Within the "Wanxiang Garden", the inner estate of the Fang family, the number one noble house in Longyuan Province of the Dali Dynasty, the morning mist had not yet dispersed. A group of Fang family disciples had already begun their morning martial arts practice and exercises.
The head of the Fang family was the Governor of Longyuan Province. A hundred years ago, the ancestors of the Fang family originated from the Yuhua Sect, one of the ten great immortal martial sects, and subsequently followed the Martial Emperor, the founding father of the Dali Dynasty, to pacify the world.
Longyuan Province, a hidden dragon in the abyss, was originally the capital of the previous dynasty. After the founding of the Dali Dynasty, the capital was initially planned to be established here, but because the water energy in the Longyuan region was too heavy, the idea of setting the capital here was ultimately abandoned.
The Dali Dynasty possessed the virtue of fire; Dali belonged to fire. Being suppressed by water, it was unsuitable to establish the capital in Longyuan, so the capital was set in the southern "Lijing".
However, the imperial court entrusted this ancient capital of the previous dynasty to the control of the Fang family, showing the court's trust and immense favor towards them.
Precisely because of this, the Fang family was prominent and illustrious, with their mansion covering a thousand acres. Inside, courtyards stood in great numbers, with countless gardens. If ordinary people walked in, they would inevitably get lost and be unable to find their way out.
This could be seen from the name of the garden in the Fang family's inner estate.
"Wanxiang Garden", meaning all-encompassing.
"Bang bang bang…" Bang…
The force of the fists howled, and the air vibrated.
These disciples made vigorous movements, like fierce tigers looking for sheep, like lions pouncing on wild bulls, like eagles striking white rabbits, like cranes standing on pine peaks… All their physical movements integrated the waist and the hips, agile and fierce.
Especially their four limbs and the great spine; between movements and stillness, opening and closing, it was like five bows drawn to the full. Their punches and kicks shot out like arrows and landed like the wind, revealing a profound foundation.
However, at this moment, a pair of eyes was secretly watching their various movements from the dark artificial rockery complex in the distance.
He was actually stealing martial arts.
The owner of these eyes was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old youth, with delicate features, wearing a gray shirt and a small hat, looking entirely like a young servant.
"A month ago, I discovered a sewer that surprisingly leads directly into the mud under this rockery complex in the inner courtyard. If not for this, I wouldn't have been able to enter the inner courtyard to steal martial arts. If discovered, it's a dead end… But I, Fang Han, cannot possibly be a slave for my entire life."
Fang Han carefully observed the movements of these Fang family disciples, … every expression and movement was memorized in his mind.
There was no mistake; he was stealing martial arts.
Fang Han was a young slave of the Fang family.
His father was originally a servant of the Fang family, so as soon as he was born, he was destined to be a servant of the Fang family. Even his children and grandchildren, for generations to come, would have to serve the Fang family.
A servant of lowly status actually sneaking into the inner estate to steal the true martial arts passed down in the master's family; this kind of behavior could be described as daring and reckless, absolutely fearless of death.
"He's here!"
In Fang Han's line of sight, he saw a middle-aged man wearing a large purple robe appear on the distant martial arts training ground, and his body involuntarily became completely still.
This purple-robed middle-aged man was nine feet tall, impossibly burly and majestic, his back straight like a sword or a spear, pressing down like a high mountain. Although they were far apart, Fang Han almost wanted to stop his own breathing.
This was a master of the Fang family, "Giant Spirit Hand" Fang Tong! With a resounding reputation that shook the lands north and south of the great river, he had come to teach the Fang family disciples profound martial arts.
"Being an official! There are nine ranks and eighteen grades! The first rank is the Prime Minister, the ninth rank is the local patrol inspector! And when we cultivate the physical body, it is divided into ten realms! The first realm is Health Nourishment, the second is Strength Training, the third is Martial Stances, the fourth is Hardness and Softness, the fifth is Divine Force, the sixth is Breath, the seventh is Inner Strengthening, the eighth is Divine Bravery, the ninth is Spiritual Connection! The tenth is Divine Transformation!"
As soon as the "Giant Spirit Hand" Fang Tong in the large purple robe appeared, all the Fang family disciples in the training ground instantly stopped their respective movements and stood perfectly straight, listening to his instruction.
Fang Han also pricked up his ears, listening carefully.
"If you cultivate the physical body to the tenth realm of Divine Transformation, five horses cannot tear your body apart! In the past, an ancestor of our Fang family was captured by enemy troops and sentenced to death by the cruel punishment of five horses splitting the body, but our Fang family ancestor exerted the power of his whole body, pulled the five horses down, and galloped away. This is the power of cultivating the physical body to the tenth realm of Divine Transformation!"
The sound of "Giant Spirit Hand" Fang Tong's instruction transmitted over like a great temple bell, with the weight of a thousand catties, shaking Fang Han's eardrums until they faintly ached, as if they were about to rupture.
"Five horses cannot tear the body apart! How powerful must this person's strength be? Can the physical body really reach such a level?" Fang Han was secretly shocked in his heart.
"However! Do not think that the tenth realm of the physical body is the limit; this is just the beginning. Our Fang family ancestors once received teachings from the immortals of the Yuhua Sect, therefore, unlike other families, we know that above the physical body realm, there is also the Secret Realm of Divine Abilities! Only by shedding the restraints of the physical body and stepping into the Secret Realm of Divine Abilities can you truly stand proud over the world, have a status equal to princes and nobles, and bring glory to our Fang family ancestors."
"Physical Body Realm, Secret Realm of Divine Abilities!"
Hearing these words, Fang Han felt a door that had never appeared before open in front of him. Every morning he secretly watched martial arts here, but he had never heard these words. The ten great realms spoken from the mouth of the Giant Spirit Hand Fang Tong clearly laid out a series of steps.
"What is the Secret Realm of Divine Abilities?"
Right at this moment, a Fang family disciple asked.
"The so-called divine abilities mean shattering the world recognized by ordinary people!"
As the Giant Spirit Hand Fang Tong spoke, a solemn look revealed itself in his eyes: "For example, if physical martial arts are trained to the limit, you can tear apart tigers and leopards, and forcefully lift a cauldron weighing a thousand catties, but can you grab your own hair and lift yourself up?"
"Lifting oneself up. How is that possible? It is clearly impossible, violating normal logic."
Another disciple quickly said.
"It is impossible. No matter how great the strength is, lifting oneself up is impossible," Fang Han silently said.
"Doing the impossible is what is called a divine ability! Otherwise, what is a divine ability?" The voice of the purple-robed middle-aged man was like a sharp awakening blow!
"Shattering the world recognized by you ordinary people. That is a divine ability! Lifting oneself up is a dividing line for stepping into the Secret Realm of Divine Abilities! Besides this, there are all kinds of divine abilities, spewing water and fire, walking through the empty void, manipulating lightning, flying swords to kill… These are all methods of the Secret Realm of Divine Abilities."
"Then Uncle Tong, have you cultivated to the realm of divine abilities?" The Fang family disciples asked one after another.
"The Secret Realm of Divine Abilities is no small matter. The lofty experts who can step into the Secret Realm of Divine Abilities are all people of stunning and peerless talent. I currently have only cultivated to the eighth realm of the physical body, Divine Bravery. If any of you cultivate to the Secret Realm of Divine Abilities, then I can say with certainty, the position of the head of the Fang family is yours! Moreover, our Dali Empire will grant you extremely high noble titles to win you over!"
"Going from the Physical Body Realm to the Secret Realm of Divine Abilities! It's harder than ascending to the heavens! If within three years you can cultivate to the fifth realm of the physical body, Divine Force, draw a bow of a thousand catties, gallop like a horse, and possess the strength of one horse, that alone will be a joyous event for our Fang family. Alright, I am telling you these legendary things today to broaden your horizons and give you confidence in your arduous cultivation! To let you know that the scenery ahead is infinite, and the wealth is boundless!"
The Giant Spirit Hand Fang Tong shouted: "Now begin the cultivation, the Pine Crane Ten Thousand Lifespan Fist! This is a superior body-refining martial art our Fang family ancestors received from the immortals of the Yuhua Sect. You must fully comprehend its artistic conception and charm, and I will strictly explain it to you one by one! Remember, you must cultivate the physical body to the limit to be able to step into the Secret Realm of Divine Abilities, because our Fang family ancestors said that divine abilities are mysterious powers generated in the brain, called magical power. As the saying goes, divine abilities are vast, magical power is boundless! Only when the physical body turns powerful to the limit, and the heart can pump massive amounts of blood nutrients to the brain, will magical power be produced. If the physical body is not powerful, any divine ability is out of the question."
"Pine Crane Ten Thousand Lifespan Fist…"
Fang Han forcefully suppressed the excitement in his heart and watched secretly…
In less than half an hour, as Fang Han secretly listened to the Giant Spirit Hand Fang Tong's explanations, he instantly brought together a month's worth of experience in stealing martial arts, fully comprehending the logic of refining the physical body.
Physical cultivation is divided into ten steps, ten realms.
The first realm, Health Nourishment, is to nourish the body to be full of energy through regular, good diet, sleep, and other restorative practices.
The second realm, Strength Training, is through running, weightlifting, jumping, hitting sandbags, kicking, squatting, somersaulting, walking on plum blossom poles… thousands of methods to train the muscles and flesh of one's limbs, waist, and abdomen to be full and powerful, making strength and flexibility greatly surpass ordinary people.
The third realm, Martial Stances. It is through practicing all kinds of martial stances to connect the power of the limbs, waist, and abdomen, align the bones, even the breath, and form a unified whole.
The fourth realm, Hardness and Softness. The power throughout the whole body, the waist and leg bones, the spine and shoulders, elbows, wrists, and palms unite as one breath, harmonizing blood and qi. Soft when desired, hard when desired, coupling hardness with softness. Flexibility and coordination reach a sort of limit. Rising like the wind, landing like an arrow, as agile as a civet cat or an ape.
The fifth realm, Divine Force. After the whole body is penetrated with coupled hardness and softness, upon further cultivation, the physique will grow increasingly stronger, possessing a thousand catties of divine force, strong as a galloping horse. When fighting, all parts of the entire body act like a well-trained army, swift and decisive. Amidst the muscles and bones, thunderous sounds roll.
If one cultivated to the realm of Divine Force, one was basically considered a figure of importance.
As for the later five great realms: "Breath, Inner Strengthening, Divine Bravery, Spiritual Connection, Divine Transformation", the Giant Spirit Hand Fang Tong did not explain them in detail, nor was Fang Han anxious. From his month of eavesdropping and pondering, he essentially knew the basic principles of training the physical body and cultivating, and could start cultivating on his own.
"Having mastered the steps and secrets of cultivation, I will secretly work hard to train bitterly. One day, I will amaze the world with a single brilliant feat and break free from the status of a servant!" Fang Han knew that his month of risking danger to secretly learn had finally grasped a sliver of opportunity to change his destiny.
"Oh no! I forgot, this morning, the Second Miss is going out riding to hunt! She precisely needs that 'Thousand Li Snow' I raise." Just as he was eavesdropping intoxicatedly, Fang Han's heart suddenly jolted in alarm, remembering a certain matter.
Thinking of this, Fang Han had no mind to keep eavesdropping; he quietly crawled out from the darkness of the rockery into the sewer and exited the inner estate. Fortunately, he was not discovered.
This was also because that Giant Spirit Hand Fang Tong had not cultivated to the ninth realm of the physical body, the Spiritual Connection realm; otherwise, he would have had subtle perceptions of any gaze, and Fang Han would have been completely unable to escape his ears and eyes.