"You ungrateful bastard, do you really think you're a match for me?! Yesterday, I only held back because of Teacher Su!"
Ma Hai was already furious with Ning Chuan for extorting two hundred thousand from him.
Now that he had taken another punch, how could he possibly hold back?
Whoosh!
Ma Hai flashed forward and closed in. He raised his right leg high and struck with all his might, carving a fierce arc through the air as he drove it swiftly toward Ning Chuan's face.
"Earth-Shattering Chop!"
The fierce wind howled!
Ma Hai had unleashed the attack in anger, and it was considerably more powerful than it had been yesterday.
But precisely because he was so angry, his technique had slipped, allowing Ning Chuan to anticipate the move easily and giving him enough time to dodge.
I won't dodge!
After a moment's thought, Ning Chuan raised his arms across his body.
He wanted to test the toughness of the second level of Vajra Body.
Bang!
A muffled impact rang out, and the chop sent Ning Chuan staggering backward.
He wasn't too surprised.
Vajra Body enhanced the toughness of his body but did nothing to increase his strength. It was only natural that he couldn't overpower Ma Hai, who was at the sixth stage of awakening.
Ning Chuan stumbled back several steps before his back hit a waist-thick tree trunk, and he finally steadied himself.
He glanced at his sleeves out of the corner of his eye. They had been torn to shreds by the impact.
The exposed skin was nowhere near as badly battered as it had been yesterday.
There was only a faint red mark, and the pain spreading from it wasn't severe either.
This injury is only a little worse than what Ma Hai's ordinary attacks did yesterday!
Ning Chuan's eyes lit up.
The second level of Vajra Body had taken his defense to a whole new level.
How powerful would the third level be?!
"Again!"
Putting aside the anticipation rising in his heart, Ning Chuan charged at Ma Hai and fought him fiercely.
Bang! Bang! Bang! ...
The sounds of impacts rang out through the woods. Branches shook violently from time to time, sending fresh buds tumbling down, while punches and kicks shattered dry, yellowed bark and sent it flying in all directions.
Ning Chuan combined Gale Step with the Thousand Bones Slaughter Art, trading blows with Ma Hai again and again.
The gap in their raw strength meant he was bound to lose out in head-on clashes, but he could rely on Vajra Body's defense to take the hits!
He actually managed to hold his own, barely fighting Ma Hai as an equal!
Ning Chuan was exhilarated.
In the course of the fight, Vajra Body wasn't the only thing he improved; he also gained seasoned combat experience.
Across from him, Ma Hai frowned deeply, unable to shake the feeling that something was wrong.
Ning Chuan's strength and speed hadn't improved much since their last fight, yet he somehow felt difficult to deal with!
"I refuse to believe I can't hurt you!"
Ma Hai gritted his teeth, planted a foot, and pounced!
Bang! Bang! Bang! ...
Nearly an hour passed.
The sounds of impacts gradually died away, replaced by the endless rasp of bellows being worked in the woods.
"Huff!"
"Huff!"
The two figures stood motionless, gasping heavily, their clothes soaked with sweat.
After fighting for so long, both were nearly out of stamina!
In other words.
Ning Chuan and Ma Hai had fought to a draw!
In truth, Ma Hai was two realms above Ning Chuan and had greater stamina.
But because he had wanted to hurt Ning Chuan, he had attacked in anger, putting everything he had into every move and exhausting himself greatly.
Ning Chuan, on the other hand, knew his own weaknesses and had held back throughout.
He had relied more on Vajra Body, using the weaker to fight the stronger, defending and counterattacking.
Besides, the harder he was hit, the faster he improved.
Pain and pleasure went hand in hand!
Ning Chuan pushed himself upright against a tree, steadied his breathing, and said, "Ma... Ma Hai, you got me today. Once my wounds are better tomorrow, we'll fight again!"
He couldn't pass up free labor.
"At... at least you know your place, or else..."
Ma Hai panted with his hands on his knees. He was about to mock Ning Chuan, but the moment he raised his head, he froze.
Now that the fight was over, he could get a good look at Ning Chuan.
The injuries on Ning Chuan's body were nowhere near as gruesome as they had been after yesterday's fight.
He wasn't even bleeding!
There were some red and swollen areas, but they were all relatively minor.
It was no exaggeration to say that they were hardly any worse than Ma Hai's own injuries.
In other words, if this had been an arena match, Ning Chuan could have fought him to a draw!
And that was without a saber!
If he had a weapon...
At the thought, Ma Hai's heart skipped a beat. He couldn't help blurting out in shock, "How did you do it?!"
This was terrifying!
He was a full two realms above Ning Chuan!
More importantly, the martial arts Ning Chuan used hadn't struck him as particularly profound.
Yet he just couldn't hurt him!
"Well..."
Ning Chuan's eyes flickered.
If he told Ma Hai it was Vajra Body, Ma Hai might not be willing to fight him anymore.
This was a free sparring partner.
He was immensely useful to Ning Chuan.
He could speed up Vajra Body's cultivation.
During their fight just now, Vajra Body's progress had risen by four percentage points.
He could also help Ning Chuan gain combat experience.
Ning Chuan had benefited enormously!
A few more sessions, and he might be able to defeat Ma Hai using Vajra Body as his foundation!
I can't give this up!
Ning Chuan thought for a moment, put on a cold, arrogant expression, and sneered. "This has to do with Teacher Su. If I told you, would you even understand?"
"Don't get cocky. It's not like Teacher Su can look after you forever!"
Ma Hai's face turned livid. He snorted and said, "Once you don't have Teacher Su's help anymore, I'll show you just how painful it is to fight me barehanded!"
As he spoke, Ma Hai's tumultuous thoughts settled.
It was a good thing Ning Chuan's strength came from an external source.
He would have his chance!
Ma Hai didn't doubt Ning Chuan's words.
For one thing, he instinctively didn't want to accept that Ning Chuan could fight him to a draw barehanded.
For another.
Ma Hai didn't know much about official martial artists.
He only knew that they were divided into nine grades, from one to nine;
They could use Force;
As for exactly what powers they possessed, that was beyond his knowledge.
Combined with Ning Chuan's feigned expression, he naturally became convinced.
"Same time tomorrow, same place. If you don't come, you can forget about the rest of the money!"
After threatening Ning Chuan once more, Ma Hai strode away.
"Fine, I'll come! So what if I don't have Teacher Su's help? So what if I take a beating?"
Ning Chuan pretended to sound aggrieved, though he was almost laughing aloud inside.
This was the kind of good fortune he couldn't have dreamed of!
Putting aside the improvement to his strength.
He was getting paid too!
Still, Ning Chuan knew that as his strength increased, it wouldn't be long before he could pin Ma Hai to the ground and rub his face in the dirt.
When that happened, Ma Hai would surely be able to tell, unless he was a fool.
He would probably still pay.
After all, guidance from a knight-level martial artist was at stake.
Whether he would still be willing to fight Ning Chuan with all his might was another matter.
But by the time Ning Chuan could decisively defeat Ma Hai, sparring with him wouldn't be very effective anymore.
I hope he takes a while to notice, but I also want him to find out sooner. What kind of expression will he make?
Ning Chuan grinned.
He had a bit of a mischievous streak himself.
After recovering some of his strength, Ning Chuan took out his phone and checked the time. There was still a while before class, so he headed for Su Yun's office.
He wanted to see if he could freeload another treatment.
Although his injuries weren't serious, they wouldn't heal for several days. Nothing could be better than healing them quickly.
On the way, Ning Chuan opened a shopping app called Martial Arts Resources.
At first hearing, the name was a little tacky.
But its strength was unquestionably formidable. It had been jointly funded and built by the Martial Arts Alliance and the Federal Government.
It could be said that almost any resource needed for martial arts cultivation could be found on the site.
A quick search brought Ning Chuan to the medicine packs for Vajra Body.
They cost forty-five thousand each.
That was everything many people in Qingshan City earned in a year, without spending a penny on food or drink.
Among martial arts, aside from breathing techniques, body-tempering martial arts consumed the most resources.
"So expensive!"
Ning Chuan clicked his tongue inwardly and ordered two, his heart aching at the expense.
In the blink of an eye, only ten thousand remained of the hundred thousand he had just extorted from Ma Hai.
Normally, two medicine packs could support Vajra Body for two months.
Spread out, that came to around fifteen hundred a day.
That wasn't an exceptionally high cost for practicing martial arts.
But for Ning Chuan, two medicine packs would only last two nights.
Vajra Body's efficiency at absorbing medicinal power was frighteningly high.
For a moment, Ning Chuan didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Ma Hai still has another hundred thousand he hasn't given me, but that's only enough for two medicine packs.
I'm still short of money!
I hope Zhang Wensi sees that Ma Hai isn't getting the job done and finds a few more rich second-generation heirs to teach me a lesson, so I can squeeze some more money out of them!
Muttering under his breath, Ning Chuan arrived at Su Yun's office.
"Who did you get into a fight with?"
Seeing Ning Chuan's torn school uniform and the injuries all over him, Su Yun raised a delicate eyebrow and looked him up and down.
Fights between students weren't uncommon at Qingshan No. 1 High School.
Although the relevant school rules expressly forbade them and required fights to take place under a teacher's supervision, they had little effect.
They were all at an age when their blood ran hot; once their tempers flared, they couldn't possibly hold back.
"Teacher Su, what are you talking about?"
With a serious expression, Ning Chuan said in a clear voice, "I was sparring with someone to improve my practical combat skills. I was working incredibly hard.
Even when I got hurt, I didn't stop.
I just want to improve my strength as soon as possible, get good results on the college entrance exam, bring renown to the school, and bring honor to you too, Teacher Su!"
"You have quite the sweet tongue!"
Su Yun shot Ning Chuan a sidelong glance, fully aware of why he had come.
She didn't ask, either. She curled her slender fingers, gathered Force, and began treating him.
If it had been another student, Su Yun might not have treated them.
Healing injuries wasn't easy, after all, and she was no saint.
But Ning Chuan's concession regarding the bet yesterday had left her feeling as though she owed him something.
And Ning Chuan's circumstances as an orphan had stirred her sympathy.
Naturally, he would receive more consideration.
At night, in the old district.
Ding, ding, ding!
Not long after Ning Chuan got home, the doorbell rang.
He opened the door and saw that the medicinal packets for the Vajra Body had arrived.
The shopping website backed by the Federal Government had considerable resources.
As long as customers wanted it, deliveries could be made at any hour, twenty-four hours a day.
Ning Chuan opened the tightly wrapped parcel, took out a medicinal packet, and went into the bathroom to run water for a medicinal bath.
Before long, Ning Chuan fell asleep.
The night passed quickly.
When he woke up, the sky had already brightened.
The medicinal properties in the water had been completely absorbed, leaving it clear once more.
He pinched his skin and felt that its toughness had increased considerably.
Ning Chuan hurriedly opened the interface and looked at the last entry.
[Vajra Body]: Second layer (progress: 50%)
Before last night's medicinal bath, Ning Chuan had seen that his progress was at 17%.
That meant he had advanced 33% overnight, undoubtedly much slower than before, when he had advanced an entire layer in one night.
That was perfectly normal.
The higher the level of a martial art, the harder it was to cultivate.
Besides, you reaped what you sowed.
The more medicinal packets the Vajra Body consumed, the stronger its third layer would be.
That made Ning Chuan look forward to it all the more.
"I still have one medicinal packet left. Tonight I can push my progress in the second layer past 80%."
"But I only have ten thousand left. Given Ma Hai's temperament, it'll be hard to get thirty-five thousand from him anytime soon to buy another medicinal packet."
"Still..."
Ning Chuan smiled faintly and stood up in the bathtub.
His body was tall and lean.
After the Vajra Body advanced to the second layer, the progress he made through active cultivation each day had decreased, but not by much. He could still maintain an increase of around two percentage points.
It wouldn't take long to advance to the third layer.