Respective Progress

Time passed quickly.

In the blink of an eye, five days had gone by.

Xu Yuan and the others had already grown accustomed to their new lives training as martial artists.

Compared to the closed and strict environment before, they had far more freedom after becoming martial artists than they had as Martial Students or Laborers.

As long as they arrived at the training ground on time every morning and were not caught skipping class by Master Chen, no one would bother with what they did the rest of the day.

So long as they did not stay out overnight, they could even enter and leave the Shangyang Family estate as they pleased.

It could be said that this month's assessment tested not only aptitude and comprehension, but also self-discipline. It was much like university in Xu Yuan's previous life.

Seeing that the rules were lax and that he still had some spare money in hand, Qin Yang's itch for entertainment flared up again. That afternoon, he finally could not hold himself back and went out.

This time, Chen Sanli had actually gone along with him. He had plenty of worldly experience, and the night before, he had told Qin Yang about several places with hidden brothels, immediately piquing the latter's interest.

Thus, before even a day had passed, the two had eagerly become kindred spirits on the same path.

By evening, after Xu Yuan and the others returned from practicing martial techniques, the pair finally came back to the dormitory arm in arm, their faces brimming with satisfaction.

Seeing this, Li Shan asked curiously, "Did you pick up money or something? Why are you so happy? Did you go listen to opera again today?"

At that, Qin Yang seemed somewhat embarrassed. He lowered his head and sat on his bed, unconsciously rubbing his earlobe with his fingers, looking rather guilty.

"Listen to opera?" Chen Sanli chuckled, waggling his brows. "You could call it opera, I suppose. But the show we watched was a live one!"

"A live show?" Li Shan had never heard of such things in his daily life and was completely at a loss.

Wang Huan shot Chen Sanli an irritated glance. "I'm telling you, don't lead Qin Yang astray."

As if I needed to lead him astray?

This little bastard played even wilder than I did!

Chen Sanli sneered inwardly, but he made no sound. Qin Yang had treated him today, after all, so he could not make him lose face. Smiling, he said,

"How can you say that, Brother Wang? Brother Qin was so lovesick over that opera actress that he'd practically gone mad. I merely took him to see some other good shows—cheap, worthwhile, and they put out the fire too..."

Only then did Li Shan finally understand. He immediately laughed and cursed, "Damn it, aren't you afraid of catching something?"

"You can't catch anything. They're all old acquaintances, so safety's guaranteed." Chen Sanli waved a hand and said lazily,

"Besides, we're martial artists. Ordinary sickness can't touch us."

After saying that, his eyes rolled, and he asked, "Come to think of it, Brother Li, you probably haven't seen that kind of show before, right? Want to give it a try?"

A flicker of temptation flashed through Li Shan's eyes, but he immediately shook his head. He did not have much money left, and every coin had to be spent on martial training. "Forget it, forget it. I'd better train honestly."

Before his words had even faded, he felt a wicked fire rising in his heart. He hurriedly pushed open the door and went to wash up.

Tch, what a pathetic weakling!

Chen Sanli smiled disdainfully, then asked again, "What about you, Brother Wang? Want to try it?"

"I'm not going. Who knows whether that place is clean?" Wang Huan waved both hands repeatedly. Though he was usually arrogant, he did not have such bad habits.

Seeing that everything had been laid bare, Qin Yang stopped acting coy. He reached toward Gao Yuan's shoulder beside him. "Yuanzi, want to go? I'll treat you."

The two had both been Martial Students and had arrived at the dormitory on the same day, so they got along fairly well.

"No need." Gao Yuan frowned, a trace of disgust flashing through his eyes as he inconspicuously avoided the hand about to land on his shoulder.

Who knew what that hand had touched?

"Then, Brother Xu..." After thinking for a moment, Qin Yang turned to Xu Yuan on his left. The other man was steady and mature in his dealings; it was always good to build more ties with him.

"Thanks, but no." Xu Yuan shook his head. Watching Qin Yang ask the remaining people one by one, his mind was perfectly clear.

Qin Yang spent money like water. How much could he have left by now?

Hopefully he would not use this as an excuse to borrow money from him later.

"This man has good comprehension. If he settled down and practiced Thunderclap Fist, he might advance much faster than anyone else in the dormitory, yet..."

Xu Yuan pondered inwardly. Qin Yang was much like Tian Yang had been before.

His aptitude was clearly not bad, yet he had been forcibly distracted by all sorts of other matters, to the point that he had nearly failed to break through and become a martial artist.

With that thought, Xu Yuan put those notions aside and began reviewing the Thunderclap Fist and stance practice he had trained earlier.

[Skill: Tai Chi Exercise (Major Accomplishment 1%) Stone Platform Stance Practice (Minor Accomplishment 6%) Thunderclap Fist (Beginner 10%)]

[Qualifications: 8 (Exceptional Bones)]

"This fist technique really does demand high aptitude. At my speed, I'm probably already considered fast."

Xu Yuan pondered inwardly. He had never thought that reaching the Exceptional Bones level of aptitude made him invincible.

There were some geniuses at the training ground who were about on par with him, or even stronger. They were the true shining pearls the Shangyang Family wanted.

Still, one had to eat one bite at a time.

"I'll improve my martial techniques first, then break through in stance practice. As for Tai Chi Exercise, I can use it to grind qualification points, so I can't let it fall completely by the wayside..."

Xu Yuan made some plans for the road ahead.

"Besides, I still don't know when Quan Xiong will return. If he is dead set on revenge, I'll be fine while I'm in the Shangyang Family, but Big Brother and the others may be in danger."

At that thought, the trace of slackness in Xu Yuan's heart was stirred up once more.

The matter had not been completely resolved!

In the blink of an eye, another five days passed.

That evening, after Xu Yuan and the others returned from training and finished washing up, they lay on their beds and exchanged insights on martial arts.

At that moment, Qin Yang and Chen Sanli returned from outside, their faces still flushed with the afterglow of excitement. Clearly, they had gone to "listen to opera" again.

Wang Huan had already tried to persuade them before, so he no longer paid them any heed. He asked everyone, "Brothers, how's everyone progressing now?"

Li Shan scratched his head. "Not bad, I guess. It's just that some transitions in exerting force feel awkward, and my qi and blood circulation can't keep up. I'm probably still far from getting started. What about you, Brother Wang?"

Wang Huan said rather smugly, "I feel pretty good. My qi and blood still need tempering, but that's nothing more than slow grinding work."

After much consideration, he had still decided not to waste his physical talent. He had borrowed some money from his family and was now sprinting toward the Second Meridian Realm.

Xiao Sheng was brief and to the point. "I've found a few clues."

Tian Yang shook his head with a bitter smile. "This Thunderclap Fist really is complicated. I reckon I still need quite a while."

"Not bad." Since the intensive training began, Gao Yuan no longer frequently visited his friends' dormitory. Still, his relationship with the others remained neither close nor distant.

"What's the rush? There's still plenty of time." Qin Yang yawned, unconcerned.

On his first day practicing Thunderclap Fist, he had already gained quite a few insights. He felt that the fist technique was not all that difficult; he only needed to practice it a few more times later, and he would be about there.

"I'm muddling along too."

Chen Sanli relaxed slightly. It was one thing for Wang Huan to have the best talent; the important thing was not to let the others pull too far ahead of him.

In the end, everyone's gaze fell on Xu Yuan to varying degrees.

In the dormitory, he and Xiao Sheng trained the hardest, but neither had ever said exactly how far they had progressed.

Xu Yuan's expression remained calm as he said slowly, "Not bad. There are still some parts I need to think over more carefully."

Wang Huan only glanced at him before withdrawing his gaze. He had long known when Xu Yuan had broken through to become a martial artist.

In his view, Xu Yuan's aptitude was only slightly better than Xiao Sheng's. It was only natural for him to train hard. Unlike himself, even without working so hard, he could still sit firmly in first place.

That was the gap brought about by talent!

As the dormitory fell quiet, Chen Sanli suddenly began speaking of rumors he had heard outside, once again stirring the atmosphere into lively excitement.

Xu Yuan ignored them. Lying on his bed, he looked at the System Panel in his mind.

[Skill: Tai Chi Exercise (Major Accomplishment 1%) Stone Platform Stance Practice (Minor Accomplishment 11%) Thunderclap Fist (Beginner 25%)]

[Qualifications: 8 (Exceptional Bones)]

Watching the progress draw ever closer, Xu Yuan felt a surge of satisfaction.

With Exceptional Bones aptitude and his daily hard training, the results were extremely obvious.

Especially the progress of Thunderclap Fist—he could even vaguely sense the embryonic form of that strand of force, though it was still too weak to be unleashed.

"But it won't take much longer."

Xu Yuan thought to himself.

Whether it was the threat of the Wild Wolf Gang's leader or choosing work in the future, as long as he had cultivation and ability, everything would become as easy as turning one's hand over.

His current arduous training might seem dull, but it was the period of building walls before the storm arrived. There was nothing wrong with being a little more cautious.