Chapter 16
“This is a non-profit club, hence the condition of our place . ” The girl smiled . “My name is Xu Yi . You can call me Sister Xu . The fact that you found this place shows your immense interest in Naxi swordsmanship . ”
“Yes, but I’m a newbie who knows nothing about swordsmanship . I can only learn the most basic moves . Will you teach me?” Lin Sheng asked .
“No problem, as long as you’re willing to learn . ” Xu Yi passed Lin Sheng a brochure . “This is the standard fee structure . You can choose the package you want . ”
Lin Sheng took the brochure and glanced at it .
Basic Course: 18 Lessons . Two lessons per week . Tuition fee: ¥400 .
Advanced Course: 18 Lessons . One lesson per week . Tuition: ¥1,000 .
On the lower section of the brochure was an introduction of the club’s two coaches: Chen Huan, a woman, and Du Xinlei, a man; they taught students of the opposite sex, and both possessed Third Grade National Athlete Certificates .
Lin Sheng’s face twitched when he saw the coaches’ qualification; third-grade athletes were worthless . Generally speaking, anyone with slightly above average skills could already pass the certification . In some remote areas of Xilin, there were even cases where people could buy the certificate . Only first and second-grade certificates had value . It looked like this was only a mediocre club . Nonetheless, he would give it a try since it was better than not learning at all .
“Is there a trial lesson? I’m a student . You know, students don’t have much money,” Lin Sheng said .
“Of course, the first lesson is free . What time slot would you prefer? Chen Huan’s mainly in charge of male students while Du Xinlei the female students,” Xu Yi said with a smile .
Lin Sheng looked at the clock on the wall . “It’s two o’clock in the afternoon now . I have no classes this afternoon . Can I start now? How long is a lesson?”
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“Forty minutes . Let me take you to Coach Chen Huan to see if she has time . ” Xu Yi talked to the other two people, who got up and brought Lin Sheng out of the door .
They turned left and went up one more floor before they stood on the landing . There were two large classrooms on both sides of the stairway, and shouts could be heard coming from the classes . It was mostly female voices on the left and male voices on the right .
“Your class is on the right . Let me ask the coach first . ” Xu Yi got Lin Sheng to wait outside the door while she entered the classroom on the right .
The room was as large as four classrooms in his school combined . The floor was covered with thick cushions and surrounded by bare-bone concrete walls . There were also two rows of fluorescent lamps on the ceiling .
A woman wearing tight-fitting gray trousers and a white short-sleeved T-shirt was holding a black wooden stick, demonstrating for three boys .
The long-legged woman with her hair in a ponytail had fair skin and a small waist . Lin Sheng gave her an eight just by looking at her from the side .
The woman noticed Xu Yi and turned to say hello . The two talked in whispers for a while . Then, Xu Yi motioned for Lin Sheng to come in .
“You can take a trial lesson before you sign up . ”
“All right . ” Lin Sheng nodded and went forward . Looking at the simple stick in her hand, his mouth twitched involuntarily .
“I’m Chen Huan, the swordsmanship coach here . Let’s continue with the lesson . ” The woman was comely with a petite mouth and a pair of apricot eyes that were filled with determination . She had to be the stubborn type, Lin Sheng thought .
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Standing behind the three students, Lin Sheng listened quietly .
“Once you get your posture right, the next step is your eyes . Pay attention to your opponent’s point of force, which is any muscle and tendon that will trigger motions . ”
Chen Huan held the wooden stick upright with both hands beside her right ear . “This is a Roof . Since there’s a new student here today, we’re going to do some revision .
“A posture is a starter move designed for fast attacks that target the opponent’s weak points .
“A Roof is one of them . It’s the most basic swordsmanship posture, which all of you must master . ”
Lin Sheng listened attentively and before he knew it, ten minutes had passed . Chen Huan just explained the basics briefly and delved into the more difficult part quickly . Fortunately, she gave the other students free time to practice, and they all moved to the side with wooden sticks in their hands .
Chen Huan then asked Lin Sheng to pick up a stick from the corner of the classroom .
“First time?” Chen Huan asked .
“Yup, I’m a newbie . ” Lin Sheng nodded .
“Why do you want to learn Naxi swordsmanship?” Chen Huan swung the thick wooden stick, creating an airburst sound .
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Lin Sheng squinted, staring at the movements of her stick . “Because I’m interested . ”
“You’re not sincere . ” Chen Huan smiled . “Well, since you have no foundation at all, I’ll start with the basics . ”
She held the stick and lifted it to the side of her right ear . “The foundation of Naxi swordsmanship is divided into postures, basic moves, and sword skills . Our club mainly teaches basic postures and moves . We won’t talk about sword skills since you’re still a long way from it . ”
“Understood . ” Lin Sheng nodded .
“Naxi swordsmanship is a delicate sword technique introduced by an ancient foreign kingdom . Many people think that this sword technique is crude and chaotic, but this perception is a big mistake . ” Chen Huan raised the stick over her head .
“This is also one of the basic postures . Roof is typically used when not wearing body armor . The sword is above the head so that striking from above is more natural .
“The posture with the sword near the ear is only used when we wear body armor . Since the helmet is tall, we place the long sword next to the ear . ”
“Got it . ” Lin Sheng raised the stick and made the same posture .
“After the postures, you have the basic moves . The basic moves of Naxi swordsmanship are mainly thrust, strike, and swirl . If you register, you’ll learn these three moves . ” Chen Huan began to demonstrate the simple Roof and one of the basic moves—thrust .
Soon, the forty-minute class ended . Lin Sheng had probably just scratched the surface, and the next step—paying the fee—was the most crucial part .
“I don’t have money right now . Can I pay for it partially first?” Lin Sheng asked . He only had over ¥100 in his pocket . His elder sister mentioned that she would send him money, but Lin Sheng did not want to rely on her . As a spacetime traveler, he would be ashamed of himself if he could not even earn some money .
“Partially? How much?” Chen Huan asked haplessly .
“One hundred . I’ll take a quarter of the course first,” Lin Sheng said . “I’ll continue the rest of the course after I pay the balance . ”
“All right . ” Chen Huan thought for a moment and nodded .
The two discussed the schedule, trying to make lessons on the weekends when Lin Sheng had no school .
After that, Lin Sheng paid the money and got the payment receipt in one hand and a black stick in the other .
Before he left, he had asked and learned that the club would be vacant after four in the afternoon . As such, he could come and interact with the other students, as well as learn how to use the protective body armor and helmets for apparent reasons .
Of course, he would have to pay if he damaged any of them .