Chapter 41

Xu Yang held back his strength to fight Qiu Wenjie, but after only a dozen moves, Qiu Wenjie shouted to admit defeat.

He had only gathered Qi for a few days, and his use of true qi was not skilled; being able to fight for a dozen moves was already not bad.

"Senior Brother Xu, this is what my father gave you."

The two retreated to the side, and Qiu Wenjie handed three taels of silver to Xu Yang.

"How about you don't give it to me in the future? Now that you have successfully gathered Qi, the Qiu family doesn't need me anymore," Xu Yang didn't take it.

Qiu Yongqiang was willing to invest in him when he was weak, and he has always remembered this kindness.

The Qiu family is really too small, so small that they can't afford to support a martial artist retainer, but in some aspects, they might need a retainer, so they had no choice but to take this desperate measure, giving him money without requiring him to sit in the Qiu family, only hoping that he could take action when needed.

Before, he could take this money with peace of mind because if something happened to the Qiu family, he would definitely help.

But now that Qiu Wenjie has succeeded in gathering Qi, the Qiu family has its own martial artist. Taking this money now feels a bit hot, like the people from the Three Harmonies Gang harvesting peace fees from the villagers of White Stone Square; it's all blood and sweat money.

"This is what my father asked me to give you. If I take it back to him, he will definitely beat me. If you want to return it, return it to him yourself."

Qiu Wenjie forcibly stuffed the money to Xu Yang, got up, and left to continue practicing fist techniques.

The Qiu family!

"Eldest Brother, are you looking for me?" Qiu Yongqiang cupped his hands to his eldest brother Qiu Yongjian, who was sitting behind the table.

Closing the account book in his hand, Qiu Yongjian looked up at his second brother and said: "Second Brother, I see that you have been withdrawing three taels of silver from the account for the past few months, and you withdrew it again today. What is this money for?"

Qiu Yongqiang said: "I used it to support a martial artist I took a fancy to."

Qiu Yongjian's brows furrowed: "Three taels of silver, which martial artist is so cheap? You weren't cheated, were you?"

"No, Eldest Brother, listen to me..."

Qiu Yongqiang told the whole story, from Qiu Wenjie mentioning Xu Yang to him, to the series of events that happened later.

"Second Brother, you have disappointed me too much. I know you want to strengthen the Qiu family, but you should have discussed such things with me. Not to mention whether this Xu Yang has the potential to be invested in.

You only give money without letting him sit in the Qiu family. If something happens to my Qiu family one day and the other party stands by and watches, who can prove that my Qiu family supported him?

End this support. Now that Wenjie has also succeeded in gathering Qi, my Qiu family can fully cultivate our own martial artist; there is no need to benefit others."

After listening, Qiu Yongjian immediately reprimanded Qiu Yongqiang.

"Eldest Brother, Xu Yang is very loyal. If something happens to my Qiu family, he won't stand by and watch," Qiu Yongqiang frowned.

He knew that his eldest brother would react this way, which is why he didn't tell his eldest brother about this matter.

"But now that Wenjie has succeeded in gathering Qi, we should fully cultivate Wenjie instead of others. With our family's meager income, it's difficult to support one martial artist, Wenjie. Do you know the consequences of spending another three taels?"

Qiu Yongjian stared fixedly at Qiu Yongqiang until Qiu Yongqiang lowered his head.

How could he not know these things? It's just that words spoken must be kept.

"Find a time to make it clear to him. It's not that we don't keep our promise, it's really that we have no money," Qiu Yongjian said.

"Alright!"

Qiu Yongqiang nodded helplessly.

"Bang bang..."

Xu Yang was covered in sweat, like a Bear King tossing and turning, and his fists hitting the air made bursts of roars.

He felt his body getting hotter and hotter, and his blood and qi were like boiling water, approaching a certain critical point.

"Explosive Bear Strength!"

He knew this was him about to touch the Explosive Bear Strength of the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist. With his comprehension approaching forty, the understanding of the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist was becoming easier and easier for him.

Once he understands the Explosive Bear Strength, his combat power will increase significantly. The Explosive Bear Strength is also a sign that the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist has reached a certain level of depth.

From the day he stepped into the inner courtyard, those senior brothers in the inner courtyard who had already understood the Explosive Bear Strength had been helping Lu Ren understand the Explosive Bear Strength. He didn't know if Lu Ren had already understood it.

"Boom!"

At a certain moment, he felt as if his blood had exploded, his blood vessels were bulging, his muscles were expanding, his strength increased sharply, a sense of anger rose in his heart, and his true qi was like ignited gunpowder.

His spine, the Great Dragon, seemed to have come alive, piercing through section by section, making a crisp sound.

"Has Xu Yang gone crazy!"

The tyrannical aura surged out, startling Zhang Hong nearby to retreat repeatedly, for fear of being hit by Xu Yang's fist.

"Don't make noise, he has understood the Explosive Bear Strength," Wu Yongfeng said with a face full of envy.

He gathered Qi before Xu Yang, but until now he has had no clue about the Explosive Bear Strength.

"He actually understood the Explosive Bear Strength," Lu Ren showed an look of disbelief.

Many senior brothers helped him feed moves, and practiced with him using the Explosive Bear Strength for more than a month. It was only a few days ago that he heard his fiancée was defiled by the Jade Butterfly, and it was only in his rage that he understood the Explosive Bear Strength.

He didn't expect that only a few days later, Xu Yang, relying on his own cultivation, actually practiced the Explosive Bear Strength as well.

"Xu Yang's comprehension really doesn't lose much to Junior Brother Lu," Zhao Zhifei's eyes flashed with brilliance.

It was as if he was competing with Lu Ren; as long as Lu Ren made progress in some aspect, Xu Yang would immediately follow up.

Jiang Ping shook his head and said: "It should be evenly matched. It's a pity his bone structure is far worse than Junior Brother Lu's. What's the use of good comprehension? Cultivation base is the foundation.

There is less than a year left until the Martial Branch Dragon Ascent. Without Qi-gathering Great Achievement cultivation, one doesn't even have the qualifications to sign up to participate.

Look at his aura; the true qi in his dantian is probably only one-third of Junior Brother Lu's.

Within a year, let alone Qi-gathering Great Achievement, I think two or three years would be a stretch. By then, after the age of twenty, he and we will be people of two different worlds in this lifetime."

Gu Fang nodded along: "I admit I underestimated him a bit, but he is also truly stupid. With this kind of comprehension, if he had married into the Liu family, even with C-grade bone structure, with the Liu family's financial resources, it wouldn't be difficult to pile him into Qi-gathering Great Achievement within a year.