Feng Qingzhu's Guidance

"Senior Sister Feng?"

Under the astonished gazes of the crowd, Feng Qingzhu walked up to Lu Ming.

Lu Ming's heart stirred. This woman had been entrusted by Li Youning to look after him a bit. Although she herself was cold and distant toward him, might she still be willing to offer him protection because of that?

Lu Ming cupped his hands and said, "Senior Sister Feng..."

Feng Qingzhu said, "I can spar with you. Increasing combat experience can strengthen your martial will and improve your resistance to pressure."

Lu Ming's heart sank slightly upon hearing this. So it was only a spar.

Still, Feng Qingzhu had no bond with him, and the fact that she stepped forward to help him at this moment was already commendable.

If sparring could improve his resistance to pressure, then it meant he could last longer in the Iron Stake area.

For example, if he could go from half an hour to a full hour, that would double his training time!

Though it still couldn't compare to the three hours of a Flesh Refining martial artist, it was still much better than before.

This was a free gain; he couldn't ask for too much.

Lu Ming immediately expressed his sincere thanks. Feng Qingzhu's expression remained unchanged, and the green bamboo in her hand suddenly transformed into a flash of green light, attacking him—seeming both real and illusory, aimed straight at his vital points.

Right off the bat?

Lu Ming's gaze sharpened. Feng Qingzhu struck without warning, her entire aura surging, her eyes fierce, and the green bamboo in her hand as if it could pierce through him at any moment.

Remembering how the Flesh Refining assassin had been killed by Feng Qingzhu in two moves, Lu Ming's heart tightened. He dared not be careless and immediately executed Smooth Ascent to the Clouds, retreating rapidly.

But Feng Qingzhu moved with the bamboo, light and swift, the green bamboo locking onto his chest and abdomen, an oppressive pressure following him like a shadow!

Lu Ming was hard-pressed, narrowly escaping disaster at every turn, almost believing Feng Qingzhu truly intended to kill him.

Yet that never happened. Every time he was about to be hit, the green bamboo would shift slightly, brushing past him.

Even so, the fierce might contained in that small bamboo made his heart tremble.

Feng Qingzhu's strength was formidable even among Flesh Refining martial artists!

Then Lu Ming suddenly realized that this life-or-death pressure was somewhat similar to the oppressive aura of the Iron-Scaled Python Demon. No wonder Feng Qingzhu said sparring helped improve resistance to pressure.

Although he trained diligently, he didn't have much combat experience. He perked up, slowly calmed down, and cherished this rare opportunity, trading blows with Feng Qingzhu move for move.

"Oh? This Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms... has a hint of an Acupoint Divine Ability!"

Experiencing Feng Qingzhu's staff technique firsthand, Lu Ming's heart stirred. He noticed that the green bamboo often threatened his vital points and seemed to follow the flow of his blood and qi.

This martial art appeared to be a staff technique, but its core might actually be an acupoint technique!

A flicker of heat rose in Lu Ming's heart.

If he could learn the Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms, once his Cloud-Piercing Finger reached the basics, his acupoint experience could surge forward again!

"Take this!" Feng Qingzhu suddenly spoke, her sharp gaze sweeping over Lu Ming as the green bamboo descended, striking his shoulder.

Hiss!

Lu Ming felt a sharp pain in his shoulder and sucked in a cold breath. Seeing the bamboo unrelenting, striking repeatedly, he quickly focused, dodging left and right.

Feng Qingzhu snorted inwardly. To be distracted during a spar—like a beginner practicing many martial arts at once without focus—displeased her.

If not for Li Youning having helped her once and repeatedly asking her to look after this person before leaving, she wouldn't have bothered to offer guidance.

Even so, sparring was the limit of her help. As for protecting him, that was impossible.

After about a quarter of an hour, Feng Qingzhu suddenly withdrew her hand and said:

"That's enough for today."

Without waiting for Lu Ming's reply, she turned and left.

Lu Ming watched her go, thinking to himself that learning the Eighteen Green Bamboo Forms would probably not be easy!

He set aside these distracting thoughts for now and carefully reflected on the spar with Feng Qingzhu. Though his body was tired, he felt his spirit and energy had subtly improved.

Their earlier step into the Iron Stake area had only been a test, not counting as one of today's training sessions.

After resting a while, Lu Ming eagerly stepped into the Iron Stake area and began striking the fifth stake repeatedly with the Nine Palaces Palm.

[Evolving palm divine ability...]

[Evolving palm divine ability (30/100)...]

Seeing his palm experience increase by another 5 points, Lu Ming nodded to himself. Then he suddenly realized that, though his body was tired, he could still endure the pressure of the Iron-Scaled Python Demon.

His heart rejoiced. The spar had indeed been useful!

Today's palm experience had already increased by 10 points. He switched to Cloud-Piercing Finger and continued training.

Wei Jinlin had said that any martial art could be used in the Iron Stake area, so he could practice Cloud-Piercing Finger here as well.

Of course, striking the iron stake with his fingers would hurt a bit more. Lu Ming gritted his teeth and endured the pain as he trained.

After all, he had Sweet Dew Powder; such minor injuries were nothing!

[Evolving acupoint divine ability (2396/10000)...]

[Evolving acupoint divine ability (2400/10000)...]

While Lu Ming enjoyed the increase in acupoint experience and the boost to his qi and blood, others who had been quietly watching him also brightened.

"It actually works. I was watching Lu Ming earlier—he only lasted about half an hour, but now he can hold out much longer!"

"Martial will... so if you strengthen your martial will, you can resist the demonic pressure!"

"We can't get protection from Flesh Refining martial artists, but we can follow Lu Ming's example—spar with others for pointers and temper our martial will!"

At once, the crowd began seeking out Flesh Refining martial artists again, asking for sparring and guidance.

But with so many Skin Refining Great Completion martial artists present and only sixteen Flesh Refining ones, even if they wanted the benefits, they couldn't guide and spar with everyone one by one.

Those who failed to secure a sparring session with a Flesh Refining martial artist glanced around, then paired off in twos, forming practice groups with other Skin Refining Great Completion martial artists to help each other out.

The effect was naturally inferior to sparring with a Flesh Refining martial artist, since the pressure from a peer was much smaller.

Still, something was better than nothing—if they could gain even a little more training time, it was worth pursuing.

They didn't dare hope for demonic meat, but if they could squeeze out a bit more training time and improve their results, that was good enough.

"Lu Ming really did extend his training time. It's true. That kid actually got pointers from Senior Sister Feng." Not far away, Chen Jinyang said in surprise.

Beside him stood a young man, handsome and imposing, with a presence far stronger than Chen Jinyang's—none other than the Chen family's genius, Chen Feng!

Earlier, in the Iron Stake area, he had gone the farthest, reaching the sixteenth stake, quietly establishing himself as the top contender in this year's Military Service Bureau intake.

Hearing Chen Jinyang's words, he didn't even glance at Lu Ming, saying:

"Still only at Skin Refining Great Completion—destined to amount to nothing.

"Junior Sister Feng is aloof and not good with people. Before this, only Li Youning could exchange a few words with her. She probably asked Feng to look after Lu Ming. Nothing surprising.

"Don't bother with this person. My only rivals are the few Flesh Refining ones."

As he spoke, his gaze flickered, and he suddenly walked toward Liu Yiyi.

Chen Jinyang watched his back, silently grumbling. Younger than me, yet he talks so pompously, as if he's already an elder of the family.

Pity, if nothing unexpected happened, Chen Feng really might take first place, with a chance to enter a third-rate sect—a bright future ahead!

As for himself, still at Skin Refining Great Completion, he truly was destined for mediocrity.

In the Martial Arts Arena, many had already begun sparring, shouts rising and falling.

Liu Yiyi watched Feng Qingzhu, who had just finished sparring with Lu Ming, and let out a relieved breath, saying:

"Qingzhu, good thing you had sense and only sparred with him.

"If you'd chosen to protect him, you might have displeased Shen Changfeng. He's one thing, but they say Senior Zhou thinks highly of Shen Changfeng—and Senior Zhou is not someone to offend."

Feng Qingzhu glanced at her. "I remember Youning asked you too."

Liu Yiyi shrugged it off. "My Liu family gave him thirty Qi-Enhancing Pills. That's more than enough to repay him.

"He's the one who's too proud, doesn't know his place, and even offended the Shen family. Who can save him?

"I advise you to stay away from him. Giving him this much guidance today is already fulfilling our friendship."

Just as she spoke, Chen Feng walked over, smiling:

"Junior Sister Liu, Junior Sister Feng, since sparring can improve resistance to demonic pressure, why don't we try a few rounds ourselves? We can improve together and strive to earn the Red Token sooner."

Feng Qingzhu shook her head. "No need."

She turned and walked away.

Liu Yiyi's eyes lit up slightly as she looked at the handsome Chen Feng, her voice soft:

"As the top contender this year, Senior Brother's strength is outstanding. You have a real chance of joining a proper sect in the grand exam. It would be my honor to spar with you, Senior Brother."