Chapter 11: To Fight or Not to Fight

Strength surged!

In the moonlight of the small courtyard, Li Yuan's eyes gleamed; he could clearly feel that wisp of heat flowing through his entire body, as if soaking in hot water, extremely comfortable.

Moreover, he perceived his physical strength increasing with utmost vividness!

"According to the book's records, is this wisp of qi the blood qi? When blood qi grows enough to empower the palms, it is mastery; empowering both arms is minor accomplishment; great accomplishment means the four limbs are fully connected?"

This feeling was too exhilarating; Li Yuan felt deeply shocked and intoxicated.

In this life and the previous one, he felt the pleasure of physical body growth for the first time; this was far more obvious and intense than any fitness regimen!

"This is too awesome, too awesome..."

Suppressing the urge to howl, Li Yuan performed another set of Bai Yuan Cloak Hammer, feeling that after the surge in force, many techniques became more seamless and fluid.

Pity the location is wrong; otherwise, he truly wanted to try what level his Bai Yuan Cloak Hammer had reached after entering the basics, plus the mastery-level hammer technique empowerment!

He really wanted to find someone to test his skills on...

"This is truly Wu Gong!"

Li Yuan felt refreshed in his heart, and the few dark clouds on his mind instantly dissipated considerably.

"Yuanzi, come inside to eat!"

Li Yuan came to his senses and saw Fatty Sun beckoning to him from inside the room.

"Yuan? Yuanzi?"

Li Yuan was stunned, then Yu Yu Xuanji walked into Fatty Sun's small room for the first time.

Three rooms inside and out, tables and chairs complete, with many vases and ornaments; compared to the apprentices' large dormitory, it was better by an unknown amount.

At this moment, on the table before Fatty Sun, there were not only several bowls of smoked meat, a strip of smoked fish, a plate of eggs, but also a pot of heated wine?

"If you cultivate blood qi but do not replenish in time, it is possible to leave a deficit; although this medicinal wine of mine cannot be called good, it still has considerable medicinal effects..."

Fatty Sun smiled and handed the wine pot over.

"Is this the head chef?"

Having bowed low and acted small for a month, suddenly seeing this, Li Yuan truly felt somewhat unaccustomed.

This is truly reality...

Only after lifting the warm wine cup did Li Yuan finally realize the reason behind Fatty Sun's suddenly changed attitude.

But it makes sense; without kinship ties, interactions are driven by various interests; without value, who would be willing to deliberately befriend you?

"Your bone structure is only considered average-low; you can enter the basics in over a month. Besides you fitting the Bai Yuan Cloak Hammer quite well, didn't your second brother fill in quite a bit for you?"

Fatty Sun smiled, yet harbored no suspicion.

The Li family was once a middle-class household in Chaiyu Fang; although it had declined, leaving behind some family assets was not strange.

"Second brother treats me very well..."

Li Yuan looked down at the wine cup, his mind clear.

This is the benefit of revealing talent early; if he had not 'exposed' his talent in hammer techniques on the very first day, suddenly entering the basics of Wu Gong now would inevitably arouse Fatty Sun's suspicion.

"Brotherly love and respect! Your second brother's money was not spent in vain..."

Fatty Sun raised his hand and clinked glasses with Li Yuan, smiling:

"Entering the basics of Bai Yuan Cloak Hammer in a bit over a month, then that spot for the Middle Courtyard to enter the Inner Courtyard should be yours!"

"Wasn't that spot already reserved by Niu Gui?"

The wine went down, Li Yuan's body grew slightly warm, but hearing this sentence, his heart chilled.

"Don't you want to enter the Inner Courtyard?"

Fatty Sun glanced at him: "Are you afraid of offending Qin Xiong?"

"How would I dare offend Master Qin?"

Li Yuan lowered his head and smiled bitterly.

Qin Xiong achieved great accomplishment in Cloak Hammer several years ago and is a figure with potential for internal force, incomparable to ordinary guards; according to what he heard, the shop had already designated him as the guard leader.

That is a position second only to the three Shopkeepers; now he only lacks breaking through to internal force.

"Offend him, and then what?"

Fatty Sun pulled at the corners of his mouth: "Our Smithy has been passed down for over two hundred years; naturally, there are rules. Not to mention he hasn't become leader yet, even if he did, he couldn't cover the sky with one hand!"

With a backer, speaking is tough!

Li Yuan's face was bitter, but inwardly he couldn't help thinking: wasn't it you who was rushing to flatter Qin Xiong before?

"You have also read books; you should know that some things, even if they belong to you, if you do not fight for them, they will not end up in your hands."

Fatty Sun raised another cup of wine:

"Alone abroad, hiding one's talent is the way to survive, but within the shop one cannot do so, because for some things, if you lack the qualification, you will never obtain that treatment."

"Poor scholars, rich martial artists; with your background, without shop support, even if you enter the basics, how far can you go?"

"You speak correctly, but I..."

Li Yuan accompanied him drinking cup after cup of medicinal wine, while his mind pondered this Head Chef Sun's intentions.

He certainly wanted to enter the Inner Courtyard, but if doing so involved him in others' struggles...

As if seeing through his thoughts, Fatty Sun set down his wine cup: "Whether to fight or not is your affair; I saw you have some talent and merely mentioned it casually; if you are unwilling, so be it."

"Thank you, Head Chef, for the advice!"

Li Yuan thanked profusely, continuously accompanying the drinking, until Fatty Sun went into the inner room to lie down, only then did he pick up his chopsticks and sweep the food and dishes on the table clean.

He was truly hungry!

Full of wine and food, the night was already deep.

Gently closing the door, Li Yuan did not rush to leave; compared to the Middle Courtyard's large dormitory, Fatty Sun's small courtyard seemed much quieter.

"I've entered the gate!"

Under the moonlit snow, Li Yuan in his coarse linen robe exuded a striking vigor, gripping the hammer handle as he felt a faint warmth surging within him.

In just over a month, his transformation had been dramatic.

The snow night was cold, yet his heart burned fiercely.

Standing the Bai Yuan stance, comparing it with his expert-level hammer technique memories, Li Yuan felt profound gains—this was the perspective of a beginner martial artist.

"Huh!"

"Hss!"

Stand the stance, grip the hammer, adjust the breath.

Only when the snores from the inner room grew loud and all noise vanished from within and around the courtyard did Li Yuan move—his foot kicked up flying snow as he leapt forward, swinging both arms wide, the hammer head slicing through the wind.

"Power rises from the ground—feet heavy, body like a nimble ape, frame relaxed!"

Within the small courtyard, Li Yuan shifted and spun, agile as an ape, the heavy hammer whirling with a low humming sound.

Now that he had entered the gate, his sensations were utterly different.

With the Bai Yuan stance, the Cape Hammer, and the breathing method working in harmony, Li Yuan felt a warm glow throughout his body; swinging the hammer brought no fatigue, even a growing sense of exhilaration.

"Unity of motion and stillness—Bai Yuan Cape Hammer!"

With the expert-level hammer technique enhancing him, Li Yuan moved like a master who had trained for decades; as he swung the hammer, he could even sense the flow of that faint warmth within.

This faint energy born from the blood was called Blood Qi—it nourished the body, and moving Blood Qi was the sole path from beginner to mastery in the Bai Yuan Cape Hammer.

As he swung the hammer and stood the stance, Li Yuan clearly perceived that this faint warmth had grown slightly stronger.

Was it because of Sun Fatty's flask of medicinal wine?

Huh!

At one moment, Li Yuan loosened his grip—the heavy hammer flew into the snow with a muffled thud, splashing up snow and mud.

"The Eighteen Forms of Cape Hammer demand unbroken continuity and stacked force; according to the manual, the mark of expert level is eight stacked strikes—I've already reached eleven!"

The hammer handle slipped from his grasp, his Hukou burning fiercely; Li Yuan merely flicked his wrist, exhaling a long-held breath of stale air that scattered the snowflakes drifting before him.

"It's snowing again!"

(End of Chapter)