Refusing to Yield, Bickering, and Sparring Practice

After successfully refining the Purple Qi, Yu Yan keenly noticed that his Soul Power gains had decreased.

Absorbing the same amount of Purple Qi had increased his Soul Power by four percent at level seven, but only by three and a half percent at level eight.

After briefly examining the situation inside his body, Yu Yan understood what was happening.

The total amount of Soul Power required to advance from level seven to level eight was not the same as the amount needed to advance from level eight to level nine. It increased progressively.

As for exactly how it increased, Yu Yan had only just risen by one level and could not yet determine a pattern.

Each level required slightly more Soul Power than the previous one, which was also the fundamental reason why Soul Masters became stronger as their levels rose.

The gap widened with every level, until after level ninety-five, one level was a chasm, and one level was the difference between heaven and earth.

After finishing his cultivation, Yu Yan saw Xiao Wu nearby, cultivating as well.

Yu Yan did not disturb Xiao Wu. He stood up, moved to the side, and began practicing Taiji Fist beneath the Morning Sun.

Xiao Wu soon stopped cultivating. The Soul Power in the surrounding environment had already returned to normal, so continuing would not help her much.

Opening her eyes, Xiao Wu saw Yu Yan performing a slow, unhurried set of punches.

"Yu Yan, your punches are so slow. They look kind of strange."

After watching carefully for a while and failing to see anything special, Xiao Wu confirmed that Yu Yan was not doing anything important and voiced her confusion.

"This was never some powerful martial art. It is mainly for strengthening the body, loosening the muscles and bones, balancing the mind and body, and improving flexibility. From that perspective, this set of Taiji Fist is quite excellent."

Yu Yan answered Xiao Wu's question while steadily continuing his Taiji Fist.

"Really? It has that many benefits?"

Xiao Wu had thought it was merely an ordinary set of punches, so Yu Yan's answer surprised her.

"That's what the person who taught me said, anyway."

He did not know whether those effects were real or not. His teacher had simply said so.

"Then I'll try it."

Bored from sitting around, Xiao Wu got up, came to Yu Yan's side, and followed his movements as she practiced Taiji Fist with him.

Xiao Wu was already physically strong and flexible. Even though it was her first time following Yu Yan in Taiji, aside from her transitions being a little uneven and some details not being handled properly, there was really nothing major to criticize.

After following Yu Yan through two sets of Taiji Fist, Xiao Wu was shocked to discover that those slow movements truly had something to them. Setting everything else aside, she could indeed feel that her body had loosened up.

"Wow! This martial art called Taiji Fist really has something to it. Did someone in Fish Village teach it to you? Can I go visit that senior?"

Yu Yan had grown up in Fish Village, so Xiao Wu naturally assumed that someone there had taught him Taiji Fist.

In Xiao Wu's eyes, anyone capable of creating such a martial art had to be a top-notch master of hand-to-hand combat. If she could learn even a move or two from them...

"Forget about it. The person who taught me Taiji Fist isn't in Fish Village."

Seeing that Xiao Wu had already begun fantasizing, Yu Yan mercilessly shattered her illusion.

"Grandpa Yu said you've never left Fish Village. If you didn't learn this Taiji Fist from someone in Fish Village, then who did you learn it from?"

"I learned it in my previous life."

"I'm not a three-year-old child. A previous life? Who are you trying to fool?"

Seeing Yu Yan come up with such an outrageous excuse, Xiao Wu was so angry that she wanted to go over and punch him twice.

"Yes, yes, yes. You're not a three-year-old child. You're a six-year-old child."

Xiao Wu did not believe the truth, so Yu Yan chose to steer the conversation elsewhere and make her forget the subject.

"Aren't you also a six-year-old child?"

"I'm obviously much more mature than you."

"So you're not a child, then?"

"I am, but I'm more mature than you."

Amid their bickering, Yu Yan and Xiao Wu headed down the mountain together.

The angry Xiao Wu nearly wanted to reveal that she was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had transformed into a human, just to prove to Yu Yan that she was not some six-year-old child. Xiao Wu was far more mature than childish Yu Yan.

That feeling vanished completely after she ate the breakfast Yu Yan made.

Yu Yan might have had an irritating way of speaking, but the food he made was truly delicious.

That afternoon, when Xiao Wu woke up, she saw Yu Yan continuously throwing punches at a Wooden Dummy.

"Yu Yan, what are you doing?"

Unable to understand why, Xiao Wu chose the simplest approach and asked directly.

"Practicing combat techniques."

To be honest, Yu Yan did not know whether punching a Wooden Dummy was useful, but the problem was that he could not find anyone to fight with him and build practical combat experience.

He used to be able to talk one or two children from the village into fighting him, but as Yu Yan grew stronger and more capable, the children of Fish Village realized that fighting him gave them no advantage whatsoever and stopped playing at fighting with him.

With no other choice, Yu Yan could only make this Wooden Dummy based on his memories and practice against it every day.

When Xiao Wu heard that Yu Yan was practicing combat techniques, she immediately perked up. A good idea appeared in her mind.

"Hehehe." Xiao Wu approached Yu Yan with a mischievous grin. "Yu Yan, what kind of combat techniques can you develop against a piece of wood that can't move? Why not spar with me instead? I'm actually pretty good at fighting."

Xiao Wu was still the same simple-minded girl who wore her thoughts on her face. Yu Yan went straight to the point: "You just want to take the chance to beat me up, right?"

"Huh?"

"Y-you... you... how did you figure it out?"

Her thoughts exposed, Xiao Wu let out a cry and stared at Yu Yan as if he were a monster.

"You have your thoughts written all over your face. How could I not tell?"

Still unconvinced, Xiao Wu went over to the water vat and looked at her own reflection. She really could not see anything.

"Stop looking. You can already guess your own thoughts directly, so looking is pointless." After teasing Xiao Wu, Yu Yan sighed softly. "Come on, let's spar for real."

Rather than having someone strike him ruthlessly in an actual fight, he might as well take a few punches from Xiao Wu. He would treat it as tuition paid for learning from her.

Xiao Wu's combat ability was very strong. When she first appeared, she had been able to suppress Little Scumbag in actual combat. Sparring with her would definitely teach him quite a few things. This was not a loss.

"Didn't you see through what I was thinking?"

Xiao Wu looked at Yu Yan strangely. He had exposed her little scheme, yet he was still agreeing to her request. She could not understand what Yu Yan was thinking.

"Seeing through it is one thing. Agreeing to it is another. I'm saying it outright because I want you to go a little easier on me."

As he spoke, Yu Yan had already assumed a fighting stance.

"Don't worry. I'll definitely go easy on you."

With a brilliant smile, Xiao Wu leaped forward and charged straight at Yu Yan.