I was told I'd be a late bloomer, but I was born with the potential to achieve great things!

【Qingfeng Sword Technique (Beginner 56/100): Practice 100 times daily, mastery possible in one month.】

【Qingfeng Sword Technique (Beginner 57/100): Practice 100 times daily, mastery possible in one month.】

......

At noon, after finishing his boxing practice, Zhou An lay on his bed, mimicking the movements of a sword with his hands while recalling the image of Guo Tao wielding his sword earlier.

Since it was a private lesson, there was no explanation of techniques such as strength.

Therefore, Zhou An could only keep recalling the changes in Guo Tao's wrist and footwork when he wielded the sword, and refine the Qingfeng Sword Technique in his mind through repeated contemplation.

It was difficult and mentally taxing at first.

But as time went by, the image of the swordsman in my mind gradually became clearer, just like the Tongbei Changquan from back then.

"Brother Zhou, are you still thinking about practicing your sword?"

As Qian San entered the dormitory, he noticed his upper bunk swaying from time to time and couldn't help but smile.

Despite having spent so much time together, he still admired and respected Zhou An.

But can you really master it by just lying in bed and making random gestures, without even a sword in your hand?

"It's just pointless gesturing and a waste of his talent."

Tang Shan at the entrance only glanced at it briefly before looking away.

In the morning, he couldn't resist trying it out.

But not only did he fail to master it, he almost forgot the Tongbi Long Fist after a period of wild thinking, which startled him so much that he quickly stopped.

In his opinion, Zhou An should not focus on swordsmanship now, but concentrate on practicing boxing and strive to sense the flow of qi and blood as soon as possible, just like Sun Wenhao.

"Hmm, recalling it will make practicing faster in the future."

Zhou An casually replied, and after practicing it in his mind for a moment, he couldn't help but yawn and put down his dancing fingers.

"Although this method saves effort, it is still too mentally taxing. It would be great if we could train while the computer is running in the background."

Before his consciousness faded, Zhou An thought to himself.

The following day, in the morning.

On the training ground.

"Sun Wenhao didn't come."

As Zhou Anzheng practiced his punches, he continued to cultivate the Qingfeng Sword Technique in his mind when he heard Liu Shuqing's voice.

"He moved out of Jiayuan yesterday, so he probably won't be practicing martial arts with us anymore."

"Really? No wonder I didn't see him today."

Zhou An stopped what he was doing, glanced around, and then resumed his cultivation.

"I thought you had already noticed, Brother Zhou. After all, you seemed a little distracted while practicing martial arts just now."

"Stop talking about me, how are you? Can you feel your qi and blood?"

Zhou An glanced at Liu Shuqing.

"It won't be that fast, it'll only be a few days."

Liu Shuqing shrugged, her tone a mix of confidence and helplessness.

"Why."

Zhou An sighed and glanced at the destiny chart within his sea of ​​consciousness.

【Qingfeng Sword Technique (Proficiency 12/300): Practice 100 times daily, mastery possible in three months.】

His destiny continues to perform steadily, but his swordsmanship has already reached a level of mastery.

"Let's practice boxing together. You're not very enthusiastic about practicing. If I surpass you before the next test, I'll probably laugh myself to death."

As Zhou An spoke, he assumed the starting stance of Tongbei Changquan (a style of Chinese martial arts) in front of Liu Shuqing.

He currently uses the concept of "late bloomer" as a unit of measurement, but if Liu Shuqing becomes that unit of measurement, he won't be able to tolerate it.

"You? I, Liu Shuqing, am ranked number one."

Liu Shuqing was surprised and then laughed.

As a man who is about to sense the flow of qi and blood, he said he would not tolerate such disdain.

"To practice or not to practice?"

Zhou An remained silent, simply watching quietly.

If it weren't for the fact that this kid recognized his talent among thousands and took the lead in providing financial assistance, he would have wanted to channel all his energy into his body and then kick him in the butt.

"I'll practice, okay? I'll practice, alright?"

Liu Shuqing felt a chill run down her spine and immediately assumed the starting stance.

Qian San, Sun An, Liu Tiezhu and others standing nearby couldn't help but laugh out loud.

They often practiced martial arts together, and their initial hostility towards city dwellers, fearing being looked down upon, had long since vanished.

He practices martial arts, including swordsmanship and occasionally wielding a knife.

Before we knew it, it was time for the fifth test.

"Brother Zhou, just you wait and see."

On the training ground, Liu Shuqing, whose name was called, glanced triumphantly at Zhou An before walking onto the stage.

"Liu Shuqing, 178 jin (approximately 84.5 catties)."

Soon, Guo Tao's voice came from the stage, but Liu Shuqing did not leave the stage. Instead, she looked around and bowed with her hands clasped in front of her.

"Reporting to Instructor Guo, I successfully sensed the flow of Qi and blood yesterday."

At this point, Liu Shuqing stepped forward, assumed a horse stance just like Sun Wenhao had done that day, and extended her right arm.

"Very good. You don't need to come starting tomorrow. Your treatment will be the same as Sun Wenhao's. Do you want to learn swordsmanship or saber techniques?"

Guo Tao nodded in satisfaction, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.

"I would like to inform Instructor Guo that I wish to learn swordsmanship."

Liu Shuqing hesitated for a moment, but still answered directly.

Although he knew that once he spoke up, he might not be able to get additional swordsmanship guidance from Guo Tao like Sun Wenhao did, flying on a sword was just too cool.

"Okay, you can go now."

Guo Tao waved his hand, his tone noticeably calmer.

"Thank you, Coach Guo."

Liu Shuqing breathed a sigh of relief and quickly stepped off the stage.

"How about that? You said five days, and it really was five days... No, I only used four days."

Arriving beside Zhou An, Liu Shuqing spoke with great enthusiasm.

"Hmm, not bad, wait for me."

Zhou An said something indifferently, and then watched as the top two and top three went up on stage.

"Qiao Youwei weighs 165 jin (approximately 82.5 catties)."

"Zhao Nian, 168 jin (approximately 84 catties)."

The two leaders had barely stepped down when their expressions froze.

"Reporting to Instructor Guo, Zhao Nian has successfully sensed the Qi and blood, and... I want to learn the sword."

On the stage, Zhao Nian spoke loudly.

When he was offstage, he could see very clearly that Coach Guo was obviously more interested in the person learning the knife.

"Good, go down and wait patiently. I'll teach you later."

"Listen to that, even their tone is different... Look how smart others are."

Zhou An nudged Liu Shuqing on the shoulder and teased her.

"That kid, he's opportunistic... and he's very good at hiding his true intentions."

Liu Shuqing took a deep breath and glared at Zhou An through gritted teeth.

"What do you want to learn? If you learn swordsmanship like me, I'll give you one or two taels of silver."

"We're all brothers, why are we talking about money..."

Zhou An shrugged helplessly.

"However, since you're so sincere, remember to buy me a medicinal meal later."

Just as Liu Shuqing was feeling touched, she saw Zhou An, who was about to go on stage, suddenly turn around and add a sentence, and her face immediately froze.

"Give me back my gratitude. Wait, what did he just say... Could it be that he also successfully sensed the Qi and blood?"

Thinking of this, Liu Shuqing looked at Zhou An on the stage with a surprised expression.

"Zhou An, 163 jin!"

"I have learned from Instructor Guo that I was fortunate enough to sense the flow of qi and blood."

Almost the instant Guo Tao finished his announcement, Zhou An, panting heavily, raised his head and stretched out his right arm.

"Hmm, not bad."

Guo Tao nodded and glanced at Liu Shuqing below the stage.

He wasn't blind, so he naturally saw the interaction between the two of them offstage.

as predicted.

"I want to learn swordsmanship."

"Wait in the audience."

"Okay, thank you, Coach Guo."

Zhou An nodded obediently and quickly ran off the stage.

"You're just like that Zhao Nian, you've really kept it well hidden."

Seeing Zhou An approaching, Liu Shuqing snorted coldly and said with a straight face.

"What I learned from you, wasn't it just as surprising as what you were saying earlier?"

Zhou An chuckled.

"I remember what you just said, to buy me medicinal cuisine... When it's time to choose a house, I'll be your good neighbor."

"Thank you so much."

Liu Shuqing said irritably.

But despite his words, while he felt pleasantly surprised for his friend, he was also somewhat astonished.

In his view, he had gone to great lengths and spent money every day to eat two servings of medicinal food before he was able to sense his qi and blood yesterday, while Zhou An had followed him without making a sound.

"Could it be that his martial arts talent is actually higher than mine?"

Thinking about this, Liu Shuqing felt terrible, her emotions were very complicated.

"I thought I would be the 'third' person to sense the Qi and blood, but I didn't expect the top three who were previously quiet to be so powerful today."

Ignoring Liu Shuqing's thoughts, Zhou An could feel the envious gazes around him, but the intensity of those gazes was noticeably lower.

This was exactly what he wanted.

"Brother Zhou, congratulations."

After the test, many people who were familiar with Zhou An, such as Qian San, Sun An, and Liu Tiezhu, all came forward to congratulate him.

Even Tangshan, with whom there had been a minor conflict initially, offered a congratulatory message with a complex expression.

In their view, Zhou An's ability to sense qi and blood so quickly was due to his own talent, but it was also inseparable from Liu Shuqing's help.

Otherwise, how could the two of them sense each other's qi and blood, and even learn swordsmanship together?

Although I felt envious and jealous, there was nothing I could say.

"Everyone, we're all from the same dormitory. I'll wait for the day when you can sense each other's Qi and blood."

If you ever have any trouble with your boxing techniques in the future, you can come to me in your spare time. I'll definitely help if I can. You know my address.

At the entrance of Courtyard B, before leaving, Zhou An cupped his hands in greeting to Qian San, Sun Shi, and the others, and then stepped out of the gate amidst their gazes.

"Let's go, good neighbor."

Halfway there, Liu Shuqing, who was waiting under a big tree, picked up his luggage and said in a sarcastic tone.

Zhou An smiled, not annoyed at all.

"From today onwards, I am a homeowner, and I can now practice martial arts and cultivate my skills in my own private courtyard."

Thinking of this, Zhou An's steps became much lighter.

......