Chapter 0013: The Need for Change

When walking, he walked with his legs straight; when standing still, he would hold the horse stance. 

This phrase perfectly describes Chen Zheng's daily state over the past year. To Huo Yuanjia, it was a sign of deep focus; to his fellow disciples, it seemed like madness. 

Walking without lifting his feet and standing in a horse stance—wasn't that a bit insane?

Even Liu Zhensheng thought Chen Zheng had lost his mind. This wasn't how martial arts were supposed to be practiced.

Chen Zheng's changes were evident to everyone around him. People either mocked him or looked down on him, while Huo Yuanjia's progress was viewed with reverence and admiration. 

Huo Yuanjia now had more than fifty disciples, with over a hundred outer disciples, all thanks to his strength. 

The biggest change in Huo Yuanjia's arena battles was the reduced duration and fiercer attacks. He often defeated opponents with a single blow. Previously, he had even killed a man in the ring. It was the first time in Huo Yuanjia's many life-and-death matches that someone had died at his hands.

"Martial arts is a killing skill. Your eyes have no killing intent. Come again!" 

In the early morning, at the Huo family training ground, 

Chen Zheng and Huo Yuanjia were sparring.

"Understood!" 

Chen Zheng stood up cautiously, watching Huo Yuanjia closely. 

Huo Yuanjia glanced at Chen Zheng and then struck with a palm, executing the "White Ape Plucks the Plum" from the Huo Family Fist. Normally a throwing technique, Huo Yuanjia had transformed it into a powerful, smashing strike.

Chen Zheng quickly dodged the attack, his body moving sideways as his feet gripped the ground firmly like a bird's claws, his power rooted in the earth. He responded with a horse stance punch.

However, Huo Yuanjia was faster. When the first strike failed, he switched the palm from a smash to a thrust, narrowly missing Chen Zheng's ear. His other hand blocked Chen Zheng's punch, and he grabbed him by the waist, effortlessly neutralizing the attack.

"Luolan Takes the Helmet"—another Huo Family technique—was set to follow. If Chen Zheng didn't break free immediately, Huo Yuanjia would use his elbows to strike at his temples, a deadly move.

Chen Zheng ducked his head, narrowly avoiding the elbow strike. His body shifted behind Huo Yuanjia, and he used a counter technique, "Li Zhong Xu Bian," a rare move in the Huo Family Fist that could turn defeat into victory.

Chen Zheng went all out with his palms, using full force, but Huo Yuanjia, as expected, adapted. In the moment of Chen Zheng's counter, Huo Yuanjia rotated his body impossibly, his right elbow striking Chen Zheng's lower back with the precision of a spear.

"Very good! Now you have mastered all twenty-four moves of the Huo Family Fist!" Despite the defeat, Huo Yuanjia was pleased. After all, their martial arts were on different levels. For Chen Zheng to gain the upper hand even slightly was an impressive achievement.

"Master!" 

"But your biggest problem now is your mindset. I know you were once a scholar, but now as a martial artist, many of your thoughts must change!" Huo Yuanjia's expression was serious.

Chen Zheng felt awkward. This wasn't because of his scholar's physique or habits—it was the difficulty in changing his mindset. 

Martial arts was a killing skill, and the Huo Family Fist was built on battlefield experience, focusing on practicality. Every move was aimed at critical points. 

However, Chen Zheng, a modern-day intellectual, struggled with the concept of taking life. For example, if he had used "Li Zhong Xu Bian" instead of "Zhi Fu Yuan He" in the earlier fight, his situation might have been far better. The latter was a move to "tickle the yin," a technique targeting the groin, a vital male weakness.

Many martial arts focused on attacking this vulnerable area, like the "Liao Yin Palm" in Bagua, the "Zhuan Huan Beng Quan" in Xing Yi, or the "Pie Shen Chui" in Tai Chi.

In the Huo Family Fist, there were many such moves—half of the twenty-four techniques could target this spot.

"Ha..." Huo Yuanjia sighed, looking at his most promising disciple. "Akang, how long has it been since you became my student?"

"Almost four years, Master. It'll be four years in a month," Chen Zheng answered respectfully. No matter how ruthless Huo Yuanjia had become, Chen Zheng still had deep respect for him.

"Four years. You're the most diligent student I've ever had, and you also have the best martial arts talent I've ever seen. But there are two regrets. Do you know what they are?" 

Huo Yuanjia asked, watching Chen Zheng carefully. 

Chen Zheng looked at him for a moment, then lowered his head without answering.

"The first regret is that you started practicing too late. If you had started earlier, perhaps our Huo Family Fist would have produced another grandmaster!" Huo Yuanjia sighed deeply. Some martial arts require early training, and without a childhood foundation, certain feats were impossible even with ten or twenty times the effort. For example, Chen Zheng couldn't perform a full split now.

"The second regret is your scholar's mentality!" Huo Yuanjia grew a bit agitated. This wasn't Chen Zheng's fault, of course. From a young age, he had been immersed in studying, under the sunlight and rain of academia. The concept of killing was too far from his life. 

To Huo Yuanjia, this mindset seemed like the weakness of a scholar, too focused on rigid formulas and unable to adapt. Martial arts was about killing, not showmanship. Did Chen Zheng think he was trying to "win people over with virtue"? 

Huo Yuanjia sighed again, seemingly making a difficult decision. After a long pause, he said, "It's been four years. You can graduate now!"

"Master~!" 

"You can start working as a bodyguard. Tomorrow I need to go to Beijing, and five days later, there's a caravan heading to Baoding. Take the other disciples and go with them." 

"Yes, Master!"

Bodyguard work was something many martial arts schools took on to earn money and gain real combat experience. It was also an opportunity to broaden one's horizons, so most martial artists engaged in this kind of work.

Huo Yuanjia's compound earned income this way, and as his fame grew, more clients came to him, which is why there were so many outer disciples.

Before, Huo Yuanjia hadn't allowed Chen Zheng to take on this task because he felt Chen Zheng wasn't ready and didn't want him to die prematurely. Bodyguard work could be dangerous, especially when facing ruthless bandits. No one knew what might happen. 

Now, Huo Yuanjia felt that Chen Zheng needed to face real combat. Without it, his training was just a waste of time. His mindset needed to change.