Trial

By the Shi Family's gate.

Shi Jian, Han Feng, and Yang Hai all looked toward Shi Yan, standing before the Earth Dragon.

Yang Hai gave him a glance and furrowed his brow. That boy has grown so thin. He must have suffered plenty these past few months.

Shi Jian and Han Feng only glanced at Shi Yan, but their eyes immediately lit up, surprise showing on their faces.

Yang Hai had never practiced martial arts, so naturally he didn't know that a person's thin frame didn't necessarily mean he was weak.

Sometimes, the explosive power hidden in a lean body could be several times greater than that of a burly man!

Shi Jian and Han Feng were both experts. Although they'd only gotten a distant look, they could tell that Shi Yan was far stronger than before. His body was even sturdier than those of the Shi Family's third-generation youths who had trained hard for more than ten years.

They exchanged a glance and saw the same astonishment in each other's eyes.

They couldn't understand what had happened to Shi Yan in the past six months or so that had even changed his bones.

A few minutes later, Shi Yan and Han Zhong's group finally arrived at the Shi Family's gate.

"Great-grandfather, Uncle Han, Father." Shi Yan walked over with steady steps and greeted them when he reached the gate.

Han Zhong came over, greeted Shi Jian and Han Feng, nodded to Yang Hai, then stood beside Shi Yan without saying anything.

Shi Jian and Han Feng stared intently at Shi Yan, their gazes sweeping over him.

After a long while, Shi Jian's eyelids twitched. He drew a deep breath and said to Shi Yan, "Come with me." Then he turned and headed into the Shi Family's courtyard, his steps noticeably lighter.

Anyone who knew Shi Jian could see how excited he was at that moment.

"Boy, make sure you do well!" Han Zhong winked at Shi Yan, hinting that better days were ahead.

Shi Yan remained composed and nodded slightly. He turned to Yang Hai beside him. "Father, were you waiting here for me?"

Yang Hai kept a stern face, but a strange smile played at the corners of his mouth. "No one was waiting for you in particular. We just wanted to see what's going on with your body and whether you really broke through to the Innate Realm."

"Han Zhong, come with me. I have something to ask you." Han Feng glanced at Han Zhong, then turned and walked in another direction.

Han Zhong's face fell. Head drooping, he reluctantly followed his elder brother away, heading in the opposite direction from Shi Jian.

"Come on. Don't keep your great-grandfather waiting." Yang Hai muttered, tugging at Shi Yan's sleeve. In a low voice, he asked, "What exactly is going on with you?"

"Great-grandfather will definitely ask me about it in a moment. I'll explain then." Shi Yan smiled. He didn't show his father much of the respect one would normally expect.

Yang Hai paused, staring at him in a daze. "You're not quite like you used to be, boy. Before, you never beat around the bush. Whatever I asked, you answered. Now... it seems like you're not afraid of me anymore? Boy, have you grown wings and stopped taking me seriously, huh?"

"You're my father. Why should I be afraid of you?" Shi Yan asked in surprise. "Am I supposed to be?"

"That doesn't sound like you. You never used to speak to me in that tone." Yang Hai frowned and studied Shi Yan for a while before shaking his head and muttering to himself, "Brat. Becoming a Martial Artist really has changed you. You've even grown a lot bolder."

"Let's go. Don't keep Great-grandfather waiting." Shi Yan smiled.

After parting from Han Zhong, he soon disappeared from the Shi Family's gate, heading toward the inner courtyard from a different direction.

The Shi Family Martial Artists gathered by the gate looked baffled and murmured in surprise.

"Could the patriarch be waiting for Young Master Yan? Did I get that wrong?"

"I don't know. I'm confused too. The patriarch never used to show up with Young Master Yan. He never seemed to care about all that nonsense Young Master Yan got up to, either. What's going on this time?"

"Who knows? Maybe Young Master Yan's gotten himself into a huge mess again? But that doesn't make sense. Doesn't his brother-in-law always clean up his messes? Even though Young Master Yan caused plenty of trouble in the Merchant Alliance, none of it was serious enough to make the patriarch step in, was it?"

"Maybe Young Master Yan really has gotten himself into enormous trouble this time. Who can say?"

"Stop wagging your tongues. From now on, you'd better show Young Master Yan some respect. He's no longer the bookish fool he used to be. If you still don't know your place, don't blame me when you come to grief." Karl had made arrangements for the Earth Dragon. Seeing the others still gossiping, he couldn't help giving them a sharp reprimand.

"Karl, what's going on? You came back with Young Master Yan. Do you know anything?" one of the Martial Artists in the crowd, who was friendly with Karl, asked.

"You'll find out soon enough." Karl smiled proudly. "Young Master Yan is going to leave you all dumbfounded."

"What's going on?"

"Seriously, what happened?"

Their curiosity was thoroughly piqued. Their gossip was burning like a raging fire, and they crowded around Karl, pressing him with questions.

"I can't tell you yet, but you'll find out soon enough." Karl ignored them and squeezed through the crowd, joining the Martial Artists heading along the path.

Behind the Shi Family estate.

In the middle of the enormous training grounds, the diamond-shaped Trial Jade Crystal gleamed in the sunlight, sparkling with dazzling, resplendent light like a miniature sun.

Shi Jian stood beside the Trial Jade Crystal. As Shi Yan and Yang Hai approached, he reached out and slapped the crystal. A cluster of light suddenly flew from his palm into it.

The Trial Jade Crystal, which had been dazzling a moment earlier, abruptly dimmed. Its original color emerged.

"Channel your essence into the Trial Jade Crystal." Shi Jian's eyes gleamed as he ordered in a deep voice.

Shi Yan calmly stepped forward and stopped beside the Trial Jade Crystal. He extended his left hand, pressed it against the crystal, and abruptly sent a surge of essence from within his body into it.

One by one, intricate patterns appeared across the silver-white Trial Jade Crystal. A hazy, orange-yellow glow gradually emerged from within, growing brighter and more vivid.

"That's enough." Shi Jian's lips twitched. His eyes stayed fixed on Shi Yan as he said, "I heard the Shi Family's Martial Spirit... awakened in you too?"

"Mm."

"Show me."

"All right."

Shi Yan raised one hand and pushed up the sleeve covering his arm.

With a thought, his arm slowly turned to stone, taking on a dark brown hue.

"Dark brown!"

Shi Jian and Yang Hai cried out at the same time. In disbelief, they stared at the exposed section of Shi Yan's arm, now turned dark brown.

"Could it be the light?" Yang Hai blinked hard, rubbed his eyes, then looked up at the glaring sunlight and muttered, "Am I seeing things?"

His words gave Shi Jian pause. Grabbing Shi Yan's arm, he said, "Come with me! Let's go behind that rock, into the shade. It'll be out of the light, so there won't be any color distortion."

Shi Yan didn't resist. He let Shi Jian lead him, calmly following him to the back of a boulder.

"It really is dark brown!"

Shi Jian roared, his breathing growing slightly heavier. His eyes shone as he stared hard at Shi Yan. In a grave voice, he asked, "Brat, what exactly is going on? Why—why is your Martial Spirit dark brown? Could this really be the second stage?"

"That's right. It really is the second stage. I'm only at the Innate Realm, but my Martial Spirit has already reached the second stage!"

"Give me a reasonable explanation, now! From our ancestors to our generation, this has never happened in the Shi Family! Our Martial Spirits have never entered the second stage before reaching the Human Position Realm. You're the first! What exactly is going on? What happened to you?!" Shi Jian was on the verge of losing his mind.

"Ahem. It happened like this..." Shi Yan repeated the story he'd once told Han Zhong.

When he finished, he found Shi Jian standing perfectly still, still staring at him, his expression strange.

"Great-grandfather, what's with that look? I already explained."

"You're saying that three strange, vermilion fruits awakened your Martial Spirit? Made it so strange? And gave you essence, letting you rapidly advance to the Innate Third Heaven Realm?" Shi Jian's expression grew stranger by the moment. He asked sharply, "All because of three fruits?"

"Mm. That's how it happened."

"Where did you find them? I'll send someone there right now to see if we can find more."

"They're gone. There were only three. I searched for a long time afterward, but never saw any more."

"Brat, you're not pulling my leg, are you?" Shi Jian looked deeply suspicious, clearly not believing him.

Of course I'm pulling your leg.

Shi Yan said silently, but kept his face perfectly serious. "I really don't know what happened. I ate the fruits, and then I became like this. I don't know anything else, and I don't know why my Martial Spirit is different from everyone else's."

He dug in his heels and stuck to that story.

Shi Jian pressed him several times, trying all sorts of ways to test him, but Shi Yan just kept shaking his head, insisting he truly knew nothing else.

After several attempts, Shi Jian finally gave up asking. He thought for a while, then said, "Your Martial Spirit has turned dark brown. Well... has its strength changed too? I mean, it didn't just change color while staying as weak as it was in the first stage, did it?"

"If my senses are right, it should be at the second stage."

"I'll test it." Shi Jian was an impatient man. He placed a hand on Shi Yan's chest and said, "Boy, cover your body with stone! Don't be afraid. I'll increase my strength little by little. I won't hurt you."

"All right."

Shi Yan knew that Shi Jian would never harm him, so he had no qualms about turning his body to stone. He calmly watched Shi Jian's hand.

Gradually, a pool of dark light appeared on Shi Jian's hand. The power contained within it grew more and more evident, as if it were slowly striking Shi Yan's chest.

Suddenly, Shi Jian's hand seemed to absorb all the dark light like a sponge.

Shi Jian's old face brimmed with excitement. Nodding repeatedly, he exclaimed with delight, "Excellent! It really is at the second stage! Brat, I don't know how you did it, but from today onward, you're not allowed to slack off! Whether you like it or not, I'm going to force you to become a Martial Artist!"