Return to Village

The Stele-Splitting Hand had yet to reach the introductory stage.

But that blow had inflicted no light injury on Wang Meng.

Zhao Hong nodded slightly. "My apologies just now. I couldn't hold back in time."

"N-no, it's fine. It was only a spar."

Wang Meng forced a smile.

"By the way, are you new to the martial arts school?" he could not help asking.

"No, I'm from a village." Zhao Hong grinned.

A village?

Why do I find that hard to believe?

Wang Meng forced another smile, nodded, and was helped away.

Zhao Hong continued waiting.

Nearly half an hour passed.

At last, he saw Wang Chuan and the others pushing two flatbed carts, piled high with grain and various odds and ends unavailable in the village.

"Uncle Chuan, Uncle Zhang."

Zhao Hong hurried over to greet them.

"Did you buy everything?"

Seeing that Zhao Hong did not even have a bundle on him, Wang Chuan frowned slightly.

Zhao Hong promptly explained what had happened.

The few of them exchanged glances.

"Uncles, do you know what story lies behind this?"

Zhang Yuan and Wang Chuan looked at each other, then both shook their heads.

"Before A-Yang went to the prefectural city, he stayed at the county martial arts school for a time, but we don't know what grudges he had there."

"Still, from the looks of it, there must have been some friction back then. If there had been deep hatred between them, no matter how much stronger A-Yang was, they would not have let you come."

Zhao Hong deeply agreed.

After all, he was here to buy things.

Being strong had nothing to do with whether they would sell to him or not.

Still, no normal person would choose to offend someone powerful.

"In that case, we'll stay the night at the martial arts school."

Even without Zhao Yang, given their circumstances, they were not qualified to draw Lu Hong's attention.

"A martial arts school."

Zhang Tai's eyes shone as he stared at it.

Big Hair sidled over and asked quietly, "A-Hong, are the disciples at this martial arts school strong?"

"There are definitely strong ones."

"But we're not weak either. Think about all the meat and blood we've eaten lately, and our martial arts training." Zhao Hong grinned.

At the same cultivation level, Big Hair and the others were truly no worse than these martial arts school students.

The moment Big Hair heard that, he said excitedly, "I want to spar too."

"Let's go inside first. It's still early, so we might get the chance."

Zhao Hong helped push the carts into the martial arts school.

The attendant seemed to have received instructions and immediately ran over to lead the way.

"You there, wait a moment."

"The one who sparred with Wang Meng just now."

Upon hearing the latter sentence, Zhao Hong paused and glanced sideways.

A group of people surrounded a young man as they approached.

"A-Hong..." Concern showed in Wang Chuan's eyes.

"Uncle, don't worry. I know what I'm doing. This is their turf, after all." Zhao Hong chuckled softly, then faced the other party. "And you are?"

"My name is Li Bing, a registered disciple of the martial arts school, late Blood Refinement stage."

"I'm not here to make trouble for you. You practice a claw-and-finger technique too, don't you?"

Li Bing had spotted at once the marks on Zhao Hong's finger joints that had not yet fully healed.

Zhao Hong sighed inwardly. You're obviously here to make trouble.

"What a coincidence. I practice the martial arts school's Eagle Claw Technique."

"I won't use my cultivation to bully you either. I'll hold back my strength. Shall we exchange a few moves?"

A sharp gleam appeared in Li Bing's eyes.

"If I exchange a few moves with you, there won't be anyone else coming afterward, right?"

"There won't."

"Good."

"Please."

The people around them backed away, excitement in their eyes.

Such sparring matches with outsiders rarely happened.

The martial arts school students were even more curious about Zhao Hong's move.

His exchange with Wang Meng earlier had been far too fast; they had not seen it clearly at all.

"The visitor is the guest. You first."

Li Bing's tone was icy, leaving no room for refusal.

Zhao Hong did not waste words. He stepped forward, his upper arm whipping up.

Whoosh!

"So fast."

Li Bing's expression changed drastically.

The words he had just spoken were instantly flung beyond the nine heavens. His body shuddered, his blood and qi surged, and he held nothing back from his late Blood Refinement cultivation as he shot out a palm like lightning.

His five fingers curled like hooks, blood and qi coiling around them, fierce force whistling as an eagle's claw swept down viciously.

Bang!

Force burst in every direction.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"He only retreated three steps?"

"Hiss, he doesn't seem to be hurt."

Zhao Hong staggered back three steps, one hand trembling as he smiled bitterly. "Brother Li is formidable. What a savage Eagle Claw. I'm no match for you."

Li Bing's face darkened.

He had used his full strength.

Late Blood Refinement against mid Blood Refinement, yet Zhao Hong had only retreated three steps?

Who was stronger and who was weaker needed no further words.

A flash of shock crossed his eyes. He gritted his teeth and was about to speak when Zhao Hong's next words choked him off.

"Thank you, Brother Li, for showing mercy."

"I still need to settle the goods first. But these three companions of mine are all martial artists as well—one at mid Blood Refinement, two at early Blood Refinement. It's their first time at a martial arts school, and they would like to spar with everyone here. I hope Brother Li will allow it, so everyone can offer them some guidance."

Zhang Tai and the Big Hair and Second Hair brothers had stars in their eyes. They stepped out at once, restless and eager to try.

Li Bing took a deep breath.

The other side had preserved his dignity so thoroughly. What was such a small request?

"Not a problem."

"Thank you, Brother Li."

Zhao Hong thanked him again, then turned and winked at the three of them. What were they still standing around for?

Go on.

"Good brother."

Zhang Tai gave Zhao Hong's shoulder a hard smack.

Then—

Zhao Hong followed Wang Chuan and Zhang Yuan as they pushed the carts away.

"You brat, I was worried at first. Never expected you to be far better than those other little bastards when it comes to dealing with people." Once they had gone some distance, Zhang Yuan glanced back and sighed.

"Uncle Zhang, don't praise me. Uncle Yang taught me all of it." Zhao Hong quickly waved his hands.

Zhang Yuan shook his head without speaking.

Martial arts could be taught, but when it came to dealing with people and speaking properly, words alone were useless.

That fellow A-Tai still needed polishing.

Once they had settled in, Zhao Hong went straight to rest.

Zhang Tai and the other two were in high spirits, sparring with the martial arts school students until nightfall.

They won many matches and lost many as well.

The martial arts school students were a mixed bunch; there were weak ones, and naturally, powerful ones too.

After this round of battles, the three of them gained plenty.

The night passed without incident.

The next morning.

Zhao Hong received a full bundle of medicinal ointment.

Lu Hong kept his word. He followed the group out of the city and headed for Clear Creek Village.

The atmosphere along the way was rather tense.

Lu Hong kept a sullen face and did not say a word.

Wang Chuan and Zhang Yuan did not dare act rashly either.

Even Zhang Tai did not dare mutter.

Their pace did speed up considerably because of it.

By noon, the village entrance came into view.

The row of savage beast skeletons made Lu Hong's eyelids twitch.

Instinctively, he thought of them as Zhao Yang's handiwork after returning home.

It had to be said that such a row of savage beast skeletons at a village entrance made for quite an impact.

"Hmm?"

Lu Hong raised his brows slightly and stared at the small square by the village entrance in surprise.

Zhao Hong and the others noticed something unusual as well.

Quite a few people had gathered around its edge.

Zhao Yang was sitting atop a stone stool.

Not far from him, two people were shockingly kneeling.

From behind, they appeared to be a man and a woman.

"Why are two people kneeling there?"

"Did someone commit some offense?"

The group was greatly startled.

They knew Zhao Yang; he was not someone who acted recklessly.

But only one night had passed. With Zhao Yang in the village, who would dare cause trouble?

The rumble of the cart wheels instantly grew louder.

"They're back."

"Wang Chuan and the others are back."

"Tsk tsk, they bought so many things."

The villagers all turned to look.

Zhao Hong also saw the two kneeling figures clearly.

They were a very young man and woman, both seeming only a little over twenty.

The woman in particular was rather attractive.

But they were complete strangers.

They were not villagers.