Rapid Progress

After leaving the Martial Academy, he called over Gu Dashan, who had been waiting for him at the entrance.

Once they got home, Gu Yang directly took out the two qian of silver and handed them to Gu Dashan, instructing 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.

He questioned him, over and over without stopping.

Gu Yang talked until his mouth was dry before he finally convinced Gu Dashan that the two qian of silver were not ill-gotten gains, but money he had earned through his own abilities.

Naturally, the story he told had been trimmed and polished.

Gu Yang did not want his parents to worry about him. He could not mention anything involving 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 no longer had anything to object to.

Bang, bang!

Two figures exchanged blows at high speed on the Training Ground.

One side attacked with relentless ferocity, while the other defended cautiously.

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 suddenly launch a counterattack.

Li Zhiwu's cautious approach also left Gu Yang with no opportunity to counterattack. He could only devote himself entirely to defending.

Whoosh!

Suddenly, Li Zhiwu slipped forward and arrived at Gu Yang's left side in a single step.

He twisted at the waist and shifted his footing. Once he had adjusted his stance, his left fist—whose power had been gathering for who knew how long—smashed heavily toward Gu Yang's ribs.

Gu Yang's gaze sharpened. He instantly stepped back and kicked out, while swinging his left arm across to block Li Zhiwu's fist.

Bang!

His kick was blocked by a kick from Li Zhiwu, while his left arm forcibly received a heavy punch. Gu Yang himself seemed to hear his bones crack.

Pain! Even if the bone was not broken, his arm was definitely swollen.

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, forcefully 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 by himself.

Gu Yang sat down where he was instead, closing his eyes and focusing his mind as he sensed the condition of his left arm.

Sore, swollen, painful, itchy, hot!

From the instant his arm had suffered the 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 greatly subsided.

Feeling the injuries on his body recovering at an accelerated rate, Gu Yang stopped paying attention to them and looked instead at the starlight appearing before him.

Skill: Blood Nourishing Stance Mastery (25/200); Azure Dragon Dance (93/500)

Talent: Vitality Surge.

In barely half an hour of sparring, Azure Dragon Dance proficiency had increased by another eighteen points.

Although sparring with Li Zhiwu meant he would be injured if he was even slightly careless, under such high-intensity sparring, Azure Dragon Dance proficiency had also been rising at breakneck speed.

A bloody profit with no losses!

Silently recalling the coordination between Li Zhiwu's punches, kicks, and footwork just now, Gu Yang replayed the fight in his mind and considered how he could counterattack while defending.

Defend for too long and mistakes were inevitable; offense was the best defense.

Gu Yang greatly agreed with the principles of life left behind by his ancestors.

In the Minor Competition, he could not simply rely on defense to wear one opponent after another down until their strength was exhausted. Even with his astonishing recovery ability, he could not manage that.

Only offense could help him secure victory.

Half an hour later, the redness and swelling in his arm had faded. Gu Yang suddenly opened his eyes and looked at Li Zhiwu.

Li Zhiwu seemed to sense something as well and raised his head at the same time.

"Come fight!"

At that moment, Gu Yang's eyes brimmed with fighting spirit.

"Hmph, come."

The two immediately rose and faced each other once more.

This time, before Li Zhiwu could make a move, Gu Yang strode forward and launched an attack at him.

Bang!

A punch slammed into Li Zhiwu's raised arm. Gu Yang suddenly stepped back half a pace, then threw another punch.

Bang!

This punch was blocked by Li Zhiwu again, but his brows furrowed.

Just now, he had been preparing to close in on Gu Yang, yet that unexpected punch had stopped him.

He did not know whether it had been an accident or something Gu Yang had planned long ago, but his intuition told him things were not so simple.

And the truth was just as he had suspected. This was a style of fighting Gu Yang had devised after replaying the battle in his mind.

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 keeping Li Zhiwu from reaching him.

Bang bang bang!

With several punches in succession, Gu Yang held the initiative.

Step back and punch, step back and punch, then 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 blows for nothing.

Azure Dragon Dance proficiency +1

Watching the words flash before his eyes again, the corners of Gu Yang's mouth could not help but curl upward.

At this point, Li Zhiwu could not endure it any longer. He rushed forward with his head covered, 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 an explosive force of six or seven hundred jin.

Li Zhiwu dared let Gu Yang strike 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 ultimately experienced in combat. This time, he quickly found a way to deal with it—footwork, just like Gu Yang's.

When Gu Yang threw a punch, Li Zhiwu stepped back as well, avoiding the fist before closing in again.

After only a few exchanges, Gu Yang could no longer maintain the proper distance, and Li Zhiwu got inside his guard.

Then the tides of offense and defense reversed, and Gu Yang was once again forced into a defensive position.

But this time, even under Li Zhiwu's frenzied attacks, he continued seeking chances to counterattack.

Fists, kicks, even trading injury for injury!

Skill: Blood Nourishing Stance Mastery (28/200); Azure Dragon Dance (166/500)

Talent: Vitality Surge.

That night, after completing his evening training, 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 intermittently with Li Zhiwu for nearly four hours, raising Azure Dragon Dance proficiency by more than a hundred points.

After returning home that evening and practicing the Blood Nourishing Stance Art, he gained another three points of Stance Training proficiency.

As long as he could maintain this rate of improvement, Azure Dragon Dance would very likely break through to Minor Mastery 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.