Chapter 252 - 251 Arhat Fist_1
Chapter 252: Chapter 251 Arhat Fist_1
“Come, get into a horse stance, assume the correct posture, and start learning Arhat Fist.”
Lu Yang emulates Meng Jingzhou’s movements, sinks his energy into his Dantian, holds his head high and chest extended, takes a half step to the left with his left foot, and forms an arc with his palms.
“Ha!”
“Your voice isn’t loud enough, again!”
“Ha!”
“Louder!”
“Ha!”
Lu Yang’s voice gradually increases until it finally reaches Meng Jingzhou’s standard.
“My master once told me that shouting during a fight is a way of releasing our limits. The louder the voice, the more real power can be exhibited, even surpassing our usual strength.”
“Your arm should stay level with your line of sight when you punch.”
“Your fist should be tight, imagine you’re holding a stone and squeezing it with all your might, as if you want to shatter it.”
These are the teachings from the Third Elder when Meng Jingzhou was learning kung fu, now he’s passing them all to Lu Yang.
“Arhat Fist stresses the unity of the upper and lower body, changing the steps according to the hand, integrating both hardness and softness in the force applied. Your movements are too stiff, they need to flow and be smoother!”
Meng Jingzhou one-by-one points out Lu Yang’s mistakes and corrects them; all of these are common mistakes when practicing kung fu.
Lu Yang has a decent talent in martial arts. As evident from him mastering the Imitation Fist in less than a day, he then modified it into the Lu Style Imitation Fist in the next half day.
“The sea of bitterness is boundless, turn back and you will find the shore!”
In no time, Lu Yang gets the hang of it. There is even a sense of compassion shown on his face, he looks like a great virtuous person at a glance.
Meng Jingzhou’s earnest teachings echo in Lu Yang’s ears, “My master once told me that Arhat Fist is a martial art that persuades people to do good. The so-called ‘the sea of bitterness is boundless, turn back and you will find the shore’, if one can lay down their weapons and choose benevolence after learning this art, then the Arhat Fist can be said to be accomplished.”
“What a pity, too many people in this world are ignorant and can’t lay down their weapons to wholeheartedly embrace benevolence. Hence, throughout history, only a few people have been able to truly master the Arhat Fist.”
Meng Jingzhou places a single hand on his chest, seeming to convey immense wisdom with his demeanor.
“Poor real humor, too many people in the world than I can’t put the hands of weapons, a good heart, so they can practice to Arhat boxing, only two or three people in history.”
“When learning Arhat Fist, your state of mind is also very important. It’s best to imagine yourself as a disciple of Buddhism. I studied Buddhist scriptures for some time when learning Arhat Fist.”
“Reciting Buddhist scriptures?” Lu Yang felt as if he was beginning to see the way forward.
Lu Yang doesn’t need to learn Buddhist scriptures now. He had read a few Buddhist scriptures like the “Diamond Sutra”, “Mingwang Sutra”, “Heart Sutra” and the like during his idle time in the Scripture Pavilion. They were quite effective for hypnosis.
He slowly closes his eyes, the exquisite face of Fairy Eternity surfaces in his mind.
Fairy Eternity, wearing a beige pajamas, tilts her head and looks at Lu Yang.
“…Fairy, could you stand by the side of my spiritual space? I’m recalling the Buddhist scriptures.”
“Oh.”
Once Fairy Eternity was no longer in his sight, Lu Yang started recalling the Buddhist scriptures. The contents of the “Diamond Sutra”, the “Mingwang Sutra”, and the “Heart Sutra” surfaced before his eyes. Lu Yang contemplated and tried to understand the author’s emotions within the scriptures, placing himself in that context.
In reality, Meng Jingzhou watched Lu Yang in surprise.
Lu Yang keeps his eyes tightly shut, his movements slower than at the beginning, as if he were an old man, withered as a piece of wood. However, his every action exudes the benign aura of a revered monk.
“Could it be that this Lu Yang kid is suited for monkhood?” Meng Jingzhou secretly speculated.
As Lu Yang deepened his understanding of the Buddhist scriptures and the Arhat Fist, his movements became even smoother, like the flow of clouds and water, without the slightest pause. It was as if he had practised hundreds or thousands of times, memorizing the movements by heart and transforming them into instinct.
Boom– boom–
With every punch Lu Yang threw, a sound like the bursting of air could be heard. A faint echo of Buddhist chants lingered in the air, as if a venerable monk were reading scriptures in the void, teaching the world to be kind to others.
Lu Yang practiced arhat boxing with his eyes closed, from dawn until dusk. Seeing that he had little else to teach, Meng Jingzhou squatted at the side, waiting to see when this grandson of his would finally open his eyes.
“Phew–”
After completing a set, Lu Yang regulated his breathing and opened his eyes. His pupils were bright, exuding wisdom.
“Did you master it?” Meng Jingzhou looked at Lu Yang in astonishment. It had taken him whole three days to master it, but did Lu Yang achieve it in a day’s work?
Is there no justice in the world?
“I have made some progress.” Lu Yang humbly replied.
“Let’s try it.” Meng Jingzhou was eager to see how well Lu Yang had learned. He did not believe that after practicing for half a month, he could lose to Lu Yang who only started learning a day ago.
“Let’s give it a try.” Lu Yang was itching for a sparring session to assess his own skills.
Both men stared at each other, assumed their stances simultaneously, and initiated the Arhat Fist, engaging in a pure comparison of skills.
“Black Tiger Dig Heart!”
“Black Tiger Dig Heart!”
“Downward Hammer Punch!”
“Downward Hammer Punch!”
Their fists and feet collided with great force, like thunderbolts exploding in the field, causing the old trees surrounding the field to rustle.
The two of them matched each other in terms of moves and strength, making it tough to determine the outcome.
“Who would’ve thought…you learned for just one day and you’re already as skilled with the Arhat Fist as I am. Maybe one day, you will fully master the Arhat Fist and be successful in persuading people to be good!”
“It’s just a fluke.” Although Lu Yang speaks this way, his smug expression reveals that he is not being modest at all.
Just as Lu Yang was about to stay humble for a little longer, he unintentionally glanced at the top of Meng Jingzhou’s head and his expression slightly changed.
“What’s wrong, is there a problem with my head?” Meng Jingzhou was puzzled.
“No, no problem.” Lu Yang avoided eye contact, looking as though he had done something wrong.
Meng Jingzhou gave Lu Yang a suspicious look and subconsciously reached for his head.
Wait a minute, has something on my head disappeared?
“Where’s my hair?!”
Meng Jingzhou took out a small mirror from his jade pendant and inspected his head for a long time.
His head was as slick as a watermelon, a sparrow would slip if it tried to land on it.
He was bald.
Just like an Arhat.
In the spiritual space, Fairy Eternity was laughing uproariously.
“Lu Yang, explain to me what’s going on!” Meng Jingzhou’s first reaction was to suspect Lu Yang.
His hair was part of his body refining process, how could it just fall out without reason?
He just noticed, there’s hair all over his feet, freshly shed.
“I, I also don’t know. Your hair was falling out at an alarming rate while we were sparring. By the time I wanted to alert you, it was already all gone.” Lu Yang sounded a bit panicked, he genuinely didn’t understand where the problem was.
While saying this, Lu Yang seemed to have realized something and exclaimed: “I understand now.”
“What did you understand?”
“Think about it, isn’t the purpose of the Arhat Fist to persuade people towards goodness? Evil comes from worries, and Buddhism talks about the Three Thousand Strands of Worry. Without these three thousand strands, there would be no ill intentions, and one can then move on to being good. ”
“Furthermore, doesn’t your appearance resemble that of an Arhat? It matches perfectly with the Arhat Fist!”
Upon hearing this, Meng Jingzhou sprang at Lu Yang like a hungry tiger pouncing on its prey. “You’re the one who looks like an Arhat!”
Lu Yang, feeling guilty, turned and ran. “I’ve completed the Arhat Fist, you can’t hit me!”
“Your technique is not Arhat Fist at all, it’s a head-shaving technique! Stand still!”
(Thanks to the book friend 20220115152208435 for the reward of the lordship)