chapter 3 A loving hug ===

The morning light is rising, and the mountain breeze is blowing.

Nicholas Pickering and his father Timothy Pickering were sitting at the stone table outside the house eating. The big black dog Alfie was lying next to him and basking in the sun. He occasionally looked at the porridge and water on the stone table with a look of despair on his face.

Timothy Pickering asked: "Would you like to get some food for Alfie?"

Nicholas Pickering said: "It only eats meat. When it is hungry, it will find its own way."

The big black dog's method is to hunt those poor little animals in the mountains and forests.

Ever since the big black dog stayed at Nicholas Pickering house, there has never been peace in the back mountain. The whole day is full of chaos and grief. How can it be described as miserable?

Gradually, Nicholas Pickering got used to it, and he didn't need to feed this guy anyway.

Timothy Pickering finished the gruel and said, "Today is the day to distribute the body quenching fluid."

Nicholas Pickering's hands holding the vegetables paused and said, "I know."

Timothy Pickering said: "It's important for you to practice. You can't delay. Dad will get the body tempering fluid for you."

Nicholas Pickering is not stupid and knows that Timothy Pickering is worried that he will be bullied, but if Timothy Pickering to receive the body tempering fluid, why won't he be laughed at by his uncles?

Nicholas Pickering would rather lose his face than let his father be ridiculed.

Thinking of this, Nicholas Pickering shook his head and said, "Dad, I'll go by myself. I'll come back as soon as I get it. It won't delay my cultivation."

After saying that, Nicholas Pickering drank all the porridge in the bowl and wiped his mouth casually: "Dad, I'm leaving."

Grinning, Nicholas Pickering rubbed the big Alfie dog's belly and went down the mountain.

The back mountain is very lonely, but the Pickering Family family mansion is very lively, like two worlds.

Along the way, Nicholas Pickering met many members of the Fang family, which inevitably caused a lot of discussion.

"Hey, isn't that Nicholas Pickering? Why did he come from the direction of the back mountain?"

"You don't know yet, but Nicholas Pickering and his father were expelled from Mingxi Garden and moved to the back mountain a few days ago."

"Oh, the master's family is too cruel. After all, Nicholas Pickering is also the young master of the Pickering Family."

"So what? I was born with nine fingers and have not practiced well. How can I be qualified to live in a big courtyard like Mingxi Garden?"

"Indeed, as father and son are, it's already good for the master's family to let them move to the back mountain. Next time, they may be kicked out of the Pickering Family family directly."

"It's just that cowards like Nicholas Pickering have been ridiculed by young masters and ladies from other families over the years, making us feel embarrassed outside."

"You said he's nothing more than a waste, but he's still such a coward. You really have no words to say..."

"Yes, do you know what outsiders say about him? They say he is a Lame Duck Nicholas, which means a coward plus a waste."

Listening to these discussions, Nicholas Pickering's expression became worse and worse, and his face was so gloomy that it was almost dripping with water.

"Nicholas Pickering, Nicholas Pickering, how cowardly were you before, and now you are so famous..."

Although he was angry, Nicholas Pickering couldn't get angry with these people. His left hand hanging by his side kept tapping the beat on the side of his leg, forcing himself to calm down.

In order to avoid listening to gossip, Nicholas Pickering walked faster and faster, and soon arrived at the Pickering Family's martial arts arena.

the Pickering Family's martial arts performance field was very large, and there were already many boys and girls gathered at this time. Although it was less than a hundred, it was almost there.

Nicholas Pickering didn't have any friends in the entire the Pickering Family, so he consciously stood on the outer edge of the martial arts arena and didn't join in the fun at all.

However, as a result, he seemed even more out of place when he was alone, and he was quickly discovered.

"Look, isn't that Nicholas Pickering?"

"Nicholas Pickering? Who is Nicholas Pickering? Why is this name so familiar?"

"It's Lame Duck Nicholas! Don't mention it. You call him Fang Ruanbai every day. When you suddenly hear his real name, you really can't react at once."

"Why does this weakling still have the nerve to receive the body tempering fluid? Hasn't he already been driven to the back mountain?"

"The back mountain is still the Pickering Family's back mountain after all. He is still qualified to receive the body tempering fluid."

"Huh, over the years, our the Pickering Family's reputation has been completely ruined by this weakling, making it difficult for me to hold my head high even among my friends from other families."

"It doesn't matter, it's only a few days anyway. The Fang family competition will be held in a month and a half. If he is still so weak, he will definitely be expelled from the Pickering Family."

"I really hope that the Fang family will start earlier. I must teach him a lesson."

"There are so many people who want to teach him a lesson in the clan competition. You have to queue up."

…

queue?

Listening to these words, Nicholas Pickering's mouth twitched.

It was the first time that Nicholas Pickering heard that people had to queue up to teach people. It was unprecedented. It was really... an honor.

"cough!"

Just as Nicholas Pickering was thinking wildly, a cough came from the high platform in front of the martial arts arena.

The cough sounded very light, but it miraculously spread to every corner, clearly.

The crowd quieted down and all looked up at the old man in gray shirt on the high platform and the test stone beside him.

After clearing his throat, the old man said: "Today is the end of the month, and the Pickering Family distributes the body tempering fluid on time. The old rule is that everyone whose name is read will come up for the test one by one, and the body tempering fluid will be distributed according to the results. The first one, Jacob An!"

A young man walked out of the crowd, climbed onto the high platform, and punched the testing stone.

Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh...

Suddenly, five red lights emitted from the test stone, which were very bright.

The old man nodded: "Yes, five hundred punches and five bottles of body tempering fluid."

"Thank you, Master Raymond!"

Jacob An was very satisfied and proudly took the five bottles of body quenching fluid, then saluted the old man, walked off the stage, and high-fived his friends.

"Fist strength is 500, so strong!"

Looking at the smiling Jacob An in the crowd, Nicholas Pickering was a little envious.

After all, when Nicholas Pickering took the test at the end of last month, he only had about 300 punches, and even some little kids who had just tempered their bodies and practiced for a short time could catch up with him.

The test was still going on, and the boys and girls came on stage one after another, threw boxing stones, and then received varying amounts of body tempering fluid.

Generally speaking, everyone's results are similar, and their boxing strength is in the range of 400 to 500. Occasionally, one or two people with 600 boxing strength will appear, causing bursts of exclamations.

Nicholas Pickering stood quietly at the edge of the martial arts arena, the envy in his eyes never disappearing.

"Next, Jaxton Pickering!"

Master Raymond called out Jaxton Pickering's name, and the crowd became commotion.

At the end of last month, Jaxton Pickering's fist strength had reached 700. He was unparalleled among the Pickering Family's children in the Body Tempering Realm. He was envied by young men and loved by young girls. He was radiant.

After this month of practice, Jaxton Pickering didn't know what kind of results he would use to shock everyone.

Jaxton Pickering was extremely proud. He stepped forward with his head held high and his steps deliberately slowed down. He probably wanted to enjoy the admiration and admiration of everyone for a while longer.

In response, Master Raymond just smiled and did not urge him.

Because Jaxton Pickering has the qualification to make everyone wait.

Finally, Jaxton Pickering onto the high platform, slowly raised his hand, made a fist, and waved it out.

Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh...

Eight rainbow lights instantly shot up on the test stone.

"Fist strength is eight hundred!"

Suddenly, there were shouts of exclamation and praise.

"The fist strength is eight hundred. Jaxton is really amazing."

"Yes, Boss Jaxton talent is really amazing. It's only been a month and he has actually gained another hundred punches."

"Eight hundred punches, this is almost reaching the limit of body tempering. Jaxton may have begun to sense the vitality of heaven and earth."

"It's possible that given Jaxton Ming's talent, breaking through to the True Yuan realm is just a piece of cake."

"Jaxton is so amazing. He is indeed a genius recognized by the Pickering Family!"

Listening to the praises of the crowd below, Jaxton Pickering face became even more proud.

Isn’t it just for the attention of everyone that you work hard to practice martial arts?

"Eight hundred punches, very good!"

Master Raymond spoke slowly, smiled and patted Jaxton Pickering on the shoulder.

Although the old man just patted Jaxton Pickering on the shoulder, the boys and girls in the martial arts field were stunned, with envious and jealous eyes.

Because everyone knows that Master Raymond has a mysophobia and rarely has physical contact with others, but now the old man takes the initiative to do this to Jaxton, which is a great honor.

"Thank you Master Raymond!"

In Jaxton Pickering's opinion, Master Raymond's act of approval was simply more valuable than ten or hundreds of bottles of body tempering fluid.

After that, the test continued, but no one was lucky enough to get the honor of being "patted on the shoulder by Master Raymond" - there was even a young man who smashed his fist until it bled, but still failed.

"Next, Nicholas Pickering!"

Finally, it was Nicholas Pickering turn.

Nicholas Pickering took a deep breath and walked quickly towards the front of the martial arts arena.

He doesn't have Jaxton Pickering's talent, so he's not qualified to be slow.

Moreover, Nicholas Pickering was eager to finish his work early so that he could go home and practice, so he almost ran there. During this period, he also had physical collisions with many people - these people deliberately blocked him because they saw that Nicholas Pickering was extremely unhappy. There are many ways to do it, including elbows in the dark, stumbling blocks under your feet...

Nicholas Pickering reached the high platform without any danger and came to the test stone.

Without hesitation, Nicholas Pickering punched directly and hit the test stone with all his strength.

Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh...

The rainbow light reappeared, and there were as many as... six rays of light!

"Six...six hundred punches!?"

Suddenly, everyone was shocked, as if they had seen a ghost.

"How can it be?"

"Six hundred punches? Did I count wrongly?"

"That's right, it is indeed six rays of rainbow light, representing six hundred punches."

"Didn't he only have three hundred punches last month? In one month... he increased his punches by three hundred. How is that possible?"

"That's right, even Jaxton Pickering can't do this!"

Not to mention others, even Nicholas Pickering himself was dumbfounded at this time.

Although he knew that his strength had been greatly improved, he did not expect that the magnitude would be so great...

Increase your fist strength by three hundred in a month?

Let alone the Pickering Family, it has never happened before in the entire history of Ning County!

To be honest, Nicholas Pickering was a little confused. He subconsciously looked at Master Raymond next to him, but he saw Master Raymond walking over with a smile, and then as everyone was stunned...

Master Raymond, who had a mysophobia, actually hugged Nicholas Pickering tightly in his arms!

Nine Finger Sword Master