Sparring

Not long after.

"Are the brothers all right?"

Looking at the shriveled, scorched corpse of the monster fish at his feet, Feng Xiu felt his mood brighten at once.

He reached up to straighten the crown on his head and spoke casually.

"We're fine. A few brothers hurt their arms, but they'll be all right after putting on some wound salve." Xiang Geng replied with a smile.

"Still, we can't let our guard down. If Fish Mother was poisonous, any injury to your foundation would be bad."

Xiang Geng's expression turned slightly serious. He nodded.

Then he turned and swept his gaze over the others. They were all guards of the Feng Clan, so they naturally understood what that look meant.

"Captain Xiang, we didn't see anything today."

One of the quick-witted warriors spoke up at once.

"Chen He just took a tumble. Old Chen, you damn fool, couldn't you watch where you were going?" The man turned and scolded the middle-aged man clutching his shoulder.

"Captain, I swear I'll watch my step from now on!"

Chen He was a shrewd one too. He immediately thumped his chest and promised, then grimaced in pain.

"Good. Old Chen, take a little extra pay for your work when we get back."

Xiang Geng nodded indifferently and waved a hand.

Seeing this, the others set about dragging Fish Mother's corpse away, one man pulling it along and leaving a trail in the dirt.

They dispersed as well, heading toward the grain storehouse.

After they left.

Only Feng Xiu and Xiang Geng remained by the small bamboo grove.

"Young Master, what exactly was that thing? A monster?" At last, Xiang Geng could no longer suppress his curiosity and asked.

"How should I know? Those things came after me. You think I know who to ask?"

Feng Xiu shot him a glance, and Xiang Geng gave an awkward smile.

"All right, that's enough about this. Step up the patrols from now on. If any monsters escape from Tang Reservoir, kill them on sight."

Feng Xiu settled the matter and gave the order.

At those words, Xiang Geng had no choice but to forcibly suppress the many questions circling in his mind—Su Wantang, sleeping with a woman, a master, and so on.

Then Feng Xiu looked up at the bamboo shading the blazing sun.

He glanced at the cleared ground around them, where the bamboo had been cut down, and suddenly recalled a detail he'd overlooked.

The River-Suppressing Iron Ruler in Tang Reservoir!

Could it also be an unconventional means of sealing something away?

He still wasn't sure. Who knew whether the next monster would be even stronger?

But in the next instant, he felt much more at ease.

When soldiers came, he would meet them; when water came, he would block it with earth. As long as the monsters weren't powerful enough to crush warriors outright, that was good enough!

Feng Xiu shook his head, then spoke after the thought passed.

"Xiang Geng."

"Here."

"What realm are you in?"

Xiang Geng replied, "Reporting to you, Young Master, I'm in the Body Refining Realm. My qi and blood have reached the Guanyuan acupoint."

Feng Xiu nodded without a word. He walked a few steps, then stopped and turned to look at Xiang Geng.

"Care to spar?"

Xiang Geng smiled at once. "If you feel like it, Young Master, I'll gladly oblige."

Feng Xiu stood where he was and loosened his wrists.

Xiang Geng walked to a relatively open patch of ground and planted his feet. He cupped his fists toward Feng Xiu. "Young Master, please."

Feng Xiu didn't stand on ceremony. He shifted into the Eight Trigrams Steps.

He shot forward like an arrow, driving a punch straight at Xiang Geng's centerline!

A flicker of surprise crossed Xiang Geng's eyes.

The punch was fast and fierce—nothing like something a man who'd been training for only a month should be able to throw.

But he didn't panic. He shifted aside and laid his right hand against Feng Xiu's wrist.

Feng Xiu felt a gentle force brush against him, and his punch veered off course by a few inches, grazing past Xiang Geng's shoulder.

"Good!"

Feng Xiu wasn't startled; he was delighted. He smoothly changed tactics, swinging his left elbow across as he drew back his right fist.

He chained Weary Tiger Returns to the Forest into Black Tiger Steals the Heart, the two moves flowing together seamlessly.

Xiang Geng kept his feet planted and merely shifted his steps. He didn't counterattack, instead parrying and deflecting every one of Feng Xiu's strikes.

"Young Master, you've practiced your fistwork until it's quite polished."

His expression shifted, then he spoke with a hint of nonchalance.

Behind his back, his hands tingled and went numb.

Feng Xiu didn't answer. He pressed his attack even harder.

Fists, palms, elbows, knees—each move linked to the next, not one letting up.

Xiang Geng's expression changed slightly. He gritted his teeth against the discomfort and met him head-on.

Feng Xiu had spent the past month sparring with Han Che and the other bodyguards. He was used to striking with killing moves and never holding back.

At first, Xiang Geng could still handle him with ease, a smile on his face.

From time to time, he even offered a few pointers from the perspective of a veteran Body Refiner.

But as they fought on, the smile gradually froze on his face.

Feng Xiu's moves grew faster and faster, his strikes heavier and heavier. Worst of all was the ferocity behind them, his eyes blazing with fighting spirit.

"Young Master, wait..."

Xiang Geng went pale and swallowed. He'd just started to say something when—

Feng Xiu swept a whipping kick across. The attack came rushing at him with a howl like ghosts wailing and wolves shrieking.

Xiang Geng hastily raised his arms to block. With a muffled thud, the force sent him staggering back dozens of steps.

Crack~

A faint, crisp sound rang beside his ear. His arms had gone completely numb.

But the shock in his heart unsettled him far more than the slight displacement of the radius in his arm.

"Is this the Body Refining Realm?"

As a veteran Body Refiner who had spent years immersed in the four stages of sinews, bones, skin, and membranes, Xiang Geng had seen plenty.

How could anyone in the Body Refining Realm possess such immense qi and blood?!

Feng Xiu realized that even using the Five Forces as one still hadn't been enough to take Xiang Geng down.

He was this strong?

He was a little surprised, but then his fighting spirit surged again.

"As expected of the strongest man in the clan below the Blood-Burning Realm."

"Young Master, now let's see who's really got the goods!"

After Feng Xiu's fierce attacks came at him again and again, Xiang Geng's own temper flared.

He twisted his arm, setting the displaced bone back in place. His expression turned serious.

"Good!"

Feng Xiu shouted, then lunged in an instant, both fists raining down like a storm.

Xiang Geng took a deep breath and opened his fists into palms. At last, he began to move his feet.

As he deflected each attack, his fists, palms, and fingers struck rapidly at Feng Xiu's shoulder, ribs, and forearm.

But Feng Xiu showed no sign of retreating. If anything, he fought more fiercely with every passing moment.

The instant their moves met, Xiang Geng's expression changed dramatically, and his heart gave a jolt.

Hard.

The muscles on Feng Xiu's body were far harder than he'd imagined.

It wasn't the kind of hardness that came from tightening the body through Tough Blood training. It was more like the dense texture of someone who'd practiced hard-body techniques for years.

Hard-body techniques were linked to skin training. To practice this kind of martial art, one generally had to grind the skin against coarse sand and stone.

The training was brutal. One careless mistake could leave hidden injuries that accumulated over time and damaged one's foundation.

Xiang Geng's expression grew more and more serious. To endure the suffering of skin training, one had to be utterly devoted to martial arts—not for a day or two, but for years!

Bang!

Their attacks clashed again. Xiang Geng retreated three steps before his back slammed into a thick bamboo stalk.

The bamboo shook violently. Leaves rustled down, scattering over both of them.

Feng Xiu lowered his fists and stood still, steam rising from his body, a look of pure exhilaration on his face.

Xiang Geng looked up at him, disbelief filling his eyes.

"Young Master, have you really only been practicing martial arts for a month?"

Feng Xiu felt great. Sure enough, compared with all that damn troublesome nonsense, a fight was much more fun. He smiled.

"It's been a month and a few days."

Xiang Geng fell silent for a long while.

A month and a few days, and he was already at the peak of Body Refining, with polished techniques and combat experience that didn't seem like a novice's.

His attacks were ruthless and decisive, completely free of a beginner's hesitation.

And he had a hard-body technique to back him up. What the hell was he, some kind of monster?

Xiang Geng's brow twitched. He straightened and cupped his fists solemnly toward Feng Xiu.

"Young Master, I have a few things to say. I'm not sure if I should."

"Go ahead."

Xiang Geng chose his words carefully. "Have you been practicing some kind of hard-body technique?"

His vitality had increased, and his defenses had risen along with it.

Feng Xiu knew that well enough. He just hadn't expected Xiang Geng to mistake it for a hard-body technique he'd trained in.

Feng Xiu thought it over, then nodded anyway.

Xiang Geng rubbed his sore left shoulder.

That explained it. He smiled as if he'd known all along, then continued, "Let's start with your footwork. The steps you used should be the Zhou Family's Eight Trigrams Stance. You've already brought the footwork to life."

Feng Xiu gestured for him to continue.

Xiang Geng went on, "That whipping kick of yours gathered the strength of your whole body into one. It's a powerful move. Against an ordinary Body Refiner, it'd probably have scattered their bones."

Feng Xiu said nothing. Xiang Geng was different from Han Che: he talked more, and he could take a beating better too.

When sparring with Han Che and the other bodyguards, Feng Xiu always held back. With twelve points of strength, ordinary people couldn't withstand him at all.

Xiang Geng paused again, his eyes settling on Feng Xiu's large, thick hands.

"Young Master, those hands of yours are your most formidable weapons." Xiang Geng explained, "The blows we traded just now were frighteningly fierce."

"Better to take ten punches than one palm. In a fight, you should use palm techniques to change up your attacks more often."

As he spoke, Xiang Geng gave a more concrete demonstration. He stretched out his five fingers, reaching forward, then suddenly formed a fist halfway through.

Then he clenched his fist and turned it into a palm strike, showing Feng Xiu the difference between the two.

"Young Master, a palm strike has a wider reach with all five fingers, and you can put your whole strength behind it. And when you need to, you can jab with the heel of your palm."

Xiang Geng pointed to the area where the heel of the palm met the wrist. "Right here. If someone at the same realm took a jab there, even if it didn't kill them, they'd be crippled."

Hearing this, Feng Xiu understood a little more.

Xiang Geng was skilled and had a broader perspective. He explained things thoroughly.

Striking with the heel of the palm was indeed something Feng Xiu had overlooked.

Feng Xiu came back to himself. "I know all of that."

"But so what? It's the same few techniques over and over—Five Force Fist, Eight Trigrams Stance, grappling, locks. You practice and practice, and it's still just the same old thing."

He paused, a hint of helplessness entering his voice.

"I'd like to find someone to teach me some new martial arts, but where am I supposed to look?"

At that, a spark flashed in Xiang Geng's eyes.

"Young Master, you really want to learn new martial arts?"

Feng Xiu raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "You know a place?"

Xiang Geng stepped closer. "Ninety li east of Green Rock City, on the border between Pingyang Prefecture and Yulin Prefecture, there's a place called the Wild Market. It's not exactly a respectable marketplace."

"But all sorts of people gather there: sellers of weapons, medicine, and information—and sellers of martial arts manuals."

Feng Xiu's interest was piqued.

Pingyang Prefecture?

"Can you trust the martial arts they sell in a place like that?"

Xiang Geng smiled. "If they were trustworthy, would anyone be selling them there? Most are of dubious origins or incomplete."

"But you can still find plenty of good treasures."

Feng Xiu pondered for a while.

Ninety li east of Green Rock City wasn't too far. On horseback, it would take half a day at most.

"Do you know the place well?"

"I've been a few times." Xiang Geng nodded. "To buy things that are hard to get elsewhere."

Feng Xiu looked at him. "All right, take me there."

Xiang Geng was taken aback. "Now?"

"Now." Feng Xiu turned and headed back. "Let's go get our horses. Just the two of us. We only need to be back before dark."