"Come over here!" Huang Jin beckoned.
Xu Yang and Lu Ren hurried into the pavilion and cupped their hands. "Greetings, Fifth Master!"
Huang Jin nodded. "I called you over for no particular reason. Liu Guangfa got into trouble, so I plan to split the money he paid Wei Yuan Hall between the two of you."
Wei Yuan Hall collected its fees every three months. Given the Huang Family's standing, they couldn't exactly ask Wei Yuan Hall to refund a few taels of silver.
"Thank you, Fifth Master!"
Xu Yang cupped his hands again. He hadn't expected Liu Guangfa's fall to bring him such good fortune.
Lu Ren, however, was confused. "Why not give it all to me? Giving him any is a waste. If you gave it to me, I could break through faster and serve the Huang Family."
Even now, he was no longer the timid boy who used to stammer whenever he spoke. Even when talking to Huang Jin, he carried himself with a measure of ease.
With his talent, even if he offended the Huang Family, plenty of people would still be willing to cultivate him.
Huang Jin gave Lu Ren a long look. "Xu Yang mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance only one day later than you did."
He had changed so quickly. If someone like that grew stronger, could he really be used by the Huang Family?
Lu Ren said no more. He knew he hadn't yet grown strong enough to stand on his own.
"You only need to focus on your training. If you perform well from here on, the Huang Family will increase its investment in you based on your performance."
Huang Jin still offered Lu Ren a few words of comfort, then turned his gaze to Xu Yang. "I've decided to give you Body-Strengthening Soup for your share. If you'd rather have something else, tell me."
Xu Yang shook his head. "I'll leave it to your judgment, Fifth Master."
Body-Strengthening Soup was already excellent. With one tael of it, he'd have twelve bowls each month—almost one every three days. That would give him more time to practice the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.
"You can go back now!"
The two cupped their hands and left the pavilion, heading for the Outer Courtyard.
"When it comes to practicing the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist, I'll show you that your earlier success was nothing but luck—and just how wide the gap between us really is."
With that, Lu Ren strode away.
"People really can change fast!"
Xu Yang could only marvel at how clever Luo Dehu was. Luo Dehu had played a big part in changing Lu Ren. The old Lu Ren hadn't been nearly so sharp-edged.
Xu Yang quickly put Lu Ren's words out of his mind and returned to his training.
After Xu Yang announced that he had severed ties with Xu Laoer, Xu Laoer never came to make a scene.
Time flew by. It was now the eighth day since they had entered Wei Yuan Hall. That morning, Zhang Yong mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, and Zhang Hong mastered it that afternoon.
On the ninth day, another person mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. It wasn't Luo Dehu, whose Bone Root was C-grade, but Qian Jiaxing.
By the twelfth day, everyone had mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance and begun practicing the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.
That same day, Lu Ren announced that he had mastered the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.
The Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist was harder to learn than the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, yet he had mastered it in just seven days. His speed naturally drew another round of gasps.
Huang Jin was alerted once again and hurried to Wei Yuan Hall. He announced that Lu Ren's monthly cultivation allowance would be increased by two taels.
That brought the Huang Family's investment in him to thirteen taels a month.
Many genuine martial artists serving as Attendants earned only ten taels of silver a month.
With such an honor, Lu Ren was naturally pleased with himself. He even taunted Xu Yang, asking how much longer it would take him to master the technique.
But the very next day, Xu Yang announced that he had mastered the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist too.
"Damn it!"
Lu Ren could barely hold it together.
It had been the same with the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, and now it was the same with the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist. Every time he broke through, Xu Yang followed the very next day. Xu Yang was right on his heels.
"I admit you have some Comprehension, but let me tell you this: in martial cultivation, Bone Root is what matters most."
Lu Ren found Xu Yang with a gloomy face. Xu Yang was advancing too quickly. Even with all the resources Lu Ren had received, he hadn't managed to widen the gap. He worried the Huang Family might give some of his cultivation resources to Xu Yang instead.
"Isn't cultivation about money?" Xu Yang asked, puzzled. "Oh, right. You have more money than I do. You've spent so much and still haven't left me behind, so now you're going on about Bone Root?"
From that point on, the two openly broke with each other. Lu Ren gave up on the idea of recruiting Xu Yang as a subordinate and trained even harder.
Huang Jin never showed up. It was as if the Huang Family didn't know that Xu Yang had mastered the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist only one day later than Lu Ren. Everyone knew the Huang Family had abandoned them—including Xu Yang, whose talent was second only to Lu Ren's.
Zhang Yong looked at Xu Yang with almost no resentment left in his eyes. In fact, there was even sympathy.
If Xu Yang hadn't outstripped him, the same fate would have befallen him. That realization brought Zhang Yong some relief, though he still didn't speak to Xu Yang.
Time flew by. Xu Yang and the others had been at Wei Yuan Hall for half a month. His body had grown much sturdier, and beneath his loose clothes, his firm, well-defined muscles stood out.
After completing a set of punches, he summoned the Status Panel.
[Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist · Beginner (10/150)]
For three days, he had added one point to the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist each day. With his own practice added in, its progress had reached "10."
"Once you reach the beginner stage, progress in the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist gets faster and faster. The saying that it takes at most three months to approach the First Martial Barrier is true."
[Turtle-Snake Great Stance · Beginner (10/100)]
The Turtle-Snake Great Stance's progress had caught up with the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.
The main reason was that he hadn't spent any points on the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. Another reason was that he wasn't getting enough nourishment, so he practiced it far less than the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.
"Let's see how strong I am now!"
Xu Yang jumped down from the Plum Blossom Stakes and strode over to the stone locks. With one hand, he easily lifted a hundred-pound stone lock over his head.
He put down the hundred-pound stone lock and looked at the one weighing a hundred and fifty pounds.
"Up!"
Xu Yang let out a shout as his muscles bulged. With one hand, he lifted the hundred-and-fifty-pound stone lock over his head.
"What an arm!" Zhang Hong exclaimed.
They had entered the martial hall together. Now he could barely lift a hundred-pound stone lock with one hand, while Xu Yang could lift one weighing a hundred and fifty pounds.
As time went on, the gap between those cultivated by the Huang Family gradually widened.
With that kind of strength, even without using any punches or techniques, he could easily hold his own against four or five ordinary people.
"That's just brute strength from spending every day digging in the fields. Even an ox is strong, and all it does is plow fields," Zhou Yang said mockingly.
Although Sun Tao had hushed up the Liu Guangfa affair, Zhou Yang still looked for chances to mock Xu Yang and the others.
"Dogs have been running into Wei Yuan Hall. I'll have to report it to Senior Brother Sun tomorrow. Better yet, we should beat the dog to death." Xu Yang didn't even look at Zhou Yang.
Zhou Yang knew the remark was aimed at him. He immediately tried to provoke Xu Yang. "Xu Yang, quit showing off with your mouth. You're practicing fist techniques now. Do you dare spar with me?"
"No!" Xu Yang said.
Zhou Yang had started martial arts half a month before them. His talent wasn't too bad, and his family had a little money. If Xu Yang fought him now, the best he could hope for was a draw. He wouldn't gain a thing.
"Coward!"
Zhou Yang was furious. How could this guy say he was afraid so brazenly?
Xu Yang didn't take the bait, so Zhou Yang could only let it go.
The day passed quickly. After dinner at Wei Yuan Hall, everyone went their separate ways home.
Their little group had fallen apart in all but name.
Zhang Yong was the first to go his own way. After Xu Yang and Lu Ren openly fell out, no one from the Huang Family showed up. Those who were close to Lu Ren rarely spoke to Xu Yang anymore.
Qian Jiaxing had picked a side outright and no longer walked home with Xu Yang.
Over the past few days, he had either left early or waited until Xu Yang was gone before leaving. Only Zhang Hong still talked to him as usual.
That fellow was a smooth operator. He got along the same way with Xu Yang, Zhang Yong, and Lu Ren's group.
"Xu Yang!"
Under the night sky, Xu Yang had just stepped into White Stone Ward and hadn't yet reached home when someone called out to him from behind.
He turned around and saw Li Hu approaching with two lackeys.
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