“Hey, wait, why didn’t I get electrocuted?”
Since the anticipated electric shock never came, Su Yu couldn’t help feeling a little confused.
[Detected that the executor is intervening in a non-scheduled event, but it meets the special event criteria of the ‘Minotaur Plan’ objective. The schedule has been temporarily changed. The original schedule will resume after the event ends.]
“What do you mean?”
Just as Su Yu was puzzled, a tall, handsome young man came up to him and reached out to help him up.
“Here, and here, and also here. The human body has three small orifice points at these locations. When you circulate your qi to sense the orifices, add these three in order from top to bottom. That way, you won’t get as tired while performing the stance, and you’ll be more stable.”
After helping Su Yu up, the young man calmly pointed to three spots on the human body stance diagram carved into the courtyard wall.
“Th-thank you… uh, are you Senior Brother Zhou Yuan?”
“Mm.” Zhou Yuan nodded lightly.
Su Yu naturally had some impression of this Zhou Yuan, the Outer Court Champion of Lin’s Martial Hall. This person was not only famous in Lin’s Martial Hall but also a well-regarded martial arts genius throughout Brook Stone Village. In the hearts of the village girls, no one could compare to him. Those who surpassed him in martial arts weren’t as handsome, and those who were more handsome… hadn’t appeared in the village yet. Previously, Su Yu had dismissed his name, but now seeing him in person, he was indeed worthy of his reputation. He was fair-skinned, not looking like a martial artist, yet he was genuinely the most talented and hardworking disciple of Lin’s Martial Hall.
“But, Senior Brother Zhou, why are you telling me this? We’re… not really acquainted, are we?”
Although the other party seemed harmless, Su Yu knew there was no such thing as a free lunch. The three orifice points Zhou Yuan had pointed out were clearly part of his Burning Art training method! He couldn’t be telling him so casually just because he liked helping people, right?
“They started a betting pool betting that you wouldn’t last five days at the Martial Hall. I bet one tael of silver.” Zhou Yuan said slowly.
“Uh, you bet I wouldn’t last five days?” Su Yu blurted out instinctively.
To be honest, if not for the schedule constantly electrocuting him, he himself wouldn’t believe he could last five days. But now, he either persisted or got electrocuted to death.
“What do you think?”
Zhou Yuan simply asked calmly, then turned and left without saying more.
Su Yu slapped his forehead. Did he even need to ask? If the guy had bet he wouldn’t last, then why would he come over and tell him the secret to the stance orifices? Was he just fond of losing money or just plain idiotic?
[Detected that the executor is slacking during the scheduled plan. Electric shock punishment countdown initiated.]
[Three]
But as soon as Zhou Yuan left, the cold countdown echoed again in Su Yu’s mind. For a moment, Su Yu didn’t care about anything else. He quickly resumed the standing stance, then tried to follow Zhou Yuan’s instructions… in the microcosmic cycle of sensing the nine orifices, he added the sensing of those three small orifice points in order from top to bottom. After sensing like this for a while, whether because his limbs had gone numb or not, he actually felt much lighter than before.
“Did he really teach me the Burning Art?” Su Yu was a bit surprised.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the outer courtyard, a disciple who had seen Zhou Yuan approach Su Yu couldn’t help but remind Zheng Yi:
“Senior Brother Zheng, it seems Senior Brother Zhou just went over and taught Su Yu something…”
“So what if he taught him a thing or two? Even if he got the Hall Master to personally instruct Su Yu for five days, so what? Martial arts… without talent and time accumulation, you can’t even get through the door. We don’t need to worry about it.” Zheng Yi’s tone was casual, completely unconcerned.
A few disciples couldn’t help but chuckle, showing no signs of worry at all.
And of course, Su Yu had no idea that someone was gossiping about him behind his back. He was marveling at the changes in the progress bar before his eyes and the physical changes it brought.
[Standing Stake Skill Training Progress: 10/100 (First Layer: Left Eye Orifice)]
Right after he performed the standing stance using the orifice-sensing method Zhou Yuan had taught him, his training progress suddenly jumped from 9 to 10. This time, he could clearly feel the changes in his body. He found that his legs no longer trembled while doing the stance, and the muscle soreness was gradually decreasing. Comparing his posture with the diagram on the wall, he felt as if he matched it exactly.
“So, the progress doesn’t mean I have to complete it to see a change. It’s that every point increase causes a small change, and every 10 points cause a big change. If I reach 100 points… I’ll probably directly open the first orifice and undergo a qualitative transformation.”
Su Yu silently summarized the pattern of the schedule’s training progress in his heart. After being electrocuted so many times, he finally had a little hope.
“Wait… damn, I think I can feel something from that eye orifice or something.”
—
Meanwhile, at the same time, just as Su Yu was immersed in the new phase of the stance, four heads popped up from the top of the corner of the Martial Hall’s courtyard wall.
“Damn, Old Su is really at the Martial Hall?!” Qian Ergou’s eyes widened.
“He’s really practicing martial arts?!” Ye Liang’s expression seemed a bit frightened.
“Am I still not awake?” Tong Qiqi’s expression looked as if her worldview was being reshaped.
“…” The quiet girl didn’t speak, but her pupils trembled several times.
“No, even in a dream, you couldn’t dream of Old Su practicing martial arts, right?” Qian Ergou couldn’t help saying.
“Don’t talk about dreams. Even if you beat me to death, I couldn’t imagine this scene!” Tong Qiqi shouted.
“…No, he’s faking it, right? I think he just arrived at the Martial Hall a little before us, just started practicing, and we happened to see him.” Ye Liang proposed the most reasonable assumption.
But as they watched and watched, until the sun rose higher and higher, and Su Yu’s stance never wavered…
A few of them began to doubt their own lives.
“No, he’s really practicing. When is he going to stop?” Tong Qiqi couldn’t help saying.
Perhaps because of this reminder, Qian Ergou looked up at the sky, and then his expression became a little anxious. After watching Su Yu continue standing without any change for a while, Qian Ergou secretly clenched his fist, then suddenly said:
“Old Ye, Qiqi, about that silver I asked you for earlier… did you get it?”
The two looked over in surprise.
“I, I made an appointment with a doctor. He’s coming to see my mother at noon. I’m still a bit short on medicine money…” he said awkwardly.
“I didn’t get it, but I have some money myself. Take it, Ergou… though it’s not much.” Tong Qiqi poured out about a few dozen copper coins from her small purse.
“I got it. Take it. Go back and take care of your mother first. We’ll wait here for Old Su.” Ye Liang directly pressed a tael of silver into Qian Ergou’s hand.
Qian Ergou looked at the silver in his hand with a complex expression, then looked up and said solemnly, “Old Ye, Qiqi, thank you. Really, thank you.”
“Thank you my ass. You’ll pay us back when your mother is better. Now go.” Tong Qiqi kicked Qian Ergou.
“If it’s not enough, tell us. We’ll ask Old Su if he got any money later.” Ye Liang said with a smile.
“Okay… okay.”
Qian Ergou nodded, then tucked the money tightly into the small bundle in his arms, turned around, and hurried home at a trot.
However…
When he ran frantically to the door of his home, he didn’t stop but continued running until he reached the door of a small tavern, where he finally stopped. Inside the tavern, there was constant shouting and cursing, filled with red-faced martial artists and gang thugs. The pungent smell of sweat and alcohol mixed together, hitting Qian Ergou’s nose, making him instinctively press his hand over the silver in his bosom again in nervousness. But after taking a few deep breaths, he swallowed his saliva and stepped into the tavern.