Chapter 9: Mastering Martial Arts for Strength! A Single Cent Stumps a Hero!

After lunch, Zhu Gaochi rested for half an hour before beginning his martial training.

In the past, he had to stay in the main hall until afternoon, studying the obscure and difficult words of the sages.

But after the incident involving Empress Ma, the old emperor took a particular liking to him. Not only did he arrange for Marquis Wuding, Guo Ying, to be his master to personally teach him martial arts and strengthen his body, but he also exempted him from half a day of cultural lessons.

At first, Guo Ying wanted to refuse taking in this chubby little boy as a disciple. In his eyes, the child was pampered, broad-bodied, and seemed wholly unsuited for martial arts.

Yet, the emperor’s command was absolute, so he could not decline.

Guo Ying thought he would treat him like a soldier in training—strict and harsh—make the boy endure some hardship, and he would soon beg the emperor to stop the martial lessons.

No one expected that the boy would endure for three whole days.

Zhu Gaochi was only five years old, the perfect age to begin martial training.

The first step was tendon stretching.

“Ah! It hurts! It hurts!” The young boy’s face flushed red as he kept slapping his inner thigh. The pain from the stretching was far more intense than he had imagined. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, soaking his collar.

Seeing this, Guo Ying showed no sign of stopping. Instead, he mocked, “Chubby, if you can’t hold on, then forget it—you’re not meant to train in martial arts!”

Zhu Gaochi gritted his teeth, cold sweat streaming down, but stubbornly said, “Continue. Put some more strength into it!”

“What? You damn Guo Er, haven’t you eaten?”

No way, this kid had never been taken advantage of like this before!

To live longer, how could such pain matter?

Hearing such rebellious words, even Guo Ying couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Alright, alright, good boy. Let’s see how long you can hold out!”

In the next moment, Zhu Gaochi’s piercing screams echoed through the air.

Seeing the boy in such agony, the old emperor’s face changed multiple times. He shouted fiercely, “Damn it! This Guo Er is so bold! He doesn’t treat my precious grandson like a human!”

Just as he was about to intervene, the crown prince stopped him, saying, “Father, let Gaochi continue. Otherwise, he won’t live past his prime. This is what the divine doctor said.”

Hearing this, the old emperor sighed and halted.

“You say the child is unfortunate, cursed with such a troublesome illness…”

At that moment, a soldier hurried over.

“Your Majesty, urgent news from eight hundred miles away: the puppet emperor of the Northern Yuan has died, and the heir has ascended the throne!”

Upon hearing this, the old emperor and the crown prince’s expressions darkened, filled with shock and gravity, and they quickly departed.

Not far off, Guo Ying’s expression also shifted slightly. He guessed something big had happened, or else the emperor and the prince wouldn’t be so flustered.

Zhu Gaochi finally had a rare moment of rest and collapsed onto the ground, drenched in sweat.

“Hey, Old Guo, what are you daydreaming about?”

“If you have the skill, go ahead and train me to death! Why stop now?”

Guo Ying glared at him irritably. “You brat, all you’ve got is a sharp mouth!”

“I’m curious though—why insist on martial training and endure this hardship?”

Wiping the sweat from his face, Zhu Gaochi smiled faintly, “The divine doctor checked my pulse. I’m born fat, and if I don’t train in martial arts, I won’t live past my prime.”

“I want to live longer, to see more of this flourishing Ming dynasty!”

Guo Ying was momentarily stunned, his expression shifting from surprise to admiration before settling back to calm.

“Then what the hell are you still sitting here for? Get up!”

Zhu Gaochi was speechless.

From then on, the training intensity increased tenfold.

Even with Zhu Gaochi’s strong determination, he couldn’t help but scream in pain repeatedly.

Martial arts training was indeed harsh, unbearably so.

After the tendon stretching, Zhu Gaochi collapsed, utterly defeated.

“Kid, want to take a break?” Even Guo Ying felt a hint of pity.

Lying on the ground, Zhu Gaochi looked at the large figure looming over him. Taking a deep breath, he mustered his spirit and grinned. “Guo Er, if you’ve got the skill, train me to death; otherwise, I’ll look down on you!”

Guo Ying remained expressionless—in truth, his face was naturally stern, so even if he had emotions, they were hard to detect.

“Stand like a pillar! Fifteen minutes per set, four sets in total. Begin!”

Zhu Gaochi’s performance impressed Guo Ying.

No matter how difficult or painful, the chubby boy persisted. Head upright, neck straight, chest slightly sunken, waist straightened, hips tucked, shoulders relaxed—the posture wasn’t perfect, but his energy and spirit were unmistakable.

“Practice a hundred times is not as good as standing still once. Standing still is the foundation of martial arts!”

“Standing trains the lower body. If your foundation is unstable, all the fancy moves, like the Five Lightning Whip, are just tricks!”

What? The Five Lightning Whip?

Zhu Gaochi’s consciousness gradually blurred. He was simply too exhausted.

After all, he was just a five-year-old child; how could his body withstand such brutal training?

“The foundation must be steady. When charging and striking, you must be fierce and unyielding, undefeated in a hundred battles…”

Guo Ying’s gruff voice rang in his ears, but Zhu Gaochi finally could not hold on. Darkness enveloped his vision as he fainted.

Fortunately, Guo Ying was always watching closely and caught him swiftly.

“You brat, your mouth sure is stubborn!” The stern-faced man smiled, then carried Zhu Gaochi to the Imperial Medical Court.

When Dai Sigong saw the unconscious boy preparing to treat him, Guo Ying stopped him.

“No need. He’s just overexerted from training.”

“Here’s a prescription. Arrange for medicinal baths; otherwise, his body will be damaged.”

After leaving the prescription, Guo Ying turned and left immediately.

Dai Sigong was dumbfounded. “Big brother, you didn’t even take payment!”

The herbs at the Imperial Medical Court were premium and costly—no one worked for free.

Looking at the sickly Zhu Gaochi, Dai Sigong shook his head with a wry smile.

“Damn kid, I really owe you one!”

When Zhu Gaochi woke, he found himself soaking in a small wooden tub, his entire body burning with pain but feeling warmly comforted.

“What is this?”

Dai Sigong sat nearby, tallying expenses.

“You’re awake?”

“How do you feel?”

Zhu Gaochi grinned, “I feel light, like a feather—I could fly…”

“Hmm… You found a good master.” Dai Sigong clicked his abacus. “The herbs used for this bath are all precious. This one soak cost nearly three hundred taels of silver. How’s that for luxury?”

“What? Three hundred taels?” Zhu Gaochi was shocked. “Why didn’t you just rob someone?”

Three hundred taels!

An ordinary commoner’s daily wage was only a few coins, with monthly income less than a tael, and yearly income under fifteen taels!

You’re charging me three hundred taels just like that?

Dai Sigong calmly listed the costs in detail.

“If you want to keep training, these medicinal baths can’t stop. But the silver has to come from somewhere, or I can’t cover such a huge deficit.”

Zhu Gaochi was stunned.

Damn, martial arts training is expensive!

The worst part was, he had no money!

Not a thousand taels, not even a copper coin in his pocket.

Where was a little kid like him supposed to get silver?

What on earth was he going to do?

He tugged his hair in frustration. Even heroes are defeated by money!

Making money was possible—he was a time traveler after all, and knew the basics.

But now he lived inside the palace, unable to come and go freely. How could he earn anything?

Suddenly, an idea flashed in Zhu Gaochi’s eyes.

Perhaps, it was time to try that person?