Chapter 51: Hall Master's Personal Instruction in the Three-Fold Skill

The dividends from Zhou You's victory in the martial arts competition arrived quickly.

"500 taels, not a penny less; it is the compensation paid by Tu Laoer, representing the Wild Fox Gang's agreement to settle."

Senior Brother Shen had come forward to demand the silver back, but the key to making it happen was this very challenge match.

The Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall had won three consecutive matches, a total victory, adding another layer of golden luster to its prestigious name.

The fierce reputation of the Hall Master, Old Master Wang, awakened from the memories of everyone.

Even Zhou You, who participated in the first match, saw his name enter the ears of all parties to a small degree.

Upon learning of this, the Wild Fox Gang concluded that Zhou You was highly valued and was no longer just an ordinary Apprentice.

Delaying was of no use, so Tu Laoer gritted his teeth and took out the 500 taels of silver as compensation.

Dozens of catties of silver filled a wooden box, lying quietly in Zhou You's room, even accompanied by a steelyard and weight for re-verifying the weight.

"Senior Brother Shen is too kind."

This huge sum of money was a timely rain, solving an urgent need.

The 200 taels he already had, plus these 500 taels, totaling over 700 taels, meant he could start purchasing Secret Medicine.

Xu Ying and Li Hao were also present, and seeing the silver bars and ingots piled high in the box, they were both speechless.

With so much cash piled up before them, the massive visual impact hit them, and it was hard to remain calm.

Li Hao's family had fallen on hard times; even if his father were still in the City Gate Guard, it would be difficult to accumulate so much silver.

As for Xu Ying, even if his family sold their valuables and house, they could scrape together this much silver, but his savings were far from enough.

"The Wild Fox Gang has suffered a heavy loss this time; they will surely intensify their exploitation of the area to make up for it."

Xu Ying analyzed, "I didn't expect them to actually be able to come up with 500 taels."

He had initially thought Zhou You was asking for the moon and would get at most 200 or 300 taels.

Zhou You sighed, "Senior Brother Shen really has a lot of face!"

A Qi-Blood Warrior coming forward made Tu Laoer feel wary, and combined with the fear of the Jian Xiong Martial Arts Hall's name, that was why he had obediently paid up.

Zhou You cupped his hands toward the Inner Courtyard, "And there is the deterrent of the Hall Master's illustrious reputation."

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Qiang's voice came from outside the door, "At least you have a heart, kid."

Lu Qiang walked into the room amidst everyone's gaze and nodded at Zhou You, "Come with me; Master wants to see you."

Xu Ying and Li Hao were slightly surprised; the Hall Master was summoning Zhou You.

This was definitely a good thing!

Zhou You bid farewell to the two and followed Lu Qiang out of the Outer Courtyard, stepping over the gate that separated the inside from the outside.

As he crossed the threshold, he felt as if a lifetime had passed.

When he first joined the martial arts hall, he could only kneel outside the gate to pay his respects before seeing the Hall Master, but now he could step inside in one stride.

The Inner Courtyard, a daily living room.

Wang Jianxiong was wearing a fur coat, puffing on a pipe, and on the table to his right were several lacquer boxes.

"You're here. Lu Qiang, reward him with a piece of pastry."

Lu Qiang answered "Yes," stepped forward, took a piece of emerald-green, translucent pastry from the lacquer box, and handed it to Zhou You.

Zhou You swallowed the pastry in one gulp; he had no heart to taste it and bowed respectfully, "Hall Master."

"Hmm, a spirited good child."

Wang Jianxiong spat out a puff of smoke, "It's been almost half a year since you joined the martial arts hall, right?"

"Less than half a year."

"Hmm, when you faced the Dazhuang Fist, your moves were standard, but your technique was a bit weak."

Zhou You answered honestly, "His chain attacks were smooth, and the power accumulation far exceeded ordinary moves; I almost couldn't block them."

"You didn't see wrong; that is the technique of the Three-Fold Skill. Even a farmhand knows it, so why doesn't my Fuhu Fist have it?"

Wang Jianxiong said straight out, "That bumpkin Zhuang Daqiang has the confidence to teach young Disciples the Three-Fold Skill; how could I, Wang Laohu, be weaker than him?"

"I called you here today to bestow a stroke of fortune upon you."

Lu Qiang on the side reminded him, "Hurry up and thank Master."

"Thank you, Master."

Zhou You bowed subconsciously, then realized he had addressed him wrongly; Lu Qiang was a trusted Disciple and could call him Master, but he himself should call him Hall Master.

"Haha, if you can win face for me, you will be qualified to call me Master in the future."

Wang Jianxiong set down his pipe and took off his fur coat, wearing a tight-fitting padded vest underneath.

He stood up, walked into the courtyard below the steps, and looked back at Zhou You, "Watch carefully; I will only perform it once."

This was an incomparably precious opportunity.

Although Outer Court Apprentices had the status of master and disciple with the Hall Master, they rarely had the chance to receive instruction.

Xu Ying was a senior Disciple who had been in the hall for over ten years and often saw Wang Jianxiong, but the number of times he had been taught boxing by him could be counted on one hand.

Only a Qi-Blood Warrior like Shen Sijing could stay by the Hall Master's side year-round for personal instruction.

"This move of mine is called the Wind-Chasing Three-Fold Skill."

"Riding the Wind, Hard Lean, Great Fierce Kill."

Wang Jianxiong's hands and feet remained still, but the power around his body churned, whipping up a gust of wind on the flat ground.

Zhou You's vision blurred; the old man's withered body suddenly accelerated with the wind, crossing a distance of dozens of meters in the blink of an eye.

The target was a rockery in the corner of the courtyard!

He approached within three steps of the rockery, his figure sliding in a large circle, his tiger-like back slightly arched, and he pressed silently against the rock wall of the rockery.

"Great Fierce Kill!"

In the calm tone, an astonishing lethality erupted instantly.

The old man's body suddenly exploded outward, his limbs stretching and swelling, and he slammed his fists and feet into the rockery with powerful force.

The entire mountain structure shattered into countless pieces, the force of the flying debris comparable to a powerful bow or heavy crossbow, snapping the surrounding thickets one after another.

Zhou You's heart trembled violently; what if it hadn't been a rockery, but a living person!

Facing such formidable lethality, they would likely be smashed into a pile of dumpling filling on the spot.

He made up his mind; he must learn this technique.

"Master's blade remains as sharp as ever; the Wind-Chasing Triple-Fold technique is pure and seasoned, a height this Disciple could never reach in a lifetime."

Lu Qiang stepped forward holding a fur coat to drape over his master, his attitude respectful.

Wang Jianxiong lifted his chin, "Watch closely."

"We have watched closely."

No sooner had Zhou You finished speaking than he heard the Master of the Hall give the order, "Give him two more snacks and take him away!"

What, he's letting me leave just like that, without even offering a few words of Instruction?

Zhou You thought to himself that the Master of the Hall was truly aloof!

Holding the two pastries, he was led all the way back to the Outer Courtyard by Lu Qiang, his mind still savoring the scene he had just witnessed.

"Today is your good fortune; if you were a regular Apprentice, you would have to train hard for ten years before being qualified to touch the Wind-Chasing Triple-Fold technique."

Lu Qiang sighed endlessly, "Don't waste this opportunity."

From this incident, Zhou You caught a glimpse of Wang Jianxiong's personality.

Competitive and unwilling to lose even a fraction.

Zhou You had clearly defeated Zhang Shiyu, and just because the other party had learned the Triple-Fold technique, he had to specifically teach it to Zhou You.

His purpose was to show that in terms of breaking the rules to teach a secret technique, he still did not fall behind Zhuang Daqiang.

Following such a master, one must keep one point in mind: never bring shame upon him.

Zhou You returned to his room, still ruminating on the secrets and details of the Wind-Chasing Triple-Fold technique, but there was another important matter at hand.

Killing Tu Laosan; now was the best opportunity.

No one would expect that after accepting the massive compensation, Zhou You would not be happily counting money, but instead turning hostile to kill Tu Laosan.

After all, no matter how unscrupulous the gang members were, they could not imagine someone being so ruthless and fickle.

Zhou You intended to catch them completely off guard.