Severing Ties

"That Huang Family, Xu Yang!"

Zhang Yong gritted his teeth so hard they nearly cracked. Xu Yang had reached the entry level of the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, and Zhang Yong's training funds had been cut from four taels to three.

Things were already hard enough. Now that he was short another tael of silver, he had even less chance of becoming a martial artist.

In a martial artist's eyes, this was a grudge that blocked one's path to the dao—a feud that could only end in death.

"What a miserable lot!"

Seeing Zhang Yong's wretched state, even Luo Dehu, who was at odds with him, couldn't bring himself to mock him. What had happened to Zhou Yang could just as easily happen to any of them.

"What kind of mess is this?"

Xu Yang sympathized with Zhang Yong, but that was all it was: sympathy.

They were all still struggling in the mud. He wasn't going to sacrifice himself to save someone else. Besides, from the very beginning, they'd all known this day would come. They were rivals, not allies.

Zhang Yong trained even harder, his gaze growing more resolute. At the same time, whenever he glanced at Xu Yang, there was now a trace of hatred in his eyes.

The alliance that had never really been an alliance fell apart. Zhang Yong stopped speaking to Xu Yang, and when dinnertime came, he no longer sat with the others. The group of ten had developed a major rift, and it seemed on the verge of breaking up.

There was another person who stopped eating with them from that very day onward: the man named Liu Guangfa.

By the time Xu Yang dragged his exhausted body home, there was hardly any light left in the sky.

Xu Yang pushed open the door. Xu Qing didn't rush over excitedly to ask if he was tired, as she usually did.

She sat on a stool. When she noticed Xu Yang was back, she hurriedly wiped the tears from her face.

"Brother, you're home!"

She tried her hardest to make her voice sound normal, but there was no hiding the rasp from crying. Her tears were gone, but her eyes were still red.

"Who bullied you? Tell me!" Xu Yang said gravely.

"No... no one bullied me." Xu Qing lowered her head.

"What did Xu Laoer do to you?"

Xu Qing didn't say anything, but Xu Yang could guess.

The little girl was strong-willed. If an outsider bullied her, she'd only get angry and come complain to him.

The only person who could make her cry with anger was Xu Laoer.

When Xu Yang guessed right, her tears started streaming down again. "Just now, he and Zhang Cuiting came to ask me for money. I said I didn't have any, so he tried to grab the old hen that lays eggs. He said it would be perfect for nourishing Yang Jun.

"I wouldn't let him take it, so Zhang Cuiting held me tight while Xu Laoer forcibly took the hen."

Xu Yang said nothing. He turned around and went straight out the door.

That old hen was practically the little girl's lifeblood. Since there wasn't enough food at home, she went up the mountain every day to cut grass to feed it, helping ease Xu Yang's burden.

They'd taken the hen to slaughter and eat. It was no wonder she was heartbroken.

"Brother, don't..."

Xu Qing ran after him, but Xu Yang had already vanished into the night. She hurried after him, but there was no way she could catch up.

"Xu Laoer, hurry up! A-Jun needs to rest after he eats!"

Zhang Cuiting urged him. They'd raised the old hen for almost three years, and it was very nourishing. Her son had recently made a breakthrough in his stance training and needed a tonic.

"Almost done. Get the water boiling," Xu Laoer replied.

He was plucking the chicken in the yard. He was nearly finished.

There were a few more chickens in the coop. He'd grab another in a couple of days. Once A-Jun became a martial artist, he'd be the father of a martial artist lord...

Xu Laoer thought happily.

"Bang!"

Suddenly, someone kicked the courtyard gate with such force that the wooden door shattered.

Xu Laoer looked up and saw his son, Xu Yang, storming in with fury on his face.

"Unfilial son, what are you doing?" Xu Laoer roared.

That little brat had actually dared to kick in his door. What an insubordinate son!

"Xu Laoer, you old bastard! You even steal your daughter's things? You're no better than an animal."

Seeing the golden old hen in Xu Laoer's hand, already bled and plucked, Xu Yang could no longer contain his fury.

He took two strides forward, snatched the hen from Xu Laoer's hand, then kicked the wooden basin full of scalding water. It flew into the corner and smashed to pieces, splashing water all over the ground.

Xu Laoer froze. It was just one chicken. How could this son, who'd always meekly put up with everything, be this angry?

"Unfilial son, you dare lay hands on your own father?"

When he came to his senses, he raised his hand and slapped at Xu Yang's face. Wasn't it only natural for a father to take from his son?

But his hand never reached Xu Yang's face. Xu Yang caught him by the wrist.

The next moment, Xu Yang's fingers clamped down with sudden force.

"Ah..."

Xu Laoer felt as if his wrist bones were about to be crushed. The agony made him cry out instinctively. He tried to pry Xu Yang's hand off with his other hand, but couldn't budge it.

Only then did he realize how powerfully built his son had become. Xu Yang was taller than him, and the muscles showing beneath his skin were twisted like tree roots, glinting a bronze hue.

For a moment, he almost forgot the pain. They hadn't seen each other for a while, and Xu Yang had changed so much.

His gaze was sharp, his expression cold and stern. He was no longer the boy who'd been too scared to speak whenever Xu Laoer so much as looked at him.

"You little bastard, what are you doing? You dare hit your father? Watch out, or the heavens will strike you dead!"

Zhang Cuiting rushed out at the commotion, clawing at Xu Yang's face with her arms flailing.

Xu Yang had still held back out of consideration for Xu Laoer, since he was his father. But Zhang Cuiting was a woman with no real connection to him, so he had no such qualms.

The moment Zhang Cuiting came within reach, he kicked her in the stomach.

In an instant, Zhang Cuiting flew back the way she'd come and crashed hard into the house, letting out a pained howl.

"Xu Yang, I'll kill you!"

Seeing this, Yang Jun's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets. He lunged at Xu Yang.

Xu Yang had been expecting him.

Yang Jun had started training in martial arts before him, but not by much. He couldn't have gotten the hang of any boxing techniques yet.

So if the two of them fought, there wouldn't be much difference between them and street thugs.

And in a fight, everything came down to two things: reflexes and strength.

Xu Yang had mined ore at the Mine and built up a body full of brute strength. These past few days of stance training had made him stronger still.

Yang Jun might have begun training before him, but he definitely wasn't as strong.

The moment Yang Jun lunged, Xu Yang shoved Xu Laoer into him. Then he stepped forward and drove out a punch.

Xu Laoer crashed into Yang Jun, stopping his charge in its tracks.

Yang Jun hurriedly reached out to push Xu Laoer away, but didn't notice Xu Yang's fist until it slammed into the spot just below his ear.

"Thud!"

Yang Jun barely had time to react before he toppled straight to the ground, as if someone had suddenly cut the power.

"Useless!"

Xu Yang hadn't expected Yang Jun to be so weak. He'd taken him down with a single blow.

"A-Jun..."

Zhang Cuiting had just staggered out of the house when she saw Yang Jun lying unconscious. Forgetting all about Xu Yang, she threw herself at her son like a madwoman and pressed hard on his philtrum.

"Brother, run! You beat Yang Jun to death!"

When Xu Qing caught up and saw this, her face went white.

"He isn't dead. He's just passed out for now," Xu Yang said.

Yang Jun had reached the entry level of the Turtle-Snake Great Stance and had begun tempering his muscles and bones. One punch wouldn't kill him, and Xu Yang had held back, too.

Sure enough, after Zhang Cuiting and Xu Laoer scrambled to revive him—rubbing his chest and back to restore his circulation, then pressing on his philtrum—Yang Jun slowly woke up. He stared at Xu Yang in terror.

He'd been practicing the Turtle-Snake Great Stance for days, yet a miner, a dirt-legged peasant, had knocked him flat with one punch. It was a humiliation beyond words.

Xu Laoer jumped to his feet in fury. "Unfilial son, all I did was take one chicken! Did you really have to make such a fuss? If A-Jun becomes a martial artist, it'll benefit you, too. How much have you eaten at my expense all these years..."

As he spoke, the words abruptly died in his throat.

He'd meant to say, "How much have you eaten at my expense all these years?" But then it dawned on him that he hadn't supported Xu Yang at all. If anything, he'd taken plenty from him.

"What? You can't even bring yourself to say it?"

Xu Yang fixed his gaze on him. "You should be glad you're my father. Otherwise, this wouldn't end here. I'd have broken your arm.

"And listen carefully, Xu Laoer: from today on, Xiao Qing and I are severing ties with you. If you ever come to our door and steal from us again, I'll beat you to death. I'll announce it publicly tomorrow, and I ask our neighbors to bear witness."

Xu Yang cupped his fists toward the onlookers outside Zhang Cuiting's courtyard, then strode away with Xu Qing.

"Unfilial son!"

Xu Laoer roared. Over one chicken, his son had even cut ties with him.

"You're already making enough of a spectacle! Get over here and help me carry A-Jun back to his room!" Zhang Cuiting yelled.

All she cared about right now was her son's condition. The rest could be settled later.