The next few days.
Fang Qingyu's life completely settled into a routine: four places in rotation.
The martial arts hall, driving for DiDi, the combat arena, and his rented room.
At the martial arts hall.
Coach Zheng personally taught him the Thirteen Forms of Hengdao almost every day.
So on the third day.
He successfully activated the professional Basic Skill, "Thirteen Forms of Hengdao."
And he hadn't neglected Stance Training Fist Technique, either.
His Martial Arts Apprentice experience and four attributes had all increased to varying degrees.
In the afternoon, he drove for DiDi.
As he became more proficient at accepting orders, he successfully unlocked a new profession as well.
And just as Fang Qingyu had expected, the Basic Skill he learned was Sedan Driving.
As for E-Bike Piloting, he also occasionally took the time to ride a little.
He successfully reached the max level, Lv.3, and gained one Attribute Point.
Then there was the combat arena.
These past few days, Lu Chen seemed to have vanished from the face of the earth. He was nowhere to be seen, and there was no news of him either.
That hadn't affected Fang Qingyu's work, though.
The Security Guard profession.
Both the profession itself and Alertness had reached Level 3, completely maxed out and unable to advance further. He gained one Attribute Point and one Skill Point.
As for the Mixed Martial Arts Athlete.
Both the profession and its skill had leveled up.
Unexpectedly, Level 2 was the max level for the profession.
Weakness Gaze, however, could still continue to level up.
From this profession, Fang Qingyu had wrung out another Attribute Point and Skill Point.
Finally, there was the Fitness Enthusiast.
The profession itself and Dragon Flag had both reached Level 3, with no further breakthrough possible.
He gained one Skill Point and one Attribute Point.
Inside his rented room.
Fang Qingyu lay on the bed and looked at his basic status panel.
Name: Fang Qingyu
Strength: 15.3→16.7
Speed: 14.5→16.0
Physique: 14.8→16.3
Willpower: 16.3→17.5
Over these few days, Fang Qingyu had gained a total of four Attribute Points. He added one to each of his four attributes, and with the usual training from Stance Training Fist Technique as well.
Such growth wasn't surprising.
He then looked at the Martial Arts Apprentice panel.
Profession: Martial Arts Apprentice Lv.2 (108/200)
Talent: Martial Seed (★)
Advancement Skill 1: Bloodrage Lv.2 (11/200)
Advancement Skill 2: Dragon Hibernation Breath Lv.2 (45/200)
Advancement Skill 3: Baji Quan Lv.2 (21/200)
Basic Skill 1: Hidden Dragon Stance Lv.3 (55/300)
Basic Skill 2: Basic Fist Technique Lv.3 (62/300)
Basic Skill 3: Thirteen Forms of Hengdao Lv.2 (11/200)
Of his three Skill Points, Fang Qingyu put one into Bloodrage, raising it to Level 2.
He put one into Hidden Dragon Stance.
That brought the progress of his stance and fist techniques to roughly the same level.
He put the final Skill Point into Thirteen Forms of Hengdao.
To sharpen the blade, one had to strengthen oneself first.
Fang Qingyu understood this principle deeply.
Moreover, by the time the martial technique for Hengdao came out, his DiDi Driver profession would probably be ready to level up as well.
That left only the two professions he could still grind for now.
Profession: Mixed Martial Arts Athlete Lv.2 (Max)
Unique Job Skill: Weakness Gaze Lv.2 (22/200)
Profession: DiDi Driver Lv.1 (8/100)
Basic Job Skill: Sedan Driving Lv.1 (21/100)
Fang Qingyu lay on the bed, looking at the pitiful two-page status panel.
He still wasn't grinding hard enough.
But a DiDi Driver's working hours were flexible, and a Mixed Martial Arts Athlete's working hours were also quite relaxed at night.
If he went looking for a job now, it should be a little easier to find one.
He would look tomorrow!
The next morning.
Chenfeng Martial Hall.
Coach Zheng stood beside the weapon rack, recording with her phone.
Fang Qingyu stood bare-chested before her, cold gleams reflecting from the sweat coating the spine of his blade.
The morning light slanted across the cold iron, scattering patches of light like silver snakes dancing wildly, while the dust on the bluestone floor was swept into spirals by the airflow.
The Hengdao's roar as it tore through the air was sometimes dense and circling, like a silver python coiling around a pillar, and sometimes it burst forth in a thunderous slash, like silk splitting beneath a bolt of lightning.
Coach Zheng stared at her phone screen. In the frame, the young man's back muscles rose and fell like waves with each movement of the blade.
Fang Qingyu was practicing the Thirteen Forms of Hengdao.
After he finished the routine.
Coach Zheng sent the video, then typed a line in the chat box.
"See that? In one week, he not only mastered the Thirteen Forms of Hengdao, but even reached Minor Accomplishment. I taught him!"
Then she tapped send.
Only then did she leisurely put away her phone.
"Coach Zheng, can I learn the martial technique now?"
Fang Qingyu wiped away his sweat and walked up to Coach Zheng.
"Yes."
Coach Zheng nodded calmly.
As she walked to the weapon rack and picked up a Hengdao, she spoke.
"In the 37th Year of the Jiajing Era, Zhao Polu, a hundred-household commander of the Qi Family Army, was stationed in Taizhou. After observing the force of a sea typhoon snapping ship masts, he created the Nine Forms of Hengdao Formation-Breaking Technique. It drove the blade with the waist, its slashes flashing like thunderbolts, and because the blade's roar through the air resembled splitting silk and startled thunder, it was named 'Slashing Thunder'!"
Fang Qingyu listened carefully, then savored the name in his mind.
"Slashing Thunder."
The name was certainly thunderous.
He just didn't know how powerful it really was.
This was the first time he had heard of this blade technique. Unlike Baji Quan, it wasn't particularly famous.
"Don't worry. Slashing Thunder suits your style very well. In terms of power, it's one of the best techniques below the level of a martial artist!"
After spending several days together, Coach Zheng already understood Fang Qingyu quite well. She knew what he was thinking at a glance.
"Watch closely."
The moment she finished speaking.
Coach Zheng angled the Hengdao toward the steel-clad wooden dummy, then suddenly twisted her waist and drove forward with her hips.
The blade swept upward from below. Its edge scraped against the steel plate, bursting into a string of orange-red sparks and carving a thumb-deep V-shaped notch into the steel shell.
The second form, Horizontal Slash, was so fast that only a flash of silver could be seen. The steel plate split with a crack, opening a thirty-centimeter-long gap and revealing the hard sandalwood core inside.
The cut was charred black, as if it had been sliced through by a high-temperature welding torch.
Most horrifying of all was the spinning slash as she finished the move.
Coach Zheng used centrifugal force to swing the blade through a full semicircle. The instant the edge bit into the steel plate, the anchor bolts securing the wooden dummy snapped with a bang.
The steel-clad dummy, weighing several hundred pounds, slid diagonally half a meter away.
The steel base scraped across the bluestone floor, leaving a trench amid flying sparks.
"..."
Fang Qingyu swallowed as he stared.
Was this a blade technique!?
He couldn't help looking at Coach Zheng's head again.
Weapons Instructor.
It hadn't changed.
It was still white.
Could a Weapons Instructor also possess the strength of a martial artist?
"Don't bother wondering. I'm not a martial artist."
Seeing Fang Qingyu's shocked expression, the corners of Coach Zheng's lips curled slightly.
Receiving an admiring look in front of a genius youth felt pretty good.
"That slash only worked because the speed was so fast."
Seeing Fang Qingyu's gaze fixed on the cut, Coach Zheng explained calmly.
"As long as your basic blade technique and physique keep up, you can achieve the same effect. You should know that everything you're learning here is a killing technique!"
"Understood."
Fang Qingyu nodded, shaken once again.
The internal engine in his heart had been fed the fiercest firewood once more by that slash.
The last time had been Coach Lin's elbow strike.
"Then let's begin."
Coach Zheng began to look forward to seeing how long it would take Fang Qingyu to master Slashing Thunder.
She had been hailed as a martial arts genius, yet it had taken her more than half a month just to barely reach the entry level.
"All right."
Fang Qingyu took a deep breath.
The few slashes Coach Zheng had demonstrated played back frame by frame in his mind.
Professional Advancement Skill "Slashing Thunder" detected. Activation in progress (1/100)
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