Hammering Himself Into Shape

Now that he no longer lacked silver,

Chen Feng's days were incredibly full. The moment he opened his eyes, he was training, spending every spare moment practicing his fists.

Not only could he temper his body,

he could also accumulate experience.

The system could only help Chen Feng solve problems with Martial Arts. To truly advance his realm, he still had to take it one step at a time.

Unless he could find a Cultivation Technique that covered all two hundred-odd bones in his body.

That wasn't realistic.

The few books Chen Feng had bought couldn't directly help him complete Bone Forging, but they had greatly improved the efficiency of his physical training. They had helped him immensely.

At his old pace, he needed several days of Qi Blood Flush to temper a single bone.

And the Five Elements Fist Technique always focused on a few specific bones, leaving the more obscure parts progressing far too slowly.

Now Chen Feng could temper them all at once.

His efficiency was astonishingly high.

While Chen Feng stayed at the martial arts school practicing his fists, Cheng Tingxue often came by.

But Cheng Tingxue merely sat on a stone bench beneath a tree in the courtyard, quietly watching Chen Feng practice.

When Chen Feng took a break, she would chat with him for a little while.

She never seemed bored.

Chen Feng was happy to chat with her, too. It was just that every time Cheng Tingxue came, she brought him a bottle of Great Tonic Pills.

He always had the strange feeling he was being kept...

The others at Dragon Walk Martial Arts School assumed Cheng Tingxue had come to visit Su Wanqing. After all, everyone knew the two were very close.

According to Cheng Tingxue, Cheng Li had returned safely, though he had lost an arm.

That was what Chen Feng had expected.

The Canal Gang's vile deeds were common knowledge. If they had to be labeled with one phrase, it would be "utterly lawless."

The Imperial Examination had yet to end, and the Cheng Family Patriarch was still in the Provincial Capital, so the Cheng Family could only swallow this bitter pill.

At least Cheng Li had made it back alive.

As for the Xu Family, Cheng Tingxue had severed all ties with them. The marriage alliance between the two families had once been a cause for celebration, but now, because of the Canal Gang, the families had turned against each other.

Fate had played a cruel joke.

At dawn, the sky was just beginning to lighten.

Chen Feng stood in the courtyard, feet slightly apart and level with his shoulders. He had just finished a set of Five Elements Fist and slowly exhaled a mouthful of Turbid Qi.

As the Tai Chi Profound Origin Technique circulated, a warm current flowed through his meridians.

Chen Feng felt as refreshed as if he'd soaked in a hot spring, from the tips of his toes to the crown of his head.

"Crack, crack~"

After a strange series of sounds,

his mind grew clear.

He immediately understood that every bone in his body had been tempered, and his realm had successfully surpassed Fifth Senior Sister's.

At this rate, he would enter the Viscera Quenching Realm before Su Wanqing.

Chen Feng clenched his fists.

With Martial Artists so scarce these days, anyone at the Bone Forging Realm could establish a small force of their own in Pingcheng and would be welcomed as an honored guest wherever they went.

At an escort agency, he could become an escort chief; among a Noble Family, he could serve as an Attendant. Even the highest-ranking instructor at a martial arts school was only at the Bone Forging Realm.

If he joined the army,

he could become a Squad Leader at the very least. After building up some experience, he could be promoted to Company Commander and command dozens of men.

Thinking back to a few months ago,

when he had been nothing but a dock porter exploited by others, Chen Feng felt dazed.

His strength grew steadily every day. The feeling was reassuring, but...

his experience was running dangerously low.

With a thought, the panel appeared before him:

[Name]: Chen Feng

[Experience]: 678

[Cultivation Techniques]: Five Elements Fist Technique, Tai Chi Profound Origin Technique, Mountain Splitting Palm Technique, Grass-Flying Skill, Bone Setting Essentials, Inner Realm Diagram, The Classic of Herbal Medicine... (Expand)

Gaining experience required seeing the world and learning. Chen Feng spent all day practicing his fists at the martial arts school. Although training also earned him experience,

it only gave him a few hundred points a day at most. He had been spending more than he earned for a long time and couldn't save anything.

"My strength's reached a bottleneck for now, so there's no rush to break through. I should figure out how to earn experience..."

Chen Feng murmured.

He had worked as a Medicine Boy for a few days, but the experience he gained had dwindled. It was no longer worth spending time on.

However,

before that, there was something important he still needed to do—

get back at the Lin Family for constantly tripping him up.

Chen Feng still hadn't retaliated.

He had never forgotten that Xie Fei had acted on the Lin Family's orders. They had even gone out of their way to irritate Chen Feng when he was escorting a shipment out of the city.

Chen Feng wasn't some saint.

When someone had a knife at his throat, was he supposed to wait with his neck bared instead of snatching the blade and killing them?

Now that he had reached the peak of the Bone Forging Realm, he had more than enough strength—as long as he planned carefully.

Rather than wait passively,

Chen Feng preferred to strike first.

Fuxing Merchant Association's guildhall.

Gray-brick walls flanked the archway, and dark-gray barrel tiles covered the roof. A black plaque with gilded characters hung above the gate, bearing four forceful characters: "Ju Fu Yong Xing."

People came and went without end.

All kinds of goods flowed in and out.

The depths of the guildhall, however, were quiet. A few auspicious plants had been put there, lending the place a tranquil air.

At that moment, inside the assembly hall,

shopkeepers from every trade filled both sides of the long table. Some stroked their beards, while others clutched their teacups, their expressions varied.

At the head of the table,

the merchant association's president, Meng He, looked grave. His eyes were lowered, as if he were deep in thought.

But his fingers kept rubbing his thumb ring, betraying his agitation.

Meng He said gravely,

"Everyone, the tolls at the checkpoints have gone up again, and river transport is being obstructed. I called you here today so we could come up with a solution together..."

An old gentleman in a long gown fiddled with an abacus and cut in:

"President Meng He, several more members have left Fuxing Merchant Association in recent months. The gangs are expanding their territory and smashing up businesses everywhere. We need to hire some Martial Artists as soon as possible."

"Otherwise, if we let them keep causing trouble, we won't be able to run our businesses. It's only a matter of time before we go under."

"Exactly, exactly."

Everyone chimed in, agreeing that this was the most urgent matter. The rest could be discussed later.

With the gangs behaving like this,

their shops were losing money every day. It hurt worse than having their flesh carved off.

Seeing this, Meng He said, "I'm already looking into it. But Martial Artists in the city are demanding exorbitant fees, and our association's funds are already stretched thin..."

Everyone's expressions changed sharply.

From Meng He's words, it sounded as if he wanted them to dig into their own pockets again. How could they agree to that?

Their shops were already losing money, and now they were supposed to pay out more? Was he trying to kill them?

The old man in the long gown gave another cold snort. "You're the president, so naturally it's up to you to figure something out."

Then he glanced at Meng Zhaowu, sitting at the far end of the table, and continued, "Your son has been at Dragon Walk Martial Arts School for some time now. I wonder which capable fighters he's recruited to help our association?"

"I..." Meng Zhaowu began, then stopped.

Seeing everyone turn to look at him, Meng Zhaowu didn't know what to say. Even brothers had to keep their accounts straight. Who would help without being paid?

Let alone take on something as dangerous as fighting a gang.

When he failed to offer a proper answer, the old man's face filled with displeasure. He spoke in a cutting, sarcastic tone:

"When will Young Master Meng learn that he's a member of the association, too? He takes the association's resources but does nothing in return..."

Meng Zhaowu wanted to argue.

He had paid for his martial arts training himself and hadn't touched a single coin from the association's funds, much less taken any resources.

But then he saw his father's warning gaze and could only fall silent, helplessly.

After a moment's thought, Meng He said,

"Elder Qin, my idea is that we should hurry to the martial arts schools and recruit a group of Martial Artists to oppose the gangs. We can split the cost among everyone..."

The old man's face soured, and he cut Meng He off. "Business is bad now. Everyone's broke. It's not appropriate to conjure up such a large expense out of thin air to hire thugs."

Everyone nodded repeatedly.

No one wanted to pay.

Meng He wasn't upset at being interrupted. "Then, Elder Qin, do you have a better suggestion?"

"Hmph..."

The old man didn't answer. He merely furrowed his brows and kept fiddling with the abacus in his hands, making it clack and clack.