Fall

Time moved like clockwork, never pausing for a single moment.

Autumn arrived, and the weather began to turn cold.

With so much silver in hand, Li Yun simply quit his job escorting meat shipments.

He focused entirely on martial arts training.

This money was enough for him to purchase Blood Replenishing Powder and accumulate his blood and qi until they were full.

On this day, as Li Yun prepared to head to Subduing Tiger Martial Hall for training, he heard a shopkeeper arguing with someone by the roadside.

He looked up and saw a semicircle of people gathered in front of a rice shop at the street corner.

The shopkeeper leaned half his body over the counter, looking aggressive, and roared at an old woman carrying a basket, his spittle flying:

"Don't you know the price of rice has gone up? It's thirty wen per jin now!"

The bamboo basket in the old woman's hand slammed against the counter with a "clatter," and her withered, trembling fingers pointed toward the rice vat:

"What did you say? Wasn't it twenty wen just the day before yesterday? How could it have gone up so much?"

Her voice trembled:

"My little grandson is waiting for porridge; aren't you trying to take my old life?"

The shopkeeper lowered his eyelids, curled his lips into a sneer, and spoke in a hypocritical tone:

"Old auntie, there's nothing I can do!"

His eyes darted toward the crowd, and he deliberately raised his voice:

"The water transport in the south is blocked, and grain ships can't get in. The wholesale price is already nearly twenty-five wen; I can't sell it at a loss."

A commotion broke out in the crowd, and a dark-skinned man carrying a cargo pole squeezed in:

"Thirty wen? Then I want five dou, pack it for me!"

The shopkeeper shrank back, reached out to block the rice vat, and shook his head like a rattle-drum:

"One dou per person at most, no more."

"Why?"

The man grew anxious, set down his pole, and leaned toward the counter:

"I have five people in my family; how many days can one dou of rice last? Are you hoarding it to drive the price up further?"

"Take it or leave it!"

The shopkeeper's face darkened, his tone stiff:

"There have been many mountain bandits lately, and the roads aren't safe. Grain carts don't dare travel alone, so rice will only become more precious from here on out."

He paused, deliberately drawing out his tone:

"If you don't buy it now, I'm afraid you won't even be able to get it for forty wen in a few days."

As soon as these words were spoken, the crowd instantly erupted.

A woman in a coarse cloth jacket squeezed forward, clutching her money bag:

"Shopkeeper, give me one dou too!"

Another old man wearing an old felt hat said urgently:

"I want two dou, spare some for me!"

The shopkeeper, however, stiffened his neck:

"I said one dou, it's the same for everyone."

The man paid the money, shouldered his single dou of rice, his brows knitted into a knot, and hurried home.

The onlookers either sighed or cursed under their breath.

Some turned and ran toward other rice shops, hoping to try their luck.

Others clutched their money bags in hesitation, their faces full of anxiety.

Li Yun frowned slightly; the price of rice had risen again, and there were purchase limits and shortages.

Could it be that the southern Green Wind Prefecture...

After Li Yun arrived at the martial hall, he indeed received news from Lu Kuan:

Green Wind Prefecture had been completely taken over by the Blood Blade Sect!

"Senior Brother Lu, is the information you're talking about reliable?"

"Of course it's reliable. If you don't believe me, go to the city gate and see; several more waves of refugees have arrived from the south."

Lu Kuan's eyes darted around, looking as if he couldn't believe Li Yun doubted him:

"Right now, the population of both the Outer City and the inner city of our Crow Mountain City is about to burst."

With Lu Kuan putting it that way, Li Yun recalled that there were indeed far more people on the road than usual.

He wondered if the Blood Blade Sect would continue to expand after taking Green Wind Prefecture.

Based on what he currently understood, the Blood Blade Sect's behavior was truly vile.

Burning, killing, and looting—they had no bottom line.

Yet, those in Red Maple Prefecture who prided themselves on being righteous had not stepped up to intervene.

"Senior Brother, I heard that in our territory, the Clear Wood Sect is the premier power. How can they tolerate the Blood Blade Sect like this?"

Lu Kuan glanced around, and seeing that no one was paying attention, he lowered his voice.

"I only heard this from others, so don't take it as absolute truth, but the rumors are quite vivid."

"They say there is likely a major crisis within the Clear Wood Sect."

"A major crisis?"

"It is said—and mind you, this is just hearsay—"

"The Clear Wood Sect's sect leader is nearing the end of his lifespan and no longer has the strength to suppress the Blood Blade Sect's leader, the Blood Blade Old Ancestor."

Lu Kuan's tone was grave.

"Now we can only hope the Clear Wood Sect elects a new leader soon, otherwise... I fear our Crow Mountain City won't be able to hold out, and we'll have to keep fleeing north."

After the two chatted for a while, Lu Kuan went off to talk to others.

The entire martial arts hall was immersed in this topic.

Li Yun was not particularly worried; if it truly came to that, he would simply leave Crow Mountain City.

Perhaps he wouldn't be the fastest to flee, but he only needed to be faster than the last person.

Rather than worrying about things that hadn't happened yet, it was better to practice his stance and fist techniques a few more times.

Li Yun practiced silently in a corner by himself.

Once, and then again.

Sweat soaked his martial arts uniform, sticking to his back and turning cool in the breeze, but Li Yun was completely oblivious.

He didn't know how many times he had practiced when a faint, exotic fragrance suddenly drifted into his nose.

Li Yun paused his movements, slowly withdrew his stance, and looked at the person who had arrived.

Liu Lingyan.

Li Yun raised an eyebrow, a flicker of confusion crossing his mind.

He had never spoken to her before; what business could she have with him?

"Senior Sister."

"Mm, how about I accompany you in your fist practice?"

Although he didn't know why, Li Yun had no reason to refuse.

Having a Dark Force martial artist as a sparring partner was an incredible stroke of luck.

"Many thanks, Senior Sister."

"Come."

Liu Lingyan had been resting after finishing her own practice.

She had inadvertently seen Li Yun practicing alone.

She nodded inwardly.

She had heard of this Martial Fanatic junior brother.

She herself was devoted to the martial path, so seeing Li Yun, who was equally obsessed with martial arts, gave her a sense of meeting a kindred spirit.

She thought she would come over to offer him some pointers.

Liu Lingyan stood with one hand raised, her moon-white training uniform fluttering in the light breeze.

Seeing Liu Lingyan's signal, Li Yun deployed his Crouching Tiger Mountain Climbing Step, his figure like a pouncing tiger, closing in with a whistling gust of wind from his fists.

Liu Lingyan's right palm moved like a spirit snake flicking its tongue, brushing past Li Yun's fist. It looked soft, yet it carried an invisible, adhesive force.

As she pressed against the crook of his elbow, Li Yun felt as if his arm had been locked in an iron vice.

His force was instantly neutralized by more than half, and his fist momentum involuntarily veered off course.

"Your footwork is too rigid; your heels are three inches off the ground."

"Where is your power supposed to come from?"

"When the tiger climbs the mountain, your soles must be like nails driven into the earth, your five toes gripping the ground. Only when power rises from the roots can you be as steady as Mount Tai!"

Before Liu Lingyan's voice had even faded, Li Yun's left fist had already swung toward her waist.

Liu Lingyan twisted her waist to the side, her sleeves brushing across his knuckles.

Simultaneously, the index and middle fingers of her right hand struck like a sword, lightly tapping Li Yun's waist.

A numbness spread through Li Yun's waist, causing his back to instantly lose its strength; his arched posture involuntarily collapsed.

"The waist is the tiger's spine!"

Liu Lingyan's voice was crisp and clear:

"Arch your back like a tiger, keep your waist firm like stone.

Your waist and hips are slack, like a boneless cat—where is the tiger's might in that?

Try again!"

Li Yun adjusted his footwork, planting his left foot firmly, then suddenly twisted his waist and hips. His spine surged like a great dragon turning over, and his right fist lashed out once more.

"That's more like it!"

A flicker of approval flashed in Liu Lingyan's eyes. Instead of deflecting the force, her right palm met his fist head-on.

Thud.

A muffled sound echoed.

Li Yun felt his fist collide with a wall that was soft and warm, yet indestructible.

A gentle force surged back from the point of contact, numbing his arm, yet strangely, he felt no pain.

"Feel this force!"

Liu Lingyan's palm vibrated slightly, and the Dark Force traveled through the point of contact into Li Yun's body, wandering through his sinews and bones like a thin stream:

"The Body Tempering Realm trains the blood and qi, while Bright Force is the power of sinews and bones resonating in unison.

In that punch just now, you moved your waist and hips, but you forgot to 'exhale like a roar.'

When you exert force, you must expel the breath from your dantian.

Only then will the power be heavy and penetrating enough.

In the Tiger Subduing Fist, the fist is the tiger's claw, the force is the tiger's pounce; only when form and intent are one can the tiger's might be revealed."