Chapter 8: Square-Circle Steps, Imperial Felling Hands

Name: Zhou You.

Strength: 5.

Speed: 5.

Defense: 5.

Experience Points: 22.

Occupation: Martial Arts Apprentice.

Skills: Imperial Felling Hands (lv1/lv10), Square-Circle Steps (lv1/lv10).

The afternoon routine is the Instruction of Tiger-Subduing Fist.

Lu Qiang demonstrates the eighteen stances one by one in front of everyone, providing a detailed explanation for every variation.

The one hundred and eight moves are a complete system, exercising every part of the human body that can be used for offense.

"As expected of Iron Tiger."

Some new Apprentices exclaim to themselves.

When Lu Qiang practices his fist techniques, a faint black wind swirls around his body; when standing close, one can seemingly hear the roar of a fierce tiger, and the wind stings the faces of the surrounding Apprentices.

His fists shimmer with a dark, metallic luster, truly a pair of lethal weapons; an ordinary person would die if even grazed by them.

Gravel on the ground is swept under his feet and instantly crushed into powder.

"Thump!"

A haystack in the courtyard, compressed until it is heavy and weighing over a hundred catties, is sent flying more than ten meters away by a single punch from him, shattering into straw debris upon landing.

"The Tiger-Subduing Fist is profound and vast; it is enough for you to ponder for a lifetime."

"The master leads you through the door, but cultivation depends on the individual; don't think about slacking off. When the hundred days are up, whether you stay or go depends entirely on your true ability."

After finishing his practice, Lu Qiang says sternly to the crowd.

Out of the over one hundred new Apprentices in the entire Outer Courtyard, only 20 or 30 truly pass the three-month test and get started in fist techniques.

Apprentices who have been promoted have separate practice grounds and are not with them.

"Listen well, the Tiger-Subduing Fist is not just empty posturing; you must cultivate force to be considered a beginner."

"If you practice fist techniques without force, you will only be spinning your wheels outside the threshold until you die of old age."

"What is force? No one can teach you that; rely on your own practice!"

He is about to leave after speaking, but discovers an outlier in the crowd.

"Zhou You, why aren't you practicing the Tiger-Subduing Fist, and are still practicing Imperial Felling Hands and Square-Circle Steps?"

Song Fugui has only practiced a few moves of the Tiger-Subduing Fist when he notices something wrong; Zhou You beside him is still practicing the morning's material.

Lu Qiang stops in his tracks; he wants to hear Zhou You's answer.

"I feel that if I first lay a good foundation, and don't practice the hands and steps well, I will have no strength when throwing a punch and no method when moving; even if I forcefully cultivate the Tiger-Subduing Fist, it will be twice the effort for half the result."

This statement hits home for Lu Qiang.

These Apprentices in the Outer Courtyard are all aiming too high, wanting to reach the sky in a single bound before their basic skills are even solid.

One by one, their punches are weak and soft, and the perfectly good Tiger-Subduing Fist is practiced into a Drunken Cat Fist.

He takes two extra looks at Zhou You; based on this insight alone, this kid's rise in the Outer Courtyard is just a matter of time.

Zhou You looks at the comprehensive assessment on his panel and is also speechless.

Practicing Imperial Felling Hands and Square-Circle Steps for 1 hour grants +1 Experience Point.

Finishing one set of the Tiger-Subduing Fist takes at least 2 hours and grants +1 Experience Point.

Moreover, Imperial Felling Hands and Square-Circle Steps are calculated separately, making them more cost-effective.

Since that is the case, it is better to focus on cultivating the basics of hands and steps and accumulate Experience Points to upgrade the Tiger-Subduing Fist.

In one afternoon, Zhou You practices for 4 hours, gaining +8 Experience Points.

Name: Zhou You.

Strength: 5.

Speed: 5.

Defense: 5.

Experience Points: 30.

Occupation: Martial Arts Apprentice.

Skills: Imperial Felling Hands (lv1/lv10), Square-Circle Steps (lv1/lv10), Tiger-Subduing Fist (lv1/lv20).

In a 24-hour day, if one does not eat, drink, or sleep, one can gain at most +48 Experience Points.

But this calculation is clearly wrong; humans are not machines and cannot withstand such torture.

Zhou You thinks that besides daily accumulation, Experience Points can also come from the previously experienced Trial Project.

But the activation of the Trial Project depends entirely on whether the panel is in the mood.

His only choice right now is to practice hard with his feet on the ground and increase his strength bit by bit.

"Experience Points -10, Tiger-Subduing Fist lv1→lv2; Experience Points -20, Tiger-Subduing Fist lv2→lv3."

At night, Zhou You takes advantage of the lack of people around to upgrade the Tiger-Subduing Fist to lv3.

In an instant, countless images of small figures practicing fist techniques flood into his mind.

The tendons and bones throughout Zhou You's body begin to tear and strengthen, improving according to the path of the Tiger-Subduing Fist.

This is the heaven-defying aspect of the panel: through the method of infusion, it instantly adds experience and physical instinct that others cannot obtain through hard practice.

He is drenched in sweat, and with a casual punch, he creates a gust of wind.

After finishing the Tiger-Subduing Fist in one breath, he only feels his blood boiling throughout his body, as if he could kill a cow.

Although he has not yet cultivated the force Lu Qiang spoke of, the current Zhou You's strength is extraordinary, and he could fight five or six burly men at the same time.

This is where the advantage of practicing martial arts and training in boxing lies.

Looking up at the night, he did not want to sleep, seizing the time to cultivate for an hour or two to accumulate Experience Points.

In fact, there are no few Outer Court Apprentices who train bitterly through the night.

After all, the three-month deadline is too pressing; if one cannot train to produce force, one will be expelled from the martial arts hall.

Many people come to practice martial arts with the expectations of their families on their backs; once eliminated, it is equivalent to losing hope.

Just like Li Hao, who is the most likely among this batch of new Apprentices to train to produce force.

Li Hao's father was a City Gate Guard who was killed by bandits while on patrol some years ago, and the family fell into ruin rapidly.

To revitalize his family, he must succeed in his martial arts training and take back his father's position as a City Gate Guard.

Once he fails, the whole family will have to move outside the city and be reduced to abject poverty.

"My mother pawned her jewelry just to buy a small jar of Tiger Bone Wine, all so that I could stimulate the force in my bones."

"The Tiger Bone Paste issued by the martial arts hall every seven days is actually refined from the bone dregs left over by Inner Court Disciples; the essence has long since been boiled dry."

"Practicing martial arts is spending money; if my father were still here, I wouldn't have to be in such dire straits."

Under the night sky, Li Hao threw punch after punch, tearing through the air and causing the wooden stake in front of him to sway constantly.

His Tiger Subduing Fist has already reached eight or nine tenths of its potential, yet the power is always a hair short.

The wooden stakes in the Outer Courtyard are crafted from century-old hardwood and can withstand tens of thousands of strikes.

Unless one trains to produce force, no one can break them.

He continued to cultivate until the second half of the night, only returning to his room to rest when he was exhausted.

"Once I digest the Tiger Bone Wine and train the Tiger Subduing Fist to a deeper level, I will be able to produce force."

When Li Hao returned to his room, he noticed a figure flash by and felt curious; was there someone even more diligent than him?

When he saw the figure clearly, it was none other than Zhou You, who had just entered the hall during the day!

This guy is also interesting; he treats the Wood-Chopping Hand and Square-Circle Step as treasures, actually abandoning the Tiger Subduing Fist to not practice it.

Does he not know that only the Tiger Subduing Fist can produce force, which is crucial for passing the assessment at the end of the hundred days?

"The direction is wrong, so even if you work yourself to death, it is useless."

Li Hao cast this matter to the back of his mind; he only had four hours to rest and had to get up to cultivate before dawn.

In the Outer Courtyard, he is always the one who sleeps the latest and gets up the earliest.

At the same time, because Zhou You worked overtime through the night, he gained another +6 Experience Points.

And the Wood-Chopping Hand and Square-Circle Step also became more proficient with each practice.

Finally, through repeated practice, the levels of the two skills on the panel jumped simultaneously, lv2→lv3.

"Wood-Chopping Hand skill level successfully increased, Experience Points +20."

"Square-Circle Step skill level successfully increased, Experience Points +20."

"Experience Points 46."

New knowledge has arrived; by cultivating to increase levels, the panel not only does not deduct Experience Points, but instead gives a bonus.

With the back and forth, Zhou You felt he had made a huge profit.