Those Who Strike First Prevail; Those Who Strike Late Suffer

That afternoon, He Zhao rose with rather complicated feelings. Still, Old Jin's method really worked. At the very least, his stomach was no longer growling with hunger as it had yesterday. After casually spending a few dozen coppers to fill his belly, he hurried toward Hengshan Boxing Gym.

Today, he needed to buy more meat and ask how to store it while he was at it, lest he waste precious time running back and forth between the gym and the inn every day.

As for money, he would deal with it when the time came. When the cart reached the mountain, there would surely be a road; he refused to believe a living man could be held in by his own piss!

About ten minutes later, he arrived at his destination without incident.

The boxing gym was different from usual. Dozens of registered disciples had gathered in twos and threes, heads lowered as they murmured to one another.

"Did you hear? Boss Liu came back, but his younger brother has vanished without a trace. He was just carried back from the Medical Hall and still hasn't woken up."

"That's strange. With Fifth Senior Brother and his brother's strength, even if they ran into bandits, they should have been able to slaughter their way through alone. How did a simple outing nearly cost them their lives?"

"Heh, let me tell you something. Those two brothers usually looked honest and simple, acting cute and obedient before Master, but outside, they were rampant and tyrannical. Who knew how many people were furious but dared not speak?

If you ask me, they probably provoked some powerful expert and got clubbed over the head in secret after leaving the city. They deserved it—retribution!!"

"Shh, keep your voice down. They're not dead yet. If someone hears and it reaches Boss Liu's ears, he'll take revenge on you later."

He Zhao passed through the crowd expressionlessly, but his heart was filled with uncertainty.

Could the Liu brothers they were discussing be A'da and A'er?

If it really is those two, then the one who came back definitely isn't the real person, but a Demon Eater disguised without a single flaw!!

What a lingering ghost that refused to disperse. You could even chase him all the way to Wancheng.

Pah!!

Ruthless He Zhao cursed under his breath and steeled himself as he continued toward the main hall.

He could not stop eating for fear of choking. His strength still had to improve, and it was only an Aberration. If it dared provoke him, he would strangle it to death with one hand.

"Whew."

The moment he stepped into the hall, green smoke filled the air.

Old Jin sat there with a gloomy expression, puffing on his tobacco pipe as though pondering something.

"Master, the Jade Register showed no reaction, and Black King confirmed the scent as well. It is indeed Fifth Master himself."

"Mm. Go down for now. Take good care of A'da, and notify this old man immediately when he wakes."

The Old Servant swiftly departed upon hearing this.

"How effective was that meat?"

When Old Jin saw He Zhao arrive, he took another puff from his pipe and asked.

"Worth every penny!"

Ruthless He Zhao answered truthfully.

"I can set aside one hundred and eighty catties of raw meat for you each month. No more than that. Also, practice your stake method and breathing technique properly. In half a year at most, you'll have a chance to leap through the Dragon Gate like a carp. Whether you can seize it depends entirely on you."

After speaking, Old Jin summoned the steward and had him take He Zhao to the rear courtyard to collect the meat.

"Master has high expectations for you. Black King? Why did you come here? Hurry back to your room."

He Zhao's eyelids twitched. More than ten meters away stood a dog a full size larger than a fierce tiger, glaring at him.

"Woof woof!!"

The black dog barked twice at Ruthless He Zhao. From the sound of it, was it cursing him?

Then, under the Old Steward's urging, it unwillingly left.

Before turning away, the creature even spat on the ground and shot one final contemptuous glance at the utterly baffled He Zhao.

"This..."

"Hehe, don't take it to heart. The meat Master allocated to you was actually pried from Black King's mouth. It's only natural for it to be a little angry with you. Only natural, only natural."

"..."

Never in his wildest dreams had He the Person expected that one day, he would be reduced to fighting a dog for food.

Damn it, could he endure this?

For the sake of growing stronger, there was nothing shameful about it.

Besides, he had paid hard cash for it. No matter how one looked at it, he could not be said to be fighting a dog for meat.

"From now on, don't wander around the boxing gym unless necessary. If you need Master, try to have someone accompany you. Black King holds grudges. If you're alone, it might just teach you a lesson."

From the sound of it, he could not even beat a dog?

Before He Zhao could roll his eyes, the Old Steward continued explaining.

"Half a year ago, when Master went out of the city to hunt, I personally saw Black King bite a Colorful Fierce Tiger to death in one bite. I have no idea what breed this little fellow is. Five years ago, it was still a tiny pup that tripped even while walking. Yet in the blink of an eye, it's grown this huge."

Fine, if he could not beat it, then he could not beat it. Was he really going to haggle with a dog? What kind of person would that make him?

He Zhao, who refused to lower himself to a dog's level, carried one hundred and eighty catties of Aberration Flesh away. Until he left, he never saw the Demon Eater disguised as A'da.

From the bottom of his heart, he believed the other party was absolutely not human. There was no reason for it—just instinct.

He cultivated bitterly through the night until dawn.

[Bronze Man Stance: 321/500 (Proficient)]

[Unknown Breathing Technique: 321/500 (Proficient)]

"Whew—" He Zhao lay on the bed and drifted into sleep.

He spent his days restoring his energy and his nights cultivating bitterly. In such repetition, thirty days passed in a flash.

[Bronze Man Stance: 4221/5000 (Great Accomplishment)]

[Unknown Breathing Technique: 4221/5000 (Great Accomplishment)]

By then, all one hundred and eighty catties of Aberration Flesh had been completely consumed.

"The remaining silver will barely last another month."

Old Huang's remaining burial savings, plus the original owner's own savings, were just enough for lodging and one month of cultivation expenses.

It had to be said that Old Jin truly had something up his sleeve.

After standing stakes for so long, He Zhao no longer walked with the same floating weakness as before. Ever since the Bronze Man Stance had entered the Minor Accomplishment realm, his steps had become not only steady and powerful, but his body also carried an imposing presence, faintly suggesting the stride of a dragon and the gait of a tiger.

He could feel his movements growing ever nimbler, his legs sturdy and powerful. One kick could actually crack bluestone!

Of course, after testing it, he limped his way to the Medical Hall. If not for [Death Resistance], he would have needed a crutch when he came out. Even so, it did not delay his cultivation. Standing stakes hurt quite a bit, but who told him to bring it upon himself?

As for the Unknown Breathing Technique, it made his breathing longer and more powerful. Ever since it broke through to Minor Accomplishment, he always woke up sticky every morning, as though some kind of impurity had been expelled from within his body.

When he had first returned to Wancheng, he had merely been a green youth. He could not exactly be called frail enough to topple in the wind, but he had been utterly powerless.

Now, not only had he shot up in height, his entire body was covered in solid muscle.

Stake method + breathing technique + nourishment from Aberration Flesh—his physical qualities were more than three times what they had once been, no worse than the new recruits among the Profound Armor Elite.

If it was nighttime, and he was in combat while severely injured, then with +7, he alone could rival an elite squad.

"The stronger my overall body becomes, the weaker the bonus effect. If my body had originally been 1, then a full +7 would naturally mean sevenfold amplification. Unfortunately, my current body is at least rated a 3, so the bonus is only a little more than double."

Even so, it was still terrifying!

According to the Military Fist Technique: Blazing Bow, if he threw a full-force punch, he could produce at least three hundred catties of force.

At night, that would become six hundred catties. In combat, another two hundred catties. Severely injured, another two hundred catties.

A thousand catties of force!!

A Kryptonian Warrior was terrifying indeed.

That afternoon, after waking, He Zhao immediately headed for his Cheap Master's place. He could not delay proper business.

The moment he entered Hengshan Boxing Gym through the two open Vermilion Gates, he instinctively let out a low cry.

"Whoa!"

What day was it today?

The enormous Training Ground was packed with noisy voices, as chaotic as a vegetable market. With one glance, he saw more than seventy or eighty people gathered there.

"Is anyone accepting the assessment?" Liu Da shouted at the crowd. "Listen to your senior brother's advice. If you've stood stakes for a month and still can't endure one kick from Master, it proves you have no talent. There's no need to keep practicing bitterly. Go home and live your life honestly."

At this point, he paused before adding.

"Even if you persist, and after several months or even half a year finally cross the threshold, you'll still have to pay fifty taels of silver to learn boxing. And to become an official disciple, you'll need to achieve success in boxing, wasting several more years. With that time, wouldn't it be better to do something else? There's no point stubbornly butting your head against this!"

After those words, more than a dozen people in the crowd revealed unwilling expressions.

They had painstakingly saved money to learn boxing precisely to change their destinies. They did not want to live muddleheadedly, drifting through life day after day.

Unfortunately, their talent was limited. Several months had passed, yet they could not even stand stakes for half an hour each day, much less endure one of Old Jin's kicks without moving.

The dream was time to wake from.

At the outer edge, He Zhao casually tugged the person in front of him. Before the other could get angry, he stuffed a handful of copper coins into his hand.

"Senior Brother, is it really as he said? If you can't endure one of Master's kicks after a month, then you simply have no talent?"

"Oh, Junior Brother, you're too polite." The other man tucked the coins into his robe and answered with a bitter smile. "I've been here half a year, and I've heard the old hands around me mention it. Those whose stake method barely enters the gate after two months basically amount to nothing. Even if they learn boxing, their talent traps them, and none can become official disciples."

"You're from the batch that entered a month ago, right? Among those who became disciples a few days before you, five could endure Master's kick without moving after only seven days. Another ten succeeded after more than twenty days. Only seven or eight remain who have yet to take the test.

According to what the seniors once said, those who succeed within half a month have superior talent. Around one month is middling talent. Two months can barely be called inferior talent. Beyond three months, they are all known as—Foolish Stones.

Superior talents have an eighty or ninety percent chance of achieving success in boxing. Of those with middling talent, only three or four in ten can become official disciples. Those with inferior talent are miserable—one in a hundred.

Foolish Stones?

When it has already been made clear that you are a dull stone, how could you possibly become enlightened?"

"And Senior Brother, you are...?" He Zhao thought for a moment before asking tactfully.

"Me?" The man's expression became even more miserable, and he shook his head. "Inferior aptitude! I've been learning boxing for more than a year. I've exhausted every trick in the book and only barely become Proficient, let alone achieved success in boxing—that's the Minor Accomplishment level. Who knows how many more years it'll take? Sigh!"

"Oh, right, Junior Brother. For the sake of those copper coins, let me remind you of something. The so-called ability to remain unmoved after one kick means the Bronze Man Stance has reached the Proficient level. There are still three more hurdles ahead, all closely connected to boxing. Cherish your time."

He Zhao looked at the senior brother with the bitter melon face, then at his stake method and breathing technique, which would reach the Perfection realm before long. He nodded to show that he understood.

After bidding farewell to the One in a Hundred senior, he went directly to the Old Steward. After leaving behind eighteen hundred taels in banknotes, he fled the boxing gym as if escaping for his life beneath Black King's eager gaze.

I'll lie low for another month. As long as I pass right at the threshold of inferior talent, it'll be enough.

The rafter that sticks out first rots first!

There were only a few slots for Secret Blood Warriors. Who knew how many seniors, peers, and juniors had their eyes fixed upon them?

Among the crowd, Liu Da watched He Zhao flee with his meat and revealed a thoughtful expression.

The sky darkened further, and before long, night had fallen completely.

"Knock, knock!"

A knock sounded at the inn.

He Zhao, who had been about to cultivate, stopped and walked to the door.

The moment his hand rested on the bolt, his Sixth Sense abruptly issued an intense warning. There was killing intent outside the door!

"?"

Without the slightest hesitation, Ruthless He Zhao pulled out the Bone Dagger, poured a massive amount of Spirit Power into it, and viciously stabbed it toward his heart.

"Pfft—"

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