Volume 1, Chapter 8 – Vajra Divine Fist

“This is a fist technique of the Zen Sect, called 《Vajra Divine Fist》. It’s a first-class method in the Body Tempering Realm for tempering the flesh, but this fist art is vicious in its force and explosively heavy in power. It’s really not very suitable for a woman to cultivate…”

Su Lanyue trailed off. There were two main reasons why 《Vajra Divine Fist》 was not very suitable for women. First, this fist art had never been widely spread; she herself had only obtained it by a stroke of fortune. Second, very few women were willing to cultivate it.

In terms of innate physical capability and strength, women were weaker than men by several degrees—that was an unquestionable fact. For fist techniques as incomparably fierce as Vajra Divine Fist, a woman would often have to put in several times the effort of a man just to achieve the same results.

The amount of effort required was enough to make the vast majority of women shrink back in fear.

Body Tempering cultivation arts suitable for women were not rare. Rather than spend so much energy on this, it was easier to just look for another technique. Most people in the world preferred taking shortcuts.

But from another angle, fist techniques of this type were among the very few arts that could narrow the innate gap between men and women already at the Body Tempering Realm.

Whether that was an advantage or a drawback depended entirely on one’s own view.

After hesitating for a moment, Su Lanyue chose not to dissect the pros and cons of this fist art in depth for Shi Lan. She had no idea how long this burst of enthusiasm for learning martial arts would last. Maybe it would be gone in two days. There was no need to bring up too much.

Shi Lan received the brocade box and opened it.

Inside the box lay a small thread-bound booklet with a gray cover.

Vajra Divine Fist…

Shi Lan took out the booklet and flipped open the first page.

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On the first page was a drawing of a Zen Sect Vajra, clad in thick armor and holding a ritual implement, brows bristling and eyes glaring, expression awe-inspiring and stern.

The moment she saw this Vajra, a figure appeared in Shi Lan’s mind and began to perform the fist technique, one move after another.

The fist art was simple and direct, its moves swift, ruthless, and decisive.

【Congratulations to the host for obtaining 《Vajra Divine Fist》. Current proficiency: Not Yet Initiated】

As the system’s prompt sounded, Shi Lan, a bit astonished, came back to herself.

“This fist art was written by a Zen Sect expert. It contains a trace of true meaning of the martial path, which can assist your cultivation and give twice the result for half the effort.” Seeing the surprise on Shi Lan’s face, Su Lanyue explained.

“Thank you, Mother!”

Shi Lan put the booklet back into the brocade box, closed it, and stood to give a formal bow.

“This fist art must be carefully kept. You must not lose it,” Su Lanyue reminded her.

“I’ll remember.”

Shi Lan answered, bowed once more, and prepared to take her leave.

“Training in the martial path is not like everyday things. It consumes a great deal of blood and vital essence. Later, I’ll have the kitchens send over some medicinal dishes to nourish you—make sure you finish them. If there’s anything you don’t understand in your cultivation, you can come and ask me at any time.”

Su Lanyue reminded her of a few more details, then rose to personally see Shi Lan out of the separate courtyard.

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Watching Shi Lan’s departing back, Su Lanyue slowly furrowed her brows. Why had Shi Lan suddenly become interested in the Martial Dao?

After thinking for a moment, Su Lanyue summoned Zique.

“From today onward, keep an eye on the Young Master’s movements for me. If he leaves the residence, follow him. If there’s nothing going on, don’t go and bother him. Understand?”

Zique was slightly stunned, then nodded in assent.

……

Clutching the brocade box, Shi Lan returned to her own quarters. The moves of Vajra Divine Fist were already roughly imprinted in her mind.

She took out the booklet and flipped through it from beginning to end once more to reinforce her memory. Then Shi Lan walked out into the courtyard and took her first step onto the martial path.

Following the memory in her mind, Shi Lan slowly set her stance, practicing the moves one by one. The heavy, vigorous fist technique slowly flowed forth.

She had only gone through less than half a set of Vajra Divine Fist when her body became as if fished out of water, drenched in sweat. All her muscles were trembling slightly, and a wave-like soreness washed through every inch of her.

In the end, Shi Lan still failed to complete the entire set. Her strength gave out, and she collapsed onto the ground.

The strain Vajra Divine Fist put on the body was simply too great. Shi Lan had had no foundation in the martial path before this; being able to complete more than half a set already spoke to her extraordinary perseverance.

Shi Feng stood quietly at a corner of the rooftop. When he saw Shi Lan collapse from exhaustion, his first instinct was to go and help her up, but for various reasons, he forcibly suppressed that impulse.

A tangle of feelings churned in Shi Feng’s heart. He had only been away for half a month. Just what had happened in that time? Shi Lan, who had never liked the martial path, was actually starting to train—and in a fist art so harsh and hard in its form, no less.

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Lying on the ground, Shi Lan couldn’t stop herself from panting heavily. Before the soreness in her muscles had eased, a far more intense pain suddenly flared up in her lower abdomen.

“Hss…”

Shi Lan drew in a sharp breath. The flushed color on her face from practicing the fist art drained away in an instant. She clutched her lower abdomen and curled up into a ball.

What is going on?!

Even the figure lurking deep in Shi Lan’s mind couldn’t help but clutch its own lower abdomen. How did this hurt even more than getting stabbed?

The pain only grew worse. Shi Lan felt like she was short of breath, her consciousness beginning to blur.

In the instant before she blacked out, Shi Lan saw a pair of blue, thick-soled cloth boots come to a stop before her.

Shi Feng anxiously scooped Shi Lan up in his arms, strode to the door, and kicked it open with one blow.

After laying Shi Lan flat on the bed, he glanced at her sweat-soaked clothes, hesitated for a moment, then let his deep true qi surge out. In just a few blinks of an eye, all the moisture had been steamed away.

Feeling for Shi Lan’s pulse, Shi Feng then propped her up and guided strands of true qi into her body, beginning to circulate her qi and blood through her meridians and unblock her vitality.

Watching the color return to Shi Lan’s face, Shi Feng finally let out a small sigh of relief. He brushed away the dirt and dust on her, took off her boots, then laid her down again and pulled the quilt over her.

Standing at the bedside, Shi Feng stared at Shi Lan for a long time before finally walking out of the room, pulling the door shut, and using true qi to secure the lock.

……

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“Young Master? Young Master!”

Amid the calls, Shi Lan slowly opened her eyes.

Recalling what she had seen just before losing consciousness, Shi Lan’s expression changed. She sat up and checked herself over. Only after confirming that her clothes showed no signs of being disturbed did she breathe a sigh of relief. Having her identity exposed was no trivial matter.

She had just been saved—by someone. Who was it? Before Shi Lan could think further, a knocking sounded at the door again.

“Young Master, are you there?”

Shi Lan gathered her thoughts, got out of bed, and had only taken two steps when she suddenly realized that her condition was better than it had ever been. The stabbing pain in her lower abdomen and the soreness in her muscles had completely vanished.

Not only that, but even her physical strength had increased significantly.

Shi Lan opened the door. Standing outside was Zique, holding a food container in her hands.

“Young Master, I thought you’d gone out. The Madam told the kitchens to prepare medicinal dishes for you and asked me to bring them over…”

Shi Lan took the food container with one hand and waved the other. “I know. You can go back.”

The words Zique had been ready to say were all blocked in her throat, and she could only leave helplessly.

Shi Lan could see that Zique had some feelings for her. That was only natural, but right now she truly lacked both the energy and the will for such things. Better to cut off Zique’s hopes sooner rather than later.