Chapter 56: Chapter 56: Invitation

The master and his two disciples returned with a bountiful haul.

Guo Wei made a point of taking Chu Lingguang and Hei Hu for a tour around the county seat, and they even had a meal at a tavern. After returning to the Martial Arts Hall, Guo Wei had Hei Hu stay behind. He went over the Iron Mountain Saber Technique with him, clearly pointing out the mistakes he had made during his match with Boss Zhuang.

Hei Hu had thought Guo Wei would give him the cold shoulder, but to his surprise, his master didn’t say a single word of blame. He even stayed up late to teach him and help him learn from the experience. Overcome with gratitude, Hei Hu firmly memorized every key point Guo Wei explained.

Chu Lingguang carried the silver Long Spear back to Liu Family Gully.

As he soaked in the water vat, he once again saw two lines of text appear before his eyes.

(Helped Guo Wei save on expenses, gained 19 Favor Points.)

(Helped Guo Wei build his fame and prestige, gained 73 Favor Points.)

“Master isn’t worried about food or clothing. Compared to money and fine food, he really does value his reputation more.”

Chu Lingguang murmured to himself.

The distribution of Favor Points made it clear what Guo Wei valued most.

He then checked his status panel.

Favors: 92

Staff Technique (37-100)

Tidal Breathing Technique (128-300)

Riding Skill (41-100)

Turtle Breath Technique (61-500)

Heaven and Earth Technique (47-1000)

(Remaining Lifespan: 83)

’The only reason I could withstand Boss Zhuang’s final slash today, keep the Long Spear from flying out of my hands, and still stand firmly on the ground, was all thanks to the Heaven and Earth Technique. It helped me redirect the power of his attack into the ground.’

’If I spent all the Favor Points I gained today on the Heaven and Earth Technique, then the next time I face Boss Zhuang, perhaps even his strongest slash wouldn’t be able to knock me back.’

’Unfortunately, with the Martial Arts Examination just around the corner, the Heaven and Earth Technique is far less important than my Breathing Technique and Riding Skill. Besides, it’s not like I run into people like Boss Zhuang every day.’

’Improving my Breathing Technique and Riding Skill is the priority!’

After weighing the pros and cons, Chu Lingguang split the 92 Favor Points between the Tidal Breathing Technique and Riding Skill.

His status panel updated.

Favors: None

Staff Technique: (37-100)

Tidal Breathing Technique (161-300)

Riding Skill (100-100)

Turtle Breath Technique (61-500)

Heaven and Earth Technique (47-1000)

(Remaining Lifespan: 86)

Chu Lingguang maxed out his Riding Skill to Perfection in one go, spending all his remaining points on the Tidal Breathing Technique. He prioritized Riding Skill because the examination included two specific subjects: Mounted Archery and Lance.

Previously, he had already trained his Basic Thirteen Spear Techniques and Archery to Grand Perfection; his Spear Technique had reached the Form Realm, and his Archery was at the level of Hundred-step Piercing Willow. However, his poor Riding Skill made his performance in Mounted Archery and Lance unremarkable. Now that his Riding Skill was also at Perfection, he could achieve high scores in those two subjects as well, greatly increasing his chances of passing the exam.

「Early the next morning」

Chu Lingguang arrived at the Martial Arts Hall. After paying his respects to Guo Wei and eating breakfast, he took his Long Spear, mounted Little Red Horse, and headed for the woods behind Liu Family Gully. After “battling” in the forest for a whole morning, he returned to the Martial Arts Hall to continue practicing the Basic Thirteen Spear Techniques.

With his Riding Skill at Perfection, Chu Lingguang could feel a distinct improvement in his Spear Technique on horseback. While he couldn’t hit every single falling leaf with his thrusts, he wasn’t far off. He figured that with repeated practice, he might achieve a one hundred percent hit rate before the Martial Arts Examination.

His fight with Boss Zhuang had taught him something profound. In combat, Qi Blood Power was just the foundation. If one couldn’t combine it with Kung Fu, unleashing that power with pinpoint precision, then even the strongest Qi Blood was nothing more than brute force.

If his spear thrusts were perfectly precise, hitting every falling leaf from horseback, then Boss Zhuang’s Saber Technique might not be able to defend against them.

So the key was to train his learned Kung Fu to the absolute limit, in order to better bring out the advantages of his Qi Blood.

The two were complementary; neither could be neglected.

“Hah!”

His Qi Blood was stronger and his Breathing Technique more refined. After lunch and a short nap, Chu Lingguang attempted to lift the 380-jin Stone Lock.

With a powerful roar, the Stone Lock lifted off the ground as Chu Lingguang hoisted it over his head.

THUD!

He held it for two breaths before dropping the Stone Lock to the ground. A Qi Power of 350 jin was already enough to achieve an A Class result in the Qiao Pass.

But A Class was divided into Upper, Middle, and Lower Grades.

Guo Wei had explained that every additional thirty jin of Qi Power represented a new tier. With 380 jin, he had barely managed to touch the threshold of Grade A Middle Grade.

Chu Lingguang wasn’t aiming for a Grade A+ Upper Grade result, but he did hope to achieve a Grade A Middle Grade score in the Qiao Pass. This was because, as Guo Wei had said, Qi Power is the foundation for a martial artist; the stronger one’s Qi Power, the more lenient the subsequent evaluation criteria would be.

Whether in the Daoist Examination, the Provincial Examination, or the Imperial Examination, examiners always showed preference when scoring candidates with formidable Qi Power.

SWOOSH!

For once, Hei Hu was completely focused, practicing his Iron Mountain Saber Technique off to the side and absorbing the lessons from his fight with Boss Zhuang.

「In the blink of an eye, another month passed.」

Only seven months remained until the Daoist Examination.

With Chu Lingguang’s Riding Skill at Perfection, his performance in Mounted Archery and Lance had improved by leaps and bounds over the past month. In the forest behind Liu Family Gully, every tree was riddled with dozens of holes. The once vibrant woods now felt lifeless.

After a full day of practicing with his lance, Chu Lingguang led Little Red Horse back to the Martial Arts Hall.

From a distance, he saw someone standing outside the Martial Arts Hall. When he got closer, he was surprised to see it was Li Yishan from the Big Saber Gang.

“Hall Master Li, are you waiting for me?”

Remembering their sparring match at Cyan Cloud Mountain a month ago, Chu Lingguang asked instinctively.

“I’m here to deliver an invitation to your master, but I was also looking for you,” Li Yishan explained.

“Wait here a moment. I’ll take you to my master.”

Chu Lingguang first led Little Red Horse back to the stables, then brought Li Yishan to the rear courtyard.

“Master Guo, this is the invitation our gang leader had me deliver to you personally. He hopes you will be able to attend the founding ceremony of our Big Saber Gang,” Li Yishan said respectfully.

Guo Wei frowned. He was the face of Baiyang County. If a wealthy family from any of the surrounding villages had a wedding or the birth of a son, they would usually come personally to invite him to the banquet to bring honor to the host family.

But this was the first time he had ever received an invitation to the founding of a gang.

He wondered what the Big Saber Gang’s intentions were.

So he said, “Go back and tell your gang leader that, if nothing unexpected comes up, I will attend.”

“Excellent. I hope to see you there, Master Guo. Separately, I have a personal request, and I hope you will grant it.”

Li Yishan understood Guo Wei’s intention. By not giving a definite answer, he was leaving room for maneuver for both of them.

“Go on.”

Guo Wei was a little curious.

“I ask that Master Guo allow Chu Lingguang and me to have another match,” Li Yishan requested.

Guo Wei frowned again.

’Li Yishan delivered the invitation on Gao Qingxiong’s behalf. Now that I’ve accepted, he wants to spar with Chu Lingguang? What’s going on?’

’Is he doing this on Gao Qingxiong’s orders?’

’It doesn’t seem like it.’

But he couldn’t figure it out right away. He simply assumed that when Li Yishan mentioned their last fight, he was referring to the incident on Wine Street.

But with the challenge issued right at his doorstep, Guo Wei couldn’t refuse. So he said, “Alright!”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep