Green Wind Prefecture.
The prefectural city, the City Lord's Mansion hall.
Warriors sat in rows on benches along both sides.
An old man sat upright in the seat of honor at the head of the hall.
His snow-white hair was bound beneath a jade crown, and a silver beard hung from his chin.
He wore a brocade robe embroidered with dark Blood Blade patterns. He sat like a mountain, his eyes bright and piercing.
The old man's voice was deep and resonant:
"Xiao Feng, is there still no news?"
A general seated to the left, clad in armor, bowed his head and clasped his hands:
"Master, ever since my junior brother sent his last message half a year ago, there's been no word from him.
The scouts sent to investigate haven't found so much as a trace."
"Hmph!"
A bearded warrior beside them spoke up:
"Master, you've spoiled my junior brother too much.
He's always been flighty, relying on that bit of talent he has.
Who knows? He might be hiding in some city's boudoir right now, drunk and lost in a woman's tender embrace, having long since cast the sect's affairs to the winds!"
The old man was Lou Yan, the Blood Blade Sect's Great Elder:
"Hmm. When he comes back, we should teach him a proper lesson and temper that disposition of his."
He paused, and his voice suddenly turned stern:
"Enough. Let's set that aside for now.
Tell me the old ancestor's decision."
The warriors throughout the hall fell silent at once, their backs straightening.
"The old ancestor has ordered the other elders to attack along separate routes and strike directly at the prefectural cities of Red Maple Prefecture.
We must force those old fools from the Clear Wood Sect to show themselves and find out whether that old geezer is dead or alive."
Lou Yan's gaze swept over them all:
"Our task is to take Qingyuan Prefecture in Red Maple Prefecture.
For our first battle after the new year, we'll start with Crow Mountain County, the closest one to us."
"Yes!"
The warriors throughout the hall answered in unison.
Crow Mountain City, Subduing Tiger Martial Hall, back courtyard.
Two figures traded punches, their blows meeting amid the rush of wind.
One old, one young.
The old man stood with his hands behind his back, feet planted as if nailed to the ground. Even as the fierce wind swept past his brows, he didn't so much as raise an eyelid.
The young man darted and shifted, both fists wrapped in wind.
With a move called "Fierce Tiger Descending Mountain," he drove a fist straight toward the old man's face. Before it even landed, the gust it stirred made the skin prickle.
Then he changed moves, striking with elbows and crashing in with knees. Each blow was vicious, his fists a dense rain of shadows that enveloped the old man.
The green bricks thudded beneath his feet, dust billowing with every step.
After more than a dozen moves,
the old man raised a hand. His five fingers clamped around the young man's wrist like iron pincers.
The rushing wind of their blows abruptly stopped. The youth was drenched in sweat, his chest heaving violently, yet he couldn't break free in the slightest.
A flash of brilliance suddenly sparked in the old man's eyes. He released his grip and burst into laughter:
"Hahaha, good!
Your Fist Intent flows as one, natural and complete. You've actually mastered it!"
The two of them were Fu Huaixing and Li Yun.
When Li Yun came to him and said he'd mastered the fist technique,
Fu Huaixing had thought it absurd.
Tiger Subduing Fist wasn't some crude technique that could be mastered through brute force alone. True mastery required balancing hardness with softness.
Li Yun was only in the Body Tempering Realm. Reaching minor mastery of the fist technique was already a sign of considerable insight.
For him to achieve full mastery was simply a pipe dream.
Still, Fu Huaixing had decided to test him, and called him to the back courtyard.
He hadn't expected Li Yun to actually succeed.
It seemed that when it came to insight, this boy truly deserved to be called a "genius."
A sigh escaped him:
"To reach this level in the Body Tempering Realm—even Wen Xuan, back in his day, couldn't match your insight."
Wen Xuan?
Was he that senior brother who'd never shown his face?
Li Yun heard Fu Huaixing mutter but didn't reply.
Fu Huaixing looked at Li Yun, and the more he looked, the more pleased he became.
Though Li Yun's natural constitution was poor, he would need to spend more resources on the path of martial arts.
Insight was something invisible and intangible, but it truly existed.
During their exchange, Fu Huaixing had also sensed that Li Yun's qi and blood were already full.
He was ready to attempt breaking through and try to condense Bright Force.
He'd been at the Martial Hall for nearly a year. Aside from Lu Kuan's support of three portions of Blood Replenishing Powder each month,
he'd relied on himself for everything else.
And yet he'd filled his qi and blood in the Body Tempering Realm and achieved full mastery of the fist technique.
His future was bright.
"Li Yun, I've decided to take you as my personal disciple. Are you willing?"
Though Li Yun didn't know how someone who'd already taken a closed-door disciple could also accept a personal disciple, he wasn't about to refuse.
Having a master in the Transforming Force Realm was better than having none.
Li Yun bowed properly to Fu Huaixing in a formal disciple's salute:
"Your disciple, Li Yun, pays his respects, Master."
"Good. But keep this news secret for now. We'll announce it after the tournament."
"Congratulations, Master, on taking another personal disciple."
Nearby, Zhu Daqi clasped his hands and offered his congratulations.
A hearty smile spread across his face, though the corner of his eye flicked toward Li Yun.
He found it unbelievable that Li Yun had actually mastered the fist technique.
But he had no other thoughts about it.
When he'd joined the Martial Hall, his master had taken an immediate liking to him and soon accepted him as a closed-door disciple.
He drank Blood Replenishing Powder every day and ate Blood Ginseng and Monster Beast Meat every few days.
His treatment was beyond anything an ordinary personal disciple could hope to match.
Now, he'd reached the stage of eight Bright Force echoes.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the force of his eighth echo merged with the first seven, completing the nine Bright Force echoes.
Then, with all his force united and turned inward, his fist wind would condense without dispersing. On contact, it would carry force deep into whatever he struck.
Once he broke through that bottleneck, he'd be a Dark Force expert.
Then, his inner force would flow like silk, killing without a trace.
What did it matter if someone in the Body Tempering Realm had mastered a fist technique?
Li Yun didn't have any particular thoughts about Zhu Daqi, who'd joined the Martial Hall on the same day as him.
He clasped his hands and greeted him:
"Fourth Senior Brother."
"Junior Brother, we joined the Martial Hall on the same day, and now Master has taken us both as personal disciples. What a stroke of fate."
"All right, Daqi. Go back to your training. I'm going to teach Li Yun the final three techniques."
"Yes, Master."
Fu Huaixing was delighted. He hadn't expected to take two personal disciples one after another after coming to Crow Mountain City.
Neither could compare to his eldest disciple, but they were both quite good.
One had a fourth-grade natural constitution and would achieve no less than Fu Huaixing himself.
The other had a poorer constitution, but could make up for some of it with his insight. His future wouldn't be bad either.
He turned to Li Yun, his expression growing serious:
"Li Yun, you mustn't force the final three techniques of Tiger Subduing Fist.
Bright Force and Dark Force must unite, allowing force to circulate through the body without obstruction. You must be able to dissolve force on contact and wield hardness and softness at will.
Only then can you achieve perfection.
You're only in the Body Tempering Realm. Your sinews and bones haven't been tempered. If you force the techniques, even if you can use your Fist Intent to muster some power, it'll be like a child trying to lift a cauldron.
You could leave hidden injuries in your body.
They might not show themselves for a long time.
But when you condense Bright Force and try to break through to Dark Force, they'll cling to you like maggots in your bones, holding you back at every turn.
You might even be stuck at Bright Force for the rest of your life, never advancing another step.
After the Year-End Tournament, don't fixate on the fist techniques anymore.
Focus on honing your stance work and laying a solid foundation. Condensing Bright Force as soon as possible is the proper path of martial arts.
Remember: haste makes waste."
Li Yun nodded. No wonder, after mastering the fist technique,
he'd felt that his punches didn't flow as smoothly as they had when he'd only achieved minor mastery.
So that was what was going on.
It seemed he could spend his time practicing other techniques instead.
"Yes, Master. I'll remember your teachings."
"Mm."
Fu Huaixing took up a stance and began teaching:
"Tiger Subduing Fist's seventh move: Fierce Tiger Patrols the Mountain.
Eighth move: Tiger Subduing Force Transformation.
Ninth move: Tiger Roar Returns to Truth.
..."
[Tiger Subduing Fist: +1] [Tiger Subduing Fist (Major Mastery): 2/20000]
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