"Not back yet?"
"This shouldn't be!"
Upon returning to the martial arts school and finding that his master hadn't yet returned, Yan Chuang frowned.
It had already been four days since he left Baiyan Mountain.
In four days, no matter what, Cheng Fengxiao should have come back to Baiyan Mountain. He would have noticed that Yan Chuang was missing and then—
"Could it be that he is still worried I might be in the Mountain and Sea World, purposely staying there to keep searching for me?"
Yan Chuang suddenly realized—
If he were in Cheng Fengxiao's shoes, after realizing his disciple was missing, he might not return immediately either.
"After all."
"If he returns, it means nothing's wrong, no need to rush back to confirm."
Returning would mean he couldn't go back in for another two months.
What if Yan Chuang is still inside, or if he encounters danger and needs rescuing?
It's much safer to stay and continue searching.
"My master is cautious."
"There shouldn't be any problems."
Yan Chuang didn't worry too much.
...
The next day.
Yan Chuang headed to Guangling Academy early.
This wasn't Yan Chuang's first time coming to Guangling Academy, but it was his first time returning after the ninth and tenth months.
Compared to before the ninth and tenth months, there weren't many changes in the academy.
But for Yan Chuang, entering this time, he clearly felt the difference.
"That's—"
"Yan Chuang!"
"Am I seeing this right? 'Shadowless Leg' Yan Chuang is here at our academy?"
"He's really bold! Doesn't he fear being beaten up?"
...
Some people, seeing from a distance and recognizing Yan Chuang, were shocked.
Recently, Yan Chuang had completely overwhelmed Guangling Academy at the martial arts tournament, even defeating the ten great experts, including Wu Qi. This left the entire academy embarrassed—no one dared to claim they were from Guangling when meeting disciples from other academies.
It was truly humiliating!
With this in mind, how could Yan Chuang still dare to show up?
Some were surprised.
But there were also people who were friendly toward Yan Chuang—
"Master Yan!"
"Good morning, Master Yan!"
"Are you here to find someone at the academy? I'm very familiar with the place, would you like me to guide you?"
...
There was no shortage of warm greetings.
In the end, Yan Chuang was strong, so naturally he had fans and loyal followers, even in Guangling Academy.
Admiring strength!
That's human nature!
While there were plenty of people in the academy who resented Yan Chuang, there were just as many who admired and respected him.
"Master Yan! Master Yan!"
Two people hurried up to Yan Chuang, very enthusiastic, pointing to themselves: "Master Yan, do you remember us? I'm Yu Renjie, and this is Dai Pu. We took four lessons in the training hall, do you remember?"
"Oh!"
"It's you two!"
Yan Chuang indeed remembered: "You two were practicing the 'Five Ancestors Crane Yang Fist'!"
These two had often come to the training hall for his guidance and spent a fair amount of money, so Yan Chuang naturally remembered them.
"Yes, yes, yes!"
Upon hearing that Yan Chuang remembered them, Yu Renjie and Dai Pu were excited and said, "We were preparing to apply for the 'Golden Winged Roc' Chen Jingming's research student position. After attending the training class, Dai Pu and I both gained confidence. But during the martial arts tournament, when Master Yan fought against Brother Yue, you explained the Five Ancestors Crane Yang Fist in detail, especially the 'Shaking Body, Shaking Shoulder' technique. We had some realizations at the time and, when we returned, we were able to master it. After that, we tried applying for Professor Cai Yuming's research student position, and unexpectedly, we succeeded!"
The two were very excited.
One reason was because they had met Yan Chuang.
The other reason was that they had just recently been accepted as research students for the professor.
Chen Jingming! Cai Yuming! Yan Chuang knew these two; they were both instructors of the "Five Ancestors Crane Yang Fist," but Chen Jingming was just a teaching assistant, while Cai Yuming was one of only three professors of the Five Ancestors Crane Yang Fist.
Just from their titles, the difference was clear.
Being accepted as a professor's research student was, of course, much better than being accepted by a teaching assistant.
Yu Renjie and Dai Pu, who had once struggled to even be accepted as teaching assistants, had made great progress under Yan Chuang's guidance. Now, their futures were limitless. Even though they had spent money, they were very grateful to Yan Chuang.
"Congratulations, congratulations!"
Upon hearing this, Yan Chuang quickly congratulated them.
This was indeed a joyous event.
The two beamed with joy.
Yu Renjie asked, "Master Yan, are you here to find someone? The academy is quite large, and it's hard to find people. Should I guide you?"
"Thank you so much!"
Yan Chuang smiled, saying, "I'm looking for Wang Lao."
...
"Master Yan, you've finally come!"
Wang Kuan greeted Yan Chuang with a big smile. He walked toward him, laughing: "Why did you leave so suddenly that day? Were you afraid that people from Guangling Academy would strike you from behind? Hahaha!"
Wang Kuan laughed loudly.
This wasn't mockery, but there was a sense of familiarity in his words.
"Master Wang, you joke," Yan Chuang also laughed. It had been an awkward situation when he slipped away that day, but with Wang Kuan's words, it was all turned into a light-hearted matter.
"Come."
"Sit."
Wang Kuan made a joke and then invited Yan Chuang to sit. He didn't beat around the bush and directly took out the treasure iron bow that Yan Chuang had lent him that day. He handed it back to Yan Chuang: "This is the Thunder Bow from Tuliè. Master Yan, check it. It's as it was, everything intact, returning it to the rightful owner!"
Huh?
Wait!
Is it really returned?
Yan Chuang took the iron bow. To cover his surprise, he smiled and said, "So this is called the Thunder Bow."
"Exactly!"
"This bow comes in two identical ones, both held by the White Rock Twin Slaughters. It's a rare and powerful weapon. In terms of value, it even surpasses your Red Feather Spear."
Wang Kuan looked at the Red Feather Spear that Yan Chuang had brought today and, with a playful smile, said, "Why didn't you bring your treasure weapon?"
Yan Chuang's treasure weapon had long been destroyed!
Of course, Yan Chuang wouldn't say this. He could only laugh bitterly and say, "Having a precious item is a crime. I prefer to keep a low profile."
"Hahahaha!"
Wang Kuan laughed again. He looked at Yan Chuang, then pointed at the Thunder Bow in his hand and teased, "Do you still think this precious bow was borrowed and never returned, not expecting it to come back?"
"Master Wang understands me."
"It's just that I don't understand the academy's structure."
Yan Chuang awkwardly admitted.
Wang Kuan smiled again.
It was clear that he was in a good mood today.
Yan Chuang, noticing this, curiously asked, "Was Tu Meng, who chased after me that day, and the fierce beast from your academy's hunt, both subdued?"
At this, Wang Kuan's smile grew even broader, and he nodded at Yan Chuang: "Thanks to you! And thanks to this Thunder Bow of yours!"
That day,
After Yan Chuang left, Guangling Academy fought fiercely against Tu Meng and the Golden Rock Earth Dragon.
Gu Shengyan led the charge to attack Tu Meng. Despite Tu Meng being strong, he had chased Yan Chuang for a day and a night and had even lost one eye—
Gu Shengyan and the others attacked!
Wang Kuan assisted from the outside with the Thunder Bow!
The skies were dark!
The sun and moon lost their light!
It was a bloody battle!
Tu Meng was too strong—
Muscle training!
Skin training!
With a powerful eruption, Feng Ji, who practiced the "Silk Wrapping Fist," was seriously injured, and Jin Rong, who practiced the "伏拳" (伏拳), was lightly wounded. Worse yet, one professor was killed.
It was a tragic battle!
But Tu Meng fared even worse!
He lost his left arm from a strike by Gu Shengyan's Green Dragon Crescent Blade, and his right leg was crippled by three arrows from Wang Kuan—
Right eye!
Left arm!
Right leg!
Three vital parts destroyed, and Tu Meng had no more combat ability. He was captured alive by Gu Shengyan and is now being held in the core dungeon of Guangling Academy, where he will face endless torture and interrogation!
Tuliè was killed by Yan Chuang.
Tu Meng was captured alive.
From then on,
The "White Rock Twin Slaughters" became history. Not only did Guangling Academy rid itself of its great enemy, but they also gained Tu Meng's Thunder Bow.
"With two Thunder Bows in hand, the difficulty of hunting the 'Golden Rock Earth Dragon' drops drastically."
"Yanyan and I can use both bows."
"The Golden Rock Earth Dragon will quickly lose its fighting power, and after one day and one night, it was also captured alive."
Wang Kuan spoke with excitement when he mentioned the capture of the Golden Rock Earth Dragon. It was clear he was more thrilled by this than by capturing Tu Meng: "Master Yan, you don't know. The Golden Rock Earth Dragon is one of the most powerful strange beasts we've ever encountered. We originally had no hopes of capturing it alive, just hoped to wear it down to death. But with the help of the Thunder Bow, we changed our strategy from hunting to capturing alive, and it actually worked!"
A live Golden Rock Earth Dragon!
A captured Golden Rock Earth Dragon! The value of a live one is much higher than a dead one!
A live one, its dragon blood regenerates endlessly!
A dead one can only be used once.
The difference is obvious!
"This time, thanks to you."
"The Thunder Bow is being returned to its rightful owner. That's the least we can do."
"Aside from that, we also have ten pounds of dragon blood as a token of thanks."
After returning the Thunder Bow, Wang Kuan took out a leather flask, opened the cap—
Whoosh!
A strong bloody and fishy odor wafted out.
Wang Kuan sniffed, not only unbothered but actually enjoying it.
He closed the flask and handed it to Yan Chuang, smiling: "Dragon blood has many uses. If you swallow it directly, it can increase your qi and blood, with effects comparable to the 'Dragon Tiger Great Elixir.' You can also bathe in dragon blood every day. Just a few drops mixed in water can greatly benefit your physical cultivation. Moreover, if you soak a treasure weapon in two pounds of dragon blood for several months, the weapon's quality will greatly increase when the blood dries up. Additionally, dragon blood can be used as an ingredient for refining secret medicines—"
There are countless uses for dragon blood!
I'm only mentioning the simplest.
In fact—
"Dragon blood also has two more uses: one is to temper the 'muscles and bones.'"
"Tempering muscles and bones is hard."
"Using dragon blood can lower the difficulty and speed up the process, but that requires secret martial arts and methods, as well as the 'Tongyi' level."
"The second use is 'Breaking the Blood Limit.' When martial artists reach the limit of their qi and blood, just ten pounds of dragon blood is needed. If you take one pound every day for ten days, you can break the limit, cleanse your muscles, skin, and bones, and enter the 'Tongyi' level, entering the 'Metamorphosis' stage, just like me, like other elders in the inner academy, including Tu Meng and Tuliè brothers. We're all at the same level."
Wang Kuan looked seriously at Yan Chuang, whose eyes had lit up: "I suggest you don't rush to use it. Save it well. Wait until your qi and blood reach their limit. Ten pounds of dragon blood over ten days, and you will break through. You will find yourself entering a whole new realm, far better than seeking temporary convenience or increasing your weapon's quality. It's much more wonderful and real!"
Ten pounds of dragon blood!
Breaking the blood limit!
Yan Chuang's eyes sparkled.
This was the first time he had truly heard about the path to "breaking the blood limit," and it was extremely specific. In fact, he even had the "dragon blood" he needed, and there was enough of it!
Guangling Academy had truly given Yan Chuang a great gift!
Of course.
This was connected to Yan Chuang borrowing the Thunder Bow, and it might also be related to the high regard held by Elder Liu Jiang of the Jiang River.
In any case—
"The road to breaking the limit is right beneath your feet!"
"Sow good causes, reap good results!"
"This is the fate you deserve!"
Wang Kuan looked at Yan Chuang, with mixed feelings—reminiscent, emotional, and envious, but no greed.
Although dragon blood was beneficial even for him, it would help him deepen his "muscle training" progress or even more easily unlock the realms of "skin," "bone," and "flesh" training, giving him a great boost in power.
However, ultimately, the true treasure was still for someone like Yan Chuang, at his level!
Just like how Wang Kuan once obtained the "Purple Monkey Flower," which helped him break his blood limit and successfully refined his muscles, becoming one of the ten great masters, experiencing a whole new world.
And now.
This opportunity had fallen to Yan Chuang!