Return to the Wu Family

Fuhu Fist, first form, Stone-Crushing Strike!

Chen Mo's figure darted out, and he thrust his fist forward with a violent surge of power.

His opponent took several steps, closing the distance to Chen Mo, and struck back with a palm.

Fist and palm collided in mid-air.

Bang!

A thunderous sound echoed through the night sky, startling a flock of birds from the trees.

Chen Mo felt a massive, overwhelming force transmit into his chest, passing through his back and nearly piercing his entire torso.

"Cough..."

He pressed a hand to his chest and coughed heavily, retreating four or five steps before stopping. His feet twisted into the grass, and he launched himself forward once more.

Combining Snake Coiling Hand with Dragon-Capturing Jin, his hands moved like swimming dragons, brushing past the opponent's second palm strike.

In the blink of an eye, a palm landed on his left shoulder.

At the same time, the "dragon claw" force of his Snake Coiling Hand hooked onto the opponent's arm, and both men exerted their strength.

"Hm? A suicide trade?"

The opponent seemed to realize Chen Mo's tactic and abruptly pulled his palm back, but it was too late.

The opponent's palm strike left a sweet, metallic taste in Chen Mo's mouth, while Chen Mo's Dragon-Capturing Jin followed by the Sand-Raising Style caused the internal energy within his opponent to tremble slightly.

Not far away, Li Xuan watched the fierce battle between Chen Mo and his enemy, sighing inwardly.

The two of them were supposed to be of similar strength, but after a few days of the Martial Examination, Chen Mo seemed to have left him far behind.

Now, Chen Mo was fighting a bloody battle against the enemy, while he was unable to participate at all.

The intense pressure of a peak Ming Jin expert made it impossible for those of them at the Ming Jin level to even catch their breath.

At this moment, several black-clad figures darted out from the bushes. Judging by their aura, they were Ming Jin martial artists—likely the ones who had been firing arrows from the shadows earlier.

Li Xuan and the others' eyes burned with intensity, and they immediately intercepted them, engaging in a chaotic melee.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Several more sounds of clashing energy erupted from the battlefields of Yin Tianqing and Chen Mo.

Although Chen Mo managed to hold his own for over a dozen rounds by relying on the unique properties of Dragon-Capturing Jin, clear signs of defeat began to emerge after that.

When the opponent struck, it was clear he was filled with rage—not just because of the assassination mission tonight, but because he was annoyed that he hadn't been able to take down an early-stage Ming Jin practitioner after a dozen rounds.

Stone-Crushing Strike, sixth form, Swallow Return Strike!

Chen Mo landed an unexpected back-fist strike to the opponent's chest. The latter finally stopped holding back, drew a Refined Iron short blade from his waist, and thrust it toward Chen Mo's heart.

The full-force charge of a peak Ming Jin expert was so fast it turned into a blur, making it even harder to dodge in the darkness of the night.

Just as the short blade struck, Yin Tianqing's figure suddenly shifted between the two, delivering a powerful palm strike.

As his palm was about to touch the blade, he suddenly curled his five fingers and grabbed the short blade directly in his palm.

Seeing this, the opponent's expression froze.

Catching a blade with bare hands—even though they were both at the peak of Ming Jin, Yin Tianqing's strength was clearly superior.

The opponent turned his head and saw that his companions were already injured. Though the wounds weren't severe, they no longer held the advantage against Yin Tianqing and Chen Mo.

"Retreat!"

He made a decisive call, ordering the Ming Jin assassins to stop the melee. With several leaps, the group vanished into the vast forest.

Chen Mo looked out; the trees on both sides of the official road were shadowy and oppressive, making it hard to breathe.

Yin Tianqing tossed the Refined Iron short blade aside and said with a heavy expression, "The signature short blade weapon—it's the Hansha Gang, no doubt. However..."

He shifted his tone, "The person I fought is very likely from the Black Tiger Hall."

A peak Ming Jin expert was a rare commodity in the Anyang region, regardless of the faction.

"Sending two peak Ming Jin experts at once, plus several Ming Jin subordinates, means they have been monitoring us for a long time and are determined to see us dead," Chen Mo remarked.

Yin Tianqing nodded, "The carriage is destroyed. We must switch to traveling on foot back to Black River Town."

He reasoned that while they would face the threat of the Black Tiger Hall within Black River Town, the Black Tiger Hall would not be as reckless there as they were in the wilderness, where there were many eyes and ears.

Chen Mo pondered for a moment. His thoughts were much the same as Yin Tianqing's, and besides, Chen Lan was still at the Wu Family; he had to return.

The others were trembling, unaware of what had happened.

After a brief cleanup, the group hurried back.

For martial artists, a journey of over ten miles could be covered in about half an hour.

The horizon slowly turned the color of a fish's belly.

A sliver of dawn broke through the clouds, and the silhouette of Black River Town appeared not far ahead.

Chen Mo bid farewell to the others and headed straight into the Wu Family estate, while Ji Chang simply decided to stay at the Tianqing Martial Hall.

Chen Mo knocked on the gate of the Wu Family, and the elderly gatekeeper, seeing that it was Chen Mo returning from the Martial Examination, revealed a smile on his weary face. "So it is Master Chen who has returned, please, come in quickly."

The gate opened, and Chen Mo stepped into the Blacksmith Room, pulled over a wooden stool to sit, and fell into deep thought.

I will speak directly to Wu Zhiai first. With my status as a likely Martial Scholar, the Wu Family may very well choose to keep me. If they do not, I will go to the Tianqing Martial Hall; in any case, I am already in the same boat as my master.

If the Wu Family keeps me, I will continue to hone the Dragon-Capturing Jin in the Blacksmith Room.

Once the red list for the Martial Examination is posted, my monthly income will be more than the meager amount I earn now. I must purchase a residence in Anyang County as soon as possible; once I do, the Black Tiger Hall will be more hesitant to make a move.

For the next few days, as long as Zhao Huayuan and Liu Zongsheng do not take action personally, I have nothing to fear.

Thinking of this, Chen Mo temporarily suppressed the thoughts in his mind and walked back to the Wu Family guest room to rest.

Having not slept all night and having gone through a fierce battle, he slept until noon.

Upon waking, Chen Mo felt refreshed, but remembering that he still had matters to discuss with Wu Zhiai, he hurried to push open his door.

"Creak—"

As the door was pushed open, he saw a maid standing straight in front of the door, her head slightly bowed.

"What is this..."

Chen Mo was somewhat suspicious.

The maid did not dare to look up at Chen Mo, but bowed and said, "Master Chen, this servant was waiting for you to wake up. Once you woke, I was to have someone prepare your morning meal."

Chen Mo was momentarily speechless.

The title "Master" caught him off guard for a moment.

But he reasoned that although Wu Zhiai usually treated him well, she would not be this courteous, nor would she have someone specifically wait at his door.

So he asked, "Whose order is this?"

"Reporting to Master Chen, it is the order of the Second Master."

As expected...

Although Wu Laoer usually neglected his duties, he was well-informed. He had long since heard of Chen Mo's heroic performance in the Martial Examination and concluded that he would surely be on the list.

Thus, Wu Laoer wanted to use this to ease his relationship with Chen Mo and attempt to bury the hatchet.

A Martial Scholar might not be rare in a family like the Zhao Family, but in the declining Wu Family, he was like a treasure.

Moreover, Chen Mo was different from an ordinary Martial Scholar; given his performance at the training grounds a few days ago, his potential was extremely high.

Therefore, Wu Laoer had made such a gesture.

"Very well, thank you for your hard work."

Chen Mo pondered for a moment and did not hold a grudge over Wu Laoer's previous attitude toward him. Right now, maintaining a good relationship with the Wu Family was the priority.

To survive in the whirlpool that was Black River Town, one must know what to do and what not to do.

Setting aside petty grudges and increasing one's own leverage was the "thing to do."