They were reacting as such due to the words that the instructor just spouted, seemed to go against the family core rules, i as a family slave were unallowed to learn Martial Arts, so him allowing me to watch all of them showing and demonstrating the Martial arts they learned should have been even more prohibited .
Instructor Lu seemed to be aware of what were they all were thinking and at their gasping sounds and stunned faces, he turned his head to look at all of them, the moment he did, all of those lowered their heads and stared at the ground in front of them, they all stopped gasping, but their stunned faces were still the same as before .
He then said with undebatable tone :
The family forbid him from learning Martial Arts secretly, but they don't forbade him from watching others displaying Martial Arts, get in position, all of you except for Tian Long, you stand beside the table .
As he said this, even though some were still unconvinced, they preferred to do what they told while unconvinced, than to be convinced by the fists of instructor Lu San, they all got in position and waited for the order of the instructor .
I thought that after all this time would be feeling a bit exhausted or at least a bit tired, but i was actually invigorated, full of energy, albeit a bit hungry, but after this was over i would go to the canteen and get enough food to support me working all day, even though i could be somewhat now considered a wealthy person, i would need to be extra careful with managing my expanses .
Now that this hellish episode of training passed, i had a free time on my hand to reflect on different subjects that i discarded off completely before due to them being in the way, like what happened just now and what happened before, what will happen to the previous thoughts i had and what will i be doing next .
The first topic coursing all over my mind currently was none other than the existence of real Martial Arts, those that could enable someone exhibit an amount of strength that was considered fictional back in my old world and i would be able to see those Martial Arts being displayed in front of me, orthodox Martial Arts unlike the ones Lu Jiu previously used .
I now understand why was the original Tian Long so intent and determined to pay all the money he had on acquiring the chance to learn them, but even though i saw a demonstration just now of how terrifying a Martial Artist was and even felt some of the Instructor Lu strength from up close, i still couldn't believe that all of Martial Arts were the same, all of those guys in front of me didn't look that remarkable .
So i couldn't help but have doubts, but the moment the instructor gave the order for all of them to start, all the hidden contempt and doubts that i had towards Martial Arts before were all swept away in an instant .
I saw that they were all split into groups of three, some groups consisted of 6 people or even more, and some other were going at it solo, by it i meant training in Martial Arts .
I first didn't understand the reason to why they were split into groups, but i soon understood the reason behind it after they began using their Martial Arts .
The guys in front of me weren't all training in the same Martial Arts, every group of people shared the practicing of the same Martial Arts, but even across the entire group the level of mastery of the same Martial Arts among all of them seemed to be so low, i was surprised of the fact that i was able to tell, but then i remembered that i was borrowing one of the insights that i recalled the instructor told the previous me about .
What made me discard of all my doubts was the fact that i realized after seeing all of those guys that Martial Arts were indeed strong, but those guys weren't able to show the full strength of it .
That appeared in front of me in two cases, i saw a group to the far right holding a Martial Art posture that looked similar to the Horse Stance that we were just doing, but this one was much relaxed, after they correct each other posture they begin to punch the air in front of them, i can swear that i saw a little bit of dirt being swept away by the air the shockwave their coordinated action has caused .
But after that one strike, some members of those groups began falling down one after another like tired birds, all of their body and faces were dyed red, the one who fell began to sit cross legged where they fell and in the period it took for half an incense stick to burn, 7 or 9 minutes there body become normal again .
After they somewhat recovered, they didn't try to punch like before, they began making horse stance or looking at the ones who were still continuing to punch, but sadly none of the people inside that group was able to punch more than two times before they were forced to recuperate .
The bodies of the people who had quite the will power and determination and who kept repeating this over and over, had a unique aura to them, i was also able to clearly feel that something were changing in those guys body, the change started from their torso then went to their chest but then the changes came to stop just as they were about to continue heading for their shoulders, i was able to feel it clearly as if i was the one who these changes were happening to, i felt amazed and also feared for my mental health, so i averted my gaze towards another direction .
That when i saw another person training in a slightly remote place than others, he had leaves in his hand and was unlike the guys who were standing in a fixed posture, this guy stood in a bit more carefree manner, then he all of a sudden throw all the leaves up in the air, then began to kick the earth beneath him and move in a nimbly manner, then he began trying to catch all the leaves that flew in the air just now .
He took two steps then he fell down, gasping as if out of breath and like the other guy from before, he also set in a meditative posture and began recuperating, but he soon stood up and once again repeated the whole process, i was able to see that there seem to be some changes happening to that guy too, his torso again was where those changes start happening, then they reached the thighs then as before they stopped going any further .
After witnessing those two scenes, i reached a conclusion, Martial Arts were indeed powerful but only if you able to understand and execute them correctly, after seeing the movements coordination that guy just tried did and the way he kicked the earth, i was intrigued to try it for myself at least once .
I stood up and relaxed my body posture to the limit and kept recalling how that guy tried to move just now in my mind with my eyes closed, i was able to recall it quite easily much to my joy and surprise, just as i was about to take the first step, a stern voice sounded beside me, one that almost caused me to have a heart attack .
Stop what you are doing this instant, you fool, are you courting death .
The moment the roaring voice of the instructor came to my ears, it fell on me like lightening, completely forcing me to stop what i was trying to do and open my eyes widely, just in time to see the angry face of instructor Lu, he was patting his own shoulder while looking at me angrily .
I sensed that his reaction was correct, but his actions were a bit wrong and i was beginning to get accustomed to the fact that nothing happening in this world can be interpreted as mere coincidence, everything here was happening due to a cause and for a reason .
I already accepted this fact and reconciled with it otherwise, i would have already go and complained to the family about the fact that Deacon Lu sent someone to kill me, but thanks to this realization, i had removed this thought completely from my mind .
That was also the reason to why i was able to understand what was the instructor trying to tell me, i looked at what him patting himself and thought it was quite weird, so i looked behind him and saw that on the bit more high inner area walls, the trees branches there seemed to sway slightly, but before they began swaying, i can swear that i saw the silhouette of someone completely wearing black like ninja standing there .
At realizing this and connecting it to what i was about to do, my whole body become cold and once again i was soaked in sweat, i hurriedly bowed down to the instructor in front of me and prostrated myself in front of him, trying to show him how grateful was i to him saving my life just now thanks to his interference, my body was reacting like this due to the fact that he just passed a life and death crisis .
That shadow figure just now was waiting for me to use the Martial Art that i just acquired, once i had taken that first step, it would be the last step taken by me in this life, family slaves can't learn family Martial Arts that was an absolute rule in the family, one that i was about throw everything away and break just now if not for the the timely help of the instructor .
If the family discovered that a family slave learnt a family Martial Art even if he had picked it up completely by depending on his own efforts like what i could have just done, he would be accusing of betraying the family and be dealt with on the spot, he would be killed instantly, no questions asked .
Just thinking about what might could have happen due to my reckless behavior, i couldn't help but shiver while still on the ground .
As long you understand, come rise up .
The instructor said in a kind manner, i thought that he would be quite angered, so i still didn't dare to raise my head from the ground until he helped me up, instead of punishing me for doing something so reckless, he actually began patting my shoulders again while saying :
I know you are losing patience, especially after the last incident you had with Lu Si, but there is more better ways that you can take to be able to acquire Martial Arts, you also need to remember that all your actions while inside the family mansion are being monitored, so be careful not to do anything reckless like this when you go back home, i believe you had a great potential, so keep what i'm telling you now and what i told you before in mind .
He caught me red-handed, i was indeed thinking of going back and try practicing that Martial Arts after i finish today's work, but i discarded that thought completely out of my mind as i heard about all my actions being under surveillance, did the farce that happened with the rodent yesterday got witnessed by anyone, i would have been panicking if not for the fact that i was currently standing in front of the instructor .
His words had also comforted me to some extent, especially his last words, he was reminding me of the suggestion he gave me before about joining the Solid Rock Fist Dojo, if before i would have laughed at myself for thinking any good will come from this, but now things were completely different .
I cupped my hands at and said politely :
" I will listen to the arrangements of the instructor .
Good, good, i would relieve you from having to practice at night from today and you can pick any free time to go there and register, you had made quite a wise decision Tian Long, but one last piece of advice, try to act as discreet as possible when you go out, these days there are many rumors about people disappearing all the time .
You guys are still safe in the family, but the moment you go out of the mansion, you might be attacked by the servants of other families or those who just felt like doing so, dying without even knowing why you died .
I don't know why was he so happy about me joining that Dojo, but his words of appreciation and warning kept repeating themselves in my ears over and over, i guess my stay in the Lu Family is going to continue for a bit more longer period of time .
I nodded absent-mindedly at the instructor's words and him seeing me like nodded in appreciation and continued to say :
It's also better for you to change your set of clothes, at the Dojo there are tons and tons of people that might recognize you as a Lu family servants, it's preferable that you wear a mask, but then this might alarm the people at the Dojo, but i will try to handle that for you .
Something was telling me that i had just fallen for a trap set by the instructor, he was taking about the Dojo as if he was marketing it, he also seemed to know a lot about the in and out of that Martial Arts Dojo, but even so i felt like i was being set up, i had no choice but to let myself take the bait and be set up .
I had no other options but try to do things like how the instructor suggested, it was either doing this or waiting for my death, the family wasn't no longer safe for me, especially with the looming threat of being killed at any moment at the hands of Deacon Lu, the chaotic scene outside also didn't help much in finding another way out other than try to see if learning Martial Arts could help me solving my current predicament .
Before you go, let me take your pulse, i heard you get quite the injury to you crotch area from the assault of Lu Si .
Before i even say anything in response, i saw that the instructor suddenly held my hand and began closing his eyes, i was a bit tensed first, but after making peace with the fact that if this guy in front of me wanted me dead, it wouldn't probably take him that much of efforts to do so, so i soon relaxed wondering about what was he exactly doing .
For a second, i felt something entered my body, but then it disappeared, it was an odd feeling, that i involuntarily looked at the instructor wanting to ask about what just happened, the instructor took a few breathes of time, then he finally opened his eyes and had a deep frown on his face, the first words he spouted after he opened his eyes were :
HOW WEIRD .