Outer City, east side.
It had been many days since the Rebel Army from Black Wind Stronghold had stormed into the city and ransacked it, yet countless people still hadn't recovered from that night.
The streets were quiet. The bustling thoroughfares that had once seen constant traffic were now sparsely populated, and not a single carriage or horse could be seen.
The county hadn't become a place where nine out of ten houses stood empty, but compared to before, it had certainly lost many residents.
Some had died, while others had fled with their families.
After all, in many people's eyes, even the County Magistrate had met a violent end. What safe place could there possibly be left in the county?
Fleeing before the Rebel Army from Black Wind Stronghold attacked again wasn't an unwise choice.
Of course, leaving didn't guarantee safety. More likely, they'd simply leap from one familiar pit of fire into another, stranger one.
They might not even find that next pit before bands of refugees from beyond the city caught them along the way and stripped them bare.
That was how cruel the world had become. Whether you moved or stayed put, survival was hard.
Ordinary people could only take a gamble, while martial artists with real ability had more choices.
The Tang Family Martial Academy.
Though the Outer City had fewer people, the academy had clearly gained many new disciples.
More people, desperate to survive, wanted to enter the martial world and make a living through martial arts, hoping to protect themselves.
Seeing the number of disciples in the courtyard keep growing, Tang Niu was quite pleased.
He wasn't happy because his martial arts were finally gaining wider renown. He was simply delighted to have earned a hefty sum in tuition fees.
There was no helping it. His Hard Bone Technique was simply too expensive to practice.
Without finding every possible way to raise money, it was impossible to master.
Just then, three people walked in through the academy gate.
Tang Niu could tell at a glance that the burly young man at the front was no ordinary person. He was clearly a martial artist, too.
He was just about to go greet them when one of his disciples hurried over and whispered, "Master, that man is Zhao An!"
"The Zhao An who wiped out the Python Gang and the Tiger Head Gang?!" Tang Niu's expression changed as he asked at once.
"That's right! I saw him before, Master. I couldn't possibly mistake him!" The disciple spoke with a hint of fear on his face.
Zhao An's past infamy and his current fearsome reputation were more than enough to make ordinary people tremble.
These days, it wasn't just ordinary people. Even the martial artists of the Outer City felt a measure of fear when they saw Zhao An.
After all, Zhao An's record of single-handedly carving through the Python Gang and the Tiger Head Gang in succession was vicious enough to make anyone's blood run cold.
"Master Tang, I'm Zhao An." Zhao An walked right up to Tang Niu, introduced himself, and cupped his fists politely.
The name above Tang Niu's head was translucent and colorless. He had no merit, wasn't an evildoer, and wasn't even marked gray.
That meant he didn't do good deeds in his daily life, but he still obeyed the law.
And as long as someone wasn't marked red, Zhao An was usually no threat to them.
"Little Brother Zhao's name rings through the streets. I've heard of you for some time. May I ask what brings you to my humble academy today?" Seeing that Zhao An didn't seem to have come looking for a fight, Tang Niu relaxed a little and returned the greeting just as politely.
"I've long heard that Master Tang has a body of iron bones and fists of steel. I've come to ask for a friendly spar," Zhao An said, skipping the pleasantries and getting straight to the point.
"Little Brother Zhao, have you come to challenge my academy?" Tang Niu's smile immediately faded.
"I'm not a member of the academy. I'm simply interested in your Hard Bone Skill," Zhao An replied, shaking his head.
That was the truth. Challenging an academy meant nothing to him.
He wasn't part of the martial arts world. He simply wanted to see what made Tang Niu's eighth-grade martial art so special.
"If that's the case, then please." Tang Niu agreed.
Zhao An really didn't look as though he'd come to challenge the academy or smash its reputation.
Besides, Tang Niu also wanted to see whether this young man, whose name was always on everyone's lips, really was that formidable.
"Please." Seeing Tang Niu raise only his fists, Zhao An simply tossed his long saber to Zhao Chunzi.
If they were only comparing barehanded techniques, he had nothing to fear now.
Tang Niu struck first, his fists cutting through the air toward Zhao An's face.
His fists were enormous, the outlines of the bones visible beneath the flesh. They looked rock-solid, and a blow from them would feel like being struck by a heavy weapon.
Zhao An stayed calm and reached out with both hands, catching Tang Niu's punching arm in an instant.
With a simple twist and tug, he not only stripped the force from the punch but threw Tang Niu off balance.
Tang Niu lost the initiative in a flash.
Zhao An thrust both palms forward. Tang Niu blocked with his bent arm, but the impact sent him stumbling several steps back.
In the blink of an eye, Zhao An pressed forward again, unleashing the moves of the Silver Snake Hand without holding anything back.
At times he slapped; at others he slipped his hands in to push and manipulate.
Tang Niu felt as if two pythons had wrapped around him, binding him until he could barely breathe. Zhao An tossed him about like a toy, making him stumble this way and that.
To his shock, Tang Niu realized he couldn't fight back at all against Zhao An's palm techniques.
Most importantly, Zhao An wasn't using Internal Breath to reinforce his palm strikes. He was simply relying on the exquisite precision of his moves to seize the upper hand.
A moment later, Zhao An stepped back of his own accord. Tang Niu, meanwhile, sprang several meters away, still looking dazed from being tossed about.
"What kind of palm technique is that? Have you already mastered it to perfection?!" Tang Niu asked in astonishment.
"Yes." Zhao An nodded, admitting it without hesitation.
Tang Niu opened his mouth, but for a moment, he couldn't find the words.
He understood far better than the disciples in the courtyard just how rare it was to master an established martial art to perfection.
And Zhao An looked so young—yet he'd done it!
"Again!" Tang Niu said, stamping his foot hard as the Internal Breath within him began to circulate in an unusual way.
His eyes bulged, making him look like a wrathful guardian king. Veins rose across his face and body.
His muscles were like bedrock. When Zhao An raised a palm and struck him, Tang Niu's feet seemed rooted to the ground; he didn't budge an inch!
Not only was his flesh and skin hard as stone, it also produced a mysterious force that rebounded the blow.
Zhao An's palm struck him, but it was Zhao An's own hand that went numb!
"So this is the Hard Bone Technique! What a treasure!" Zhao An was more delighted than surprised.
Eager to test the Hard Bone Technique, Zhao An stopped holding back. He circulated the Internal Breath within him and struck again, his palm moving like a nimble snake as the force drove into the flesh along Tang Niu's back.
Bang!
The muffled impact rang out. Tang Niu had been planning to withstand Zhao An's palm and launch a counterattack.
But then—
The Internal Breath was like hundreds of thin threads, piercing into his flesh. Pain flared across his back, and the breath in his chest and abdomen dispersed in an instant.
His face paled. His legs gave way, and he pitched forward onto the ground.
One of the disciples hurried over and helped his master to his feet.
They had never seen Tang Niu's technique broken before.
"The younger generation is formidable! You've not only mastered your palm technique to perfection, your Internal Breath is astonishingly powerful, too. I'm nowhere near your equal!" Tang Niu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, took a deep breath, and spoke with some bitterness.
He'd practiced the Hard Bone Technique for over a decade, yet he'd never expected Zhao An to break through it with a single palm strike.
That didn't mean the Hard Bone Technique had been all show and no substance. It was simply that Zhao An's third-realm Silver Snake Hand, mastered to perfection, combined with his four hundred strands of Internal Breath, had unleashed palm force that was far too powerful.
Zhao An surpassed him in every way.
It seemed the rumors were true. Anyone who could single-handedly carve through two great gangs was no ordinary person.
Before you continue