Explosive Bear Force

Xu Yang held back as he sparred with Qiu Wenjie, but after only a dozen or so moves, Qiu Wenjie shouted that he conceded.

He'd only been gathering qi for a few days, and he was still clumsy at wielding his true qi. Lasting a dozen moves was already pretty good.

"Senior Brother Xu, my father asked me to give you this."

The two stepped aside, and Qiu Wenjie handed Xu Yang three taels of silver.

"You don't have to keep giving me money. Now that you've successfully gathered qi, the Qiu Family doesn't need me anymore." Xu Yang didn't take it.

He had never forgotten the kindness Qiu Yongqiang had shown him by investing in him when he was weak.

The Qiu Family was so small that it could barely afford to support a martial artist as an attendant. Yet there were times they might need one, so they had resorted to this arrangement: they paid him without requiring him to stay at the Qiu Family, only hoping he would lend a hand when needed.

He could accept the money in good conscience before, because if anything happened to the Qiu Family, he would certainly help.

But now that Qiu Wenjie had successfully gathered qi and the Qiu Family had a martial artist of its own, taking their money felt like holding a hot coal. It was just like the Tri-Union Gang extorting protection fees from the people of White Stone Ward. Either way, it was hard-earned money.

"My father told me to give this to you. If I take it back, he'll beat me. If you want to return it, do it yourself."

Qiu Wenjie firmly shoved the money into Xu Yang's hands, then got up and went back to practicing his punches.

The Qiu Family!

"Big brother, you wanted to see me?" Qiu Yongqiang clasped his hands toward his elder brother, Qiu Yongjian, who sat behind the desk.

Qiu Yongjian closed the account book in his hands and looked up at his second brother. "Second brother, I've noticed that you've been withdrawing three taels of silver from the accounts every month for the past few months. You made another withdrawal today. What are you using that money for?"

"I've been using it to support a martial artist I thought had potential."

Qiu Yongjian furrowed his brow. "Three taels of silver? What kind of martial artist is that cheap? You haven't been swindled, have you?"

"No, big brother. Let me explain..."

Qiu Yongqiang recounted everything, from Qiu Wenjie telling him about Xu Yang to all that had happened afterward.

"Second brother, you've disappointed me. I know you want to strengthen the Qiu Family, but you should have discussed something like this with me. We don't even know if Xu Yang is worth investing in.

"You give him money without asking him to stay at the Qiu Family. If trouble ever befalls us and he stands by while we suffer, who can prove that we supported him?

"End this support. Wenjie has successfully gathered qi, so we can focus on cultivating our own martial artist. There's no need to line someone else's pockets."

After hearing everything, Qiu Yongjian immediately scolded Qiu Yongqiang.

"Big brother, Xu Yang is loyal. If anything happens to our family, he won't stand by and do nothing." Qiu Yongqiang frowned.

He had known his elder brother would react this way, which was why he hadn't told him about it.

"But Wenjie has successfully gathered qi now. We should focus on cultivating him, not someone else. Our family's income is barely enough to support one martial artist. Do you know what another three-tael expense will mean?"

Qiu Yongjian fixed his eyes on Qiu Yongqiang until the latter lowered his head.

How could Qiu Yongqiang not understand? But a promise was a promise.

"Find a time to explain things to him. It's not that we're going back on our word. We simply don't have the money." Qiu Yongjian said.

"Okay!"

Qiu Yongqiang nodded helplessly.

"Bang, bang..."

Xu Yang was drenched in sweat, darting and weaving like a bear king. His fists pounded the air, each blow booming.

His body felt hotter and hotter. His qi and blood roiled like boiling water, nearing a certain threshold.

"Explosive Bear Force!"

He knew he was close to unlocking the Explosive Bear Force of Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist. His Comprehension was nearing forty, and understanding the fist art was becoming easier and easier.

Once he mastered Explosive Bear Force, his combat strength would increase by leaps and bounds. It was also a sign that Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist had reached a certain level of mastery.

Ever since he had entered the Inner Courtyard, the senior brothers who had already mastered Explosive Bear Force had been helping Lu Ren learn it. Xu Yang wondered if Lu Ren had succeeded yet.

"Boom!"

At a certain moment, Xu Yang felt as though his blood had exploded. His veins bulged, his muscles swelled, and his strength surged all at once. A wave of anger rose in his heart, and his true qi was like gunpowder set alight.

The great dragon of his spine seemed to spring to life, each vertebra connecting in turn with a series of sharp cracks.

"Has Xu Yang gone mad?!"

A savage aura surged outward, startling Zhang Hong into retreating again and again, afraid of being struck by Xu Yang's fists.

"Quiet. He's grasped Explosive Bear Force." Wu Yongfeng looked on with envy.

He had gathered qi before Xu Yang, yet still had no clue how to master Explosive Bear Force.

"He actually mastered Explosive Bear Force." Lu Ren stared in disbelief.

So many senior brothers had helped him practice, sparring with him using Explosive Bear Force for over a month. It wasn't until a few days ago, when he heard that his fiancée had been defiled by Jade Butterfly, that his rage had driven him to master it.

He couldn't believe that in just a few days, Xu Yang had mastered Explosive Bear Force through his own practice.

"Xu Yang's Comprehension really isn't much worse than Junior Brother Lu Ren's." Zhao Zhifei's eyes glinted.

It was almost as if Xu Yang was competing with Lu Ren. Whenever Lu Ren made progress in some area, Xu Yang would catch up right away.

Jiang Ping shook his head. "They should be about equal, but his Bone Root is far worse than Junior Brother Lu's. What good is high Comprehension? Cultivation is what matters.

"The Martial Exam Dragon Ascent is less than a year away. Without the cultivation of Major Success in Qi Gathering, he won't even qualify to register.

"Look at his aura. The true qi in his dantian is probably only a third of Junior Brother Lu's.

"He won't reach Major Success in Qi Gathering within a year. I doubt he can do it in two or three. By then he'll be over twenty, and he'll be living in a different world from us."

Gu Fang nodded along. "I admit I underestimated him a little, but he's still foolish. With Comprehension like that, if he'd married into the Liu Family, then even with Grade C Inferior Bone Structure, the Liu Family's wealth could have pushed him to Major Success in Qi Gathering within a year.

"He might have had a chance at the Martial Exam Dragon Ascent and even achieved something in the future.

"Now, this is as far as he'll go. A few taels of silver a month for cultivation resources—reaching Major Success in Qi Gathering in two or three years is just a dream."

"Explosive Bear Force really is powerful, but the aftermath of that burst is hard to bear."

Xu Yang calmed his surging qi and blood, and his body gradually returned to normal. He felt weak and sore all over.

Impossible to reach Major Success in Qi Gathering within a year?

That would have been true before, but ever since he had acquired Diamond Skill, the speed at which his true qi grew had changed.

Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist was still just a fist art. How could it compare to a cultivation method like Diamond Skill, which specialized in refining true qi?

Even without relying on the Status Panel, he was confident he could reach Major Success in Qi Gathering within a year.

He wasn't standing still.

His Comprehension and Bone Root were constantly improving.

A year from now, both would have doubled from their current levels. His Bone Root alone would surpass Lu Ren's.

By his estimate, his Bone Root might not reach Grade A Superior, but it would at least reach Grade A Inferior.

And with his Comprehension also reaching Grade A, Major Success in Qi Gathering would be a conservative estimate. He might even achieve Marrow Cleansing.

People like Gu Fang and Jiang Ping weren't actually stupid. They knew how important Comprehension was.

It was just that, while Xu Yang's Comprehension was decent, it wasn't anything special to them.

To put it simply, Xu Yang's Comprehension was 40, while other people's might be 30 or 33. There was a difference, but it wasn't a big one.

So even though he'd displayed Comprehension comparable to Lu Ren's, few people thought highly of him.

That was why Lin Cheng had said on the first day that money mattered most in martial arts, not Bone Root or Comprehension.

For most people who managed to gather qi, their Bone Roots and Comprehension wouldn't differ much. With enough money, those gaps could be made up—or even surpassed.

If one or two taels weren't enough, then spend ten. If that still couldn't make up the difference, it just meant you didn't have enough money.

"There may not be much difference between thirty and forty, but what about thirty and eighty, ninety, or even a hundred?"