The Eldest Young Master of the Huang Family

but.

I can only go to the kitchen after morning practice.

As the gong signaling the end of morning exercises sounded, the new guards, feeling as if they had been granted a pardon, dragged their aching arms back into their wooden baskets and headed towards the canteen in twos and threes.

Su Yang also put down his wooden sword. His perfect Tiger Form Fist foundation made him much more relaxed than others. His morning practice had increased his proficiency in the Breaking Edge Three Forms by 25 points.

"There's a mountain of firewood in the backyard of the kitchen, and we consume a huge amount every day. We need people to chop it! Go there and see what they're doing!"

Su Yang walked a few steps with the crowd, but his gaze involuntarily drifted towards the direction leading to the main kitchen.

He turned and left the crowd heading towards the guards' canteen, heading towards the east courtyard where the main kitchen was located.

As soon as you approach the kitchen gate, a smell mixed with oil fumes, steam, and the aroma of food hits you.

It was breakfast time, and the room was bustling with people, pots and pans clattering and rattling, creating a lively atmosphere.

Su Yang didn't go in directly, but instead went around to the backyard of the kitchen.

It was indeed a bustling scene: several large vats were filled with water, some rags were hanging on the clothesline, and the most eye-catching thing was the mountain of logs piled up in the corner, and a burly servant next to him was chopping wood with an axe, sweating profusely.

The servant was about thirty years old, shirtless, and muscular, but he seemed to be struggling with chopping wood, and his breathing was heavy, clearly indicating that the work was not easy.

There wasn't much chopped firewood at his feet.

Su Yang observed for a moment, then stepped forward and politely clasped his hands in greeting, saying, "Greetings, sir."

The woodcutter stopped what he was doing, wiped his face with a towel, and looked at Su Yang's guard attire with a puzzled expression—his face was unfamiliar, but his demeanor was calm and composed, unlike the impetuousness of ordinary guards.

He dared not be negligent and quickly put down his axe to return the greeting: "Sir, what brings you here...? I was mistaken, are you a new lord of the manor?"

Su Yang smiled and said, "My name is Su Yang, and I'm a newly recruited guard. After my morning exercise, I felt that my muscles and bones still needed to be warmed up. I saw you chopping wood here, and this work is perfect for stretching your arms and building up your strength. I wonder if I could give it a try and help you out?"

The woodcutter was taken aback, thinking to himself: A new guard? Voluntarily offering to do this rough work? How strange... He had been working as a woodcutter in the Huang household for seven or eight years, and had seen those who shirked their duties and those who were punished to do chores, but he had never seen a guard so polite and willing to offer to chop wood.

However, judging from Su Yang's sincere attitude and clear eyes, he didn't seem to be there to amuse people.

Moreover... he couldn't chop this mountain of wood by himself even by noon, so having someone help him would be a great thing.

His face immediately broke into a憨厚 (honest and simple) yet slightly ingratiating smile, and he rubbed his hands together, saying, "So it's Head Nurse Su! You're too kind. This... this is no small matter, it's rough and dirty work... how could I trouble you to do it..."

Su Yang noticed his interest and smiled, "It's alright, martial artists don't care about such things. May I ask your surname, brother?"

"My surname is Zhang, and I'm the third oldest in my family. Everyone calls me Zhang Laosan," Zhang Laosan said hastily. Seeing that Su Yang really wanted to make a move, he stopped being coy and said, "Then... then thank you very much, Guard Su! This axe has just been sharpened, so please be careful. This wood is a bit damp, so it's not easy to chop."

"Thank you, Brother Zhang."

Su Yang took the heavy axe; it felt substantial in his hand.

He walked to the woodpile, glanced at it, selected a straight log, placed it upright on the heavy anvil, and held his breath, recalling the decisive feeling of exertion in the "Three Forms of Breaking the Edge". He unified his waist and stance, and the power rose from the soles of his feet.

Hey!

The axe drew a clean, crisp arc, precisely striking the center of the log!

Click!

With a crisp crack, the log split in two, the cut surface clean.

[Proficiency +1!]

【Three Techniques for Breaking the Edge (Beginner Level (26/100))】

"It's done!"

Su Yang was invigorated when he saw that his proficiency had increased by 1 point on the panel. He kicked the split firewood aside and put a new one on top.

Click! Click! Click!

The values ​​on the panel kept increasing.

He stopped pausing, swinging the axe one after another, his movements becoming increasingly fluid and his strength increasingly coordinated.

At first, it seemed like he was deliberately practicing his knife skills, but after a few swings, he seemed to have really become a skilled woodcutter. However, the speed, power, and precision of his strikes were far beyond what ordinary people could achieve.

【Three Techniques for Breaking the Edge (Beginner 0/200)】

In less than a quarter of an hour, Su Yang's mental panel began to flash.

A surge of heat flowed from his limbs and bones, and his muscle memory and power generation techniques for basic attack movements such as chopping, sweeping, and stabbing suddenly became clear!

The axe in his hand seemed to have become lighter, and his swing naturally carried a sharp sense of "striking at the vital points".

"call……"

Su Yang exhaled a breath of stale air and pulled out his axe.

I've gotten the hang of it.

From first learning knife skills to mastering the basics through "chopping wood," it took less than fifteen minutes!

"Guard Su... your strength is terrifying!"

Old Zhang brought over some firewood, and stared in astonishment at the deep axe marks on the anvil: "You chop wood more skillfully than I have in ten years!"

The young guard Su chopped wood as easily as cutting melons and vegetables. The damp wood that originally required him to exert a lot of strength and sometimes had to be chopped several times was often split in two with a single swing of Su Yang's axe. His efficiency was frighteningly high!

Moreover, Su Yang's breathing was steady, and there was no sweat on his forehead, indicating that he was completely at ease.

"Goodness gracious...this guard is incredibly strong and has amazing skills!"

The servant was secretly alarmed and became even more polite to Su Yang, quickly going to the side to pour a bowl of cold water: "Guard Su, rest a bit, have some water."

Thank you.

Su Yang took the bowl, drank it all in one gulp, and casually struck up a conversation, inquiring about the situation: "Looks like you chop a lot of firewood every day!"

Old Zhang hurriedly replied, "Yes! There are hundreds of people in the mansion. We need hot water for three meals a day, as well as the small stoves for the masters and mistresses and the stoves for the medicinal kitchen. Every day, we need to burn mountains of firewood! I'm the only one chopping, and I'm often busy until noon and still can't keep up with the demand!"

"I see, Brother Zhang, you've worked hard."

Su Yang nodded, understanding dawning on his mind.

It seems this is a stable "training spot".

"It's no trouble at all, just trying to make a living." Zhang Laosan chuckled, looking at Su Yang: "Guard Su, your wood-chopping skills... no, your strength, that's really something!"

He gave a thumbs up.

"Brother Zhang, you flatter me. I just train my strength regularly."

Su Yang smiled and put down the bowl: "I'll chop for a little longer."

"Alright, alright! Go ahead and chop the firewood! I'll stack it neatly after you've chopped it!"

Zhang Laosan was happy to have some free time, so he quickly went to tidy up the firewood that Su Yang had chopped.

Su Yang swung his axe again, immersing himself in the thrill of "wood chopping training." With each chop, his proficiency level on the panel increased by one point.

【Three Techniques for Breaking the Edge (Beginner 93/200)】

[Proficiency +1!]

[Proficiency +1!]

……

Just as he was pondering whether he could master the Three Forms of Breaking the Edge before breakfast at this pace, a series of hurried and slightly sharp footsteps came from the direction of the kitchen courtyard, accompanied by the slightly panicked response of the cook.

"Quickly! Get moving! The young master is back! The master ordered us to prepare a good meal quickly and presentably! Also, bring out that ten-year-old 'Hundred Herbs Spring' from the cellar!"

That voice... it's Fei Jianhua!