One Dao Fruit a day, starting with the Dragon Taming Technique.

The next morning.

Xu Guang got up and went to the courtyard. As usual, he practiced boxing. He had gotten used to practicing martial arts over the past six months, and he felt uncomfortable if he didn't practice every day.

Of course, it was also forced by the circumstances of the world.

Now that demons have appeared in the world, only absolute power can bring absolute confidence. I heard that the military governor has started to go into seclusion to practice martial arts these days.

I just don't know if the appearance of these so-called demons is a sign of the revival of spiritual energy.

Xu Guang, who had traveled through time, was naturally familiar with the phenomenon of spiritual energy revival.

However, considering that the demons' appearance will not last long, even if the spiritual energy recovers, once I save people, cultivate good karma, and officially activate my cheat ability, I should be able to become one of the top tier after the spiritual energy recovers, right?

In contemporary martial arts, there are two main styles: external martial arts and internal martial arts.

Soldiers typically undergo external physical training to strengthen their bodies, enabling them to fight for extended periods in armor. This training progresses from the outside in, encompassing the five stages of skin, flesh, tendons, bone marrow, and marrow.

As for internal martial arts, Xu Guang learned some about them through his brother-in-law Du Changwei. Most of them were practiced by martial arts sects in the Jianghu. The methods of internal energy cultivation were mostly derived from Taoism. The realms that Xu Guang knew of so far included Condensed Energy, Bright Energy, Dark Energy, Transformation Energy, and Dan Energy, etc.

In actual combat, physical training with armor is stronger.

Of course, the two paths are different. Horizontal training is mostly a method of military combat. The training speed is fast in the early stages, but it overdraws the body, and very few people can cultivate to the level of the Great Perfection of the Fifth Realm.

Internal martial arts techniques contain many methods for nourishing life, providing greater sustained energy and increasing the likelihood of reaching higher levels of mastery.

Iron Body Kung Fu is a martial art passed down from the Shuofang Army. It is considered a fairly good martial art among external martial arts, and it emphasizes constantly tempering the entire body like steel.

Cultivation is quite painful. Xu Guang is currently in the physical realm, and every day during his cultivation, he needs to constantly stimulate all the muscles in his body to fight against hard objects, supplemented by medicinal water to cleanse and refine them.

There was an old tree in the courtyard, which was just right to serve as a hard object for cultivation. Xu Guang did not hesitate and stepped forward to get into a fighting stance, using his muscles to resist the tree trunk.

It was very painful at first, but as the rhythm changed, the pain gradually turned into a pleasant soreness. It felt like a warm current was constantly flowing through the muscles, and the muscle fibers were getting thicker with each struggle.

Xu Guang didn't understand much about these biological concepts; he only knew that the Iron Body Technique was proven to be feasible.

His physical strength was so formidable that he could withstand blunt weapons, and his skin was as tough as cowhide, leaving only white marks on his body from ordinary iron weapons.

After a period of cultivation, Xu Guang felt himself getting stronger, although the feeling wasn't very clear.

Just as he was about to go back to his room to wash up, a wooden basin suddenly appeared in front of him, filled with clear water.

Wu Yunmiao held the wooden basin, biting her lip, "My benefactor, please... don't send me away."

Xu Guang: ...

Is this someone trying to pin the blame on me?

Well, I just got promoted to sergeant when I was relieved of my post, and my monthly military pay has increased to three strings of cash. I can also make some extra money while patrolling the city. After deducting the expenses for martial arts training and medicine each month, I should be able to support a woman.

After all, the Dragon Taming Technique was obtained from Wu Yunmiao. The method was wondrous, and although it didn't seem to be a righteous path, it should be cultivable.

He was really looking forward to it.

In fact, any technique will do.

What can you do?

"I can keep accounts and I can serve people well."

Xu Guang was surprised. Accounting? This era wasn't like the previous one; women rarely received an education. "You've been to school? What did your family do before?"

Wu Yunmiao hesitated for a long time before speaking.

"My father was the Prefect of Boshan in Gunzhou. He was dismissed from his post by the Prefect and his whole family was exiled. Later, I was rescued by Yang Jinshan's men in Shuocheng. After that, Yang Jinshan took a liking to me and said he wanted to marry me. You know what happened after that."

She was also the daughter of a disgraced official.

Xu Guang suddenly realized why Wu Yunmiao said she couldn't live alone without him.

"Alright, you can stay here for now. You can cook and do things, right?"

Wu Yunmiao nodded repeatedly.

"Okay, you prepare lunch, I have something to do outside."

……

Once outside, Xu Guang walked down the street, which used to be where his father's wine shop was located, so many people knew him.

"Xiao Guang is back?"

"Are you leaving again this time?"

Where do you live now?

When the neighbors saw Xu Guang, they were first surprised, and then they warmly greeted him.

After all, Xu Guang is not the same as before. Everyone knows that Xu Guang is a bodyguard. With a familiar bodyguard, no one, whether a street thug or a lowly official, dares to mess with him.

Xu Guang didn't put on airs and answered each question politely.

At the same time, observe the changes in each person's expression.

My father died suddenly, and these people on the street might know something about it.

Unfortunately, after observing everyone, it seemed that no one showed any significant abnormality.

Xu Guang's father passed away two months ago. His second uncle wrote that it was due to lung disease. Xu Guang had believed him before because his father had a habit of smoking and taking medicine. However, after seeing his second uncle yesterday, Xu Guang believed that there must be something wrong with his father's death.

Let's investigate slowly, starting with Zhang Hu.

Master of internal strength...

The neighbors behind him were still talking, mostly praising Xu Guang for becoming a soldier and even getting a minor official position.

When they arrived at the shop that their father used to own, the door was not open; it was sealed off, and it was quiet inside.

Xu Guang narrowed his eyes.

After buying a few steamed buns from Cui Niang's bun shop, Xu Guang walked towards his father-in-law's house.

When he arrived, he saw his future mother-in-law smiling as she saw two women, one older and one younger, off. The younger woman was dressed very elegantly in silk. Xu Guang immediately realized that she was there for his brother-in-law, Du Changwei, to meet on a blind date.

"Xiao Guang's here? Have you eaten?"

"I've already eaten, Auntie, please don't trouble yourself."

Mother-in-law Liu Xiaocao smiled and pulled Xu Guang into the courtyard.

Du Changwei's father-in-law, Du Zhong, was lecturing him, probably because he hadn't performed well on the blind date earlier.

"Xiao Guang's here. Has he found a place to stay?"

"Found it, it's in the empty courtyard of Old Wang's house next to my dad's shop."

"That's good. I've looked into Zhang Hu for you. His connections are complicated. He's related to the prison warden in the yamen. He practices martial arts under the Qing Shuo Sect of Shuocheng. Also, he has a younger sister who married Xu Sheng of the Third Squad of the Central Army in our Yajun Camp."

Xu Guang frowned upon hearing this. "Are the relationships really that complicated?"

Du Zhong nodded, then added, "By the way, Xu Sheng knows you're investigating Zhang Hu, and he asked someone to pass on a message to me. He'll act as an intermediary to help you redeem the shop, but it will take some time."

Xu Guang frowned. His second uncle had given the shop to Zhang Hu, who was involved with demons. Did Zhang Hu have any connection with demons?

If he returned the shop, what was the point of buying it in the first place? It hadn't been open for almost two months.

Is there something in the shop?

A guess suddenly popped into Xu Guang's mind.

"By the way, Uncle Du, there's something I need your help with."

As he spoke, Xu Guang listed the various demonic materials he needed to cultivate the Dragon Taming Technique.

The deer demon has antlers, the snake demon has seven-inch scales, the bear demon has bear paws, and the fish demon has a pearl on its head.

Upon hearing this, Du Zhong frowned. "What do you need these things for?"

"I found a prescription at my second uncle's house. I don't know what it's for, but I want to give it a try."

Upon hearing this, Du Zhong didn't say much. Xu's second uncle was a veteran doctor with many years of experience, so it was plausible that he knew some old folk remedies.

"Alright, I have bear paws at home. I was planning to stew them for the New Year. Take them if you want. I know someone who has the rest. I'll have Changwei deliver them to you tonight. Go check on Youniang when you have time."

Du Zhong refused to mention money and acted swiftly and decisively, getting dressed and leaving as he spoke.

There are three days of rest during the rotation period, and after that, there won't be so much free time.

Xu Guang genuinely felt that the family of his fiancée, whom his father had introduced to him, was quite good.