Narrow Road Encounter! The Brave Prevail!

"Your son is lying to you."

The carriage shop owner looked at Father Huo, a flicker of pity in his eyes. But after glancing at the people around them, he continued, "Your son is a liar. He's been deceiving you all along, making you work yourself to death to give him money so he could eat and drink at the martial arts school..."

"I won't let you talk about him like that!"

Unexpectedly, Father Huo, who had always been timid and subservient on the outside, suddenly looked up and shouted at the carriage shop owner, the person he respected most in his life.

"Your son is a liar." The owner said, word by word.

"Say that again and I'll hit you!"

Father Huo clenched his fists, veins bulging on his arms, and shouted.

"Your son is a liar." The owner said expressionlessly. He took two steps closer, rolled up the ledger in his hand, and slapped it on Father Huo's head. "Hit me? Hit me? Your son is a liar, and you want to hit me?"

Looking at Father Huo, who had his fists clenched but dared not act, the owner pointed at his nose and cursed, "You don't need to come here anymore! Get out!"

"If I don't come, I don't come!"

Father Huo, as if he had poured all his strength out, yelled this sentence at the carriage shop owner he respected most in his heart.

Then, as if he had lost his soul, he stumbled away from the place where he had worked hard for most of his life.

"Go on, go on, don't come back..."

Watching Father Huo's retreating figure, who looked decades older in an instant, the carriage shop owner's eyes were complex, with a hint of imperceptible relief. In a voice no one else could hear, he murmured softly.

"Chii!"

The White Wax Spear slid smoothly through nine layers of Xuan paper, and then, sensing the power was about to overflow, it stopped just before the tenth layer, creating a ripple of impact like water waves.

Nine layers of Xuan paper! Controlled with ease!

[Baji Quan (540/600)]

Huo Yuanhong nodded with satisfaction as he looked at the prompt that appeared before him.

After sending the ferocious bear Zhou Heng flying with an elbow strike that morning, he had realized his understanding of Manifest Strength circulation had deepened. He could now perceive more clearly which joints still had room for improvement in their power circulation.

After some adjustments, the number of Xuan paper layers he could keep intact had successfully increased from seven to nine!

This was the capability of a peak Manifest Strength practitioner! And not just any ordinary peak Manifest Strength practitioner, but one renowned for the exquisite control of their power!

"Logically speaking, at this level, I should be able to start Heart-Mind Unity, but the prompt on the panel is not yet completely fulfilled. There's still ten percent progress to be made..."

Huo Yuanhong was a little puzzled.

This situation...

His master hadn't mentioned anything about it.

After thinking for a moment, Huo Yuanhong decided to just keep practicing.

For ordinary martial artists, reaching peak Manifest Strength was already a stroke of incredible luck. Even if there were flaws in their realm, it wouldn't matter.

But his goal was beyond Transforming Strength, to surpass his master Li Shuxing and become a Peak Master. Naturally, he had to reach the state of perfection.

Anyway, even if he couldn't gain any further insights, with the guaranteed progress from repeated practice, it would only take him half a day to completely perfect his Manifest Strength and reach the extreme of this realm.

Immediately, Huo Yuanhong settled his mind and continued to practice diligently.

With each thrust of the spear, he felt immense satisfaction and immersion.

It wasn't until he heard the "click" of a door opening that he withdrew from that state of self-forgetfulness, sheathed his spear, and came out to greet his father.

"Huh?"

Huo Yuanhong frowned, sensing that his father's state was not right.

He looked as if his spirit and energy had been drained, appearing much older.

"Dad, what happened?"

Huo Yuanhong frowned and asked.

"Nothing, nothing." Father Huo waved his hand and put on a smile. "I told the boss about you today. He said Ah Hong will definitely have a bright future and praised you for a long time."

Huo Yuanhong fell silent for a moment. He was very familiar with this kind of smile from his father. It was the same fake smile his father used to put on when he returned home after being wronged at the Sword Inquiry Martial Hall, not wanting his father to worry.

So...

What about his father now?

After dinner, Huo Yuanhong made an excuse to go for a walk.

He left the house and walked through the winding alleys, all the way to the already closed carriage shop. He quietly climbed over the wall.

The sky had completely darkened by now, and the carriage shop was very quiet. The rickshaw pullers had all gone home, leaving it empty.

Only the innermost room still had its lights on.

Huo Yuanhong walked over silently, reaching the windowsill.

Peeking through the curtained window, one could see two figures, one fat and one thin, sitting at a table eating.

"Boss, why did you speak to Huo Danian like that just now?"

Inside, voices could be faintly heard, along with the soft clinking of chopsticks against bowls.

Huo Danian was his father's name.

"Danian is a man of misfortune. He finally has a promising son, and he can't get involved in our affairs anymore."

The speaker was the plump figure. Huo Yuanhong recognized him as his father's boss.

"I treated him well before. If I had just told him to leave, he definitely wouldn't have agreed... Besides, with so many people in the carriage shop, why should he leave while others have to stay and fight for their lives? If I don't scold him a few times in front of others, they'll get jealous..."

The plump figure said.

"Boss, you treat Huo Danian really well. Even I, as your brother, am almost jealous. Won't you scold me like that sometime too?"

The thin, tall figure chuckled.

"Get lost! You brat!" The plump figure cursed with a laugh, then added, "Old Six, prepare a bigger red envelope. I'll give it to Huo Danian when I have time, as an apology. That guy has a bad temper, don't let him do anything rash."

"Okay." The thin, tall figure replied, then asked with some curiosity, "Boss, you said Huo Danian's son... has he really reached Great Accomplishment in Manifest Strength?"

"Even if he hasn't, he's not far off."

The plump figure picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks. "When we were at the teahouse, he sent Zhou Heng flying with a single move. That kind of skill can't be faked...

Among us commoners, it's rare to have a genius. We can't let him die young. It's best not to get involved with us."

"No wonder, Boss. You deliberately drove Huo Danian away because you were afraid his son would get dragged in, right?" The thin, tall figure mused.

"Mm." The plump figure replied, "He's still too young. In the gamble with the Red Robe Society on June 12th, there will be more than ten Heart-Mind Unity experts participating. It would be too much of a shame for a genius like him to be lost in there..."

"So... you'd rather lose a capable helper who's reached Great Accomplishment in Manifest Strength than let our side's genius die young..."

The thin, tall man sighed.

"I'm not that noble. I'm just doing what needs to be done. We old guys aren't all dead yet; it's not the young people's turn to fight to the death..."

The plump figure said calmly.

In the darkness outside the window, Huo Yuanhong watched silently. After a long while, he quietly walked towards the door.

Just as he reached out to knock, his movement suddenly paused. He touched an unknown liquid that had fallen onto his neck, then suddenly looked up at the eaves.

He saw that the carriage shop expert who had been squatting on the roof keeping watch had, at some point, fallen onto the eaves, his arm hanging limply, crimson liquid dripping down...

"Pfft."

A masked figure in night-blooming clothes quietly landed on the ground with a soft sound. As he looked up, he met Huo Yuanhong's eyes directly under the eaves.

"Hm?"

The exposed eyes held a hint of surprise, clearly not expecting someone else to be below, and someone he'd never seen before.

But judging by the stealth skills Huo Yuanhong displayed, his martial arts were definitely not low. The masked assassin, without knowing Huo Yuanhong's background, cautiously took a step back, his eyes showing a questioning look, so as not to start an internal conflict with a potential ally and make a fool of himself in front of those inside.

Facing the masked assassin's inquiry, Huo Yuanhong's expression was blank, his eyes filled with killing intent. Almost the moment the other party landed and stabilized himself, Huo Yuanhong sank his body, stomped his foot, and unleashed his full power!

He drove a fierce elbow towards the opponent's vital spot, the chest!

When paths cross, the brave prevail!