Chapter 110: Financially Strained

A few days later...

"Boom!"

Two figures separated in mid-air, stumbling backward from the force of the erupting shockwave.

Zhuang Tie frowned slightly, twisting his waist and swinging his arms to dissipate the recoil force accumulated in his fists.

He shook his head repeatedly, "What a loss, what a huge loss."

"Charging you 100 taels is still too cheap."

Zhou You exhaled, his previously hunched shoulders, back, and arms slowly relaxing.

This was the manifestation of the General Unloading Armor's finishing technique.

"General Unloading Armor, you've even mastered this Hard Qigong?"

Zhuang Tie sighed with admiration; the Tiger-Subduing Fist was already fierce and sharp, and when combined with this Hard Qigong, its power was raised to a new level.

"Please keep it a secret for me."

Zhou You had the confidence not to fear him leaking the secret, so there was naturally no need to hide it, and he displayed this Hard Qigong to his heart's content.

Hard Qigong training relies on pounding and tempering; the stronger the opponent, the more it can improve the defensive power of the technique.

Zhuang Tie used his Qi and Blood strength to attack, promoting the rapid improvement of the General Unloading Armor.

The panel improved; the day this Hard Qigong would go from lv1 to lv2 was not far off.

"It's just the Thousand-Army Breaking Evil Fist, a fist technique circulated within the City Gate Guard. I have a good friend who came from the Su Cheng City Gate Guard who also practiced this fist, so it's not exactly a top secret."

Zhuang Tie mentioned his old friend, his expression dimming; clearly, that friend was no longer among the living.

He suddenly asked Zhou You in return, "You've been progressing rapidly during this time; you haven't been taking Secret Medicine, have you!"

"The Tiger Bone Paste of the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall can't reach this level. Could it be that you've obtained the Monarch Life-Swapping Pill?"

Everyone has limits, and no matter how hard one works, there is a ceiling.

Even if Zhou You's talent were high, it would be impossible to improve so quickly in such a short time; not only had his Tiger-Subduing Fist gone a step further to the lv19 level, but even his General Unloading Armor was progressing rapidly.

Practicing fists and martial arts consumes a huge amount of energy, which cannot be replenished by eating alone; one must take Secret Medicine.

Zhuang Tie knew this clearly and immediately called out the existence of the Monarch Life-Swapping Pill.

Zhou You smiled; the situation was correct, but the pill was wrong—it wasn't the Monarch Life-Swapping Pill, but 5 Earth-Loathing Pills.

Fearing there might be issues with the pills, he used his Tianfu Decipher Confusion to swallow them into his body, slowly digesting them to improve himself.

During his sparring with Zhuang Tie, the medicinal power was digested, promoting the rapid improvement of his fist techniques and Hard Qigong; the medicinal effect was excellent.

"Good fellow, between the silver and the Secret Medicine, you spend money like water for your martial arts training, and you are willing to put in the effort. I predict that you will definitely break through to Qi and Blood before you are thirty."

Zhuang Tie praised him endlessly; during the sparring process, the two had established a certain indescribable connection.

He held no hatred for Zhou You; on the contrary, during their exchanges, he admired him more and more.

Despite possessing great wealth, he never used it for enjoyment, having only one goal... to become stronger.

"Master Zhuang, I've observed that the movement of the Mud-Wading Step is quite interesting; is it like this..."

During their exchange, Zhou You raised this question.

Zhuang Tie frowned slightly upon hearing this, then relaxed; the Mud-Wading Step was a footwork technique for building the foundation of the Dazhuang Fist, not a secret technique, and it didn't need to be kept confidential.

Just like the Square-Circle Step, it could be learned in the martial arts hall for a fee, and every year, many Apprentices who failed to advance their internal strength would take these foundational methods home, making them very widespread.

Zhuang Tie and Zhou You began to discuss it, and he also knew that Zhou You had unique insights and experiences regarding movement techniques.

Zhou You often utilized flexible movement techniques; if not for this, he wouldn't have been able to hold out against him for so long.

He was not stingy and began to exchange ideas with Zhou You, discussing the application of movement techniques in sparring.

The effect of the extracurricular tutoring was good! Zhuang Tie's practical combat and theory were very solid, and although they didn't involve unique secret transmissions, every word hit the nail on the head.

"Basic Lightness Skill theory increased; you have absorbed the essence of the Mud-Wading Step." "Basic Lightness Skill cap increased, lv5→lv6."

"Current Basic Lightness Skill level: lv3/lv6."

Although the realm of his Lightness Skill hadn't improved, the cap had been raised by one level, making his future prospects even broader.

Seeing that it was getting late, Zhou You cupped his hands to Zhuang Tie, "Master Zhuang, let's stop here for today."

"Very well, let's set a time for next time."

The two left Tianjing Fang and returned to their respective residences.

After Zhou You returned to the martial arts hall, a new batch of medicinal herbs arrived, was unpacked, sorted, and awaited processing.

Now the entire Outer Courtyard knew that Zhou You was obsessed with pharmacological research, and every month, the silver he received was spent on it.

Whether it was Senior Brothers like Shen Sijing and Xu Hao, or his sparring partner Li Hao, none of them interfered with this.

Practicing fists and martial arts is stressful, so having a hobby is understandable.

To put it bluntly, it's better than eating, drinking, whoring, and gambling! That's right, many Apprentices in the martial arts hall were hot-blooded, and as soon as they got money, they went out to spend it, playing wildly and excitingly.

Zhou You, who regularly went home to eat and accompany his parents, was already considered a very rare good child.

The refinement of the Heart-Protecting Pill had improved from the initial attempt to the quantity produced, and the waste had been greatly reduced.

Zhou You refined one and ate one, then immediately refined the snake venom to enhance his Poison Palm.

The first Poison Mark became increasingly alluring and clear, and the originally pungent odor gradually dissipated, becoming fresh and crisp.

This change was the result of refining poison to the point of returning to simplicity.

After all, if it reeked, any fool would know it was poisonous; it was far more terrifying to make someone fall into a trap without them realizing it.

"The venom of the Silver-Ringed Snake is almost used up!"

"Next, I'll use the venom of the Black Whirlwind."

Zhou You pinched the newly refined Heart-Protecting Pill, calculating in his heart.

As the power of his Poison Palm grew, he was determined to win the bounty; this piece of fat had to be eaten.

According to his sparring with Zhuang Tie, if he didn't use his Qi and Blood Stage 1 strength and his Poison Palm, he was no match at all.

Zhuang Tie is the Big Senior Brother groomed by Zhuang Daqiang to hold up the facade of the martial arts hall, equivalent to the status of a deputy master; before his injury, he was at the level of Qi and Blood 4-6 Stages, and Zhou You wouldn't even count as an extra in front of him.

Even if he has fallen on hard times, he is still an expert at the Qi and Blood stage, and bullying him would be all too easy.

Zhou You estimated his chances of winning if he fought him with the Seven Step Poison Sand Palm; after a long while, Zhou You exhaled, no, there is still no chance of winning.

He practices both the Soul-Chasing Seven Steps and the Great Poison Sand Palm, but currently, he has only trained them to the Jinli Level; if he cannot train the Poison Palm into Qi and Blood, he has no chance of winning against Zhuang Tie.

If the crippled Zhuang Tie is already this formidable, what if the opponent were Big Senior Brother Lu Qiang, who is in his prime? Zhou You formulated a plan for the future!

Yanxing Quan has already broken through to Qi and Blood and is bound to his persona; it is his trump card for saving his life and cannot be easily exposed.

The Seven Step Poison Sand Palm is related to killing the flower-plucking thief to claim the bounty, so he cannot slack off in secret either.

His signature skill, Tiger-Subduing Fist, is the top priority for his current breakthrough, and most of his resources must be invested in it.

For these projects to advance simultaneously, the key is spending money.

"The 2,000 taels I just got won't last very long!"

Zhou You shook his head; practicing martial arts is an investment, and there is no reward without sacrifice.

If the money isn't enough, he can just borrow from Senior Brother Shen; practicing fist techniques cannot stop, for stopping means regression.

Zhuang Tie is such a practical Meat Target, his role is equivalent to a private tutor for extracurricular coaching, and 100 taels is great value for money.

Zhou You reckoned that with him as a sparring partner, it was only a matter of time before he broke through the bottleneck of the Tiger-Subduing Fist and cultivated Qi and Blood.

Breaking through to Qi and Blood to become an Inner Court Disciple will grant him more freedom.

(End of this chapter)