The next day.
Li Yun made his usual delivery. Once he was done, he returned to the Martial Hall.
He bought a portion of Blood Replenishing Powder and threw himself into practicing the Tiger-Subduing Stance.
[Tiger-Subduing Stance (Novice): 796/5000] [Tiger Subduing Fist (Minor Achievement): 503/10000]
His qi and blood still accumulated at a tortoise's pace.
But if he could keep getting Blood Replenishing Powder from time to time, as he had now...
Maybe he could accumulate enough qi and blood by the end of the year to condense Bright Force.
That would be much better than his senior brothers, who couldn't break through for years.
Yesterday's brief, life-or-death fight with He Xiuyong had caused his fist technique to surge by nearly two hundred points.
If he...
No!
Li Yun immediately suppressed the suicidal thought that had surfaced in his mind.
After finishing his practice, Li Yun found his second senior brother, Xiao Shun.
He handed over all the silver he had left.
"Senior Brother, I'd like to pay the tuition for this period."
Xiao Shun took the silver without a word, nodded, and turned to leave.
Watching Xiao Shun, whose usual faint smile was nowhere to be seen, Li Yun sensed that something was up.
As Fu Huaixing's personal disciple, Xiao Shun spent his days attending to him hand and foot.
Fu Huaixing was like some old playboy. He had suddenly taken a "last disciple," and in the future, Zhu Daqi would inherit everything.
It was only natural that Xiao Shun would feel disappointed.
Li Yun had originally wanted him to teach him the next stage of Tiger Subduing Fist.
But Fu Huaixing would have to approve in the end, so Li Yun didn't call Xiao Shun back.
Li Yun wasn't one to show off. He planned to seek out Fu Huaixing that evening.
So he deliberately went over to Yu Qingqing and struck up some casual conversation.
Before long, a crowd of energetic suck-ups found all sorts of excuses to ask Li Yun to spar.
Li Yun turned none of them away.
"Senior Brother, Senior Sister Yu looks so beautiful when she smiles."
"Senior Brother, Senior Sister Yu said she likes my type."
"Senior Brother, Senior Sister Yu is so cute when she skips around."
"..."
The sky gradually darkened.
In a corner.
Li Yun was drenched in sweat. His Martial Hall uniform was soaked through, and droplets fell to the ground, leaving tiny wet spots.
He slumped against the wall, his back pressed to the cold stone. Its chill seeped through his clothes, easing the scorching heat by a little.
Sparring wasn't just casually trading moves.
It meant circulating qi and blood and going all out in a real fight.
And that pack of beasts had wanted nothing more than to beat Li Yun into a pig's head.
The Martial Hall's rules kept them from killing him, but they had really gone at him like they meant to.
Li Yun's fist technique had reached Minor Achievement. Though his qi and blood reserves were no match for the senior brothers who came to spar, he hadn't lost to a single Body Tempering Realm senior who came looking for trouble.
Of course, he'd taken a beating too.
They were all suck-ups with Bright Force, and they fought dirty.
Relying on their abundant blood energy, they waited for him to attack, then forced him into a corner.
They'd agreed to hold back before the spar, but not one of them kept their word.
Fortunately, they still had a shred of conscience and hadn't truly gone all out.
After resting for a while,
Li Yun saw that most of the people in the Martial Hall had left.
Only then did he slowly make his way over to Fu Huaixing.
When Li Yun had first joined the Martial Hall, he had once seen Fu Huaixing reclining in a grand armchair.
After that, he never saw Fu Huaixing lounging in the Outer Courtyard again.
It was only after entering the Inner Courtyard that Li Yun learned the truth.
Fu Huaixing had simply moved the grand armchair into the Inner Courtyard, where he personally taught Zhu Daqi every day.
"Daqi, now that you've condensed Bright Force,
you can start slowly comprehending Dark Force while continuing to build up your blood energy."
Halfway through, Fu Huaixing paused and turned to look at Li Yun.
Fu Huaixing remembered this disciple somewhat.
He had joined the Martial Hall on the same day as Zhu Daqi.
Perhaps because he'd grown up as a hunter, he had a sturdy physique. After three months, he'd been lucky enough to open the blood-energy channels beneath his skin.
But his natural aptitude was poor, and he also had to spend time earning money.
Without outside support, a conservative estimate put it at three years or more before he could break through to Bright Force.
Only then would he have a chance to fill his body with qi and blood, attempt to force open the gate, and condense Bright Force.
"Is something the matter?"
"Master, while sparring with my senior brothers, I felt my fist technique improve.
I'd like you to teach me the next stage of the technique."
Li Yun raised his hands in a respectful salute and spoke deferentially.
Fu Huaixing was somewhat surprised.
There were disciples who had reached Minor Achievement in Tiger Subduing Fist, but if he remembered correctly, this boy had only been learning the fighting techniques for a little over a month.
And he'd already reached Minor Achievement?
Fist techniques were different from stance work.
Even someone with poor natural aptitude could make rapid progress in stance work, provided they had just a little money.
But with fist techniques, unless you practiced for a long time, it all came down to comprehension. There was no other way.
Fu Huaixing stepped over. Without wasting words, he motioned for Li Yun to spar with him.
One test would show whether it was real.
"Come."
"Yes."
Li Yun knew his own limits. It wasn't as if he could hurt Fu Huaixing anyway.
He unleashed every move of his Minor Achievement Tiger Subduing Fist.
Drawing a deep breath, he stamped his foot against the ground. Like a tiger coiled to spring, he shot forward with unstoppable momentum.
Fu Huaixing remained unhurried. He lowered his shoulder and elbow, then casually raised a hand to block, catching Li Yun's fist with pinpoint precision.
Their fists whistled through the air. After dozens of exchanges, Fu Huaixing confirmed that Li Yun had indeed reached Minor Achievement in Tiger Subduing Fist.
Fu Huaixing's expression shifted from doubt to surprise, then certainty, and finally approval.
Thud~
He gently knocked Li Yun back with a punch.
"Not bad. You've truly reached Minor Achievement in Tiger Subduing Fist."
Li Yun drew back and thought to himself:
So this must be what Second Senior Brother meant by combining hardness and softness, moving in perfect circles.
Every time he attacked, Fu Huaixing had already seen through his move.
No matter where his fist struck, it felt like hitting a fluffy wad of cotton; all his strength was effortlessly deflected.
The feeling of being restrained at every turn, with every move predicted, was rather unpleasant.
"Not bad, not bad.
Looks like our Subduing Tiger Martial Hall can reserve a top-three spot in the Body Tempering Realm division of the Year-End Tournament.
Maybe even first place isn't out of reach.
Keep working hard. If you really take first place, there'll be a reward."
After confirming Li Yun had reached Minor Achievement in Tiger Subduing Fist, Fu Huaixing was pleased.
If Li Yun earned a good ranking, the Martial Hall's reputation would improve.
Then it could take on more students.
And naturally, earn more money.
Fu Huaixing turned to Zhu Daqi.
"Daqi, go to the Back Courtyard. Have the Monster Beast Meat stewed with Blood Ginseng, then practice your stance."
"Yes, Master."
Zhu Daqi cupped his hands, then looked at Li Yun and gave him a smile and a nod before turning to leave.
Zhu Daqi remembered Li Yun, and Wang Xiaofei too.
The three of them had joined the Martial Hall on the same day.
Their fates had taken different paths.
Now Zhu Daqi was a genius Bright Force martial artist, the Subduing Tiger Martial Hall's last disciple, with every kind of honor piled upon him.
As for Wang Xiaofei, Zhu Daqi had no idea where he'd gone.
Li Yun, meanwhile, was just an ordinary junior brother to him.
After sending Zhu Daqi off, Fu Huaixing turned to face Li Yun.
"Your Tiger Subduing Fist has reached Minor Achievement. You've given the moves form, and your qi and blood follow them. Today, I'll teach you the next stage.
But I'll warn you: Tiger Subduing Fist and the Tiger-Subduing Stance complement each other.
Never get so absorbed in fist techniques that you neglect your stance work.
The moves need the power of qi and blood behind them to become more effective.
That's also why everyone places greater importance on blood energy."
As he spoke, Fu Huaixing began to demonstrate.
He stood in a half-horse stance and raised both hands to his chest, palms facing each other as though embracing a ball. His right hand traced a clockwise circle, his left hand a counterclockwise one, while his waist and hips turned along with his arms.
"Fourth move of Tiger Subduing Fist: Tiger Tail Silk-Winding.
Fifth move: Fierce Tiger Disarms Armor.
Sixth move: Subduing Tiger Lying in Pool.
..."
Li Yun followed along and began to learn.
[Tiger Subduing Fist: +1] [...]
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