"Kid, know the order of practicing martial arts?"
"Uh… practice basics first, then skills, then body hardening?"
"Told you to stop reading all that nonsense fiction!" Tea Pig slapped Mo Chuan on the back of the head impatiently and said, "Learn stances first, then fists and kicks, then weapons, and finally internal energy."
"I recall you come from a military family, right? And you’ve been a auxiliary police officer for so long, you must know some hand-to-hand combat?" Tea Pig took a sip of wine and said, "Now, without weapons, attack me with all your might and evade my counterattacks. Don't worry, I won't attack first, only counter. Show me your true skills, and I'll see how to teach you."
Hearing this, Mo Chuan remembered the "special training" (running laps and getting beaten) the original owner of this body received from his father, Mo Zihui, when he was a child. He was resilient even as a child, learned a bit of Sanda in high school, and recently gained practical experience as an auxiliary police officer for a month or two. He felt he could last over ten rounds against Tea Pig.
"Senior Tea Pig, I'm coming!" Mo Chuan raised his hands, his fists positioned one before the other, his stance wide, and began to quickly strategize his attack.
Tea Pig didn't respond to Mo Chuan, continuing to drink his wine nonchalantly.
The moment Tea Pig looked up, Mo Chuan surged forward, throwing a basic right hook towards Tea Pig's left ribs.
But just as Mo Chuan's fist was about to hit Tea Pig, the latter suddenly yawned as if stretching, his abdomen contracting and chest expanding, causing Mo Chuan's fist to graze Tea Pig's waist muscles and hit empty air.
Mo Chuan was about to pursue when Tea Pig looked up and abruptly lay down on the ground, once again evading Mo Chuan's left hook.
"Heh heh, kid, you've got no martial virtue! A young man over 180 pounds, comes at me with a right hook, a jab, come on! Deception! Sneak attack! I'm a 69-year-old comrade. Is this good? This is not good."
As Tea Pig spoke, he seemed to have rested enough on the ground and rolled over, but his legs somehow clamped onto Mo Chuan's left ankle, throwing Mo Chuan to the ground.
Fortunately, Mo Chuan reacted quickly, shielding his head with his hands. But by the time he got up, Tea Pig had already created distance, still contentedly sipping the strong liquor from his gourd.
Mo Chuan continued to lunge forward, using all his skills, trying to find an opening in Tea Pig's blocks and dodges. However, Tea Pig's drunken-like footwork and limp movements not only showed no flaws but also counterattacked unexpectedly whenever Mo Chuan thought he had found a defensive gap, with punches, shoulder bumps, claw strikes, or kicks. In short, he perfectly executed a tenacious fighting style.
Before long, exhausted from being toyed with, Mo Chuan sat on the ground, panting heavily. Before this, Mo Chuan had been counterattacked by Tea Pig more than ten times, and had been tripped and fallen to the ground six times.
"Alright, your foundation isn't bad, your punches and kicks are solid, it's passable." Tea Pig walked over, carrying his wine gourd, and analyzed the situation logically before suddenly asking, "Do you use weapons?"
"Uh… yes, but they're ability weapons."
"Alright, what kind of weapon?" Tea Pig paused for a moment before tentatively asking, "Could it be that chain hook?"
"Uh… yes."
"Hmm… this thing can be taught, but it's hard for you to practice..." Tea Pig scratched his head, thought for a moment, and then said, "How about this, you spar with me using your weapon first, and I'll see how well you control it."
As Tea Pig spoke, he casually picked up a stick from the weapon rack beside the training ground and signaled Mo Chuan to go first.
Mo Chuan didn't hesitate, swinging his chain to attack.
…
Mo Chuan lay on the ground, looking utterly dejected, pondering why he hadn't even touched Tea Pig's clothes.
A zero percent hook hit rate! Who plays Thresh and misses every single Q!?
Beside him, Tea Pig poked Mo Chuan with the stick with a look of disdain and asked, "Still alive? Don't lie there playing dead, I'll arrange your lessons for tomorrow."
Mo Chuan sat up with a look of utter despair, his eyes blankly staring at Tea Pig.
"Get up at five in the morning tomorrow and climb Mount Yan with me." Tea Pig took a gulp of wine and said, "Be at the north gate of the school tomorrow morning. If you dare to be late, you're finished. Do you understand?"
Seeing Mo Chuan nod numbly, Tea Pig didn't say anything else. After all, he had seen many geniuses crushed by setbacks, and Mo Chuan was still doing relatively well. Thus, he shifted his weight and, within a few breaths, left the training ground like a nimble night cat.
Seeing Tea Pig leave, Mo Chuan jolted and got up from the ground to find Zhang Hanshan to ask about Tea Pig's ability.
…
For the next half a month, until early October, Mo Chuan was in a state of high-intensity training.
He would wake up at 4:30 AM, hike with Tea Pig from Imperial Capital University (Longjing City downtown) to the foot of Mount Yan (suburbs of Longjing City) at 5 AM, and then Mo Chuan would carry Tea Pig up the mountain.
This was just at the beginning. After a week, it was changed to carrying a 500-jin weight. Although ability users generally had better physiques than ordinary people, Mo Chuan was clearly not a strength-type fighter, and he was exhausted like a nobody after the strenuous exercises.
When they came down from the mountain and returned to school, it was already close to 8:30 AM. Mo Chuan had half an hour to eat breakfast and rest, after which he had to practice horse stance, plum blossom stances, pull-ups, inverted hangs, and weightlifting. While doing these, he also had to wear a 50-jin weight.
Until the afternoon, Tea Pig would teach Mo Chuan how to use hooks, whips, and meteor hammers, as well as soft weapons like rope darts, golden hanging ropes, nunchucks, and nine-section whips.
In the evening, Mo Chuan had to catch carp, frogs, crickets, mosquitoes, and mayflies (gradually getting smaller) in the rice fields of the school's College of Agriculture.
Furthermore, while Mo Chuan was training, Tea Pig often taught him about human relationships and the distinction between right and wrong. Perhaps because Tea Pig's overall appearance resembled that of a beggar, listening to him speak of these matters gave Mo Chuan a profound and seasoned feeling.
Every time Mo Chuan asked about matters, Tea Pig's answer was always simple and firm: "Martial arts begins with virtue, cultivation begins with the heart."
…
Tea Pig Intel:
Level: Seven
Stamina: B+
Attack: SS+
Defense: SS
Spirit: A
Control: S-
Skills (partial):
Weapon Master: Increases proficiency growth with all weapons by 50%. When holding a weapon, all base attributes increase by 20%.
Ruthless Barrage: Normal attacks continuously increase own attack speed and movement speed. (This effect can stack up to 8 times, each layer lasting up to one minute. Stopping attacks will accelerate its disappearance.)
Counter Storm:
Passive: Gains 14% damage dodge chance (increases with own attack speed, up to 30%).
Active: Enters a defensive stance lasting up to two minutes, capable of dodging all incoming normal attacks and gaining a 25% damage reduction.
After the stance ends, or when this skill is activated again, it will knock down surrounding enemies and deal damage to them. Each attack dodged increases the damage of Counter Storm (can be increased up to 300% damage).
Master's Power:
Passive: Every third attack deals bonus magic damage and grants an additional stack of [Ruthless Barrage].
Active: Releases inner energy to repel surrounding enemies and gain extra armor, magic resistance, and damage reduction for a period.