There are three or four hundred households in Shijia Village, all surnamed Shi, and the vast majority of them are tenants of the landlords.
"Shijia Village in Huayin County, and Shaohua Mountain is right next to it. Why do I feel a strange sense of familiarity?" A strange feeling welled up in Wang Xuan's heart. He pondered for a moment but still had no clue.
After entering the village, Wang Xuan hadn't gone far when he heard shouts coming from ahead.
He looked closely and saw a young man of about eighteen or nineteen practicing martial arts in the open space. The young man had a face like a silver plate, was shirtless, and had blue dragons tattooed all over his body. He was wielding a stick with great skill and flair.
“His body is covered with blue dragons… Huayin County, Shaohua Mountain, Shi Family Village! Could this be Shi Jin, the Nine-Dragoned Swordsman?! Have I transmigrated into the world of Water Margin?!” Wang Xuan suddenly realized as if from a dream, his eyes gleaming.
If this is truly the world of Water Margin, and the person in front of him is indeed Shi Jin, the Nine-Tattooed Dragon, then Wang Xuan has truly struck it lucky.
As everyone knows, the destined protagonists of the Water Margin world are the 108 heroes of Liangshan. Shi Jin, the Nine-Tattooed Dragon, is ranked 23rd among the 36 Heavenly Spirits of Liangshan, a very high position among them, undoubtedly possessing great fortune!
"Let's find out first. If this person is really Shi Jin, we must take him as our disciple and share some of his fortune with him!"
However, just as Wang Xuan was pondering, the young man stopped wielding his stick, turned around, and glared angrily at Wang Xuan: "Where did you come from, you bastard? How dare you peek at my martial arts practice! You're asking for a beating!"
"Huh?" Wang Xuan was somewhat bewildered. This guy, who resembled Shi Jin, was practicing martial arts in this open space without any cover, clearly not caring that others were stealing his skills. Why was he picking a fight after I'd only been standing here watching for a short while? Did he really think I was easy to bully?
Actually, you can't really blame Shi Jin. The other man was exercising shirtless, and a grown man next to him was staring at him with gleam in his eyes. Any normal man would find that unbearable.
Wang Xuan didn't know what the other person was thinking, nor did he care what they thought. He simply shouted coldly, "And who are you? What business is it of yours that I'm standing here? Do you think this land belongs to you?"
"You're right, this land really is mine!" the young man shouted. "I am the young master of Shi Family Village, known in the martial arts world as 'Nine-Tattooed Dragon Shi Jin'!"
"This fellow really is Shi Jin!" Wang Xuan chuckled. "I'll teach this kid a lesson and show him my skills, so I can take him under my wing!"
At this moment, Shi Jin had already brought his staff down on Wang Xuan's head. Even before the staff landed, a gust of wind had already ruffled Wang Xuan's hair. If the blow had landed squarely, although it wouldn't have been fatal, it would have certainly given Wang Xuan a face full of bruises.
"You unfilial disciple, you are trying to betray your master and ancestors!" Regardless of whether the other party was willing or not, Wang Xuan had already referred to himself as the other party's master.
He dared not be careless, and with all his internal energy combined with his 600-pound physical strength, he struck at the stick that Shi Jin was throwing at him.
"Crack!" With just one palm strike, the coiled dragon staff was broken in two, and Shi Jin was forced back five or six steps, staring at Wang Xuan in shock!
"How is this possible! I, Shi Jin, have practiced martial arts since childhood, and have studied under seven or eight famous masters. I have been training my body day and night, and my arms are as strong as five hundred pounds. How could I be so easily defeated!" Shi Jin was obviously shocked and dared not face reality.
Unexpectedly, although Wang Xuan appeared completely unmoved, he was secretly relieved.
Unexpectedly, Shi Jin's physical strength was as high as 500 jin, while Wang Xuan's physical strength was only 600 jin!
Fortunately, Wang Xuan did not overestimate himself and used all his internal energy; otherwise, if he had taken the blow head-on with his bare body, he would definitely have been injured.
Seeing that Shi Jin refused to face reality and was dragging that half-stick towards Wang Xuanlun again, Wang Xuanlun just sneered.
This kid's asking for it, isn't he? Today I'll show you why flowers are so red!
Wang Xuan already possessed a strength of 600 jin, and now, surging his entire body with internal energy, his strength doubled, reaching over 1,000 jin! In terms of speed, Wang Xuan was several times faster than his opponent!
With a swift movement, he deftly dodged the blow, then lunged forward and knocked Shi Jin to the ground with a single punch.
Shi Jin continued to struggle, but Wang Xuan didn't tolerate him and punched him with a fist the size of a sandbag, giving him a pair of black eyes for free.
When the servants and retainers of the surrounding estate saw their young master being beaten to the ground, several rushed over to help. Wang Xuan unleashed another flurry of punches, quickly knocking down a large group of them.
"You worthless wretch, who can withstand a single punch from me!" Wang Xuan looked around arrogantly, as if he could punch the old folks' home in Nanshan and kick the kindergarten in Beihai.
"How lonely it is to be invincible!" Wang Xuan sighed, looking down at Shi Jin, who was lying on the ground after being beaten, and asked, "Are you convinced yet, kid? If not, let's continue fighting."
"Let's just keep getting beaten!" Even with his strong personality, Shi Jin had no choice but to back down in the face of this one-sided situation.
Chapter Nine: Spare the rod and spoil the child!
Since Shi Jin had already given in, Wang Xuan stopped beating him and instead said with feigned disdain, "I'm not trying to be mean, but your martial arts are mediocre. You can only bully those peasants. If you encounter someone with real skills, you'll be doomed sooner or later. You're wasting your talent."
As he said this, he deliberately shook his head, looking regretful.
"What does this mean?" Shi Jin raised his head, looked at Wang Xuan with his panda eyes, and asked with some anticipation.
Wang Xuan stopped wasting words and asked directly, "My martial arts are a hundred times better than yours. Would you be willing to become my disciple and learn superior martial arts from me?"
Previously, Shi Jin was outwardly compliant but inwardly resentful, plotting revenge. But now, hearing that Wang Xuan was willing to teach him martial arts, all thoughts of revenge vanished.
Despite his fierce personality, Shi Jin was a complete martial arts fanatic. In the original story, Shi Jin was knocked to the ground by Wang Jin, the chief instructor of the 800,000 Imperial Guards. But because Wang Jin was willing to teach him martial arts, Shi Jin immediately got up and fawned over him, offering him tea and water.
Wang Xuan believed his martial arts skills were far superior to Wang Jin's, so he wasn't worried that Shi Jin wouldn't obediently become his disciple.
As Wang Xuan had expected, Shi Jin disregarded the fact that Wang Xuan was about the same age as him and immediately bowed deeply, saying, "Master, please accept my bow."
Wang Xuan squinted his eyes, and as Shi Jin bowed, something inexplicable flowed into his heart.
He completely ignored Shi Jin and quietly summoned the light screen of the Eternal Tower of Heaven and Earth to check his own fortune.
Upon seeing this, Wang Xuan was truly surprised, because his luck value had increased by 100 points!
As expected of one of the main characters in the Water Margin world, Shi Jin gained 100 points of luck simply by establishing a master-disciple relationship with Wang Xuan!
However, these luck points are all external, somewhat unstable and fleeting. If it were an ordinary martial arts instructor, most of this luck would quickly dissipate. But Wang Xuan is different; he has the Eternal Tower of Heaven and Earth to suppress his luck, so these increases in luck are real and tangible!
"Master, are you still angry about my offense just now?" Shi Jin asked somewhat nervously when Wang Xuan ignored him.
Wang Xuan snapped out of his daze and said with a smile, "Why would I blame you? Now that you're my disciple, I'll have plenty of opportunities to deal with you slowly."
Shi Jin suddenly felt a chill run down his spine, as if he had been tricked into boarding a pirate ship.
Wang Xuan was about to have a chat with his good disciple when he heard hurried footsteps in the distance, followed by someone shouting, "My son has offended our honored guest. We hope you will not hold it against him and will forgive him this time!"
The voice was aged and filled with anxiety, and Wang Xuan guessed who it was.
An old man, nearly sixty years old, with white hair and beard, wearing a dust-proof hat and a wide-sewed shirt, came over, surrounded by a group of servants.
Without a doubt, this old man was the head of Shi Family Village, Shi Jin's father, and Old Master Shi.
Even with Wang Xuan's incredibly thick skin, he couldn't help but feel embarrassed. This person had kindly offered him lodging, yet he had beaten up their son—a truly unethical act.
He gestured towards Shi Jin with his lip. Shi Jin smiled wryly and stepped forward to say to Old Master Shi, "Father, this young master is highly skilled in martial arts. I have already become his disciple."
Hearing that the two sides had reconciled and that his son had even become the other's apprentice, Old Master Shi wasn't angry at all; in fact, he was quite pleased. After all, he often had headaches dealing with such an unruly son, and now that someone was helping him discipline him, he was happy to have some peace of mind.
And so, Wang Xuan settled down in Shi Family Village. Just like at home, he spent his days strengthening his muscles and bones with body-refining techniques and his morning and evening breathing exercises.
However, unlike before, he used to practice alone, but now he has Shi Jin by his side.
He had just taken in a disciple, who had almost become his punching bag during practice. Every day during practice, he would inevitably be hit with punches and kicks, with the saying: "Great disciples are made under the stick."
Shi Jin was skeptical, but he had no choice but to submit to his master's clutches.
Although the spiritual energy in the Water Margin world was extremely thin and unsuitable for martial arts practice, Wang Xuan possessed a vast amount of medicinal power within his body, so it had no effect on him. In just over ten days, his cultivation level broke through again, reaching the third level of the Acquired Realm.
"At the third level of the Day After Tomorrow realm, my physical strength has increased to 800 jin. If I fully unleash my internal energy, my strength can double again!" Feeling the immense power within his body, Wang Xuan couldn't help but smile. He said to Shi Jin beside him, "My good disciple, martial arts training requires perseverance. We can't slack off. Let's go practice again!"
"Again?!" Shi Jin was on the verge of tears. He had just been beaten up by his master this morning under the pretext of martial arts practice. Why was he going to be beaten up again this afternoon? Wasn't one beating usually enough?
Since he couldn't refuse, he had no choice but to learn to adapt. Shi Jin shouted and swung his fist at Wang Xuan, wanting to strike first.
"Young man, you're being too naive!" Wang Xuan sneered, reached out and grabbed the fist that was clenching, pulling it forward.
Shi Jin immediately lost his balance and fell flat on his face.
"As expected, it will take two more days to hone this newly added power before I can fully control it."
Wang Xuan stopped attacking and looked at Shi Jin, who was lying on the ground and refused to get up, and said, "You have been my disciple for so long now, and today I will teach you the true techniques!"
The reason he hadn't taught Wang Xuan martial arts techniques before was because Wang Xuan's own strength wasn't strong enough. Without using his internal energy, his raw strength wasn't much stronger than Shi Jin's, and he didn't want to be outdone by his disciple.
Now that his cultivation has made another breakthrough, he can naturally pass on his skills to Shi Jin.
Wang Xuan originally intended to casually teach Shi Jin a cultivation technique. The Wang family was an ancient family with a long history, and they had collected quite a few cultivation techniques. Before coming, Wang Xuan had even made a special note of a few low-level cultivation techniques.
But in the end, Wang Xuan still passed on the fundamental method he had cultivated, the "Purple Yang True Explanation," to others. It was an instinctive intuition, as if doing so would greatly benefit him.
The "True Explanation of Ziyang" is profound and extensive. Although Wang Xuan only taught the first volume, it still required a thick book to record it.
Shi Jin didn't have Wang Xuan's photographic memory, so he was much slower at teaching.
It took Shi Jin a full month to master the basics of "Ziyang Zhenjie". After accumulating knowledge and experience, he leaped to the first level of the Acquired Realm.
Although Shi Jin's physical strength had not increased compared to before, his speed had increased significantly, and he had also gained an extra internal force.
Chapter Ten: Attacking Shaohua Mountain!
"The spiritual energy in this world is too thin, almost non-existent. Is this the legendary world of the end of Dharma?" Wang Xuan rubbed his chin, watching his disciple jump and dance with excitement because of his great progress in strength. He couldn't help but feel a little helpless.
With Shi Jin's physical strength of 500 jin, he has a solid foundation. If he were in the main world, he would be able to cultivate to the second level of the acquired realm in just a few days.
However, the spiritual energy in the Water Margin world was insufficient. Even though Shi Jin followed the secret recipe taught by Wang Xuan for medicinal baths and meals, it still took him a month to reach the first level of the Acquired Realm.
It is worth mentioning that in this month, Wang Xuan's cultivation has broken through two minor realms, and he is now at the fifth level of the Acquired Realm!
How strong is the fifth level of the Day After Tomorrow realm? Wang Xuan once tested it. He could lift a boulder weighing 1,300 jin with just his physical strength. If he circulated his internal energy, his strength would double!
Without exaggeration, Wang Xuan's current strength is invincible in the Water Margin world—at least on the surface.
The question remains: does the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden truly exist in this world? Logically, this is merely a low-level world, incapable of containing such a powerful being. However, Song Jiang received the Nine Heavens Mystic Maiden's inheritance, adding another layer of mystery to the situation.
While lost in thought, Wang Xuan gave Shi Jin a few more pointers, urging him to practice diligently.
As dusk approached, a servant from Shi Family Village hurriedly entered from outside and headed towards Old Master Shi's residence.
Wang Xuan also knew this servant, whose name was Shi Erniu. It was this man who opened the door when Wang Xuan knocked on the door to ask for lodging and also informed him of the situation.
"Erniu, where are you rushing off to?" Wang Xuan asked casually, not really paying attention.
Shi Erniu knew that Brother Wang was Shi Jin's master and possessed exceptional martial arts skills. Upon seeing Wang Xuan, he felt as if he had seen a savior and anxiously said to Wang Xuan, "Young Master Wang, something terrible has happened! Someone was lurking outside the manor and was caught by the servants. After some interrogation, we learned who they were—it turned out to be the bandits from Shaohua Mountain Stronghold!"
The bandits of Shaohua Mountain Stronghold numbered over seven hundred, and their three leaders were highly skilled in martial arts. A small village like Shijia Village, with only three or four hundred households in total, would be completely unable to resist if the enemy were to attack.
"The bandits of Shaohua Mountain Stronghold? If you hadn't mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten about them."
When Wang Xuan first arrived in the world of Water Margin, he was surrounded by more than a dozen bandits from Shaohua Mountain Stronghold. Wang Xuan displayed his skills and killed all the bandits.
For a mountain stronghold with only a few hundred people, the sudden loss of more than a dozen people is naturally something that cannot be ignored, and the other party will definitely investigate.
It seems that the bandits have now followed the clues left by Wang Xuan and found Shijia Village.
"Those mere bandits, do they really think I'm afraid of them?" Wang Xuan sneered.
Even with his original cultivation level of the second stage of the acquired realm, he was confident that he could defeat Shaohua Mountain with just a few dozen henchmen by his side.
Now his cultivation has increased to the fifth level of the Acquired Realm, his strength and speed have more than doubled, and he is protected by a treasure robe woven from thousand-year-old ice silkworm silk. Even if he were to fight alone, he would be confident of victory.