Decision

Li Yun, resting on the side, had no idea that in just this short moment, Chen Bin had already decided what to name his future children with Yu Qingqing.

"Senior Brother, you are well-informed. Do you know the styles of other martial halls?"

Regardless of whether Chen Bin knew or not, Li Yun laid on the flattery first.

Chen Bin was pulled back to reality by this question, the images of his wild daydreams still lingering in his mind.

His cheeks grew inexplicably hot, and a trace of imperceptible embarrassment flashed across his face.

He quickly coughed to suppress that hint of awkwardness:

"I know a few."

He walked over carelessly and plopped down next to Li Yun:

"I won't mention those minor, unranked martial halls; let me just tell you about the three largest ones around here.

White Crane, Wild Ox, and our own Subduing Tiger."

He paused, then continued:

"Let's start with the most famous one, White Crane Martial Hall.

They practice White Crane Fist, which emphasizes lightness, speed, and accompanying footwork.

In past competitions, regardless of the level, their disciples are always in the top three.

Just imagine, their figures are like they've been greased—slippery and elusive.

Their fist wind is like a white crane pecking for food, fast and sharp; if you aren't careful, you'll get pecked in a vital spot. They are incredibly troublesome.

Then there is Wild Ox Martial Hall.

Those guys practice Wild Ox Fist, relying on brute force and charging head-on; they are all physically imposing.

Every one of them is built like an iron tower, absolute muscle-heads."

Everything Chen Bin said was surface-level information that Li Yun could have found out with a little inquiry.

What he really wanted to ask was about their origins and whether they had any grudges against Subduing Tiger Martial Hall:

"Oh, have they ever had any conflicts with our martial hall?"

"Conflicts?"

Chen Bin thought for a moment and shook his head: "No."

That shouldn't be right.

Isn't it said that peers are natural enemies?

Since the information he received was different from what he had imagined, Li Yun did not show any strange expression.

To be safe, he decided to ask Second Senior Brother Xiao Shun later.

After all, Xiao Shun was a Dark Force martial artist and the person in charge of the martial hall's daily affairs; he would likely have more inside information.

The two chatted for a while.

Li Yun suggested continuing their sparring, and Chen Bin did not refuse.

During the subsequent sparring, Li Yun strangely discovered:

Chen Bin was actually controlling his blood energy to be just a bit more than Li Yun's, but not enough to unleash the full power of his Bright Force.

He used his blood energy to compensate for his lack of technique, appearing as if he were genuinely focused on the sparring.

At the hour of the Rooster.

Having finished dinner and preparing to return to practice his blade techniques, Li Yun

finally ran into Second Senior Brother Xiao Shun at the entrance of the dining hall.

Xiao Shun did not have the constant smile on his face that he had when they first met.

With a stern "don't bother me" expression, paired with his eight-foot height and muscular build, he was a bit intimidating.

"Second Senior Brother, I have something I'd like to ask you. Do you have a moment?"

Xiao Shun stopped in his tracks upon hearing the voice and looked at the person who had spoken.

He certainly remembered Li Yun.

Three days after entering the Inner Courtyard, he had already mastered the Tiger Subduing Fist, laying a very solid foundation.

Since then, he had been in the Inner Courtyard every day, sparring with other fellow disciples.

He had even been teased and nicknamed "Martial Fanatic" by the others.

"Speak." Xiao Shun's expression remained unchanged, his tone indifferent.

"I would like to ask about the year-end tournament."

Li Yun lowered his voice slightly:

"Our Subduing Tiger Martial Hall, like other martial halls that open their doors to apprentices, inevitably has friction with them.

Well, I mean, if one performs too brilliantly on the ring, will it make other martial halls target them?"

Although Li Yun was hesitant and vague, Xiao Shun roughly understood his meaning.

He was asking if standing out too much would lead to underhanded tactics from other martial halls.

Xiao Shun frowned involuntarily:

"Junior brother, if I recall correctly, you only entered the Body Tempering Realm a few months ago, right?

Without silver to support you, even by the end of the year, your blood-qi accumulation will... only be average.

Instead of worrying about these things, you should focus more on your training."

Li Yun remembered that he hadn't sparred with Xiao Shun since his fist technique reached minor accomplishment.

The other man had been feeling somewhat dejected after being labeled a "closed-door disciple."

It was normal that he didn't know:

"Senior brother, my Tiger Subduing Fist has luckily reached minor accomplishment. Master says that in the year-end tournament, it is very likely I will place in the top three of the Body Tempering Realm."

"Oh?"

Hearing that Li Yun's Tiger Subduing Fist had reached minor accomplishment, Xiao Shun was startled.

How long had it been?

He himself had taken nearly a year and a half to reach that stage.

However, remembering how Li Yun spent every day in the Inner Courtyard sparring with others, he felt a bit more at ease:

"If that is truly the case, you don't need to worry too much.

First, our Subduing Tiger Martial Hall is not made of mud; Master's blood-qi is full, and his Tiger Subduing Fist has long reached the realm of perfection.

They will have to weigh the consequences.

Second..."

Xiao Shun thought for a moment before speaking:

"Our martial halls in the Outer City are all 'outsiders.' If we don't stand united, how can we resist their squeeze?"

Seeing Xiao Shun point toward the direction of the Inner City, Li Yun began to understand.

Wushan County is only so big.

With so many factions between the Inner City and Outer City, there aren't enough resources to go around.

The Mountain Gang and the Four Great Families of the Inner City are deeply intertwined; move one, and the whole body shakes, so they can naturally "unite" better.

As for the forces in the Outer City, they come from various counties, and their cohesion is clearly insufficient.

They can only barely huddle together for warmth.

In that case, Li Yun wasn't afraid of underhanded tactics from other martial halls, but rather had to be careful of the people in the Inner City.

"So that's how it is. Many thanks for the clarification, senior brother."

For some reason, Xiao Shun stopped Li Yun as he was about to leave, his tone sounding a bit bitter:

"You don't need to worry too much. Even if the Inner City forces want to target promising seedlings, they would only target someone with grade-four aptitude who has been learning martial arts for seven months, achieved three snaps of Bright Force, and reached minor accomplishment in their fist technique."

"..."

Although Xiao Shun didn't name names, Li Yun understood immediately.

He was talking about Zhu Daqi.

Comparing them, Li Yun felt that the other's talent was indeed quite good.

It seems that good aptitude has a significant impact on the path of martial arts; there is some truth to it.

However, Li Yun was not discouraged.

Every stage of a martial artist has bottlenecks when trying to enter the next stage.

For example, for an ordinary person to enter the Body Tempering Realm, they need to open up the blood-qi channels on their body surface.

For those in the Body Tempering Realm to develop Bright Force, they need full blood-qi, an understanding of explosive force, and to make their muscles and bones resonate to condense that force.

But he, Li Yun, had no bottlenecks in his martial path.

Having heard Xiao Shun explain the general situation in Wushan City, Li Yun finally felt at ease.

With "external enemies" at the gates, the other martial arts schools maintained relative restraint and would not resort to underhanded tactics.

Even if someone were to play dirty, they would target the more dazzling Zhu Daqi instead.

Given this, Li Yun decided to secure first place in the year-end tournament and obtain the Blood Ginseng.

Being mediocre was not an option; he would receive neither proper guidance, funding, nor cultivation techniques.

Being a genius was also unsuitable, as it would easily make him a target.

Being slightly above average—just outstanding enough—was perfect.

It would allow him to secure resources without being targeted by hostile factions.

Xiao Shun snapped back to his senses, feeling a pang of regret for having spoken so freely.

"Ahem, Junior Brother, just now I..."

"Just now? Just now, Senior Brother was telling me about the precautions for the year-end tournament. I am very grateful."

Seeing Xiao Shun's look of remorse, Li Yun immediately lied through his teeth.

He nearly patted his chest to guarantee he wouldn't breathe a word of it.

Xiao Shun nodded, feeling quite satisfied; this Junior Brother certainly knew how to read the room.