Chapter 23

An hour later, Tang Gu opened his eyes again.

This time, when he opened his eyes, the injuries on his body seemed to have healed without any medicine, as if they had never existed, and he was once again full of vitality.

At the same time, a faint white light kept flickering in his eyes. Although this time taking the "Little Blood Tendon Fruit" did not immediately break through to the second level of the Qi Dao, he still gained unimaginable benefits.

Inside his body, a thick essence of blood was continuously transforming his body: blood, flesh, tendons, bones, and skin!

His flesh and blood were crystal clear, emitting a strange fragrance; his tendons and bones glowed, reflecting purple light; his skin and membranes shone like jade.

His physique instantly leaped to a new level, becoming much stronger, and all aspects of his body were greatly enhanced.

In the future, his physical strength, resistance to impact, flexibility, and even the intensity of the primordial energy he could withstand, would all be significantly improved.

Tang Gu stood up, walked to the door, and stretched his arms slightly. Immediately, a series of "cracking" sounds of bones breaking and resetting echoed, each sound as crisp as a bean.

His eyes flickered slightly, and he raised his palm, examining it closely. He saw that his hands were now white and crystal clear, slender and long. The various calluses from a year of hard labor had all vanished, as if he had been reborn.

"All this is thanks to taking these three Little Blood Tendon Fruits in succession."

Tang Gu muttered to himself, glancing at the sky: "Go back and continue practicing. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the outer courtyard's armory."

...

The next morning, Tang Gu pushed open the door and walked to the martial academy.

After passing through a winding corridor, Tang Gu arrived at a wooden pavilion surrounded and guarded by many buildings. This was the center of the outer courtyard, known as the "armory."

The so-called "armory" was a place where all cultivation techniques, mental techniques, offensive combat skills, defensive combat skills, body techniques, and auxiliary combat skills were stored.

Tang Gu came here to select one or two suitable auxiliary combat skills for practice, to make up for the shortcomings in his various cultivation techniques.

So far, his only offensive means was a mysterious sword technique he had comprehended from the green stone stele. Apart from that, he had no mental techniques, body techniques, or defensive combat skills, making him a "triple-no" person.

Although his cultivation had gradually increased due to the elixirs and red fruits, and he had gradually caught up with some of the outer courtyard disciples, and even slowly surpassed them, in terms of practical combat skills, he was far inferior to those who had been in the martial academy for many years.

Relying solely on a mysterious sword technique, although powerful, was somewhat monotonous. It might be fine against ordinary disciples, but if he encountered disciples who specifically countered him, they might quickly find a way to counter him.

Therefore, he urgently needed to find one or two auxiliary combat skills to make up for his shortcomings. Although he couldn't learn too much in a month, and greed would lead to indigestion, at least having another offensive means would give him more room to maneuver in battle.

This way, he would have a better chance of successfully entering the top five in the martial academy's small competition a month later, and advancing to the inner courtyard.

Entering the armory, he saw an old man with half-closed eyes, seemingly always on the verge of falling asleep. Seeing Tang Gu, he was not polite and gestured: "Identity token!"

Tang Gu did not dare to be negligent, knowing that this was the guardian of the pavilion. He immediately took out the dark green token given to him by the old man in the hemp robe the previous day and respectfully handed it over.

The old man took it and, after a quick glance, his eyes suddenly sparkled.

"An elite disciple who has passed through the Snowman Cave?"

"Yes."

Tang Gu nodded.

"Good."

The old man threw the token back to Tang Gu and said, "Ordinary outer courtyard disciples can only choose one or two first-grade low or medium combat skills. Since you have passed through the Snowman Cave, you are an elite disciple and have the same privileges as the top five. You can go to the second floor and choose one or two first-grade medium or high combat skills."

Tang Gu nodded and replied, "Yes."

The old man looked at him and continued, "You have only half an hour. Manage your time well and choose quickly. Additionally, the manuals cannot be taken away; you can only copy them here. If you try to steal or spread the combat skills, you know the rules of the martial academy."

Tang Gu responded again, "Yes."

The old man then extended his hand and pushed open a wooden door leading to the second floor of the armory: "Alright, you can go in now. I'll start timing you."

Seeing this, Tang Gu nodded and, knowing that time was precious, immediately lifted his sleeve and walked up the stairs, entering the small wooden pavilion.

The light inside the pavilion was slightly dim, with seven or eight rows of heavy ironwood bookshelves on the walls. On the shelves were nearly a hundred books of various cultivation techniques, mental techniques, cultivation insights, and the combat skills that Tang Gu urgently needed!

He directly skipped over the mental techniques and cultivation insights and went straight to the row of combat skills.

A month later... he had a great chance to directly advance to the inner courtyard. The armory in the inner courtyard was far superior to this outer courtyard, and it had not only first-grade high combat skills but also first-grade extremely high and second-grade low mental techniques and combat skills.

For the most important mental techniques, defensive, and body techniques, he decided to wait until he entered the inner courtyard to learn them, to avoid wasting valuable cultivation time.

However, for some auxiliary cultivation methods, even if he entered the inner courtyard in the future, he would still have the opportunity to use them. This was his first choice for coming to the outer courtyard armory.

Under Tang Gu's gaze, soon, seven or eight cultivation techniques appeared before him.

"Blazing Sun Fist, first-grade high, offensive combat skill, powerful and forceful, like a fierce tiger descending from the mountain, moving like a bolt of lightning. Cultivation requirement: must be practiced in an open area with intense sunlight."

This was the cultivation technique of Yan Shan, who ranked third in the outer courtyard, practicing the "Blazing Sun Fist."

"Qi Sword Technique, first-grade high, offensive combat skill, invincible in single combat." This was the combat skill practiced by Xiao Qingbi, the "Paper Scholar," who ranked fourth in the outer courtyard. Wang Zheng, the "Fierce Dragon," had also been defeated by this skill last time.

"Little Thunder Fist, first-grade high, offensive combat skill, thunderous and obedient to my command, swift as the wind, and heavy with the sound of thunder."

Seeing this, Tang Gu smiled slightly, his gaze focusing. This was the cultivation technique currently practiced by Wang Zheng, the "Fierce Dragon." He might face Wang Zheng in the next small competition. Although Tang Gu did not take Wang Zheng seriously, he could not ignore his hatred.

However, this fist technique was not very suitable for Tang Gu. His gaze moved down, and he continued to look.

"Clear Wind Technique, first-grade medium, slightly increases sword speed."

"Silver Leaf Technique, first-grade medium, like a silver leaf, I am wild and unrestrained."

"Void Sinking Fist, first-grade high, the fist moves like the wind, causing the space to collapse, slightly affecting the opponent's attack speed and direction."

"Heart Splitting Palm, first-grade high, striking a stone with the palm, the stone remains but the heart shatters, a tyrannical palm technique!"

"Inch Heart Soft Palm, first-grade high, gentle as the wind, light as snow, silent and deadly!"

...

Tang Gu's eyes flickered. To be honest, among the eight cultivation techniques, the Blazing Sun Fist, Qi Sword Technique, Heart Splitting Palm, and Inch Heart Soft Palm were all extremely powerful. Two were tyrannical and fierce, one was sharp and dazzling, and one was soft and deadly. Tang Gu had been tempted by all of them.

However, thinking about the fact that the Blazing Sun Fist had many practitioners, but so far, only Yan Shan, who was naturally strong, had mastered it in the entire outer courtyard, he knew it was not suitable for him.

The Qi Sword Technique was indeed a good sword technique, but after some thought, Tang Gu realized that if this sword technique faced his mysterious sword technique, they might not even be on the same level, and this was even before he had fully mastered it.

So, he gave up on the Qi Sword Technique.

Finally, the Heart Splitting Palm and Inch Heart Soft Palm were also abandoned. His gaze fell on the remaining four cultivation techniques. After some hesitation, he chose the equally excellent and unique first-grade high combat skill "Void Sinking Fist," as well as a purely auxiliary combat skill, "Clear Wind Technique," and then turned to leave the wooden pavilion armory.

A month passed quickly, and before he knew it, it was time for the annual small competition in the outer courtyard of the martial academy.

PS: Fourth update, all caught up. Please follow and recommend!