Favors: None
Iron Mountain Fist (57/100)
Heavenward Force (61/100)
Iron Mountain Saber Technique (68/100)
Basic Thirteen Spear Techniques (79/150)
Staff Technique (30/100)
Tidal Breathing Technique (22/300)
(Remaining Lifespan: 69)
A sound like muffled thunder echoed from within Chu Lingguang's chest. Guo Wei watched him with a look of pleasant surprise but didn't disturb him. After observing for a long while, he went to tell Guo Fang to prepare a bowl of pork knuckle for Chu Lingguang's dinner.
Chu Lingguang's mouth was greasy on the way back. He hadn't expected to make so much progress just by starting the Tidal Breathing Technique. He felt his Qi Power was now strong enough to lift a 280-jin Stone Lock.
Of course, this was mainly thanks to using the Tidal Breathing Technique to fully absorb the medicinal power of the Qi Blood Pill.
「Returning to Liu Family Gully.」
The neighbors were all discussing Liu Quan's affair.
Most of the gossip consisted of cursing the Liu Family's father and son, calling them inhuman.
The matter of Liu Quan joining Guo Wei's tutelage had been spread by Liu Lishi himself, who had bragged about it to everyone in the village after Guo Wei hosted a banquet for him and his son.
Everyone in Liu Family Gully knew about it.
Now that the father and son had gone back on their word, everyone held them in contempt.
Furthermore, Zhennan Martial Arts Hall was located in Qinghe County, making Tie Zhennan and his people outsiders. Guo Wei, on the other hand, was a local celebrity in their own county. The townspeople were more partial to Guo Wei and secretly cursed the entire Liu family behind their backs.
When Chu Lingguang returned home, a busybody even came to his door to tell him that Liu Lishi's family was planning to move to Qinghe County within the next two days. The person urged him to tell Guo Wei to act quickly if he was going to do something.
Chu Lingguang just said he was too tired from training and sent the person away.
「The next morning.」
Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu arrived at the Martial Arts Hall to find Guo Wei already waiting for them, bright and early. He ordered them to attack him together, using any Kung Fu they wished.
Half an hour later, both Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu were battered and bruised. With a look of disgust, Guo Wei told them to go eat. After they finished their meal, Guo Wei had them assume their Pile Skill stances and use their Breathing Technique to digest the food.
Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu obediently complied. They shared a tacit understanding, believing that Guo Wei was taking out the anger he felt toward Liu Quan on them.
However, Guo Wei treated them the same way every day that followed.
Slowly, Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu realized that it wasn't that Guo Wei was just venting his anger on them. Instead, it was Tie Zhennan's words that had provoked him.
Guo Wei would not allow Liu Quan to pass the Daoist Examination in a year and a half while his own disciples all failed.
Martial artists have fiery blood, and Guo Wei was no exception. He and Tie Zhennan were representative figures of their respective hometowns, and this was not the first time they had clashed over the years.
But this time, with Tie Zhennan snatching away Liu Quan, the situation was far more intense than before. Guo Wei needed to respond, and the best response was to devote all his energy to teaching Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu, ensuring they both passed the examination in a year and a half.
To this end, Guo Wei announced in the following days that he would stop recruiting new students. He also had Guo Fang prepare an extra three jin of meat for Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu every day.
Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu were both moved and terrified.
The stricter Guo Wei became, the faster they progressed. At the same time, the verbal abuse and whippings they endured became more frequent than ever. The two developed a love-hate relationship with their master.
「Time flew by.」
In what felt like the blink of an eye, another three months had passed.
Only one year and three months remained until the Daoist Examination.
"HYAH!"
Two months ago, Guo Wei had taught Chu Lingguang Riding Skill. After practicing day and night, Chu Lingguang could finally ride at a full gallop and even draw his bow and nock an arrow from horseback.
Today, Guo Wei had sent him to Qingyang Mountain to hunt. He needed to kill ten prey before he could return and report back.
Qingyang Mountain sat on the border between Baiyang County and Qinghe County.
Vicious beasts often descended from the mountain to trouble the populace, and bandits had been known to hide there. Guo Wei had warned him not to venture too high up the mountain but to stick to hunting on the outskirts.
Riding Little Red Horse, Chu Lingguang made his way to the area.
Gazing at the rolling Qingyang Mountain Range, Chu Lingguang pulled the reins tight. 'I should probably avoid going too deep into the mountains,' he thought. He decided to ride around the periphery, using the sound of his horse's hooves and whinnies to startle the birds in the forest, then take aim at them with his bow.
'A few laps back and forth should be enough to bag a few birds.'
"HYAH!"
He squeezed his legs against the horse's belly, and Little Red Horse carried him galloping around the outskirts of Qingyang Mountain.
"RUSTLE!"
As expected, the sound of Little Red Horse's whinnying startled a large flock of birds.
Chu Lingguang seized the opportunity, swiftly loosing his first arrow at a larger bird.
"SWOOSH!"
The arrow missed.
"SWOOSH!"
He shot again.
The arrow missed.
And the birds were gone.
Chu Lingguang was prepared for this. He retrieved his arrow shafts and waited for the flock to return to the forest before repeating the same tactic over and over.
"THWACK!"
The third time the flock returned to their nests, Chu Lingguang fired three arrows in quick succession and finally hit a white-headed eagle.
On the practice range, he had a perfect record, able to hit the target without fail from twenty paces. But out here hunting in the forest, facing these flying birds, Chu Lingguang only succeeded once every ten tries.
Moreover, he could only fire three shots at most before the flock vanished, and he had to wait some time for them to fly back each time.
As a result, more than two hours had passed by the time he shot the first white-headed eagle. At this rate, if he wanted to hit ten prey, he would probably have to spend the night in the woods.
Resigned, Chu Lingguang could only turn his aim to the creatures running on the ground. He would wait until his Archery was successfully logged in his panel before trying to shoot down the ones in the sky again.
That's right. Even though Chu Lingguang could hit the target every time at the practice range, his Archery skill had yet to be added to his panel after three months of practice. It seemed to be even more difficult to acquire than the Basic Thirteen Spear Techniques.
"HYAH!"
Since it was still early, Chu Lingguang rode Little Red Horse deeper into the mountain. Little Red Horse weaved through the trees, startling numerous birds. Flocks flew over the canopy with a great RUSH, but Chu Lingguang could do nothing about them.
Fortunately, after two hours, Chu Lingguang came across a flock of pheasants. Faced with these flightless creatures that, at most, could flutter three to five meters high when startled, his Archery finally proved useful.
He chased them on Little Red Horse, emptying his entire quiver. When he surveyed the scene, he found that aside from a few robust roosters that had escaped, all the old, weak, and sick ones lay dead by his arrows. There were more than ten in total. Although the quality of his kills was a bit padded, it was enough to report back to his master. He wouldn't have to sleep out in the wilderness.
He stuffed the pheasants into a sack. There were over a dozen of them, but they only weighed five or six jin in total. Then he wiped clean the arrow shafts he could find and put them back in his quiver.
"WHOOSH!"
Suddenly, countless birds flew past overhead, high above the canopy.
Chu Lingguang's expression changed. Guo Wei had instructed him that if he ever saw flocks of birds flying away without any obvious reason, it was a sign that a large, ferocious beast was on the move in the forest, and he must leave immediately.
Chu Lingguang had always been obedient. He quickly mounted his horse and urged Little Red Horse to run toward the edge of the forest.
"ROAR!"
Suddenly, a sound like a tiger's roar echoed from behind him. It was as if a wave of sound was tearing through the woods.
Little Red Horse, beneath him, was so terrified that its front hooves stumbled, and it crashed to the ground. Caught off guard, Chu Lingguang was thrown forward.
By the time he grabbed the reins and tried to get back on the horse, he saw a black shadow, more than three meters long, chasing a burly man. They were charging straight in his direction.