11: Chapter 11

Feng Yuxiu licked his lips, the flames of battle in his eyes burning brighter: "Young Master's skills are not bad either."

"Come again!"

"Then let me properly experience the Young Master's true skills!"

Both men let out another roar, and their bodies collided once again.

Bang, bang, bang—

For a moment, dull thuds exploded in succession.

Every punch landed solidly on flesh; it was a fierce fight.

Lin Bufan unleashed the full extent of the Five Animal Frolics.

One moment he was like a fierce tiger pouncing on prey, the next like a black bear crashing into a mountain.

Feng Yuxiu was no slouch either.

Xingyi Fist and Baji Fist—he parried every move steadily, not losing an inch of ground.

The two fought faster and more fiercely.

As Lin Bufan and Feng Yuxiu fought, it looked like every blow connected with flesh and every move was aimed at vital points, as if they were fighting to the death.

But in reality, they both knew very well that neither of them was using their full strength in this fight.

Lin Bufan's True Dragon Bloodline had not been activated from start to finish.

What he was using now was merely the enhancement effect inherent to his bloodline, combined with the Five Animal Frolics that he had practiced to a decent level.

Feng Yuxiu was even more ruthless, holding back at least thirty percent of his strength, if not more.

If he were to truly go berserk, his power could multiply several times over, if not more.

The two had traded blows for less than half an incense stick of time.

After exchanging hundreds of moves, they finally stopped.

Looking at them now, Lin Bufan and Feng Yuxiu were covered in bruises.

Although neither of them had fought to kill, the force of their punches landing on flesh was something an ordinary person could not withstand.

A single punch from either of them would leave an ordinary person lying on the ground, unable to get up.

It was only because their physiques were far superior to ordinary people that they only sustained some bruising.

Had it been any other martial artist, they would have likely suffered broken arms or legs long ago.

"Oh my... how did you end up like this..."

"You didn't know how to hold back..."

When Huo Xianer saw the bruises all over Lin Bufan's arms, she hurried over, her face full of concern.

"Don't worry, it's just some superficial injuries..."

"It looks all black and blue, but it didn't even break the skin..."

Seeing Huo Xianer's pained expression, Lin Bufan quickly spoke up to comfort her.

After coaxing Huo Xianer, Lin Bufan took out a bottle of qi-blood pill and tossed it to Feng Yuxiu.

"These are qi-blood pills; they can increase qi-blood and are good for nourishing the body."

After speaking, Lin Bufan didn't waste any more words and popped a qi-blood pill into his mouth.

He immediately assumed the Tiger Frolic stance, and combined with the unique Breathing Technique of the Five Animal Frolics, he began to mobilize the qi-blood in his body to slowly recover.

Under the dual effect of the Breathing Technique and the stance, the qi-blood within Lin Bufan was gradually brought under his control and began to circulate throughout his body.

Time passed bit by bit.

One could see the bruises on Lin Bufan's body fading away at a speed visible to the naked eye, recovering.

After about half an hour, Lin Bufan opened his mouth and exhaled a breath of turbid air.

The breath Lin Bufan exhaled faintly smelled of blood.

Even more surprisingly, that puff of air faintly shimmered with a dark red light.

Nearby, Feng Yuxiu had also just taken a qi-blood pill and was now mostly recovered.

Seeing the strange phenomenon on Lin Bufan, he couldn't help but exclaim: "I really didn't expect that the Young Master's martial arts had reached such a level..."

"To be honest, in terms of hand-to-hand combat, I am indeed inferior to you."

After recovering, Lin Bufan turned to look at Feng Yuxiu, his eyes filled with curiosity: "Tell me about martial arts."

After speaking, he beckoned to Huo Xianer, and the two walked over to the pavilion to sit down.

A maid soon brought a pot of hot tea.

Feng Yuxiu took a sip before saying: "Since the Young Master wants to listen, I will explain it in detail."

"The path of martial arts, while having strong and weak practitioners, does not have very clear-cut levels."

"When starting out, it is mainly about tempering the muscles and bones, strengthening the qi-blood, and allowing one to undergo a transformation."

At this point, Feng Yuxiu's gaze fell on Huo Xianer, and after a glance, he continued: "The Mistress's current situation is that she has just entered the door; her qi-blood is beginning to flourish, and her body is slowly undergoing changes."

"After entering the door, the next step is to sense the qi-blood."

"Using the power of qi-blood to temper the muscles, bones, skin, and membranes, as well as the internal organs."

Feng Yuxiu shifted his gaze back to Lin Bufan: "The Young Master's current level has reached the stage of sensing qi-blood, and you have begun to initially temper your muscles, bones, skin, and membranes."

"However, the Young Master is different from ordinary people; I can feel that your qi-blood is much stronger than that of an average person."

Feng Yuxiu was right.

Lin Bufan possessed the True Dragon Bloodline within him, and when it was fused, his qi-blood power was already far beyond that of ordinary people.

Even without the boost from the Five Animal Frolics, the power of the bloodline alone could slowly temper his muscles, bones, skin, and membranes, making his body constantly stronger.

But relying solely on the True Dragon Bloodline, it would have been impossible for Lin Bufan to progress so quickly and reach his current level.

His current strength was the result of the True Dragon Bloodline and the Five Animal Frolics complementing and reinforcing each other.

Hearing all this from Feng Yuxiu, Lin Bufan and Huo Xianer exchanged a look, neither interrupting.

Lin Bufan nodded at Feng Yuxiu, signaling him to continue.

Feng Yuxiu then continued:

"Once the muscles, bones, skin, membranes, and internal organs are tempered to a certain degree, qi-blood can be emitted through the limbs, forming a type of force."

Feng Yuxiu grabbed the teacup on the table, focused his mind, and the qi-blood in his body surged along his arm toward his palm.

Crack, crack, crack—

In an instant, several cracks exploded on the surface of the porcelain cup in his hand.

It looked as if he was gripping an invisible force in his palm that was squeezing the cup tightly.

Bang!

After only two breaths, the teacup seemed unable to hold on, directly crushed by that invisible force, and the shards fell all over the ground.

Before Lin Bufan and Huo Xianer could react, Feng Yuxiu had already scooped up the pile of broken porcelain shards, closed his five fingers, and gave a gentle squeeze.

When he opened his palm again, those shards had long since turned into a pinch of fine powder, scattering with the wind.

"Gulp..."

Lin Bufan swallowed, and Huo Xianer's throat moved as well.

A porcelain cup, first shattered into pieces, then crushed into dust—what kind of monster was this?

Lin Bufan had long known that Feng Yuxiu was a martial artist, but seeing this scene with his own eyes, he was still shocked.

This strength was simply ridiculously extreme.

"This is the state of qi-blood emission, transformed into force."

Feng Yuxiu withdrew his hand, his face expressionless and his tone indifferent.

"This subordinate has only barely managed to achieve the level where force covers the whole body and emits three inches outward."

Seeing the shocked looks on Lin Bufan and Huo Xianer's faces, he added.

"Reaching this level, one can barely be considered to have stepped across the threshold of a Grandmaster."

"It is said that going further, one can allow the qi-blood to completely transform, turning into qi-energy that can be emitted three zhang away."

"That realm is called Martial Arts Grandmaster."

"However, in these twenty years, I have traveled across more than half of the Divine Land and have never seen a person of this level."

The twenty years of martial arts experience that Feng Yuxiu spoke of was actually memory directly implanted into his brain by the system.

Whether or not there were stronger existences was something Lin Bufan would have to explore for himself.

Lin Bufan had basically not gone out during this period, but judging from the information he had gathered from various sources, the zombie world he was currently in was far from as simple as it appeared on the surface.

In the end, everything he was currently in contact with was limited to this small patch of territory in Changsha City.

He had absolutely no clue what the situation outside of Changsha City was like.

Lin Bufan had finally calmed down by now.

When he looked at Feng Yuxiu again, his eyes were full of brightness.

The things given by the system really didn't make him waste his expectations.

With Feng Yuxiu here, he finally had a capable subordinate who could hold down the fort.

He composed his expression and asked seriously: "What are your plans for the future?"

Feng Yuxiu didn't waste any words, directly cupping his hands: "Everything is up to the Young Master."

Lin Bufan turned to look at Huo Xianer: "Xianer, what do you think?"

"Is there any position currently suitable for Feng Yuxiu?"

Huo Xianer lowered her head and thought for a moment before tentatively saying: "How about... letting him manage the affairs of the hall first?"

"Fine, then let him be temporarily responsible for the hall."

Lin Bufan nodded and then said: "I will allocate an additional 100,000 silver dollars to you."

"You pick the people yourself and train a trustworthy team for me."

"Keep the number of people around fifty."

"I'll give you half a year to make this group combat-ready."

"Can you do it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, his gaze locked onto Feng Yuxiu.

Feng Yuxiu was not ambiguous, directly cupping his hands and speaking:

"It won't take half a year."

"In three months, I can make them capable of fighting."

"If the Young Master can provide me with some qi-blood pills, in half a year to a year, I can have them all step into the threshold of martial arts, one taking on ten."

It was hard to tell if this was arrogance or if he truly had the confidence.

Huo Xianer opened her mouth, wanting to say something.

But the words reached her lips, and as if she had thought of something, she swallowed them back.

Lin Bufan did not hesitate and nodded directly:

"Good, I want to see whether you are just bragging or if you truly have this ability."

"Later, I will have someone deliver the qi-blood pills to your hands."

"If you can really do as you say, in the future, I will provide all the qi-blood pills you need for your cultivation."

Feng Yuxiu was already loyal to him.

Letting him manage the hall was just a test.

It was also to let Huo Xianer see whether this person was reliable or not.

With everything arranged, Lin Bufan turned his gaze back to Huo Xianer:

"Xianer, do you think this arrangement is okay?"

Huo Xianer met his gaze, didn't think too much, and quickly spoke up.

Huo Xianer nodded, and Lin Bufan didn't say anything more, directly finalizing the matter.

The hall under the name of the Third Branch quietly gained a fierce person to hold the fort.

Originally, this hall had stopped all business in antiques and curios, specializing only in the two secret medicines: anti-poison pill and hemostatic powder.

Seeing the Huo Family Third Branch rise from the low point and start making a lot of money, even with the Nine Gates protecting them, it couldn't stop people from being jealous, plotting in their hearts to get their hands on the prescriptions.

No one was a fool; everyone understood one truth—whoever held onto these two medicines was equivalent to holding onto a mountain of gold and silver.

Those direct families of the Nine Gates didn't show anything on the surface and were always polite every time they traded with the Third Branch.

But behind the scenes, they spared no effort, first trying to dismantle the prescriptions, tossing about for several rounds, only to find that, just as Lin Bufan had expected, it was all in vain and they gained nothing.