Juicy Gossip

The next day, at dawn.

Fang Han left the inn and headed toward the martial arts academy after returning to Azure Cloud City.

Upon arriving at the academy,

Fang Han headed straight for the training ground. As usual, he went to a secluded corner and began practicing the Gale-Breaking Fist.

He trained with utmost focus.

Punch after punch, he strove to make every move precise and flawless.

His mind was completely immersed in his fist practice, as though nothing had happened the previous night.

As Fang Han practiced his fists, a thought stirred in his mind.

Light flowed before his eyes, and the Panel appeared.

He slowed his movements and carefully examined the latest data on the Panel:

[Forged to Excel]

[Name: Fang Han]

[Age: 23]

[Bone Constitution: Lower-grade (Cultivatable)]

[Comprehension: 120]

[Realm: Body Tempering First Layer (Skin Tempering)]

[Martial Art: Gale-Breaking Fist (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 989/5000, Major Accomplishment]

[Martial Art: Nine Flood Dragon Palms (Mortal Grade)]

[Proficiency: 367/10000, Perfection]

[Talents: Unyielding Practice (Never Regress), Rising Talent (Enhanced Comprehension)]

After looking over the Panel, Fang Han fell silent for a moment.

Over the past few days, he had devoted nearly all his time and energy to increasing the proficiency of the Nine Flood Dragon Palms, which had left his Gale-Breaking Fist proficiency still short of one thousand.

"According to the academy's rules, once the Gale-Breaking Fist reaches Major Accomplishment and one gathers ten strands of Blood Qi, one qualifies to enter the Inner Court and become a true disciple..."

Fang Han pondered this, and an idea gradually formed in his mind.

He had already gathered ten strands of Blood Qi, so that was not an issue.

As for bringing the Gale-Breaking Fist to Major Accomplishment...

Judging by his current proficiency, he would still need several days of diligent training to achieve it.

He pondered for a moment and calculated in his mind.

In the days ahead, he would push the Gale-Breaking Fist to Major Accomplishment in one burst, all the way until he broke through to the Perfection level!

That way... the Gale-Breaking Fist would not only reach Major Accomplishment.

After reaching Perfection, the fist technique would also allow him to gather an additional ten strands of Blood Qi.

At that point, he could begin attempting the Body Tempering Second Layer and choose between Bone Tempering and Sinew Tempering.

"As for whether to temper bones or sinews first..."

Fang Han fell silent as he carefully compared the differences between the two.

Bone Tempering could strengthen the bones, improve resistance to blows and overall strength, and make the body sturdier.

Sinew Tempering, on the other hand, could improve the flexibility and explosive power of the muscles and tendons, greatly increasing agility. Movement techniques and footwork would both see a major improvement.

Each had its own advantages and focused on different things.

After weighing the matter repeatedly, Fang Han ultimately decided to temper his sinews first and his bones afterward.

Without having practiced movement-type martial arts, tempering his sinews first would let him play to his strengths and make up for his weaknesses for the time being.

When facing a powerful enemy, if he could not win, at least he could run.

Flexible footwork and nimble movements were often more practical than pure strength.

Besides...

His current fighting style leaned toward flexibility and mobility.

The Nine Flood Dragon Palms also required the body to coordinate properly when exerting force.

Sinew Tempering would provide a more direct boost to his overall combat strength.

"The Martial Soul Avatar can keep practicing the Nine Flood Dragon Palms normally, however much it manages to practice, without dividing my attention.

As for the rest, I'll focus all my efforts on breaking through with the Gale-Breaking Fist."

With a plan in mind, Fang Han smiled faintly, and his thoughts became clear.

He took a deep breath, assumed his stance once more, and continued practicing his fists seriously and methodically.

Punch after punch, move after move.

Sweat glittered in the morning light, while the wind from his fists whistled through the air.

Time passed without him noticing.

Until the afternoon.

An apprentice hurried into the training ground from the Outer Court, looking excited and panting heavily. As he ran, he shouted, "Juicy gossip! Huge gossip! It's about Thunderclap Martial Arts Academy!"

The moment those words came out, they instantly drew the attention of many apprentices on the training ground.

Quite a few stopped what they were doing and looked curiously at the apprentice.

Some impatient people had already started walking toward him.

The previously quiet training ground immediately became lively.

Fang Han also stopped practicing and looked over.

The apprentice was currently surrounded by the crowd.

With a somewhat smug expression on his face, he panted hard and could not manage a complete sentence for the moment.

Seeing how out of breath he was, someone in the crowd kindly took out a water flask and handed it to him.

Others could not wait any longer. Frowning, they urged, "Stop dragging it out. Hurry up and tell us—what juicy gossip is it?"

The rest watched with curious looks, their arms folded as they waited to hear what this so-called huge scoop was.

Since he was nearby, Fang Han could hear their conversation clearly.

He was in no hurry to resume practicing.

As he rolled his wrists to loosen his muscles and tendons, he pricked up his ears.

He wanted to hear what this so-called juicy gossip was.

He secretly guessed that it might have something to do with Chen You.

After all, he had killed Chen You only last night, and Thunderclap Martial Arts Academy had news today. The timing was far too coincidental.

If it really was about that matter, then he wanted to hear what Thunderclap Martial Arts Academy had found out.

Seeing that he had become the center of everyone's attention, the apprentice felt an inexplicable surge of satisfaction.

He cleared his throat, took the water flask from someone nearby, and tilted his head back to gulp down several mouthfuls.

After putting down the flask and wiping his mouth with his sleeve, his breathing steadied somewhat before he finally said, "I just came back from Eight Treasures Ward and happened to run into a friend who trains at Thunderclap Martial Arts Academy.

He told me personally that one of Thunderclap Martial Arts Academy's apprentices with an Upper-grade Bone Constitution died outside an inn last night!"

The crowd immediately erupted in shocked cries.

"An Upper-grade Bone Constitution?"

"Died outside an inn? How is that possible?"

"An apprentice with an Upper-grade Bone Constitution from Thunderclap Martial Arts Academy is practically a treasure. How could he die for no reason?"

Discussion rose one after another, and everyone found it hard to believe.

A person with an Upper-grade Bone Constitution had a boundless future ahead of him. How could he have died outside an inn like that, without any explanation?

The news had come too suddenly for anyone to understand at first.

Seeing everyone grow even more curious, the apprentice's smugness deepened.

He deliberately paused, slowly took another sip of water, and kept everyone in suspense.

Someone nearby frowned deeply at the sight and impatiently urged, "Hurry up and talk! Stop dragging it out! Keep dragging it out, and I'll beat you up!"

The apprentice shrank his neck at once and immediately behaved himself, no longer daring to put on airs.

He hurriedly recounted everything he knew in full detail.

It turned out that Thunderclap Martial Arts Academy had gathered at the inn that morning, preparing to set out for a trial in the outskirts of the Transverse Mountains.

When the senior true disciple leading the group counted heads, he discovered that an Upper-grade Bone Constitution apprentice named Chen You was nowhere to be found.

At first, no one paid much attention to it. They assumed Chen You had gone out to handle something and had not yet returned.

The senior true disciple leading the group decided to wait.

He let Flood Peak Martial Arts Academy head to the Transverse Mountains for their trial first. It would not be too late for them to depart once everyone was present.

But Thunderclap Martial Arts Academy waited from morning until noon, and Chen You never appeared.

The senior true disciple leading the group sensed that something was wrong, so he organized a search around the inn.

They searched until the afternoon and actually found some clues in the forest.

In a secluded clearing in the woods, they saw a large, horrifying pool of blood.

In the nearby grass, someone found Chen You's academy identity token.

The token was completely intact, and it was still stained with wet blood.

At that point, the truth was obvious.

Thunderclap Martial Arts Academy could almost certainly conclude that Chen You was dead!

And he seemed to have died an exceedingly miserable death, leaving not even a body behind.

The bloodstains in the clearing were the best proof.

Thunderclap Martial Arts Academy was in an uproar now.

The apprentices taking part in the Demon-Hunting Trial were anxious and unsettled, discussing the matter endlessly.

They all suspected that Chen You had been killed by a demonic beast that had wandered out of the Transverse Mountains.

After all, that place was close to the mountain range's outskirts. If one had bad luck, it was not impossible to encounter a powerful demonic beast.

"Only when Academy Master Chen Daqing hurried to the inn and personally calmed everyone down did their emotions settle.

He told everyone to continue to the Transverse Mountains for the Demon-Hunting Trial.

But he required all apprentices to remain alert and forbade anyone from acting alone."

After hearing all this,

The onlookers who had gathered for the gossip wore complicated expressions. They looked at one another, not knowing what to say for a while.

They all felt that the matter was too unbelievable.

An academy apprentice with an Upper-grade Bone Constitution had actually died outside an inn without any explanation... not even leaving a body behind. It was truly lamentable.

Fang Han heard every word without missing a single one.

His expression remained calm, and his eyes lowered slightly.

Thunderclap Martial Arts Academy had found only bloodstains and the token, but no body.

Because they would never find it.