Back at the Martial Academy, night had already fallen, yet some people were still training hard, all hoping to become Martial Warriors before spring and take part in the Wolf God Ritual.
But as Su Yuan and Tie Niu drew near, the air filled with the stench of blood, and everyone turned to look.
Huang Jiangyue, who had come to greet them, stopped abruptly and stammered, "Senior Brother Tie Niu, you—what happened?"
"We killed a few people," Tie Niu replied curtly. The murderous air around him made everyone's breathing catch.
Those who had experienced the chaos at the horse ranch could take it, but many disciples with middling natural talent had never faced such bloodshed head-on.
Chai Lang also came over at the sound of their voices. "What happened?"
Tie Niu continued, "People from the Shan Family Martial Academy attacked my brother and me."
His voice rang out clearly, carrying all the way to the side rooms.
Chai Nian emerged, waving his fan, and looked toward the firelight in the distance. "Tie Niu, tell me everything."
Tie Niu reported what had just happened truthfully, without hiding how Su Yuan had escaped.
Chai Nian glanced at Su Yuan, whose clothes were still damp. "You brat, you're certainly lucky. You actually made it out alive. I've heard about this."
Chai Lang also looked toward the commotion outside. "Second Young Master, should we get involved?"
Chai Nian shook his head. "Cloud-Striding Martial Hall has been quiet for so long. Since they dared to act this time, they must be fully prepared. The Shan Family may not come out on top. After tonight, we can use Tie Niu's affair as an excuse to go to the Shan Family and demand an explanation."
He turned to Tie Niu. "You did well today. Those men deserved to die. Come collect your reward."
With that, he led Tie Niu into the side room.
Su Yuan was still being ignored, so he had no choice but to return to the courtyard and continue his fingertip push-ups.
Now that he had become a Martial Warrior, practicing the Origin-Returning Finger again would undoubtedly bring him faster progress.
The Shan Family had set its sights on him too. He didn't have much time to waste.
Chai Nian was right—the fist was power.
Su Yuan's fists had to grow harder and stronger, again and again.
Thinking back on the fight, Su Yuan felt that he had been somewhat reckless. He hadn't fought according to the tactics he had originally planned.
But in a life-or-death struggle, the shift from one move to another often happened in a single thought. There was no time to dwell on it.
Those two men had just been too weak.
If Su Yuan's guess was right, the martial arts taught at these academies set up by young masters were probably all crude stuff. They had never intended to cultivate their students.
The Golden Horse-Head Technique he practiced was clearly far superior to his opponent's when it came to strengthening the body.
As for what Tie Niu practiced, it was probably the Chai Family's true inheritance, the Heavenly Horse Flying Star Fist.
[Origin-Returning Finger: 202/500 (Minor Accomplishment)]
The others in the courtyard were still discussing Tie Niu's ferocity. Those led by Huang Jiangyue were especially lavish with their praise.
"If only I had a younger brother like Tie Niu," Huang Jiangyue sighed.
Lin Fan leaned in and said quietly, "Senior Brother Huang, though we don't have a younger brother like him, perhaps we could acknowledge Senior Brother Tie Niu as our big brother and become his underlings."
Huang Jiangyue's brow furrowed. In the end, he couldn't let go of the pride of an Inner City youth.
More importantly, if he acknowledged Tie Niu as his big brother, wouldn't that mean he had to treat Su Yuan as his elder brother too?
He found that hard to accept.
He had also been keeping an eye on Su Yuan for the past half month, but Su Yuan was often absent from the courtyard. What could he possibly learn?
At that moment, Jiang Yu was still rubbing her reddened palms, unable to understand why Tie Niu had used so much force.
The Jiang Family had been struggling in recent years. Her main reason for coming here to train was to get close to Second Young Master Chai. If she could build a connection with him, many of the family's problems would be easily resolved.
But the young master seemed uninterested in women, and she still hadn't found an opportunity.
So she had settled for the next best thing. Her family had also asked her to find a way to get close to the most talented Martial Warrior at the academy.
There were only about ten Blood-Condensing Martial Warriors in the courtyard, while the only Savage Strength and External Force experts were the two instructors and Young Master Chai himself.
Those few Blood-Condensing Martial Warriors had only middling natural talent. Tie Niu alone had superior talent. He was the most dazzling genius in the courtyard and was highly regarded by Young Master Chai.
But Tie Niu was equally kind to everyone. Only his attitude toward the young master and Su Yuan was different.
"If I want to win Tie Niu over, I may have to start with Su Yuan." Remembering her family's instructions, Jiang Yu drew a deep breath, gathered her courage, and walked over to Su Yuan.
"Senior Brother Su Yuan, could you... practice with me?" Jiang Yu gently tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Su Yuan truly hadn't bothered her during the past half month, which had improved her impression of him a little.
Su Yuan glanced down at her. His gaze fell on the girl's flushed cheeks.
"Sorry, I'm not free right now. Find someone else," Su Yuan declined.
Sparring was a normal part of martial arts training, but Su Yuan possessed a destiny trait, and at this stage he made better progress training alone.
This was the first time Jiang Yu had ever been rejected. Her face flushed crimson at once, her embarrassment giving way to anger. "Those with middling natural talent—and even Senior Brother Tie Niu—are usually willing to practice with me. Hmph, you've only got inferior natural talent. What gives you the right to refuse?"
The more Jiang Yu thought about it, the angrier she became.
This man always acted serious at the academy, yet he spent less time there than anyone else.
Even Master Liu had eventually shaken her head and sighed, saying she had been fooled by the brat.
She walked off by herself and sulkily began doing fingertip push-ups. If she couldn't rely on anyone else, she could only rely on herself.
Qin Ming, however, came over and said, "Junior Sister Jiang, I'll practice with you."
Jiang Yu noticed that Zhou Xun'er wasn't beside him and assumed she had gone to rest. She shook her head. "No need, Senior Brother Qin. You've switched to the Flying Horse Leg, but I still want to practice finger techniques."
Qin Ming and Zhou Xun'er had found the Origin-Returning Finger too slow to master, so they had switched to the Flying Horse Leg.
Though the two techniques could be practiced as a primary and supplementary art, no one trained in both. Before the Wolf God Festival, they might not even master one technique. Who had the energy to practice another on the side?
The night passed in a flash. From outside came occasional bursts of noise and shouts.
[Origin-Returning Finger: 225/500 (Minor Accomplishment)] [Grinding: 1674/2000 (Perfection)]
He had gained more than twenty points of progress overnight. In another ten days or so, this technique could also reach Blood Refining.
At night, aside from practicing, Su Yuan worked on polishing the piece of carapace. It was extremely hard, and he planned to make a mask from it, both to conceal his identity and to make it easier to hit people while wearing it.
During the day, he still had to train hard in the Golden Horse-Head Technique.
[Golden Horse-Head Technique: 4/1000 (Second Layer)]
This technique was far more profound than the ones taught at the academy. He had to maintain his lead in this area.
However, his progress with the technique had slowed. It would take at least half a year to perfect this layer.
After becoming a Blood-Condensing Martial Warrior, he still had to keep accumulating and tempering his Blood Qi, condensing it until it reached a critical point. Then his blood and Qi would produce force, making him a Savage Strength Martial Warrior.
Practicing more techniques would allow him to accumulate more Blood Qi. By the time he took part in the Wolf God Ritual, his strength would undoubtedly be greater.
"Brother Yuan! Breakfast is ready."
Tie Niu brought over a meal of meat: a bowl of stewed tiger meat, cooked until tender, with dark-red monster meat mixed in. It was chewy and rich, and warmth filled his body with every bite.
As they ate, Tie Niu took out a small bottle and handed it to Su Yuan. "Brother Yuan, this Blood Origin Pill is a new medicine the Chai Family developed. The young master rewarded it to me. It can double the speed at which you accumulate Blood Qi. I was able to become a Martial Warrior so quickly thanks to it. Keep it."
Su Yuan took the bottle and opened it. Inside was a black-red pill. "Tie Niu, this medicine sounds so powerful. Doesn't it have any side effects? Could they have used you to test it?"
Tie Niu shook his head. "This medicine is easier to absorb than the Blood Qi Pill. Even beginners can take it without much trouble. But it's similar to Great Liang martial arts: the Blood Qi it stimulates is rather loose, which may affect future breakthroughs. In a few days, the academy will start selling it in large quantities. The young master has set the price at ten taels a pill."
"Ten taels a pill!" Su Yuan had only enough money to buy five pills, even if he spent his entire fortune.
He turned the pill between his fingers, weighing it in his mind. If it really only affected breaking through bottlenecks, then this medicine suited him perfectly.
What he feared least of all was a bottleneck.
Besides, he had already become a Martial Warrior.
"If you can avoid taking it, Brother Yuan, you should. Your natural talent is..." Tie Niu added in a low voice.
Su Yuan understood what Tie Niu had left unsaid. A person's natural talent had a profound effect on breaking through bottlenecks.
He only smiled faintly and tucked the pill into his robe. "Tie Niu, do you believe in me?"
Tie Niu nodded firmly. "Brother Yuan, I've always believed in you."
After they finished eating, Chai Nian emerged with a smile. "The Shan Family has taken a heavy loss this time. Ha ha! Tie Niu, Su Yuan, hitch up the carriage for me. We're going to the Shan Family!"
"Yes, sir!"
On the way, Su Yuan learned that the Shan Family had suffered terrible losses.
Not only had most of the family's people been rescued, but they had also lost three External Force Martial Warriors. Shan Xi, who had stopped Su Yuan earlier, was among them.
They had all died while surrounding an External Force Martial Warrior from Cloud-Striding Martial Hall. In a moment of carelessness, they had been dragged down with him when he used a secret technique.
Su Yuan was shaken. So Yun Xu's secret technique had been that terrifying. No wonder she had managed to hold on until now.
But Cloud-Striding Martial Hall had acted so quickly, which had also taken him by surprise. It seemed the message he had passed along really had helped.
"Like using someone else's knife to kill? I can do that too." Su Yuan sneered inwardly, a bold idea taking shape in his mind.
He would maneuver between the Liang People, Cloud-Striding Martial Hall, and Great Jing, seizing resources from each side to help himself rise step by step.
He would transform from someone swept passively into the turmoil into the hand guiding events from behind the scenes.
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