Market Day

Duan Xuan's rest day came soon enough.

Duan Xuan did not choose to go to the martial arts hall.

There were only two months left until the martial examination.

Whether it was his master Chen Jingshu, Senior Sister Chen Jingwen, or Senior Brother Zhang Chen, all of them were busy preparing for the martial examination.

The most important thing was that Lin Hu and Liu Mingze had already been hostile toward him, and now that they had become Chen Feng's personal disciples, going to the martial arts hall often would inevitably lead to friction.

In any case, before reaching hidden force, the martial arts hall could no longer provide him with much more.

He sank his feet, and what surfaced in his mind was not the Broken Mountain Fist, but the Azure Wolf Hidden Force he had obtained from Wolf Tian!

"Azure Wolf Hidden Force, its full name is the Azure Wolf Hidden Force Method.

"This is a purely external martial art, combining body-tempering stake work, stealth footwork, and close-quarters killing strikes into one.

"It draws upon the ability of lone wolves on the wilderness to lurk and track, launch sudden attacks, and shatter bones. It relies on neither bizarre force nor strange phenomena, but entirely on the body's flesh, sinews, and bones, on movement and exertion.

"It is suited for silently circling around to attack, as well as explosive close-range strikes that shatter bones and subdue enemies!" When Duan Xuan obtained this martial art, he had not rushed to cultivate it.

Instead, he went through its contents from beginning to end.

After all, everyone had martial arts suited to them, as well as those that did not suit them in the slightest.

Even with the Golden Soft Finger, some martial arts still did not suit him.

For example, the foundation of his martial arts was the Broken Mountain Fist, which emphasized ferocity, dominance, charging forward without hesitation, and never giving up.

If he had picked up a gentle martial art instead, such as the Soft Cloud Finger from the martial arts hall, that would have been a martial skill more suited for women or soft-natured men.

If he forced himself to cultivate it, the foundation of all his martial arts would be ruined.

Not only would he become neither fish nor fowl, but the originally surging vitality and blood in his body would also be forcibly severed by that soft, yin-like force.

However, this Azure Wolf Hidden Force happened to align with Duan Xuan's cultivation philosophy. To sum it up in two words: old six.

Lying low and quietly growing stronger was nothing bad.

With the system, as long as he was willing to act, he would eventually gain something!

Bright force, hidden force, transformed force—the three difficult thresholds of martial cultivation posed no difficulty before Duan Xuan.

It was only that the Azure Wolf Hidden Force was a purely external martial art, so it had merely three levels.

Interestingly, the first level, Crouching Wolf Hide, was simply the cultivation of stake work and the foundation of sinews and skin.

He only needed to sink his waist into a low horse stance, tense his waist and back like an Azure Wolf poised to pounce, curl his ten fingers into claws, and keep the muscles of his shoulders, back, waist, and hips taut throughout, tempering the foundation for explosive pouncing attacks.

Duan Xuan had already mastered the Broken Mountain Stake Method. With only slight adjustments to his posture, he could achieve the effects of the first level.

The only difference was that, like Praying Mantis Boxing, he needed to practice finger and claw hardening techniques every day, so that when fighting an enemy, he could seize sharp weapons and sink his claws into the opponent's sinews, bones, skin, and flesh.

Even if he could not gouge into the marrow, he still had to heavily damage the enemy's bodily defenses and scales with a single strike.

All he needed to do was routinely strike bluestone to sharpen the edges of his palms, strengthening the gripping power of his fingertips and the force of tearing sinews and bones.

In addition, he had to hold stances and stretch his torso every day, extending his waist like a wolf and loosening the fascia throughout his body to consolidate his body's carrying capacity. That was the entirety of the first level.

Based on Wolf Tian's performance during their battle, Duan Xuan guessed that Wolf Tian had at most mastered the first level.

Because the second level, Frost Wolf Vanishing-Step, cultivated lightness skill for concealing one's form and moving with agility!

If Wolf Tian had fully learned the second level, Duan Xuan would never have been able to leap down in the medicinal garden and block his retreat. Those three ironwood arrows would naturally have had no chance of hitting him.

Thus, Duan Xuan placed all his focus on the second level of the Azure Wolf Hidden Force.

"Building upon the sinew-and-bone foundation of Crouching Wolf Hide, it specializes in silent movement, shifting speed, and sudden attacks.

"When using it, land heel-first, contract the muscles throughout the body to shed all sound, and lower the body close to the ground.

"Stride lengths may suddenly widen or shorten. Move silently and conceal yourself, then abruptly accelerate in the instant of a charge.

"Once mastered, one may use the terrain to circle to an opponent's side or rear and restrain them, with the accompanying move Wolf-Sweeping Leg.

"Sweep low along the ground to break the enemy's lower stance, effectively countering cumbersome moves that open wide and close wide.

"As for the art of advancing, retreating, and circling, imitate the way wolf packs encircle their prey. Do not meet the enemy head-on!" Having said that, Duan Xuan immediately bent at the waist and lowered his body.

Like a wild wolf, he immediately activated his solid Broken Mountain Stake Method. Blending it with the posture of the Azure Wolf Hidden Force, Duan Xuan's stance alone was already close to Wolf Tian's proficient first level.

As he exerted force through his heels and contracted his muscles, a burst of power exploded beneath Duan Xuan's feet, sweeping up a ring of dust as his whole body shot four or five meters away.

Duan Xuan's brows drew together slightly.

The commotion was far too great. Just that push off the ground alone was enough to make him uncomfortable!

Duan Xuan did not grow impatient. He combined it once more with the Crouching Wolf Hide stake work, tightening his waist and back as though sitting on a spring.

Then he lowered himself slightly, taking the posture of a wolf pouncing upon prey.

Thump!

After practicing more than a dozen times, at one particular moment, Duan Xuan suddenly felt like a wolf king brimming with wildness.

His white pupils had unknowingly filled with force, the force mixing with bloodshot veins and transforming into ghostly green eyes.

The tips of his ten fingers had also been sharpened to an extreme edge after more than a dozen swings and strikes against the hard stone slab. With a casual flick, they whipped up a howling wind like genuine wolf claws.

His body naturally lowered and stored power, his joints clicking like lock cores snapping shut.

This was one of Azure Wolf Stealth Hunt's most representative movements: compressing power into the bones with all his might.

When released, the force burst like soybeans crackling in a wok.

Almost instinctively, Duan Xuan raised his neck. "Roar!"

The system panel appeared accordingly.

[Human effort is rewarded; Heaven's way makes amends]

[Trap: Mastery (135／300)]

[Hunting: Mastery (18／300)]

[Broken Mountain Stake Method: Minor Mastery (138/1000)]

[Broken Mountain Fist: Beginner (245/300)]

[Azure Wolf Stealth Hunt: Beginner (1/300)]

Duan Xuan studied the panel carefully, and his eyes immediately grew grave. "The numbers are wrong!"

After thinking for a moment, he understood why the Broken Mountain Stake Method's minor mastery had reached one hundred and thirty-eight.

At the normal rate, even after consuming the expensive meat, the Vitality and Blood Powder, and one Vitality and Blood Pill, the value should at most have reached one hundred and thirty.

Yet now it had far exceeded expectations. The reason was that the Crouching Wolf Hide stake work of Azure Wolf Stealth Hunt's first level had merged with the Broken Mountain Stake Method.

"This makes things much more convenient for me. I can use the Broken Mountain Stake Method as the foundation and constantly absorb other external stake methods, speeding up my stake-work cultivation!"

If practicing Crouching Wolf Hide only increased Crouching Wolf Hide, and practicing the Broken Mountain Stake Method only increased the Broken Mountain Stake Method, then this golden finger would be far too useless.

"Mother, why did you come out?" Zhou Fang's leg injury was severe. She had rested for years without seeing improvement, and the root cause was the lack of medicinal assistance.

After Xu Jinbao, the Golden Leopard Gang's leader, visited the Duan family once, he sent people to deliver several old medicinal prescriptions, supposedly meant specifically for treating the injuries of gang brothers.

Nothing took priority over his mother's injuries and illness, so Duan Xuan did not refuse this favor.

However, he had not held much hope. Yet after using them for a while, he discovered in surprise that their effects were truly good. His mother could actually slowly get down from the kang bed and walk.

Zhou Fang smiled happily. "The weather is so nice. I haven't moved around in so long. Xuan'er, I want to go to the market and buy two bolts of cloth.

"While summer prices are low, I want to make your winter clothes in advance, and... your father's too.

"I don't know what has been going on lately, but I keep dreaming of your father talking to me.

"Mother of my child, while I was gone these past years, you kept the household by yourself. You have worked hard and suffered greatly. You and our son must wait for me, you must wait for me. I will definitely return!

"I was thinking that if I make clothes this year, I should make one for your father as well, just in case... just in case he really comes back someday?"

Leaning against the doorframe, Duan Xuan gently wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes. He knew his mother had always been an extremely steadfast person.

Once she believed her son could succeed in martial cultivation, she had held firmly to that belief from the very first day Duan Xuan entered the martial arts hall.

Likewise, she firmly believed that Duan Xuan's father, Duan Jian, was still alive and would definitely return.

"I miss Father too." Not wanting to chill his mother's heart, Duan Xuan walked over to Zhou Fang and bent down. "Mother, let's go!"