"Mmm, mmm."
Tang Wen opened his mouth wide, devouring a Meat Bun in three bites.
Watching him wolf down the food, Tang Tang's eyes gradually lost their sparkle, and she muttered something under her breath.
Zhou Bing curiously leaned in to listen.
"Three Meat Buns cost 10 coins, which could buy 15 pounds of Foxtail millet. Little Wen just ate 10 coins in nine bites. Even the Lord Commander in the inner city wouldn't dare to eat like that!"
Pfft.
Zhou Bing couldn't help but laugh out loud.
Tang Tang stopped and stared at her intently.
Zhou Bing quickly said, "Don't worry, Tang Wen's meal will be reimbursed. We'll include it in yesterday's group dinner expenses and submit it together!"
"Great! Brother, is a hundred enough? Take your time, don't choke. I'll go get you some soup!" Tang Tang's eyes lit up, and she jumped up, running to the kitchen.
Reimbursement!
Whoever invented this term must be a genius like the Queen.
Tang Tang returned with a wooden tray carrying three large bowls of Donkey meat soup and a basin of big bones.
Zhou Bing glanced at the bowl in front of her. "Hmm, this can be reimbursed too."
"20 coins per bowl?"
"Sure."
Tang Wen completely ignored their interaction.
He continued to devour the Meat Buns, occasionally taking a few sips of soup to wash it down.
After relentless underwater weight training, the Eight Section Brocade had broken through once again.
[Eight Section Brocade, Expert (11/18000)]
The experience required for the Expert level was a whopping 18,000. Who knows how that was calculated.
It was more than the total experience needed for all previous levels combined.
[Body: 5.5→7.5]
[Spirit: 6.08→8.08]
"Crunch, crunch"
"Spit, spit"
Under the astonished gazes of the two women, Tang Wen bit through the donkey bone, sucking out the marrow inside.
Tang Tang: "Brother, are you going to grow taller again?"
Tang Wen was now fifteen years old, standing over 1.7 meters tall.
He was taller than many adult soldiers.
Before Tang Wen could answer, Tang Tang looked down at Zhou Bing's long legs, which were over a meter long, and nodded. "It's good to be tall. You should strive to match Sister Bing."
Zhou Bing quietly retracted her outstretched legs, frowning slightly: Am I too tall?
After eating and drinking his fill, Tang Wen took a quick rinse and went back to his room to rest.
When he opened his eyes again, it was pitch black outside.
He pulled out his pocket watch and glanced at it. "Only six hours of sleep, and I'm fully recovered?"
Considering his 7.5 Body and 8.08 Spirit stats, it didn't seem too surprising.
With such formidable attributes, it would be strange if he couldn't recover his energy and stamina quickly.
It seemed like he would have to bid farewell to lazy mornings from now on.
Tang Wen had been practicing martial arts underwater from last night until this evening, finally breaking through with the Vajra Skill.
It had taken him a full night and day.
Now, there were only two days left before the competition with the Black Mountain Camp.
But it would take a day for the camp to assemble and march to the competition site.
So, he only had one day left for training.
He decided to skip meditating on the Visualization Diagram and head back to the water to practice his punches!
He left a note for Zhou Bing and his sister, strapped on his knife and weighted sand vest, and returned to the courtyard with the pond.
"Back to training?"
The two black-armored guards exchanged glances, clicking their tongues in amazement.
As night watchmen, they knew better than anyone how cold the nights could be.
"Thanks for your hard work, brothers."
The black-armored guards shook their heads and opened the gate for Tang Wen.
Tang Wen removed his clothes, donned his weighted vest, and, under the admiring gazes of two guards, walked straight into the frozen pond.
The water today wasn't as cold as yesterday.
This was his perception after his physical enhancement.
First, practice the Wind-splitting Saber!
Practicing in water while wearing a weighted sand vest was undoubtedly challenging.
After one round, his experience jumped by 17 points.
[Wind-splitting Saber, Proficient (2826→2843/3000)]
The time it took to practice the Wind-splitting Saber was even shorter than that of the Eight Section Brocade.
Tang Wen stepped into the deep water, letting the icy water cover his head.
Holding his breath and concentrating, he swung his saber as usual.
On the water's surface, whirlpools continuously formed, as if a large fish was swimming.
[Wind-splitting Saber, Proficient (2843→2861/3000)]
[Wind-splitting Saber, Proficient (2861→2879/3000)]
The sky began to lighten with the first rays of dawn.
As expected, he hit a bottleneck again.
[Wind-splitting Saber, Proficient (3000/3000)]
But this time, he had a plan.
In his mind, he visualized a fireball crashing into a mountain, and at the same time, he fiercely slashed with his saber!
Swish!
The saber cut through the water, leaving a deep mark on the stone wall.
Tang Wen exerted force with his legs and leaped directly out of the several-meter-deep pond!
He landed steadily on his bare feet.
[Wind-splitting Saber, Expert (0/6000)]
He had broken through.
The guards at the entrance heard the noise and looked over, their pupils contracting: "This guy, why does he seem much taller?"
"It feels a bit like when the Commander and others spar."
"Is practicing in water really that effective?"
Both of them were tempted; maybe they should try practicing like this someday.
"Good saber technique." A third voice came.
"Who?" The two were startled.
"Ah, General!"
"Greetings, General."
General Zhou raised his hand: "Is this Tang Wen?"
"Yes, General. Miss Zhou Bing brought him here."
"Bing'er," General Zhou's eyes flashed with regret, then he shook his head and left: "Prepare some food for him."
Tang Wen didn't notice this interlude; he was standing in a meditative stance, Entering Stillness.
After a quarter of an hour, he opened his eyes and found a wooden food box beside him, containing roasted meat, side dishes, and porridge.
He didn't stand on ceremony and quickly devoured everything.
His saber technique had broken through.
There was still about a day left; he couldn't waste it.
Tang Wen jumped back into the water to practice his fist technique.
Visualizing, a fireball crashing into a mountain.
Punching, the water swirled, but his fist couldn't gain speed, failure.
[Skill: Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist, Beginner (157→158/500)]
Even failure earned him 1 point of experience.
Visualizing, punching.
The water disturbed, failure.
Visualizing, punching, failure.
Tang Wen immersed himself in practicing his fist technique, repeating this process over and over.
Until he felt dizzy and exhausted, he climbed ashore, removed his sand vest, and changed back into his clothes.
[Skill: Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist, Beginner (158→253/500)]
The experience gained was far less than he had imagined.
In his muddled state, Tang Wen reflected on himself, recalling two sayings: "Haven't learned to walk yet? Want to fly? You have to take one step at a time; taking big steps, snap! You might strain yourself."
He chuckled self-deprecatingly; he had indeed been too impatient.
The inch strength burst of the Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist not only consumed physical energy but also greatly taxed his mental strength.
Tang Wen returned home and slept to recover.
"The note you left me said you're not going to study the Mountain-Cracking Cannon Fist Visualization Diagram anymore?" Zhou Bing held a cup of tea, sipping it delicately.
Tea was a luxury, one tael of silver for one tael of tea.
Not to mention the people from the outer city, even the members of the hunting squad rarely bought it to drink.
"Hmm, greed leads to indigestion," Tang Wen picked up the teacup and was slightly stunned to see the large tea leaves unfurled in the water.
Selling tea is really profitable.
This tea, if placed on Earth, wouldn't even sell for a dollar per pound.
But he still took a sip, the bitter and astringent taste filling his mouth, feeling somewhat familiar.
"Sister Bing, does the Guard Barracks have any soft armor?"
Zhou Bing gave him a puzzled look.
"It's the kind of armor worn inside the clothes, to prevent sneak attacks."
"Well, we'll all be wearing armor when we set out tomorrow."
"I know, but it's better to have an extra layer of protection."
"Inner armor is heavy. Our armor weighs 60 pounds, and you want to wear inner armor too? Forget it, come with me to get a set."
Thinking of Tang Wen's monstrous strength, Zhou Bing downed her tea in one gulp and walked out the door first.
The two arrived at the Quartermaster's place in the camp.
"Inner armor? Of course, we have it, but it's not light."
The Quartermaster opened the warehouse and dragged out a wooden box, grinning mischievously at Tang Wen: "Kid, do you want to wear this 60-pound one? Or this 80-pound one?"
Tang Wen didn't answer, instead reaching out to pick up the 8
0-pound half-body heavy armor that looked like fish scales, and asked Zhou Bing: "Captain, can you pierce through this with a spear?"
"Yes, but you don't necessarily need to pierce through armor to kill someone."
"Understood," Tang Wen turned to the Quartermaster: "Do you have anything heavier, with better defense?"
Quartermaster:
Zhou Bing:.
(End of chapter)