Secrets, Life-and-Death Duel

"Lu Yuan... it's you again..."

Chen Yong clenched his fists tightly, his body trembling slightly.

At this moment, the resentment he felt toward Lu Yuan for obstructing his path not only resurfaced but burned even more intensely than before.

"Brother Lu, congratulations on taking third place again!"

"Brother Lu, once you make it big in the future, don't forget about us!"

Many people crowded around Lu Yuan, offering compliments and trying to curry favor.

By now, they were almost certain that although Lu Yuan practiced the Five Animals Fist at most once or twice a day while at the Song Academy, he must have been training ferociously after returning home.

Moreover, if their guesses were correct, Lu Yuan had likely already reached the entry level in the Five Animals Fist.

One had to realize that Lu Yuan had been at the Song Academy for less than half a month, yet he had already achieved entry-level mastery—faster than some of them who had been training for over half a month, or even a full month.

Even accounting for the daily free meal of meat, it was clear that his aptitude, while perhaps not yet at a level to catch Master Song's eye, was certainly far superior to theirs.

"A-Yuan, you truly did not disappoint me!"

Fang Chang also walked over, waving his hand to disperse the crowd before smiling at Lu Yuan. "In these next two days, I should be able to reach the minor completion stage of the Five Animals Fist. Furthermore, with Master's help, I will surely succeed in my first Blood Qi Tempering soon and become an External Energy Realm martial artist."

"By then, I will have the hope of defeating Hong Lei and becoming the true successor of this Song Academy. If you can thoroughly suppress those guys in the Outer Courtyard, then the entire Song Academy will be ours to command, brother!"

Fang Chang appeared somewhat excited, feeling as though everything was within his grasp.

"Then let me congratulate you in advance!"

Lu Yuan smiled and said.

Fang Chang patted Lu Yuan on the shoulder again, then walked over to the newcomers, smiling as he asked after their well-being.

He not only patiently guided them through various problems in their training but also handed each of them a piece of dried meat.

Clearly, he knew that he could no longer win over the veterans like Wu Yu and Chen Pi who supported Hong Lei, and he didn't want to waste his time; it was better to spend his effort winning over these newcomers who hadn't been at the Song Academy for long.

"Many thanks, Brother Fang!"

"Brother Fang is such a good person!"

The newcomers were indeed flattered, calling out "Brother Fang" incessantly.

Hong Lei naturally took all of this in, yet he remained standing there quietly with a smile on his face.

It was unclear whether he had already calculated his next move or simply didn't care at all.

Never mind these newcomers; even Lu Yuan didn't seem worthy of his focused attention.

After nodding with a smile toward Wu Yu, Chen Pi, and the others, Hong Lei turned and walked back into the Inner Courtyard.

"A-Yuan, reaching the entry level of the Five Animals Fist isn't hard, but what follows won't be easy. Your aptitude is average and your potential is limited, so don't be too lax. Let's work hard together; our truly good days are about to come!"

After Fang Chang walked over and whispered this to Lu Yuan, he hurried back into the Inner Courtyard as well.

[Five Animals Fist: Great Completion (721/10000)]

Lu Yuan didn't say much. Regardless of his aptitude or whether the Five Animals Fist became increasingly difficult for others, he knew that even if he only practiced once a day, he would still reach the Great Perfection stage very soon.

"A-Yuan, did you reach the entry level too?"

Before long, Chen Pi walked over, looking at Lu Yuan with a strange expression.

"Mm!"

Lu Yuan nodded; he had actually reached that level ten days ago.

"Then your aptitude is indeed better than ours. However, I must still offer you a word of advice: don't get too involved in the struggle between Brother Hong and your little brother!"

Chen Pi lowered his voice and continued, "When two tigers fight, one is bound to be injured. Besides, no matter who wins in the end, it may not necessarily be a good thing."

"Brother Chen Pi, do you know something?"

Lu Yuan asked with curiosity.

Chen Pi was usually close to Hong Lei, so he likely knew some hidden secrets.

"You should know that Master Song takes on almost any job to make money, right?"

Chen Pi looked around before speaking.

"That is true!"

Lu Yuan nodded.

The reason he and Fang Chang were able to come into contact with the martial path so quickly was because they had taken a job from Master Song to carry bodies to the Chaos Burial Mound, which led to this opportunity.

Clearly, Master Song must have taken the job from the local government and then paid them to do the labor.

When Fang Chang was drunk before, he had mentioned a few times that Master Song took on basically any job that paid.

"It is said that a year ago, while Master Song was working as a guard for a security firm, he offended a very powerful enemy. Although someone mediated and made them set aside their grievances for the time being, a wager was made: within one year, they could both train successors with all their might, and after one year, the successors would fight to the death to determine the winner!"

Chen Pi said with a strange look in his eyes, "Now, there is only half a year left until the deadline of the wager!"

"They should both know about it themselves, right?"

Lu Yuan's gaze narrowed.

No wonder Master Song would go to such lengths to find a personal disciple with good aptitude; it was not just to pass on his mantle, but also for this very wager.

"Naturally, I know!"

Chen Pi nodded and said, "It's just that in Brother Hong's eyes, his own aptitude is already excellent. As long as he works hard enough and receives Master Song's full support, he could easily become a Bright Energy Realm or even a Hidden Energy Realm martial artist within a year and win that life-or-death duel with ease. I'm afraid your little brother thinks the same way!"

Lu Yuan pondered slightly. He had never intended to enter the Inner Courtyard to become Master Song's personal disciple and fight Fang Chang for anything, and now he had even less desire to do so.

Although he was indeed short on money and resources, he could still grow rapidly by lying low and grinding away; there was absolutely no need to engage in a life-or-death duel or provoke unnecessary enemies for that.

Resources were merely the icing on the cake that could accelerate his progress, but they were by no means indispensable.

Moreover, Master Song had roamed the pugilistic world for many years and took on any job to make money; he likely had more than just one or two enemies. If Lu Yuan stood out too much, he would probably be snuffed out before he even had a chance to grow.

As the saying goes, the tree that stands above the forest will be destroyed by the wind.

This was a chaotic world where the weak were prey to the strong. Before possessing enough strength to protect himself, it was better to remain steady and low-key.

In short, safety was the prerequisite for everything else he sought to achieve.

"I am already a Bright Energy Realm martial artist. Aside from continuing to nourish and temper my blood and qi to increase my strength, it seems I can also practice techniques!"

Lu Yuan pondered secretly. Although techniques could not directly strengthen his foundation, they could provide an instantaneous burst to his offensive capabilities.

It would be best to cultivate a movement technique as well, so he could handle any situation, whether chasing an enemy or fleeing.

In any case, he could only practice the Five Animals Fist once a day for now, leaving him with plenty of time to train in techniques.

But the problem arose: where could he find such techniques?

Unless he entered the Inner Courtyard and became a personal disciple, it was nearly impossible to learn techniques from Master Song in the short term.

Yet, whether he went to a formal martial arts school to learn or to the black market to buy them, he would face the same problem: he had no money.

Unknowingly, Lu Yuan had arrived at the bustling market.

He was surprised to find many thugs from the Black Tiger Gang seemingly going door-to-door, questioning people about something.

"Could it be... that they are coming for me?"

Lu Yuan's brows twitched, and he then turned around and walked back quickly, maintaining a calm expression.