Nachdem ich zum Kanonenfutter degradiert wurde, will ich nur noch überleben

Kapitel 1

Chapter 1 The Legendary Summoning

Anyang City.

A small border town under the jurisdiction of Lizhou in the Jiuhua Kingdom.

Jiuhua Kingdom has been plagued by constant warfare over the years, so it vigorously promoted martial arts, resulting in a fierce and unruly populace and numerous martial arts schools.

At the Hunyuan Boxing Gym, a slightly overweight man in martial arts attire loudly proclaimed:

"My name is Wang Dazhu, and I am a martial arts instructor at the gym. I will be in charge of your basic training from now on."

"Watch closely, I'll demonstrate it for you first."

Wang Dazhu stood upright, his head, neck, and cervical spine forming a straight line. He lifted his right foot and took half a step to the right, easily raising both hands to hug his chest, and looking straight ahead into the distance.

The simple movements, when performed by him, seem as if his hands are holding a ball, his head is lifting upwards, his feet are stomping downwards, and his back is pressing against something.

"Alright, do it again in the same way I just did."

After the demonstration, Wang Dazhu picked up a pointer about the thickness of a finger and walked back and forth in the yard, observing whether the apprentices' movements met the standards.

"I haven't eaten. I can't even stand up straight."

"Why are you sticking your butt out so high? Do you want me to shove a stick in there?"

"And you, why are you shaking like that? You've only just started standing and you're already giving up?"

Wang Dazhu seemed somewhat annoyed; the quality of this batch of apprentices was not as good as the previous batch.

"Stand up straight, with the back of your head, neck and spine in a straight line."

"Stand up straight, chest out."

The pointer slammed down on the backside of an apprentice who wasn't standing properly, and sure enough, the apprentice straightened up instantly—a remarkable effect.

"Once you're here, you'd better train hard. Nobody here will care about you. If you don't train properly, you'd be better off being killed by me than being eaten by monsters in the future."

Wang Dazhu slowly walked back and forth in the courtyard, his eyes constantly scanning the area. If he saw anyone whose movements were not up to standard, he would hit them with a stick. The trainees did not dare to make a sound after being hit, but just quickly corrected their movements.

"The saying goes that you must first master the stances for three years before you can learn martial arts. This stance training is the beginning of learning martial arts, and our Hunyuan Boxing School's Hunyuan Stance is one of the most famous stance training methods. You should all feel lucky to be able to start with the Hunyuan Stance."

Not far away, by a pillar, a man dressed in shorts with a kitchen cloth around his waist was imitating the posture. However, this man stood much better than the apprentices in the courtyard, and had already developed a sense of perfect posture.

Before long, fifteen minutes had passed. Wang Dazhu noticed that the apprentices in the courtyard were sweating profusely, and most of them were trembling slightly. He grinned slyly and said:

"Do you feel dizzy, like you're seasick and want to vomit, and your whole body feels like it's being pricked with needles?"

"Yes, Master Wang."

"Master Wang, can we take a break? I can't go on anymore."

“Your parents spent so much money here not so you could act like royalty. Stand still, no one is allowed to rest until half an hour is up.”

"A bunch of good-for-nothings. Look how much your parents praised you, saying you had exceptional talent, but you're not even as good as a cook. And that cook has only been practicing for half a month."

"Li Boyang, how much longer can you stand there?"

"Two more hours should be no problem."

Li Boyang smiled. He wondered how many of these young masters could endure half a month. Practicing martial arts was not like inviting someone to dinner, where you could practice when you felt like it and rest when you didn't. Otherwise, you would only end up with nothing.

Sure enough, when the apprentices in the courtyard saw that Li Boyang, dressed as a chef, had lasted longer than them, they immediately became unconvinced and gritted their teeth to endure it.

Half an hour passed quickly.

"Dinner's ready! Dinner's ready!"

Li Boyang glanced at the position of the sun overhead, estimated the time, put away the Hunyuan stance, and shouted into the courtyard.

"Alright, all of you go eat, you bunch of useless trash."

The apprentices in the courtyard felt as if they had been granted a pardon, and immediately scattered to sit on the ground, feeling so weak that they could not even stand up. After resting for a while, they slowly walked towards the canteen, one supporting the other.

"Master Wang, how's my teamwork?"

"Hehe, you're the clever one. Ever since we used you as a positive role model for those kids, their enthusiasm has increased significantly."

"That's right. This is called 'no comparison, no harm.' Those who can come here to practice martial arts either come from wealthy families or are the sons of minor officials. They don't take ordinary people seriously."

"From the moment I met you, I knew you were a clever and cunning fellow."

"Master Wang, do you think I can learn other stances now that I've mastered this one?"

From feeling sore in my lower back and legs after just 10 minutes at the beginning, to now sitting cross-legged for two hours, the torment and perseverance involved are beyond what outsiders can understand.

"Hmm, you've almost mastered the basics. You've already developed a slight sense of Hunyuan. You can start trying to practice the skin membrane now. However, you can't neglect this stance training; you have to keep at it."

A flicker of excitement crossed Li Boyang's face, but he quickly concealed it. Finally, the real cultivation was about to begin. He smiled and said to Wang Dazhu:

"Master Wang, you've been teaching all morning, you must be hungry. I've prepared some food for you: crispy three delicacies, fish soup, and spicy stir-fried shredded pork. You're just waiting to try it out."

Wang Dazhu glanced at it sideways.

"You little rascal, do you need something from me again? You always act like this when you give me special treatment."

"I just wanted you to cook something special for me too. Chef Wang, the food is getting cold. Shouldn't we hurry up and leave?"

"Then we should hurry. It's been a long time since I've tasted your cooking. If you ask me, you could live a life of ease with this skill. Why bother practicing martial arts? It's too tiring."