Chapter 19  : The Martial Way Must Of Course Be Cool

Ling Fei was immensely popular in Fu University. That was something Lu Xuan visibly felt, having followed her as they made it through the campus.

 In Fu University, Ling Fei was like a superstar surrounded by her adoring fans. Along the way, many girls stole curious glances at them while some guys shot him death glares.

 Lu Xuan was unaffected. He walked by Ling Fei’s side, as calm and serene as a meditating old monk. It might be difficult to tell, but he had already entered a state of cultivation. While most cultivators would need to clear their minds of noisy thoughts before they meditate, Lu Xuan’s soul and cultivation were so advanced that he could cultivate even he was sitting down or lying on his back.

 Ling Fei led him across the campus. All around them, they could hear the laughter and cheers of the students. Even Lu Xuan found himself relaxing his ever-tense mind over the decades at their light-heartedness.

 Too many years had passed from when Lu Xuan last felt an air of such simplicity and peace. Though these students would not know to appreciate the bliss they currently possessed.

 While the world hereafter would be the golden age of cultivation; it was also an age of chaos and turmoil. Peaceful days like what they had now would soon be gone.

 Cherish this last period of peace!

 The two of them finally arrived at a building, the Martial Arts Gym.

 The Martial Arts Gym was of a decent size. One could hear the sound of trainees doing their spirited yells from within the building.

 ‘Mr. Lu, I have decided to learn some martial arts after everything that we went through a while back. My senior opened this Martial Arts Gym. I phoned him yesterday and told him that I would be coming over today. He will be here to meet us in a while!”

Ling Fei walked as she explained, leading Lu Xuan into the building.

 The Martial Arts Gym was loosely decorated. While it is still morning, many students had already started their martial arts training routine. Their spirited yells of “Hoo!” and “Haa!” could be heard throughout the room.

 The arrival of Lu Xuan and Ling Fei did not attract much attention from the students. They simply glanced at them and then returned to their practice.

 “Why are they only teaching such feeble and flowery moves?”

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 Ling Fei slightly frowned as she looked at the students who were still training.

 Unlike what Ling Fei imagined of how one should practice martial arts, these students were all training in moves such as high kicks. They looked good, fierce, and clean when they executed those moves.

 However, Ling Fei was someone who had seen Lu Xuan fight more than a couple of times. Before she knew it, it had pulled her perception of what was good. While her previous self would have felt that those moves looked good, all that the current her could think about was that these moves had no value apart from looking like they were good. What good was there in training them if that was the only good they had?

 When you kicked that high, your lower body would be wide open for attacks. It could be fatally dangerous, and a real expert could end your life with a single move.

 “They look decent to me!” Lu Xuan scanned their surroundings with a slightly intrigued expression.

 “These are all appearances! What I want to learn are the real fighting moves and stances I could use against an enemy. What good is it for me to train like this?” Ling Fei shook her head, looking quite disappointed.

 Lu Xuan gave her a mild smile. “Well, I beg to differ. Want to guess why TaeKwonDo managed to be a huge hit worldwide, while we still struggle to promote our very own form of martial arts?”

 “Because brainless fangirls are influenced by the Korean wave!” Ling Fei answered. Although she was very much a typical Gen Z born after 2000, she was different from her same-aged peers. She had zero interest in the so-called “K-wave” from Korea.

Maybe the higher one’s status and background, the greater the differences in their tastes and way of thinking. To Ling Fei, who was born into extreme wealth and status, she could not see those “superstars” as anything more than lowly entertainers, especially k-pop stars, who were the lowest of the lows.

“That was only one of the reasons. The main drive, I would say, was that TaeKwonDo is cool enough!” Lu Xuan laughed. “Even Hitler understood the importance of cool army uniforms. He pushed the design to the limits of coolness, attracting young men to join the army. The love and admiration of beauty are innate and universal!

“Martial arts such as TaeKwonDo and Karate are easy to pick up. Not only that, but the practitioner can quickly make neat-looking performances after minimal training. On top of that, their uniforms look much better than the riding jacket—Magua—that our practitioners wear. Wouldn’t it be only natural that they attract young blood?” Lu Xuan continued to explain. “When training for our martial arts, one would need to do stake-standing exercises for at least three years before training in martial arts squats for another three. It could easily take ten to 20 years to see your training bear fruit. Of course, young people would quickly lose interest!

“While you might think that it’s useless to train in these moves, they serve to ignite a person’s drive and interest to continue their martial arts training. Interest is the best teacher. While some persevere even without having an interest in what they are doing, they were as rare as a phoenix’s feather or a Qilin’s horn. You can’t expect everyone to have such a mind of steel!” Lu Xuan said as he put his hands on his back. “That is why I feel that instead of just talking about the promotion of our nation’s martial arts, we could first work on attracting the young to learn. From then on, we could select the better ones and teach them the real stuff, the true essence of the martial way. That, I feel, would be the right path to take!”

 Of course, for that to happen, one must assume that more profound knowledge and skills were available for these genius students to train and practice after they had completed their training in the basics of basics.

 Ling Fei stared at Lu Xuan with her beautiful eyes. She had never thought that one could decipher the situation from a viewpoint as unique as this.

 From her impression, the martial arts practitioner should always learn about the harder skills; the more complicated, the better. If anything, the level of difficulty would indicate the value of that martial skill.

 However, Lu Xuan had shed light on this issue from another perspective. The easier the martial art, the more attractive it was, and the quicker one could get better in it.

 “In the past, the old master would always practice extreme caution when selecting their disciples. Apart from the valid worry that they might nurture an ingrate, it was also due to a scarcity of resources. Back then, it was difficult for people to fill their stomachs. How can a hungry man possibly be strong enough to practice martial arts?” Lu Xuan continued, “However, the situation is different now. We have an abundance of resources, and while it is still too far-fetched to say that everyone is affluent, we could at least be sure that most would not find having a full meal a significant challenge. Therefore, we have fulfilled the prerequisite for mass promotion of cultivation!

“In the past, martial arts masters have taken in disciples via the selection model of only accepting geniuses. However, how could the genius selected from three or five candidates ever compare to the genius chosen from three to five hundred or even thousands? The quality of geniuses is also dependent on the base value of the number of candidates!

 “The times are changing at high speeds, Only when we catch up with the revolution of the times can breakthroughs and changes make it to the people and survive!”

 “Well said! I never expected to see someone with such insight at this place!”

 Suddenly, a man walked over, smiling as he clapped in appreciation.

 It was a man looking to be in his twenties. Dressed in his snowy-white martial arts uniform, one could see the tinge of rarely-seen gallant spirit between his brows.

 “Senior Li!”

 Ling Fei walked up and greeted him.

 “Allow me to introduce you to each other. Senior Li, this is Lu Xuan. Mr. Lu will be in charge of my safety during this period. Mr. Lu, this is the senior that I mentioned, the owner of the Martial Arts Gym, Li Fei, Senior Li!”

“Mr. Lu, you are indeed as impressive as I heard. I opened this Martial Arts Gym to promote the Martial way under my master’s orders. I had long been doubtful of his decision, but after hearing what you just said, it was like someone had swept my doubts away. I now understand my master’s intentions!” Li Fei said, feeling a little emotional.

 He never managed to understand his master’s intentions, but this man understood them with a single look. He truly was a man of exceptional perception and insight.

 Lu Xuan scanned Li Fei. While Li Fei was also trained in martial arts, he had only reached the cultivation of a second-level MingJin.

 While he wasn’t a mighty fighter, he could easily take on three to five large men. He was underqualified to open a gym and take in students, but he knew more than enough to teach his trainees the necessary foundations of the martial way.