Thunderclap Fist

Right after that, he opened a quiet room and went inside. The space was small, only enough for one person to move around in.

Xu Yuan sat upright within it, pondered for a moment, then opened the fist manual that had been distributed earlier.

"Thunderclap Fist focuses on combat. Long cleaves and short strikes, swift and ever-changing, fierce, urgent, fast, and ruthless... Practice it to a profound realm, and one may split steles and shatter rocks!"

Xu Yuan read through the Thunderclap Fist manual in his hands. The more he read, the more engrossed he became, as though his entire body and mind had sunk into it.

"This Thunderclap Fist may not count as any top-tier martial skill, but it suits my taste quite well."

After some time had passed, Xu Yuan had memorized the entire manual. He then imitated it like copying a cat from a tiger and performed several sets.

His decent physical talent began to show its strength, and before long, he felt warmth spreading through his hands.

[Skill: Tai Chi Exercise (Major Accomplishment 1%) Stone Platform Stance Practice (Minor Accomplishment 3%) Thunderclap Fist (Beginner 1%)]

[Qualifications: 8 (Exceptional Bones)]

"The fist technique has been recorded."

Xu Yuan wiped away his sweat, feeling quite delighted.

This fist technique actually placed fairly high demands on comprehension. With his original qualifications, he might not have been able to record it even after an entire night.

"This is the overall change brought by improved talent. For all cultivation methods that require comprehension and the body, training efficiency has increased by who knew how many times."

Xu Yuan's eyes gleamed. After practicing another set of fist techniques, he reinforced his stance practice as well, completely refining all the medicinal power from earlier. The qi and blood within his body increased considerably, leaving him warm all over, like a little furnace.

"With such day-after-day accumulation, even without mobilizing qi and blood, a martial artist's every bodily function can far surpass that of ordinary people."

"Besides, I'm only at the First Meridian Realm. If I reach the Fourth Meridian, Sixth Meridian, or even cultivate the extraordinary meridians, how far will my body be strengthened? I'll probably barely count as human anymore."

After musing over it, Xu Yuan examined the meridians in his body again.

"Next, I should gradually guide my qi and blood into the Governing Meridian. Once it has been tempered to the utmost limit and can improve no further, I'll reach the bottleneck of the Second Meridian."

"And Thunderclap Fist needs to be trained to the Beginner stage as well. I want both!"

After calculating things out, he found that he still had some money on hand, so he did not need to worry about cultivation resources for the time being.

Meridian Nourishing Powder and Blood Activating Pills worked best together, but they were costly. Most people probably used Blood Activating Pills alone and only took Meridian Nourishing Powder occasionally.

Even so, a tael of silver still left one stretched thin.

Xu Yuan shook his head, feeling deeply affected.

Martial arts trained the body, but what they burned was money.

Only after running a household did one learn how expensive oil and salt were. Once Xu Yuan broke through to the Second Meridian and Third Meridian, this huge sum on him probably would not last long.

Still, he had nothing to begrudge. Money was meant to be spent, especially when it was spent on himself. The cultivation it transformed into was solid and real.

He would deal with money after it ran out. When the cart reached the mountain, there would always be a road.

By the time Xu Yuan came out, the night had already deepened. The cold wind bored straight down people's necks, but his expression did not change as he returned to the dormitory.

Tian Yang had already returned. When he saw Xu Yuan enter, he hurriedly gathered around and said in a low voice, "Brother Yuan, I heard about what happened this afternoon. So, do you want to teach that brat a lesson?"

Back when they had been in the outer courtyard, Tian Yang had already known Chen Sanli's style. He loved petty gains, trimmed his sails to the wind, and had ordinary qualifications. Bullying him came with no sense of guilt whatsoever.

Xu Yuan shook his head. It had been a small matter to begin with, and there was no need to blow it up. He rubbed his stomach, feeling somewhat hungry after practicing martial arts.

"At this hour, I wonder whether there's still a late-night meal."

"There is. I already asked around. The dining hall closes at the Hour of the Dog, so if we go now, there should still be leftovers." Tian Yang clearly had a craving as well.

The two had just left the dormitory when they saw the others returning one after another. Learning that the two were going to eat, Chen Sanli could not help saying, "Brother Xu is only going to eat now? Could it be that you didn't want to eat with us earlier?"

Xu Yuan raised his head and glanced at him. Before he could speak, Tian Yang beside him beat him to it.

"You didn't want to eat with him. So what? Is it any of your business?"

Chen Sanli touched his nose and continued smiling. "It's nothing. We're all in the same dormitory, after all. Everyone just wants to get along better."

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The meaning beneath his words was clear: everyone else did things together, but you alone were unsociable. Did you look down on the others?

Xu Yuan glanced at him without speaking, then led away Tian Yang, who still wanted to say more.

When they ran into Li Shan, they exchanged greetings.

"Brother Xu, you're only going to eat now?" Li Shan asked curiously.

"Yes. I just finished practicing martial arts and got hungry."

After their brief exchange, they headed in two different directions.

Xiao Sheng gave the two a friendly smile. As for Wang Huan, he merely glanced at Xu Yuan before entering the dormitory on his own.

"Heh, Wang Huan sure puts on airs."

Seeing this, Tian Yang looked rather displeased and muttered, "What's the use of having good talent? Maybe he'll get stuck at the First Meridian and never advance another inch..."

"Enough. Let's eat first." Xu Yuan shook his head at him.

Official martial artists had a large dining hall of their own. The outer courtyard's dining hall, meanwhile, had been specially established for Martial Students and the martial masters who taught them.

Most other martial artists ate in the dining hall as well. The food here was much better than when they had been Laborers. There was meat and vegetables, with plenty of oil and fat, and they could get more after finishing.

The prices were also much cheaper than at food stalls outside, counting as an internal benefit.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two returned to the dormitory. Once they had washed up, they lay on their respective beds and exchanged a few pleasantries.

Suddenly, Chen Sanli's expression changed. Muttering, "Something I ate must've upset my stomach," he threw on his clothes in a few quick motions and rushed out.

But just as he reached the door, he seemed to remember something. Turning to Li Shan, who was lying on the bed, he said, "Brother Li, quick, this is an emergency! Lend me some toilet paper—I can't hold it in!"

"It's in the bundle. Take it yourself." Li Shan nodded toward the bundle hanging at the head of his bed.

Chen Sanli did not stand on ceremony. He opened the bundle and grabbed a huge handful, making Li Shan curse in distress, "Damn it, you really know how to take advantage!"

Chen Sanli ignored him, hurriedly opened the door while holding up his trousers, and rushed away without even closing it.

"That dog bastard..." Li Shan cursed under his breath. Shivering, he quickly climbed out from beneath the blankets and went over to shut the door.

Although they had become martial artists and had qi and blood reinforcing them, the cold wind of a winter night still felt unpleasant against their bodies.

Not long after, Chen Sanli ran back in, his teeth chattering from the cold as he hurriedly burrowed back beneath his blanket.

"You bastard, you didn't close the door again?" Li Shan's angry voice rang out.

"Sorry, sorry. I came back in too much of a hurry and forgot. Brother Li, sorry to trouble you with closing it. Thanks!"

Chen Sanli gave him a stream of ingratiating smiles, and a few pleasant words quickly soothed Li Shan's anger.

"Honestly, be more careful..."

Li Shan grumbled as he went to close the door, suddenly regretting being so nice to him. That fellow spent all day thinking of ways to exploit loopholes.

The others in the dormitory merely smiled faintly at the sight, teased him a little, and did not take it to heart.

Xu Yuan watched coldly without saying anything. If he had yielded to Chen Sanli today, perhaps this was exactly how he would be treated.

Shaking his head, he stopped paying attention to them. Turning over, he recalled the various sensations from practicing Thunderclap Fist earlier. Before long, his eyelids drooped, and he fell asleep.

The next morning.

The six of them went neatly to the dining hall and finished breakfast.

At the fork between the training ground and the dormitory, Li Shan saw Xu Yuan turn toward the training ground and could not help asking:

"Brother Xu, you're going to start practicing already?"

"Mm."

"Come on, Brother Xu. We've only just become martial artists, and we've barely rested for a few days. Why keep yourself wound so tight? You need to balance work and rest too!" Chen Sanli could not help saying.

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