On his way home, Huo Yuanhong first went to Huichun Pharmacy, took out the medicine token his master gave him, and got nine jars of oral medicine paste, as well as thirty-six external plaster applications.
This was the amount for three years of ordinary Manifest Force training! But for him, it would be absorbed in about three days!
"Charge it to Senior Sister's account for now; I'll pay it back when I have money. These things are enough to support me until I reach the Peak of Manifest Force..."
"It's a pity that, reportedly, once one reaches the Peak of Manifest Force, the body's training becomes more profound, requiring chilian paste for nourishment to keep up with the consumption. But this top-grade medicine paste is rare even among Powerful Families, with a pitifully small output, so Huichun Pharmacy doesn't have any!"
"However, I just heard the manager say that in a few days there will be a small competition between Divine Spear Martial Hall and other martial arts schools, and the grand prize for first place is chilian paste..."
After getting a large amount of medicine for the Manifest Force stage, Huo Yuanhong then bought a large barrel of rapeseed oil, five catties of vermicelli, two catties of eggs, two catties of good quality pork belly, and five slightly green cabbages at a nearby vegetable market.
In those days, silver dollars were still very valuable; one silver dollar could buy thirty catties of rice, or eight catties of ordinary pork.
Buying these things cost a total of two silver dollars, which was roughly his father's income for six or seven days.
It was very expensive.
But he was sick of eating crabs. Before, he had no money to buy vegetables, so he could only eat crabs he picked up for free from the river. Now that he had money, he naturally wanted to improve his diet.
When he returned to their old, cramped house, his father hadn't arrived yet, so Huo Yuanhong carried the large and small bags of items into the kitchen.
He sliced a piece of pork belly into thin pieces and stir-fried it until it was full of oil.
Then he washed a cabbage, tore it into pieces and put it in the pot, and also grabbed a few handfuls of vermicelli and added them in.
Before long, a large pot of pork, cabbage, and vermicelli was ready. The aroma of meat filled the entire kitchen, wafting into the living room and bedroom outside.
At this time, his father still hadn't returned, so Huo Yuanhong first let the vermicelli simmer in the pot and went to the small training room.
It was empty inside; after the old sandbag was broken, he never had money to replace it with a new one.
But now... he no longer needed a sandbag!
He had a more advanced training method and no longer needed to forcefully train his strength against sandbags and tree stumps, disregarding joint and body damage, as he used to.
He could train his control over his strength through a relatively gentle yet more efficient method like piercing paper with a spear.
Before long, Huo Yuanhong had set up the buffer layer on the wall and hung ten neat layers of Xuan paper.
After putting on his wrist and knee/leg guards to protect his joints, he picked up the white wax spear propped nearby and assumed his stance.
Inhale—! Exhale—! Inhale—! Exhale—!
As his chest rose and fell rhythmically and steadily, feeling the Qi being swallowed from his throat and exhaled from the tip of his nose, Huo Yuanhong's heart gradually calmed down.
The experiences of the day replayed and flowed through his mind, scene by scene.
Li Shuxing, Senior Sister, Wen Jian Martial Arts School, Divine Spear Martial Hall, Xuan paper piercing training, getting money, buying meat... "Life is meant to be enjoyed to the fullest, but... it's not yet time to be complacent. The true inheritance treatment I'm receiving now seems countless times better than before, but it's still just like duckweed on water..."
"If one day Master can't withstand the pressure from the Martial Arts Association and other martial arts schools, everything I currently have will revert to its original state..."
"If you rely on a mountain, the mountain will fall; if you rely on water, the water will dry up. A martial artist's only true reliance is their own fists and feet, and the long spear in their hand..."
"Before I grow up, I can leverage my talent and potential to move Master and the martial arts school's power, to buy time, but I must never sink into this false sense of security; instead, I must be doubly diligent and work doubly hard..."
"No arrogance, no impetuosity."
Washing away the impetuosity brought by his sudden rise, Huo Yuanhong's mind became incredibly clear. The surrounding scenery seemed to disappear, leaving only the long spear in his hand and the Xuan paper at the tip of the spear.
Focus! Passion!
The spear strikes... without regret!
"Chh!"
The spear tip whistled through the air, striking the Xuan paper on the wall, creating a clear, visible ripple on the paper's surface.
But unlike before, this time, the sound produced was no longer the familiar "chila—" sound, but a short "chh" followed by the dragging sound of the Xuan paper tearing.
Recovering his Qi, he withdrew the spear.
Upon inspection, he saw that the outermost sheet of Xuan paper had only a clean hole poked through by the spear tip, with no extra damage from overflowing force.
【Baji Quan (Eight Extremities Fist) (Manifest Force 210/600)】
"I've made another step forward!"
Huo Yuanhong said.
Compared to the ripple-like pattern he pierced in the martial arts school in the evening, being able to leave the outermost Xuan paper without extra damage was undoubtedly another groundbreaking improvement!
He had taken a monumental step towards the Minor Achievement of not breaking three layers of Xuan paper!
"I wonder how much stronger my current strength is compared to before..."
Huo Yuanhong was a bit curious.
When he trained his strength, he used a spear, but he was actually still practicing Ding Xin Zhou (Apex Elbow), or rather, using the vibration and shaking of the long spear to clearly demonstrate the circulation of strength within his body.
Of course, on the other hand, Baji Quan (Eight Extremities Fist)'s spear and elbow are one; elbow techniques are spear techniques, and spear techniques are also elbow techniques!
"Why not try it on that old tree to see what the difference is compared to before practicing piercing Xuan paper?"
Huo Yuanhong came before the old tree near his residence, and with a stomp of his foot, he unleashed an elbow strike!
"Pa!!"
On the old tree, a new indentation half an inch deep appeared, more than twice as deep as the shallow indentation left previously!
"I've gotten a lot stronger again!"
Huo Yuanhong showed genuine joy, but he did not become arrogant or complacent, quickly calming his mind again.
"Continue! Go train again!"
"I haven't become the number one in Tianjin yet, I'm not strong enough to kill Junzi Jian. My Martial Dao is not yet number one, we still need to work hard!"
There are twenty-six days left until the grand competition to kill Junzi Jian!
Returning home, Huo Yuanhong picked up his long spear, stood in a perfectly balanced horse stance, bent his body, sank his waist, stomped his foot, and exploded with force!
"Chh!"
"Chh!"
"Chh!"
Sheet after sheet of Xuan paper was continuously pierced and torn by the spear tip, then replaced with new ones.
As the Xuan paper in the box became fewer and fewer, Huo Yuanhong's mastery of Manifest Force also rapidly improved at an incredible speed!
Rapid progress!
He continued to train in this self-forgetful state until his stomach was rumbling with hunger and his eyes were a bit blurry, when he finally emerged from this immersed state.
Hungry!
So hungry!
The practice of piercing Xuan paper, while seemingly not expending much physical strength, actually requires extremely high demands on body control, coordination, and mental focus to gather strength.
During the training process, almost his entire body was tensed, requiring concentrated attention to direct and control the condensation of every bit of power.
This consumed a great deal of physical and mental energy, which in turn led to extreme hunger!
Looking out the window, it was already dark.
His father still hadn't arrived.
Huo Yuanhong went to the kitchen, scooped a large bowl of stewed pork, cabbage, and vermicelli, and sat at the Eight Immortals table, starting to eat heartily.
He was too hungry!
The medicine paste from Huichun Pharmacy could quickly replenish the vital energy consumed during training, ensuring his body wouldn't suffer deficiencies, but the hunger caused by an empty stomach was still very real.
As large mouthfuls of pork, cabbage, and vermicelli went down, the gradually filling and satisfying feeling in his stomach was something that even tasting delicacies from land and sea could hardly match.
When extremely hungry, even a steamed bun tastes incredibly delicious, let alone what he was eating now, which was much better than a steamed bun!
"Finally, I don't have to eat crabs anymore."
Huo Yuanhong sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his belly, feeling very content.
In Tianjin, crabs picked up for free from the river were an unavoidable part of the lives of the lower class, a symbol of poverty.
After eating crabs for over ten years, he felt like throwing up just looking at them.
Tonight... he finally fulfilled his wish. He could eat large mouthfuls of pork belly and didn't have to touch those crabs he was sick of eating.
After finishing the vermicelli, he picked up the bowl and drank all the broth inside, then wiped his mouth, still wanting more.
It was delicious. It would be even better if his father were here too.
Knowing his achievement, his father would surely be able to hold his head high!
After dinner, Huo Yuanhong took a moment to glance at the transparent panel.
【Baji Quan (Eight Extremities Fist) (Manifest Force 227/600)】
That short training session with the spear before dinner increased his progress by another 17 points!
In a state of complete concentration, the speed of progress was indeed fast!
He was even closer to Minor Achievement!
Putting down his bowl and chopsticks, Huo Yuanhong slowly began to practice the health-preserving stance.
It was not advisable to practice spear after a full meal, but time couldn't be wasted either, so this gentle health-preserving stance came in handy.
On the other hand, after practicing spear for so long, his body was already very tired, and the health-preserving stance was perfect for soothing it.
After practicing it about twice, there was finally a sound from outside the door.
"Tap... tap... tap..."
Familiar footsteps sounded, followed by the jingle of keys, and the metallic scraping sound of a key entering the lock.
With a click, the heavy anti-theft door was pulled open.
His father had finally arrived!