Chapter 133: Qi and Blood Infused, No Longer the Same as Before

A roar spread throughout most of the martial arts hall.

Li Hao, who was within arm's reach, was directly stunned by the vibration, his ears ringing as he sat to the side, gasping for air.

Being the closest, he bore the brunt of it, his body and mind suffering an unimaginably massive shock.

"Holy crap, it can't be that fast!"

Li Hao's inner shock was like the waves of the sea, churning up monstrous billows.

He still remembered that at noon, he and Zhou You had just grabbed a quick bite before returning to the training ground to continue practicing boxing.

The two of them had practiced separately in the afternoon, after all, they had just sparred the day before yesterday.

Zhou You hadn't been in a rush to practice boxing in the afternoon; instead, he had taken a Tiger Tendon Pipa and started plucking it.

This Tiger Tendon Pipa is a major feature of the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall, also known as the Tiger Head Plaque.

The Tiger Head Plaque is the accompanying weapon for the Tiger-Subduing Fist; it is heavy and hard, and can also be used as a pipa.

The martial arts hall uses tiger tendons as strings with the goal of tempering the apprentices' power.

The iron plaque and tiger tendons are all tough objects; it is difficult to shake them with just a single finger unless power is infused into them.

Ever since Zhou You reached proficiency in power, plucking the Tiger Tendon Pipa had already begun to show results.

Unlike the noisy and unpleasant sound when Li Hao played it, Zhou You's playing had begun to form a melody, which was somewhat pleasant to the ear.

However, today was exceptionally different; the more he listened, the more grating it became.

"Could it be that he has regressed?"

Li Hao had found it strange at the time, wondering how he could be getting worse the more he played.

Now he knew, it wasn't a regression, but rather gathering momentum to break through a barrier in one go.

He hurried to the corner where Zhou You was, "Zhou You, did you break through?"

Zhou You was still immersed in the roar from just a moment ago, experiencing the changes occurring in his body's strength.

"Power dissipates, Qi and blood emerge; I have finally stepped past this barrier."

Zhou You looked at his ten fingers; faint currents of air were radiating from his fingertips—these were the traces of the Tiger Aura.

After breaking through to the Qi and blood stage, the Tiger Aura, which was originally at the lv1 level, finally ascended above its realm and possessed true power.

He vaguely sensed that the Tiger Aura had even more concrete applications.

He savored the moment of his breakthrough just now; it was truly a case of success coming naturally when conditions are ripe.

When plucking the Tiger Tendon Pipa, it had initially been as smooth as always.

As he played, thousands of thoughts surged into his mind, and his fingering technique began to turn chaotic.

The streets were becoming increasingly chaotic, the area around his home was becoming more desolate, and his parents had to move to a safer zone.

The crisis at the Shen Family Trading Firm was temporarily eased, but what if things continued to deteriorate in the future? The 100,000 tael bounty was mostly tied to Lu Zhigang and couldn't be used in the short term; he had to find a way to digest it.

And also...

All the various matters he worried about on a daily basis, messy and complex, all surged into his heart.

Zhou You felt sharp pain in his fingertips; in a moment of carelessness, he was actually rebounded by the tiger tendon and nearly injured his fingers.

The sound of the playing also became increasingly grating; this was the unusual noise that Li Hao had heard from next door.

Zhou You took a deep breath and put down the Tiger Tendon Pipa; he closed his eyes, knowing he was facing an unprecedented hurdle.

If he could not purge his distracting thoughts and his state of mind remained murky and chaotic, let alone breaking through the Qi and blood barrier, his existing strength would also be greatly diminished.

In an instant, Shen Sijing's exhortations, Zhuang Tie's pointers, and the various joints and tricks accumulated bit by bit during boxing practice all surfaced.

Zhou You took a step forward, his waist and hips driving his shoulder axis to throw a punch.

This punch had form, yet it smashed his formless distracting thoughts to pieces.

Zhou You stared at his fist, feeling his mind become clear, all distracting thoughts swept away.

Practicing boxing and martial arts is just like drinking water; only the one who drinks knows if it is cold or warm.

Only when one truly reaches the critical moment does one realize that any preparation one thinks is sufficient cannot compare to the free-flowing performance at the final step.

He had an instant epiphany, then took another step and threw a punch.

The movement of his limbs stimulated the circulation of power within his body, sometimes rising, sometimes falling; the frequency of the fluctuations was ten or a hundred times more intense than usual, reaching a very dangerous level.

Zhou You was immersed in this wondrous feeling, unable to care about any boxing stances, his strikes relying entirely on instinct.

He didn't know how many steps he had taken or how many punches he had thrown. Suddenly, he reached a wondrous node, and all his accumulations, insights, and tempering surged out crazily, melting into one furnace.

Zhou You's limbs and bones jolted violently, and a current of air from his chest rushed out of his mouth.

Immediately, there was an earth-shattering roar.

"Awoo!"

The sound traveled from the Outer Courtyard to the Inner Courtyard, just as Lu Qiang was stepping over the threshold.

By the time he walked out of the Outer Courtyard and arrived at the Diba Lianwuchang, the surrounding apprentices were in a mess, all searching for the source of the sound.

"Big Senior Brother, you're here?"

Li Hao saw Lu Qiang arrive and greeted him enthusiastically.

This kid was quite sharp, but it was a pity he would have to change a sparring partner.

Lu Qiang bypassed Li Hao to look for Zhou You, asking subconsciously, "Where is Zhou You?"

"Big Senior Brother, you arrived so fast; Zhou You just broke through to the Qi and blood stage, and you already knew!"

What? Zhou You broke through the Qi and blood barrier! Lu Qiang reacted violently; wasn't the source of the roar coming from this direction?

He should have guessed earlier that there were only two people, Li Hao and Zhou You, in the Diba Lianwuchang, so the person who broke through had to be one of them.

Since it wasn't Li Hao, then it could only be... Zhou You.

"Quick, quick, take me there."

Lu Qiang felt excited; if it really was Zhou You who broke through, it was a good thing for him.

When he saw Zhou You, the other party had already picked up the Tiger Tendon Pipa and was plucking it string by string.

The sound was as pleasant as a clear spring over stones, carrying a sense of etherealness.

His strength at the first stage of Qi and Blood was confirmed beyond doubt through this display.

"Big Senior Brother."

Zhou You stood up and cupped his hands in a salute, but was grabbed by the sleeve.

"Come with me to see Master quickly."

Zhou You had proven his worth; having bitterly trained to break through the Qi and Blood barrier, what was there to fear from Zhang Shiyu?

No matter how formidable Captain Ye was, he could not let Zhang Shiyu beat Zhou You, who was at the Qi and Blood level, to death.

This time, Zhou You would be able to pass.

The Inner Courtyard...

"Rest assured, Foster Father, this child guarantees to take his life within ten moves."

Zhang Shiyu was still whispering to Captain Ye.

He had Hard Qigong protecting his body, so he could take a few punches as if nothing had happened, then seize the opportunity to land a killing blow; he would surely win within ten moves.

Captain Ye nodded; he had confidence in his foster son, not to mention that the other party's strength was refined, and he even had the power to fight at the Qi and Blood level.

"Master, good news, Zhou You just broke through to Qi and Blood."

*Cough, cough, cough! * Captain Ye coughed a few times; he had only been thinking about it, how did it actually come true?

Lu Qiang pulled Zhou You to kneel before Master.

Wang Jianxiong was slightly startled and subconsciously grabbed the Gourd on the table, rubbing it a few times to calm his nerves.

"Zhou You, lift your head and let me take a look."

His gaze swept over Zhou You like a torch; his Qi and Blood were abundant, with a lingering trace of the fiery energy from just breaking through.

Looking again at Zhou You's eyes and complexion, the more he looked, the more satisfied he became.

Not bad, he broke through on his own, not through the unorthodox methods of Wu Yanyi that force growth by pulling on the sprouts.

Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall had gained another Qi and Blood Disciple.

At this moment, Wang Jianxiong cast his previous promise to the back of his mind.

What competition? Is my Disciple someone you can just beat up whenever you want?

Captain Ye sensed the change in his attitude and sighed; in just a short moment, Wang Laohu had become tough.

This was no wonder; an Outer Court Apprentice didn't matter, but a Qi and Blood Disciple with a bright future was different—he could be called a massive fortune, and only a fool would be willing to give that up! (End of chapter)