Qi Ying grabbed Chen Yi's clothes and walked towards a small yard next to them. It was her private yard,
Seeing this, the disciples felt both sympathetic and delightfully schadenfreude. Everyone had been in that yard before, and they all ended up being severely beaten.
Chen Yi looked back helplessly at Elder Brother Yunhu who had kept a safe distance,
Elder Brother Yunhu responded with a bright smile, "Go ahead, Brother Chen Yi. As I said before, the quickest way to improve your boxing skills is through actual combat! Don't worry, you've already learned Mingjin, you should be... probably... not in life-threatening danger."
Chen Yi:.....
"Come on, hit me with your strongest punch!"
In the yard, Qi Ying stood not far in front of Chen Yi, nonchalantly pointing towards him.
Chen Yi knew this was unavoidable. He wanted to test his skills in actual combat. Training with a fellow sect member was safer than a life-or-death battle outside. It was a good way to verify his strength.
"Ha!"
Considering the strength of his Mingjin, Chen Yi made a punch with 50% of his full strength,
Bang!
Qi Ying casually blocked Chen Yi's punch with a single hand,
Chen Yi felt as if his fist had hit an iron plate. His punch was repelled instantly,
Luckily his arm muscles were now as robust as cowhide, so they weren't too badly affected by the shock.
"That's too weak, watch this, hey!"
All of a sudden, Qi Ying let out a kittenish yell and her right leg flew up, transforming into a swiftly moving whip that lashed out at Chen Yi.
The whip-fast leg came over like a bolt of lightning, so Chen Yi instinctively blocked it with his left arm,
With a crack, he felt a tremendous force coming towards him and he was pushed back for two steps,
Before he could recover, another cracking sound resonated in the air and there came another round; "Good boy, here comes another one!"
This time, Qi Ying used the lightning whip with her left leg. She had unleashed her Mingjin,
Chen Yi managed to follow the trajectory of Qi Ying's lightning fast kick by using the corner of his eyes and raised his right arm just in time to block it,
With another crack, he blocked it,
However, Qi Ying's kick was incredibly powerful, pushing Chen Yi back three steps,
Fortunately, his vitality and blood were extraordinarily vigorous compared to ordinary beginning stage martial artists. Added with the enhancement of the Vajra Sutra to his entire body, he managed to stabilize himself with just a stumble.
Chen Yi felt an intense pain in his legs as if they've been whipped. He continually circulated his vitality and blood to his arms, easing the pain and swelling. He felt the power of vitality and blood was extremely useful. As it not only strengthened his body, but also enhanced his five senses. If it wasn't for the power of vitality and blood, he wouldn't have been able to withstand Qi Ying's kick.
Seeing that Chen Yi could still stand like nothing had happened, as if he still had combat power,
Qi Ying's eyes lit up:
"Good job! You're really resilient... good job, let's keep going!"
Whack! Crack! Bang! Boom!
Next, Chen Yi gradually became a punching bag under Qi Ying's lightning whip kicks and iron fists,
Not to mention fighting back, even defending became more and more difficult,
Only his abundant vitality and blood helped him barely block Qi Ying's attacks and quickly neutralize them – any less, and he wouldn't have withstood even three kicks.
Qi Ying had already been a Mingjin martial artist before joining the Iron Fist Sect. Her family's martial art skill was the lightning whip leg. The blows of her iron-like long legs were fast and fierce,
No one could withstand them.
Finally, half an incense's time had passed. Qi Ying's face was rosy, strands of hair had stuck to her forehead due to sweat. She grinned, showing her white teeth as she gasped for breath,
"Brother, how was it? Not bad, right? You have such a good physique. You're able to persist for so long just after learning Mingjin. Even I'm out of breath from kicking."
Qi Ying looked at Chen Yi who was still standing. The more she looked, the more she liked him. He really was tough!
Chen Yi was panting heavily, his back was drenched in sweat. He felt like he was being drained of energy, and found himself becoming unstable.
He had used all of his vitality and blood for defense but he could barely keep Qi Ying's attacks at bay. His arms were red and swollen, numb and sore, and he had no extra vitality and blood to replenish his muscles.
Now he finally understood why his fellow disciples feared Qi Ying like she was a demon.
This was a level of pain that not many could endure. Even he could only just bear it because of his copious vitality and blood, and the enhancement of the Vajra Sutra. Anyone else probably would have been grounded long ago.
"Come on, come inside with me and have a drink before you leave." Qi Ying, still smiling, grabbed Chen Yi's arm and led him into her room,
There was a table, a chair, a bed and a cabinet. The room was simply furnished, without a dressing table a girl would usually have.
Qi Ying poured a bowl of deeply colored soup from a teapot and gave it to Chen Yi,
When Chen Yi smelled the soup, the medicinal smell of the soup was similar to Small Wan Soup that his third senior brother used to sell. The scent was even stronger.
"Senior Sister, is this Small Wan Soup? Isn't this inappropriate?"
"Ah, what's so inappropriate about it? If I offer you a drink, you drink it. Once you feel better tomorrow, come back and practice boxing with older sister again! A grown man shouldn't be so nit-picky. Come on, bottoms up!"
Training all day just for a bowl of decoction? That's worth a tael of silver!
Isn't this job pretty good? Is this older sister actually a little tycoon?
Having a bowl of soup, although not as nourishing as a big fish from the Spiritual Energy World, is equivalent to a belly of a fish.
In his extremely weak state, the soup turns into a warm current once entering his stomach. Soon, the emptiness in his body began to slowly replenish and strengthen his vitality and blood.
Chen Yi doesn't dare to delay, hurriedly circulating this vitality and blood power to nourish his arms.
After a while, he opens his eyes, flexing his arms, seemingly, his strength increased slightly, and the cowhide on his right arm thickened a bit.
Opposite him, Qi Ying also opened her eyes, flashing a hint of joy.
It seemed she also gained something?
"Thank you for the soup, elder sister. I gained a lot today. If elder sister has no other matters, I'll take my leave?"
"Alright, take care, little brother. You're a good seedling for martial arts. Practice more when you get home and I'll find you again tomorrow!"
Upon hearing that he would still be beaten tomorrow, Chen Yi's face twitched, as if the pain was already hurting right in his heart.
He took a step out of Qi Ying's courtyard, only to be startled by seven or eight sect brothers waiting at the door.
"Hey! I won! Chen Yi walked out on his own, give me my silver!"
Seeing this, Yunhu was extraordinarily excited, while the others looked displeased.
"How is it even possible for him to walk out on his own?! That doesn't make sense! Didn't our second elder sister eat today?"
Chen Yi noticed these people actually used him as a bet, he was not amused. Grimly, he parted the crowd, making his steps appear staggered and weak, then staggered away.
He found a secluded spot in the Reed Marsh after taking the boat out to the lake. The scenery of the other world in his mind gradually enlarged,
The next moment, he appeared again on the lake surface of the Spiritual Energy World.
Without saying a word, he first cast the bait to catch fish. After two large fish weighing over twenty pounds were aboard,
While starting a fire to cook, Chen Yi began practicing the Vajra Sutra's boxing.
Practicing boxing over and over again.
Today, after being trained by Qi Ying, only about half of his vitality and blood were recovered.
But this time, he actually finished the eighth stance of the Vajra Fist before feeling his vitality and blood drained.
"Sure enough, I've made progress. Yunhu was right, rapid progress comes from real combat."
In combat, the sense of life and death stimulates him, unknowingly compelling him to circulate his vitality and blood forcefully to resist, which is much more intense than the ordinary boxing practice in daily life.
After having his fill of two large fishes and practicing Vajra Sutra multiple times, Chen Yi's internal vitality and blood turn into strength, following the momentum of the Vajra Fist,
He circulated it all across his upper body. Now, not just his hands and forearms,
His shoulder, chest, and upper back's skins were gradually hardened and thickened, becoming tougher like cowhide.
This is a bonus from the Vajra Sutra.
However, in order for Chen Yi to fully refine his skin, the required vitality and blood power is several levels higher than that of ordinary Mingjin stage martial artists.
Luckily, he has the large fishes from the Spiritual Energy World to replenish him. Otherwise, solely relying on being beaten by elder sister, it would seem hopeless.
Cultivating, taking beatings, enhancing vitality and blood, practicing the Vajra Sutra, strengthening the body, enhancing strength,
Four days passed in such a simple and colorless manner.
Today at the dining table of Chen Yi's house, after he finished his fifth pancake and served another bowl of rice,
Chen Yi's mother showed a worried look on her face:
"Xiao Yi, I heard other children who practice martial arts only double their food intake. But your food intake has increased by 5 to 6 times, and it doesn't seem to stop.
If you keep eating like this, the two hundred catties of grain you bring home probably won't last till the end of this month.
Should we change it to cornmeal?
The grain prices outside are rising sharply now. Many families in the village have changed from eating two meals a day to only one meal a day. We eat three meals a day, which is a bit conspicuous."
Chen Yi finished the bowl of rice in a few bites and said, "Mother, don't worry, you and sister also eat freely. As for the grain issue, I'll find a way to solve it.
By the way, are we the only family that's been doing well recently?"
"Not necessarily. We were just eating normally, not too extravagant. But the village chief, Wang Dachui's family, we can smell the aroma of wine and meat every night. I wonder what business they've done that they can afford wine and meat for every meal."
Upon hearing this, Chen Yi had a thought. It seemed that Wang Dachui didn't heed his advice and had done that job again.
Suddenly, ding ding ding!
The ring of a gong sounded from outside:
"Everyone at home, come out!"
Chen Yi and his mother looked at each other, knowing that something happened. The two put down their chopsticks and walked out of the door.