Guest Arrives

Wang Anfeng, his heart drumming, followed Yuan Ci all the way to the back mountain of Shaolin Temple. Towering trees packed the slopes thickly. The tall monk walked up to one of them, pointed at it, and said to the youth, "Woodcutters fell trees either for firewood or for household carpentry. Those with fine grain and straight trunks fetch more silver than trees that grow crooked."

"Of course, they are also harder and tougher to break."

Wang Anfeng looked at the trunk, thick enough for a man to wrap both arms around, his face twisting as he asked, "Master... let me ask one more thing. You want me to smash this tree with my bare fists?"

"That is exactly what I intend."

"Shaolin places great emphasis on External martial arts. Strike trees with both fists, let your inner strength burst forth, and circulate it along the pathways of your cultivation technique. It will naturally temper your body while improving your Fist techniques. Killing two birds with one stone—why not?"

Yuan Ci nodded slightly and spoke as though it were only natural. The youth's cheek twitched. Looking up at the massive tree, he sighed. "Then Master must prepare some medicine for injuries for your disciple..."

Otherwise, his hands were liable to be ruined.

"Medicine for injuries? Hahaha, have you forgotten that you possess Internal force?"

The monk paused, then threw back his head and laughed. "Use Internal force to protect your meridians. So long as your inner qi does not run dry, you will suffer no more than superficial wounds. Once your inner qi is exhausted, take a Qi Gathering Pill and meditate to recover. Only through the union of movement and stillness can inner qi truly be cultivated."

"Come, I shall first teach you Shaolin martial arts. You have no foundation in martial arts, so begin with Shaolin Long Fist. Once you are proficient, you may learn Arhat Fist. This set has thirty-two forms, but at its root, it is nothing more than offense and defense, feints and substance, along with a set of killing moves. It uses both hands and feet, with special emphasis on the elbows. Watch carefully."

After laughing, Yuan Ci casually assumed a stance. As he explained, he attacked the old tree. His moves were simple, yet possessed an overwhelming solidity. His fists and elbows smashed and surged forward, and before long, the old tree that had stood immovable shook down a carpet of fallen leaves. Wang Anfeng's eyes widened unconsciously. Threads of luminous dust flowed toward him from the world around him, gathering in his pupils, making Yuan Ci's movements gradually slow before his eyes.

"Ding—Plot Learning Mode: Shaolin Long Fist activated."

Before its mutation, this scenario had originally granted participants their first martial skill. Yet what appeared before Wang Anfeng now was the complete thirty-two forms of Shaolin Long Fist, the methods of exerting force, and the flow of Internal force through the meridians. Everything unfolded before him with incomparable clarity, like a true world he had never known before. He could not stop himself from becoming immersed in it, watching Yuan Ci's movements and unconsciously waving his hands and feet as he copied them.

Crack!

With a tremendous crash exploding beside his ear, Wang Anfeng awoke from that strange state. The old tree before him had already been brutally shattered beneath Yuan Ci's fists, crashing heavily to the ground and sending dust and fallen leaves billowing everywhere. The serene-faced monk flicked his robe hem, looking as relaxed as if he had just enjoyed a cup of fragrant tea. Wang Anfeng stared at him with open admiration and said:

"Master, you're incredible..."

Yuan Ci chuckled. "I only used inner strength comparable to yours just now. If you diligently practice your Fist techniques, you can do the same. When that day comes, you will no longer need to worry about lacking silver."

"There are many trees here. Why not try it now? Here are today's Qi Gathering Pills. If your inner qi runs short, take one and meditate."

"Yes, Master!"

Wang Anfeng's eyes shone. He bowed to Yuan Ci, took the pills, and eagerly found an old tree. Suppressing his restless heart, he steadied his fist stance. He first closed his eyes and recalled what he had just seen. Then his eyes flew open, and with a sharp cry, he mobilized the Internal force within his body and threw a heavy punch, smashing it without the slightest flourish against the giant tree.

The old tree swayed indifferently, as though it had not even felt it. But the youth felt a wave of aching, swollen pain emerge from his knuckles, then spread through his entire body along his meridians and inner qi. He could not help baring his teeth, but his master stood behind him, so he gritted his teeth, retreated a step, and brought down a slanting Reverse Elbow Break.

Watching the youth practice the long fist with meticulous seriousness, Yuan Ci nodded in slight satisfaction. A trace of approval appeared on his face.

Name: Yuan Ci.

Sect: Shaolin Sect

Primary cultivation technique: Indestructible Vajra Divine Skill, twelfth level.

Partial background effects: Fist techniques Grandmaster...

When Wang Anfeng returned from Shaolin Temple that day, he was already limp as though every bone in his body had been removed, sprawled across his bed.

He had smashed trees for a full five shichen. Five shichen!

The Internal force flowing through his body no longer felt like spring warmth, but like searing pain. His entire body ached unbearably, and both fists were bright red. Had Shaolin's medicinal pills not nourished his body, he feared he would already have become a cripple.

After lying collapsed on the hard plank bed for who knew how long, his stomach had long been rumbling like thunder. He barely managed to roll over and get down, staggering to the rice jar. He hastily rinsed the remaining grain, steamed it, then swallowed it whole without caring that it burned his mouth. Feeling his hunger slowly fill, he nearly cried. When he saw that he had devoured three full days' worth of food in a single meal, the little boy held a rough earthen bowl polished bright and clean, his face full of despair.

Setting down the bowl and chopsticks, Wang Anfeng flexed his aching palms. His gaze could not help drifting toward the hard plank bed, but the rice jar beside it—so clean it could make rats cry—made his eyes turn resolute once more. He exhaled a mouthful of foul air, clenched his fists, and strode out, following the old path up Great Liang Mountain.

He struck trees with his Fist techniques, then meditated to recover whenever his inner qi was depleted.

By dusk that day, he came down carrying a pile of dead branches. He exchanged them for food far inferior to what he had once eaten, then entered his room and collapsed onto the bed like a heap of mud.

On the second day, after returning from Shaolin Temple, he ate every last grain of food and strode back up the mountain.

Such days passed in the blink of an eye, for a full hundred days.

"Elder Li, acting on my father's orders, this junior has delivered this invitation to you. But I wonder which young hero has earned your favor, that you would personally write to request a Phoenix Invitation for him."

A young man in dark fitted martial clothes sat in the village's only establishment that could barely be called a tavern or restaurant. Smiling, he questioned the elder before him, whose hair was wild as a mad lion's mane. Though he appeared neither servile nor overbearing, every gesture and word carried respect. Behind him, Old Li from the restaurant had been chased out of the kitchen and stood awkwardly to one side, clutching a silver ingot tightly in his chicken-claw hands.

Inside the kitchen, a first-rate chef from Wangxian County was personally at work. On the table sat the Green Lotus Swordsman's favorite wine from years past. Its fragrance alone made the watching villagers nearby swallow mouthful after mouthful of saliva. Yet the old man merely drank the cloudy wine from his own gourd, his face calm and indifferent. Though dressed in worn old clothes, he possessed the bearing of a lofty hermit beyond the world. He glanced at the young man and sneered.

"Did your father tell you to ask that?"

"This junior is merely curious. This invitation is being sent to young heroes under fifteen throughout Wangxian County. Elder Li has not set foot in the martial world for a long time. Hehe, to speak frankly, it is not only this junior who is curious about today's affair..."

The young man smiled and shook his head. Elder Li gave him a contemptuous glance. The young man's heart suddenly lurched, and an inexplicable chill ran through him, though his face still wore that composed smile. The elder belched, slowly turned his head, and casually pointed at several middle-aged men nearby.

"Your Liu Clan specializes in hidden weapons. Your eyesight should be good."

"You flatter me, Elder."

Elder Li waved a hand. "Then tell me, who are they?"

The handsome young man glanced at the men twice, then smiled confidently. "What difficulty is there in that? Though these brothers are plainly dressed, their cloth is clearly a grade better than that worn by the villagers of Great Liang Mountain. They must be residents of a nearby county town. Their fingers and arms are thick and strong, so they must be used to manual labor. Great Liang Mountain produces much fine timber, and their eyes burn with eagerness. They should be carpenters from nearby, here to purchase timber..."

"It is now noon. If they came here, they must have set out at dawn. Today must be the day Great Liang Village delivers its goods."

His voice was gentle, but carried a trace of self-satisfied certainty. The elder merely sneered and did not answer. A burly man beside them, wearing a blue robe, burst into laughter. "This Young Hero has sharp eyes, but there is still one thing you got wrong. Great Liang Village sends out goods on the tenth of every month. Even then, we deliver them to others. When would there be any reason for them to come here and snatch up our goods?"

"This..."

The young man's expression froze slightly, and a hint of embarrassment surfaced on his face. Just then, the old man beside him suddenly spoke.

"Boy from the Liu Clan, didn't you want to know whom this old man recommended?"

"He has arrived."

The young man was slightly stunned. The carpenters around them charged toward the village entrance like wild dogs that had spotted food. Looking into the distance, they saw two massive old trees, each thick enough for a man to wrap both arms around, being carried by someone. Their branches spread wildly like monsters, yet the one carrying them was no more than a boy of thirteen or fourteen. His features were clear, his frame straight. Though his body was somewhat lean, it could not conceal the fierce and majestic force about him. Step by step, he walked toward the village entrance. Every step was steady, yet exceedingly light. The broken trunks were covered in fist marks. Clearly, they had been shattered by a pair of bare fists!

"?!"

The young man's pupils contracted slightly. He thought back to whether he could have accomplished such a thing at that age. The answer left him somewhat frustrated. The elder beside him swallowed a mouthful of cloudy wine, his eyes fixed on the youth carrying the trees, and said leisurely:

"This wood has fine grain and is as hard as iron. It also grows deep in the mountains. An ordinary strong man needs three to five days merely to fell one tree, and several more days to haul it down. The entire village can obtain around ten trees in a month. Yet he can obtain one a day—and today, two."

"Can he enter your Phoenix Banquet and contend against the hundred clans?"

The young man concealed the shock in his eyes and slowly breathed out a single word.

"...He can."