Even in his twilight years, he swept through the chaotic army of ten thousand warriors!

He smiled and helped Ji Yan nock the arrow onto the bow.

Then she turned to Fu Xianxing and asked, "Am I right?"

Fu Xianxing paused for a moment, then shook his head blankly.

"I don't know... Grandpa didn't say..."

Li Yan just smiled, seemingly enjoying teasing the boy.

"That's why I invited you, Lao Ji, to come and practice archery, just to let this anger out..."

In fact, Ji Yan had had this idea before, so he naturally believed it now that Li Yan had said it.

He held the bow horizontally in his hand, exhaled deeply, and then lifted the burning, stinging breath from his chest.

Skill: Archery (Beginner)

[Progress: 56/100]

Sure enough, the body recalled the past and included it in its skill proficiency.

But after all, it's been about sixty years since they last shot...

Whoosh!

Its tail feathers jingled as it crookedly disappeared into the crack in the stone slab.

But as Li Yan had said, the arrow, once shot, did indeed dissipate a great deal of the pent-up frustration in his chest.

"Thank you so much, young man..." he gasped, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.

But before he could finish speaking, Li Yan waved his hand casually and laughed indifferently.

"Sigh, not worth thanking."

"I wasn't much of a help. Usually, you can figure out these little things yourself as you practice. After all, nobody dies from holding in their pee."

He paused for a moment before continuing.

"Besides, this is only treating the symptoms, not the root cause. To truly solve this problem..."

As he spoke, he winked at Fu Xianxing.

"Hey buddy, can you give us a sneak peek?"

"what?"

Fu Xianxing had been listening and watching fine at first, but now that he was suddenly asked the question, he became timid again.

"Through...through what...?"

Ji Yan held the bow level and drew it again, nocking an arrow.

Calm your mind and focus, and shoot an arrow with utmost care.

He understood. Li Yan had brought him over because he considered him one of the same kind of people, and the focus should be on this young man.

Li Yan put his arm around Fu Xianxing's shoulder and pointed to the group of people sprawled out over there.

"Look at them!"

"The damage to the body from practicing that half-set of stance training outweighs the benefits."

"Right now, everyone is still not paying attention to the complete set of stance training, thinking that Officer Zhou is ruthless, but in less than two days..."

"They really need to scrape together this money."

"Even if we grit our teeth and scrape together the money, we still managed to get the complete set."

"In just a few days, those who can truly immerse themselves in the training will find that their bodies simply cannot withstand this continuous rigorous training..."

Fu Xianxing was already frowning when he spoke, and it was clear that he was trying hard to think.

Finally, at this point, Fu Xianxing seemed to finally understand.

He practically jumped up and raised his hand, excitedly saying...

"This grandfather said it!"

"At that time, Officer Zhou will leisurely tell you..."

"The accompanying breathing techniques are inexpensive; I'll teach you for five taels of silver."

Ji Yan opened his mouth, but remained silent for a moment.

After a long pause, he managed to squeeze out a few words from his dry throat:

"That's really... impeccable!"

Li Yan's expression was equally unpleasant, and he helplessly spread his hands.

"Hey, who can argue with that!"

"I reckon that people from other garrisons who became banner officers made a fortune, but those from Qingshui Garrison..."

"If Commander Liu won't give it to them, they'll have to find their own way!"

After saying that, he angrily crushed the ants on the ground and slumped down on the ground.

"Money, money, money..."

"I've only been in this military camp for a few days, and I've already squandered all the little food I had at home!"

Li Yan lowered his head and thought for a long time before finally raising his head again, asking with a last glimmer of hope.

"Xingzi, your blood and qi..."

"Is it really impossible to learn without that breathing technique?"

Fu Xianxing nodded. "This grandfather did mention it..."

"What did they say?" Li Yan's eyes suddenly lit up, and he almost pressed his ear against the wall to listen.

He said…

Fu Xianxing paused to recall for a moment, then slowly began to speak.

He said... When a person is born, the innate energy manifests in the limbs and bones.

"It is said that the innate Qi is extremely mysterious. The so-called martial arts practice is to feel and grasp this mysterious wisp, and use it to explore the secrets of heaven and earth in the human body."

"To seize this opportunity is to become a martial artist."

If you can't seize the opportunity, you'll remain just an ordinary person for the rest of your life.

"Talking about so-called Qi and blood..."

"Qi is not only the master of blood and qi, but also the key to unlocking the path of martial arts."

"Without the flow of Qi, you'll have already torn your meridians apart by the time you start drawing blood..."

He spoke with such conviction, as if stating an undeniable fact.

It's clear that he firmly believes in his grandfather's words.

Then he scratched his head sheepishly and said awkwardly.

"I do know how, but this requires using your Qi and blood to flow into your meridians to teach you..."

"I don't know how to do this yet."

But he didn't finish his sentence, glancing at Ji Yan several times as if he wanted to say something but then stopped.

After hesitating for a while, I finally decided to speak.

"But this primordial energy does not always exist."

"It will slowly fade away as life continues..."

He stared intently into Chen Yan's eyes as he spoke.

"In other words, the older it gets, the less likely it is to be found."

"Even if you did acquire the breathing technique, at your age..."

Ji Yan waved his hand casually; it wasn't a problem for him.

He may have long passed the prime age for cultivation, and he himself is mediocre without any amazing talent.

However, the "Old but Still Strong" ability gives him more than four times the talent bonus, which is enough to eliminate his worries...

The scene fell silent for a moment, and Li Yan stopped speaking, staring blankly at the gray sky in the distance.

Perhaps Li Yan had the same plans, but all of them were based on cultivating his Qi and blood.

But unexpectedly, the problem arose from the issue of money...

"But it's not to say that it's absolutely impossible to train..."

Suddenly, that childish voice rang out again, not loud, but like a stone thrown into stagnant water, instantly creating ripples.

Fu Xianxing pondered for a long time before finally speaking.

"There are always some of God's favorites in this world. Some of them are born with a special kind of spirit and are exceptionally gifted."

"Yes, after some experiences, after going through unimaginable thrills..."

"Just like the blind scholar in Qingshuiwei before, who spent his whole life studying books and finally had a great enlightenment, and from then on rose to prominence."

What he didn't say was that his grandfather had lamented that the blind scholar was someone you might not see even once in a hundred years.

He didn't know why he did it...

But I kept thinking, I didn't want to see the sadness in their eyes...

At this moment, Li Yan was no longer as lively as before. He sat on the ground and looked up at Fu Xianxing.

"Old Ji and I are here to compete for the Wuzu (martial arts) rank. Xiao Xing, you can do everything..."

He paused, then asked bluntly, "You should have developed your Qi and blood circulation by now, right?"

"Then what are you doing here?"

Fu Xianxing nodded first, admitting that he did indeed have qi and blood, and then thought for a moment and said.

Grandpa said…

"They said there would be a shortage of a banner officer next month, and they wanted me to take the position for fun."