Longevity Martial Arts: Obtain Golden Affixes at the Start

[Next draw progress: 12%]

With the nourishment of herbal medicine and meat, Hong Lang's progress bar steadily increased, which made him very satisfied.

He had mastered the basics of the Thousand-Pound Stamp leg technique, but his practice of the Great Sun Tathagata Palm was not satisfactory.

Even though he possessed the "Dragon's Essence and Tiger's Ferocity," with energy and vitality far exceeding that of ordinary people, he could only unleash the "Boundless Light" technique once a day. He had never been able to master the palm technique and was unable to use it against enemies.

Hong Lang was not in a hurry to achieve success, after all, this level of palm technique was far beyond what a martial artist who had just entered the Blood Refining Realm could master.

Even if he can unleash just one-tenth of his power, it will be enough for him to roam freely in the Blood Refining Realm.

Qin Jiuzhen returned to town to continue selling needlework, and did not encounter Jiang Guanlan again during this time.

But she always felt uneasy, and every day before going to the market, she was worried that she would run into the Jiang family again.

Hong Lang saw this and secretly vowed that once he reached the Marrow Cleansing Realm, he would settle accounts with Jiang Guanlan!

That day, as soon as Hong Lang stepped into the martial arts school, he heard a sharp sound of wind breaking through the air.

Two figures were seen clashing in the arena; it was Tang Chen and Tan Ya, who were exchanging blows with the Mountain and River Halberd.

Tang Chen wielded a fine iron halberd, his movements agile and his halberd techniques elegant yet concealing deadly intent. Each swing brought forth a whistling wind, his moves displaying composure and experience.

Tanya also held a long halberd, her red hair flying wildly with her movements. Her moves were fierce and powerful, each strike heavy and forceful.

"clang!"

The two halberds clashed, producing a metallic clang.

Tang Chen sheathed his halberd and stood there, his eyes full of approval: "Not bad, you have already mastered the basics of the 'Mountain and River Halberd,' but you still lack a bit of control over the power."

She put the halberd back on the shelf and looked at Hong Lang, who was watching from the side: "Hong Lang, you have already mastered the basics of 'Thousand Pound Step,' but you lack practical experience. Ultimately, your fist and foot skills can only be improved through actual combat."

Hong Lang was overjoyed, knowing that his master's wife was going to give him some guidance, and immediately clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "Please give me your guidance, master's wife."

The two walked into the courtyard, and Tang Chen slowly said, "Just use the Thousand-Pound Step you've learned and attack with all your might. Remember, the Thousand-Pound Step is heavy and powerful, so don't be greedy for speed. Make sure every step is firmly planted."

Hong Lang took a deep breath and suddenly exerted force with his feet to rush towards Tang Chen, unleashing the first move, the Earth-Splitting Strike, directly targeting Tang Chen's lower body.

"Not bad, the starting momentum is steady and the power is sufficient, but the point of force application is off!"

Tang Chen dodged the kick by sidestepping it: "The force is scattered and not concentrated. It can't even hurt a person, let alone crack rocks and shatter soil! Try again, let your qi and blood sink to the soles of your feet and unleash the force."

Hong Lang gathered his energy again, focusing his qi and blood down to the soles of his feet, and kicked Tang Chen with renewed force.

"Yes, that's it!"

Tang Chen moved swiftly, launching an attack on Hong Lang: "I'll attack you. Use the Sinking Mountain Stance to deflect my force. The key to the Sinking Mountain Stance is 'stability.' No matter how strong my force is, you must defend your lower body."

Tang Chen's leg technique was as fast as lightning. He stomped straight on Hong Lang's chest with a force that seemed fierce, but in reality, it left room for maneuver.

Hong Lang quickly circulated his qi and blood, using the Sinking Mountain Stance, his muscles tensing up, and forcefully took the kick.

"Very good, you released the force in time, but your posture is too stiff," Tang Chen continued to instruct. "The Sinking Mountain Stance is about going with the flow, like water encountering a rock, but you can use the momentum to divert the flow. Try it again."

Hong Lang once again assumed the sinking mountain pose, this time relaxing his body and no longer deliberately tensing his muscles.

Tang Chen kicked again, this time with even more force than before.

Hong Lang redirected Tang Chen's force towards the ground, and although his body swayed slightly, he was much more composed than before.

The two exchanged blows, with Tang Chen maintaining the rhythm throughout, deliberately slowing down each move and stance, pointing out Hong Lang's deviations in exertion while exchanging blows.

Hong Lang listened attentively and fought with great focus, his internal energy flowing more and more smoothly with each move.

The initially awkward Qianjun Step gradually became smooth and natural under Tang Chen's guidance.

Half an hour later, Hong Lang was drenched in sweat.

The master's wife was also sweating profusely, her clothes clinging tightly to her body, outlining her figure perfectly, especially her round and full thighs, which showed no weakness but exuded a powerful beauty.

"Alright, that's enough for today."

"Thank you for your guidance, Master's wife!" Hong Lang quickly stopped his movements.

Before long, Chen Nuo arrived, his brows furrowed, as if something was troubling him.

"Junior Brother Hong, have you heard? There's an evil spirit appearing in Ningyuan Town next door." Chen Nuo lowered his voice.

"Evil spirit... what is this thing?" Hong Lang asked in confusion.

Seeing his expression, Chen Nuo was somewhat surprised: "Junior Brother Hong, have you never heard of the rumors about evil spirits?"

Hong Lang shook his head.

"Evil spirits, to put it simply, are demons. Unlike demonic beasts, they are almost immortal and feed on humans. No one knows how they were formed," Chen Nuo explained.

Hong Lang asked, "Even martial artists can't deal with them?"

"Ordinary martial artists are no match for them at all. The imperial court does have a way to deal with them, but I don't know what it is."

Chen Nuo's eyes were full of worry: "It is said that this evil spirit is extremely harmful. An entire village under the jurisdiction of Ningyuan Town has been devoured."

"Is the imperial court going to ignore this this time?" Hong Lang continued to ask.

"The imperial court has a special department to deal with evil spirits, called the Evil Suppression Office, but the Evil Suppression Envoy sent this time was also killed by evil spirits. The new Evil Suppression Envoy has not yet arrived, and many people have already fled Ningyuan Town," Chen Nuo replied.

"My aunt married into Ningyuan Town, and last night her whole family fled back to Qingxi Town. I heard all this from her."

Hong Lang felt a heavy weight in his heart, and a desire to become stronger rose in his chest. What if the evil spirit was not in Ningyuan Town, but in Qingxi Town or Taiping Village?

He originally thought that with the [Dragon Essence and Tiger Ferocity] in hand, he could hold his own against any expert in the Marrow Cleansing Realm. Now it seems that he had underestimated the world.

Hong Lang asked, "Senior Brother Chen, will evil spirits come to our Qingxi Town?"

"Who knows? A few years ago, a town in the neighboring Qingsong County was completely devoured because the envoy to suppress evil arrived a few days late," Chen Nuo said.

Hong Lang gave an "oh," pondered for a moment, then took out ten coins from his pocket and handed them to Chen Nuo: "Senior Brother Chen, now that I've entered the Blood Refining Realm, I'd be grateful if you could help me. Do you have any recommendations for making a living?"

The evil spirits are not far away now, so he needs to save some money. He originally planned to look for work after a while, but now he has to make plans in advance.

Chen Nuo smiled, tucked the money into his pocket, and quickly said:

"There are several options to choose from. Tiger Might Escort Agency is currently recruiting escorts. The salary is six taels of silver per month. All you have to do is show up and make a few escort trips a month."

The Zhou family in town is hiring bodyguards. The job is five taels of silver per month, and the guards will only need to stand guard for two hours each night. It won't interfere with their martial arts practice.

Songhelou is also recruiting thugs, paying seven taels of silver a month, but the hours are long—six hours a day.

Hong Lang frowned slightly, feeling that none of these three places were quite suitable for him.

It takes at least three days for a bodyguard to make a trip; where would I find that much time?

As for guards, they practice martial arts to avoid being controlled by others. How could they possibly become servants and have to watch other people's faces?

Needless to say, Songhelou is even worse; with six hours a day, there's simply no time to practice martial arts.

Seeing his hesitation, Chen Nuo leaned closer and said with a hint of encouragement, "Junior Brother Hong, if you're really short on funds, you could try borrowing some money from the Chang Le Gang!"