Since he had made his decision, he no longer hesitated.
A thought flickered through Fang Yue's mind, and the text before him instantly changed.
[Talent Acquired: Basic Boxing Mastery]
As the line of text appeared, Fang Yue felt as if something had happened to him, but when he tried to sense it carefully, he discovered that nothing had changed.
"So, this Basic Boxing Mastery I traded ten Talent points for is useless?"
Fang Yue couldn't help but mutter to himself.
The next moment, an idea struck him, and he immediately began to practice the White Tiger Fist he had just learned that day inside his room.
He clenched his fists, his steps powerful and majestic.
Recalling the moves he had learned that day, Fang Yue began to execute them, one punch and one stance at a time.
~~~~~~
「One hour later.」
Fang Yue stomped his foot and threw a fierce punch forward.
BANG!
The friction of his fist cutting through the air produced a sharp, piercing sound, like the roar of a ferocious tiger.
The table before him shattered as if struck by a massive boulder, exploding into countless splinters with a deafening crash.
He had been practicing the Fist Technique, wanting to see what this Talent could do.
Sure enough, as he practiced the White Tiger Fist, he gradually found that his proficiency was increasing rapidly with every repetition.
Furthermore, many of the movements that had previously been awkward were gradually becoming fluid.
Of course, what was more crucial was that he discovered the power of the Fist Technique seemed to have increased.
The Basic Boxing Mastery Talent had increased the speed and power of his White Tiger Fist cultivation.
At this point, he also realized the difference between Talent and Talent.
Talent represented potential, the upper limit of one's cultivation. The greater his Talent, the higher the Martial Arts Realm he could reach in the future.
And a Talent was an innate, unique ability in a specific area.
Basic Boxing Mastery had given him an increase in the speed and power of his White Tiger Fist cultivation.
Having figured this out, Fang Yue immediately snapped out of his training trance.
Then, he saw the scene before him and couldn't help but exclaim:
"Ah, who smashed our table?"
But, a moment later.
Seeing that he was still holding a punching posture, he instantly realized that he was the one who had smashed the table.
'I must have been so immersed in my training that I forgot to hold back my strength and ended up smashing the table!'
'Mom is definitely going to be heartbroken when she gets back.'
Fang Yue looked at the shattered table before him, suddenly feeling vexed.
Before he could figure out what to do, Ms. Chen's voice drifted in from outside.
"Zhi'Er, are you home? Mom brought you an egg. Quick, come out and eat it."
The door opened immediately after.
"Hey, Zhi'Er, where's our table?"
Ms. Chen hadn't quite processed the scene. Not seeing the table in the room, she thought Fang Yue had moved it.
But soon enough, she spotted the surrounding wood fragments and a few broken table legs.
Wasn't that their table?
So, how did their table end up like this!
"Ah, this is our table! How did our table get smashed?" Ms. Chen shrieked.
"What's wrong? What happened? Did something happen to the family?" Father Fang also rushed in at that moment.
It turned out that as Father Fang and his eldest son, Fang Cheng, were returning home today, they had run into Ms. Chen and come back together.
He had been organizing tools in the courtyard and had rushed in upon hearing Ms. Chen's scream.
"Our table is smashed!" Ms. Chen was nearly in tears.
"I broke it by accident while I was practicing my punches," Fang Yue could only admit.
"You broke it? How could you be so careless!" Father Fang demanded, his voice stern.
"You broke it?" Ms. Chen asked again.
Fang Yue nodded.
Ms. Chen's first reaction was surprise, and her second was anger.
She was furious.
She swung a vicious slap.
The slap landed squarely on Father Fang's shoulder with a crisp SMACK, clearly delivered with great force.
At the same time, Ms. Chen's voice rose, like a lioness protecting her cub.
"Fang Mu, why were you yelling at my Zhi'Er? He broke it by accident! Why are you yelling at him!"
Then, in a few quick strides, she was at Fang Yue's side, carefully taking his arm. "Zhi'Er, are you hurt? Quick, tell Mom, which hand did you hit it with? Let Mom have a look."
Wincing, Father Fang rubbed his own shoulder.
He could see clearly that Fang Yue wasn't hurt in the slightest. There wasn't even any redness or swelling on his hands; he was completely unharmed.
And he hadn't even said anything harsh, just raised his voice a little.
'How come Fang Yue, the one who did something wrong, is perfectly fine, but I'm the one who gets hit?'
Father Fang clutched his shoulder, which burned with a fiery pain, but he didn't dare make a sound.
Because right now, Ms. Chen was staring at him.
"Mom, Mr. Fang is going into the mountains to hunt for the next few days, so I won't be going to his house," Fang Yue said quickly.
Sure enough, Ms. Chen's attention was diverted. She stopped examining Fang Yue's arm and was no longer glaring at Father Fang.
"Oh, that's wonderful," Ms. Chen said immediately. "I'll have to make you some delicious food these next few days."
Then, as if remembering something, she added, "Matchmaker Wang came to the house again today. She asked what our family's intentions were, and I rejected her on the spot."
"With such a high bride price, how could our family possibly agree to the marriage? It's a pity, though. That girl from the Zhou Family is truly good-looking."
Ms. Chen sounded indignant, but there was still a hint of regret in her voice at the end.
Perhaps it was precisely because the Zhou Family's daughter from the next village was so attractive that they were asking for such a high bride price.
"Mom, it's their loss for passing up my brother. I'm sure he'll find someone even better in the future," Fang Yue said, quickly trying to comfort her.
At Fang Yue's words, Ms. Chen finally broke into a smile.
"Of course! Just look who gave birth to him. Zhi'Er must be hungry, right? Mom will go make dinner for you right now."
It was getting late; the sun was already sinking in the west.
If she didn't start making dinner, it would soon be dark.
Ms. Chen immediately walked out of the room. As she passed Father Fang, she slapped him again. "There isn't much work in the fields these next few days. You get to it and make a new table."
Father Fang was deeply wounded, but he could only endure it all in silence.
"Dad, I'll help you tomorrow."
Fang Yue also felt a little embarrassed. He couldn't let his dad take all the blame for his mistake.
"Mm."
Father Fang grunted in acknowledgment, then went outside to continue organizing his tools.
~~~~~~
And so, life settled back into a peaceful routine.
Every day, Fang Yue would continue his stance training, then practice his Fist Technique.
Afterward, he would find time to bring some food to Widow Yu's house.
These days, Zhang Shu seemed to have resigned herself to her fate, or in other words, accepted reality.
She was no longer cursing and muttering, and was getting along somewhat better with Widow Yu and her daughter.
With her not making a fuss, Fang Yue's life was also a bit more peaceful.
Otherwise, with Fang Hu away, he would have a hard time explaining himself if Zhang Shu were to cause any trouble.