Opening his eyes, Gu Yue found it was already bright outside.
The first thing he did was close his eyes, concentrating. The stars were still shining in his Spirit s.p.a.ce. Although they were not very bright, but they were still dazzling enough to even make someone feel moved.
“They are still here. So it wasn’t a dream.” Gu Yue breathed. He felt refreshed and lively, and as he looked out his window, to him, the sky seemed bluer, the trees greener. The entire world became vibrant, faintly different from before.
The mental exhaustion that had been accompanied by dizziness and confusion had long since waned; and Gu Yue’s thought process became unprecedentedly more active. Even his memories from his early years became clearer. It was if he had shed his mortal body and morphed into something new (idiom).
“Wow, I feel good. That was a great nap!” Sitting up, he glanced at the electronic alarm clock on his bedside. “Ah! It’s almost eight already! Housekeeper, why didn’t you wake me up?”
“My apologies. I have tried all sorts of methods, but you would not wake,” the sharp and clear electronic sound echoed as a cylinder shaped Housekeeper robot rolled in. The housekeeper had six small wheels in which is used to travel easily across flat surfaces; within it’s two robotic hands was breakfast. One bowl of plain rice congee and two appetizers and five steamed buns. They were all the size of a granule bowl.
“This is bad, bad! If I’m late, that old witch will definitely deduct my wages.” Gu Yue threw on some clothes and grabbed a steam bun as he ran out, unwashed.
It was weakened and there were no cla.s.ses, but Gu Yue went to the nearby Martial Arts School anyway to his part-time job as he had done in the past, every weekend since he got the job.
In less than ten minutes, Gu Yue, who had ran in a mad rush, had finally arrived at the gate of an arena. The entrance exuded an atmosphere of ancient China.
The red painted four entrance gate was sculpted with a bronze door knocker of an auspicious animal. Two several- meters tall stone lions were protecting the gate on either side. Red walls and green roof tiles could be seen as far as the eyes could see; it was richly ornamented and full of ancient charm. An enormous wooden board was hung on the stairs at the gate. The four words ‘Chu Han’s Martial School’ was hoisted up, bright and dazzling.
Walking in, Guy Yue stepped onto the main floor – an enormous arena for practicing martial arts under a master’s guidance where the never ending shouts echoed off it’s wall. There, a group of apprentices, dressed in martial attire, were working hard.
“Aunt Mei!” Guy Yue stepped up as he called out in a respectful tone.
“You came?” With an indifferent expression, she took a glance at Gu Yue and continued, “get to work! There are several broken facilities, I need you to make some replacements; in addition, the second floor needs to be cleaned up… And next time, remember to leave earlier. Don’t be late again.”
“Yes, I will be sure to pay more attention next time,” Gu Yue hastily nodded as he replied, stupid to the point the sun was rising from the west today. Even though he was obviously late today, the old witch didn’t say much to him. Being able to escape unscathed, he didn’t even notice that under cool exterior of hers, a thread of worry was hidden beneath.
Gu Yue went to work. He had worked there fo
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r two years, and was already familiar with the Martial School. Aunt Mei was not only the Martial School’s Drill Master, she was also the housekeeper. The Martial School’s small and large matters were all handled by her.That even included Gu Yue’s job as a handyman.
Master Qin was the owner of this Martial School; the Martial School had been pa.s.sed on by his ancestors and has two hundred years of history, practically almost dating the reconstruction of Moonlight City’s. In this New Age where all organisms were evolving, the average lifespan of humans had already reached one hundred and twenty. That meant the Martial School had already been pa.s.sed down for at least seven generations.
Back when Gu Yue’s parents were still around, they were all frequent visitors of the Martial School and were very familiar with it’s master. When his parents pa.s.sed, Gu Yue searched everywhere for a job. If it had not been for the master of this place cherishing his parents as old friends and having the heart to help take care of him, he wouldn’t have gotten a job cleaning here.
However, now that the old owner is concentrating on his cultivation, he hardly managed the matters and the basic operations of the Martial School. Currently, they have all been pa.s.sed onto his daughter’s shoulders.
As the work was familiar, it only took around half a day to complete. Seeing that lunchtime was a bit aways, Gu Yue returned to the martial arts arena and even prepared a cup of tea like some henchman to deliver it to Mei Yi, his immediate superior. After that, he unhurried went to one side and brazenly peeped at the apprentices’ cultivation.
As a cleaner, this was considered a privilege. You must know, although the recruitment into the Martial School wasn’t all that strict, the fee wasn’t low. Just being able to see a teacher encompa.s.sed half of an apprentice’s fees.
Different from an all-rounded school, the Martial School specialized in martial arts. The teaching and guidance students received were detailed and focused. That lead to a lot of students to study at other schools as well, but would chose to have their whole family cultivate in Martial School.
The only ones who could do this would naturally only be the really rich students. The average family would find the expenses for cultivating in an ordinary school hard to bear, so how would they shoulder the expenses of a Martial School?
What Mei Yi taught was the Primary martial art, Rushing Wolf Fist. But Gu Yue came too late and the lessons and guidance on the fighting technique had been finished. All he was able to see the was over twenty apprentices all sweating profusely as they constantly practiced the fighting technique.
Mei Yi was going through them nonstop and amending the apprentices’ posture and movements from time to time, doing it with great patience. She was simply like a whole other person from the one Gu Yue had been accustomed to. The woman worked hard and was patient, and clearly showed she worth the yearly tuition fee.
“That’s strange, why do I feel as if their fighting techniques are so awkward?” watching for a while, Gu Yue suddenly felt odd. If it was about the martial skill that Mei Yi was teaching, he was well informed. But if he was talking about the depth of his knowledge, then there was no use in talking about it.
Regarding martial arts, people needed both cultivation and a const.i.tution that could support said cultivation. If they have not even completed their third refinement, then they don’t have the qualifications to learn martial arts at all. It was because among the movement postures, there were those that acted as a strengthening method that often brought a heavy burden on the body; and wanting to force cultivating such techniques, it was possible that they would obtain an internal injury that could lead to some grave consequences.
Gu Yue had only finished his second refinement. The Rushing Wolf Fist was something he could only look at, not cultivate; it was improbably to grasp the fine details of the art. But right now, as he watched the apprentices on the field, he discovered in astonishment that he could see through their shortcomings in the fighting technique.
“Well, that punch is too high and the underarm is exposing a serious gap. If this was caught by the opponent, one hit would be enough to inflict heavy losses.”
“That tall guy, his punching position is correct, but he does not apply his strength correctly. Punching with all your strength is certainly ferocious, but it loses the art’s intent and is obviously the opposite of the obscure meaning of the Rushing Wolf Fist.
“And then there is that female student. Her punches are soft and weak; is she punching mosquitos? The Rushing Wolf Fist, even an idiot would understand that the fist must be fast and fierce. If she can’t even understand this, then how can she practice at all?”
While looking at them, Gu Yue criticized where these apprentices were lacking and compared it to Mei Yi’s guidance. Confirming it from both sides, he unexpectedly found that his own judgements were not much different from Mei Yi’s own. So much so that his judgement was even more accurate and was even more vital. Just using his eyes to compare, he was unexpectedly even more superior at the Rushing Wolf Fist that Mei Yi, someone who had been teaching for decades.