Chapter 6

4. The Golden Dragon Corps' Target (2)

"Gold?"

Thinking he might have seen it wrong due to not being fully awake, Xiaozhongtian rubbed his eyes and checked the characters again.

Even though the number was only 50, it was indeed gold.

'Even the daily reward is in gold. Then, perhaps even the blue jade stone?'

In the treasure draw, you can draw a prize with 100 gold.

While he would have to try it himself to know for sure, he expected the draw to be of a higher grade than the regular one.

'It's convenient to receive rewards without doing anything, but it would be even better if I could get stronger quickly.'

"Ah?"

As if reading Xiaozhongtian's thoughts, a timely mission appeared.

It was just the right mission.

'I was already learning the Banya Shin Gong anyway. But a tiered reward? Hmm... Even if Banya Shin Gong is treated like a pie in the sky here, it is still a great martial art, so maybe a good reward will come out?'

Since it is called a great martial art, it is expected to yield a higher reward.

'But it shouldn't be easy to master.'

Since he already had a foundation built from practicing Qingming Tona Gong since the age of five, he didn't need to create a new foundation but rather needed to combine the energy gathered from practicing Banya Shin Gong with his existing foundation.

'Changing the nature of my existing internal energy is not easy, and mastering Banya Shin Gong is also difficult, so I don't know when I'll succeed.'

Xiaozhongtian checked his schedule and memorized the times for the required courses.

For the time being, he should focus on mastering at least the first level of Banya Shin Gong.

'The basic course on the destruction of evil martial arts at Bing Shi, and tomorrow, a precise understanding and practice of eye techniques? I only need to attend these. I'll do some meditation for a while and then go for breakfast.'

"Shall I start the day with practice?"

"Zhongtian, why do you always talk to yourself?"

Sitting in his seat, Zhang Zijun, who was in the same room, spoke to him.

"Ah... I just start talking without realizing it when I'm thinking."

"Hahaha! You're a weird one. By the way, what martial art did your friend learn? It seems he doesn't have a weapon, so it must be a fist technique?"

"Something like that."

"Wow! I heard that orthodox fist techniques are quite rare. Can you tell me the name of the martial art?"

"Chuying Quan, it's just a basic martial art."

"Hmm... I haven't heard of it before, probably because my knowledge is limited. Can you give me a chance to see it sometime?"

Of course, it wouldn't be famous, so he wouldn't know.

After all, there had never been a first-rate martial artist from his family.

"If the opportunity arises."

"Haha, I'll look forward to it."

Zhang Zijun smiled and left the room.

The other two were nowhere to be seen, probably already on their way to their tasks.

'He's a unique guy.'

Since yesterday, Xiaozhongtian had become a well-known figure in the Golden Dragon Corps.

The perception was that he was a jester who did strange things to stand out.

Since he wasn't a sensible person, it was thought that getting involved with him wouldn't be good, so the members he passed by all looked at him as if they had seen something unpleasant.

'But this guy continues to treat me warmly, just like when we first met.'

While Han Sahui seemed to avoid interacting with others, it was unexpected that Chao Yinghuo, who he thought would look down on or ignore him, treated him differently.

'Is he a good person, or does he have some ulterior motive?'

Either way, he didn't really care.

The most important thing now was to master Banya Shin Gong and complete the mission.

'Since there was no mention of achievement, I guess mastering the first level is enough. I wonder what reward I'll get.'

Thinking that a reward that could instantly make him a master would be nice, Xiaozhongtian started practicing Banya Shin Gong.

* * *

"Damn. Really."

After three days of intense practice.

The progress of Banya Shin Gong was still at a standstill.

There didn't seem to be anything wrong with the circulation of energy, but the existing foundation of internal energy and the new energy were not fusing at all.

Although only three days had passed, he should have seen some progress, but the energy he drew in through breathing just flowed out again without accumulating, leaving no change in his body.

'This is a headache.'

When he read the body's memory, he found that when practicing Qingming Tona Gong, internal energy gradually gathered in the dantian and formed a foundation within ten days.

After three days of intense practice, there should have been at least a hint of change, but the lack of progress made him anxious.

'If it's just a difficult martial art and the learning speed is slow, that would be better, but since there's no change at all, I'm not sure if I'm practicing correctly.'

Xiaozhongtian, scratching his head nervously, opened the door and left the room.

Since he hadn't memorized all the techniques of Banya Shin Gong, he had to go to the Ten Thousand Dragon Pavilion almost every day.

'Should I keep recalling the techniques while practicing the mental method? It might take a few more days to memorize it accurately... Qingming Tona Gong was simple and didn't require much memorization, but this so-called great martial art is full of difficult characters, which is frustrating.'

Filling his day with memorizing the techniques and practicing the mental method made him feel as if he had returned to his exam days, which was suffocating.

He wanted to try the draw to change his mood, but the resources he had accumulated from daily rewards were only 800.

It wasn't enough to try the draw yet.

'With Banya Shin Gong, I don't know when I'll reach the first level, and I can't complete the mission naturally, so my growth is stagnating.'

Although only three days had passed, he wanted to feel some progress, but the lack of it made him anxious.

As if reading his thoughts, a new mission was assigned.

"Oh?"

Moreover, it wasn't a difficult one.

'Just participating in any course will give me 300 silver, which is like honey? I have 800 silver now, so I can try the draw today.'

The easy mission, which seemed to be handed over directly, made Xiaozhongtian feel better, and he hummed a tune while checking his schedule.

'The closest course is... an introduction to formation theory? This seems like a headache. Is there anything else? Ah!'

While scanning the schedule, a course called "Practical Fist Technique Guidance" caught his eye.

This is it.

It would be better to listen to a course related to the fist technique he remembered from his body rather than knowing nothing.

Xiaozhongtian made up his mind and headed to the location of the course.

And he soon regretted his decision.

"You came here, huh? Come to think of it, you also learned a fist technique."

'Damn!'

Practical Fist Technique Guidance.

The instructor for this course was Chuo Aoming, the master of Sanjie Quan.

'I should have checked who the instructor was properly! Why did it have to be this guy?'

Thinking about it, it made sense that the instructor for a fist technique course would be a fist master.

While there might be other instructors who use fists, he hadn't considered that this situation could arise, which was his mistake.

'Oh, I walked into my own grave.'

The sinister look and the sneer made it clear that he wouldn't get out of this easily.

Even if he tried to switch to another course now, he doubted he would be let off.

'There's no choice.'

Xiaozhongtian suppressed his urge to run and reluctantly joined the line of students.

"Form pairs of two."

Chuo Aoming's Practical Fist Technique Guidance involved the participants sparring and then receiving feedback on their problems and improvements.

Someone approached Xiaozhongtian, who was standing there blankly.

"Hey, Xiaozhongtian! Let's form a pair."

Turning around, he saw a man with a clearly mocking smile.

While one shouldn't judge a person by their appearance, this guy looked quite sly.

"I don't mind, but you know my name, and I don't know yours?"

"What? You're a funny guy. You don't know me, the leader? Or are you pretending not to know me?"

Thinking about it, he had seen this face before.

One of the four leaders chosen on the first day.

"Ah! Was it Murong Xuehun?"

"Murong Xuehuo!"

"Ah, close enough."

"Keh... You're getting cocky just because you made a name for yourself with some strange antics."

"I didn't really want to make a name for myself that way. Anyway, you were the fourth leader, right?"

A meaningless comment.

But Murong Xuehuo took it differently.

"You... Are you making fun of me!"

"..."

The leader position was determined by the order of the entrance examination results.

If they were chosen in order, the number 4 meant he was the lowest among the leaders.

While Xiaozhongtian had no such intention, the word "last" he used upset Murong Xuehuo.

"Let's see what you're made of!"

Seeing Murong Xuehuo's fierce expression, Xiaozhongtian looked around, slightly puzzled.

'I don't know why he's so angry, but since he was chosen as a leader, he must be much stronger than me. If he specifically chose me, it must be to embarrass me in front of everyone.'

Looking around, it seemed that everyone else had already formed pairs.

With everyone, including the instructor Chuo Aoming, watching with interest, he had no choice but to participate.

His gaze fell on the sword scabbard at Murong Xuehuo's waist.

It must mean he knows how to use a sword.

'Why is a sword user taking a fist technique course? Tsk! But if his main skill is the sword, he probably isn't as good at fist techniques.'

Even if he was a leader, he thought he could match him if fist techniques were his secondary skill.

After all, he had practiced fist techniques for ten years.

"Whatever."

It would be hard to find a student weaker than Xiaozhongtian.

Since there was a reward, he didn't want to give up and leave the course, so he decided to give it a try.

'Even if I get embarrassed, it can't be helped. Since it's a sparring match without weapons, it shouldn't be too dangerous.'

While only 16 students were in the fist technique course, they couldn't all spar at the same time.

Pairs were chosen by Chuo Aoming, and Xiaozhongtian and Murong Xuehuo were last.

"Why is my turn last, Instructor?"

Murong Xuehuo expressed his dissatisfaction, and Chuo Aoming answered simply.

"Because it looks the most interesting."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm the type who enjoys the best part last."

"..."

There was no point in arguing with the instructor's preference.

"The time limit is half an hour, until I signal to stop. You don't have to decide a winner. Just do your best. If a dangerous situation arises, I'll stop it, but if the skill difference is clear, you can surrender on your own."

As Chuo Aoming finished speaking, the sparring began.

"Start!"

"Begin!"

While there was a clear skill difference among the students, they were all only 15 years old, so the gap wasn't enormous.

Watching others spar was also a form of learning.

Of course, watching a fight was also quite entertaining.

'Ugh...'

However, Xiaozhongtian couldn't focus on watching.

'This is too intense for a kids' fight?'

It wasn't a light sparring match.

Even without weapons, it was a martial art designed to harm others.

Watching the sparring, Xiaozhongtian considered whether it would be better to quit before his turn.

Draw for the Strongest in the Martial World Chapter 7