"Good, good, good!"
Zhou An laughed heartily, his heart filled with joy.
Even though he had done his best to overestimate Zhang Yao's talent, he did not expect Zhang Yao to still give him such a big surprise.
In less than three months, Golden Furnace Technique reached Small Success!
Even with the foundation of Great Success in Health Maintenance Stance, such talent was unprecedented to him, truly extraordinary talent!
"Heaven has treated me well indeed."
Zhou An's elderly heart was greatly comforted, and his whole body relaxed.
Such a genius represented the entire future of a sect.
"Zhang Yao."
After a while, Zhou An calmed his mental realm, restrained his smile, and said, "I am very satisfied with your character, but I must remind you of something."
"Although you are young and have achieved such accomplishments, you must not become arrogant and complacent, but rather avoid impatience and continue to persevere."
"I hope that in your hands, our line's Golden Furnace Technique will truly flourish, perhaps even surpassing predecessors and innovating!"
"Yes, Master."
Zhang Yao respectfully bowed and said, "I will keep Master's teachings in my heart."
Zhou An nodded slightly, stroked his beard and said, "Your Golden Furnace Technique has reached Small Success, from tomorrow onward, switch to a different training method."
"Your musculature and physical capability are already impressive, tomorrow morning I will teach you the Great Vajra Fist."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yao revealed a hint of joy: "Thank you, Master!"
......
The next day, early morning.
After breakfast, Meng Zongwei and Zhang Yannian went to teach the martial arts hall apprentices, and Zhou Hongxiu also left the martial arts hall.
Golden Furnace Technique is not suitable for females, she had long joined the Hong Yun Martial Arts Hall, training leg techniques, and often went there to seek guidance and train.
"Zhang Yao, come with me."
Zhou An took Zhang Yao to the martial arts practice field in the backyard.
The practice field here wasn't as large as the outer courtyard, but had more complete equipment and servants responsible for maintenance.
"Today, let me first tell you about the cultivation technique after reaching Small Success in the Golden Furnace Technique..."
Zhou An patiently began to explain to Zhang Yao.
After reaching Small Success in Golden Furnace Technique, where muscles are strong and blood is abundant, one must start pursuing "Horizontal Refining" transformation.
The key is "Externally burned by blazing fire, Internally refined like a furnace", combining internal and external to temper oneself as a golden cauldron and copper pill, then it is considered true Great Success.
External force stimulation is using various equipment to strike the entire body, except for vital areas like the crotch, throat, eyes, and temples, all areas must endure stimulation.
Internal force harmony involves accelerating the circulation and absorption of blood and Qi using secret medicines like herb baths, ointments, and medicinal wines, prompting the body's transformation.
"These external and internal methods both need constant change."
"For example, external force stimulation starts with cloth hammers, soon changes to wood hammers, wooden swords, wooden boards, and finally changes to iron hammers and unsharpened steel blades and iron swords."
"Internal force harmony, the secret medicines used become increasingly precious, a late-stage barrel of medicinal wine costs dozens of taels of silver and takes years to prepare."
Zhou An paused for a moment, then continued: "To refine true gold by roaring fire, one must endure this suffering to achieve martial arts Great Success and stand out."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Yao said: "Master, I am not afraid of hardship."
"I'm just worried that I'm progressing too fast in my cultivation, and that you may not have enough ointment and medicinal wine prepared."
"Hahaha..."
Zhou An laughed heartily, saying: "I would love for you to cultivate faster."
"Rest assured, there will be enough ointment and medicinal wine, at worst I'll earn less."
Those able to train at the martial arts hall are at least from well-off families, many from wealthy households or merchant backgrounds.
They don't have the same treatment as Zhang Yao, after reaching Small Success in cultivation, if they want to further progress, they must purchase the ointment and medicinal wine from Zhou An.
Meng Zongwei and Zhang Yannian have both passed this stage and no longer need these, so Zhou An naturally prioritizes supplying Zhang Yao, his closed-door disciple.
Zhang Yao rubbed his head and chuckled: "With your assurance, I am relieved."
"Alright, stop jabbering."
Zhou An waved his hand, indicating him to step back two steps: "Cultivation techniques aren't mastered in a day, let me first impart to you the Great Vajra Fist."
"Each sect has its own coordinated ultimate skills, like Thunder Martial Arts Hall's 'Thunderbolt Saber Technique' and Celestial Python Martial Arts Hall's 'Dragon and Snake Divine Spear', etc."
"Generally speaking, fists and kicks can't compete with swords and sabers, so whether it's Inner Family True Inheritance or External Martial Arts, real ultimate skills are focused on weapons."
"Only Horizontal Refining of Hard Skills is an exception, since after all, weapons are just extensions of fists and feet, if your fists can compete with swords and sabers, then the body itself is the strongest weapon."
"If our Golden Furnace Technique is trained to Perfection, the fists can break steles and split stones, shatter gold and jade, and when combined with the Great Vajra Fist, it becomes invincible, fighting one against a hundred is no problem."
After speaking, Zhou An exhaled and opened his voice, slowing his movements to begin practicing the Great Vajra Fist.
"Boom, boom..."
Zhang Yao stepped back a few steps, vaguely feeling the air buzz and vibrate, the sound roaring like a muffled drum.
This was Zhou An deliberately slowing his pace, if he unleashed full power, the sound might truly be like thunder, and with one punch, he could even smash an iron man to pieces.
After dozens of breaths, Zhou An ended the form, slowly exhaled a mouthful of muddy Qi, and said: "This Great Vajra Fist embodies the idea of simplifying complexity and directly entering the heart of the dragon, with only eight moves in total."
"Your memory is exceptional, nearly photographic, you should have memorized it all, right?"
"I've memorized it, Master."
Zhang Yao nodded.
He watched carefully from the side, this Great Vajra Fist was indeed formidable, fiercely powerful, with every move being aggressive and deadly, aiming directly at vital points, far surpassing the Twenty-four Bear Pole Forms.
Moreover, he also realized that this fist technique must be paired with Golden Furnace Technique to truly unleash its power.
Otherwise, some killing moves could easily turn into mutual injury exchanges, but paired with the Perfection of Golden Furnace Technique, which makes one immune to swords and spears, it truly becomes unstoppable.
"Very good."
Zhou An nodded, indicating: "Then perform a round for me to see, if there are any mistakes I can promptly correct them."
......
In the blink of an eye, half a month has passed.
Aside from eating and drinking, Zhang Yao dedicated himself wholeheartedly to arduous training, spending his time on "Golden Furnace Technique" and Great Vajra Fist.
It must be said, joining Zhou An's group was the best decision he made since crossing over.
Not only did he move into the martial arts hall, with no worries for food and clothing, but when training there were also a group of servants and senior brothers to assist.
If he were alone, not to mention the ointment and medicinal wine would cost a hefty sum, even overcoming the external force stimulation stage would be difficult.
And with Master Zhou An's careful guidance combined with his astonishing talent, his martial arts progress can be said to be changing by the day and advancing by leaps and bounds.