Chapter 122: The Power of the Ox!

"Brother Xu, if I eat this, can I really become stronger?"

"Of course you can."

Life in Qingniu Town was never pleasant.

The land here was barren, plagued by demons all year round, and people could never obtain sufficient food.

The howling wind carried a foul, fishy stench.

The swirling dust and sand were stained with pitch-black blood.

At sunrise, the blazing sun illuminated everything, and the Hundred Thousand Mountains turned into a quiet, dark forest, twisting and lurking in a gruesome manner.

At sunset, the deep darkness spread across the world; it was a living Hell, where demons of all shapes and sizes bared their fangs.

No one wanted to live in a place like this.

But those who lived here often had no right to choose.

People longed to live, and now, Xu Xi had given them a way to survive: just [eat].

Eat your own Qi, eat your own spirit, and ignite the Essence within your body.

This allowed the weak Physical Body of a Mortal to possess the powerful strength of a Martial Artist.

"Hehe, I trust Brother Xu. I want to protect my mother well."

The honest man scratched his head.

He trusted Xu Xi deeply; he neither questioned the authenticity of the Cultivation Technique nor did he think Xu Xi would harm him.

His rough, clumsy hands followed Xu Xi's instructions: think, eat, and consume those hollow yet surging things.

What exactly they were…

A-Niu didn't really know.

Brother Xu had explained it in great detail, but A-Niu still didn't understand. He only knew that his job was just to eat.

As long as he did this, he could possess enough strength to protect his increasingly weak mother at home.

"Gurgle."

"Gurgle."

The martial art that even a fool could learn began to operate.

It felt as if something was truly being eaten inside A-Niu's body; sounds of chewing and swallowing emerged. Immediately after, his dark face broke into a joyous smile, blossoming like a flower.

"I did it!"

"I did it!"

"Brother Xu, look, look! I really did it!"

The man's face remained dark and as rough as the soil beneath his feet.

But at this moment, the light bursting from his eyes seemed to outshine the sun; it was a brightness he had never possessed before.

"Mm, I see it."

Xu Xi said with a smile.

He reached out, placed his hand on A-Niu's wrist, and channeled his Protective Aura into his body to examine his meridians.

"His Qi and blood have begun to circulate. At this speed…"

"Perhaps it won't be long before A-Niu can step into the first realm of Body Tempering?"

Compared to a normal Martial Artist's Cultivate.

This speed of advancement could be considered fast.

At the same time, the drawbacks were also significant.

This was a path of nourishing war through war. People who couldn't survive could only rely on themselves, burning their lives, betting everything, to fight for a future they couldn't see.

"The power of the ox!"

"The speed of the ox!"

"The fury of the ox!"

A-Niu shouted excitedly. Xu Xi let go and let A-Niu try out his new strength on his own.

A-Niu was the first Mortal to Cultivate the Fools Art. Xu Xi prepared to observe for a few more days to confirm there were no hidden issues with the Cultivation Technique.

Additionally, A-Niu, having successfully Cultivated it, could serve as a leading example.

Letting the others in Qingniu Town see it.

That a so-called way out truly existed.

"What will the future of Qingniu Town look like after being pushed forward by this Cultivation Technique…" Xu Xi muttered to himself while standing in the autumn wind.

He had done everything he could.

Creating a path to forge a future for those who couldn't survive.

Anything more…

Xu Xi couldn't do it.

Merely deducing this Fools Art had exhausted all of Xu Xi's energy, leaving him unable to spare any Clones to attend to anything else.

"This period of time has been even more torturous than the previous seven years combined…"

Qi and blood flowed through his entire body, soothing the fatigue in every bone and muscle.

But while physical fatigue could be relieved, mental exhaustion kept surging back repeatedly.

The time spent deducing the Yangyuan Technique had been too long.

During every day and night in the past, whenever Xu Xi thought of those departed faces, it was difficult to find the heart to rest; he would perform Martial Arts Evolution over and over again in silence.

Now that it was a complete success, he finally didn't have to continue suffering.

"Yingxue, you should go back and rest."

Xu Xi looked to his side.

The young girl had been following by his side the whole time; her eyes were bright and radiant, yet they could not hide her sleepiness.

During this time, for the deduction of the Yangyuan Technique and to create hope for the people of Qingniu Town to survive, Wu Yingxue had provided quite a bit of help.

The mental energy expended, the effort put in.

Were also not insignificant.

"Ugh~"

In the courtyard, Wu Yingxue stretched her left hand, placed it on her right shoulder, and did a backward stretch on the spot, revealing her lovely figure.

She looked up at the sun.

Her eyes squinted into slits.

The corners of Wu Yingxue's mouth turned up, her face full of relief, revealing a radiance Xu Xi hadn't seen in a long time.

"It's finally over. It was worth all my hard work."

"In the future, when everyone in Qingniu Town survives, it will be partly thanks to me, this heroine!"

The young girl put her hands on her hips.

She was quite proud of herself, and she certainly had the right to be.

Then, she stepped away to leave, but noticed that Xu Xi was still standing in place.

"Sir, is there anything else you need to do?"

"Mm, I plan to practice my fist techniques for a while before going back to rest."

Xu Xi replied.

The effect of the Persistence entry would continue to increase over time; if there was any stagnation in the middle, the feedback effect would be greatly reduced.

Xu Xi didn't want to waste it in vain.

"Is that so…" Wu Yingxue hesitated for a moment, but ultimately decided to stay.

She said that Xu Xi couldn't be the only one increasing his strength; she also needed to improve, so she stayed to practice her spear techniques for a while.

Even though Xu Xi told the girl to go back and rest.

The girl had no intention of listening.

In some aspects, the young heroine was exceptionally stubborn, and Xu Xi could only agree to her staying.

Fists struck, spears pierced, and the wind whistled.

Shifting forms, stepping, as fast as afterimages.

The two practiced in the courtyard for an hour.

This was not Xu Xi's limit.

But considering that his body was indeed very fatigued, Xu Xi decided to end today's training here.

He bid the girl farewell, urged her to rest immediately, and then returned to his room, quickly lying down on the bed.

"No need to continue deducing."

"No need to worry about the future."

"Thinking of this, my whole body has relaxed."

After lying flat.

Sleepiness hit him like a tide, washing over Xu Xi's spirit in layers.

Recalling the hardships of these days, Xu Xi sighed in his heart, then closed his eyes, letting his consciousness sink into the surging sleepiness.

Martial Artists are human too.

They get tired, they suffer.

They are not cold machines that work without rest all year round.

In order to deal with the coming winter, it was very necessary for Xu Xi to keep his body in peak condition at all times, to welcome the Demon Tide in the best state.

He slept deeply and soundly.

When Xu Xi opened his eyes again, his fatigue had dissipated, and his eyes were no longer weary.

"I feel much more energetic after a nap."

Xu Xi was very satisfied with the quality of his sleep.

He looked out the window and found that the sun had long set, replaced by a crescent moon that wasn't very bright, surrounded by twinkling stars.

This sleep had lasted a long time.

He had slept straight from daytime until midnight.

Suddenly, the sound of paper rustling in the courtyard caught Xu Xi's attention.