Novel Full Chapter 61: Great Success in Skin Polishing and The Marriage
Chapter 61: Chapter 61: Great Success in Skin Polishing and The Marriage
Time flowed by slowly.
In the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed.
The dry season had arrived once again. The Xiahe River gradually ran dry, leaving only a thin stream flowing down the center of the riverbed.
During this time, Fang Yue trained in martial arts every day, his Fist Technique improving with each passing day.
After his training was done, he would take out the Earth Element True Skill and study it, word by word, sentence by sentence, attempting to cultivate it.
Unfortunately, his efforts yielded little result. He couldn’t sense the so-called Qi Veins or Primordial Spiritual Power at all.
Gradually, Fang Yue had no choice but to put the Cultivation Technique away and focus solely on practicing the White Tiger Fist.
One day.
’By my count, I’ve been cultivating this White Tiger Fist for almost two years now.’
In the rear courtyard, just as Fang Yue finished his ninth repetition against the wooden dummy, he suddenly felt a violent fluctuation in the energy throughout his body.
It was like an earth dragon turning over; his skin rippled, and his blood surged.
This training session was completely different from any of his previous practices.
The strange phenomenon in his body lasted for the time it takes three incense sticks to burn before gradually subsiding.
Fang Yue slowly stood still, calming the turbulent qi and blood within him, and let out a long, turbid breath.
Then, he touched the skin on his arm. It hadn’t become as hard as iron or stone; in fact, it felt even softer than it had two months ago.
Fang Yue picked up a nearby dagger and swiped it across his arm.
The blade left no mark, and there was a faint sound of metal scraping against metal.
The second pass of the Martial Dao, the Skin Grinding Pass—Fang Yue had finally achieved Great Success!
’Not bad, not bad at all. I’ve only been practicing this White Tiger Fist for about two years, and I’ve already cultivated the Skin Grinding Pass to Great Success!’
A look of joy appeared on Fang Yue’s face. While his cultivation speed couldn’t compare to top-tier prodigies, it wasn’t far behind those of the upper echelons.
However, it was important to remember that Fang Yue had limited financial resources. He could only afford one jar of the Skin Polishing Secret Medicine per month, which was only enough to support his training for about ten days.
If he had enough money for three jars of the Skin Polishing Secret Medicine each month, his cultivation speed could have been twice as fast.
’It’s just that... my strength doesn’t seem to have increased much. Only by about ten percent compared to before.’
Testing himself with the Stone Locks in the courtyard, Fang Yue discovered his strength had now reached over 2,200 jin.
That was almost exactly 200 jin more than before—an increase of ten percent.
However, one shouldn’t underestimate this increase.
The improvement to his actual combat prowess was enormous.
At the very least, Fang Yue was now confident he could defeat his former self within fifty moves.
When martial arts skill levels are similar, strength alone can decide the outcome.
’In that case, it’s about time I went to the White Tiger Boxing Hall to learn the subsequent techniques from Hall Master Zheng.’
Fang Yue drew water to wash up, changed into a clean set of clothes, and went to the front courtyard.
Ms. Chen wasn’t in the courtyard; she had clearly gone out to chat with the neighbors again.
He didn’t even have to think about it to know that he was the main topic of their conversation.
Ms. Chen loved to show off and talk, and the neighborhood aunties loved to listen.
’Once I’ve begun Bone Forging, I should still be able to make it to this year’s Martial Examination.’
A happy expression appeared on Fang Yue’s face.
It was currently late September, and the Military Examination was in mid-November.
There was still over a month to go.
As long as Fang Yue hurried, he still had a chance to participate in this year’s Military Examination.
This time, of course, he planned to go just to broaden his horizons.
After all, his strength was comparable to that of an average Martial Artist at the third pass of the Martial Dao, the Bone Forging Realm.
Having achieved Great Success in Skin Polishing had greatly increased his defensive capabilities. If he truly encountered an opponent he couldn’t possibly defeat, he would naturally concede immediately.
So, of course, he wouldn’t be in any danger.
"Zhi! Zhi!"
Just then, Fang Cheng came running in from outside.
It was impossible to tell how far he had run; his face was flushed red, and his forehead was slick with sweat.
However, there wasn’t a trace of fatigue in Fang Cheng’s eyes, only a joy that came from the bottom of his heart.
"Big Brother, sit down and have some water first. Tell me what’s going on, no need to rush."
Not far from the door of the side room in the front courtyard, there was a small pavilion covered in creeping ivy.
Inside the pavilion were a stone table and several stone stools. Ms. Chen knew Fang Yue had a habit of drinking tea, so she left a pot of it on the stone table every day.
Fang Yue poured a cup of tea for Fang Cheng, then poured one for himself.
GLUG, GLUG—
Fang Cheng didn’t stand on ceremony. He grabbed the teacup and downed it all in one gulp.
"Xiu Niang is going to marry me! Mr. Fuquan agreed."
Fang Cheng put down the teacup, his words tumbling out incoherently as he spoke happily to his younger brother.
"That’s wonderful news! Have you told Mom yet?"
Fang Yue was happy for Fang Cheng as well. Fang Cheng was older than him, already in his early twenties.
In Da Liushu Village, that was already considered a ’late marriage’.
In the past, although his family’s situation wasn’t great, there had still been a few matchmakers. But that was before the incident with the Zhou Family.
Even though it wasn’t their family’s fault, the country folk didn’t understand the details. For more than a year, basically no one had come to their home to propose a match.
Later, however, Fang Cheng and Mr. Fuquan’s youngest daughter had taken a liking to each other. That, combined with the matter of the added taxes...
Mr. Fuquan’s family had fallen on hard times, and Fang Cheng had delivered grain to them on several occasions.
Because of this, he and Xiu Niang had grown closer.
Then, Fang Yue passed the exam to become a Martial Scholar, and Fang Yue’s Family instantly became the second-largest landowner in Da Liushu Village.
They built a new house, and their lives improved more and more.
At that point, as long as Mr. Fuquan’s family wasn’t foolish, the marriage was practically guaranteed.
It was only because Mrs. Fuquan had been sick recently and needed someone to look after her that the marriage had been delayed.
But it was just as well. The delay of a few months meant that Xiu Niang had now come of age.
This was good, too; otherwise, Fang Yue would have always felt that his big brother was robbing the cradle.
"Mom... ah, I haven’t told Mom yet," Fang Cheng said, scratching his head as he finally realized.
"You rascal. If I had to wait for you to tell me, we’d have missed the boat!"
Ms. Chen had returned just then.
For something like this, the adults of both families had certainly already been in communication.
Only after the parents on both sides had no objections would the younger ones be told.
That was how it was in the old days. Things like ’act first, report later’ basically didn’t exist; they only happened in operas.
"Alright, look how happy you are. Your father already had someone check for auspicious dates. Let me see... it looks like the twelfth of November is a good day. You can bring Xiu Niang into the family then."
Ms. Chen counted on her fingers. There were still a little over two months to go.
Fang Cheng, who had been so happy a moment ago, immediately lost his goofy smile when he heard it was still two months away.
"Mom, why do we have to wait two months! Can’t I just marry her in the next few days?" Fang Cheng’s head drooped, just now realizing how long he had to wait.
"Well, you little rascal! Seeing you so impatient, I can tell you’ll forget your old mother the moment you have a wife!"
"I think we should just call off this marriage, save me the trouble of getting angry later!"
Ms. Chen’s face hardened, her tone severe.
As expected, this immediately terrified Fang Cheng. He looked at his mother, stammering and stuttering, not daring to speak for a long moment.
"Mom, stop teasing Big Brother."
Fang Yue laughed as well. He naturally knew that Ms. Chen was just trying to scare his older brother.
It was a good match. The bride-to-be had a wonderful temperament and was exceptionally beautiful—a perfect partner for his big brother.
How could Ms. Chen possibly not want a daughter-in-law like that?