After class, it was time for lunch.
Lu Chenzhou made a video call to Li Xianghua.
"Mom, are you getting used to living with Master?"
"It’s pretty good, much more comfortable than our old, broken-down place. It’s very luxurious."
"That’s good, have you been practicing your punches lately?"
"I’ve been practicing. I’ve already become a beginner and feel like I might become proficient by next year. Dad’s still so clumsy, he just isn’t cut out for martial arts. Teacher Ji even said I have good comprehension; it’s just a shame I started learning martial arts so late..."
Li Xianghua chattered on, while Lu Chenzhou listened quietly.
"You can help out with something at Teacher Ji’s place, and if you’re short on money, let me know. I’ll transfer some to you. For now, there’s no need to work."
"We have money, Teacher Ji even offered to pay us, but Dad refused."
"Right, you shouldn’t take it."
Lu Chenzhou also chatted with Lu Guoping for a while before hanging up. After the confrontation with Void Things, he devoted himself to cultivation at school, and he didn’t even leave the campus.
As for Lin Bin and his daughter, they returned to a normal life but didn’t go back to the villa that was disrupted by Void Things. Instead, they rented a small house near the police station. The two of them needed time to recover from the loss of their family members. Lin Bin was extremely grateful to Lu Chenzhou for saving their lives. Lu Chenzhou asked him to remind Ruo Jun to practice punching. After the competition, he would go and teach Ruo Jun to punch. If they had any troubles in the meantime, they could video call him.
After this incident, Lin Bin also decided to practice martial arts, asking Lu Chenzhou to teach him too, offering to pay double the lesson fee. If he knew some martial arts, he could have detected something was wrong earlier and, at the very least, could have fled with his daughter.
Lu Chenzhou was of course happy to oblige.
He made another call to a student.
"Hello, Teacher Xiao Lu, what’s up?"
"Mr. Wang, I won’t be able to leave home to teach for a while. If you can’t wait, I can refund your money. I’m really sorry."
Doing this would mean that Lu Chenzhou would lose some of the fees that had already been taxed and divided up. It was somewhat of a loss, but the student’s money wasn’t easily earned either.
The voice on the other end of the phone came through,
"Teacher Xiao Lu, you’re too polite. It’s not a lot of money, and your services are exceptional. Whenever you have the time, just come by then."
The young boss was a smart man.
He saw that Lu Chenzhou was young but already Fifth Rank, and from the Dragon City Martial Arts School. A few thousand yuan to gain the good opinion of a potential martial artist was a sure win with no loss.
"Alright, thanks for your support!"
Lu Chenzhou felt a warmth in his heart; there were still many good people in the world. After dealing with the backlog of his work outside the school, he devoted himself entirely to cultivation.
Ji Xuantong sent him a list of over a hundred prospective competitors from various Martial Arts Academies in Su City. Among them, Lu Chenzhou spotted some familiar names, such as Liu Quanhai, who was representing his great uncle’s Blue Whale Martial Arts Hall.
Ba Haijing·Liu Tong, a martial artist from Tiger Spring District, practiced Whale Form Fist, which was different from the historically long-established styles like those of the bird, tiger, leopard, and bear. The forms of the whale and the shark were among the Elephant Form Sects that emerged after the establishment of Da Xia. There was no difference in superiority between new and old martial arts.
There was also someone from the Xihe Martial Arts Hall. Because of his father’s matter, he had looked up Wang Jian’s information; this person was Wang Kang’s brother, skilled in the Eight Trigrams, known by the title "Sky Flipping King Hand." It sounded impressive, but in reality, he was just a Fourth Rank martial artist. This title was probably influenced by the late predecessor "Sky Flipping Hand·Pang Yun" from martial arts history. But since the titles "Sky Flipping Hand" and "Sky Flipping Hand" had already been taken by grandmasters, Wang Jian could only add the character "King" to set himself apart.
Typically, ordinary martial artists wouldn’t dare to choose flamboyant titles, especially those used by historical figures, as it is taboo. What if the family of the deceased had hidden descendants in modern times? Wouldn’t that offend them? Moreover, if one’s power was too weak at the start and they took on an impressive title without the strength to back it, others could covet your title and initiate a "Title Challenge" under the auspices of the Martial Arts Association.
The victor would win the loser’s title.
In fact, the title of Cangtian Dragon King was acquired through such a challenge. How could such popular terms as "Cangtian" and "Dragon King" have never been used by anyone before? After a title change, it needed to be announced in the official media for a period of time to take effect.
Let’s get back to the main story. Wang Jian’s son, Wang He, had already reached the Fifth Rank in his cultivation very early on. It wasn’t known if he had achieved the Sixth Rank, but it was very likely that he had been practicing the Wang family’s hereditary secret technique, "Spring and Autumn Palm," which is a First Class Martial Arts from the lineage of the Eight Trigrams. He was a formidable opponent.
The remaining favorites for the championship were also seed players from the Fangshan Region.
Su Chen from Kunlun High School, Xu Jiutian from Dragon and Tiger High School... These two were both suspected of having reached the Sixth Rank in their cultivation. They had realized the essence of their skills earlier than Lu Chenzhou, having transferred to Martial Arts Schools during their junior high years and were a year older than Lu Chenzhou, granting them a head start. Latest content published on novel~fire~net
He also noticed that Ricken, Wang Chong, and others from the Pingjiang exchange competition would be participating in the upcoming Su City exchange competition as well, though it was unclear if they had entered the Fourth Rank.
After looking at the list, Lu Chenzhou put it away.
"No matter what, as long as I reach the Sixth Rank, I’ll have it locked down!"
Lu Chenzhou had finished his Pile Skill training, his training clothes soaked with sweat.
[Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Pile: The 10th acupoint opened]
"After the 10th acupoint, the difficulty increases by a level, but I’m already practicing the Dragon and Tiger Heavenly Piles for nearly five hours a day. I can’t afford to spend more time for now."
There are only 24 hours in a day, after all.
Within the 10th acupoint, the Lieque Acupoint, tendrils of Qi-Blood began to emerge.
Lu Chenzhou recalled the lectures from his teacher.
"The Lieque Acupoint is extremely crucial. For ordinary people, it can prevent more than ten types of common diseases. For Martial Artists, it can relax the muscles and harmonize the Ren vessels, defending against evil energies. Therefore, upon opening this acupoint, trivial Void Things dare not approach, and Evil Power cannot enter the body."
Facing ordinary Floating Level Void Things, Lu Chenzhou was now more confident in dealing with them. If he were struck by that same human-headed Void Thing again, it likely wouldn’t leave behind any residual yin chill in his body.
The following day, during the Heavenly Pile Class.
Lu Chenzhou found Yu Zheng.
"Teacher, I have opened the Lieque Acupoint."
Yu Zheng looked as usual.
This was the only time since he started teaching Lu Chenzhou the Heavenly Pile Class that it took the boy more than a month to open an acupoint. It seemed that even someone as strong as Lu Chenzhou had reached his limit.
Indeed, everyone has their limits.
Yu Zheng stretched his limbs and smiled, saying,
"Then I will teach you the Pile Skill for the Houxi Acupoint. This is one of the Eight Meridian Meeting Points. Once opened, it can clear the heart and calm the spirit, improving the sensitivities of hearing and sight."
Clearing the heart and calming the spirit goes without saying—it is essential for Martial Arts Cultivation.
Improving hearing and sight also greatly benefits combat.
After mastering this Pile Skill, Lu Chenzhou began to practice on his own. After testing, it was determined that a 1% progression required an hour and forty minutes of practice.
Five hours of pile practice a day would only open up 90% in a month.
Lu Chenzhou adjusted his mindset.
There was no help for it; he had to practice normally.
Yu Zheng told him that the speed of his acupoint opening even surpassed that of many students in the genius class, and the teacher advised him not to push himself too hard... he was fast enough already.