“Mm. You’re a practical person. No matter what you study, you have to become obsessed with it to truly master it. It seems you’re qualified to learn my martial arts.” Catherine Turner looked at Charles Warren, as if she had discovered a fine piece of uncut jade.

“Come, let’s talk first.” Catherine Turner sat down on a stone bench. “Do you know what ‘guoshu’ is?”

Charles Warren shook his head.

“At the end of the Qing Dynasty, the revolutionary party led by Sun Yat-sen made several attempts to assassinate high-ranking Qing officials, even princes. They often relied on martial artists for help. Later, after the Republic of China was established and the Japanese invaded, in order to strengthen the nation and its people, Sun Yat-sen, Feng Yuxiang, and others vigorously promoted martial arts. The government established the Central Guoshu Institute, unifying all the different schools and styles—like Xingyi, Taiji, Bagua, Tongbei, Praying Mantis, Bajiquan, Chuojiao, Hongquan, Iron Wire, Pigua, Tan Tui, Shuai Jiao, and many more—under the single name of ‘guoshu’.”

“To strengthen the nation and its people.” Charles Warren savored these four words, and the history of that era welled up in his mind.

“In that era, talents emerged in great numbers. Now, more than a hundred years later, it’s all but faded away.” As Catherine Turner spoke, her interest suddenly waned. “Come on, I’ll teach you a practical move today.”

“Come at me from behind.” Catherine Turner gestured to Charles Warren, signaling him to grab her shoulders from behind.

Seeing Catherine Turner turn her back to him, Charles Warren immediately reached for Catherine Turner’s shoulders as instructed. Catherine Turner turned lightly, her right elbow sharp as a spear, striking toward Charles Warren’s chest.

This was a demonstration; Catherine Turner moved very slowly, giving Charles Warren time to react. Instinctively, he pushed forward with both hands, blocking Catherine Turner’s elbow.

But as soon as Charles Warren made contact with the elbow, Catherine Turner’s forearm snapped down like a whip, her palm swinging directly toward Charles Warren’s groin.

This move was fast and sudden, the force changing abruptly. Before Charles Warren could react, Catherine Turner’s palm had already reached his lower region.

Startled, Charles Warren felt a chill rise from his tailbone to the back of his head, his whole body breaking out in goosebumps.

“Turn, elbow strike, groin attack.” Catherine Turner controlled her strength perfectly, withdrawing her palm the instant it touched, not even brushing his pants.

Charles Warren’s expression was odd as he muttered, “Sister Chen, what’s this move called?”

Catherine Turner beamed, “In the Bagua school, this move is called ‘Groin-Lifting Palm’; in Xingyi, it’s called ‘Turning Beng Fist’; in Taiji, it’s called ‘Side-Body Punch’.”

As she spoke, Catherine Turner explained the key points of the move.

“All fist techniques evolved from spear techniques. This move may look like a simple turn with the arm swinging out, but you actually need to generate two layers of force. The elbow strike should be like a spear thrust, and when the opponent blocks, the arm follows through to strike the groin.”

“In ancient times, generals used spears on the battlefield. When they thrust and the enemy blocked, the spearhead would rebound, sometimes knocking the enemy’s weapon away. Because the spear shaft is flexible, when you use this move, you need to have the feeling of wielding a spear.”

“Watch how I use my strength!”

Catherine Turner demonstrated again, elbow striking then forearm snapping down. Her clothes made a crisp “snap” in the air, like a whip cracking.

“For the final groin strike, your arm needs to snap with that crisp force—only then have you truly mastered it. This is also the ‘Stele-Smashing Hand’ force from the Tongbei school.”

“All right, practice this move until you’ve mastered it. Three days from now, I’ll teach you another.” After teaching, Catherine Turner left as usual.

For three days straight, Charles Warren carefully practiced the “Groin-Lifting Palm.” But no matter how he tried, he couldn’t produce the whip-like, cracking sound that Catherine Turner did.

On the third day, Charles Warren brought this question to Catherine Turner.

After hearing him out, Catherine Turner burst out laughing. “You little fool, you’ve just started and already want to make that crisp sound? That’s impossible. Martial arts have three levels of force: obvious force, hidden force, and transforming force. The peak of obvious force is that crisp snap—if you can do that, you’re already a martial arts master. With your current strength, you’re nowhere near. The Long March has only just begun.”

“Little fool, enough talk. Today I’ll teach you another move.”

The move Catherine Turner taught today involved suddenly squatting down, grabbing the groin with the left hand, and sweeping the right hand behind the hip to press the palm to the ground.

“This squat-and-grab move is a killing technique in the Taiji school, also a variation of the Groin-Lifting Palm in Bagua, and in Xingyi’s twelve forms, it’s called ‘Monkey Steals the Peach.’”

Over the past few days, Charles Warren had learned two moves, both targeting the groin and ruthlessly so. “What kind of sister do I have?”

“Little fool, watch closely. When you grab, if the opponent retreats to protect their groin, use the hand on the ground to grab sand and fling it at their face. Back in the day, the great Taiji master Yang Luchan’s ‘left hand squats to grab the sparrow, right hand grabs divine sand for the face’ defeated countless experts.”

Charles Warren actually knew about Yang Luchan. A few years ago, the TV series starring Wu Jing, “Taiji Master,” was a hit. The main character, Yang Yuqian, was based on Yang Luchan, the top Taiji master at the end of the Qing Dynasty and one of the most legendary figures in the history of Chinese martial arts.

“Grab the sparrow, grab the sand… but…” Charles Warren suddenly thought, “What if the ground is all concrete and there’s no sand?”