Anomaly

It was already past three in the morning when Lu Cheng stepped out of Feng Zhan's courtyard.

There was less than an hour left until dawn.

Unless he planned to skip his morning training, going back now would be pointless; if he couldn't fall asleep, it would be fine, but if he did, waking up would only be more agonizing.

Lu Cheng decided not to return at all, heading straight to the plaza to practice the Twelve Forms of the Black Hawk Stance.

Feng Zhan's attitude, while not enough to put Lu Cheng completely at ease, had at least quelled his deepest anxieties.

The Long Wind Escort Agency might not be the absolute pinnacle of power in Yangcheng County, but compared to the Fish Gang, the difference was like heaven and earth.

No martial arts hall or sect would be willing to burn bridges with the Long Wind Escort Agency just for the sake of the Fish Gang.

That held true even for the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall, which also boasted practitioners of body refinement.

However, Feng Zhan's words had been crystal clear.

The Long Wind Escort Agency was willing to protect Lu Cheng, but that did not mean they would take the initiative to help him eliminate the Fish Gang.

In the end, Lu Cheng still had to settle things with the Fish Gang himself.

So, when all was said and done, he had to increase his strength as quickly as possible.

If only he had wiped out the entire lot of those Fish Gang bullies tonight, instead of just the young gang leader and Liu Daozi's group from Cold Willow Town, he wouldn't have a single worry left.

Thinking of this, Lu Cheng stopped stalling. He summoned the black silhouette within his sea of consciousness and began practicing the stance, mirroring its movements.

Before long, Zhuang Xing and the other two arrived at the plaza.

They were all taken aback when they saw Lu Cheng.

Zhuang Xing, in particular, was shocked to see Lu Cheng drenched from head to toe; it was clear he had been practicing for a long time, his sweat soaking him as if he had been dunked in water.

His heart felt as if seven or eight mice were scurrying inside, clawing and gnawing at him, leaving him feeling completely unsettled.

Ever since he had lost face in front of Lu Cheng the other day, he had moved his morning training time up by another half-hour.

He had sworn to develop internal force before Lu Cheng and become the top student among the new recruits.

To gain pointers from the senior disciples who had already achieved minor success in force refinement, he had even resorted to desperate flattery.

In just three or four days, he had already spent six or seven taels of silver.

Now, discovering that Lu Cheng had arrived even earlier than him, endless anxiety surged in his heart.

He kept glancing at Lu Cheng, his inner turmoil written all over his face, to the point that even the other two noticed something was off today.

But Lu Cheng paid no attention to the fellow, remaining immersed in his stance practice.

Feng Zhan's test had increased the proficiency of his [Twelve Forms of the Black Hawk Stance] by seven points.

Although that was far less than the twenty-five points gained from his clash with Shi Da, it was still worth nearly half a day's effort.

He wished he could have such a test every single day.

Of course, that was just wishful thinking on Lu Cheng's part.

The reason he had gained so much from these two instances was that he had integrated the experience accumulated over his four days of practice through the actual combat.

Training was training, and fighting was fighting.

While "fighting" increased proficiency quickly, it was built upon the foundation of "training."

Soon, the roosters crowed three times, and people began arriving at the plaza one after another.

"Lu Cheng? When did you get back?"

The chubby boy was the last to arrive as usual. After greeting Lu Cheng, he began to slowly strike his poses, trying to find his rhythm.

This guy didn't actually wake up late, but he spent twenty minutes eating as soon as he got up.

In that time, others would have already started their training, no matter how late they had risen.

Zhuang Xing, not far away, heard this and his heart skipped a beat.

Back?

Lu Cheng didn't wake up early this morning?

He hadn't been practicing ahead of time!

He shuffled a few steps toward Lu Cheng, pricking up his ears to listen with rapt attention.

Lu Cheng continued to perform the stance, responding as he moved:

"After paying my respects to the teacher, I ran into a few fellow students. We got to talking and I lost track of time, so I just came straight here to practice."

So that was it. Zhuang Xing's heart finally settled.

But just as his tension eased, his vision suddenly went black, and his body began to sway.

The chubby boy shook his head and said to Lu Cheng:

"You really are diligent, but I have to warn you—you can't just kill yourself with training. Otherwise, you'll wreck your body before you ever master the techniques."

Just then, Zhuang Xing finally reached his limit and collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud.

The little fatty jumped in fright, then pointed at Zhuang Xing and said to Lu Cheng:

"Look, look, what did I tell you?"

"This guy doesn't sleep and stands in his stance every single day. Look at him, he's broken his body down in just a few days. Lu Cheng, you mustn't follow his example."

As he spoke, he remembered something else and advised the two others who had been training early and late with Zhuang Xing:

"I recall you two were pushing yourselves just as hard, right? Hey, take a brother's advice: your health should always come first."

The two had no desire to listen to the little fatty's nonsense, but seeing Zhuang Xing genuinely passed out right in front of them, they couldn't help but worry, and even they stopped their stance training.

They did not know that while Zhuang Xing's collapse was indeed due to his grueling training schedule, it was more so caused by the sudden relaxation of his long-strained nerves following the conversation between the little fatty and Lu Cheng; his body simply couldn't handle the abrupt shift from tension to ease.

But since the man was already unconscious, no one bothered to dwell on the exact cause.

Just then.

A loud, melodic shout echoed from the main gate:

"Master Zhang of the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall arrives to pay his respects to the three head escorts~"

They had come so quickly!

Lu Cheng paused his stance training, withdrew his posture, and turned to look toward the gate.

The voice announcing the arrivals did not stop there.

After finishing with the Vermilion Bird Martial Arts Hall, it continued to reel off a long list of names:

"Master Zhou of the White Tiger Martial Hall arrives to pay his respects to the three head escorts~"

"Master Li of the Azure Dragon Martial Hall and Master Xun of the Black Tortoise Martial Hall arrive to pay their respects to the three head escorts~"

"Lord Sihai of the Xu Family and Lord Bingqian of the Huang Family arrive to pay their respects to the three head escorts~"

"Sect Master Wu of the Three Suns Sect, Sect Leader Zhang of the Cloud Billow Sect, Gang Leader Xing of the Joyful Longevity Gang, Elder Wei of the Mountain Crushing Fist, Society Leader Zhao of the Flying Roc Society..."

Following the Xu Family and the Huang Family, a string of eleven other sects and martial halls were announced in quick succession.

The commotion caused every disciple in the plaza to stop what they were doing and turn toward the gate.

"Everyone, line up on both sides and clear the plaza!"

Feng Zhan's voice rang out.

Lu Cheng turned his head to see that Feng Qi and the other two had appeared in front of the main hall at some point.

With Feng Qi in the lead, the three stood on the steps, looking toward the gate with grave expressions.

Feng Ji's lips moved slightly, and two senior disciples standing nearby immediately hurried away.

Soon, a crowd surged in through the gate.

Leading them were four men over the age of fifty.

All four had graying hair and beards, dressed in robes of red, azure, black, and white respectively.

Embroidered upon them were the four divine beasts: the Vermilion Bird, the Azure Dragon, and the others, all with bared fangs and brandished claws.

Beside these four were two elderly men dressed in opulent, gold-and-jade-adorned robes, each accompanied by a man with a profound and heavy aura.

Behind them followed more than a dozen men and women wearing various outfits that clearly identified their respective sects.

In the center of this group was a short, elderly man with a sorrowful expression.

Though he stood among the dozen or so people, his gait and aura made him seem completely out of place compared to those around him.

As Lu Cheng scrutinized him, the old man suddenly turned his head, seemingly sensing something, and stared fixedly at Lu Cheng.

Lu Cheng felt it in his gut: this old man was likely the leader of the Fish Gang.

But immediately, he sensed something was wrong.

The Fish Gang—a group of thugs and bullies who made their living by extorting and exploiting fishermen—how could they possibly have the influence to invite so many martial powers?

It could only mean that these people had not come to stand up for the Fish Gang at all.