The Eve

The steward handed him a long list—the names of people Huang Biao had previously coerced, through threats and intimidation, into mortgaging their farmland.

"Didn't Huang Biao join the Black Tiger Gang? Give this list to the Black Tiger Gang." Though Li the Landowner was still furious, he no longer wanted to wade into this muddy water himself. Of course, he would not let the matter rest so easily. He would have the gang deal with those mud-legged peasants. Whether or not they were the ones responsible, he had to vent his anger.

The days flowed by like water, and in the blink of an eye, more than a month had passed. During that time, something happened: Chu Fan successfully broke through the barrier and became a Bright Force martial artist, the envy of all the apprentices. It also proved what Huo Shan had said about Chu Fan's exceptional bone structure.

At the Huo Family Martial Arts School, Zhao Feng stood as usual atop the Plum Blossom Stakes, diligently practicing his stake stance. He had now become completely adept at stance training and was practically immune to the pain. He could endure for more than three quarters of an hour.

[Eight Extremes Stake Skill Beginner (458/500)]

He let out a breath of stale air and stepped down from the Plum Blossom Stakes.

He would break through the bottleneck within the next few days. Since he had enrolled, the three-month term was also nearly up, with only ten days remaining.

During this time, people came and went from the martial arts school. Familiar faces gradually grew fewer, while quite a few unfamiliar ones appeared.

Zhao Feng rested only briefly before beginning his fist forms. His punches were fierce and forceful, stirring the air with every movement. After completing a set, a light sheen of sweat had appeared on his forehead.

[Eight Extremes Fist Beginner (385/500)]

With the panel, his progress proceeded in an orderly fashion. Of course, stake training, fist forms, and vitality were all closely connected, complementing one another. Meat—especially high-quality meat—could effectively replenish vitality.

"If I had medicinal supplements, replenishing my vitality would be even more effective, and my progress would be faster." But with his financial means, maintaining a basic daily supply of meat was already the limit. Medicinal ingredients capable of replenishing vitality were all expensive.

"Senior Brother Zhao, when do you plan to attempt breaking through the barrier?" Wu Tiezhu came over and asked.

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

"Me too. My tuition is about to expire, and I have no other choice." Wu Tiezhu's voice trembled slightly, revealing the anxiety and unease in his heart.

He had already poured nearly everything he had into learning martial arts. If he failed to break through the barrier, he would not have the money to pay the tuition again. But if he broke through to Bright Force, there would be a way forward. Bright Force martial artists counted as registered disciples. If they truly had no money, their master would grant them a certain period of grace. Moreover, as Bright Force martial artists, they could take on outside postings and earn silver. Naturally, they would not have to worry about scraping together tuition.

Just then, a figure entered the front courtyard through the main gate. It was none other than Chu Fan. He had changed completely from before. Not only was he dressed in a brand-new blue cotton-padded jacket, clearly made from fine cotton cloth, but his complexion had also become much rosier. His greatest change was in his bearing. The silent, somewhat self-abasing manner of always walking half-hunched over had vanished entirely, replaced by confidence and composure. His back was straight as a ramrod.

"Senior Brother Chu!"

"Good morning, Senior Brother Chu!"

The moment he entered, many of the newly arrived disciples greeted him respectfully.

Chu Fan was considered one of the martial arts school's old hands. More importantly, he was Master Huo Shan's favored disciple. Huo Shan had given him special instruction, personally guiding him and even providing a meat subsidy. In less than two months after enrolling, he had broken through to become a Bright Force martial artist. His bone structure was exceptional, and his talent outstanding. He had received support even before attempting to break through the barrier. His material life had undergone earth-shaking changes.

Chu Fan nodded faintly as he walked, clasping his hands behind his back as he headed straight for the rear courtyard.

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

Under the strange looks of the others, Wu Tiezhu's face flushed bright red, his raised hand frozen in midair. He had actually realized long ago that the Junior Brother Chu to whom he had once given half a steamed bun every day, the Junior Brother Chu with whom he had worked and laughed, had become a completely different person. Or perhaps they were now people from two different worlds.

Zhao Feng watched coldly from the side. He had experienced plenty of the warmth and chill of human relations in his previous life, so none of it surprised him anymore. He focused on himself; other people had nothing to do with him.

At that moment, a carriage stopped outside the martial arts school. A graceful young woman in white stepped down from it. Her features were delicate and lovely, her skin fair. In the front courtyard full of rough men and the smell of sweat, she was like a fragrant, clear stream. Especially her bearing—distinguished and composed—made her seem like someone from a different world than these bare-chested martial men practicing fists and stake stances.

"Father! Mother!" When the young woman saw Huo Shan and his wife coming out to greet her, she could not help revealing a radiant smile. That smile left many disciples in the courtyard dazzled and entranced.

"Ah, Yao'er is back." Huo Shan and his wife smiled lovingly. As though cradling their own treasure, they led the young woman into the rear courtyard.

After she left, her lingering fragrance still drifted through the front courtyard, and the disciples all became somewhat absent-minded.

Some new disciples had already begun discreetly asking the older disciples about her. They learned that she was Huo Shan's only daughter, Huo Yao. Huo Shan had not had his only daughter until he was nearly forty, so naturally he cherished her dearly.

However, Huo Yao had not studied martial arts at her family's martial arts school. Instead, she trained at a sect in Changning Prefectural City. She often returned to visit her parents for a few days and help out at the school while she was there.

Over the following days, Huo Yao helped out at the martial arts school. She knew some medicine and treated disciples who had suffered bruises and sprains. Whenever she appeared in the front courtyard, everyone's attention gathered around her. Whether they looked openly or deliberately avoided looking, their tiny nervous movements betrayed them.

With her around those two days, the atmosphere for martial training suddenly became fiery. Every disciple trained with all his strength.

That day, Huo Yao applied medicine for bruises and sprains to several disciples injured during training, softly instructing them as she did so. Every disciple she treated turned red to the ears. In their hearts, they wished such moments could last forever.

And whenever that happened, Chu Fan would also come out from the rear courtyard into the front courtyard and begin practicing his fist forms. Having already entered Bright Force, his punches stirred the air like roaring tigers, with the faint sound of wind and thunder.

Bang! His punch produced a crashing sound like muffled thunder, its force astonishing. The disciples stared with their mouths agape.

"Senior Brother Chu's Eight Extremes Fist can actually produce a crashing sound already. How long has he even been learning?"

Master had said that a single sound from Eight Extremes Fist was worth a thousand gold. This had nothing to do with mastery of the form, but with comprehension. Chu Fan had produced that crashing sound after only two months of study. His talent could truly be called exceptional.

Even Huo Yao revealed an approving look.

Zhao Feng withdrew his gaze and continued practicing his fist forms.

No matter what world one lived in, becoming strong yourself was the only hard truth. Others looked only at results, not the process.

"You train for too long. You should balance work and rest. Otherwise, if you injure yourself, the loss will outweigh the gain." Huo Yao walked over and spoke softly.

She had noticed this disciple over the past two days. He arrived early and left late. Other than eating, he was almost always practicing stake stances or fist forms. She knew that blindly rushing for results in training could cause bodily damage that would be difficult to remedy.

"Thank you for the reminder," Zhao Feng said sincerely, though he had the panel and knew his limits.

Chu Fan gave Zhao Feng an indifferent glance. With such poor bone structure, no matter how hard he worked, it would all be in vain. In a few days, he would quietly vanish from everyone's sight.

Several days later, Zhao Feng arrived at the martial arts school. As an unremarkable "old hand," few of the new disciples interacted with him. In recent days, even the voices calling him Senior Brother had nearly disappeared, because everyone knew that his term was about to expire and that he lacked the means to renew it.