Chapter Forty-Seven: Ambition

After exchanging a round of mutual praise in business, Qin Yi pointed to the martial training ground, where over twenty people were stepping deftly atop plum blossom posts, their daggers gleaming and flickering in the sunlight—a martial art that seemed rather impressive.

“Master Gao, are your disciples practicing a dagger-based weapon technique?” Qin Yi asked with keen interest.

“Yes, this technique is called ‘Golden Snake Thrust.’ It’s a five-stage weapon martial art. You know our school’s popular Meteor Chasing Moon Steps is a six-stage movement technique, but movement arts alone lack fighting prowess. When paired with an assassination-type weapon technique, it greatly improves overall strength!” Gao Li explained.

“That makes sense!” Qin Yi nodded in agreement.

He had practiced several movement arts himself and found that while they didn’t boost strength much, they greatly increased speed. A person’s foundational power relies on strength and speed. As Gao Li observed, weapons can compensate for strength.

Qin Yi understood this well. Through his recent encounters with adversaries, he realized that in one-on-one combat, wielding a weapon didn’t make much difference to him. But when facing multiple opponents, using a weapon allowed him to dispatch enemies far more swiftly.

When strength reaches a certain level, fists can cause considerable harm, but in terms of the speed and efficiency of taking lives, weapons are superior. A small blade, if thrust into the enemy’s throat or heart, guarantees death—and with less effort.

A secret move like Fivefold Force, if landed on the enemy’s neck, could be fatal, but a dagger needs no special skill—just a firm stab to the carotid artery, and the enemy is finished.

So, as Gao Li had said, after training Meteor Chasing Moon Steps, the increase in strength wasn’t significant, but paired with a weapon? Great strength wasn’t required; as long as the dagger could pierce the enemy’s body, it would inflict tremendous damage. The key, however, was speed.

This was why Qin Yi suddenly became interested in weapon-based martial arts. Against weaker foes, using a weapon made things much easier and less taxing.

“How much is the tuition for Golden Snake Thrust?” Qin Yi asked.

“One hundred fifty taels for this technique, but for you, Captain Qin, I’ll charge just one hundred taels,” Gao Li offered generously.

In truth, the main profit for his school came from selling secret medicines, not tuition. To progress quickly in any martial art, secret medicines were essential.

Qin Yi calculated that Meteor Chasing Moon Steps had been discounted to two hundred forty taels, and he had about three hundred fifty taels on hand.

Enough!

“Thank you, Master Gao,” Qin Yi expressed his gratitude.

“No need to thank me—let’s just consider it friendship.”

“Master Gao, I’m usually on duty, so I can only come for training around dusk each day. Is it alright if I come at this time?” Qin Yi asked.

“No problem at all. I’ll personally instruct you, and if I’m busy, my chief disciple will teach you. How does that sound?”

“That’s very kind of you.”

With that, Qin Yi paid his fees and hurried away from Meteor Chasing Moon Martial School.

Five days later.

Qin Yi arrived early at the school.

“Captain Qin, why are you here so early today?” Gao Li was overseeing a group of disciples; upon seeing Qin Yi, he handed supervision to his chief disciple and came over with a smile.

“It’s my day off, so I got here early,” Qin Yi replied.

“Oh, so today you’ll continue with Meteor Chasing Moon Steps?” Gao Li inquired.

“Since I have the time, I’d like to learn Golden Snake Thrust.”

“Certainly—let’s head to the back courtyard.”

“Very well.”

In the back courtyard, Gao Li demonstrated Golden Snake Thrust for Qin Yi. Paired with Meteor Chasing Moon Steps, the angles were cunning, every move aimed to kill. Qin Yi could not help but marvel at how perfectly Golden Snake Thrust complemented Meteor Chasing Moon Steps.

“Master Gao truly possesses five-stage strength!” Qin Yi thought to himself.

It was said that the old master of Meteor Chasing Moon Martial School had reached seven-stage strength twenty years ago. This was one reason why Gao Li, though only at five-stage, could uphold the school.

Applause sounded as Qin Yi clapped after Gao Li’s demonstration.

“Master Gao, with Golden Snake Thrust and Meteor Chasing Moon Steps, your school truly has a match made in heaven!” Qin Yi exclaimed.

“I wouldn’t dare claim it’s heaven-sent, but Golden Snake Thrust and Meteor Chasing Moon Steps are indeed highly compatible. Both techniques prioritize speed!”

“Indeed.”

“Our Golden Snake Thrust centers on speed, combining agile, unpredictable moves with the force of velocity to kill opponents swiftly. Golden Snake Thrust leans toward the assassin’s speed style—emphasizing speed, precision, and ruthlessness, targeting the enemy’s vital points. Because both techniques lack raw strength, precision and speed are paramount,” Gao Li explained.

“Within the same stage, if these two arts are applied skillfully, one can sometimes easily slay an opponent. But should a mistake occur, it could spell one’s own demise!”

“Oh?”

“As you saw, if my strike is faster and more precise than the enemy’s, I can achieve a one-hit kill. But if my opponent is just as fast and stronger, we’d be at a disadvantage.”

“Especially against heavily armored foes, we’d be completely outmatched! Our attacks would be useless, and if struck by them, we’d be in grave danger,” Gao Li said.

“However, enemies rarely wear heavy armor—unless on the battlefield,” Qin Yi replied with a laugh.

“True. I merely wish to highlight that for those who rely on speed, it’s essential to outpace the enemy. If speed is equal, or only slightly superior, we fall into disadvantage. Unless, of course, we study multiple martial arts to compensate for our lack of strength. But that’s exceedingly difficult—fighters who develop in all aspects are exceedingly rare, each a renowned figure.”

Qin Yi understood Gao Li’s point. He didn’t know if top-tier martial arts were powerful enough on their own, but for those that weren’t, even mastering a six-stage movement art would only offer limited speed. To break through and go faster, one must practice two, three, or more arts in tandem, stacking their effects to push the limits.

The same held true for attack techniques. He himself had trained several hand techniques, so his strength rivaled seven-stage fighters. But ordinary people lacked the time and talent to hone so many arts to perfection.

Thus, in the martial world, specialization often occurred.

Leaving Meteor Chasing Moon Martial School, Qin Yi mused: Until I acquire a top-tier martial art, stacking techniques will be my path.