After a quiet night, the morning sun fell into the courtyard, and Lu Feng got up early to train.
Today was a hard-won day off, and he planned to use it to improve his Cloud-Dispelling Palm proficiency.
After a simple breakfast, he began training in the courtyard.
[You used Cloud-Dispelling Palm once; proficiency +1] [You used Cloud-Dispelling Palm once; proficiency +1]
Before long, it was a quarter past nine. His Cloud-Dispelling Palm proficiency was almost at four hundred when someone suddenly knocked on the gate.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The knocking was unusually loud. It was obvious something was wrong.
Lu Feng immediately stopped training, wiped the sweat from his face, and asked, "Who is it?"
A familiar voice came from outside. "Lu Feng, open up! Don't think you can get away with hiding at home."
It was none other than his cousin, Lu Qiming.
Lu Feng frowned slightly. His cousin had shown up out of the blue, so it had to be about his constable position again.
Lu Feng slowly opened the gate and looked up. Standing outside was not only his cousin Lu Qiming, but also two burly men in martial arts school uniforms.
According to the original owner's memories, Lu Qiming was a disciple of the county's Tianshan Martial Arts School. The two men behind him were probably fellow students from the school.
When Lu Feng came out, Lu Qiming sneered. "Lu Feng, you finally decided to show yourself. I thought you were going to hide at home like a turtle!"
Lu Feng looked at him without the slightest change in expression. He was already a Sixth-Rank Martial Artist, while Lu Qiming was only a Fifth-Rank Martial Artist. Even with the two men behind his cousin, he wasn't afraid.
"Cousin, did you come all this way just to say something so pointless?"
Lu Qiming's gaze turned cold. "I came to see you because of what happened last time. My father said that if you hand over your constable position to me, my family can pay you a hundred taels of silver. That's our final offer. If you refuse, don't blame us for forgetting we share the same blood."
Lu Feng merely smiled. "Heh. I didn't expect Uncle to be willing to pay a hundred taels for my constable position. You're certainly generous! But my answer is the same as last time. It's out of the question!"
A cold glint flashed in Lu Qiming's eyes. "Lu Feng, I advise you not to be ungrateful!"
"Oh? Then what else do you have in mind, Cousin?"
Lu Qiming immediately signaled to the two men beside him. Without a word, the burly men reached out to grab Lu Feng.
Before either of them could touch him, two palm strikes slammed into their bodies.
Bang! Bang!
The two men were sent flying three or four meters, and the sound of two bones snapping rang out.
As soon as they hit the ground, they spat blood and cried out in pain.
The whole thing happened so quickly and unexpectedly that Lu Qiming stood there stunned for two breaths before he came to his senses. Then he roared in fury.
"Lu Feng, you dare hit men from the Tianshan Martial Arts School? You're asking for death!"
As he spoke, Lu Qiming threw a punch at Lu Feng's face. But in the next instant, a palm strike collided squarely with his fist.
With a bang, fist and palm met. Lu Qiming staggered backward several steps.
He stared at Lu Feng in shock. "Lu Feng, you... you were hiding your strength!"
Lu Feng's face showed a flicker of surprise. "Oh? Weren't you hiding yours too, Cousin?"
He hadn't used his full strength in that palm strike, but its power had still reached the level of a Sixth-Rank Martial Artist.
Yet Lu Qiming had taken the frontal blow without injury. That meant his strength had also reached the Sixth-Rank level.
Lu Feng couldn't find the book by searching its title. Maybe he could try searching by the author's name; perhaps the title had changed!
But Lu Feng immediately understood why Lu Qiming wanted his constable position: he was aiming to compete for the constable chief's post.
The requirement to enter the competition was to be a Sixth-Rank Martial Artist. So it was only natural that Lu Qiming had reached that level.
At Lu Feng's words, Lu Qiming stared hard at him. Neither of them made another move; they simply faced off.
From that last exchange, Lu Qiming knew there was no way he could take Lu Feng head-on.
There was no point in lingering here. A moment later, Lu Qiming gave a cold snort. "Lu Feng, just you wait!"
With that, he left with the men from the Tianshan Martial Arts School.
Lu Feng watched the three of them leave, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.
Now that his strength had been exposed, he would have to be even more careful from here on.
After a moment's thought, Lu Feng shut the gate and returned to the courtyard to continue practicing Cloud-Dispelling Palm.
An hour later, his Cloud-Dispelling Palm proficiency had reached 499.
As he struck out once more with Cloud Sea Waves, a surging force flooded into his body.
[You used Cloud-Dispelling Palm once; proficiency +1] [Your Cloud-Dispelling Palm proficiency reached 500. The martial skill's proficiency level advanced from Greater Completion to Perfection.] [Your Martial Realm successfully advanced to Seventh-Rank Martial Artist.]
This time, the power surging through his body was fiercer than ever. Lu Feng felt as if flames were scorching him.
His blood boiled throughout his entire body.
At the same time, every move of the martial skill Cloud-Dispelling Palm flowed into his mind.
The martial skill consisted of twelve palm techniques. The final technique was the most difficult; without a certain degree of talent for martial arts, it was hard to master.
This final technique was called Gloomy Clouds, and its power was more than twice that of the eleven techniques before it.
After he finished feeling out the changes in his body, a powerful hunger came over him.
Without hesitation, Lu Feng went into the kitchen, brought out a large basin of cooked beef, and began eating.
Before long, he had polished off half the beef in the basin, and his hunger had eased considerably.
"Phew! This breakthrough seems different from the last one. I feel a lot stronger," Lu Feng said as he ate the beef.
According to the Martial Realm's classifications, Seventh-Rank Martial Artists had reached the later stages of martial arts training. Anyone who reached this level could generally be called a third-rate expert.
The Great Chieftains of the Caobang Gang and Blood Eagle Gang were experts of this caliber.
Although Lu Feng could clearly feel that his strength had increased, he wasn't sure exactly how much stronger he had become or how much damage he could inflict with an all-out attack.
To find out, he would have to get tested at a martial arts school or the yamen.
Lu Feng thought it over and decided to go to the yamen tomorrow for a test and, while he was there, sign up to compete for the constable chief's post.
Then he had a thought, and the Proficiency Panel appeared before him.
[Name: Lu Feng] [Age: 19/50] [Realm: Seventh-Rank Martial Artist] [Cultivation Method: None] [Martial Skill: Cloud-Dispelling Palm (High-Grade, Lower-Tier, Perfection 0/1000)]
Seeing the changes on the panel, Lu Feng looked puzzled.
"Hmm?! Why can I still keep practicing Cloud-Dispelling Palm after it's reached Perfection?"
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