Leaving the Martial Academy, he called over Gu Dashan, who had been waiting for him at the entrance.
After returning home, Gu Yang directly took out the two qian of silver and handed it to Gu Dashan, telling him, "Buy more meat for the family from now on. You do physical labor every day, and Yingying is at the age when she's growing. You both need to eat better."
"..."
Gu Yang had still underestimated Gu Dashan's reaction upon seeing those two qian of silver.
Questions. Relentless questions.
Gu Yang talked until his mouth was dry before Gu Dashan finally believed that the two qian of silver were not ill-gotten wealth, but money he had earned through his own ability.
Naturally, the story that came from his mouth had been trimmed and polished.
Gu Yang did not want his parents worrying about him. He could not mention anything related to the Dao Seed of Creation, so he could only deceive them with a well-intentioned lie.
Though still half-convinced and half-doubtful, seeing how certain Gu Yang was, Gu Dashan could only keep his suspicions to himself.
Especially after Gu Yang directly took off his martial uniform and revealed his sturdy upper body. Seeing only a few barely noticeable bruises, Gu Dashan had nothing more to object to.
"Bang, bang!"
In the Training Ground, two figures were exchanging blows at high speed.
One side attacked with wild ferocity, while the other defended with great caution.
The two were Gu Yang and Li Zhiwu.
After receiving another of Li Zhiwu's punches and seeing the frenzy in his opponent's eyes, Gu Yang's nerves tightened further.
After their battle the day before yesterday, Li Zhiwu's attacks were still fierce today, but every punch retained thirty percent of its strength, lest Gu Yang launch a sudden counterattack.
Li Zhiwu's cautious approach also left Gu Yang with no opportunity to counterattack. He could only focus wholeheartedly on defense.
"Whoosh!"
Suddenly, Li Zhiwu's foot slipped, and in a single step he arrived at Gu Yang's left side.
His waist twisted and his feet shifted. After adjusting his posture, the left fist that had somehow been gathering power smashed heavily toward Gu Yang's ribs.
Gu Yang's gaze sharpened. He instantly stepped back and kicked out, while simultaneously swinging his left arm across to block Li Zhiwu's fist.
"Bang~"
His kick was blocked by Li Zhiwu's own kick, while his left arm forcibly took a heavy punch. Gu Yang himself seemed to hear his bones creaking.
Pain! Even if the bone was not broken, his arm was definitely swelling up.
A line of small text appeared before his eyes at just the right moment.
Azure Dragon Dance proficiency +1
Seeing this, Gu Yang leaped a step backward, vigorously shook out his arm, and called, "Rest for a while. We'll continue later!"
"Hmph!" Li Zhiwu glanced at Gu Yang's left arm but did not object. He walked off to the side and sat down to rest.
Gu Yang directly sat down where he was, closed his eyes, and focused on sensing the injury in his left arm.
Sore, swollen, painful, itchy, hot!
From the moment his arm suffered that heavy blow, vitality had emerged within Gu Yang's body and begun accelerating the recovery of his injury.
In just a few breaths, the stabbing pain eased considerably.
Feeling the injuries on his body recovering at an accelerated pace, Gu Yang stopped paying attention to them and instead looked toward the starlight floating before him.
Skill: Blood Nourishing Stance Accomplishment (25/200); Azure Dragon Dance Level (93/500) Talent: Vitality Surge.
After only half an hour of sparring, Azure Dragon Dance proficiency had increased by another eighteen points.
Though sparring with Li Zhiwu meant that he would be injured if he was even slightly careless, Azure Dragon Dance proficiency had also been rising at breakneck speed under this high-intensity training.
A blood-profit deal with no losses!
Silently recalling Li Zhiwu's coordination of fists, kicks, and footwork, Gu Yang reviewed the exchange in his heart and considered how he could counterattack while defending.
Defend too long, and you were bound to lose. Offense was the best defense.
Gu Yang strongly agreed with this life wisdom left behind by his ancestors.
In the Minor Competition, he could not possibly rely purely on defense to wear opponent after opponent down until they ran out of stamina. Even with his astonishing recovery ability, he could not manage that.
Only offense could help him seize victory.
Half an hour later, the redness and swelling in his arm had faded. Gu Yang suddenly opened his eyes and looked toward Li Zhiwu.
Li Zhiwu seemed to sense it as well and raised his head at the same time.
"Come fight!"
At this moment, Gu Yang's eyes were filled with fighting spirit.
"Hmph. Come."
The two immediately rose to their feet and stood facing each other once more.
This time, before Li Zhiwu could make a move, Gu Yang strode forward and launched an attack against him.
"Bang!"
A punch crashed into Li Zhiwu's raised arm. Gu Yang suddenly retreated half a step, then threw another punch.
"Bang!"
This punch was blocked by Li Zhiwu again, but his brows furrowed.
He had just been preparing to close in on Gu Yang, only to be stopped by that unexpected punch.
He did not know whether it had been an accident or something Gu Yang had planned long ago, but his instincts told him things were not so simple.
And just as he had suspected, this was a style of fighting Gu Yang had worked out after reviewing their earlier exchange.
Relying on his height and reach, he used footwork to maintain a certain distance from Li Zhiwu, allowing himself to strike Li Zhiwu easily while preventing the other man from reaching him.
"Bang bang bang!"
With several punches in succession, Gu Yang seized the initiative.
Step back and punch. Step back and punch. Step back and punch again.
It looked as though Li Zhiwu was forcing him to retreat again and again, but Li Zhiwu could not touch him at all and could only take hits for nothing.
Azure Dragon Dance proficiency +1
Seeing the text flash past before him again, the corners of Gu Yang's mouth could not help but curl into a faint smile.
At this point, Li Zhiwu could no longer hold back. He lowered his head and charged forward, desperately trying to close the distance with Gu Yang. Yet Gu Yang suddenly kicked out, forcing Li Zhiwu to retreat again and again.
Better to take ten punches than one kick. A kick was far heavier than a fist.
Gu Yang's full-force punch carried only around four hundred jin of force, but a charged kick could unleash six or seven hundred jin of explosive power.
Li Zhiwu dared let Gu Yang smash him with fists, but he did not dare let him kick him.
The two pulled apart, and their sparring began anew.
However, Li Zhiwu was, after all, rich in combat experience. This time, he quickly found a way to deal with it: footwork, just like Gu Yang's.
When Gu Yang punched, he stepped back as well, evading the punch before closing in again.
After just a few rounds of Pull-and-Drag, Gu Yang could no longer maintain the proper distance and was closed in on by Li Zhiwu.
Then the tides of attack and defense reversed, and Gu Yang was once again forced into a defensive position.
But this time, even under Li Zhiwu's frenzied assault, he kept searching for chances to counterattack.
Fists, kicks, even trading injury for injury!
Skill: Blood Nourishing Stance Accomplishment (28/200); Azure Dragon Dance Level (166/500) Talent: Vitality Surge.
That night, after completing his evening cultivation task, Gu Yang lay on his back in the courtyard with his eyes closed, reviewing the gains he had made that day.
During the day, he had sparred with Li Zhiwu on and off for nearly four hours, raising Azure Dragon Dance proficiency by over a hundred points.
After returning home that evening and practicing the Blood Nourishing Stance Art, he had gained another three points of Stance Training proficiency.
As long as he could maintain this current rate of improvement, Azure Dragon Dance would very likely break through to Minor Accomplishment before the Minor Competition arrived, while the Blood Nourishing Stance would need only a little over a month to break through once more.
"Everything is getting better!" Looking up at the bright moon in the sky, Gu Yang's eyes were filled with hope.