Proving God begins with the principle that no effort is wasted.

Chapter 34 4 points

The notice was delivered personally by the lame old man.

"The match is in two days. He is our Wild Fox Ridge's star player, nicknamed 'Iron Tower,' a four-hole martial artist. He has appeared on stage 23 times, with 21 wins and 2 draws, and has never lost."

"You are now our rising star, and everyone wants to see you go head-to-head with the Eiffel Tower."

"If you win, I'll give you an extra twenty taels of silver."

Jiang Lan tucked the note into his pocket, nodded faintly, and turned to leave.

After walking a dozen or so steps, the old man's hoarse voice drifted from behind: "Stone, the Iron Tower is old."

……

Jiang Lan did not return to the martial arts school, but went straight to find Sun Gengsan.

Sun Gengsan was sitting in a side room, going through the accounts. Several strings of copper coins and a few pieces of silver were scattered on the table. His fingertips were clicking the abacus beads.

Seeing Jiang Lan push the door open and come in, he immediately looked up, grinning broadly, "Perfect timing, I just finished calculating your payment. You won a total of six taels and seven qian from these few boxing matches."

Jiang Lan sat down opposite him without saying a word and slammed the note in her arms onto the table.

Sun Geng glanced down, his smile instantly freezing, his eyes changing drastically. He looked up abruptly, staring intently at Jiang Lan, his voice trembling: "Iron Tower? You want to fight Iron Tower? Are you crazy?!"

"Four taels and two mace, all in." Jiang Lan raised her eyes, her tone calm yet carrying an undeniable resolve, "I bet on you to win."

Sun Geng opened his mouth three times, his Adam's apple bobbing, but he couldn't utter a complete sentence for a long time.

He jumped up, quickly closed the door, turned around, and lowered his voice, his tone full of anxiety: "Do you know what kind of monster Iron Tower is? He has four acupoints of cultivation, possesses unparalleled physical strength, weighs 230 pounds, and can kill a strong ox with one punch! You only have three acupoints, how can you possibly fight him head-on?!"

"My stance training and fist techniques have reached a high level," Jiang Lan said calmly.

Sun Gengsan was stunned for a moment, then stammered, "Half...half a year to achieve mastery?"

You should know that it took him almost a year to master it!

"Great! Great!" Sun Geng clapped his hands in delight. "You little rascal, you had a trick up your sleeve!"

Jiang Lan slowly opened his palm, revealing the thick calluses on his palm. "I've figured out Iron Tower's fighting style—he relies purely on brute force to overwhelm, his strength is immense, but his speed is slow. I won't fight him head-on with strength, but will use skill to overcome his power. With my mastery of boxing techniques, I have a chance of winning."

"We won't lose." Jiang Lan's words were firm and resolute.

Sun Gengsan gathered all the loose silver and copper coins on the table and pushed them in front of Jiang Lan: "Ten taels and five mace in total, I'm betting it all on you! Don't let me lose everything."

……

The next afternoon, at the martial arts training ground.

"Have you heard? The results of the small competition between the martial arts schools in the prefectural city are in!" Zhou Ping's voice was full of excitement. "He Yan from the Liu Family Martial Arts School, with his seventh acupoint cultivation, won three matches in a row, completely crushing Sun Ming from the Zhao Family Martial Arts School!"

Li Yan sneered, his face full of disdain: "What is He Yan? Zhou Chong from the Zhao Family Martial Arts School is the real genius. He's at the Eight Acupoints Realm and ranked in the top twenty in the last martial arts competition. He didn't even make a move this time. If he really went up, He Yan wouldn't be able to withstand a single move."

Zhao Heng shook his head, his tone full of helplessness: "All you know is how to compare yourselves. Those martial arts schools in the prefectural city have resources, tonics, and dedicated instructors who provide one-on-one guidance. What about us? Our master teaches all the disciples by himself. How can we compare? The gap was widened from the very beginning."

Zhou Ping was unconvinced and subconsciously glanced in Jiang Lan's direction, whispering, "Didn't Jiang Lan open three acupoints in half a year? That talent isn't inferior to those so-called geniuses in the prefectural city, is it?"

Zhao Heng followed his gaze and glanced at Jiang Lan, then immediately lowered his voice: "Jiang Lan is an exception. That's not practicing martial arts; he's practically risking his life!"

Li Yan scoffed, his face full of disdain: "What's the use of risking your life? The minimum requirement for entering the martial arts examination is five acupoints. He only has three acupoints now, and there are only two months left. Do you think he can break through in time? I think it's a waste of effort."

"Who knows?" Zhao Heng sighed again. "Anyway, I'm no good. I just hope I can barely pass the four acupoints this year and try my luck in the martial arts examination next year."

Jiang Lan listened to the discussions without saying a word, his face expressionless. He turned and walked straight back to the training room, closed the door to shut out all outside noise, and began to practice standing meditation with his eyes closed.

His feet gripped the ground like the roots of an old tree, his knees were slightly bent, and his back was straight like a pine tree.

Heaven rewards diligence; no effort is ever wasted.

[Collapse Mountain Fist (Dacheng): 21/1000]

【Crushing Mountain Stance Training (Mastery): 107/1000】

Standing meditation now nourishes both body and mind. Qi and blood circulate slowly throughout the body, like a warm river, rushing from the soles of the feet to the crown of the head, and then sinking back into the dantian, nourishing and warming the meridians throughout the body.

As evening fell, Jiang Lan was practicing the Bengshan Fist repeatedly in the training room when the door was gently pushed open and Instructor Liu walked in.

He was carrying a sturdy wooden bucket filled with clear water, in which a large fish was swimming. Its silvery-white scales shimmered under the light, and its body was gently swaying, full of life.

"Master, this is..." Jiang Lan looked surprised.

"I bought it for ten taels of silver." Instructor Liu placed the wooden bucket on the ground, his tone calm. "The white-scaled fish is a specialty of Qingyun River, and it's excellent for replenishing qi and blood and strengthening the foundation. Your stance training has just been completed, and your qi and blood foundation is not yet solid enough. Eating this will help you to make your foundation more stable."

Ten taels of silver is enough for an ordinary family to live comfortably for half a year, yet the master is so generous.

"Master, this is too precious, this disciple cannot accept it..."

"Stop talking nonsense." Instructor Liu interrupted him, then took out a small porcelain bottle from his pocket and placed it on the table. "Inside are three blood-replenishing pills to help you recover. Consider this your reward from your master, seeing how hard you've been training lately."

He turned around, his gaze fixed intently on Jiang Lan, lingering on his face for a few moments, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

"You haven't been at the martial arts gym lately, where have you been?"

Jiang Lan's heart tightened, but she did not avoid her master's gaze and replied in a deep voice, "This disciple went out for a walk."

Coach Liu stared at him for a long time, then didn't ask any more questions: "Be careful."

After saying that, he pushed open the door and left.

Jiang Lan stood alone in the training room, looking at the lively white-scaled fish in the wooden tub, and then at the porcelain bottle on the table.

He took a deep breath, suppressed the surging emotions in his heart, squatted down and scooped the fish out.

That night, he stewed white-scaled fish, the broth becoming milky white and rich. One sip, and warmth instantly spread throughout his body. He then swallowed a blood-nourishing pill, sat cross-legged, and closed his eyes to circulate his internal energy.

Qi and blood surged like a raging fire, sweeping from the dantian to the limbs and bones, cleansing every meridian.

The solid foundation of the mastered stance training was now fully displayed, surging wildly along the meridians at a speed several times faster than usual. All the acupoints in the body vibrated, and the originally stable third acupoint was subtly pulling on the gateway of the fourth acupoint.

He gritted his teeth and channeled all his energy and the medicinal power into the fourth acupoint, once, twice, three times... constantly impacting the acupoint!

"boom!"

A dull thud resounded in my mind as the gateway to the fourth acupoint was forcefully opened! A torrent of qi and blood surged into the acupoint like a flood bursting its banks. Unlike the previous smooth and natural opening of the acupoint, this time it was a qualitative change—it was as if a wide river had appeared in my body, and the amount of qi and blood stored and the speed of circulation far exceeded what I had seen before!

He suddenly opened his eyes, panting heavily, his forehead covered in fine beads of sweat.

He was brimming with inexhaustible strength. He had finally broken through to the fourth acupoint!

He got up and walked to the training wooden stake, raising his hand to unleash a set of Mountain-Crushing Fist.

The force of the punches was more than twice as heavy as yesterday's, each punch accompanied by a booming sound of surging blood and qi. Tiger Strike, Tiger Swing, Tiger Pounce – the three moves were executed in quick succession, the force layered upon layer, instantly leaving several deep fist marks on the heavy wooden stake, with wood chips falling in a flurry.

After settling into position, Jiang Lan looked down at his fists, a fierce fighting spirit burning in his eyes.

The Iron Tower has four acupoints, and so does he now!

He charged at the wooden stake again, continuing his frantic punching practice, trying to thoroughly integrate and master the newly generated power within his body.