I defeated the saint with a parry.

Sending Li Yang to a martial arts school was the best option Xu Ling could think of.

He planned to first take care of Li Yang's food and drink, fatten him up, and let Li Yang train at the martial arts school. He wasn't in a hurry to enter the martial arts path, but at least he could strengthen his body first.

Only when you have a body can you think about other things.

After saying goodbye to Zhang Li, Xu Ling headed towards the Songyang Martial Arts School that Zhang Li had mentioned. Li Yang followed quietly the whole way, without saying a word or even showing any expression. It was unclear whether this was due to the many recent changes or the death of his sister.

As an outsider, Xu Ling didn't know what to say to comfort the boy.

If it were his past life, he might have taken the boy to get a foot massage, but in this life, he can't afford to go to Fanlou either.

The only thing Li Yang could do was to channel his grief and anger into strength and go to the martial arts school to hone his will.

"Do you resent your sister for not being able to take you with her when she left Fancheng?"

Xu Ling broke the silence, and Li Yang shook his head.

"No," Li Yang said in a muffled voice. "To be honest, sir, I only found out last night that I had an older sister, and this morning I saw her body. I have indescribable feelings in my heart, and I don't know how to express them."

Li Yang looked down at his toes and said slowly, "The Li family isn't a good place either. If my sister hadn't left, she might be living a much more painful life than I am."

Xu Ling: "Haven't you ever thought about doing something with your current status?"

"My lord, please do not jest," Li Yang said softly. "How could I possibly lay a finger on the Li family of Fancheng? If I were to stay in the Li family, I would probably die even more quickly."

"If Li Xi could see this so clearly, he would be very happy to know it in the afterlife."

Upon arriving at the entrance of Songyang Martial Arts School, the shouts of martial arts sparring could be heard from inside, and the school's vibrant atmosphere could be felt even from the outside.

"You now have two paths. One is to recover your health at the martial arts school, and if you have the talent, you can learn martial arts along the way. You can become a wandering knight or a demon slayer in the future. The other is that if you don't have the talent, you can simply continue your studies and take the imperial examinations. With martial arts skills by your side, it will be much easier to become a civil official."

If they can't win an argument in court, they can test their fists against their colleagues.

Li Yang looked at Xu Ling in surprise: "Are you going to take care of me until then, sir?"

Xu Ling nodded: "At least you need to be able to earn a living."

Anyway, he's all alone, and with his current strength, he's not afraid of having another mouth to feed.

After saying that, he took out his old small storage bag and put in one hundred low-grade spirit stones: "Take this for now."

"..."

Li Yang's expression was strange. Xu Ling had already walked into the martial arts hall, but he was still standing there, staring blankly at the small storage bag in his hand.

"What are you standing there for? Come in quickly." Xu Ling turned around and saw this scene, and shouted directly, "If you don't want to learn martial arts, you still have a chance to regret it."

"No! Sir, I'm willing to learn." Li Yang ran quickly up the steps of the martial arts hall, as if it were the first time he had ever run so fast.

There was someone to greet us at the entrance of the martial arts school.

Xu Ling mentioned Zhang Li's name, which immediately attracted the attention of the martial arts school director.

A giant over two meters tall, with a full beard, bare-chested, and muscular build.

Xu Ling couldn't tell his age, but the curator's first words gave Xu Ling a rough idea, and he thought to himself that the curator should be in his forties or fifties.

"Who was it that my wretched apprentice recommended?"

Master Zhang Li, Zhang Songyang.

Zhang Li was indeed an orphan, but he had a good mentor.

When Zhang Songyang learned that Li Yang wanted to learn martial arts, his first reaction was to frown and exclaim, "This kid is too skinny."

He grabbed Li Yang with one hand.

With her hands gripping Li Yang's waist, she turned him over like a toy, examining his bones as she did so.

Xu Ling saw that Li Yang was stiff all over and had a pleading look in his eyes, but he didn't say or do anything.

How old are you?

When Zhang Songyang asked, Xu Ling gave the age mentioned in the letter: "Fourteen."

Li Yang is two years younger than Li Xi, which means that Li Xi was only four years old when she left Fancheng.

"Fourteen?" Zhang Songyang's brow furrowed even higher. "His physique is poor; he's not even as good as an eleven-year-old in the martial arts school."

"You need to practice more." Zhang Songyang finally let go of Li Yang, who was relieved and quickly moved closer to Xu Ling, grabbing Xu Ling's clothes and daring not to let go.

"There are no other rules for coming to my martial arts school. You pay a monthly allowance, and I'll cover his food, drink, and training expenses," Zhang Songyang said in a deep voice. "There are no restrictions for those who are not inner disciples or personal disciples. If they have something to do, they can ask the manager of the school for leave."

He looked at Xu Ling and added a word of advice: "His health is a bit poor. He needs to rest first before he can practice martial arts. Don't rush him."

Xu Ling cupped his hands in greeting: "What the headmaster says is true. I will not interfere in martial arts training; everything is up to the headmaster."

Zhang Songyang then smiled and said, "Good! Here's the money. Fifty spirit stones a month."

"So expensive?" Xu Ling paused in his act of taking out his money. He only earned ten spirit stones a month while learning martial arts in Zhangye.

"Expensive?" Zhang Songyang laughed, "The meat we eat at my martial arts school is from demonic beasts, and we don't use inferior pills. If he recovers well and has good talent, he might even have a chance to learn my family's secret techniques."

He specifically mentioned Zhang Li: "Zhang Li, that little monkey, learned his movements from me."

Xu Ling shut his mouth. In this way, the martial arts school in Zhangye that treasured inferior Qi and Blood Pills was indeed incomparable.

He honestly offered up the spirit stones.

Unexpectedly, Zhang Songyang wasn't finished. He added, "I have a secret recipe that can help this child quickly recover and strengthen his foundation. It'll cost fifty spirit stones."

The large hand had just put away the spirit stones when it spread them out again.

Xu Ling silently added fifty.

Zhang Songyang nodded in satisfaction: "Young man, don't be upset. If it weren't for Zhang Li's introduction, I would have charged you at least two hundred."

Xu Ling was not happy at all.

If it weren't for the thousand spirit stones Li You gave him that morning, his wallet would have been emptied by now, and he still wouldn't have enough.

That's why they say kids' money is easy to earn.

Gan!

Maybe I should open a martial arts school.

Although he was muttering quietly, Zhang Songyang heard him. The curator narrowed his eyes, clenched his fist, and swung it at Xu Ling, a fist as big as his head.

What appeared to be a light punch carried an incomprehensible force that Xu Ling could not comprehend. The fist grew larger and larger in his eyes, like Mount Tai pressing down, rendering Xu Ling completely immobile.

Fortunately, the words and trajectory of "disengagement" appeared in time. Xu Ling gripped the hilt of his sword and used the scabbard to deflect the punch, catching it without moving an inch.

But when the fist collided with the scabbard, the force of the punch exploded, instantly blasting away the dust and fallen leaves in front of the martial arts school.

Especially the leaves around Xu Ling, which seemed like flying knives, all pierced into the surrounding walls and embedded themselves deeply.

"Great idea!"

Seeing his prey, Zhang Songyang was overjoyed and laughed loudly, throwing another punch. The dust and leaves that had just been kicked up seemed to be drawn by something, circling back behind Zhang Songyang.

The style of this punch changed; it was no longer the overwhelming force of Mount Tai pressing down and breaking through all laws, but transformed into a soft, water-like force that entangled Xu Ling.

"Impressive, even raising the sword is restricted."

Xu Ling felt this deeply. The curator had a keen eye and saw through his technique of deflecting the force, so he thought of restricting his hand movements.

However... besides deflecting and parrying, he can also dodge.

Xu Ling simply rolled over, using his invincible frame to cancel the entanglement of his fists, instantly breaking the feeling of being restrained.

But what followed was a swirling mass of fallen leaves, propelled by the force of the punch!

Xu Ling swung his sword again, deflecting each strike with the scabbard, the clanging of metal drawing the attention of everyone in the martial arts hall.

When they heard the crisp clang of the fists and saw Xu Ling perfectly block the gym leader's punch, they all gaped in astonishment.

"Who is this person who was able to withstand two punches from the gym owner in a row?"

"It seems like they're sending a younger member of their family to learn martial arts..."

"If you have this much time, why not learn at home?"

Rough words are not rough.

Zhang Songyang laughed, though his eyes still held a fighting spirit, he didn't make another move: "Your counter-move is quite ingenious; I can't even figure out what kind of technique it is."

"Are you truly at the Body Tempering Realm?"

Xu Ling put the ink knife back into his storage bag and cupped his hands, saying, "It's genuine."

Zhang Songyang nodded: "Don't worry about leaving Li Yang with me. As for your idea of ​​opening a martial arts school, I can help you make the connection."

This statement can be seen as an acknowledgment of Xu Ling's strength.

Xu Ling waved his hands repeatedly: "I was just joking, please don't take it to heart, Curator."

Zhang Songyang thought for a moment, then tossed back the hundred spirit stones he had just received: "Take these and go drink with Zhang Li. The kid's first month's tuition is waived."