conversations with Zhu Lian, respecting De Ming's agency in the matter. It was also revealed that Li Wei was headed to the Shaolin Temple, also, not as a participant but as a representative of the Wudang Sect, scouting for potential prospects to bring in.
The dining table rustled as De Ming and Zhu Lian enjoyed their meal
"De Ming, you've been coming back with a lot of bruises lately."
Zhu Lian remarked with subtle worry as she took a sip of high-quality jasmine tea
"I won't pry, but don't overdo it, okay?" She paused, "If it gets too dangerous, whatever training that you're doing at night, just run away, okay?"
"Lian, you know I can't do that."
De Ming spoke with a straight face. Zhu Lian knew that, to De Ming right now, running away would be akin to reverting to his older self, and he despised the idea
Zhu Lian sighed, her proposal failed, but it was worth the shot, seeing him always so battered wasn't good for her worrywart nature
She reached out her hand and placed it gently on De Ming's
"Then at least don't pick fights you can't handle, can you promise me that?" She said these words casually, but De Ming knew what it meant, letting her worry like this was wrong
"I promise," he paused to look her in the eye," I can't protect you if I'm dead, right?"
De Ming chuckled, his voice was teasing, but it was enough to quell her anxiety, for now
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The night sky loomed over the dark alleyways of Golden Carp Town's "underground". A stark contrast to the Town's usual hustle and bustle.
The stragglers and shady people here were more restless than usual as tonight was the first night of the monthly Gu battles. Criminal activities would skyrocket during these nights as the fights rile the people up.
De Ming walked consciously as Bu Li and Lao Jiu led him around the slums, attracting greedy gazes at his clean and relatively good quality travel clothes. People thought of mugging him, but these thoughts quickly dissipated at the sight of the infamous Lao Jiu, the professor, as he is known here, who walked beside him
They arrive at a dilapidated temple amid the slum, the walls before cranked, a pedestal where statues of gods and buddhas stood, were left with only rubble, a testament to the temple's abandonment all these years
From beyond the walls, De Ming could hear loud cheers and boos as they approached the entrance
"Aight, benefactor, beyond this door is the Beggar Sect's domain, don't stand out."
"It's fine, Bu Li, I'm good with manners," De Ming said, looking back at a lifetime of being a humble servant
"That's exactly the problem, kiddo, yer formal attitude and clothing would be a problem," Lao Jiu said knowingly as he tossed De Ming a pair of ragged pants
"And this is?"
"Let Bu Li hold your clothes. In the meantime, wear this to blend in."
"Leave it to me, benefactor, I won't sell your clothes, definitely not, hehe." Bu Li chuckled as he teased De Ming
"Whatever, if that's what it takes, then fine."
De Ming grunted. He moved to find a quiet place and changed, leaving his clothes with Bu Li, trusting him not to do anything stupid as he shot him a warning glare. Bu Li laughed and brushed it off
They walked in, and the courtyard of the temple was filled to the brim with all sorts of people, mostly the Beggar Sect's members and their Gu fighters
surrounding a clearing in the middle, where two rugged men were duking it out, both of their cultivation in early third-rate.
The two fought dirty, hitting weak points, throwing sand, and smearing blood. It was truly a sight to behold. De Ming's eyes widened as he thought about how narrow-minded he was before this. He had been romanticizing Jianghu all these years from tales at the manor and old books he picked up while running errands at the nearby villages, which blinded him to these harsh realities.
People without talents like him had no choice but to crawl up the ladder anyway they could. Gu fighting is the embodiment of what he's missing: a resolve to crawl when one can't walk.
The brutal fight concluded, with both the winner and the loser suffering great injuries. De Ming steeled himself as he stepped forward into the "ring."
Standing tall, De Ming raised a hand and made a taunting hand gesture
"I'm Bu Li's Gu! Come and get beaten ya bastards!!"
De Ming mustered all the indecency he could find and roared out, decades of timidness seemed to melt away in that moment as he unknowingly grinned like a madman
The crowd cheered loudly, impressed with the newcomer's bravado
"I'll beat you to a pulp."
A rough, groggy voice ran out as a buffed and scarred man stepped in with De Ming
"Your first day fighting here will be your last," The man grunted menacingly, furrowing his brows and baring his yellow teeth
"We'll see, I'll make roast pork outta you!"
De Ming's first Gu battle commenced!