Chapter 22

Human flesh sandbags are limited; the time to dye red is limited, and the amount of drugs carried on the body is limited by the bloodline...

To solve the latter, Dugu Fu specially used the stolen money to replenish a lot of golden wound medicine.

There was no solution for the former, so he could only seize every second to practice hard.

During this time, Ride and Slash woke up a few times, discovering that Dugu Fu was stealing his things and noticing the changes in the package.

But just like someone brainwashed by a cult, he didn't suspect anything. He wanted to give everything away, but the other person didn't even want it, instead marveling at Dugu Fu's ingenious counterfeiting skills.

To be fair, he wasn't completely deceived. At least he learned this counterfeit Flying Dragon Exploring Clouds technique, which could be considered a blessing in disguise.

Dugu Fu was too lazy to bother with him. When the two skills were almost practiced, and the time to dye red had passed, he found an opportunity to empty his pockets and then released him back into nature. Dugu Fu then changed direction, riding off with four horses.

With no debts, one feels light and free!

After getting rid of Ride and Slash, Dugu Fu galloped through the mountains and forests, temporarily forgetting about the setbacks in his practice.

Setbacks in practice?

Yes, whether it was the Five Forms of Xingyi or the theft technique, he had hit a bottleneck.

At first, he didn't believe it. Even if he used a quick method, he shouldn't have hit a bottleneck so quickly...

But the facts were clear. The power of the Five Forms of Xingyi, which initially required 20 hits to take a pill, had been strengthened to 16 hits, and then stopped progressing.

The theft technique, when stealing from Ride and Slash's ordinary backpack, had a success rate of about 60%, and it also didn't improve.

This shouldn't be...

The enhancement of the Five Forms of Xingyi should be over 30%, and 16 hits were definitely not the limit;

The success rate of the theft technique, if the target didn't react, should be close to 100% for an ordinary backpack!

The sensitivity of the target and whether they would notice were separate judgments.

What went wrong?

While galloping, a branch came straight at him.

On the horse, Dugu Fu instinctively used a horizontal move, tilting his body, pulling the reins, and bending over like a steel bridge.

"Horizontal, taking the meaning of yellow earth, stable and heavy, the force comes from the ground..."

In an instant, Dugu Fu had an epiphany: "Horizontal, the key is in the waist strength, the foundation of the Five Forms of Xingyi, closely related to the桩功 (zhuang gong) stance training."

"Without a solid桩功 (zhuang gong), the horizontal move won't be effective, and if the horizontal move isn't effective, every move of the Five Forms of Xingyi will be affected."

"And not only that..."

Rushing past the branch, Dugu Fu reined in his horse and loosened the reins.

Two red marks, almost torn, were left on his skin, a result of his forceful avoidance and the reins.

But Dugu Fu remembered clearly that during his training in the mountains, his hands had gradually become rough, even developing calluses. How could they be so tender?

"Thievery relies on flexibility, dexterity, and precise movements; but Xingyi Quan, a battlefield martial art, is about direct and straightforward killing, not requiring dexterity."

"Practicing thievery makes the hands tender, affecting the power of Xingyi Quan; practicing Xingyi Quan makes the hands rough, reducing the success rate of thievery... It's ridiculous that in this lowest-level martial arts world, there would be such a thing as a magic and martial barrier..." Dugu Fu was both amused and exasperated.

The magic and martial barrier refers to the class barriers in some magic worlds where warriors can't become mages, and mages can't become warriors.

Magic worlds exist, but martial arts worlds? He had never heard of such a thing.

Since he hadn't heard of it, it was clearly a restriction for NPCs.

"It seems that even in a low-level martial arts world, one shouldn't practice martial arts haphazardly... If I hadn't had this epiphany, who knows how long I would have been stuck in the Five Forms of Xingyi and thievery?"

"No wonder martial artists need to go out and train at a certain stage. Sometimes, closed-door training doesn't work; one needs action and opportunities to gain insights."

"But... not just the Five Forms of Xingyi, in this low-level martial arts world, most skills are hand-based. Practicing other fist techniques would likely have the same issue."

Dugu Fu spread out his palms, looking at his pale, slender hands, which didn't seem very manly...

"With such hands, if I could go to a magic world and become a mage, casting spells would be incredibly fast. But in this world, what can I do? Should I switch to using my legs?"

"Famous leg techniques are few, mainly Tan Leg, Stabbing Foot..."

Muttering to himself, Dugu Fu suddenly clenched his hand, inadvertently hitting his injured area, causing him to grimace.

"Right, I should practice leg techniques. Why not? Although they lack flexibility and speed, the power of the legs is three times that of the fists. With proper application, my quick reflexes and hard training will definitely lead to faster progress than complex fist techniques."

"Even without powerful leg techniques, skills are created by people..."

"Besides, besides Tan Leg, Stabbing Foot, Foshan Shadowless Foot, Deadly Heart-Piercing Foot, the leg techniques of Jeet Kune Do and the knee and leg strikes of Muay Thai, there are many techniques to draw from."

"Alas, it's a pity I sent Ride and Slash back. Otherwise, I could have practiced on him..." Dugu Fu couldn't help but start planning.

Until his stomach growled like thunder, he suddenly came to his senses.

He had been hungry for a long time; it was time to eat...

Instinctively, he reached into his backpack, pulling out some dry rations and water while thinking, planning to eat a few bites and be done with it.

His movements suddenly stopped, his nose twitching.

In the air, the scent of stir-fried dishes wafted, so fragrant and tempting!

Since his穿越 (chuanchuo) (穿越 (chuanchuo) means "穿越" (chuanchuo), which is a term used in Chinese literature to describe a person who has been transported to another time or world), he had been living rough and had never had a proper meal.

No, not just since his穿越 (chuanchuo); even before, his appreciation of food was like his appreciation of beautiful women, based on the mix of flavors and the stimulation of the taste buds.

But while beauty could be quantified, the mix of flavors was hard to measure, leading to frequent misunderstandings.

Once, he thought that bamboo leaf-roasted meat with bamboo shoots was a rare delicacy, almost crying while eating it. Only after smelling today's aroma did he realize how limited his knowledge was.

Leading his horse, he sniffed the air, following the scent.

Turning around the hill, a small village appeared on the slope, with a tavern at the highest point, its flag fluttering: "Eight Li Slope."

"Sir, would you like to rest or have some tea?" Seeing Dugu Fu stop his horse, the honest-looking owner hurried forward, a smile on his face.

"Food. Give me a portion of everything being cooked in the kitchen." Dugu Fu tossed a silver dollar, then added another after a moment's thought, "And feed my horse well, with good feed and water."

"Sir, please wait, let me explain..." The owner was delighted to receive the money, biting it a few times, but his expression changed when he looked up, and he hurried to speak. However, before he could say anything, Dugu Fu had already gone inside.

As soon as he entered, Dugu Fu's expression changed dramatically.

A small, dilapidated tavern was packed with people, at least twenty of them, gathered around a few tiny tables.

And... looking at their aura, attire, and demeanor... they were all players!

Damn! The horses should have been a clue outside!

Last time, he was blinded by lust; this time, it was... blinded by the aroma.

Heaven and earth, impulse is the devil, and emotions are truly deadly!

Tears streamed down Dugu Fu's face.

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