Hard Training and School Challenges

Old Man Zhou was at the Merchant Guild, dealing with the increasingly complex interpersonal relationships after his promotion.

Meanwhile, Zhou You had returned to the Martial Arts School and continued to immerse himself in training.

The fundamental reason for the changes in his life was the improvement in his strength brought about by practicing martial arts; nothing else was worth worrying about.

Therefore, he kept the fundamental principle in mind and didn't dare to slack off for a moment.

"Wild Goose Formation Fist."

The two major tendons in Zhou You's calves tensed, and a repulsive force generated from the soles of his feet, causing him to shoot up like a great bird.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, the tearing wind swept past his shoulders.

The piercing sound of air being torn even penetrated the stone wall, startling Li Hao on the other side, who stopped his movements.

His shadow fell on the ground, and Zhou You had already leaped to a high point, about to surpass the height of the stone wall.

His momentum reached its peak, and he exerted force downwards, the whistling sound suddenly becoming sharp.

Boom

A punch landed on a corner of the stone wall, and fragments of hard rock scattered in all directions.

Zhou You's palm, with its five fingers, was deeply embedded in the stone, creating five deep holes.

The rock was hard; hitting it with a hammer would send sparks flying, and it was harder than a human skull.

If Zhou You struck a person with this punch, the result would be at least a fractured skull and brains spilling out.

The killing move of the Wild Goose Formation Fist was derived from the posture of raptors hunting, swooping down from a glide, either hooking the spine and back muscles or gouging the back of the head with a claw to suck out the brain marrow.

Compared to the imposing and brute force of the Tiger Subduing Fist, the Wild Goose Formation Fist had a delicate feel of precise hunting.

"Name: Zhou You.

Strength: 24.

Speed: 24.

Defense: 24.

Experience Points: 523.

Profession: Martial Arts Apprentice.

Level: Initial Internal Force.

Skills: Imperial Strike Hand Lv10 (Mastered), Tiger Subduing Fist Lv11, Basic Lightness Skill Lv2/Lv?, Wild Goose Formation Fist Lv9.

Trial Project One (Two-star): Break through the Blood Qi Gate and become an inner disciple of Jianxiong Martial Arts School.

Trial Project Two (One-star): Kill Tu Laosan and eliminate future trouble.

Trial Project Three (Four-star): Perfect Basic Lightness Skill."

After days of arduous training, he had finally cultivated the Wild Goose Formation Fist to Lv9, just one step away from the Internal Force bottleneck at v10.

Standing at the Internal Force level, re-cultivating a second martial art was a natural progression.

The only difficulty lay in strengthening the body's attributes specifically when switching between different martial arts.

For instance, the Wild Goose Formation Fist's requirements for physical attributes emphasized strength and speed.

This was why Lu Zhigang was torn apart by Zhou You once he couldn't maintain a speed advantage and was gotten close to.

Zhou You's Basic Lightness Skill, integrating the Square Step and Pecking Ground Vertical Step, increased its power by an additional three points when used with the Wild Goose Formation Fist. Even if Lu Zhigang were reborn in his peak state, he might not be his opponent at this moment.

"Still one step away. Once the Wild Goose Formation Fist connects with Internal Force, I can grab rocks and turn them into powder."

The hardness of the rock surpassed that of century-old hardwood, but its toughness was slightly lacking, making it prone to shattering under immense force.

Therefore, the bluestone in the martial arts school was a consumable item used for strength training.

The Tiger Subduing Fist, infused with Internal Force, was enough to smash rocks into pieces, but the Wild Goose Formation Fist could hollow out large holes from the rock's surface.

This was the difference in the characteristics and destructive power of various boxing styles.

"Panel, enhance."

"Experience Points -10, Strength +1."

"Experience Points -10, Defense +1."

"Strength 25, Speed 24, Defense 25, meeting the upgrade conditions for Tiger Subduing Fist."

"Experience Points -110, Experience Points -120, Tiger Subduing Fist Lv11 → Lv12, Lv12 → Lv13."

"Experience Points -90, Wild Goose Formation Fist Lv9 → Lv10."

"Name: Zhou You.

Strength: 25.

Speed: 24.

Defense: 25.

Experience Points: 183."

Occupation: Martial Arts Apprentice.

Level: Early Internal Force.

Skills: Imperial Strike Hand Lv10 (Perfected), Tiger Subduing Fist Lv13, Basic Lightness Skill Lv2/Lv?, Wild Goose Formation Fist Lv10.

Zhou You's arms and legs twitched as the major tendons jumped, the joints of his spine making crisp cracking sounds in his ears.

The improvement in his physique and the upgrade of his martial arts skills brought a massive influx of muscle memory into his body.

Zhou You raised his hand and threw a punch, shattering the rock at his feet. He used Tiger Subduing Fist.

The most direct impact of his signature skill leveling up to Lv13 was that the resulting fragments were smaller.

The finger-sized stones were covered in cracks, their once hard texture becoming loose and crumbling to dust with a squeeze.

Even though he hadn't reached the threshold of the Blood Qi Gate (Lv20), the power of Tiger Subduing Fist had increased significantly.

Next, he looked at Wild Goose Formation Fist, which had integrated Internal Force...

Zhou You leaped into the air and swooped down. As he swung his shoulders and elbows, the air seemed to slow, almost turning into a flowing liquid.

This was an environmental change influenced by Internal Force.

He even had the illusion that if his strength increased further, he could push off the air with his legs and move freely in the sky as if walking on solid ground.

The advantage of Wild Goose Formation Fist was precisely this ability to strike from above.

Whether it was Tiger Subduing Fist or Wild Goose Formation Fist, once they reached Lv10, each subsequent level required 5 points.

For example, to upgrade Tiger Subduing Fist, the three attributes must reach 10 points to upgrade to Lv10. However, to upgrade to Lv11, Lv15 was required, and so on. To upgrade to Lv13, 25 points in Strength and Defense, and 20 points in Speed were needed.

Wild Goose Formation Fist was the same, the difference being its focus on Strength and Speed, with slightly relaxed Defense requirements.

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!"

Zhou You swooped down from the air, his body brushing past the stone wall, his fists slicing through it like a knife, carving out fist-sized chunks of bluestone.

He clenched his five fingers, and with a creaking sound of rupture, he crushed the stones into a handful of powder.

The killing blow of Wild Goose Formation Fist was in the fingers of his palm; they were unstoppable when it came to breaking skulls or piercing flesh.

Earlier, when he fought Lu Zhigang, the clothes he was grazed by had split open, as if cut by sharp scissors.

Having mastered the Internal Force level of Wild Goose Formation Fist, Zhou You could directly feel the power of this martial art, giving him more confidence in his plans.

"Tu Laosan, I won't let you live to see the New Year."

Shen Sijing patted his chest and guaranteed that he would get justice for him, and the 500 taels of silver for atonement would be delivered in full.

But Zhou You thought of more. He wouldn't risk his parents and family by gambling on the integrity and morality of gang members.

Against enemies, one must cut the grass by the roots and eliminate future troubles.

While lost in thought, Zhou You wiped the dust from his hands, his mind going over his step-by-step plan.

"Li Hao, Zhou You, hurry to the front courtyard."

Outside the Eighth Training Ground, a formal apprentice's voice called out.

On both sides of the stone wall, Li Hao and Zhou You looked sharply towards the entrance. What had happened?

Footsteps sounded from all corners of the Martial Arts School, the main gate to the inner courtyard opened, and even the Master of the school appeared.

Had something truly serious happened?

Zhou You couldn't help but wonder if another Phantom had sneaked in. Was it a second "Fang Guiqi"?

As the two of them walked out of the training ground, they heard someone shout, "Someone's challenging the school! Challenging the school!"

Challenging, challenging the school?

This was an internal term used by martial arts schools, generally referring to an external challenge.

Who was Old Man Wang? The people of Gongliang City nicknamed him "Sitting Tiger."

A tiger would surely eat people; how could someone dare to challenge the school? Did they not want to live?

"It's someone from out of town, a Martial Master from Sucheng City, trying to steal our livelihood."

So that's what it was. Sucheng City also had martial arts schools and Martial Masters. Now, they had left their homes and come to Gongliang City, intending to make a name for themselves by challenging other schools.

Jianxiong Martial Arts School was facing its first challenge in ten years.