I'll write a manual called the Sunflower Manual, and the entire martial arts world will turn in

Hey.

As Xie An continued to practice the Dragon Subduing Form, he became increasingly proficient in its essence. His movements became wide and powerful, displaying a striking resemblance to the might of the Five Sacred Mountains Cone.

The Dragon Subduing Stance emphasizes the momentum of the Five Sacred Mountains; if one lacks strength in their hands and feet, or insufficient qi and blood, they will not be able to ascend.

Even if you grit your teeth and force it, you'll quickly weaken due to depletion of your energy and blood. You won't be able to hold on for long.

Now that Xie An has the violent boost from the Qi and Blood Powder, he has an even stronger sense of momentum.

Eating two taels of silver in one bite is no joke.

Liao Yong, watching from the side, grew increasingly astonished, secretly thinking: "Such formidable qi and blood strength! Even ordinary martial artists who practice skin-training don't achieve this effect after taking qi and blood powder. I wonder how this guy forged his body to be so powerful. If he continues his diligent training, his future achievements might even rival mine. It's a pity that such a promising talent wasn't cultivated by me; it all went to Zhan Ping. That Zhan Ping fellow is quite skilled."

Others may not know the inside story of the martial arts school, but Liao Yong does.

The owner of the martial arts school is concerned about his reputation and pays particular attention to the school's teaching quality and achievements.

Those formal disciples either possess exceptionally rare talent, capable of reaching the Ming Jin level. Otherwise, they wouldn't be worthy of the sect leader's attention.

Besides this, there is another way: to find talent for the martial arts school, cultivate talented students, and build the reputation of the martial arts school.

Therefore, many formal disciples would search outside for talented individuals and bring them back to the martial arts school to teach. Any disciple who was trained to be exceptionally gifted would receive special training from the school master.

Liu He in the backyard was like this, Zhan Ping was like this, and Liao Yong naturally wanted to discover talent as well.

Unfortunately... we couldn't outmaneuver Zhanping.

After a full half hour, Xie An felt that the medicinal power of the Qi and Blood Dispersing Powder in his body had been absorbed by about 70-80%, but he had also completed one-third of the Dragon Subduing Style.

【Bajiquan Subduing Dragon: 13/100】

Looking at the progress on the panel, Xie An was quite surprised.

Before the effects of one Qi and Blood Powder were even fully absorbed, it instantly boosted his progress by 5 points.

That's really an exaggeration.

This falls into the category of violent martial arts training.

No wonder the top students in martial arts schools are mostly from wealthy families; they can use drugs to achieve rapid results. Children from poor families, on the other hand, struggle to even pay their tuition, let alone afford expensive supplements like Qi and Blood Powder.

It's no wonder that Wei Dian and Ma Tie would act as lackeys for Pang Tong and Liu Jiang. It's all for resources and medicine.

The saying "the poor study literature, the rich study martial arts" is absolutely true.

"That's right. Did Zhang Long teach you your Dragon Subduing Style?" Liao Yong nodded and asked.

"Yes."

"No wonder." Liao Yong nodded slightly. "Before you embarked on the path of martial arts, you didn't need many resources. Now that you've broken through the Skin Refining stage, you'll need even more medicine and resources to break through the Tendon Refining stage. Is there a place for you to take up a temporary post?"

Xie An knew that Liao Yong probably also had the intention of recruiting talented people.

But since he had already agreed to go to the riverbank with Li Shengnan.

Xie An naturally wouldn't agree to both sides. "Fortunately, Senior Sister Li Shengnan favored me and wanted to take me to the River and Lake Bureau to serve as an auxiliary soldier patrolling the river."

Liao Yong was slightly disappointed, but forced a smile and said, "It's your destiny to have won Senior Sister Li's favor. Patrolling the river is quite dangerous. You might even encounter a water monster. But Senior Sister Li is a kind-hearted person, and with her protecting you, there shouldn't be any danger. Your blood and energy are digesting very well, and there are no problems. Go back soon."

After saying goodbye to Liao Yong, Xie An noticed that it was already dark. He picked up his bundle and hurriedly walked towards the door.

The bundle was given to me by Zhanping; it contained the uniforms of formal disciples of Yongsheng Martial Arts School, as well as jade pendants, belts, and other items.

"Xie An, wait a moment."

A familiar voice came from behind, and it was Zhang Long swaying his waist as he approached.

"Senior Brother Zhang Long."

Zhang Long laughed and said, "I know what you've been doing, but I'm short of money myself, so I don't have anything good to give you. This bundle should contain the disciple uniform and jade pendant that Senior Brother Zhan gave you. When you're out and about, remember to wear the clothes and jade pendant. At least let people know you're a formal disciple of the martial arts school. The Dragon King Gang won't make things difficult for you, and they won't dare to ask your family for incense money anymore. Various forces will also show you more respect, which will save you a lot of trouble."

"Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother Zhang Long."

When Xie An went out, he saw Xie Yu waiting at the door.

"Let's go home."

……

Ink Fragrance Bookstore.

After dinner, Xie An and Xie Yu took a bath and changed into their martial arts school uniforms.

He wore a dark blue brocade robe with a belt, which accentuated Xie An's already excellent figure, making him look exceptionally tall and straight. With the jade pendant hanging at his waist, he resembled a noble young man from the martial arts world.

Xie Yu, who had just washed the dishes, was taken aback when she saw Xie An's attire. Then she laughed and said, "Brother, you are so handsome. If the girls in town saw you, the matchmakers would definitely rush to your door to arrange a marriage for you."

"Your brother is only seventeen, there's no rush. When I earn some money, I'll make Xiaoyu some decent clothes too." Xie An felt a pang of heartache looking at his sister, who was still wearing patched clothes.

Xie Yu replied, "I'm still young, I don't need to worry about appearances."

Even so, Xie An still kept this matter in mind.

Thinking about this, I can't help but worry about money.

They still owe Zhao Hu, Liu Chun, and Xu Zhijie a little over ten taels of silver, and even more so, they owe Zhan Ping a huge sum of thirty-six taels of silver.

Although breaking through the Lianpi Pass allowed him to take up a temporary post, the burden of life still put considerable pressure on Xie An.

Shortly after, a loud banging came from outside the door.

dong dong dong.

"I'll go see who's here," Xie Yu said, hurrying to open the door.

Xie An noticed something was off about the knocking and pulled Xie Yu behind him. "The sound isn't right. Go hide in the living room and don't come out. I'll go check it out."

Xie An then tucked the dagger into his forearm inside his sleeve before opening the door.

Squeak.

As soon as the door opened, a two-meter-tall giant stood outside, dressed in a gray tight-fitting outfit. His muscles bulged out like a small mountain, and even Xie An, who had broken through the Lianpi Pass, felt considerable pressure.

The giant had a five-foot-long broadsword hanging from his waist, and six men followed behind him.

Xie An's heart tightened, and he slightly twitched the dagger hidden in his sleeve. "Who are you?"

The giant snorted coldly, his tiger-like eyes flashing like lightning: "The Dragon King Gang's Copper Mountain will henceforth be responsible for the incense money for this street. I've come to inform you that by the sixth day of next month, seven hundred coins for incense money must be prepared, not a single coin less..."

Before he could finish speaking, the giant Tongshan paused slightly, his eyes catching sight of the jade pendant hanging from Xie An's waist. It bore the inscription "Xie An, Official Disciple of Yongsheng Martial Arts School."

"Your name is Xie An? And you've become a formal disciple of Yong Sheng Martial Arts School?"

Xie An outwardly showed some respect, "Yes."

Tong Shan looked Xie An up and down, then smiled. "You're quite good. Now that you've become a formal disciple of the martial arts school, you won't need to pay the incense money starting next month."

After saying this, Tongshan led his men away.

After walking quite a distance, a skinny man who had been following Tongshan approached him. "Brother Tongshan," he said, "from what I understand, this brothel alley is an old street in the town. There aren't many people, and all the shops are doing very poor business, barely making ends meet. I've never heard of any kid from this street learning martial arts before. How come this guy has suddenly appeared so quickly?"

Tongshan's eyes darkened: "Something's definitely fishy. I remember the original manager of Moxiang Bookstore was Xie Zhengtang. He used to run errands with the Canal Gang to make quick money, but he got killed by a water monster. These two siblings should have been getting worse and worse off, but Xie An has unexpectedly risen to prominence. And it just so happens that it coincides with the mysterious disappearance of Scarface Liu and One-Eyed Dragon's gang. What a coincidence!"

The skinny man asked, "So, what does Brother Tongshan mean?"

Tongshan said, "I have a strong feeling that the disappearances of Scarface Liu and One-Eyed Dragon may be related to this person. Send someone to secretly keep an eye on Xie An. Report his whereabouts to me every day."

The skinny man hesitated slightly: "But Xie An is already a formal disciple of Yong Sheng Martial Arts School..."

Tongshan snorted coldly: "He's just a newly trained formal disciple. I waived his incense money because of Chen Lutang's influence. If I really find out that Scarface Liu and One-Eyed Dragon's deaths are related to him, he won't escape death either. Even if it reaches Chen Lutang, he won't make an enemy of my Dragon King Gang just to protect a mere skin-training martial artist."

The skinny guy patted his chest and assured him, "Don't worry, Brother Tongshan, leave this to me, Monkey. I'll keep a close eye on him."