The assignment

After reaching major accomplishment in his stance art, Lu Chen shifted the focus of his training to his fist technique.

After all, advancing the Coiling Dragon Stance Art to the next stage required a full thousand progress points.

That was not something he could achieve in a short time.

The Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist was different. It was only a few hundred progress points away from major accomplishment.

If he could bring the Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist to major accomplishment and pair it with his equally accomplished Coiling Dragon Stance, his fighting strength would surely rise another level.

Then, even against a veteran like Liu Heng, he would have far more room to maneuver.

Before his morning shift, Lu Chen practiced his fist technique.

After his evening shift, Lu Chen practiced his fist technique.

At night, after his medicinal bath set his qi and blood coursing freely, he would run through the technique a few more times in the training yard.

Azure Dragon Claw, Azure Dragon Coiling Body, Piercing Clouds, Entering the Sea, Dragon's Roar Pierces the Sun...

Every move flowed more smoothly in his hands.

In the past, his practice had mostly consisted of following the prescribed movements, building up familiarity until variations came naturally.

But after reaching major accomplishment in his stance art, practicing the Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist felt entirely different.

His footing was steadier, his waist and back more supple. The muscles throughout his body seemed linked into a single line, transmitting force with remarkable ease.

Every punch grew faster, every transition more seamless.

Still, between bouts of practicing the Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist, Lu Chen did not neglect the Iron Thread Grappling Hand.

He intended to master this signature martial art of Mighty Far Hall.

The Iron Thread Grappling Hand was completely different from the Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist.

Rather than seeking to knock someone down with a punch, it specialized in disrupting an opponent's generation of force, seizing their joints, and driving them into a corner.

As Lu Chen practiced alone in his room, he increasingly realized how troublesome this martial art would be to face.

A few days later, understanding flashed in his eyes. "The key to the Iron Thread Grappling Hand isn't gripping wrists or locking elbows... it's blocking the points where the opponent generates force."

When a martial artist punched, the fist alone did not provide the power.

It traveled up from the feet, through the waist and hips, the shoulders and back, and into the arms, layer by layer.

Sever that flow of force at any one point, and the power behind the opponent's punch would collapse.

If I can learn this grappling technique and incorporate it into actual combat, it will definitely let me catch opponents off guard.

Lu Chen considered it silently.

Then he glanced at the transparent screen:

[Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist: minor accomplishment]

[Progress: 289/500]

[Iron Thread Grappling Hand: uninitiated]

[Progress: 52/100]

Watching his progress increase, Lu Chen slowly exhaled.

First, I'll bring the Azure Dragon Through-the-Arms Fist to major accomplishment.

Then I'll reach initiation in the Iron Thread Grappling Hand.

With the two combined, I should be able to sweep aside every initial-realm martial artist.

Early in the morning, the guards arrived in the rear courtyard one after another for roll call.

The mist had yet to fully disperse, and cooking smoke was already rising from the kitchens. A film of moisture coated the gray-brick ground. Some men yawned; others rubbed their aching shoulders, complaining that days of martial training had worn them down in body and mind.

Lu Chen stood among them.

He had practiced his fist technique late into the night, then risen early to hold the Coiling Dragon Stance for an hour. With that much exertion, he should have been sore-backed and exhausted today.

Yet his eyes were clear, his breathing deep and steady. Qi and blood circulated slowly through his chest and abdomen. Far from looking listless, he felt even more energetic than usual.

That was the benefit of medicinal baths.

At one tael of silver per dose, their effects were certainly noticeable.

Without medicinal baths to cleanse and temper the body, the fatigue, soreness, and tiny hidden injuries accumulated during training would settle deeper into one's muscles, bones, and flesh with each passing day.

Nothing might show in the short term, but as the days and months piled up, they would eventually come back to bite.

Many martial artists relied on their abundant qi and blood in their youth, sparing no effort in their fist training just to advance a little faster. As they aged and their qi and blood began to decline, all the hidden injuries accumulated in those early years would erupt at once.

In the end, plagued by all manner of pain and illness, they would find life worse than death.

Before long, Zhao Yiting arrived.

The moment he stepped onto the stone stairs, the somewhat disorderly guards straightened and stood ready.

His gaze swept across them. "We won't be following the usual patrol assignments today."

Everyone grew more attentive.

Zhao Yiting continued, "It's time to escort another shipment of medicinal herbs from the mountain herb garden."

A few murmurs immediately rose from the crowd.

"The mountain herb garden?"

"Back into Scarlet Cloud Mountain again, then."

"Tsk, those mountain roads aren't easy going."

"Let's hope we don't run into bandits this time."

Something stirred in Lu Chen's mind.

He had been at the Yam Herb Shop for some time now, so naturally he had heard of the mountain herb garden.

The truly valuable assets of Wang's Ginseng Shop were not all stored in its county-town warehouses. Some lay outside town, in Scarlet Cloud Mountain.

The Wang Firm had operated an herb garden there for years, growing many precious medicinal herbs. Whenever they ripened and were harvested, guards had to be dispatched to escort them out of the mountains and back to town.

Zhao Yiting raised a hand and pressed it downward. Everyone immediately fell silent.

"The Yam Herb Shop has an herb garden in Scarlet Cloud Mountain. It grows red blood vine, black-bone lingzhi, dragon-whisker grass, and several other main ingredients used to refine Blood-Qi Powder."

"A crop has ripened this month. If we bring it back safely, it'll be enough for the alchemy room to fire up the furnaces and produce several batches of Blood-Qi Powder."

A slightly older guard asked, "Commander Zhao, who's leading us this time?"

"Commander Wang Zhong, as usual," Zhao Yiting replied.

Wang Zhong was a martial artist at blood-moving minor achievement whom the Wang Family had raised themselves. His original surname had not been Wang. Only after breaking through to blood-moving minor achievement had he been granted the surname and admitted into the family proper.

Lu Chen had yet to meet Wang Zhong.

The man was usually stationed at the mountain herb garden, where he oversaw the herb escorts.

Zhao Yiting added, "Escorting medicinal herbs along mountain roads is much more dangerous than guarding the Yam Herb Shop."

"Bandits roam those mountains. Neither Black Wind Stronghold nor the Golden Tiger Gang is a bunch to trifle with."

"Whoever gets assigned this job, make sure you stay alert!"

"Yes!" the guards answered in unison.

Then Zhao Yiting began calling names.

"Zhou Li, Liu Heng, Li Qing, Lu Chen..."

Those named stepped forward one by one, Lu Chen among them.

Escort assignments came once or twice a month, and practically everyone got a turn.

After finishing the list, Zhao Yiting looked at Lu Chen and cautioned him, "Once you're in the mountains, follow orders in everything."

"Commander Wang Zhong is a seasoned hand. Stick with him, and you'll be fine."

Lu Chen cupped his fist. "Understood."

Zhao Yiting nodded, then added, "This trip isn't just to collect herbs. You'll also be delivering salt, cloth, and other supplies to the herb garden. You'll have cargo both going and coming back."

"You leave in an hour."

"Go pack your things."

"If anyone holds the others back on the road, don't blame me when I dock his monthly pay afterward!"

"Yes!" the guards chorused.

As everyone dispersed, Lu Chen turned and headed back to his quarters.

Before he left, Qian Ming came to see him off.

"Take these."

Qian Ming walked into the room and tossed Lu Chen a small cloth bundle.

Lu Chen caught it and opened it to find several small black pills and a pinch of insect-repelling incense.

"What are these?"

"Antidote pills and insect-repelling incense," Qian Ming said. "The mountains are damp and full of venomous bugs. Go to sleep at night, and you might wake up with a centipede in your ear."

Lu Chen put the bundle away. "Thank you."

"Be careful on the road. If you run into bandits, fight if you can win. If you can't, run."

"A few taels of silver a month aren't worth risking your life over."

Qian Ming added that last piece of advice.

Lu Chen nodded. "I know where to draw the line!"