Sparring

An hour had passed by the time the fiftieth repetition of the Mystic Eagle Stance was complete.

Lu Cheng slowly opened his eyes.

The blood-red hue in his pupils faded, and clarity returned.

Only now had Lu Cheng completely digested the medicinal power, stabilizing the strength and blood energy throughout his body.

As he stopped, a massive amount of sweat seeped out from every pore.

His clothes were instantly soaked through, as if he had been fished out of water.

Fatty was the first to run over, eyeing Lu Cheng incessantly. Only after seeing that he was unharmed did he say, full of shock:

"Good heavens, you were truly terrifying just now."

"Your whole body looked like it had been steamed; you were constantly emitting heat. I was afraid you'd be burned dry."

Hu Ming also shook his head repeatedly:

"You are truly reckless. That was two doses of Blood-Activating Powder. A slight misstep and you would have ended up exploding to death!"

Liu Wan'er didn't speak, merely handing over a waterskin and urging Lu Cheng to drink.

Lu Cheng thanked her and took it, downing more than half in one breath before the metallic taste of blood in his throat finally subsided.

After taking a few deep breaths, he smiled bitterly with lingering fear:

"I just felt that one dose of Blood-Activating Powder still had plenty of residual power, so I wanted to speed up my progress."

"I just didn't expect the medicinal potency to increase exponentially."

Under the influence of the two doses of Blood-Activating Powder, Lu Cheng's proficiency in the Mystic Eagle Stance had skyrocketed.

In one fell swoop, it had reached sixty.

Such progress seemed frightening.

But after thinking it over carefully, Lu Cheng realized it actually wasn't worth it.

A single dose required one hour and granted ten points of proficiency.

Using two doses together, while the refining time was also one hour, required an additional hour of stance training.

That meant two hours for forty points of proficiency.

Calculated out, the efficiency had only doubled.

Yet the risk involved was no different from dancing on a tightrope.

Even though Lu Cheng had survived it once, he truly felt a lingering dread.

Unless he needed to break through a realm, Lu Cheng had no intention of taking such risks again.

"Rest assured, even if you didn't say anything, I won't take such reckless risks again in the future."

Hearing this, the group felt slightly more at ease.

The surrounding disciples, however, lacked this concern, feeling only intense curiosity.

Those who didn't know the effects of the Blood-Activating Powder learned the details from others in a few words, followed by even greater shock:

"Taking Blood-Activating Powder orally, and two doses at once? This Lu Cheng must have definitely refined his strength!"

"It's only been half a month; this speed is truly..."

"After all, he has the aptitude of a Human Hero. Even if his blood energy is lacking, his bones and meridians were never affected."

Dozens of disciples discussed it heatedly until, suddenly, a faint voice drifted from somewhere:

"In my opinion, it won't be many days before he surpasses Chen Qing and becomes the number one disciple of our Escort Agency."

"Why do I get the feeling that Lu Cheng has already surpassed Chen Qing?"

"..."

"..."

As soon as these two voices spoke, the surrounding chatter vanished instantly.

Several gazes swept toward Chen Qing, whether intentionally or not.

Chen Qing stood on the outer edge of the crowd with his arms crossed, his face expressionless, but his hands hidden within his sleeves were clenched so tightly his knuckles had turned white.

Just a moment ago, he had been certain that Lu Cheng was merely posturing.

Yet before his words had even faded, Lu Cheng had successfully refined the medicinal power of two doses of Blood-Activating Powder.

This was undoubtedly a harsh slap to his own face.

The four words "surpass Chen Qing" first exploded in his mind, then echoed incessantly.

It shook him so hard his eyes tightened and his temples throbbed.

Although the surrounding chatter had ceased, those lingering gazes made Chen Qing feel even more awkward.

More importantly, he knew something the other disciples did not.

Lu Cheng had done far more than just "Refining Strength."

He had clearly reached the middle stage.

He was even more stable than Chen Qing himself.

The faint remark from the crowd, though speculative, was an undeniable fact.

Lu Cheng had truly surpassed him.

This made Chen Qing both jealous and afraid.

He had entered the Escort Agency earlier than Lu Cheng and worked just as hard, so why had Lu Cheng overtaken him in a mere half-month?

Was it just because he was a Human Hero?

Unable to maintain his composure any longer, Chen Qing forced a smile, squeezed through the crowd, and spoke in a loud voice:

"Junior Brother Lu has impressive methods. To consume two doses of Blood-Activating Powder in a row—I truly admire such courage, Junior Brother."

Lu Cheng turned his head to look at Chen Qing, but did not reply.

Chen Qing stood before Lu Cheng with his hands behind his back, no longer bothering to hide the chill in his eyes:

"Junior Brother's progress is rapid; I must admit I am inferior in terms of speed."

"But this is for the best. Since Junior Brother has refined his strength, I won't be accused of bullying you!"

"Didn't you say there was a problem with my fist technique?"

"There is no time like the present; we might as well finish the sparring match we left incomplete the other day."

As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings fell silent.

Anyone could see that Lu Cheng had just finished refining the medicinal power and had not yet recovered his strength.

The sweat covering his body and his pale complexion were not faked.

For Chen Qing to propose a spar at this moment was clearly taking advantage of someone in a weakened state.

Fatty frowned and was about to speak, but Lu Cheng reached out to stop him:

"Fine."

The word was crisp and decisive.

Chen Qing's heart skipped a beat; Lu Cheng's calmness actually made him feel a flicker of fear, but he suppressed it immediately.

Lu Cheng was at his weakest right now; there would never be a better opportunity than this.

This time, he would cement his position as the head senior brother of the Escort Agency once and for all!

"Junior Brother, be careful. I won't hold back."

The words "hold back" had barely left his lips when Chen Qing erupted with strength and launched a preemptive strike.

This petty tactic made many in the crowd silently curse him for his shamelessness.

Chen Qing, however, did not care in the slightest; instead, he increased the force behind his fist.

Lu Cheng still hadn't moved.

A perfect opportunity!

He really was too weak to react!

A smug smirk tugged at the corner of Chen Qing's mouth, and a ruthless glint flashed in his eyes.

The punch originally aimed at Lu Cheng's chin shifted slightly, targeting the Renying Acupoint on his neck.

This was a lethal point on the human body; being struck there would cause blood stasis and qi stagnation, and in severe cases, it could lead to instant death!

Chen Qing's heart surged with excitement as the index finger of his right fist protruded slightly, forming a Phoenix Eye Fist.

Lu Cheng, I will make you pay the price!

"Bang!"

Chen Qing flew backward, crashing heavily onto the ground. His back throbbed with pain, and a metallic, fishy taste surged in his chest.

The entire scene fell silent.

Then, a tsunami of astonishment erupted.

One punch.

Lu Cheng had used only a single punch to knock the attacking Chen Qing to the ground.

Lying on the floor, Chen Qing's mind went blank.

How was this possible?

Both were at the middle stage of Refining Strength; even if there was a gap, it shouldn't have ended like this!

He hadn't even been able to take a single blow?

Lu Cheng's fist was too fast—so fast that his eyes couldn't even track it.

He hadn't even reacted before he was sent flying.

The surroundings were silent at first, then erupted into uncontrollable discussion.

"Chen Qing lost!"

"He couldn't even block a single punch!"

"Wait, isn't he at the middle stage of Refining Strength? Is he a fraud?"

"..."

Lu Cheng shook his head; Chen Qing's strength was too poor.

Five or six days had passed, and there hadn't been the slightest improvement.

Not to mention comparing him to Zhou Yunxiang, who was also at the middle stage.

Even Zhao Cheng was far superior to him.

"Senior Brother Chen, not only was the angle of your punch wrong, but your speed was also worse than last time."

Having said that, he turned to leave.

Chen Qing was slightly stunned, then stared at Lu Cheng's retreating back.

In an instant, the last string in his mind snapped.

Chen Qing scrambled up from the ground, his face twisted in a snarl.

He quickly snatched a long spear from the weapon rack nearby, gripped it with both hands, and thrust it toward Lu Cheng's back.

"Watch out!"

A sharp, feminine cry rang out.

Liu Wan'er hurriedly pushed Lu Cheng aside, but she failed to dodge in time, and Chen Qing's spear pierced her arm, leaving a wound deep enough to expose the bone.

Only then did the surrounding crowd let out gasps of alarm.

Seeing this, Lu Cheng was instantly enraged.

"You're courting death!"

He immediately unleashed the Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk, using the Slanting Wind Returning Wing to flash instantly to Chen Qing's side.

He followed up with the Locking Joints and Breaking Limbs technique.

"Crack!"

The sound of shattered wrist bones echoed through the quiet Training Ground.

Chen Qing let out a miserable shriek, unable to hold onto the long spear any longer.

Lu Cheng did not stop, immediately following up with the third form of the Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk: Falling Star Crown Strike.

His body soared like a goshawk, leaping into mid-air as he transformed his right hand from a claw into a fist and smashed it downward with force.

If this punch landed, the force driving through the crown of the head would shatter his skull in a single blow.

"Thwack!"

At the critical moment, the shadow of a whip struck silently, hooking onto Lu Cheng's arm and preventing the punch from landing no matter how hard he tried.

Lu Cheng felt a surge of ruthlessness; he simply channeled his strength into his leg and kicked Chen Qing in the back while still in mid-air.

Chen Qing spat out a mouthful of blood and flew over a yard away, slamming into the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

From outside the crowd, Feng Ji's angry shout rang out:

"How bold! I had already intervened, yet you still dared to continue!"