Lang Feng

I was surprised to discover that this Lang Feng was no ordinary person—I could clearly feel that sensation of being stared down by a wild beast. It seemed Lang Feng was a talent gifted by heaven. I couldn't help but want to subdue him, and in a moment, I had already thought of a brilliant plan. Actually, it was quite simple: defeat Lang Feng, then intimidate that Ouyang Liang. Haha...

At this moment, Lang Feng was astonished to find that the Third Young Master ahead of him showed no reaction at all under his aura, which unsettled him. Could it be that I would lose this time? No, I can't, for Mother's sake I must defeat this Third Young Master. Mother... Mother... I absolutely will not lose, absolutely will not lose. Suddenly, Lang Feng felt that the qi flow within his body was showing signs of liquefaction, and then his mind shook—an inexplicable pressure radiated from Lang Feng's body, flooding the entire arena.

Several of the surrounding children actually collapsed to the ground in fear. Shangguan Xiangyu (that's Xiangyu's little sister) and Murong Xing (that's A Xing) were astonished to find other children lying on the ground, while those still standing had pale faces—yet they themselves felt nothing. Of course, I had blocked that aura for the two little brats. This Lang Feng really was a talent; at such a young age, relying on his natural gifts, he had reached the level of a Sixth Rank expert (see notes) and could emit pressure—this was an ability only Innate Masters possessed. Lang Feng, through his talent alone, had nearly reached the Innate Realm, and by relying on his innate wildness, he forcibly emitted this pressure. The more I looked at this kid, the more I liked him.

At this moment, Ouyang Liang's face was deathly pale. Although the pressure was something Lang Feng had just comprehended and wasn't yet harmful to the human body, it was still very effective on a pampered child like Ouyang Liang. Ouyang Liang wanted to order Lang Feng to withdraw that terrifying pressure, but he couldn't speak a word in this predicament. Just before the fight was about to start, most of the other children had gone far away, so they only had pale faces and felt a bit uncomfortable, with a few unlucky ones who stood close by suffering. But Ouyang Liang wanted to see Zhang Xingfeng defeated, so he stood this close—and thus ended up in this situation. Truly, he had brought it upon himself.

Lang Feng was now filled with power—indeed, it was the strongest he had ever been since childhood, and he had never felt such confidence. His tiger-like eyes gleamed as he stared at his opponent before him, but...

I looked at his expression, smiled, and thought, let me show you what true power really is. My body suddenly straightened, and a towering aura surged toward Lang Feng.

The other children suddenly couldn't feel any of that terror anymore and immediately ran away. Only Ouyang Liang received special treatment, his face still as pale as before.

My realm naturally allowed me to easily control the pressure within a fixed area. I watched Lang Feng gasping for breath, persisting without falling. This kid really was tough enough. I knew that the longer he held on, the more it would benefit his mental strength.

Lang Feng stared at the child before him—too terrifying. That aura forced him completely immobile, and his mental strength was growing weaker and weaker. In the end, only the belief in his mother supported him. Gradually, his mind grew hazy, and he knew in his heart that he was about to fail. Mother... His heart twisted in pain, and two streams of clear tears flowed from his eyes. His vision went dark, and he knew nothing more, collapsing limply to the ground.

I looked at this persevering big boy, at those two streams of clear tears, and was inexplicably shaken. There must be a hidden story here. I slowly walked over to him, gently placed my right hand on the crown of his head, and slowly channeled a stream of pure Innate True Qi. Ah, such vigorous Life Primordial Energy—my Spiritual Sense could feel that it was about three times that of an ordinary person. No wonder he could reach such a realm through talent alone. Let me give you a helping hand. I increased the output of True Qi, guiding his internal energy along the path of the Taiji Yin Yang Art. My Innate True Qi merged into it, rapidly strengthening it...

I raised my head to look at Ouyang Liang, pressing a faint aura down on him. I watched his expression and smiled. This little brat had actually managed to make Lang Feng completely obedient.

Ouyang Liang looked up at this Third Young Master, and his face paled again. Remembering what he had just done, and then looking at the unconscious Lang Feng, he trembled all over. He immediately crawled to Zhang Xingfeng's feet and kowtowed fiercely: "Third Young Master, you are a man of great magnanimity. Please spare me, I won't dare do it again, I won't dare do it again..."

I smiled and said softly, "Young Master Ouyang, no need to be nervous. How could I blame you? Get up, get up. Ah, don't be like this." As I spoke, I went to help him up. Ouyang Liang stood up shakily, not daring to raise his head.

Xiangyu's little sister stepped forward. "Stinky Ouyang, you'd better watch yourself from now on. If you do this again, even if Brother Feng doesn't come after you, I'll beat you up, hmph."

A Xing also stepped forward and said fiercely, "And me. You'd better be careful."

"Yes, yes, yes..." Ouyang Liang nodded his head like a chick pecking at food. He had long been so frightened by my aura that he couldn't think straight. He only hoped I would let him go.

I understood his thoughts completely. I said, "Ouyang Liang, how is Lang Feng's mother now, hmm?"

"His mother is currently at my family's residence, receiving medical treatment." Ouyang Liang answered immediately, sweat streaming down his face, afraid that if he answered slowly, I would punish him.

"Oh, is that so? Then send Lang Feng's mother to the Star Peak Pavilion at my family's residence, understand?" I said calmly.

"Yes, as soon as I return home, I will immediately send someone. Please rest assured, Third Young Master." Ouyang Liang was very pleased in his heart to be able to do something for the Third Young Master. It seemed he wouldn't be beaten after all, and his mood lightened slightly.

"That will be all. You may go back." I looked at him and said calmly.

Ouyang Liang's heart rejoiced. He could hardly believe that after what he had done to the Third Young Master, the Third Young Master would let him off so easily. But he still answered immediately: "Thank you, Third Young Master, thank you, Third Young Master. I will immediately send Lang Feng's mother to your residence. I will take my leave now." Ouyang Liang left at once, afraid that any delay might bring a change.

I watched Ouyang Liang's departing figure calmly and smiled. Turning around, I walked toward Lang Feng, who had collapsed on the ground, gently picked him up, and headed home. Of course, Xiangyu and A Xing came along with me. The reason I carried Lang Feng home was that he was currently cultivating the sixth layer of the Taiji Yin Yang Art—the most critical moment. I'm afraid that aside from me, Zhang Xingfeng, no one else in this world could bring Lang Feng back to their place without disturbing him. After all, the Taiji Yin Yang Art was the most basic cultivation technique of the Tianxin Sect.

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The six major nations of the entire Azure Dragon Continent placed great importance on the martial arts world. They had even formed an alliance and established an alliance agreement, the contents of which were: First, all martial artists must go to the National Martial Department in each country's cities to have their strength assessed. They were divided into nine ranks: Ninth, Eighth, Seventh, Sixth, Fifth, Fourth, Third, Second, and First Rank martial artists. These ranks were equivalent to official ranks of the same grade. From Ninth to Sixth Rank were all Houtian Masters, while Fifth and Fourth Rank were roughly equivalent to the Opening Light stage, Third and Second Rank were roughly equivalent to the Fusion Stage, and First Rank martial artists had reached the Grain Abstinence stage. All martial artists on the continent were subject to state control; anyone who violated the rules would be hunted down across the entire continent. The reason for this was that several countries had experienced martial artist rebellions, and most importantly, both the Jin Kingdom and the Ming Dynasty had relied on the martial arts world to overthrow their previous regimes and establish their current governments. The second item of the agreement was that no organizations such as martial arts alliances could be established, nor were spontaneous hero assemblies or martial arts tournaments allowed. Most importantly, no figure resembling an alliance leader was permitted to appear—otherwise, execution without mercy.

The continent had ten great experts, nine of whom were First Rank martial artists. The ten great experts were: the Ming Dynasty's Fist Emperor Lie Ba, Dao Sage Yi Yuanzi, Demon Lord Shi Yi, and Chan Master Jing Yuan; the Liao Kingdom's Spear King Murong Sheng and Blade Emperor Tuoba Yuan; Yuan Mongolia's Golden Wheel Dharma King; the Jin Kingdom's War God Wanyan Lie; Goryeo's founder of the Go Sword Art, Park Soo-sun; and Huangyu's Swordsaint Matsushita Hamaichi. Among them, Spear King Murong Sheng was the only Second Rank martial artist. From this, one could know that Zhang Xingfeng had already reached the level of the ten great experts. Of course, only Zhang Xingfeng himself knew this. If others found out that a six-year-old child had reached the First Grade realm, would they be so ashamed they'd find a block of tofu to dash their head against, or would they mobilize the entire martial arts world to capture Zhang Xingfeng and force him to reveal his cultivation secrets? Zhang Xingfeng believed that not only would the entire martial arts world come after him, but even the various nations would come demanding the secrets.

The Tianxin Sect, which Zhang Xingfeng had belonged to in his previous life, was a relatively large sect in the Cultivation World. Ordinary disciples initially learned the Taiji Yin Yang Art, the Mysterious Yin Art, or the Mysterious Yang Art. The Mysterious Yin Art and Mysterious Yang Art combined to form the Taiji Yin Yang Art. Of course, if a person had a Fire Attribute and Metal Attribute, cultivating the Mysterious Fire Art would be far more effective; if they had a Water Attribute, they could cultivate the Mysterious Yin Art; while those with Earth Attribute and Wood Attribute would find the Taiji Yin Yang Art more effective. These three techniques each had nine levels, corresponding to the nine ranks of martial arts levels. Upon reaching the late Grain Abstinence stage, one could cultivate the Tianxin Sect's ultimate treasure, the Heart Sutra. However, only the sect master, the next sect master, and a few highly senior elders were qualified to view this Heart Sutra. Ordinary disciples who reached the Grain Abstinence stage could only cultivate the Heavenly Spirit Art. Of course, the Heavenly Spirit Art was also an extremely top-tier technique—otherwise, how could it have become the most widespread and fundamental technique of the entire Tianxin Sect?

The martial arts sacred grounds of the entire martial world were the National Martial Academies of each country, which housed more secret manuals than even the Shaolin Sutra Library. The academy with the most manuals was the Ming Dynasty's National Martial Academy, but its tuition was fifty thousand taels of silver per year. This was not something ordinary wealthy families could afford. Yet the various tycoons and their sons still scrambled to attend. After all, in this era, the stronger one's martial arts, the more secure one's life. Wouldn't it be pitiful to earn money but not live to spend it? Of course, they could hire bodyguards, but was it better to entrust one's life to others, or to take it into one's own hands and hire a few bodyguards as well?