Chen Qing's matter did not cause much of a stir.
After just two days, no one was discussing it anymore.
Everyone's attention had shifted to Lu Cheng.
During the Tendon Measurement and Bone Weighing, Lu Cheng had been found to have depleted his innate qi and blood.
This had led everyone to form a misunderstanding.
Only after Lu Cheng defeated the person who had originally been the strongest with a single move did everyone realize anew what it meant to be a "Human Hero."
A depleted qi and blood supply only became a problem upon reaching the Body Refining Realm. Before that, Lu Cheng was still a "Human Hero"!
And since he was a "Human Hero," someone like Chen Qing naturally didn't amount to much.
As a result, everyone's opinion of Lu Cheng changed drastically.
Especially the senior disciple who had bumped into Lu Cheng in the dining hall before.
Whenever he saw Lu Cheng, he deliberately lowered his head, not daring to meet his gaze at all.
Lu Cheng, however, didn't care in the slightest.
He wasn't the sort of person to bear a grudge over every little thing. He had always been too lazy to bother with hostility that wasn't too excessive.
The injury to Liu Wan'er's arm was quite serious. She probably wouldn't be able to move it for a month.
This would greatly affect her training.
However, after Lu Cheng asked Feng Zhan, Feng Zhan agreed to extend Liu Wan'er's three-month deadline by a month.
This put the minds of the few of them at ease.
On the training grounds, Lu Cheng opened his eyes and let out a helpless sigh.
He had used all his money to buy five doses of Blood-Activating Powder. Including the one Zhuang Xing had given him, he had six doses in all.
After using up the last three doses yesterday, his proficiency in the Mystic Eagle Stance Technique had risen by another thirty points.
But after standing in the stance all morning today, it had increased by only two.
However, since his progress with the stance was slow, he had more time to practice the Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk.
In just two days, his proficiency had increased considerably.
His awareness swept quickly across his Consciousness Sea, where the progress of his two martial arts was clearly displayed.
[Twelve Forms of the Black Hawk Stance] [Grade: Low-Grade Human Tier] [Realm: Minor Achievement (92/300)]
[Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk] [Grade: Mid-Grade Human Tier] [Realm: Beginner (46/200)]
Now Lu Cheng no longer needed to practice the Mystic Eagle Stance Technique in Feng Zhan's courtyard.
He practiced beside the Plum Blossom Stance, facing a wooden training dummy.
Whenever the disciples saw Lu Cheng tear off a chunk of wood with one claw, sending wood chips flying, they couldn't help remembering Chen Qing's broken wrist.
How vicious!
Several disciples who had previously reproached Lu Cheng over the damaged training dummy were even more rattled.
Lu Cheng hadn't gone far at the time. He must have heard what they'd said.
Still, some people showed great interest.
"Lu Cheng, I knew I wasn't wrong about you. I never expected you to have mastered the Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk, too."
"Looks like you'll be more than qualified to fight alongside me in the match two months from now!"
Zhuang Xing had been lying in bed for two days, but today he had finally gotten back on his feet.
He deeply regretted missing Lu Cheng's fight with Chen Qing.
So when he saw Lu Cheng practicing the Seven Strikes of the Black Hawk, he immediately hurried over.
Lu Cheng didn't dislike him for it.
Zhuang Xing might have been a little odd in the head, but he really wasn't a bad person.
He had cultivated force in half a month, far surpassing the limits of his aptitude. Few people in all of Dongyang Prefecture could match that speed.
It wasn't as if watching would let him learn it, so Lu Cheng let him watch.
After a while, seeing Lu Cheng absorbed in his practice, Zhuang Xing lost interest and went off to practice his stance on his own.
The day passed just like that.
Early the next morning, Lu Cheng didn't get up early again.
He slept until well past the middle of the Chen hour before getting up.
Yang Xiong wasn't someone easy to deal with. Getting in a little more practice was far less useful than bringing his body, energy, and mind to their peak.
At the hour of the Snake, with the sun already high in the sky, a voice came from outside the Long Wind Escort Agency:
"The three-day deadline is up. Where is Lu Cheng?"
The voice swept across the training grounds, rolling like waves of water toward the agency's rear courtyard.
Immediately afterward, Feng Qi's voice rose like a reef in the water, stopping it in its tracks.
"Is that Senior Lin Wanxiong of the Lin Martial Arts Hall? Feng Qi failed to greet you from afar. Please forgive my discourtesy."
Before his words had even faded, several figures walked in.
At the front was a lean, elderly man in a blue-green robe. His hair was gray, but his bearing was spirited.
Five or six young disciples, both men and women, followed behind him.
One of them held a long sword in its scabbard, keeping close behind.
The agency's disciples were already staring in stunned silence.
The Lin Martial Arts Hall was a martial force second only to Emerald Cloud Abbey and Heavenly Spring Temple in Yang City. Everyone knew its name.
When they heard that someone else had come looking for Lu Cheng, they couldn't help recalling Chen Qing's words as he was dragged away: "Troublemaker."
It had only been a few days. How had Lu Cheng gotten into trouble with the Lin Martial Arts Hall, too?
Everyone hurriedly stepped aside, watching the old man and his group pass.
Fatty and the others didn't recognize anyone from the Lin Martial Arts Hall, but they had all heard what Feng Qi just said.
When Fatty saw the old man pass in front of him, anger immediately surged within him.
It was all because the Lin Martial Arts Hall had trained an inside man that he couldn't even get a pork elbow anymore.
Then he remembered how his clansmen had gone to demand an explanation, only to be thrown out. He couldn't hold back and spat out, "Shameless!"
Lin Wanxiong, who had been walking forward, abruptly stopped. He whipped his head around and fixed his gaze on Fatty.
The senses of a Body Refining Martial Artist were frighteningly sharp.
Back when Lu Cheng had been waiting in line outside the gate, Feng Zhan had heard what he said from inside the courtyard.
Fatty was less than ten paces from Lin Wanxiong. How could his voice not have reached the old man's ears?
"Are the disciples of the Long Wind Escort Agency all so insolent?"
At Lin Wanxiong's glare, the pressure of a Middle Body Tempering Stage martial artist bore down on Fatty without restraint.
Fatty felt a bone-chilling cold rise from the depths of his heart.
The hairs all over his body stood on end in an instant.
His heart began pounding uncontrollably.
"Senior Lin, please hold your hand."
"This disciple is Liu Guicai, of the Liu Clan from Guzhai Town."
Feng Qi and two others had appeared at the foot of the steps at some point.
As Feng Qi spoke, Fatty felt a great force press down on his heart, and his breathing slowly returned to normal.
The bone-chilling cold vanished as well.
Lin Wanxiong turned to look at Feng Qi. After a long pause, he finally spoke:
"Chief Escort Feng, you're not yet forty this year, are you?"
Everyone was puzzled by the question.
Was there something wrong with the old man? Why on earth was he asking someone else's age out of the blue?
Only Lu Cheng sensed that something was going on.
Feng Zhan was already close to the Middle Body Tempering Stage. Surely Feng Qi, his senior brother, couldn't be slower than him?
And from what Lin Wanxiong had said, reaching the Middle Body Tempering Stage before forty seemed to be quite impressive.
But Shen Yi of the Martial Suppression Battalion was around Feng Qi's age, and hadn't he already reached completion?
Feng Qi nodded.
"I appreciate Senior Lin's concern. I'm thirty-seven this year."
Lin Wanxiong sighed.
"The younger generation is truly formidable. When I was thirty-seven, I'd only just stepped into the Early Stage of Body Refining."
Before Feng Qi could respond, Lin Wanxiong gave another cold snort.
"But when it comes to teaching disciples, you really do have to toil away year after year!"
"Yang Xiong, slap him!"
A young man of seventeen or eighteen behind Lin Wanxiong answered, "Yes."
He turned to Fatty, lightly pushed off the ground, and shot toward him in a flash.
In the blink of an eye, he had crossed seven or eight paces and swung at Fatty.
"Smack!"
A crisp impact rang out.
Yang Xiong gave a surprised "huh" as he looked at the figure who had suddenly stepped in front of him and met his palm strike. His eyes filled with astonishment.
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