A Genius Who Had Become a Martial Artist! Li Tiezhu Was Injured? Iron Weapons That Could Kill Martial Artists?

For several days in a row,

Shi Wen returned to his quiet training routine.

By day, he practiced Baji Fist Introductory Foundation at the Fist Academy and took Treasure Blood on schedule. At night, he trained hard in Iron Whip Leg, Iron Claw Skill, and Taibao Hard Qigong.

He rested only a few hours each day.

He truly had become diligent and hardworking, without the slightest slack!

During this time, he ran out of exotic beast meat.

He searched around town and eventually found an apothecary willing to work with him.

This apothecary carried exotic beast meat called Grey Meat, whose effects were roughly similar to Stone Raw Meat.

When he bought in large quantities, the apothecary could offer it to him for six strings of cash per catty. For every ten catties he bought, he got half a catty free, along with a packet of Blood Strengthening Powder.

He spent twenty taels.

In one go, he bought a hundred catties of Grey Meat to supplement his diet.

He used it as a substitute for Red Python Meat.

Although Grey Meat was less nourishing and less filling than Red Python Meat, it made up for that with its abundance.

He ate two or three catties of Grey Meat at each meal, then stuffed himself with more after his daily training. With some medicinal powder to help, it was just enough to maintain his body's usual functions.

As for Zhang Sheng, after that day,

he had shut himself away to train at the Harmony and Prosperity Union's headquarters.

Last night, while Shi Wen was tempering Taibao Hard Qigong in Ghost Lane,

a gang member told him that Zhang Sheng had successfully broken through to the Blood-Coagulation Realm the day before and was currently consolidating his foundations. He had also sent word that, after a few days of consolidating, he would be ready to set off.

Shi Wen wasn't in a hurry.

He simply redoubled his efforts to improve his proficiency.

The Fist Academy.

It was mid-to-late April, and the blazing sun had just come out.

After lunch,

Shi Wen chewed on some dried Grey Meat as he walked to his familiar corner to practice the Hunyuan Stance, circulating his inner breath with practiced ease.

He had discovered that the inner breath from Taibao Hard Qigong could also be applied to other martial arts.

As long as he coordinated it properly with his explosive moves,

he could unleash his inner breath!

Its only effect was to strengthen the part of his body where he focused his energy, but it recovered quickly and cost little. For Shi Wen, this was a small experiment as he explored the path of martial arts.

Suddenly, news spread like wildfire through the Fist Academy.

All the Outer Courtyard disciples were frantically discussing it.

It turned out that Qin Heng, a disciple who had joined the Fist Academy less than half a month ago, had spent this time being nourished by medicinal pills.

Not only had he successfully tempered his qi and blood, he had officially become a Blood-Tempering Realm martial artist!

The news was like a boulder sending ripples through a pond.

It shook the Fist Academy.

All the disciples were discussing it in shock, their words brimming with envy.

After all, tempering one's qi and blood and officially becoming a Blood-Tempering Realm martial artist were two entirely different things!

The Fist Academy's rules stated that if a disciple couldn't use Baji Fist Foundation to temper a wisp of qi and blood within two months, or at least reach the stage of nourishing their qi and blood, they would be eliminated.

Of course, they could stay if they paid.

But aside from a few people with deep pockets, most couldn't afford the cost of learning martial arts.

They could study for two months at most. If they learned nothing, they had no choice but to grit their teeth and leave.

There was no point in persisting.

The martial path didn't lie. If you could do it, you could do it; if you couldn't, you couldn't!

Qin Huan's family wasn't wealthy either.

Yet in less than half a month at the Fist Academy, he had not only tempered his qi and blood,

he had also consolidated his realm.

He had officially become a Blood-Tempering Realm martial artist!

From then on, he would be worlds apart from Outer Courtyard disciples like them. He was now the kind of great figure they could only dream of, someone far beyond their reach. Who wouldn't envy him?!

A Blood-Tempering Realm martial artist!!!

All through the afternoon, many Outer Courtyard disciples couldn't sleep. Qin Huan's incredible achievement had spurred them on. They found shady spots to practice stances, throw punches, and hit sandbags. Hordes of people sweated as they trained.

Even Shi Wen couldn't help taking another look at this rare sight!

Beneath the trees,

Shi Wen practiced the foundational form.

His movements were gentle and even, without any obvious force. Anyone who didn't know better might have thought he was practicing health exercises.

Every movement was graceful, pleasing to the eye.

This caught the attention of several senior fellow disciples from the Outer Courtyard.

"Senior Brother Shi, how come the martial arts you're practicing feel different from ours?"

Huang Dequan asked with a grin.

A few lackeys nearby joined in, laughing and teasing him.

This fellow wasn't much good at training, but he was a first-rate bootlicker.

He had joined the Outer Courtyard only a day or two after Shi Wen.

These past few days, he had been hovering around Senior Sister Zhou Heling of the Inner Courtyard, doing her every bidding. Word was, he had already worked his way into her little circle.

He had quite a bit of fame and status among the Outer Courtyard disciples, too.

Whether or not Huang Dequan had made progress tempering his qi and blood,

at the very least,

he had made his way into that circle.

Even if he was only at its fringes, ordinary Outer Courtyard disciples couldn't afford to provoke him.

Shi Wen glanced at Huang Dequan and replied calmly, "I'm not very strong, so I practice my punches lightly. I just came up with these moves myself."

"Hahahaha, so that's what it is! I thought someone in town had tricked Senior Brother Shi into learning Turtle Fist. Our Baji Fist is fierce and savage, like a hungry wolf pouncing on its prey—not some old man lightly waving his fists around."

Huang Dequan mocked him, and the disciples beside him burst out laughing.

Shi Wen ignored him and continued practicing.

Huang Dequan, however, asked with a grin, "Junior Brother Shi, you've been at the Fist Academy for a while now. Have you sensed your qi and blood yet?"

"Almost."

Shi Wen calmly practiced the foundational form, trying to circulate his inner breath and merge it with Baji Fist Foundation.

This made his movements somewhat unsteady, and he soon broke into a sweat.

Huang Dequan mocked him. "Senior Brother Shi, there's no one else at our Fist Academy who practices Baji Fist as lightly as you do—and gets drenched in sweat doing it! Just how weak are you? And you say you're about to temper your qi and blood?"

"Tsk, not up to much but still talking big. Careful you don't throw your back out."

These past few days, he had been hanging around Senior Sister Zhou Heling of the Inner Courtyard.

He'd noticed that Senior Sister Zhou didn't like this fellow, so every now and then, he teased Shi Wen.

Unfortunately,

the young fellow was like a turtle and wouldn't respond at all.

Shi Wen really couldn't be bothered with a small fry like him. He was simply absorbed in his training.

Seeing that Shi Wen was ignoring him,

Huang Dequan felt like he'd been talking to a wall.

So he couldn't be bothered to say anything more.

After practicing his stance for a while, he got tired and sat on a wooden stump in the shade to wipe off his sweat. A few others sat there chatting with him.

As they talked, the subject suddenly turned to the Boat Gang.

Apparently, some unfamiliar toughs had recently appeared in Black Cloud County.

They spoke with out-of-town accents.

They seemed to have martial artists backing them. They had deliberately stirred up trouble at the Xingshui Gang's docks, and when a fight broke out, the Xingshui Gang had come off worse. Quite a few people had been injured.

Among them were several Fist Academy disciples!

"Damn it, where did those outsiders get the nerve to act so arrogantly and cause trouble in Black Cloud County?"

Huang Dequan smoked a hand-rolled cigarette, exhaling clouds beneath the trees.

He cursed, "They even dared to injure our senior brothers from the Fist Academy. Don't they know Master Li is a famous martial arts expert around here?"

"I heard Senior Brother Li Tiezhu was injured?"

An Outer Courtyard disciple asked curiously.

Huang Dequan flicked off some ash and nodded. "Yeah. I heard Senior Sister Zhou and the others talking about it, too. Some people caused trouble at the docks that day and injured the senior brothers from the Fist Academy who were stationed there. Senior Brother Li was furious and went to demand an explanation, but he ended up getting hurt."

"Senior Sister Zhou said Senior Brother Li even injured his foundations. He won't recover for months."

"Who knows if he'll ever recover completely, let alone continue training in martial arts."

The disciples all sighed when they heard this.

After all, Li Tiezhu was one of the few Outer Courtyard disciples on the verge of tempering his qi and blood. He was generous and well liked.

Even Zhou Heling of the Inner Courtyard thought highly of him and had introduced him to some gangs.

He had received their support.

Who would have thought that someone with such a bright future would end up like this?

"Damn it, those country bumpkins who couldn't make it out of town—who knows where they came from? They cause trouble everywhere! If I'd been there that day, I'd have stood up for Senior Brother Li!"

Huang Dequan was furious.

His family ran a restaurant, and those outsiders had caused trouble there a few times, too.

Business had taken a bit of a hit.

He'd heard his family talking about it over dinner these past two days, so he loathed these newcomers from out of town.

"The real turmoil in Black Cloud County is far more complicated than it seems on the surface."

Huang Xuanhe sneered. "You probably don't know this, but the neighboring Tiannan Prefecture has fallen into chaos. A rebel king has risen, and there are also lunatics going around recruiting people to revolt, shouting about reform and modernization. They want to overthrow the old dynasty and establish democracy or something, stirring up all sorts of nonsense!"

"Those people are vicious. The first thing they do is demand that people cut their hair and shave their beards."

"Our bodies and hair are gifts from our parents. How can we just cut our hair and shave our beards?!"

"Tsk, it's pretty strange, though."

"I heard those guys don't practice martial arts. They just use some strange iron weapons to kill martial artists. The weapons even make a thunderous sound when they strike. Do you believe that?"