Chapter 4: Victory and Defeat
No hesitation.
Xu Qing leaped to his feet.
"Baji Fist."
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Xu Qing let out a soft cry. He assumed a stance and began performing Baji Fist. The Fist Force was fierce and powerful, originating from his heels, traveling through his waist, and extending to his fingertips...
About ten-odd minutes later,
Xu Qing had finished a full set of Baji Fist.
"Hoo..."
Xu Qing exhaled a long plume of white breath.
[Experience +1]
After finishing a set of Baji Fist, its Experience Points increased by one. This meant that completing one full set granted one Experience Point.
’Cultivation Techniques and similar items are mastered instantly once the Encyclopedia of All Things successfully records them,’ Xu Qing mused. ’But this close-quarters striking art, Baji Fist, requires ten complete practice sessions to level up.’
It was safe to say,
if Xu Qing were to face Zhu He again now, he could easily knock him out with a single punch. Having mastered such a fighting style, Xu Qing’s strength had clearly increased.
"This is only the beginning,"
Xu Qing said.
Without hesitation,
Xu Qing continued practicing Baji Fist in his room. With his physical constitution, he could finish a complete set in about ten-odd minutes.
Therefore,
in one hour,
Xu Qing could complete five sets of Baji Fist at most.
...
[Experience +1]
...
[Experience +1]
...
「An hour later.」
"Hoo..."
Xu Qing stopped. He had been practicing non-stop for an hour and was thoroughly exhausted. His stomach was growling with hunger.
However,
the status of his Baji Fist had changed.
[Baji Fist Level 1: 6/10]
As he could see,
the Experience Points had reached six.
He could level up soon.
’I can’t keep practicing,’
Xu Qing shook his head, feeling a sense of weakness and powerlessness. ’If I keep going, I’ll collapse from exhaustion. I need to get something to eat.’
Having won a match, Xu Qing was now free to move about the underground fighting ring’s grounds without restriction. He left his room, carrying the huge sum of five taels of silver, and found the cafeteria. It wasn’t large, and since it was already late, there were very few people inside.
"Get me something to eat."
Xu Qing walked straight in, found a seat, and shouted loudly.
’It’s him.’
’The beggar from this afternoon.’
’Damn it!’
’I lost a lot of money because of him.’
’And he still has the nerve to come here for food.’
Inside the cafeteria,
the cook and his staff noticed Xu Qing. Since he was still dressed like a beggar, they recognized him at a glance, and their expressions turned hostile.
"It’s too late, there’s nothing left,"
the cafeteria cook yelled. "Now get lost! If you want to eat, come back early tomorrow morning."
"Hoo..."
Xu Qing took a deep breath. With a blank expression, he rose from his seat and walked step by step toward the kitchen.
"What... What do you think you’re doing?"
"Stop right there."
A few of the surrounding kitchen hands and servants shouted, their voices fierce but their hearts trembling.
THWACK! THWACK! THWACK!
"AHHH!!!"
A series of miserable screams rang out.
Xu Qing moved like lightning, taking them all down in a few quick moves. If not for the fact that injuring the cook would mean no one could prepare his meal, blood would have certainly been spilled in the cafeteria tonight.
"Don’t waste my time,"
Xu Qing said coldly.
"Yes, yes, of course."
After taking a beating, the cafeteria cook and his staff immediately became much more obedient. Bowing and scraping, they started cooking for Xu Qing.
Originally,
the cook still harbored a grudge, thinking of adding a little something extra to Xu Qing’s food. Even if it wasn’t poison, he wanted to put something in it to disgust him.
’Forget it, forget it,’
the cook shook his head, ultimately deciding against it. ’This beggar has a match against Pang De tomorrow anyway. He’s going to die, so tonight’s meal might as well be his last.’
「Half an hour later.」
The dishes were served one after another.
Of course,
Xu Qing didn’t eat. Instead, he made the cook take a bite of each dish first. Only after confirming there were no problems did he begin to feast.
’Phew, good thing,’
the cafeteria cook wiped the cold sweat from his forehead. ’Good thing I didn’t add anything. That would have been trouble.’
𝗳𝚛𝗲𝕖𝕨𝕖𝗯𝚗𝚘𝕧𝕖𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝕞
「An hour later.」
Xu Qing had eaten and drunk his fill. Because he had eaten so much—a feast of chicken, duck, and fish—the meal cost him a whole tael of silver.
"Baji Fist."
HYAH! HYAH!
Back in his quarters at the underground fighting ring,
Xu Qing resumed his Baji Fist practice. His movements were neither fast nor slow, but they carried a formidable power, faintly stirring the air with the force of his punches.
「An hour later.」
"Hoo..."
Xu Qing exhaled a breath of turbid air, having slowly completed his practice and withdrawn his power.
[Baji Fist Level 1: 10/10 (Upgradeable!)]
"Upgrade,"
Xu Qing commanded.
VMMMM!
Faintly,
the Encyclopedia of All Things shimmered with a silver light.
The next moment,
Xu Qing’s consciousness entered a trance-like state. He found himself once again in a mysterious space, where he continuously practiced Baji Fist.
Gradually,
Baji Fist in Xu Qing’s hands became transcendent. He even innovated upon it, making it grow ever stronger.
Most importantly,
Xu Qing gradually condensed all the strength in his body into a single stream of Power.
[Baji Fist Level 2: 0/20 (Originally just an ordinary close-quarters fighting style with fierce, unadorned movements and explosive force, capable of strengthening the body. However, after innovation, it has gradually transformed, acquiring the essence of a Training Technique. It can now refine the power of the user’s entire body—bones and sinews—and forge it into a stream of ’Ming Jin’.)]
"Good, good, good."