Qi Gathering

"Brother Lu Ren is hosting a banquet tonight to celebrate. He invites you all to join him."

Just before nightfall, Luo Dehu found Xu Yang and the others.

Zhang Hong hesitated for a moment, as if remembering something, then asked, "We don't have to chip in, do we?"

If they had to chip in, he wasn't interested. But he was more than happy to enjoy a free meal.

Luo Dehu glared at him. "What kind of person do you think Brother Lu Ren is? Now that he's celebrating, why would he need us to chip in?"

Zhang Yong frowned. "You dare leave Wei Yuan Hall?"

Xue Fangsheng's threat still hung over them. If they left Wei Yuan Hall, Xue Fangsheng might ambush and kill them.

Luo Dehu said, "Brother Lu Ren has already spoken to him. He won't touch us."

Having broken through and reached Qi Gathering in a single day, Lu Ren was no longer a nobody struggling at the bottom. He was a martial arts prodigy backed by the Huang Family. Even someone like Xue Fangsheng, who had reached Qi Gathering more than a year ago, had to show him respect.

"Good!" Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong both agreed.

Xu Yang thought it over and agreed to attend as well, since people from the Huang Family would be there.

He was about to reach Qi Gathering, and it was time to lay everything out with the Huang Family.

"Mind your table manners later. Lots of senior martial artists from the Inner Courtyard will be attending, along with some important figures who are on good terms with the Huang Family. Don't embarrass Brother Lu Ren," Luo Dehu cautioned them.

The banquet was mainly for the Huang Family to announce to the world that they had gained a prodigy, so it wasn't just the few of them who would be there.

"Get lost. Do you take us for starving ghosts?" they snapped.

After washing the stink of sweat off themselves in the bathhouse, they left Wei Yuan Hall together and headed to the banquet venue, where they were seated at a table.

Aside from the five of them, there were a few people at the table who seemed to be Lu Ren's relatives. Every word out of their mouths was praise for Lu Ren, and they kept saying things like the Lu Family had produced a dragon.

Lu Ren and Huang Jin stood at the entrance of the restaurant, personally welcoming the guests. Smiles never left their faces.

Xu Yang wanted to approach Huang Jin for a conversation, but even by the time the banquet began, he hadn't found the right opportunity.

After eating and drinking their fill, they left while Huang Jin was still in a private room keeping the important figures company.

But they had barely stepped out of the restaurant when someone called them back and led them to a private room to wait.

After a while, Huang Jin came in, reeking of alcohol.

The five of them rose together and cupped their hands. "Greetings, Fifth Master."

Huang Jin waved a hand. "Sit down. I asked you back because there's something I need to tell you."

What he had to tell them was exactly what Xu Yang had wanted to clear up that day.

Huang Jin was blunt: the Huang Family's resources were limited, and they couldn't support too many martial artists. They only needed Lu Ren.

If the others managed to reach Qi Gathering, the Lu Family wouldn't hire them as Attendant martial masters, and they could seek opportunities elsewhere. The Huang Family's support of them could be taken as a kindness that had forged a good connection.

None of them were surprised. After Lu Ren had broken through, the Huang Family had inevitably made its choice.

Nor did they resent the Huang Family. Although it had broken its promise, it had only ever shown them kindness. Without the Huang Family, they wouldn't have had the chance to join a martial arts school at all.

If they really managed to reach Qi Gathering, plenty of people would be willing to hire a Qi-Gathering Martial Artist as an Attendant.

The conversation ended quickly, and everyone dispersed.

The next day, Qiu Wenjie found Xu Yang and gave him the Qiu Family's allowance for the month.

"Senior Brother Xu, can you break through today?" Qiu Wenjie asked curiously.

In fact, he wasn't the only one. Many people in the Outer Courtyard were waiting to see whether Xu Yang would, as before, break through the day after Lu Ren did.

"I'm still a little short. I'll need a few more days," Xu Yang replied with a shake of his head.

He was confident that the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist could break through to Minor Mastery at any time, but his Turtle-Snake Great Stance still needed work. He hadn't had money before, so he'd practiced it less and hadn't tempered his body enough.

He planned to temper his body for a few more days before reaching Qi Gathering. There was no rush.

The Huang Family had already decided not to hire him, so there was no point in competing with Lu Ren. There was no need to show off.

Xu Yang didn't break through to Qi Gathering that day, and many people in the Outer Courtyard were greatly disappointed.

Lu Ren, who had been keeping an eye on him in secret, breathed a sigh of relief. He had truly feared Xu Yang would break through that day. If he did, the Huang Family might change its mind and hire Xu Yang after all.

Even though Lu Ren was confident Xu Yang was no match for him, having two prodigies serve the same family would mean the resources were split. That was the last thing he wanted.

Because of this, he had even made arrangements in secret that morning.

For the next two days, Xu Yang used the Turtle-Snake Great Stance to temper his body and build his qi and blood. Both were crucial to a successful breakthrough, and he couldn't afford to be careless.

Ordinary people couldn't control when they broke through, but he had the Status Panel and could clearly see his martial arts progress, so he could choose when to break through.

That afternoon, his qi and blood surged inside him, and the rate at which he built them up suddenly increased.

[Turtle-Snake Great Stance · Minor Mastery (1/300)]

His Turtle-Snake Great Stance had reached Minor Mastery!

Another key to breaking through and reaching Qi Gathering was achieving Minor Mastery in the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist. Most people couldn't clearly sense their progress, so many began their breakthrough unconsciously while practicing their fists. That was why the success rate was so low.

For the same reason, many people were forced to attempt a breakthrough before their Turtle-Snake Great Stance had reached Minor Mastery.

If they mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance first and then attempted the breakthrough, their chances of success would surely rise greatly.

"I'll break through and reach Qi Gathering today!"

Xu Yang found a corner and sat down, closing his eyes to gather his strength. At the same time, he summoned the Status Panel and added points to the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.

His mind shuddered as a flood of insights came to him.

[Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist · Minor Mastery (1/500)]

He checked the Status Panel again. The Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist had reached Minor Mastery.

"The way I'm breaking through is practically cheating!"

When others broke through, some insight would usually come to them while they were practicing their fists, and only after their fist technique improved would they start the breakthrough. Problems could easily arise during that process and cause them to fail: their understanding of the technique might be insufficient, they might not have built up enough qi and blood, or they might not have tempered their bodies to the limit.

But he had everything prepared, and he hadn't even started the breakthrough. His Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist had already reached Minor Mastery, and he knew the entire process of reaching Qi Gathering as if he'd gone through it all before.

In this situation, he couldn't imagine how he might fail. Unless someone interrupted him, there was no way he could fail.

"I'm about to break through. Guard me!"

After telling Qiu Wenjie, Xu Yang sprang to his feet.

Qiu Wenjie stared at him, dumbfounded. How had Senior Brother Xu known he was about to break through?

As soon as Xu Yang used the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist at Minor Mastery, he immediately felt the difference. The qi and blood in his body flowed with his movements, as easy to command as his own arm. They were no longer scattered and uncontrollable.

"Thump, thump..."

The wind from his fists grew louder and louder. A stream of "qi" welled up from his limbs and bones, flowed into his meridians, and circulated along with his fist technique, piercing through several blocked meridians.

The instant this qi appeared, it was as if something in his body had been unlocked. Vast amounts of qi and blood surged through his limbs and bones, and the strength of his body increased dramatically.

The process of reaching Qi Gathering was unexpectedly simple. Everything fell into place naturally.

The qi in his meridians grew denser and denser. Xu Yang felt his punches growing stronger, and his five senses sharpening. The things he saw grew clearer, and he could hear people breathing in the distance.

"Boom, boom..."

The increasingly loud rush of wind from his fists drew everyone's attention. The disciples practicing in the Martial Arts Arena all stopped and stared at Xu Yang in shock.