Chapter 35: Wang Shi: Martial Apprentice Indeed Formidable

Fang Xiaoge, there are still five hundred catties of premium blood food left in the shop; I'll give them all to you.

Since Lu Zhiyuan had spoken, Li Yunshan was also generous, directly sending all the remaining five hundred catties of premium blood food from the shop to Fang Xu.

"Li Dage, is all this premium blood food what Master Lu personally went into the mountains to hunt and kill?" Seeing the two assistants busy loading the premium blood food onto the cart, Fang Xu asked casually.

Earlier I had heard that before opening the blood food shop, Lu Zhiyuan once brought Lu Qingluo personally into the mountains for a trip.

In this world, ferocious beasts are also graded by strength; low-grade ferocious beasts may be only slightly stronger than ordinary livestock, and a typical Bone Forging Realm hunter can easily kill them.

Some higher-grade ferocious beasts are different; they possess the ability to kill Martial Apprentices and Martial Masters.

Furthermore, there are rumors that among the ferocious beasts, some have gained spiritual intelligence, follow the path of cultivation, can train just like humans, hiding in the world for hundreds or thousands of years, ultimately becoming extremely terrifying beings; however, those ferocious beasts can no longer be called ferocious beasts, they are called demons.

Fang Xu is unsure whether there are any demons in Ti Lan Shan, after all the entire Ti Lan Shan stretches for ten thousand li, and no one knows exactly how many secrets are hidden in the mountains.

"Of course." Li Yunshan smiled and said: "Master Lu feels that since taking over this blood food business, he naturally couldn't just sell low-grade blood food, so he personally went into the mountains to hunt some high-grade ferocious beasts."

"However, there aren't many Martial Apprentices in Fenglin Town on a regular basis, and most of the time the premium blood food is consumed by me and Miss Qingluo."

While the two were chatting, the two assistants had already packed the five hundred catties of blood food; Fang Xu then bade farewell to Li Yunshan and led the two assistants home.

After unloading the blood food, the two assistants didn't linger and immediately returned to the blood food shop.

After cutting a twenty-catty piece of blood food and putting it in the pot to stew, Fang Xu went to the courtyard, took out the manual of the Nine Monkey Staff from his bosom, and carefully flipped through it.

"Nine Monkey Staff" is an eighth-grade staff technique secret manual; after browsing the manual once, Fang Xu couldn't help but praise its unknown creator.

This manual is named after the "Nine Monkeys"; at first glance it may seem odd, but after reading it through, one finds the name extremely fitting.

The staff technique is divided into nine forms, each imitating the most instinctive movement of a spirit monkey, encompassing both staff technique and body technique.

With a slight movement of his mind, Fang Xu immediately took out the wooden staff from the Inner Gate Aperture and began practicing according to the moves in the manual.

Although the moves of the Nine Monkey Staff are somewhat strange, they are similar to the Eight Extremes Fist he learned in his previous life—no fancy frills, each move is direct and straightforward, essentially a killing technique.

Combined with body technique, Fang Xu felt this set of staff techniques suited him well.

Practicing staff techniques in the courtyard, he lost track of time until the sky grew dark; Fang Xu suddenly realized the pot was still stewing blood food.

He immediately put away the staff and went to the kitchen, discovering that the blood food on the stove had been boiled dry, the charcoal fire in the furnace had also gone out; fortunately that piece of blood food hadn't burned.

He heartily ate that blood food, feeling his qi and blood gradually replenish; Fang Xu was very satisfied, immediately drew a basin of well water from the courtyard well, took a simple wash, then returned to his room to prepare for cultivation.

Having broken through the Martial Apprentice Realm, the little ones inside his body received ample qi and blood, and began to temper his five viscera and six bowels.

With them present, Fang Xu felt that his future cultivation only needed to focus on tempering blood, flesh, tendons, and bones; refining the power within the apertures would suffice, and he could completely entrust his internal organs to those little ones to handle.

Deep into the night, the moon was like a hook.

A slender jade hand lightly tapped the gate of the small courtyard.

Fang Xu, immersed in cultivation, was interrupted by the knocking; he frowned and came to the courtyard.

Through the crack in the door, he faintly saw a pink gauze garment, and the snow-white skin concealed beneath it.

A strange expression flickered across his face; Fang Xu hesitated a moment, then still opened the courtyard gate.

Outside the door stood Wang Shi; as the gate opened, Wang Shi slipped in like a thief, glanced left and right, hurriedly squeezed in, then closed and bolted the gate.

"Sister-in-law, what is this..."

Seeing Wang Shi's actions, Fang Xu gave a wry smile and spoke.

Wang Shi, at this moment, raised her lovely face, her seductive eyes like silk as she surveyed Fang Xu and said: "I remember what you said before."

"Now that you have broken through to Martial Apprentice, you must not go back on your word."

After saying that, her slender jade hand lightly pressed against Fang Xu's chest, and a murmuring voice sounded in his ear: "Lovely moments are fleeting; won't you embrace me and come inside?"

Having been single for two lifetimes, with his qi and blood just vigorous, Fang Xu could not resist this temptation; he immediately grabbed Wang Shi's wrist and lifted her in a princess carry, eliciting a series of delighted cries from her.

"The old man next door has sharp ears, sister-in-law, keep your voice down." Fang Xu smirked, causing Wang Shi to lightly punch him a few times with her small fists, yet she dared not make any further sound.

That night, after putting into practice all the theoretical knowledge he had learned in his previous life, Fang Xu gained a deeper understanding of the saying: "Knowledge from books is always superficial; to truly understand something, one must practice it."

Diligent study also requires balancing work and rest; having just broken through to Martial Apprentice, he still needed to consolidate his realm. After several in-depth discussions with Wang Shi, seeing she could barely endure it, he also suppressed his desire to continue studying and fell into a deep sleep.

The east gradually showed a fish-belly white; Wang Shi woke from her drowsy sleep, looked at Fang Xu beside her, and with her slender jade hand gently stroking his cheek, she murmured: "Martial Apprentice... indeed very formidable."

Recalling Fang Xu's diligent earnestness in study from last night, as well as those unheard-of learning methods, Wang Shi secretly rejoiced, yet also felt a pang of pity for him; fearing to wake Fang Xu, she lay still, carefully preparing to get a good rest.

When she awoke again, the sky was already bright, and Fang Xu was no longer by her side.

Hearing the whistling of staffs in the courtyard, Wang Shi struggled to rise, picked up the clothing from the ground to cover her lovely figure, came to the bedroom door, and leaned lightly against it.

In the courtyard, Fang Xu caught sight of Wang Shi out of the corner of his eye, immediately lowered his staff, wiped the sweat from his face, and approached her, saying: "Sister-in-law, why don't you sleep a little longer?"

Wang Shi lowered her head gloomily: "After all, I am weak and unable to satisfy Brother Fang Xiaoge."

Fang Xu chuckled and scratched his head: "Take it slow; I've stewed some blood food to nourish your body, sister-in-law."

Wang Shi is not a martial artist; it's normal for her physique to be somewhat weak.

There were still several hundred catties of low-grade blood food left at home; to him, low-grade blood food was not much different from ordinary livestock meat, so rather than waste it, it would be better to give it to Wang Shi to eat and nourish herself for future happiness.

Wang Shi nodded, went into the kitchen and ate the "love breakfast" prepared by Fang Xu, feeling her strength recover considerably; only then did she come to the courtyard to bid farewell to Fang Xu and prepare to go to the blood food shop for work.

She understood in her heart that she and Fang Xu were ultimately not on the same path; taking advantage of not yet being old and faded, being able to enjoy this for a while was enough.

After Wang Shi left, Fang Xu continued cultivating in the courtyard, unaware that a pair of eyes in the darkness was actually watching him.

(End of Chapter)