When the name "Li Jizhang" was mentioned, the smile on Li Ji'an's face immediately grew deeper.
The name he registered today was his real name, "Li Ji'an," and just now the other seven tutors had also looked at his registry.
But none of them had any reaction.
However, Wu Cheng almost immediately associated it with his past life.
"Li Jizhang? Who is this? It sounds a bit familiar." A tutor had his memory sparked by Wu Cheng's words.
"I don't really recall."
"Little Wu, could it be a descendant of an old friend of yours?"
...
Wu Cheng glanced at a few colleagues and found that they really seemed to have no impression, so he said lightly, "It's who you referred to as Li the Lame!"
In his previous life at the Martial Arts Academy for ten years, apart from the gatekeeper Uncle Huang, Tutor Wu, and that little fellow who mocked him hysterically, almost everyone called him Li the Lame.
It was because in his previous life, after those bastards harvested his life force, one of his arms became deformed and crooked.
"What?"
"The descendant of Li the Lame?"
"This..."
"Hiss~ The eyebrows and eyes do seem a bit similar."
"Could he be Li the Lame's son?"
"Speaking of which, Li the Lame has been missing for five years, right?"
...
Anyway, Li Ji'an in his previous life was quite a celebrity in the Martial Arts Academy.
Immediately sparked a heated discussion.
"That old guy really raised a genius?" Wan also was momentarily lost in thought.
He still remembered asking Li the Lame: You're like this, what's the point of practicing martial arts?
Li the Lame didn't mind at all: Yes, my talent is such that I certainly cannot achieve success, but perhaps through practicing martial arts I can somewhat improve the bloodline for my descendants, and maybe, eventually, one generation might have superior talent.
"How could Li the Lame have such a handsome son?" Quickly, many apprentices in the academy were drawn in.
Gathered around Li Ji'an, scrutinizing him carefully.
"Are you really Li the Lame's son?"
"Why did Li the Lame stop coming to the academy later? Did he give up?"
"..."
Facing everyone's questions, Li Ji'an merely smiled without speaking.
"Alright, whether there's a connection or not, it doesn't matter anymore, come with me." Wu Cheng realized his inadvertent words might have caused trouble for Li Ji'an and didn't question him further, hurriedly taking him away.
Li Ji'an nodded and followed closely.
"Hehe, Li the Lame practiced for half of his life but barely scratched the surface of Martial Dao, and now he's sent his son?"
"Tsk tsk, he turned out to be just like his father, unwanted, and had to be apprenticed to Tutor Wu."
"My dad always said, 'A hero father has a good son, but if he's selling onions and garlic, how good could Li the Lame really be?"
A group of apprentices whispered behind them.
After bringing Li Ji'an to his own tutoring area, Wu Cheng looked at him and awkwardly managed a slight smile: "Don't listen to their nonsense, Old Li was very formidable back in the day, far exceeded my expectations, and who would have thought someone starting martial arts at thirty could achieve Skin Polishing Perfection?"
"That's why, for the path of martial arts, it's never too late to start."
"Moreover, talent only determines your upper limit, not your lower limit. Even if there's no hope of winning the martial competition, practicing martial arts can still strengthen the body.
Also, when it comes to martial arts, don't compare with others, just do your best."
Li Ji'an bowed solemnly: "I will heed the tutor's teachings!"
In this realm of martial arts, External Skills and Inner Strength were practiced; externally, techniques and skills were honed, a craft for fighting and slaughter.
Internally, true power of Qi and blood was practiced, refining Qi and blood, polishing skin, solidifying flesh, forging bones, exchanging blood, forging bone marrow, refining the internal organs, thus transforming body and bones, with Qi and blood like a dragon.
However, External Martial Arts required Inner Strength as a foundation, otherwise difficult to manifest, or despite manifesting, not enough strength, not enough speed, akin to superficial fancy moves.
Moreover, this martial path was said to be a gift from the Immortal Master; before this, there was no supernatural power, wielding spears and staves was merely a matter of strength and skill, familiarity with tricks and routines, without the capability to fight many with few.
The Immortal Master only bestowed the method to refine Qi and blood, superhuman body forging internal strength, which was what everyone practiced as the "Golden Strength Skill," yet bestowed no External Skills.
Practicing Inner Strength would allow the body to strengthen and become robust, giving birth to extraordinary Qi and blood power, transforming the body, with golden skin and jade marrow, impervious to blades and spears.
External Skills, however, were merely a few cultivation techniques discovered over the past century by those with extraordinary comprehension of martial arts, mostly held as precious treasures, not transmitted beyond their groups.
The Court held the most.
Ordinary, low-level martial artists rarely had the opportunity to practice them.
Li Ji'an, in both his previous lives, had experiences with martial arts, but only practiced Inner Strength "Golden Strength Skill."
As for External Skills, in his first life, the martial arts school master in town had created a self-made boxing technique that wasn't even considered a proper cultivation technique.
With the Inner Strength realm of Skin Polishing Perfection in his second life, that boxing technique made little difference, it still essentially relied on the power and speed from the body's transformation through Skin Polishing and Solid Flesh.
A month later, Li Ji'an mastered Pile Skill and officially began practicing "Golden Strength Skill."
Inner cultivation technique involved refining Qi and blood, using bones and muscles in conjunction with breathing techniques, refining tendons and forging bones, but it required full bone growth, otherwise risking injury to tendons and bones, physical disabilities, so before the age of thirteen, Li Ji'an only familiarized himself with the movements.
And before practicing "Golden Strength Skill," Pile Skill was needed to strengthen the foundation, which also required full bone growth.
In his previous life, entering the Martial Arts Academy at the age of thirty, it took him half a year to barely grasp Pile Skill.
Li Ji'an reflected on the differences and ultimately determined that aside from his past experience with Pile Skill, the main factor was the strong bones and long tendons in this life, as well as the enhanced comprehension brought about by increased spiritual power.
After all, Pile Skill wasn't static, nor merely about movements and postures; it needed to match one's own bones and tendons, with subtle differences unique to each individual, understood only by oneself.
Grasp it correctly, and Pile Skill would solidify the foundation quickly, otherwise, it would be a long time before comprehensively understanding it, unable to truly practice Inner Strength.
"Such good comprehension?" Many were surprised knowing Li Ji'an mastered Pile Skill so quickly.
Ma Yuan looked at this "genius" he had snatched, his eyelids twitching slightly.
Qingyun, in the past month, hadn't even completed the Seventy-Two Forms of Pile Skill.
And with Qingyun's childhood little cunningness towards his father, it was hard to tell whether he was truly not diligent, or truly lacking comprehension.
"It's alright, it's alright, a little lacking in comprehension is no big deal, the main thing is still the foundation, as long as the foundation is good, even if comprehension is lacking, another month should do; once Inner Strength training begins, it won't be comparable to poor foundations." Ma Yuan comforted himself this way.
At the same time, he decisively extinguished the initial thought of sponsoring Li Ji'an with exclusive medicinal bath resources from the academy.
Two people entering the academy together, if the apprentices taught by Tutor Wu turned out better than his, especially when the apprentice he selected was supposed to have better talent, it would greatly affect his tutoring reputation.
And clearly, many in the academy had already started comparing Li Ji'an and Qingyun, many wanting to see his embarrassment.
"Can I really let the son of that old lame outdo me?"
That night, Ma Yuan spared no expense, moving Qingyun from the apprentice dormitory to a small courtyard next to his, determined to teach Qingyun well.