The eve

The steward handed him a long list. It contained everyone Huang Biao had previously coaxed and threatened into mortgaging their farmland.

"Hadn't Huang Biao joined the Black Tiger Gang? Give this list to their people." Although Li the Landowner still seethed, he no longer wanted to wade into these muddy waters. Naturally, he would not simply let the matter drop, either. He would have the gang deal with those mud-legged peasants. Whether they had done it or not, he needed to vent his anger.

The days flowed past like water, and another month and more slipped by in a flash. During that time, something happened: Chu Fan successfully achieved his Gate Breakthrough and became a Bright Strength martial artist, the envy of every apprentice. It also proved what Huo Shan had said about Chu Fan's excellent Root Bone.

At the Huo Family Martial Arts School, Zhao Feng stood on the Plum Blossom Stakes as usual, diligently practicing Stance Training. By now, holding his stance had become second nature to him. He was almost immune to the pain and could keep standing for more than three quarters of an hour.

[Eight Extremes Stake Skill: beginner (458/500)]

He exhaled a stale breath and stepped down from the Plum Blossom Stakes.

He would break through his bottleneck within the next few days. His three-month term since joining was also almost over, with only ten days remaining.

During this time, people had come and gone from the martial arts school. Familiar faces gradually dwindled, while plenty of unfamiliar ones appeared.

Zhao Feng rested for only a moment before beginning his fist practice. His punches were fierce and powerful, whipping up gusts like a prowling tiger. By the time he finished a full sequence, a light sheen of sweat covered his forehead.

[Eight Extremes Fist: beginner (385/500)]

With the panel, his progress proceeded steadily and methodically. Of course, both Stance Training and fist techniques were closely connected to his blood and qi, each supporting the others. Meat, especially high-quality meat, could effectively replenish them.

With Medicinal Nourishment, I could replenish my blood and qi more effectively and progress faster. But with his finances, simply maintaining a daily supply of meat was already his limit. Medicinal ingredients that replenished blood and qi were anything but cheap.

"Senior Brother Zhao, when are you planning to attempt your Gate Breakthrough?" Wu Tiezhu walked over and asked.

"Within the next few days," Zhao Feng said calmly.

"Me too. My Tuition Fee is almost due. I don't have any other choice." Wu Tiezhu's voice trembled slightly, betraying his anxiety and unease.

He had already poured nearly everything he had into learning martial arts. If his Gate Breakthrough failed, he would have no money to pay another term's Tuition Fee. But if he reached Bright Strength, he would have options. Bright Strength martial artists counted as registered disciples, and if they truly had no money, their master would grant them a grace period. They could also take paid positions outside the school and earn silver, so they naturally would not have to worry about scraping together the Tuition Fee.

Just then, a figure entered the front courtyard through the main gate. It was Chu Fan, and he looked completely different from before. Not only was he wearing a brand-new blue-green padded jacket, clearly made from fine cotton cloth, but his complexion was also much rosier. The greatest change was in his demeanor. His former silence, faint inferiority, and perpetually half-bent posture had vanished completely, replaced by confidence and composure. His back was ramrod straight.

"Senior Brother Chu!"

"Good morning, Senior Brother Chu!"

As soon as he entered, many of the new disciples greeted him respectfully.

Chu Fan was something of a veteran at the Martial Arts School, but more importantly, he was Master Huo Shan's favored disciple. Huo Shan gave him special private instruction and even a meat allowance. He had achieved Bright Strength less than two months after joining, displaying an exceptional Root Bone and outstanding talent. Even before his Gate Breakthrough, he had secured financial support. His material circumstances had undergone a heaven-and-earth transformation.

Chu Fan nodded slightly as he went, heading straight toward the rear courtyard with his hands behind his back.

"Junior Brother Chu..." Wu Tiezhu raised a hand in greeting. Chu Fan's indifferent gaze remained fixed ahead. Without slowing his steps, he went straight into the rear courtyard.

Under everyone's strange looks, Wu Tiezhu's face flushed crimson, his hand frozen in midair. He had actually realized it long ago: the Junior Brother Chu he used to share a coarse-grain bun with every day, the Junior Brother Chu who had worked alongside him, laughing and chatting, had become an entirely different person. Or rather, they now belonged to two different worlds.

Zhao Feng watched with cool detachment. He had experienced plenty of the warmth and coldness of human relationships in his previous life, and none of it surprised him anymore. He focused on himself; other people had nothing to do with him.

Just then, a carriage stopped outside the Martial Arts School. A slender, graceful girl in white stepped down. With her delicate beauty and fair skin, she seemed like a fragrant, clear stream amid the rough men and reek of sweat in the front courtyard. Her bearing in particular, poised and distinguished, made her seem to belong to an entirely different world from these bare-chested men practicing their punches and stances.

"Father! Mother!" Seeing Huo Shan and his wife come out to meet her, the girl broke into a radiant smile that left many of the disciples in the courtyard dazzled.

"Ah, Yao'er, you're home." Huo Shan and his wife smiled lovingly, ushering the girl into the rear courtyard as though cradling their most precious treasure.

After she left, her lingering fragrance still drifted through the front courtyard, and the disciples all grew somewhat distracted.

Some new disciples were already quietly asking the older ones about her. They learned that she was Huo Shan's beloved only daughter, Huo Yao. Huo Shan had been nearly forty when she was born, so naturally, he treasured her dearly.

However, Huo Yao did not study martial arts at her family's Martial Arts School. Instead, she trained at a sect in Changning Prefectural City. She often returned to the family Martial Arts School to visit her parents, stay for a few days, and help out.

Over the next few days, Huo Yao helped around the Martial Arts School. She had some skill in medicine and treated disciples who suffered bruises and sprains. Whenever she appeared in the front courtyard, everyone's attention converged on her. Whether they looked at her or deliberately avoided looking, their tiny, nervous movements betrayed them.

During those two days with her there, enthusiasm for training suddenly blazed up. Every disciple worked hard.

That day, Huo Yao applied medicine to several disciples injured during training, softly offering instructions as she worked. Every disciple she treated flushed bright red, wishing in his heart that the moment could last forever.

Whenever this happened, Chu Fan would also follow her out from the rear courtyard and begin practicing his punches in the front courtyard. Having already reached Bright Strength, his punches whipped up gusts like a prowling tiger, carrying faint sounds of wind and thunder.

Bang! His punch produced a Crashing Ring like muffled thunder, its force astonishing. The other disciples stared, dumbstruck.

"Senior Brother Chu can already make his Eight Extremes Fist produce that Crashing Ring! How long has he even been learning?"

Their master had said that a thousand pieces of gold could scarcely buy a single Crashing Ring from the Eight Extremes Fist. It had nothing to do with mastery and everything to do with comprehension. Chu Fan had achieved it after only two months of training, which showed how talented he was.

Even Huo Yao gave him a look of considerable approval.

Zhao Feng withdrew his gaze and continued practicing.

No matter which world he was in, strength of his own was the only ironclad truth. Others looked only at the results, not the process.

"You've been training too long. You need to balance work and rest, or you'll hurt yourself, and the loss will outweigh the gain." Huo Yao walked over and spoke softly.

This disciple had already left an impression on her over the past two days. He always arrived early and left late, spending almost every moment outside mealtimes holding his stance or practicing his punches. She knew that training excessively in a blind rush for results could cause damage to the body that would be difficult to repair.

"Thank you for the reminder," Zhao Feng said sincerely. But with the panel, he knew his limits.

Chu Fan gave Zhao Feng an indifferent glance. With a poor Root Bone, all that effort is wasted, however hard he works. In a few days, he'll quietly disappear from everyone's sight.

Several days later, Zhao Feng arrived at the Martial Arts School. Few of the new disciples had much contact with an obscure "veteran" like him. Over the past few days, even the calls of "Senior Brother" had almost vanished. Everyone knew his term was about to expire, and he could not afford to renew it.