Chapter 31: Dual-Cultivating the Yanxing Quan

"Trial Project (Unrated): Hundred-day Initiation completed, Experience Points +100."

Zhou You lay on the bed to recuperate, letting out a sigh of relief; he had finally passed.

After developing internal force and receiving personal recognition from the master, Wang Jianxiong, he was promoted to a Zhengshi Xuitu of the martial arts hall.

From now on, the monthly tuition of 20 taels would be waived, and Tiger Bone Paste would be issued every 3 days.

However, room and board expenses still had to be covered by himself.

These things were told to him by the few Apprentices who brought him back.

Yet, whether intentional or not, these people still sent him to his original room—yes, the room where Fang Guiqi had stayed.

Were they not afraid of the creepiness?

Since they knew Fang Guiqi had been replaced by a Void Fiend and had become a monster that was neither human nor ghost, why did they still throw him into this room?

Zhou You gently stroked his chest; this time, it could be considered a blessing in disguise.

The half-pill that Lu Qiang fed him had immense medicinal power, far surpassing that of the Tiger Bone Paste.

The cold, sinister energy the Void Fiend had struck into his body melted away inch by inch, like snow meeting the scorching sun.

At the same time, the power of the pill was also consolidating and strengthening Zhou You's flesh and blood.

On the panel, the numbers for Strength, Speed, and Defense were flickering between 20 and 21, not yet stabilized.

It was conceivable that once the Void Fiend's evil power was completely swept away, his stats would increase by another 1 or 2 points under the impetus of the pill.

"Mountain Monarch Life-Changing Pill, an exclusive benefit for Inner Court Disciples."

Zhou You recalled the events of the day; all the Apprentices had been kept in the dark.

However, all the Inner Court Disciples, including Lu Qiang, seemed to have known Fang Guiqi's true identity all along.

Even when 'Fang Guiqi' tore off his human skin and went on a rampage, the Inner Court Disciples were not panicked.

"Vitality is the key; Inner Court Disciples capable of unleashing Vitality have ways to restrain the power of a Void Fiend."

Zhou You had personal experience; internal force alone was not enough to resist the evil power of a Void Fiend.

Any Apprentice who stood in front of the Void Fiend could not withstand even a single move before being torn to pieces by 'Fang Guiqi'.

Yet as soon as Lu Qiang took action, he tore it in two like paper, killing it with ease.

This world was far more complex and sinister than he had imagined, hiding endless secrets.

For instance, the Void Fiend—the common folk had no idea of its existence, let alone how to fight it.

Only those who practiced martial arts, those who had mastered Vitality, were qualified to come into contact with this level of existence.

"Become stronger; only by becoming stronger can I protect myself and guard my family."

As soon as Zhou You thought of the tragic state of Fang Guiqi's brother-in-law's entire family, a sense of vigilance and urgency welled up in his heart.

After the chaos in Su Cheng, countless refugees had fled to the local area, and surely many were like Fang Guiqi, having long been replaced by Void Fiends.

These monsters wore human skin to sneak into the city, taking advantage of the chaos to eat people and commit evil; they might be just a few streets away.

Zhou You had already decided: his next goal was to bring Tiger-Subduing Fist to lv20 and break through its Vitality barrier.

Before that...

Zhou You took a few deep breaths and moved his sore, numb arms; even the slightest movement felt like needle pricks.

Desperately blocking 'Fang Guiqi' during the day and unleashing unprecedented strength had caused countless micro-tears in his muscles.

After the body had been pushed beyond its limits, the bill was coming due!

His movements were clumsier than usual as he stumbled over to 'Fang Guiqi's' bed.

He began to rummage through it...

'Fang Guiqi' had been posing as a youth learning the arts; he must have been carrying valuables.

This Void Fiend possessed both the cruelty of a beast and the cunning of a human; after eating Fang Guiqi's brother-in-law's family, he surely would have looted their wealth.

After all, he had to pose as a normal person while lurking in the martial arts hall to avoid being exposed.

"Sure enough, there is."

Zhou You broke into a sweat from the exertion as he turned up a small pouch of gold and silver jewelry; weighing it, it was a little over 100 taels.

These gold and silver trinkets were the savings of the victim's family, which the Void Fiend had claimed as his own, and now they had become his spoils of war.

"Now, the money I have on me totals a little over 200 taels."

"For the training ahead, Tiger Bone Paste will definitely not be enough."

"If only I had a Mountain Monarch Life-Changing Pill."

This type of pill was exclusive to Inner Court Disciples and was a core supply of the martial arts hall.

Tiger Bone Paste was rarely circulated in the outside world, let alone the higher-grade Mountain Monarch Life-Changing Pill.

Zhou You's target was Tiger Bone Wine, the Secret Medicine Li Hao had used to break through his internal force.

The medicinal effects of Tiger Bone Wine suited the path of the Tiger-Subduing Fist, and its potency was even greater than that of the Tiger Bone Paste.

More importantly, this Secret Medicine was sold publicly and could be bought outside; it had a clear price tag and no thresholds or restrictions.

"At 50 taels a jar for Tiger Bone Wine, I can only buy 4 jars."

"If I knew the effect of Tiger Bone Wine on increasing attributes, I could get a more intuitive expectation."

After becoming a Zhengshi Xuitu, the urgency of his training had only increased, urging him to work even harder.

The previous mode of accumulating Experience Points over three months to raise skill levels and increase attribute points was no longer sufficient.

The threshold for improving the Tiger-Subduing Fist was a combination of proficiency and a comprehensive increase in physical attributes.

At his rate of 20 Experience Points a day, distributing them across three attributes would only yield a 1-point bonus.

Therefore, he had to obtain the bonuses from Secret Medicine to save more Experience Points for leveling up skills.

"Once the Royal Executioner Hands and Square-Circle Steps are maxed out in two more levels, the only way to 'fleece the sheep' next will be..."

Zhou You stroked his chest; inside his robe was a booklet, the essentials of the Yanxing Quan left behind by Lu Zhigang.

Perhaps by also practicing this martial art, he could gain more Experience Points and slightly alleviate his current predicament.

The truth is, Tiger-Subduing Fist is too troublesome; it has a full one hundred and eight moves, and finishing a set is time-consuming and exhausting, yet the Experience Points are few.

During his recovery, he took the opportunity to flip through the contents of the booklet, familiarizing himself with the techniques of Yanxing Quan in advance.

Yanxing Quan, like Tiger-Subduing Fist, is a biomimetic fist technique; the difference is that one is based on a bird, and the other on a beast.

Tiger-Subduing Fist focuses on strength and defense, while Yanxing Quan leans toward speed.

When Lu Zhigang acted before, he moved like the wind, often striking from unexpected blind spots, making him impossible to guard against.

Interspersed with attacks from mid-air, he borrowed momentum to descend, making even the defense of Tiger-Subduing Fist somewhat strenuous.

"If I could combine the advantages of Tiger-Subduing Fist and Yanxing Quan, wouldn't the power reach a new level?"

Zhou You pondered to himself; for an ordinary person, practicing Tiger-Subduing Fist is already the limit, and they would never dare to think about splitting their focus on a second martial art.

But he is different; he has the panel, Experience Points, and the point-adding enhancement mode.

As the saying goes, one can never have too many skills; learning an extra craft is not a bad thing.

However, there is one point: this matter must be done in private and cannot be known by others.

Nowadays, there is a Zhong Shaoying in the Inner Courtyard who clearly dislikes him and has repeatedly badmouthed him in front of the Hall Master.

Zhou You must be more cautious and careful in the future and must never let him find any flaws.

After resting for a few more days, the Void Charm evil Qi in Zhou You's body was completely swept away, and his attribute points had also increased.

"Name: Zhou You.

Strength: 22.

Speed: 21.

Defense: 22.

Experience Points: 556.

Occupation: Martial Arts Apprentice.

Level: Initial Force.

Skills: Imperial Cleaving Hand lv8, Square-Circle Step lv8, Tiger-Subduing Fist lv10, Yanxing Quan lv0."