A Long River Myth

Five days later, when Li Hong arrived at the West Courtyard in the morning.

He continued to hone his stance training.

A panel appeared before my eyes:

[Minor Success in Hundred-Refined Stance Training (295/500)]

[Basic Mastery of the Hundred-Refined Fist Technique (195/500)]

These days, thanks to the effects of the low-grade blood-regulating pill, my progress in stance training and fist techniques has far surpassed what it was before.

At this rate, he roughly estimated that he would be able to master the stance training in another month and then break through the internal energy barrier!

For an ordinary disciple to progress from external strength to internal strength, six months is considered a stable and excellent period.

He had only been in Waizhuang for less than two months, which means that in just over three months, he already had the foundation to make a breakthrough in Neizhuang.

This is still due to insufficient resources in the early stages.

Even at this speed... it's probably extremely rare in the outer city!

The main reason is that the internal strengthening process is more brutal than the external strengthening process, like thousands of troops crossing a single-plank bridge.

If one hasn't accumulated enough experience, the probability of succeeding on the first try is only a few percent.

Why does the school stipulate that one must develop internal strength within a year to be considered qualified, and that one who achieves it within six months is already considered one of the best in recent years?

The hope is that the outstanding disciples in the hall will not be too hasty, but accumulate knowledge and experience before making a breakthrough, so as not to damage their foundation if they fail to break through the barrier, which would make it more difficult to break through again in the future!

However, this was not a problem for Li Hong, who owned the panel.

With the panel's support, as long as he focuses on his work, he will surely gain something from every practice, and every step forward will be the right one.

"what!"

Suddenly, a howl came from the east corner of the courtyard, interrupting Li Hong's thoughts.

The courtyard was noisy and bustling, but he was too focused on the stances to pay attention, waiting for the set of stance exercises to be completed before looking back.

On the east side of the academy, a group of disciples had already surrounded half of the city.

Yang Chen was pale in the circle, and the disciple on duty next to him was applying ointment to his arm.

It was clear that the howl earlier originated from him.

"How can you hit someone so hard during a friendly exchange of pointers? It's dislocated."

"Brother Huangshan has always been very measured, so why this time..."

The disciples nearby whispered amongst themselves.

Li Hong approached, having recently received financial assistance from someone, which at least improved their previous relationship.

He squatted down next to Yang Chen and glanced at him briefly. The latter's right arm was fine; it was probably just a simple dislocation.

This technique is clearly an injury inflicted by blocking the tiger's tail in the Hundred Refinements Fist.

Li Hong helped the two disciples on duty work together to reset Yang Chen's joints, and asked, "What happened?"

"It's nothing. I was just momentarily distracted when my senior brother Huangshan was instructing me on the boxing technique. It's nothing serious."

The beads of sweat on Yang Chen's forehead were the size of soybeans.

Li Hong vaguely remembered the Huangshan Mountain he mentioned, but it wasn't currently in the crowd.

He is an internal disciple who was in the same class as Shi Liang, and is currently one of the most outstanding students of Head Instructor Shen.

I heard that he developed internal strength in just over half a year after arriving at the West Campus. Although he arrived half a month later than Shi Liang, he is still one of the few outstanding individuals in the past two years.

"What do you mean by 'accidental slip'... You're always following Senior Brother Shi around, everyone knows that Senior Brother Shi stole his thunder during the training exercise a while ago."

"It also caused him to be unable to take up his post at the River Bureau due to his weak strength. Humph, Senior Brother Shi is about to be evaluated as a martial arts student, so he can only take his anger out on you."

After most of the others had left, a disciple who was familiar with Yang Chen lowered his voice and explained the whole story.

Recently, Shi Liang has indeed been getting closer to Li Hong, coming over every few days to exchange techniques and share tips, which has attracted a lot of attention.

And since Yang Chen was quite close to him, in the eyes of the West Courtyard disciples, it seemed as if the two of them had already latched onto Shi Liang's coattails.

He was considered part of Shi Liang's small circle.

Li Hong naturally knew the truth behind the scenes.

Shi Liang initially followed He Song's orders, but later he simply because he had some "talent" in practicing boxing, so he was willing to give him pointers in his spare time.

That's all; a gentleman's friendship is as pure as water.

Wherever there are people, there is a world of its own.

This small circle may not exist in their subjective view, but it may already exist objectively.

"Hey, Brother Li, you should be careful too. Huang Shan is a cunning man with powerful connections. He's not someone to mess with. Try to avoid him."

"Thanks." Li Hong glanced at the person who spoke, nodded slightly, and didn't say anything more, but simply helped Yang Chen up.

He didn't want to get involved in these troublesome matters at all, and if he said anything more, he didn't know what kind of rumors would spread about him.

.........

Evening, at the grocery store.

Li Hong and Yao were sitting in front of the shop enjoying the cool air, with half a melon on the table in front of them.

Jinshui Street has become lively again these days, with vendors coming and going along the street, and even as night is approaching, many people have not yet packed up their stalls.

The night insects chirped.

Teenagers played freely in the streets, and every household had its doors wide open, creating a peaceful and harmonious scene.

After the Huang Lin Gang was wiped out overnight, the remaining henchmen who had escaped the net were temporarily unable to take over the previous operation. Having lost their support, they are now like rats crossing the street, unable to gain any real influence.

It will probably take quite a while before any other gangs rise to power.

Li Hong munched on a melon, enjoying the tranquil and peaceful time after a long day at home.

Yao threw away a piece of melon rind, turned to look at Li Hong, and smiled:

"Hong'er... Sister Xu from that fisherman's family came to deliver fish to us again today. I think Wang Lan is a pretty and quiet girl... Don't you really have any interest in her at all?"

Li Hong had just relaxed when he heard this and was speechless. He frowned slightly and complained, "Mother, I'm only seventeen. Are you in such a hurry to have a grandson?"

These days, after learning that he had become a martial arts practitioner, even more people are coming to visit his home.

But Li Hong is only seventeen years old in this life, and with the panel in his body, he will definitely pursue the pinnacle of martial arts in the future.

Romantic feelings? Now is not the time.

Holding a palm-leaf fan, Yao's complexion had now regained a ruddy glow. Leaning back in her recliner, she smiled and said:

"Look how anxious you are. I've given her money every time. That woman surnamed Gao is too mercenary and materialistic; I don't like her either. I just feel like I've already lived half my life, and I don't know when it started, but I've become a little worried about your future. If you really had a virtuous wife who could help you out, I would be at ease..."

As Yao spoke, she couldn't help but sigh slightly. She had witnessed the changes in Li Hong over the past few months.

The fact that the child could still be so resilient under that kind of pressure suggests that she must have secretly endured countless hardships that she neither knew nor dared to imagine.

While the mother and daughter chatted idly, under the cover of night, Li Fulin, looking travel-worn, had just returned to the shop in a donkey cart.

"father."

"grandfather!"

Li Hong and Yao hurriedly went to meet Li Fulin, who had been in the countryside collecting goods for the past two days and was only now returning home.

Li Hong helped unload the goods, and Yao handed him a bowl of water to send the cart drivers away. She then asked, "Father, did you eat before you came back?"

"have eaten!"

Li Fulin took the bowl of water and drank it all in one gulp. Back in the shop, he lowered his voice and said:

"Xiao Hong, I've found all the things you wanted."

"These are python oil ointment, old vine tendon, medicinal palm rope... I bought them all separately, it took me two days to get them."

Li Hong picked out all the things he mentioned, which were the materials for making the "Dragon-Entwining Stakes" needed for practicing Iron Wall Kung Fu.

With these, he can start practicing the Iron Wall Kung Fu tonight once he has formed the Dragon-Entwining Stake!