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"Trained in boxing."
Li Xiang nodded honestly. This Tang Hu clearly didn't have the same keen eye as the folks back home.
"Having a foundation is naturally best. Come on, quick."
Tang Hu glanced at Doublade and Greninja, then led Li Xiang upstairs.
The Tang Martial Arts School was a very modern dojo, equipped with sandbags, wooden floors, fitness equipment, full-length mirrors, boxing gloves, and everything else.
It was completely incomparable to the "simple" Zhenxing Dojo.
Naturally, the prices were also expensive.
Like a gym, they charged based on the type and number of lessons. The Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha were listed here as "Twin Blade Technique," making it easier to understand.
For teaching, there was a distinction between one-on-one lessons and group classes.
"Private lessons are five hundred per session, guaranteed quality and quantity. What do you think?"
Tang Hu looked at Li Xiang, a hint of expectation in his eyes.
'So... cheap?'
Li Xiang looked at the price list. In his previous life, private Sanda lessons also cost around five hundred per session.
Looking at Tang Hu's expression now, it seemed he could even bargain.
"How about this: seven thousand for twenty lessons!"
Thinking Li Xiang found it too expensive, Tang Hu gritted his teeth and made the offer.
"Let's stick with five hundred per session, Brother Tang. I can afford that much."
Li Xiang smiled at Tang Hu. He had participated in quite a few small competitions in the latter half of last year and had earned a bit.
"That's great! I like straightforward people! Come on! Let's go sign the contract!"
He put his arm around Li Xiang's shoulders and headed to the office to sign the contract.
On the contract, the instructor was Tang Hu himself, which surprised Li Xiang a little.
"Didn't you say you don't give private lessons?"
"Besides me, only the old lady at home knows the Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha. I can't very well ask her to come, can I?"
Tang Hu said helplessly, "What do people learn nowadays? They learn combat fighting, self-defense. Who still learns blades and swords these days?"
In his previous life, there were martial arts competitions, but in this world, there weren't even those anymore.
Naturally, even fewer people learned blades and swords. Unless they were hobbyists.
'Alright then.'
Li Xiang didn't really care who taught him; his goal was just for Greninja to learn the useful techniques within.
After paying, the first lesson started directly.
Tang Hu wanted to assess Li Xiang's physical strength, so he had him hit the target pads. Li Xiang started directly with Beng Quan, pounding away.
Beng Quan had become a part of his life; the Sanda techniques he learned before were long forgotten. Even the parts he remembered would turn into Beng Quan when executed.
Unfortunately, Duan Tianxing still said his Beng Quan was only just beginning.
After finishing, Li Xiang turned to look at Tang Hu, guessing he must have recognized it, otherwise why would he be so quiet.
Unexpectedly, Tang Hu was spacing out, his mind seemingly elsewhere.
"Brother Tang?"
Li Xiang waved his hand.
"Ah? Ah!"
Tang Hu only snapped back when Li Xiang called him, his expression suddenly turning a bit strange, "You said you trained in boxing? This is it?"
"Yeah, been practicing for three and a half years." Li Xiang was very frank.
"Three and a half years?"
"Mm."
"..."
Tang Hu silently turned his head, made some indiscernible expression, then turned back with a full smile, "Li Xiang, are you interested in our family's boxing style?"
"Uh, I don't have that much time, Brother Tang. I still have to go to school. Just the Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha is enough to learn."
Li Xiang scratched his head awkwardly, somewhat puzzled by Tang Hu's reaction.
The Eight Great Techniques of Zhu Xia should be quite recognizable.
"—What a pity!"
Tang Hu turned his head, gritting his teeth and squeezing out those words, then turned back with a smile, "It's fine, it's fine. Let's learn the Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha."
After saying this, Li Xiang inexplicably felt Tang Hu had become much more serious. If his attitude before was like a fitness coach towards a client, now it was like a strict teacher towards a student.
'Why? What's up with Beng Quan?'
Li Xiang was curious and planned to ask after the lesson.
Later, Tang Hu began teaching the Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha.
The blades used in the Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha were similar to katanas: long, thin blades, lightweight and agile, but the blade was straight, and the tsuba wasn't the chrysanthemum shape of a katana.
The varying lengths were the same, seemingly considering that not everyone was ambidextrous.
Tang Hu practiced while having Li Xiang imitate and follow along. Greninja and Doublade secretly learned from the side; Tang Hu didn't mind, as they were Li Xiang's Pokémon.
The Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha, as the name implied, consisted of ten moves. After watching Tang Hu demonstrate once, Li Xiang's expression became somewhat peculiar.
Not that it was bad… but the Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha felt a bit... off.
'Why did most of the moves attack below the chest? Wasn't it a frontal combat style? Not slashing the neck?'
'Where is the frontal aspect?'
'Well, attacking the groin frontally is still frontal, but this is as ridiculous as frontal assassination!'
'And, is this Rurouni Kenshin? The Flying Heaven Style? The center of gravity was way too low! Could it be that the lower you crouch, the stronger you are?'
After watching the entire Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha, Li Xiang had a bellyful of complaints with nowhere to vent, but he also understood its strengths.
Compared to the Niten Ichi-ryū style, which relied on broad, sweeping movements, using one sword to block the opponent's path and the other to strike, winning through strength,
The Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha was more like a speed-attack version of the Flying Heaven Style sword technique, emphasizing speed, precision, and ruthlessness. If one strike missed, immediately change direction and try again.
It strongly resembled the "footwork" sword style from the Souls series, and it happened to suit Greninja, the speed attacker.
Of course, Greninja didn't need to use most of the moves; many were sets for dodging and countering.
Pokémon simply didn't attack that way, or dodging was useless because you couldn't dodge moves.
In summary, only a handful of techniques would be useful.
But it could be combined with the Niten Ichi-ryū style.
"How does it feel?"
After practicing the ten forms, Tang Hu flourished his blades and asked with a smile.
In this regard, Li Xiang was still very honest. Knowing his talent for martial arts wasn't great, he had learned to call a spade a spade; beating around the bush wouldn't benefit him.
He told Tang Hu his impressions. Tang Hu nodded approvingly, "Correct! The key points of the Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha are speed, precision, and ruthlessness. You've seen through it clearly! But that's not all there is to the Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha. What's more important is flexibility!"
This burly man, nearly 1.8 meters tall, suddenly bent his waist, keeping his legs still while his upper body twisted like a snake.
"Simply put, it's about being able to dodge, avoiding the opponent's attacks while striking them. When necessary, you also have to learn to use their force."
Tang Hu chattered on about a lot. An hour passed quickly.
The first lesson mainly aimed to give Li Xiang a basic concept of the Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha; they would break it down step by step later.
After the lesson, Li Xiang thanked Tang Hu and asked the question he had wanted to ask earlier.
"Why do you say that? Of course, because you have talent!" Tang Hu looked at him in surprise, "Such good talent for boxing, I think it's a pity you don't learn the Tang Family Fist."
"Eh?"
Li Xiang was stunned. So Tang Hu still hadn't recognized Beng Quan?
Moreover, he had talent?
Someone actually thought he had talent!
After three years of enduring mockery at the dojo, Li Xiang felt a pang of emotion. He hugged Tang Hu, "Thank you! Brother Tang! It's really great to learn martial arts from you!"
So, the problem wasn't him. It was those monsters at his own dojo!
He was clearly normal, with a bit of minor talent!
How badly had his master, senior brothers, and senior sisters made him feel?
So unfair!
Tang Hu looked utterly bewildered, completely unaware of what had happened, and could only pat Li Xiang's back, "Don't worry! Your Brother Tang will definitely teach you! It's very easy to learn!"
"Mm!"
Li Xiang nodded vigorously and reluctantly said goodbye.
Downstairs.
He looked for a taxi on some unknown floor. The journey from the dojo to school actually took over an hour; the round trip was about two and a half hours.
The time spent on the road was longer than the time spent learning martial arts.
Such was life in a big city.
Behind him, Doublade and Greninja looked thoughtful, clearly still immersed in the Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha.
"Unfortunately, only a few are useful for you. Combined with the Niten Ichi-ryū content, it's still just a little. If only we could get that God-Slaying Sword Art."
Li Xiang turned back and said. The God-Slaying Sword Art was said to master one, two, and three swords, perfectly suiting the edgy Greninja.
"Ninja?"
Greninja narrowed its pupils; it actually felt there were quite a few useful techniques.
But learning the God-Slaying Sword Art would naturally be excellent.
The name alone sounded domineering!
After Li Xiang left, Tang Hu whistled, closed the dojo door, and happily went to the top floor.
On the top floor, among many drying bedsheets, an elderly woman with slightly graying hair sat in a rocking chair, knitting.
"Mom! I got another student today!"
Tang Hu approached the woman with a smile, "It's that kid I told you about before, the one who called to ask. The Tang name is still quite famous!"
The elderly woman looked up slightly upon hearing this, "He's learning the Ten Forms of Ksitigarbha?"
"Yes! Let me tell you, Mom! That kid's talent for martial arts is really good. It's a shame he doesn't have time to learn our boxing!"
Tang Hu shook his head with some regret, "By the way, he has some prior boxing experience. I don't know what style it was, but damn, it looked fierce when he practiced!"
He mimicked the moves from Beng Quan.
"Hmm? This is..."
The elderly woman frowned slightly, "Do it again?"
Tang Hu, confused, complied anyway, and without being told, demonstrated a few other moves he remembered.
"Beng Quan."
A trace of surprise flashed in the woman's eyes. Could it be that this martial art hadn't been lost?
'Wasn't it said the successor died fighting in an underground boxing match in Yunzhou? Could this be that successor's child?'
"Mom, this Beng Quan you mentioned..."
Tang Hu, as the head of the Tang School, had naturally heard of Beng Quan, though he had never seen it himself.
"Yes, one of the Eight Great Techniques of Zhu Xia, but that was a long, long time ago."
The woman said indifferently.
Times had changed; the world where martial prowess determined heroes was gone forever.
In the past, the Tang family had dozens of core disciples alone. By Tang Hu's generation, having someone come to pay for lessons could make him this happy.
"Then I—"
"Teach, why not teach? Does the dojo not need to operate? Does the one at home not need to eat?"
The woman glanced at Tang Hu, "Besides, can you bear to let it go? Five hundred per session."
"Hehehe, I can't bear it."
Tang Hu scratched the back of his head and chuckled.