activa-t Chapter 18 Competition
Chapter 18 Competition
Seeing everyone's reaction, Lin Mu clenched his fist.
After so much hard work, I'm finally seeing some results.
Instead of restoring his energy in the cage as usual, he took advantage of the chaos and cheers of the crowd to turn around and slip out through the side door.
The Chang Le gambling den has a Ming Jin expert on its side, while the Jin Sha gang has an An Jin master in charge.
He was aware of all of this.
Stepping out of the basement, a cool night breeze hit me.
As soon as he turned into the alley, several tails appeared behind him.
The footsteps were neither hurried nor slow, clinging to him like a shadow.
Lin Mu didn't look back, quickened his pace, and ran towards Zuichunlou along the old route.
The red lanterns drew closer, and the sounds of string and wind instruments grew louder.
When he reached the alley entrance, he suddenly shrank back against the wall, like a drop of water merging into the night.
The tails caught up, circled around the alley entrance, looked around, muttered a few curses, and then split into two groups to search ahead.
Lin Mu pressed himself against the crevices between two wall tiles, held his breath, and watched their figures disappear around the street corner before slipping out of the shadows and walking in the opposite direction.
Back at the old house, I closed the courtyard gate.
He took out some loose silver from his purse and counted it; it was 25 taels.
It's enough beef for him to eat for more than half a year, enough for him to buy several pieces of earthworm scales, but he has to use them sparingly.
Tiger Head's death will trigger a frenzied siege by the Golden Sands Gang.
He couldn't even handle those with obvious internal strength, let alone those with hidden internal strength.
He rewrapped the silver, stuffed it into the crack in the wall, and sealed it with plaster.
Close your eyes and bring up the booklet.
Name: Lin Mu
[Martial Arts: Long Wind Fist: Beginner 38/100, Whip Kick: Wild Dance: Beginner 10/100, Body Tempering Technique: Beginner 1/100]
[Skills: Measurement (Beginner), Carpentry (Unskilled), Knife Skills (Unskilled), Wok Flipping (Unskilled)...]
[Currently available replicable slots: 0/3]
After mastering the basics of body tempering, the body becomes a large vat of qi and blood. All you need to do is squeeze the qi and blood into all parts of the body and continuously refine and temper it.
The torment of being beaten was gone.
However, his progress in the Long Wind Fist style was somewhat slow.
He had been practicing the Long Wind Fist for some time, and with the introduction of body-strengthening techniques, he should have made significant progress.
Lin Mu stood in the center of the courtyard, where moonlight spilled into the space.
He closed his eyes, and his blood and qi surged from all parts of his body, like countless streams converging into a river, rushing along the circulation path of the Long Wind Fist.
The blood and qi flow down the spine and then into the toes through the legs.
Sudden gust of wind.
In a single instant, he traversed the entire courtyard.
It was three points faster than usual, and the distance was also greater.
With progress, he played better and better.
Each punch carried the energy and blood honed by body-strengthening techniques, the wind from the punches whistling and whipping up the fallen leaves in the yard, making them spin in the air.
Under the moonlight, his shadow stretched and shortened, its shadows intertwining like a flowing ink painting.
When he reached the thirtieth repetition, he stopped punching, stood still, and his breathing became steady.
Close your eyes and bring up the booklet.
[Long Wind Fist: Beginner 69/100]
Lin Mu opened his eyes, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and nodded almost imperceptibly.
......
The scorching sun beat down like fire.
Changfeng Martial Arts School, midday.
The instructor clapped his hands, gathering the scattered apprentices in the front yard.
"There are still two months left in the martial arts training." The instructor's eyes shone brightly as he swept over the crowd. Seeing everyone's high spirits, he nodded slightly. "In these two months, in addition to improving your martial arts skills, you also need to hone your combat abilities. Don't let yourselves get knocked down with a single punch when you encounter someone of the same level, and disgrace Changfeng Martial Arts School."
He paused for a moment, then said, "Now we'll begin one-on-one combat. Two people of the same cultivation level will form a group, and we'll stop when we've made our move."
In the small Changfeng Martial Arts School, the dozen or so fellow disciples from the outer courtyard, who usually formed small cliques based on their cultivation levels, were particularly evident at this moment.
Cui Mingyue is looking for Ye Lang.
The two exchanged a glance, walked to the east side of the courtyard, and assumed their fighting stances, not rushing to make a move, like two wild beasts scrutinizing each other.
Senior Brother Zhou helped Junior Brother Liu.
One is strong, the other is agile; standing together, they are like a weight and a rod.
Even Zhou Yu had Qiao Tu, a wealthy young man, as his partner.
The two men bowed to each other, their politeness tinged with a hint of rivalry.
In the end, only Lin Mu and Chen Yuan remained.
Zhou Yu patted Chen Yuan on the shoulder and lowered his voice:
"Go and give him some pointers. Let him know the strength of a formal disciple of the martial arts school."
"By the way, let Cui Mingyue and Ye Lang see your progress in martial arts over this period of time."
Chen Yuan knew in his heart that Zhou Yu was right.
Given his background, managing to scrape together ten taels of silver to send him to a martial arts school had already emptied his family's coffers.
Even if he were to miraculously reach the Ming Jin realm in the future, the best place he could go would be to become a guard in the Cui or Ye families.
If the two wealthy young men were willing to help him out because they were classmates, he could get a respectable job as their lackey.
Therefore, fighting against Lin Mu is not a bad thing.
Although he found it hard to accept.
He gritted his teeth, stood in the courtyard, and assumed the starting stance of the Long Wind Fist.
Lin Mu stood opposite him, his hands hanging down.
The first punch was like a willow swaying in the wind. The edge of the palm sliced diagonally, with seven-tenths of the force held back and three-tenths reserved, as if testing the waters.
Lin Mu stepped aside, his hand brushing Chen Yuan's arm aside as if clearing a willow branch from his path.
Chen Yuan's palm brushed past Lin Mu's clothes and missed.
Chen Yuan frowned slightly, and the second punch followed immediately—a sudden gust of wind, a straight punch aimed at his chest, with the force increased to five-tenths.
Instead of retreating, Lin Mu advanced, taking a half step forward with his left foot and pressing his right palm down on Chen Yuan's fist.
Chen Yuan's fist was deflected, grazing past Lin Mu's ribs without even touching the hem of his clothes.
Chen Yuan withdrew his fist and took a step back.
He looked up and glanced around—Cui Mingyue was leaning against a pillar with her brows furrowed and her arms crossed.
Ye Lang stood beside her, expressionless.
The others, lacking the composure of the two, whispered amongst themselves.
Even his occasional soft laughter seemed to be mocking him.
Chen Yuan's face turned bright red.
Chen Yuan gritted his teeth and unleashed a powerful palm strike—the wind whistled through the air, the palm wind whistling as it went straight for Lin Mu's ear.
Lin Mu raised his hand, and it was the same as the "Wind Brushing Willow" technique.
With a gentle flick of the edge of his palm against Chen Yuan's wrist, it was like the wind blowing open a willow branch.
He pressed down with his palm, and Chen Yuan was pulled forward by his own force, staggering two steps and almost crashing into Lin Mu's arms.
Zhou Yu opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Cui Mingyue leaned forward slightly and raised an eyebrow.
Ye Lang lowered his arms from his chest and looked at Lin Mu's drooping hands.
The coach's eyes lit up.
Using the same move, "Wind Brushing Willow," Chen Yuan employed brute force, wishing he could knock his opponent unconscious with a single blow.
Lin Mu used a clever approach, borrowing the opponent's strength to strike back, using minimal force to overcome great strength.
One is chopping wood, the other is brushing willow branches.
After Chen Yuan steadied himself, he looked at Lin Mu and then at his surroundings.
No one laughed at him, but those pitying glances were more piercing than laughter.
After finishing his boxing practice, Zhou Yu walked over to Chen Yuan and patted him on the shoulder: "Only those with Ming Jin (internal strength) can be considered martial artists. Don't think too much, just focus on developing your internal strength first."
Chen Yuan kept his head down and didn't say a word.
But a sense of frustration spread under the scorching sun.
Zhou Yu sighed and turned to walk towards Cui Mingyue and Ye Lang.
The two were standing under the eaves, talking in hushed tones.
"It's ruined."
Cui Mingyue glanced at Chen Yuan, who was standing alone in the distance. "In the path of martial arts, talent and temperament are both indispensable. His talent is only average, and his temperament is so poor. It's difficult."
Ye Lang didn't reply, his gaze falling on Lin Mu at the other end of the courtyard.
Cui Mingyue followed his gaze, her lips twitching slightly: "We'll talk about it after I've cultivated Ming Jin. Right now, I'm just a handyman who knows a few tricks."
Yan Hua emerged from the inner courtyard, his gaze sweeping over the crowd without lingering for a moment.
Ye Lang gestured towards his retreating figure with his lip: "This guy has exceptional talent; he's already touched the threshold of internal strength."
"That's why it's becoming increasingly difficult to get them to come," Cui Mingyue sighed.