Suspending the Trade

That night, Gu Dashan got drunk.

This rough man had only drunk a few times in his life. Today, carried away by happiness, he drank too quickly and too fiercely. After two bowls of cloudy wine went down his throat, he collapsed drunk over the dinner table.

Seeing Gu Dashan muttering in his sleep, "Er Lang has made something of himself, Er Lang has made something of himself," Gu Mother could not help but smile gently as she tenderly stroked his grimy head.

Across the table, Gu Yang smiled at the sight as well.

This warm feeling was wonderful.

The biggest dish of the night, a plate of cold sliced pig head meat, had gone mostly into Gu Yingying's belly without anyone noticing, leaving her so stuffed that she could only hum and groan.

Even so, Gu Yingying still wanted to eat the stir-fried chicken beside it, frightening Gu Yang into quickly moving the plate away. No matter what she said, he would not let her keep eating.

Children naturally had weaker digestion than adults, and Gu Yingying had eaten a great deal of hard-to-digest meat. If she kept eating, it would no longer be enjoyment, but suffering.

With the moon hanging over the treetops, Gu Yang helped the still-soberless Gu Dashan out of the street-side eatery and slowly headed home.

Gu Mother carried the packed leftovers in one hand and held Gu Yingying's round, stuffed belly in check with the other as she followed closely behind him.

Tonight's meal had contained only pork and fried chicken, not even as good as the Martial Academy cafeteria meals he ate every noon. Yet for the other three members of the Gu Family, these were delicacies they might not get to eat more than a few times in many years.

Spending one qian of silver just for a meal was truly too extravagant for the Gu Family as they were now.

But in the future, that might not be the case...

After leisurely making their way home, Gu Yang put Gu Dashan onto the bed and went back outside.

Gu Mother was digging glowing charcoal from the stove pit for warmth during the night, while Gu Yingying was fetching water to wash up.

Gu Yang came to the courtyard, stood beside the snow piled against the wall, took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Then he began practicing the Blood Nourishing Stance Art again.

Cultivation required unremitting persistence. Even if he had gone out to celebrate with a meal that evening, he still had to make up for his daily training at night.

Shoulders, elbows, waist, hips, legs...

One movement after another unfolded from Gu Yang's hands, setting every part of his body into rhythm.

The Blood Nourishing Stance Art had an enormous number of details and key points to heed. The more Gu Yang trained, the more he understood the exquisite profundity of this technique.

It appeared to be no more than three simple stance forms and several dozen fist and leg movements, yet the details within were countless. Only in this way could every part of the body be exercised.

Although Gu Yang had already cultivated this technique to Minor Accomplishment, he still felt he was far from completely comprehending it.

When the moon reached the center of the sky, Gu Yang finished the day's training and fetched water to wipe down his body.

Steam rose from his entire body. Even when cold water touched his skin, he did not feel cold.

After washing himself, Gu Yang added more charcoal to the brazier in the bedroom, then left a crack in the door to prevent the charcoal from burning incompletely and giving the family carbon monoxide poisoning at night.

Only after finishing everything did he lie down.

There had been the Minor Competition and training day and night. Gu Yang was utterly exhausted, and soon after lying down, he sank into a deep sleep.

"Gu Yang, come spar with me."

The next day, at the Training Ground where the snow had been completely cleared away, Li Zhiwu came looking for him as usual.

"Alright."

Gu Yang answered, then led Li Zhiwu to a corner of the Training Ground, where they stood facing each other.

"Watch out."

After calling out a warning, Li Zhiwu strode forward like a bear cub rising onto its hind legs and pouncing at Gu Yang.

His fists clenched tightly and swung out in alternation.

"Whoosh, whoosh!"

His fists tore through the air, ripping open gusts of wind as they reached Gu Yang in the blink of an eye.

Gu Yang narrowed his eyes. With a dip of his body, he escaped the shroud of Li Zhiwu's fists, stepped forward, and closed in on him.

His left arm bent at the elbow and jerked upward before smashing forward.

That elbow was like a great spear, violently knocking aside Li Zhiwu's withdrawing arm.

Then Gu Yang drove his right fist straight into Li Zhiwu's chest.

"Bang!"

Staggering backward, Li Zhiwu failed to catch his breath. His knees went weak, and he dropped to the ground.

Gu Yang did not press the attack. He merely stood where he was and waited for Li Zhiwu to recover.

"Whew..."

A moment later, Li Zhiwu let out a long breath, his face full of shock as he looked at Gu Yang.

"Gu Yang, when did you become this fierce? After taking that punch from you, it took me ages to recover."

"Haha, I got lucky." Gu Yang smiled and extended his right hand, pulling Li Zhiwu up. "Want to go again?"

"Yes!" Li Zhiwu replied with an unconvinced look, chin raised. "I was careless just now. Let's start over."

"Don't you need to rest?" Gu Yang raised an eyebrow.

"No." Li Zhiwu gritted his teeth.

"Fine, then let's go." Gu Yang neither agreed nor disagreed, simply accepting.

"Bang!"

"Again!"

"Again!"

"Again!"

"Not anymore. Let's rest for a while."

Skill 'Azure Dragon Dance' proficiency +1

Looking at the small words that flashed before him, Gu Yang could not help shaking his head helplessly.

Li Zhiwu's combat strength today had not improved compared to before the Minor Competition. Gu Yang had not even gone all out, yet he had easily defeated him several times in a row.

The result of such "low-quality" bouts was that, after nearly half a shichen of sparring, Azure Dragon Dance's proficiency had risen by less than ten points.

Had this been before his breakthrough, these few rounds of sparring would have increased his skill proficiency by at least thirty points.

Compared to that, this meager gain was truly shabby.

But Li Zhiwu could not be blamed for being too weak. After all, he had also ranked among the top hundred in this Minor Competition. Gu Yang had simply become far too much stronger than before.

Once Azure Dragon Dance broke through to Minor Accomplishment, it was equivalent to cultivating the Canglang Fist Technique, Subduing Wave Leg Technique, and Swimming Fish Footwork all to Minor Accomplishment.

Compared to several days ago, Gu Yang's combat strength had undergone a transformative rise. This was one reason he had swept up five consecutive victories in the Minor Competition, not merely because of the talent Power Surge.

"One more time." Li Zhiwu's eyes were red. No matter what, he could not accept that Gu Yang, who had been inferior to him just two days ago, could now crush him with such ease.

"Then this will be the last time." Gu Yang looked seriously at Li Zhiwu as he replied.

"Alright."

The two faced each other again. This time, Li Zhiwu seemed to have truly gone all out. He paid no attention to defense, only attacking, attacking madly.

However, to Gu Yang, Li Zhiwu in this state only exposed even more openings.

"Bang!"

Knocked to the ground by Gu Yang once more, Li Zhiwu simply did not get back up. He lay flat on the Bluestone Floor, gasping heavily.

"So your undefeated record in the Minor Competition wasn't luck?" Li Zhiwu's voice suddenly drifted over.

"It was alright." Knowing what Li Zhiwu was asking, Gu Yang replied softly, "There was luck involved too. Only one opponent was particularly strong."

"Oh, I only encountered one particularly strong opponent too..." Li Zhiwu nodded.

"Mm." Gu Yang did not want to continue the topic, so he changed the subject. "Our trade will end today. I've already made a breakthrough in martial techniques. Next, I want to put more effort into Stance Training."

Although Gu Yang was reluctant to give up the income of two qian of silver every other day, he knew full well that compared to money, improving his strength was more important.

Two qian of silver was indeed no small amount, and it could improve his family's life. But if he chose to continue sparring with Li Zhiwu because of it, he would be putting the cart before the horse.

The fundamental reason he had sparred with Li Zhiwu was still to increase his skill proficiency.

Lying on the Bluestone Floor, Li Zhiwu merely nodded silently, then raised his head and stared blankly at the sky.

The blazing sun hung overhead, yet it could not bring him the slightest warmth...