Borrow a Knife to Kill; First Kill: Bandits

Seeing that a Martial Gall had already formed, Yang Ning did not slacken.

There were five stages in Foundation Establishment, each harder than the last. This was only the beginning. He knew time waited for no one, and this was far from his final goal.

Now that the Fierce Tiger Martial Gall had formed, the next step was to "Rise from the Lower-Body Root"!

What was the foundation? The lower body—the legs.

Among the legs, the calves were the "second heart" of qi and blood, where qi and blood grew robust and surged forth!

At this stage, Tiger Soul Fist emphasized:

Train the lower body until it crouches like a tiger; come in form, go like the wind.

Ancient sayings such as "coiled dragon, crouching tiger" and "dragon stride, tiger step" all praised the mighty tiger's lower body.

After absorbing the experience, Yang Ning adjusted his stance. His toes gripped the ground like tiger claws piercing earth, shifting his center of gravity toward the acupoints in the soles of his feet.

Then, finding the right feeling, he pushed off the ground, twisted his hips and waist, and gathered all his strength into the second punch he threw.

Bang!

This time, it was not merely a straight punch shooting out—it carried the force of his leg muscles.

The wooden post visibly swayed this time. The force was somewhat stronger than when he had broken through the first stage.

[Tiger Soul Fist (Body Tempering 21/100)]

"Good!"

Yang Ning could not help but rejoice inwardly.

This punch was the first step toward striking at the second stage, "Rise from the Lower-Body Root"!

Then came the second punch, the third, the fourth...

Another bout of frenzied training followed. He kept practicing in the right direction, continuously strengthening and tempering the newly born qi and blood from within the Martial Elixir throughout the process.

This positive feedback gradually made Yang Ning, who had thought martial arts training was merely a tedious ordeal, somewhat addicted—even intoxicated.

With one final push off the ground, he viciously sent out a long punch.

The ground behind him had actually sunk slightly!

Looking at the [Tiger Soul Fist (Body Tempering 40/100)] displayed on the panel, Yang Ning knew his breakthrough speed was now as unstoppable as bamboo splitting before a blade.

"Again!"

Seeing the gratifying progress on the panel, Yang Ning smiled faintly and wanted to continue.

Gurgle—

A dull sound came from his stomach. Only then did Yang Ning react, as an intense wave of hunger swept through his body and made his vision swim.

"Now that I'm a martial artist, my consumption is enormous. It's time to eat."

With his stomach rumbling like thunder, Yang Ning gritted his teeth and sprinted from the training room. Before long, he returned loaded down with food, piling the table in his room to the brim.

Rice cakes stacked like a small mountain, glossy rice noodles, freshly steamed meat buns, and fragrant shaomai.

Before this, such a meal would have fed the four adults and one child of the Yang Family for two meals.

But now, under Yang Ning's ravenous devouring, all the food on the table was swallowed clean like an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves.

He then bought a large bowl of plain congee. Ignoring that it was still somewhat hot, he gulped it all down in one go. Only then did his stomach feel a little more solid, somewhat full.

"My physical constitution has grown stronger, and so has my stomach's capacity!"

For martial artists, eating was also a field of study.

"Eating" was the foundation, the basis by which martial arts beginners nourished their qi and blood.

Accomplished martial arts experts all had especially large appetites.

Yang Ning knew that his elder brother, who had once trained at that martial academy, had also been famous for his enormous appetite. He could eat enough food for several ordinary meals.

After eating, Yang Ning felt the surging qi and blood in his chest and found himself indescribably satisfied.

"Soon! Soon!"

At this pace, before long he would break through the five minor stages, achieve a true transformation of qi and blood, break through Body Tempering, and become a genuine martial artist!

Once he became a Body Tempering martial artist, his social standing and living conditions would improve tremendously.

As far as Yang Ning knew, anyone who broke through to Body Tempering could attain a certain status anywhere in Kuishan County.

If he wished to enter government service, Yang Ning's clean background would allow him to become a constable at the yamen or a banner officer in the City Defense Army as soon as he joined.

If he wished to join the households of wealthy gentry and noble clans, at worst he could become an Inner Guard Guard.

If he intended to join the gangs and societies of the underworld, he could become a leading figure in minor gangs, or a boss in major sects and factions.

It could be said that once he became a Body Tempering martial artist, the Yang Family's standing would rise in a straight line, becoming a prosperous household in the Outer City.

Looking at the still-dark sky beyond the window and feeling the numb fatigue throughout his body, Yang Ning knew he had already reached his limit for the day.

He put on his clothes, packed up his things, and headed home.

After breaking through the second stage, Yang Ning's leg strength was astonishing.

The place he rented was some distance from the Yang Family's old residence, but after a light run, Yang Ning soon caught sight of the old house.

But at that moment, Yang Ning spotted two figures in red headscarves lurking suspiciously around his home.

Yang Ning narrowed his eyes and slowly approached.

"Boss, what are we doing here so late at night?

I know this house has someone from Hundred Herb Hall, an outer hall herb gatherer! Hundred Herb Hall isn't easy to provoke!"

Hidden nearby, Yang Ning immediately recognized the voice as that of a thug who haunted his street.

"Watch your mouth! Do you think I don't know what Hundred Herb Hall is?

But what if he isn't from Hundred Herb Hall?"

"What? He isn't from Hundred Herb Hall?

How did you find that out, Boss?"

"Stop talking nonsense. Do you know Fei Yan from Hundred Herb Hall? A few days ago, he was drinking with one of the Blood Ape Gang's bosses, and I was the one serving them!

After this bastard got drunk, he got carried away.

He told our boss that one of the herb gatherers in this household had offended him by failing to recognize greatness some time ago, and he was very dissatisfied with him now!

He was planning to find some excuse to give him a thorough lesson. If we take care of him, wouldn't that be fulfilling his wishes?

I heard that this herb gatherer has several dozen taels of patterned silver that he was awarded."

"Several dozen taels! Then let's rush in already! Once we rob this household, we can go have ourselves a good time!"

"Don't be so impatient! That whole family comes and goes unpredictably.

Only the herb gatherer's wife is a weaver, and her movements are regular.

Every day at this hour, she comes back with her daughter. Once we control them, we can use them to hold the rest of her family hostage. Why would we need to worry about silver..."

Before his words could finish, a figure pounced from the darkness behind the two thugs, swift as a tiger hunting prey!

Yang Ning's breath was steady and his mind focused as both fists shot straight forward.

Bang—Bang—

Two muffled impacts echoed through the street.

Both punches struck the backs of the two thugs' heads viciously. Before either could even cry out, they collapsed limply to the ground, unconscious.

He did not stop there.

As the two lay limp on the ground, he delivered several more vicious punches to each of their vital points.

Once the two had completely lost all signs of life, he used a final punch to pierce their hearts, then dragged them into the depths of the street.

People disappeared from Kuishan County every day. The authorities had long been unable to manage it all.

They might not even investigate ordinary law-abiding citizens to the end, much less two thugs who wandered everywhere all day long.

After stripping the two corpses clean and tossing them into a cramped corner, Yang Ning left.

Moonlight slowly revealed an expressionless face. Though this was his first time killing someone in this world, it felt as though he had merely killed beasts like pigs and dogs.

"Let it slip accidentally while drunk?

Can a Body Tempering martial artist get drunk too?

That was certainly 'very careless,' Fei Yan, Steward Fei.

Humiliating my Yang Family brothers was not enough for you. You even made such arrangements against the lowly commoners you claimed to 'disdain'?

So you do have some awareness of cutting weeds and digging out the roots? But constrained by your own status, you chose to borrow a knife to kill."

Yang Ning slowly washed the blood from his hands in a roadside pool. Smelling that rust-like stench of blood, his killing intent grew ever stronger.

"Because I think that lowly families like yours, herb-gathering servants and porters, are only fit to do menial work for the rest of your lives.

Do you understand?

Mud-legged peasants shouldn't indulge in wild fantasies!"

Fei Yan's words still echoed in Yang Ning's ears. Yet after tearing off all pretenses, he clearly still had not spared the Yang Family.

Yang Ning continued toward home, and the smug satisfaction he had felt over his recent accomplishments vanished without a trace.

The corpses of these two street thugs served as a warning to him:

Within this county city, there were still those "man-eating beasts" hidden in the shadows, silently watching him.

One careless step, and they would devour his entire family clean, casting them into the eighteen levels of hell.

But a heart burned fiercely in Yang Ning's chest!

Destiny had been decreed. Even if ten thousand dangers and obstacles lay ahead, Yang Ning would break through them one by one.

The Martial Gall had formed; the road lay before him!