Different Paths

As dusk approached, Cui Hao was stopped by an old man just as he left the martial arts hall.

"Little Hao, it's Grandpa."

Sizing up the old man, Cui Hao asked indifferently, "What is it?"

"Your uncle said you bought two packs of Qi and Blood Powder today. Can you spare one for Cui Huo? He's a core disciple of the Qingsong Martial School... he can't leave without Qi and Blood Powder... he's borrowed everything he can... you..."

Cui Hao's eye twitched.

A pack of Qi and Blood Powder cost two taels of silver. It wasn't prohibitively expensive, but it wasn't cheap either.

But this was a cultivation resource. The old man actually wanted to cripple Cui Hao's martial path for another grandson!

Suppressing the urge to kick the old man to death, Cui Hao said calmly, "Grandpa, it's cold outside. You should go back early."

With that, Cui Hao strode away.

That night, a knock echoed from outside the courtyard.

"Who is it?"

"Brother Cui, we're Zhou Menglong's men."

Cui Hao opened the courtyard gate and looked at the three men he had stripped earlier. "What do you want?"

The leader, a young man with a large nose, said, "Brother Cui, Zhou Menglong has disappeared. We want to follow you."

"You can't even feed yourselves, so I can't feed you. Get lost!"

"Brother Cui, you don't need to do anything. The three of us can extort money from the villagers," the big-nosed man tried to explain. "You know martial arts, you just need to protect us."

"Idiots!" Cui Hao cursed loudly. "This world is full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers. If you want to die, go ahead and die, but don't drag me down with you!"

Bang! Cui Hao slammed the courtyard gate shut.

Watching the slightly trembling door knocker, the three men stood in silence for a long time before deciding to seek refuge with the Wusheng Sect.

On the same night, inside the City Guard's mansion.

Fan Xin, the City Guard who was obsessed with martial arts, ignored politics, didn't hold court, and managed no finances, rarely appearing in public. He looked at the information in his hand with a strange expression.

"Xiao Hu," Fan Xin asked his guard, "In Qingyuan City, there are three major families."

"The River Gang is in the east, the Saber Gang is in the south, and the Thief Gang is in the west. But the north of the city..." Fan Xin's tone was puzzled. "Why is it empty?"

"This..." The guard named Xiao Hu didn't know either. "Perhaps the feng shui in the north is bad, not conducive to gang development, so there are no gangs."

Fan Xin's mouth twitched. He was dull, and his subordinates were dull too. "Go investigate. I suspect there's a master in the north of the city."

Xiao Hu acknowledged the order.

There were gangs in the north of the city, but they were all wiped out when they were just starting, so they never developed.

The next day, Cui Hao, as usual, bid farewell to his wife and headed to the martial arts hall with Lin Da.

Upon arrival, they found that most of the people who usually arrived early were absent.

"Brother Hao," Lin Da asked curiously, "Why isn't Senior Brother Jiang Jie here? He always comes before us."

"He went to crack down on gangs. Don't worry about them, let's train."

Lin Da complied, warmed up, practiced stances, performed Broken Fist, and worked on footwork, over and over again.

Broken Fist had many variations. When practicing, it emphasized softening the force before unleashing it, developing muscle memory, and ultimately reaching the state where movement and fist arrived simultaneously, with force following the steps.

After practicing Broken Fist seven times, Cui Hao, in the cold weather, had steam rising around him. His bones made faint cracking sounds, and he felt intense soreness.

"Brother Hao," Lin Da handed him a sweat towel, "Wipe your face."

Cui Hao stepped away from the plum blossom piles and asked Lin Da, "Do you want to try breaking through?"

Lin Da hesitated for a moment, then nodded heavily, "I'll risk it!"

Failing the breakthrough attempt the first time meant there was basically no chance afterward. But with the two-month deadline fast approaching, it was better to seize the opportunity of fewer people today and focus on a gamble.

Glancing around at the early morning environment, Lin Da assumed the starting stance for Broken Fist and began, gradually increasing his speed until he entered a state of self-forgetfulness.

He performed the five major moves repeatedly, feeling his stamina draining and his body aching intensely, but he persisted.

As the first ray of morning sun crossed the courtyard wall and shone on him, a cracking sound could be heard within Lin Da's fist wind.

This was the sign of entering Mortal Martial.

After practicing three more times to allow his blood and qi to circulate, Lin Da, drenched in sweat, opened his eyes and looked at Cui Hao, grinning weakly and saying, "Brother Hao, I did it!"

"Junior Brother Lin," the senior sister walked over, handing him a pack of Qi and Blood Powder, "Congratulations. Keep up the good work."

Lin Da accepted the Qi and Blood Powder and cupped his fists in thanks, "Thank you, Senior Sister."

Xu Liqing looked at Cui Hao and said, "You too, keep up the good work."

Cui Hao cupped his fists in return.

Xu Liqing left, and Cui Hao looked at Lin Da. "I'll help you get familiar with the workings of Light Fist."

Lin Da thanked him and struck a pose. The two began to spar.

That evening, Old Man Lin brought gifts and came to Cui Hao's home with Lin Da. At the courtyard entrance, he immediately prostrated himself.

"Brother Hao," Old Man Lin said, full of gratitude, "If you hadn't guided Lin Da and sparred with him, encouraging him, he probably wouldn't have entered Mortal Martial. Our whole family thanks you!"

Before he finished speaking, Old Man Lin and Lin Da truly kowtowed. Thump! Thump!

They each kowtowed twice, cold mud sticking to their foreheads.

Cui Hao quickly helped them up. "Uncle Lin, don't do this. I'm his senior brother; it's natural to guide a junior brother."

"Lin Da said that the senior brothers in the martial arts school never teach him, but you taught him hand-in-hand."

Looking at Old Man Lin, and then at the moved Lin Da, Cui Hao thought of the dark and thin Sun Cheng, and the muscular girl Liu Yan. Should he kowtow to them too??

A week of peaceful days passed, and his status panel refreshed.

[Stealth: Minor Accomplishment (5/600)]
[Effects: Odor -10, Light as a Swallow +10, Shadow Utilization +10]

If he encountered a Striped Tiger again, Cui Hao was confident he could escape more calmly and faster.

His stationary cultivation progressed steadily.

[Broken Fist Stationary Cultivation: Minor Accomplishment (346/600)]

He had 214 controllable progress points.

Combined, he was only 40 progress points away from reaching the Great Accomplishment stage of Mortal Martial!

The immediate problem was that he had run out of Qi and Blood Powder. His family had a total of three taels of copper coins and loose silver. If he bought Qi and Blood Powder... eating would become a problem.

He couldn't go without food. Into the mountains!

Hunting and herb gathering both yielded progress points.

[Gathering: Initial Stage (75/100)]

"Brother Hao..." Lin Da asked, chewing on dry rations, "What are you thinking about?"

After entering Mortal Martial, Lin Da's personality had become much more cheerful and lively. Just as Cui Hao was about to joke with Lin Da, a wail suddenly came from the entrance. "It's bad! Junior Brother Li He is dead!"

Hearing this, Cui Hao and Lin Da both stood up from the ground, put away their dry rations, and looked towards the martial arts school entrance.

Following that, more people rushed in, carrying a wooden board with a person lying on it.

The martial arts school erupted!

The body was placed in the center of the front courtyard. A senior brother who knew the details said sadly, "Junior Brother Li was ambushed by gang members and stabbed in the heart with a knife!"

Xu Liqing, who hadn't participated in the mission to suppress the gang, quickly stepped forward and crouched down to examine Li He's injuries. A bloody hole marred his back.

Someone in the crowd whispered, "Senior Brother Li was a Minor Accomplishment expert in Mortal Martial, and his Broken Fist was also practiced to perfection. How could he be ambushed from behind!?"

Another disciple said, "You don't understand. Practicing martial arts and killing are two different things. Fortunately, we didn't enter Mortal Martial, otherwise we would have gone too and ended up on a board."

"Looking at it this way, Senior Brother Cui was quite clever."

Cui Hao: "..."

Another wooden board was hastily carried in, accompanied by a mournful cry: "Senior Brother Wang is dead!"

Wang Nian is dead?

Plop! The wooden board was put down.

Staring at the bloodless face, it turned out to be a Senior Brother Wang, not Wang Nian...

His face was covered in lime powder, his chest was pierced into a bloody hole, and his neck also had a stab wound. He had died thoroughly.

Xu Dian came from the backyard to the front courtyard and stood before the two corpses, staring at Li He's body in silence for a long time.

In the crowd, Cui Hao was also looking at Li He's corpse. He was a genius, yet he died halfway. This served as a warning to him.