Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

With Jiang Hu injured, life in Room 2 of Building 2 suddenly became peaceful.

The other two accomplices of Jiang Hu in the next room now looked at Xu Hao as if he were a monster—this kid was too lucky, so lucky that it made them uneasy.

Taking advantage of the other party's relaxed attitude, Xu Hao began to make his own plans.

He plans to designate the Chen residence as a blessed land!

Xu Hao has been patrolling a bit too diligently these past few days.

Whenever it's his turn to be on duty, he has to make a round of the most remote places along his patrol route.

Li Da followed Xu Hao closely, so tired that he stuck out his tongue, wondering if the kid was just bored and had nothing better to do.

In truth, Xu Hao was suffering inside.

The broken scroll granted Xu Hao the authority to bind a "branch," which was just a pie in the sky—something he could see but couldn't actually possess.

Xu Hao first tried the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall.

During the day, a chilling wind blows through the Chen Clan Ancestral Hall, where dozens of black lacquered memorial tablets are enshrined, giving it an eerie feel no matter how you look at it.

Xu Hao squatted on the ground, his palms pressed firmly against the threshold, silently reciting "bind" eight hundred times in his mind.

The images in my mind remained completely still, as if they were dead.

"Brother Xu, you've been lying here for ages, trying to read the doorframe?"

Li Da, holding his whistle stick, looked at Xu Hao with a puzzled expression.

"We pay our respects to the ancestors of the Chen family and pray for peace."

Xu Hao stood up, dusted off his hands, and looked reverent.

"What's the point of worshipping their ancestors? They might just call you in for a chat tonight."

Xu Hao ignored him and turned to lead Li Da on a tour of the kitchen, accounting office, and armory. He even touched the stone lions in front of the Chen residence so much that their skin was almost worn off.

result?

The painting remains dormant.

Xu Hao was furious.

You treasure a dilapidated temple, a place even rats wouldn't live in, but you look down on the grand mansion of the Chen family?

That's incredibly picky about food.

Does it have to be some abandoned, run-down place?

As Xu Hao passed by the West Corner Gate, where no one was cleaning the stinking outhouse, he paused, a struggle in his eyes.

The smell is strongest here, who knows...

"What? Need to pee?" Li Da covered his nose and moved to the side. "This place smells too bad, let's get out of here."

Xu Hao stared at the outhouse for three breaths, then gritted his teeth, turned around, and left.

Forget it, if we really tie him to a latrine as a branch, he'll come here every night in the middle of the night to squat and practice his skills.

He imagined himself practicing while smelling the aroma; the image was too beautiful, and he couldn't bear such a blessing.

For three consecutive days, he trampled the Chen residence to the ground, and the matter of the branch headquarters remained completely unresolved.

Since he couldn't find it, Xu Hao simply stopped obsessing over it.

One must eat one bite at a time, and occupy one plot of land at a time.

Right now, the important thing is to build up this physique first.

Now that no one was causing trouble, Xu Hao devoted all his energy to practicing martial arts.

The food at the Chen residence was incredibly nourishing, with large chunks of braised pork, piping hot ginseng soup, and the unwavering Black Jade Paste every night. Such resources would be unimaginable wealth for ordinary people.

But Xu Hao is different; he's now a "funnel," a bottomless pit.

During his three-day rest days, he would take the dry food he bought from the food stalls at the ferry crossing and head straight to the dilapidated temple at the Sunset Ferry Crossing.

The effects of the Martial Temple LV4 are simply unreasonable.

As soon as Xu Hao stepped through the threshold of the dilapidated temple, he felt like a lump of dough being thrown into a pot of boiling oil, his whole body steaming hot.

"call--"

Dust billowed up inside the dilapidated temple from the force of his punch.

Xu Hao was shirtless, sweat streaming down his back, soaking his waistband.

He was still using the "Black Tiger Breaking Fist," and with each punch he threw, his skin and flesh would tremble.

Once, twice, ten times...

The heat within his body surged wildly through his limbs and bones with the force of the punch, sending a tingling, numb, and aching sensation through his entire body—more intoxicating than the braised pork he ate every night.

More than half a month has passed, and the afterglow of the setting sun shines through the newly built window frames onto the blue brick ground.

Xu Hao stood in a horse stance like an old monk in meditation, his chest heaving violently, his skin as red as a boiled shrimp.

Suddenly, his eyes snapped open, a low growl escaped his throat, and the muscles in his body jerked violently.

collapse!

A crisp sound, like a taut bowstring snapping, or like breaking some invisible eggshell.

The skin, which was originally a bit rough, tightened instantly and now had a layer of bronze-colored dark light. The feeling of heat receded like a tide, and was replaced by an unprecedented sense of firmness.

Xu Hao reached out and twisted his forearm hard.

Not moving.

He picked up a piece of broken tile from the ground and, gritting his teeth, slashed it hard across his thigh.

"Sizzle—"

It left only a white mark, without even breaking the skin, and faded away on its own after a while.

"It's done."

Xu Hao exhaled a breath of stale air, his mouth stretching to his ears in a wide grin.

This is the skin smoothing effect.

It felt like wearing an invisible layer of old cowhide armor all over my body.

Although he couldn't withstand a sharp blade thrust, ordinary punches, kicks, and sticks wouldn't even be enough to tickle him.

Among the guards of the Chen family, apart from Instructor Lin, who is in charge of the guards, the number of those who can truly reach this level can be counted on two hands.

Xu Hao didn't dare to show off too much. He quickly put on his clothes, suppressed the murderous aura that hadn't dissipated, and put on an innocent and harmless expression again.

Back at the Chen residence, life went on as usual.

However, Li Da and Luo Bao were having a tough time.

With the month-long deadline fast approaching and the assessment looming overhead, the two were so anxious that blisters appeared around their mouths. They practiced their boxing to the point of obsession, but no matter how they practiced, it just didn't feel right.

"We're doomed, Brother Xu."

Li Da squatted in the corner with a long face, holding a steamed bun in his hand but forgetting to put it in his mouth. "No matter how I practice my 'Black Tiger Digs Out the Heart', it's still like 'A Bear Scratching a Wall'. The way Coach Lin looked at me this morning, he really wanted to chop me up and feed me to the dogs."

Luo Bao, standing nearby, huddled up in a ball, his eyes dark-rimmed: "I...I don't want to go to the farm to farm. I don't even know how to use a hoe."

Xu Hao looked around and, seeing that no one was around, went over and squatted between the two of them, casually patting the dust off Li Da's shoulders.

"Brother Li, you're not using your strength in the right place," Xu Hao said in a low voice. "You're a natural-born heavy-duty worker, so you have a strong waist. Don't keep thinking about those fancy moves from Instructor Lin, like the 'sinking shoulders and dropping elbows' stuff. Just imagine there's a 200-pound sack in front of you, and you're trying to use it as a springboard."

Li Dayi was taken aback: "Carrying a sack?"

"Yes, when you throw a punch, don't hold your breath. Let your breath sink into your crotch... no, sink it into your dantian." Xu Hao gestured, "Use your waist to push, your legs to push off the ground, and send out all that brute force."

Li Da blinked, stood up, and tried to imagine himself as a giant spring. He straightened his waist and abdomen and threw a punch.

call!

The fist whistled, bringing with it a gust of evil wind.

"Holy crap?" Li Da stared at his fist, dumbfounded. "This went so smoothly?"

Xu Hao turned to look at Luo Bao. This kid was quite strong when he was at the handyman's shop, but after coming to the Chen family, the food got better and better, and he became thinner and thinner. Now, if he were to fight head-on, he would be courting death.

"Brother Luo, don't fight head-on." Xu Hao pointed to his feet. "You're light, that's an advantage. When the opponent throws a punch, don't just stand there and retreat. Slide half a step to the left front, that's a blind spot. Like... like when you were caught sneaking food in the kitchen by the supervisor, you would crawl under the table."

Luo Bao blushed, but still did a side slide step as instructed.

"Yeah, that's the kind of sleazy vibe." Xu Hao nodded. "After you slide over, don't hold back. Don't worry about whether it hurts or not, just go for the groin first, do whatever's dirty."

Luo Bao's eyes lit up, as if a door to a new world had been opened.

"Amazing! Brother Xu, how did you get your brain?" Li Da exclaimed in surprise as he reached out to pat Xu Hao on the shoulder.

Xu Hao quickly shrank back, gave a sheepish smile, and scratched his head: "Hey, I was just thinking about it. I've watched the coach practice a lot, even if I haven't eaten pork, I've seen pigs run, right? It's just blind luck."

He didn't dare teach too much, stopping short of teaching.

These two are the only "own people" he currently has in the Chen household.

In this vast Chen mansion, one tree cannot support the whole; if they are eliminated, I will stand out even more.