Five Years Later

The Golden Crow rose in the east, morning light faintly spilling forth.

Within the Xu Family's main courtyard.

Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan, the two brothers, were sparring with each other.

Xu Chuan, Li Er, Zhao Dalong, and the others stood by watching.

Xu Mingyuan's feet were planted in the Eight Trigrams Position, his arms coiled like a dragon wrapping around a pillar.

This was the opening stance of the Dragon Coiling Fist—Dragon Sleeps in the Abyss.

"Big Brother, be careful."

"Go all out."

Xu Mingwei stood calm and composed, unhurried.

Cold Comes, Heat Goes.

Five springs, summers, autumns, and winters had passed since Xu Mingyuan began Martial Arts Practice.

Xu Mingwei was now fifteen years old.

He had already caught up to Xu Chuan in height and would surely surpass him in another two years.

Xu Mingyuan was a head shorter, but over these years, he had trained through the scorching summer heat and the bitter winter cold, tempering his once restless nature.

His eyes now held a restrained gleam of spirit; he had become a martial artist.

He had not abandoned reading and calligraphy, though he devoted less time to them than to martial training.

As for business, he only followed Chen Ergou out after the annual fruit and vegetable harvest.

Now, they transported their produce to Qingjiang County to sell, gradually building a reputation for the Xu Family's fruits and vegetables from Dongxi Village.

The family's farmland had increased considerably over the five years.

The Xu Family purchased land outright, now owning one hundred and twenty mu of paddy fields, sixty mu of regular farmland, and eighty mu of mountain forest.

Within the eighty mu of mountain forest lay a pool called Jade Cold Pond. Its surface was frigid yet never froze.

Descending a hundred meters into the water, it gradually grew warmer, quite peculiar.

Even a martial artist jumping into this pond would freeze to death after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.

As for diving deep, it was exceedingly difficult.

Because of its strangeness, Xu Chuan had found a way to acquire it.

Xu Chuan had gone down into Jade Cold Pond himself but came back up quickly.

As his Martial Dao cultivation steadily advanced, bolstered by his Destiny Talent, his blood and qi grew more and more surging.

Though only a Second-rate Martial Artist, his vitality was more formidable than that of many First-class Martial Artists.

Xu Mingwei was also a Second-rate Martial Artist, having opened as many as two hundred and eighty-six Acupoints—over twenty more than Xu Chuan.

He was not far from the First-class Martial Artist realm.

A genius who could reach First-class Martial Artist before the age of sixteen could likely only be nurtured by families in the Prefecture City with Grandmasters in residence.

Xu Mingwei possessed the Destiny Talent [Innate Divine Strength] and was still young, his body not yet fully formed, making it easier to open Acupoints.

Coupled with diligent practice day and night, never slacking.

And five years of daily medicinal diet nourishment.

Only then did he achieve such progress.

Ever since obtaining the Innate Five Elements Creation Technique, Xu Chuan had decided that everyone training in martial arts should take medicinal meals daily to aid their cultivation.

Those blessed with Destiny Talents could manage without medicinal meals.

But ordinary people practicing Martial Dao must have medicinal meals or corresponding blood-and-qi herbs as supplements, or else their vitality would decline.

Whether medicinal meals or blood-and-qi herbs, they cost a considerable amount of silver.

Fortunately, the Xu Family's earning power was now respectable.

A few years ago, they had come into a windfall from Boss Xiong.

The Green Jade Pear brought in a stable income each year, and the other fruits and vegetables also yielded decent returns.

The Xu Family was now the wealthiest household in Dongxi Village, second only to the Xu Family.

In fact, in terms of annual surplus after all expenses, the Xu Family was absolutely number one in Dongxi Village.

However, no one knew this except Xu Chuan, Bai Jing, and Zhou Ming.

Even Xu Mingwei and his brothers only had a rough idea.

The Xu Family kept a very low profile in Dongxi Village.

All direct members of the family treated others with courtesy and never acted arrogantly.

The same went for Zhou Ming, Zhao Dalong, Sun Fugui, and the others.

Five years had passed.

They all took wives and were quite diligent about making children.

Each household had one or two kids.

With wives and children, these men had finally put down roots in Dongxi Village, gaining a sense of belonging.

The future was no longer just about striving for themselves, but also for their descendants.

Xu Mingyuan and Xu Mingwei sparred.

Their palms formed claw shapes as they crossed and slashed, their waists twisting explosively like a dragon extending its claws or an angry dragon parting waters, the momentum fierce and ferocious.

Li Er watched from the side, smiling and nodding. "Second Young Master's Dragon Coiling Fist is already no worse than mine. I'm afraid within a year or two, he'll surpass me."

Zhao Dalong glanced at the smug Li Er and sneered, "You've got some nerve comparing yourself to Second Young Master."

"How old are you, and how old is he?"

"By the time Second Young Master reaches your age, he'll probably already be a First-class Martial Artist."

Li Er's face fell, looking embarrassed.

His Martial Arts Talent was mediocre to begin with, and he couldn't argue back.

Still, he came from a Prominent Family after all, and his insight was far beyond what Zhao Dalong and the others could match.

Xu Mingyuan was personally taught by him, and even with daily medicinal meals, this training speed was by no means slow.

Back in his own day, the medicinal meals he'd taken were far more precious than what the Xu Family provided, yet he'd only reached Xu Mingyuan's level at seventeen or eighteen.

Still, that had something to do with his own slackness.

And after he got married, he put even less heart into it.

That was why he'd only just become a Third-rate Martial Artist now.

Li Er had thought that with his family backing him, he could coast through life smoothly.

Who would have guessed that storms could blow up from a clear sky.

Xu Mingyuan—Li Er could still see through him. But Xu Mingwei was a mystery.

A mere fifteen-year-old youth, yet to Li Er he seemed unfathomable, already carrying the bearing of a Martial Arts Expert.

"Could it be that the eldest son has quietly become a Second-rate Martial Artist? A Second-rate Martial Artist at this age is extremely rare among the families in the county town."

"Thinking back to my Li Family back then, those who became Second-rate Martial Artists before fifteen numbered at most one or two per generation."

"The eldest son is so outstanding, and the second son is no slouch either—could the Xu Family have a Martial Arts Bloodline Inheritance?!"

Li Er pondered in silence.

He had heard that some major families in the Prefecture City carried bloodlines, which made it much easier for them to produce Martial Arts Experts.

Facing Xu Mingyuan's assault, Xu Mingwei's expression didn't change. He crossed his arms over his chest and blocked the attack directly.

Then, a single outward-spinning palm strike.

With explosive force, Xu Mingyuan was sent flying backward.

After flipping once, he landed on one knee and slid two or three meters before stopping.

"Reverse Scale Surfing!"

Xu Mingyuan crouched low, sliding forward, and drove his right fist upward in a spiraling thrust.

This move targeted the lower body.

Xu Mingwei smiled, lifted the hem of his robe, and kept raising his legs as he stepped back.

After a few steps, he saw through the opponent's move, planted one leg firmly like a rooted tree, and stood unmoving.

His right leg swung like an elephant's trunk, slamming directly into Xu Mingyuan's right fist.

Xu Mingyuan tumbled several times, looking rather disheveled, while Xu Mingwei, absorbing the counterforce, stood as steady as a mountain and slowly lowered his leg.

"Excellent!"

Zhao Dalong, Sun Fugui, and Qian Youcai all cheered loudly.

Watching Xu Mingyuan wince in pain, Xu Chuan chuckled and said, "A Yuan, with your lousy kung fu, don't embarrass yourself in front of Shitou."

"Zhao Dalong, have a go with Shitou. Don't hold back."

"Yes, Patriarch." Zhao Dalong stepped forward, clasped his fists to Xu Chuan, then turned to Xu Mingwei. "Please instruct me, eldest young master."

Zhao Dalong had once been an Apprentice at a Martial Arts Hall and often sparred with others.

His combat experience was far more seasoned than Xu Mingyuan's. He no longer stuck rigidly to the moves in the manuals but adapted flexibly.

Every strike aimed at vital points, ruthless and decisive.

Even so, he couldn't harm Xu Mingwei in the slightest.

Xu Mingwei only ever displayed the strength of a Third-rate Martial Artist in front of others, but his eyesight and fighting skills were richer than Zhao Dalong's and the rest.

In the past two years, every two or three days, he would venture deep into the mountains to fight Fierce Beasts.

Every so often, he would bring back the carcass of a Fierce Beast.

Just the wolf pelts, fox furs, and the like added up to a considerable sum.

Once, he even brought back a complete white fox.

The white fox was swift as the wind; even a First-class Martial Artist would struggle to catch one in the mountain forests.

A single intact White Fox Pelt was worth several hundred taels of silver in Qingjiang County.

Xu Chuan let Xu Mingwei decide for himself, and without a second thought, he had it made into a fur coat and gave it to Bai Jing.

Bai Jing was deeply moved and couldn't bear to wear it.

Moments later.

Zhao Dalong was completely overwhelmed.

Xu Chuan spoke again: "Sun Fugui, Qian Youcai, the two of you join Zhao Dalong in surrounding him."

"Yes, Patriarch."

The two had been itching for a fight themselves, and now that the Patriarch had given the order, they quickly charged into the fray.

With three attackers, each a martial artist who had opened over twenty Acupoints, Xu Mingwei finally felt the pressure.

He slightly increased the power of his inner force.