Twin Dragons of the Tang Dynasty: Simplified Divine Skills Lead to an Invincible Myth

The next day at dawn, Su Yang changed into a brand new light blue coarse cloth outfit and arrived at the medicinal cuisine room on time.

His new clothes were crisp and clean after being starched, and a dark cloth belt was neatly tied around his waist, making him look upright and energetic. Compared to the dusty, grimy servant's hemp clothes he wore yesterday, it was like night and day.

As soon as I entered the courtyard, I saw Zheng Shanfu moving slowly on the open space to the side.

The old man was dressed in a gray short-sleeved shirt, and his movements were very simple.

He simply lowered his waist slightly, loosely clenched his hands at his sides. Then, he slightly pulled his shoulder blades back, his entire back taut like a bowstring, before steadily pushing forward and slowly pulling back along the same path.

The movements were slow and lacked any real impact.

But as Su Yang watched, a strange thought suddenly popped into his mind: at this moment, Old Zheng looked like a lazy tiger, slowly rubbing his back against the rock wall, stretching his muscles.

Just as he was lost in thought, Old Zheng finished his last round, slowly straightened up, exhaled a long breath, and turned around.

Seeing Su Yang standing at the door, he showed no expression, only nodding: "You've arrived?"

Su Yang immediately stepped forward, clasped his hands in greeting, and bowed, saying, "Good morning, Elder Zheng."

"Yes, as people get older, their backs and waists tend to stiffen. Doing a few push-and-pull movements like this in the morning helps to relax them."

Zheng Shanfu walked to the water vat, scooped water to wash his hands, and dried them with a cloth afterward. He said, "Go and cut the Poria cocos first. Be careful, make sure the slices are even so that the medicinal properties are good."

"OK."

Su Yang walked toward the medicine table, but his mind was still on that slow push and pull.

He composed himself, picked up the medicine knife, and began to process the poria cocos.

Thanks to his comprehensive knowledge of medicinal herbs, he had a thorough understanding of their textures and could make precise cuts. However, as a servant, he was poorly fed and had just recovered from an injury. His weakness and lack of energy were still his shortcomings. After cutting for less than half an hour, he felt his arms were sore and sweat was beading on his forehead.

At this moment, Zheng Shanfu looked at the sky and said, "It's almost time. Let's rest for a bit and have breakfast."

Following Old Zheng, Su Yang did not head towards the crowded, dilapidated servants' mess hall, but instead bypassed the corner of the courtyard and went straight to a detached, green-tiled hut about twenty feet away. The hut was neat and tidy, clearly distinguished from the noisy, bustling servants' mess hall in the distance, which was only covered by a thatched roof.

........

About twenty feet away, in front of the servants' mess hall.

Chen Le was squatting in the corner, drinking porridge from a chipped bowl in his left hand and holding a cornbread in his right. His eyes habitually darted around.

Suddenly, his gaze was drawn to the distance as if by a magnet!

He spotted the striking light blue new clothes at a glance—it was Su Yang!

Following Old Zheng's gray-clothed figure, steadily walking towards the small blue-tiled house that he could only admire from afar, the door closed.

At a distance of twenty zhang, he could see every movement clearly, but he couldn't hear the slightest sound inside, nor could he smell the slightest trace of smoke or food.

"Look! Su Yang... he's gone into the kitchen!"

"I'm so envious that everyone will be eating white rice with stir-fried meat every day from now on!"

"Tsk, different people have different fates..."

"I entered the manor with him. I was still a servant, and he... sigh!"

"......."

The whispers of the servants nearby pierced Chen Le's ears like needles.

"That son of a bitch! Why does he get to eat meat and fish every day, while I'm stuck eating this hard cornbread?!"

"We were both servants who entered the manor at the same time, so why is he able to rise to the top so quickly while I'm still struggling in the mud!"

Chen Le gripped the broken bowl tightly, his knuckles turning white.

The thin porridge in the bowl was so clear that it reflected his ashen face. In his arms, the half-eaten hard cornbread that he had planned to save for dinner now felt like a burning ember, making his heart feel hot and anxious.

Behind that tightly closed door twenty feet away, his mind was currently conjuring up images of glistening, fragrant slices of meat and plump, white rice...

These were scents he had only ever smelled in his dreams.

Before I even took a bite of this breakfast, it was already filled with the bitter taste of jealousy.

............

The small hut was a separate side room with blue tiles and white walls, about two or three zhang square. Inside, three or four square tables were neatly arranged. The room was bright and clean, a stark contrast to the noisy and chaotic servants' canteen.

Su Yang looked at the food in front of him:

A large bowl of thick, glistening white porridge, two golden-brown, fragrant meat pies, a side dish of pickles, and half a salted duck egg that was dripping with oil.

He ate the thick porridge, two meat patties, and pickled vegetables with salted eggs, finishing everything.

A bowl of plain congee earns 0.2 simplification points, two meat patties earn 0.6, and pickles and salted duck eggs earn 0.2!

[Simplification point +1!]

Su Yang looked at the numbers flashing on the panel and understood.

The reward from this breakfast was equivalent to the total of three or four days' wages when I was a servant!

...........

As night deepened, the fire in the medicinal cuisine kitchen went out, leaving only a faint aroma of herbs lingering in the air.

In the outer room of the connecting side room, a dim oil lamp cast the shadows of Zheng Shanfu and Su Yang onto the wall, swaying slightly.

The two had just finished dinner when Old Zheng led Su Yang to the outer room, which had already been cleaned up.

Just as Su Yang was about to tidy up his thin, old bedding, soft footsteps came from outside the door.

It was the maid Honglan who quietly entered, carrying a stack of clean, soapy bedding.

She saw Su Yang, who had changed into the medicine boy's short clothes and was standing in the room. A hint of relief flashed in her eyes, but she quickly lowered them and gently placed the soft, thick quilt in her arms on the bed.

"Su Yang, the manager asked me to bring this."

Her voice was soft as she put down the blanket, casually touching the door frame: "I aired this blanket out during the day; it's warm."

"Thank you, Miss Honglan."

Su Yang took it; it was warm and dry to the touch, and still faintly carried the scent of sunshine.

Honglan didn't say anything more, but quickly glanced at him. Her eyes held a sense of relief, but also a faint complexity that Su Yang couldn't fully understand at the moment. A hint of wariness flashed in her eyes as she swept over the corner of the room.

She lowered her head, turned and walked away, her steps light yet silent, like a cat stepping on fallen leaves.

Zheng Shanfu stood quietly to the side, his gaze lingering for a moment on Honglan's departing figure. Deep in his eyes was a profound mix of affection for a younger generation, vigilance against unknown dangers, and a resolute determination to protect her at all costs.

Once the footsteps had faded away, the old man turned around, looked at Su Yang, and pointed to the inside: "I'll stay in the inner room, you can stay in this one. If there's any medicine pot at night, please keep an eye on the heat, and it will be convenient to call you."

"Okay, Mr. Zheng."

Su Yang agreed, feeling reassured.

Zheng Shanfu didn't leave immediately. Instead, he walked to the old armchair by the table and sat down, holding a rough earthenware teacup. The rising steam blurred the deep wrinkles on his face. He was silent for a moment, then his gaze fell on Su Yang, and he slowly said, "Your constitution is too weak. You can replenish your qi and blood with food alone, but you can't strengthen your muscles and bones. Today, when you were cutting medicine, you felt weak after standing for a long time, and you were out of breath when you lifted things. This is all because your muscles and bones haven't been properly strengthened."

Upon hearing this, Su Yang stood up straight respectfully: "Please enlighten me, Elder Zheng."

The old man took out a thin booklet from his pocket. It had only six pages, the paper was yellowed, and the edges were worn.

"This is a set of boxing manuals given to me by a friend in my early years. It is called 'Tiger Form Boxing'. It is perfect for strengthening muscles and bones and building a strong physique."

He handed the booklet to Su Yang.

"Take a look and memorize the form and the formula. Starting tomorrow, practice with me every day at 5:00 AM."

After saying that, Zheng Shanfu said no more and got up to go into the inner room.

The curtain fell.

Under the oil lamp, Su Yang carefully opened the booklet.

The first page contains a human figure.

Slightly lower your feet, arch your back, and place your hands loosely at your sides—the annotation reads "Tiger Crouching Stance".

The second page depicts the forward lunge.

Like a tiger bursting from its cage, its claws and teeth fully exposed—with a side note describing its pouncing posture.

Page three illustrates a defensive, cyclical pattern.

With a twist of the waist, he remained as steady as a mountain—the side note reads "Tiger Crouching Stance".

Pages four through six contain the method for practicing the three movements in sequence, detailing the breathing rhythm, the flow of energy, and the guidance of intention.

Although it is only six pages long, every word is concise and every picture is vivid.

Su Yang was completely mesmerized.

Although he was a food deliveryman in his previous life, he was also a martial arts enthusiast. The boxing techniques in this booklet were completely different from the performance-oriented "martial arts" he had seen—every move directly addressed the fundamentals of power generation, and every word exuded the ruthlessness of actual combat and the wisdom of health preservation.

Half an hour later, he had also deeply memorized the formula on the last page.

hum!

The panel suddenly lit up!

Martial Arts: Tiger Form Fist (Beginner 0/100)

[Tiger Form Fist martial art detected. 10 simplification points can be consumed for simplification.]

[Simplify/Simplify?]

At that moment, a panel flashed in Su Yang's mind.

"Finally, I have my first martial arts technique!"

Su Yang's heart suddenly raced as he looked at the prompts on the panel.

simplify!

The day has finally come!