A few more days passed.
The back courtyard of Xingyi Martial Arts Hall, morning mist still lingering.
Chen Jianghe stood beneath the locust tree, holding his stance for two hours already.
Su Derong leaned against the veranda, watching as he fanned himself, his heart filled with emotion.
It had taken him three years to go from Bright Strength to Dark Strength, but his junior brother had needed only a little over a year.
"People really can drive you mad by comparison." Su Derong muttered under his breath, fanning himself a little faster.
The courtyard gate creaked open, and Li Chengyue staggered inside.
His dark blue long robe was torn, the left sleeve nearly ripped off, and the hem was smeared with mud and blood.
His hair was disheveled, his face covered in stubble, and a wound an inch long gaped across his right shoulder. Exhaustion and the stench of blood clung to him.
"Master!" Chen Jianghe hurried forward, ready to support him.
Li Chengyue waved him off, signaling that he was fine. He walked beneath the locust tree and dropped onto a stone stool.
"I'm dead tired..." He muttered, rummaged around in his robes for a while, then pulled out something haphazardly wrapped in a rag and tossed it to Chen Jianghe.
"Catch."
Chen Jianghe caught it. The bundle was heavy, and the stench of blood hit him in the face.
Li Chengyue took a swig of wine and wiped his mouth. "Open it."
Chen Jianghe untied the bundle—inside was a beast's leg.
Its fur was patterned in alternating patches of dark red and pitch black, its muscles knotted and its bones thick.
The severed end gleamed with a faint golden sheen, and its four claws were as sharp as short daggers.
"Red-Striped Leopard," Su Derong gasped. "An adult Leopard King! Master, did you go deep into Black Wind Ridge?"
Li Chengyue grunted. "A gift for your initiation. I chased it for over ten days before finally cornering it. We fought, and I sold the other parts. This hind leg is all that's left. It'll replenish your qi and blood."
Chen Jianghe gripped the leopard leg, his heart stirred.
The Red-Striped Leopard was a rare beast from Black Wind Ridge. An adult Leopard King was as strong as a Transformative Strength expert. His master had been battered by the elements for half a month, and he'd gone out specifically to hunt this beast.
"Thank you, Master."
Li Chengyue waved a hand. "Save it. This leg's enough for ten pots of meat broth. With Bone Tempering Soup, it'll make your Dark Strength foundation much more solid."
He looked at Chen Jianghe. "You've just formed Dark Strength. How does it feel?"
Chen Jianghe considered this. "The force is contained within me, and I can release or withdraw it at will. But it still feels like there's a membrane I can't break through."
"That's normal." Li Chengyue nodded. "The step from Dark Strength to Transformative Strength is a chasm. Countless people get stuck there, with no hope of advancing for the rest of their lives."
He stood up and loosened his joints, which popped and crackled. "Today I'll explain the difference between Dark Strength and Transformative Strength."
He walked to the open ground in the courtyard and beckoned Chen Jianghe. "Use the Five Elements Fist. Attack me with all your strength."
Chen Jianghe's heart tightened.
"What are you hesitating for?" Li Chengyue frowned. "Afraid you'll hurt me? You're nowhere near strong enough."
Chen Jianghe didn't hesitate again.
He stepped forward, his right fist chopping down like an axe!
The Five Elements Fist's Splitting Fist belonged to metal: sharp, and able to break through defenses.
He held nothing back. His fist tore through the air, Dark Strength concentrated at a single point. If it struck someone, it would surely shatter their heart and sever their meridians.
Su Derong's eyelids twitched.
Li Chengyue only smiled.
At the instant the fist was about to land, he suddenly raised his left hand, fingers slightly spread, and met it with an almost casual motion.
Fist met palm.
There was no loud crash, no burst of force.
Chen Jianghe felt as if his fist had sunk into cotton. His concentrated Dark Strength vanished into the sea like a clay ox.
A resilient force surged back up his arm. His muscles went numb and sore, and his qi and blood stagnated.
He grunted and stumbled back three steps before managing to steady himself. His right knuckles were red and trembling slightly.
"Feel it?" Li Chengyue withdrew his hand and clasped it behind his back. "Dark Strength is for 'injuring.' The force is contained within you, then penetrates the body to damage the meridians, targeting the vital organs."
He paused, his tone solemn. "Transformative Strength, on the other hand, is for 'controlling.'"
"What does 'controlling' mean?"
Li Chengyue held out his right hand, fingers loosely curled, palm facing up. "Dark Strength is like an iron nail, driven straight through the body. Transformative Strength—"
His palm turned.
Several fallen leaves in the courtyard were suddenly drawn by an invisible force, converging above his palm and spinning into a ball. They spun faster and faster without scattering.
His palm gave a slight tremor.
The ball of leaves exploded. Hundreds of dead leaves shot out like arrows, thudding into the earthen wall ten yards away. They sank half an inch into the wall, forming a perfect circle.
"—is like flowing water: it seeps through every crack and overcomes every obstacle. It can be hard or soft, gathered together or scattered apart."
Li Chengyue looked at Chen Jianghe. "Your punch just now concentrated Dark Strength at a single point. It was fierce, certainly. But to my eyes, it was full of openings."
He gestured toward Chen Jianghe's arm, shoulder blade, waist, and hips. "Once you release your force, it's like an arrow loosed from a bow. It can't change direction. All I have to do is intercept its source with Transformative Strength just before you release it, or divert it, and your attack will collapse on its own."
Chen Jianghe's heart grew solemn.
"Please instruct me, Master."
Li Chengyue pressed a hand to his Jianjing Acupoint. "Relax and pay close attention."
A gentle, vast force flowed into Chen Jianghe's body, coursing through his meridians.
Wherever it passed, his qi and blood flowed smoothly once more, growing faintly stronger.
"The key to Transformative Strength is first learning to 'listen to force.'" Li Chengyue withdrew his hand. "Not with your ears, but with your skin, your pores, and the muscles and bones throughout your body. The opponent's circulation of qi and blood, the gathering and release of force, shifts in their center of gravity... you should see them all as clearly as the lines on your palm."
He pointed to his eyes. "When warriors fight, seventy percent is in 'seeing' and thirty percent is in 'striking.'"
Chen Jianghe seemed to grasp something.
Li Chengyue looked at him, then suddenly sighed. "Jianghe, your talent... is pretty good."
Chen Jianghe understood the weight behind those words.
"But no matter how good your talent is, it won't be enough in these times." Li Chengyue's tone turned sharp. "In a chaotic age, gangs clash, warlords contend for supremacy, and evil cults run rampant... Even a Transformative Strength expert could fall in a single day."
He pulled open his collar, revealing the scar on his shoulder. "The Red-Striped Leopard King left this wound. That beast made one last desperate counterattack before it died, clawing for my heart. If I'd been even half a beat slower, I wouldn't have made it back today."
Chen Jianghe's heart jolted.
"Remember this." Li Chengyue stared at him, speaking each word deliberately. "In a chaotic age, only your own strength is real. Wealth, power, favors, promises... they can all vanish overnight. Only these fists and these skills are things you can truly rely on."
His voice dropped, each word hammering home the point. "If you truly want to make your way in this world and protect the people you care about, then you have to train like your life depends on it. Train as if you'll die if you stop."
Chen Jianghe drew a deep breath. "This disciple understands."
"Understanding isn't enough. You have to do it."
Li Chengyue turned and took something from inside his robes.
It was a palm-sized black iron token. The ancient characters "Xingyi" were carved into the front, and a simple landscape pattern adorned the back.
"This is the token of the Xingyi Sect." Li Chengyue spoke slowly. "Our Xingyi Fist lineage has a long and illustrious history. This martial arts hall in Yilin County is only a branch of a branch. Its inheritance is incomplete, and its resources are limited. The true Xingyi Sect is in the prefectural capital."
He paused, a trace of nostalgia in his voice. "The sect has a rule: if a martial arts hall's direct disciple breaks through to Transformative Strength before turning twenty, he can take this token to the main sect, join the inner sect, and learn the true art."
Chen Jianghe's pupils contracted slightly.
Li Chengyue continued. "I was lucky enough to reach Transformative Strength before I turned twenty, so I was admitted to the sect and learned the Twelve Forms Fist that came after. But later... forget it. The past is past."
Chen Jianghe said solemnly, "This disciple will give it everything he has."