Advancing Groin Strike (Please Keep Reading!)

"Junior Brother Chen, what happened?"

Chen Yuan had just returned to the Martial Hall when a senior brother approached with a smile.

Chen Yuan took a closer look and recognized Senior Brother Zhang Shi, who had entered a few months before him. He was a diligent, plainspoken man, and Chen Yuan immediately smiled.

"Just a minor injury from sparring. Nothing worth mentioning."

Zhang Shi nodded, then revealed his purpose. "Junior Brother Chen, do you have anyone to practice with? How about the two of us train together from now on?"

Clearly, he had heard about Chen Yuan's situation and wanted to forge a good connection.

Chen Yuan gladly agreed. "That would be wonderful. Thank you, Senior Brother."

Time slipped away soundlessly amid the flickering shadows of fists.

Sun Chengjie had also entered a state of going all out.

His goal was not to surpass Xue Anping and win the competition, but to do everything he could to preserve his qualification to continue practicing martial arts.

Liu Jin's fate was still fresh in his mind.

He still had two mortal enemies in this courtyard.

As he trained, swift footsteps drew nearer, followed by a mocking voice dripping with ridicule.

"Well, well, isn't this Sun Chengjie, who entered just nine days ago? I heard the Gu Family nearly swept you out the door. What damn dog luck you have." It was Zhou Qian.

Zhou Mo took over, vicious light flashing in his eyes. "Exactly. But who knows whether you'll have that kind of dog luck next month? Didn't you mock us for having no meat to eat? I'll be waiting for the day you get swept out the door!"

The threat in their words was unmistakable.

Sun Chengjie was still someone sponsored by the Gu Family, as well as a disciple of Huo Academy. Going after him carried some risk.

But if he ended up like Liu Jin, they could torment him however they pleased.

Sun Chengjie clenched his fists and snorted coldly. "Trash who have trained for four or five months without even touching the threshold of the Skin Realm, and you think you're fit to talk about me?"

Zhou Qian sneered.

"I may not have touched the threshold of the Skin Realm, but what about you? With that one tael of silver a month for food, once you reach the later stages, it'll barely be enough to maintain your qi and blood. How can you talk about breaking through? You're not much better off than us. Do you really think the Gu Family will keep raising trash like you forever?"

They did not take Sun Chengjie seriously because they were certain that one tael of silver's worth of blood food gave him no hope whatsoever of breaking through.

Chen Yuan, however, made them quite wary.

Five taels of silver a month gave him a thirty to forty percent chance of successfully breaking through.

"As long as I'm stronger than you two, that's enough." Sun Chengjie sneered. "By then, your Grandpa Sun will have more than enough to beat the two of you."

"Heh. We'll see."

The two brothers were rendered speechless for a moment. Suppressing the rage in their hearts, they left.

The words "Grandpa Sun" were like thorns lodged in their throats, piercing them deeply. Savage light flickered in their eyes.

At dusk, Chen Yuan experienced an entirely new food standard in the Dining Hall.

First, the portions of beef and meat soup had directly doubled. Anything he could not finish could be taken away as a late-night snack.

Second, he received an allotment of twenty bowls of Body Strengthening Soup each month. If he added another tael of silver himself, that was equivalent to drinking one bowl every day.

As for the two taels of silver his aunt had given him before, he had barely spent any of it. He would not need much money in the early stages, so he had saved it for a rainy day.

He no longer had to worry that training at night would drain his qi and blood. The progress of his accumulation would undoubtedly rise by another level!

That was the benefit of displaying one's potential.

Chen Yuan was in a good mood and decided not to train at night. He would return home early and share this good news with his aunt.

Thus, he only ate one bowl of beef and two bowls of meat soup, packing the remaining bowl of beef to take home.

Though this was money the Gu Family had used to sponsor him, and by rights he should not share it with his family, such a small thing was harmless. No one would fuss over it.

"Brother Chen, heading back so early today? I'll go with you." Sun Chengjie's voice came from nearby.

Chen Yuan nodded. "Since the Gu Family thinks highly of me, I want to make my aunt happy as well."

Sun Chengjie glanced at the beef in Chen Yuan's hand and sighed. "True enough. Brother Chen, you're receiving five taels of silver in support every month now, so you probably won't have to worry about money anymore. As for me, I'm rushing back because I want to squeeze some silver out of my old man. Sigh."

Was the gap between people really that great? They were both Grade D-Upper talents...

Chen Yuan gave a quiet hum. "It's good to take a gamble."

Train up some strength and learn a bit of martial skill. Even going home to farm would be good then. At least he would not be bullied, and when diverting water to irrigate the fields, his skills would let him seize the advantage.

Sun Chengjie gave a bitter smile. "I don't dare let the Sun Family eliminate me. Otherwise, those two turtle bastards from the Zhou Family will definitely kick me when I'm down. Sigh, if only I had your skill, Brother Chen. They would surely have been scared into obediently apologizing today. Is the strongest Grade D-Upper truly this terrifying?"

For a moment, Chen Yuan did not know what to say.

Although Sun Chengjie and the Zhou Brothers were connected to him to some extent, he had no intention of interfering in this matter, lest he become entangled in karma.

The most urgent thing was to lie low!

Once he broke through both the Skin Realm and Clear Force after some time, resolving their grudge would be nothing more than a word.

At the end of the day, force could solve most problems.

And as for the latter half of that praise, he could hardly say that even among Grade D-Uppers, there were differences, could he? Besides, he was no longer the strongest Grade D-Upper. He was now a first-rate Grade C-Lower.

"Take things one step at a time," Chen Yuan said softly.

They should have parted ways at the mouth of the alley, but Sun Chengjie said Liu Jin had always accompanied him home before and invited Chen Yuan to come along.

Chen Yuan thought his aunt should still be at the dye workshop at this hour, so he agreed.

Sun Chengjie's home was rather remote. As a tenant farmer, he naturally had to live near the fields.

They had just left the outer city and were walking along a dirt road when a fierce wind howled behind them. Chen Yuan instantly sensed trouble.

He spun around sharply and saw two masked men leap out from behind some rocks, swinging wooden clubs at them.

"Watch out!" Chen Yuan shouted.

As he spoke, every muscle in his body tightened. He leaped backward to open the distance, already assuming the Three-Body Stance and entering a combat stance.

Sun Chengjie was a beat too slow. Though he lunged forward the instant he heard the warning, the gust of wind still reached him. A club struck his back, making him stagger with a muffled grunt.

Chen Yuan's gaze turned sharp. He had already seen through the two men's level. They were merely street thugs with some fighting experience, though the wooden clubs in their hands posed no small threat.

"Who are you with? State your names! Don't you know this is Black Dragon Gang territory?"

He invoked the Black Dragon Gang, yet the two masked men remained unmoved, continuing to rush forward with their wooden clubs raised.

Chen Yuan's eyes turned cold. He had leaped backward earlier because he had been ambushed and lost the initiative.

But now that he had enough time to react, naturally—he pressed forward!

Using the explosive charge of Crushing Fist, he surged ahead. Facing the club slanting down at him, he stomped forward with his right foot and twisted aside in the opposite direction to evade it. His coiled left leg shot up, and a savage knee strike slammed viciously into the man's abdomen, sending him flying.

He pressed his advantage without mercy, taking a quick step forward to close in. His right arm drew back to his waist, the momentum of his charge turning entirely into power. He drove off the ground, twisted his waist, and sent force coursing into his leading hand. His right fist blasted out like a cannonball leaving its barrel, smashing solidly into the man's face as blood and shattered teeth sprayed through the air.

It was the most explosive Cannon Fist.

After instantly dealing with his opponent, Chen Yuan looked toward Sun Chengjie, only to see that Sun Chengjie's eyes had gone red. After taking a club strike head-on, he used Advancing Groin Strike and brought his opponent down with one blow. Then came a storm of punches and kicks, venting the fury of having taken two blows.

He beat the man until he wailed and begged repeatedly. "You little bastard, stop right now! I'm with the Black Dragon Gang! Hit me again, and the Black Dragon Gang won't spare you!"

Only then did Sun Chengjie calm down somewhat, his voice slightly hoarse.

"Fuck your mother, so what if you're Black Dragon Gang? Did I provoke you? Or did I not pay the peacekeeping fee? Hiding behind masks and playing ghosts—you know you can't show your faces, don't you?"

But after the other man tore off his black cloth mask, he really did produce a Black Dragon Gang token.

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, he said, "I took money to do a job. The target's tough. You two are ruthless—I admit defeat today."

Hearing this, Chen Yuan and Sun Chengjie each had their own thoughts.