When Narrow Roads Meet, the Brave Prevail!

"Your son lied to you."

The Carriage Firm owner looked at Father Huo, a flicker of pity passing through his eyes. But after glancing at the people around them, he continued, "Your son is a liar. He's been deceiving you all along, tricking you into working yourself to the bone for money so he can eat and drink his fill at the Martial Arts Hall..."

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

To everyone's surprise, Father Huo, who had always been meek and submissive outside, suddenly raised his head and shouted at the Carriage Firm owner he had respected most in his life.

"Your son is a liar."

The Carriage Firm owner enunciated every word.

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

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

"Your son is a liar." Expressionless, the owner took two steps closer, rolled up the ledger in his hand, and smacked it against Father Huo's head with a slap. "Hit me? Hit me? Your son cheated you, and you still want to hit me?"

Seeing Father Huo clench his fists but not dare act, the owner pointed at his nose and cursed, "Don't come back from now on! Get out!"

"Then I won't come back!"

It was as though Father Huo had exhausted all the strength in his body to roar those words at the Carriage Firm owner he respected most.

Then, as if he had lost his soul, he staggered away from the place where he had struggled for most of his life.

"Go on, go... Don't ever come back..."

Watching Father Huo's retreating figure seem to age decades in an instant, the Carriage Firm owner's gaze was complicated. With a trace of relief too faint for anyone to notice, he murmured in a voice no one else could hear.

"Pfft!"

The White Wax Spear smoothly pierced through nine sheets of rice paper. Then, just as he sensed its force about to spill over, it stopped before the tenth sheet in time, sending out ripples of impact like waves on water.

Nine sheets of rice paper! Freely unleashed and withdrawn!

Baji Quan (540/600)

Looking at the prompt that appeared before him, Huo Yuanhong nodded in satisfaction.

After sending Violent Bear Zhou Heng flying with an elbow that morning, he had realized that his understanding of Manifest Strength's circulation had deepened. He could more clearly sense which joints still had room for improvement in the circulation of his Internal Force.

After making some adjustments, the number of sheets he could keep unbroken had successfully risen from seven to nine!

This was an ability only found at Manifest Strength Pinnacle! And not even an ordinary Manifest Strength Pinnacle, but one renowned for exquisite control over strength!

"By rights, at this point, I should already be able to begin Heart-Mind Unity. Yet the panel's prompt still hasn't reached complete perfection. There's another ten percent of progress left to improve..."

Huo Yuanhong was somewhat puzzled.

This situation...

His master had never mentioned it.

After pondering for a moment, Huo Yuanhong decided to keep training first and worry about it later.

For ordinary martial artists, reaching Manifest Strength Pinnacle was already enough to make ancestral graves smoke. Even if there were flaws in their realm, it did not matter.

But his goal was beyond Transformation Strength, to surpass even a supreme master like his master, Li Shuxing. Naturally, he had to reach the realm of perfection.

Besides, even if he failed to comprehend anything further, the guaranteed gains from repeated practice meant he would need only a little more than half a day to fully perfect Manifest Strength and reach the utmost limit of this realm.

With that, Huo Yuanhong settled his mind and continued training relentlessly.

As his spear thrust improved again and again, he was immersed in incomparable satisfaction.

Only when he heard the click of the door opening did he emerge from that self-forgetful state, put away his spear, and come out to greet his father.

"Hm?"

Huo Yuanhong frowned slightly, sensing that something was wrong with his father's condition.

It was as if all his vigor and spirit had been drained away. He looked much older.

"Dad, what happened?"

Huo Yuanhong asked with a slight frown.

"Nothing, nothing." Father Huo waved his hand and forced a smile. "Today, I told the boss about you. He said A-Hong would surely amount to something in the future and praised you for ages."

Huo Yuanhong fell silent. He knew that smile well—it was the same false smile he had worn before his father after suffering grievances at Sword Inquiry Martial Hall.

Back then, he had not wanted his father to worry.

So then...

What about his father now?

After dinner, Huo Yuanhong used going out for a walk as an excuse.

After leaving home, he passed through winding streets and alleys, making his way all the way to the already-closed Carriage Firm. Without making a sound, he climbed inside.

By then, the sky had completely darkened. The Carriage Firm was very quiet; all the rickshaw pullers had gone home, leaving it empty.

Only the innermost room still had its lights on.

Huo Yuanhong silently approached and crouched beneath the windowsill.

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

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

Faint voices drifted from inside, accompanied by the soft clink of chopsticks against bowls.

Huo Danian was his father's name.

"Danian has had a bitter life. He finally raised a promising son; he can't be dragged into our affairs any longer."

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

"I treated him well in the past. If I had simply told him to leave, he definitely wouldn't have agreed... Besides, there are so many people at the Carriage Firm. Why should he get to leave while everyone else has to stay and risk their lives? If I didn't curse him out in front of everyone, the others would get jealous..."

The plump figure said.

"Boss, you really do treat Huo Danian well. This brother of yours is nearly jealous. When will you curse me out like that too?"

The tall, thin figure laughed.

"Get lost, you brat!" The plump figure laughed and cursed, then added, "Old Six, prepare a bigger red envelope. When I have time, I'll send it to Huo Danian as an apology. That fellow has a stubborn temper—don't let him truly do something foolish."

"Alright." The tall, thin figure answered, then asked curiously, "Boss, Huo Danian's son... Has he really reached Manifest Strength Great Accomplishment?"

"Even if he hasn't, he can't be far off."

The plump figure picked up a bite of food with his chopsticks. "At the teahouse, he sent Zhou Heng flying in a single move. That kind of ability can't be faked...

Among us Commoners, a genius has finally emerged with great difficulty. We can't let him die young. Better not to let him become entangled with us."

"No wonder. Boss, you deliberately drove Huo Danian away because you were afraid his son would be dragged in too, right?" The thin figure said thoughtfully.

"Mm." The plump figure said, "He's still too young. At the June twelfth duel with the Red Robe Society, more than five Heart-Mind Unity experts will take the field. It would be such a pity if a genius like him were to fall there..."

"So... Boss, you'd rather lose a capable helper at Manifest Strength Great Accomplishment than let the genius on our side die young..."

The tall, thin man sighed.

"I'm not that noble. I'm merely doing what ought to be done. We old fellows aren't all dead yet—it isn't the young people's turn to risk their lives..."

The plump figure said calmly.

In the darkness outside the window, Huo Yuanhong watched quietly. Only after watching for a long while did he silently head toward the door.

Just as he was about to raise his hand and knock, his movement abruptly halted. He touched the unknown liquid that had fallen onto his neck, then suddenly looked up at the eaves.

The Carriage Firm expert who had originally been crouching there on watch had somehow collapsed atop the eaves. One arm hung limply down, scarlet liquid dripping patter-patter from it...

"Pfft."

A masked figure dressed in night clothes silently flipped down, making only a faint sound upon landing. When he raised his head, his eyes met Huo Yuanhong's beneath the eaves.

"Hm?"

There was surprise in those exposed eyes. Clearly, he had not expected there to be another person below, much less an unfamiliar face he had never seen before.

But judging from the stealth Huo Yuanhong had displayed, his martial skill was certainly not low. Without knowing his background, the masked assassin cautiously took a step back, a questioning look in his eyes, lest he and a fellow operative start fighting among themselves and make a joke for those inside.

Facing the masked assassin's inquiry, Huo Yuanhong remained expressionless, killing intent bursting from his eyes. Almost the instant before the other man had landed firmly, he sank his body, executed a Tremor Stomp, and exploded with all his strength!

A savage elbow shot toward the vital point at his opponent's heart!

When narrow roads meet, the brave prevail!