Borrowing Meat

All morning, Gu Yang practiced the Azure Dragon Dance alone. After lunch, he began drilling the Blood Nourishing Stance Art again.

Compared to practicing Martial Techniques, what he needed more right now was to improve his physical condition as quickly as possible.

Though he was already fifteen and the other disciples were only around ten, if he were to spar with them now, he would not be able to beat a single one. His physical condition was far inferior to theirs.

With a full eight or nine months' gap in training, if he could not plan his training time wisely and instead followed the others' routine of practicing the Blood Nourishing Stance Art one day and Martial Technique combat the next—

Then, even with the Dao Seed of Creation, who knew how long it would take him to catch up to the other disciples.

His Blood Nourishing Stance Art training absolutely could not stop. Moreover, he had to gradually increase the amount of training.

Only then would he have a chance!

After completing a set of stance movements, Gu Yang slowly drew a breath, then sat on the ground to recover his strength.

He did not intend to exhaust all his stamina before resting like yesterday. Instead, he planned to rest for a while after completing one round of Stance Training, then continue once he felt he had recovered somewhat.

The benefit of doing this was that it would slow the rate at which his stamina was depleted, allowing him to perform the Stance Training several more times.

With the Dao Seed of Creation in his body, the Blood Nourishing Stance Art had already become a skill. As long as he kept practicing and his proficiency increased, he would naturally grow stronger.

Thus, for Gu Yang, properly managing his stamina and performing as many rounds of Stance Training as possible with his limited strength was especially important.

At this moment, Qin Hu was also silently observing Gu Yang. Seeing him practice the Blood Nourishing Stance Art again, he immediately understood Gu Yang's intentions.

"Rare wisdom. Such decisiveness. He truly does not seem like a child raised in a mountain village."

Growing ever more satisfied with Gu Yang, Qin Hu naturally would not interrupt his training and force him to practice Martial Techniques.

If he did not even understand such flexibility, then he was unworthy of teaching disciples at the Martial Academy.

"Didn't you eat your fill at noon? Is that all the strength you have? What, are you scratching each other's itches?" Qin Hu turned his head and roared at the disciples currently sparring.

"Pant, pant~"

After finishing another round of stance movements, Gu Yang bent over with both hands braced on his knees, gulping down breaths of air.

Thanks to his highly reasonable allocation of stamina, after steadily completing five rounds of the Blood Nourishing Stance Art this time, Gu Yang still retained a small portion of his strength and had not collapsed to the ground.

However, having practiced the stance art to this point, it was time for a proper rest.

He sat against the wall facing the slowly sinking sun, narrowed his eyes, and naturally stretched out his limbs as he gradually recovered his strength.

In his previous life, he had heard that high-intensity exercise could keep endorphins flowing through the body, making people feel relaxed and happy while easing their stress. Before this, however, he had never experienced the joy that exercise could bring.

But now, he truly felt the joy brought by cultivation.

Though his body was exhausted, his mind was extraordinarily relaxed.

Being able to clearly sense himself growing stronger bit by bit, that deep sense of achievement was far better than those fleeting bursts of instant gratification.

His thoughts emptied completely, and he thought of nothing. The noisy sounds around him gradually drifted farther and farther away.

At this moment, Gu Yang's heart was exceptionally tranquil. His breathing slowly eased, and his body and mind relaxed completely.

A long time passed.

Feeling that most of his strength had returned, Gu Yang climbed to his feet and continued practicing the Blood Nourishing Stance Art.

Just as Qin Hu had said, he was not the child of some noble clan. If he wanted to rise above the crowd, he had to work hard, then work even harder.

Immersed in training, time flew by.

Dong, dong...

The Martial Academy's bell suddenly rang out, and Gu Yang raised his head blankly.

Only then did he realize that, without his noticing, the sun had already set.

Following the crowd out of the Martial Academy, Gu Yang found, as expected, that Gu Dashan was still sitting at the academy gates waiting for him.

Gu Yang helplessly shook his head. He had no way to change Gu Dashan right now, so he could only let things remain as they were for the time being.

The two met up and headed out of the city together.

Seeing Gu Dashan standing with his arms folded over his chest, Gu Yang asked with a bitter smile, "Dad, you bought meat again?"

"Heh heh." Gu Dashan chuckled but did not answer, merely continuing forward on his own.

Gu Yang had already tried to persuade Gu Dashan last night to be more frugal with the money they had brought from home. There was no need to buy him meat every day.

Gu Dashan had agreed verbally at the time, but judging from the current situation, he clearly had not taken it to heart.

Seeing Gu Dashan already far ahead, Gu Yang could do nothing about it. He could only call, "Dad, wait for me!" before quickly catching up.

"Gu Yang!"

At the city gate, just as Gu Yang and Gu Dashan were lining up to leave the city, he heard a familiar voice calling his name.

He abruptly turned around and discovered in surprise that Qin Hu was standing behind him. He was still wearing that black martial uniform, though he now held a cloth sack whose contents were unknown.

"Master Qin." Gu Yang respectfully responded, then said nothing further.

He did not know what Qin Hu was planning to do, nor did he dare ask rashly.

Not asking could not possibly go wrong. But if he asked and Qin Hu threw back a "Don't ask what you shouldn't ask," would he not lose face before Gu Dashan?

Qin Hu looked Gu Yang up and down, then glanced at Gu Dashan standing behind him.

His tattered clothes, sallow complexion, and gaunt, starved frame all showed that Gu Yang's family circumstances were poor.

Yet even so, Gu Dashan had still given up that "large" subsidy and chosen to send Gu Yang into the Martial Academy.

He was a man of true courage.

Seeing Gu Dashan raise his head to look at him, Qin Hu immediately nodded in greeting before turning back to Gu Yang and handing over the cloth sack.

"Gu Yang, this is something I'm lending you. There's no interest. Return it whenever you have the ability to repay me."

"Master Qin, this is..." Gu Yang could not help hesitating as he looked at the cloth sack Qin Hu held out. Should he accept it...

"Take it." Seeing through Gu Yang's thoughts, Qin Hu said in an unquestionable tone, "Take it home and look. If you decide you do not need it, bring it back to the Martial Academy tomorrow and return it to me."

"Yes, Master Qin." Since Qin Hu had put it that way, Gu Yang could only accept the cloth sack first.

Holding the sack in one hand and supporting its bottom with the other, Gu Yang instantly understood from the feeling beneath his fingertips that it contained meat—more than twenty pounds of it!

Gu Yang looked gratefully at Qin Hu and immediately said, "Thank you, Master Qin."

"Mhm. Remember, do not eat more than half a pound at a time." After giving that final instruction, Qin Hu turned and walked back through the city gate.

"Er Lang, who was that man just now? What did he give you?" After Qin Hu left, Gu Dashan asked in confusion.

"We'll talk when we get home." As Gu Yang brushed off Gu Dashan's question, he looked around. Seeing that no one was paying attention to them, he hugged the cloth sack and hurried toward where they lived...