Sparring

Back then, the Black Tiger Gang had recruited a new batch of thugs in the countryside, intending to expand beyond the county town and bleed the rural commoners dry. Huang Biao had been their ringleader, only to end up killed.

Of course, in these troubled times, that was as commonplace as a daily meal. What was the big deal about some petty thug dying?

Huang Biao had nominally belonged to the gang, so for the sake of the Black Tiger Gang's reputation, they had made a show of investigating. In truth, they could not be bothered. Even when Li the Landowner, who had dealings with the gang, sent over a list of Huang Biao's possible enemies, Feng Dahu had merely glanced at it and tossed it aside. Later, faced with the increasingly aggressive Three Harmonies Gang, he had long since forgotten the matter.

"Once is a coincidence. Twice gives you reason to be suspicious."

Even so, Feng Dahu had no desire to provoke a direct confrontation. Huo Shan was a Transformation Force expert, someone he would never dare offend. Besides, this was hardly a major issue. The Three Harmonies Gang already had him running ragged; the main thing was to recover that ledger. A discreet investigation would suffice.

Inside the county town, at the Wei Family's Cargo Yard.

Zhao Feng was waiting for the servants to sort the goods in the warehouse and load them onto carts. This shipment was bound for Three Yang County, and its considerable volume filled ten large carts. Thus, the Wei Family had assigned four Bright Strength Martial Masters, including Zhao Feng, to escort it.

"Junior Brother Zhao, thank you for taking the trouble to make this trip," Wei Yuan said, approaching with a cheerful smile.

"You're too kind, Senior Brother Wei. As a retainer of the Wei Family, how could I accept your support for nothing? This is simply part of my duty," Zhao Feng said sincerely.

"Over the past few months, things have been getting worse and worse. In particular, more and more refugees have been coming down from the north, and bandits have sprung up everywhere. Our Qingzhou lies in the southeast and used to be a land of fish and rice, but now even we can't escape the fallout. That's why we need more men for these escort runs," Wei Yuan said.

"The worst are the Blood Wolf Bandits, who roam between the nearby counties, and the mountain bandits of Black Cloud Stronghold on Black Camel Ridge. Compared with the mountain bandits, the Blood Wolf Bandits are more of a headache. They have no fixed base and come and go without a trace," Wei Yuan explained.

"Doesn't the government send troops to wipe them out?" Zhao Feng asked.

"The government?" Wei Yuan shook his head, then glanced around before lowering his voice.

"For three successive generations now, the imperial in-laws have monopolized power. Imperial authority has withered, and officials throughout the court are lax and idle. It's even worse at the local level."

Zhao Feng nodded. Officials only ever appeared to collect taxes or impose corvée labor. Even when the Black Tiger Gang and the Three Harmonies Gang fought so fiercely in the Outer City, no one intervened. The county magistrate's office simply kept one eye open and the other shut.

"These days, almost every region relies on powerful clans and sects to govern itself."

From what Zhao Feng had learned over the past half year or so, the county town's five great clans-the Wei Family, Wang Family, Zhou Family, Han Family, and Zhu Family-not only maintained household guards, but effectively had private armies. They were much like the armed forces maintained by landlords back on Earth. With gangs, martial arts schools, and other forces tangled into the mix, this was truly a chaotic age of the Martial Dao. That was why Martial Masters enjoyed such high standing.

Just then, shouts and the sounds of combat came from the Cargo Yard's courtyard. Bored with waiting, several Martial Masters had begun sparring.

Zhao Feng recognized one of them: Martial Master Xu Song, who had escorted a shipment with him last time. Xu Song's palm techniques surged like wave after wave, pinning his opponent down.

"Xu Song retired from the Vast Sea Martial Arts School. His Surging Waves Palm is formidable. Its defining trait is its unbroken flow, suppressing an opponent layer by layer like rolling waves. It can be used for both offense and defense, but requires sustained vitality and force to support it," Wei Yuan said.

Meanwhile, the sparring match had already been decided. Xu Song defeated his opponent with a palm strike.

"Junior Brother, would you like to give it a try?"

Wei Yuan smiled.

"Sure!" Zhao Feng rubbed his fists, eager to begin. Previously, he had only sparred with his fellow disciples at the martial arts school. They all practiced Eight Extremes Fist and knew one another's techniques inside out. This would be his first proper sparring match against a Bright Strength practitioner of another style.

And Xu Song was a veteran Bright Strength practitioner with abundant combat experience. Sparring with him would surely do a great deal to improve Zhao Feng's practical mastery of Eight Extremes Fist.

"Brother Xu, please teach me!" he said as he walked over.

"Young Brother Zhao, I've been wanting to spar with you for ages!" Xu Song laughed heartily.

He and the other two Martial Masters were all rather curious. Zhao Feng was very young, and they had heard that the Huo Family Martial Arts School had an even younger prodigy who had already reached Hidden Force.

They wondered how well he could fight in practice.

Zhao Feng bent his knees slightly, settling into a steady, balanced horse stance. His left fist drew back to his abdomen while his right arm extended level with a bend at the elbow-the signature opening stance of Eight Extremes Fist.

"Watch yourself, young Brother Zhao!" Xu Song lunged forward, his palm cleaving through the air like a blade with a faint whistle. Unhurried, Zhao Feng sank deeper into his horse stance and turned slightly to evade the chopping palm. At the same time, his right elbow suddenly drove forward. It was the Mountain-Crushing Form of Eight Extremes Fist, the point of his elbow thrusting straight toward Xu Song's ribs.

"Oh?" Xu Song gave a soft exclamation, abruptly halted, and retreated. Zhao Feng followed through, sinking and snapping his waist and hips! His left knee drove forward, and his forearm turned outward, sweeping across Xu Song's waist and abdomen!

"Excellent!" Surprise crossed Wei Yuan's face, and he could not help cheering aloud.

Though they had exchanged only a single round of blows, Zhao Feng had already combined the close-range strikes of Eight Extremes Fist with Long-Range Pigua, all backed by the powerful force of Bright Strength. Offense and defense carried equal weight, while long and short attacks worked together.

Impressive kid! Xu Song was inwardly shocked. Zhao Feng looked young and inexperienced, yet his attacks were cunning and watertight.

A sharp gleam flashed in Xu Song's eyes. He did not dodge. His right palm sank, bringing a gust of wind and a yielding force down to suppress Zhao Feng's left knee. At the same time, his left palm flipped and turned. Zhao Feng felt a powerful force coil around his striking forearm, seeking to twist it apart!

The Surging Waves Palm actually incorporates several kinds of force at close range: yielding, coiling, and twisting! Zhao Feng's fighting spirit flared.

Then let's give it a try!

In the next instant, he advanced rather than retreating. Iron Mountain Lean! He crashed straight into Xu Song's chest. Had he pulled back, those coiling and twisting forces might well have torn his arm apart. Instead, he charged in, forcibly scattering both forces.

"Heart-Top Elbow!" The point of Zhao Feng's elbow shot like lightning toward the Shanzhong Acupoint in the center of Xu Song's chest. In that split second, however, Xu Song swept a palm across to block it. Zhao Feng then felt a suction catch the point of his elbow, followed by a tremendous force that shoved him away.

Immediately afterward, Xu Song's palms flew.

"Surging Waves Break the Air!" His palm force struck like crashing waves, blow after blow cleaving through the air.

"Cross-Shaped Bell Embrace!" Zhao Feng crossed his arms to block. The palm strikes battered his arms again and again, producing a string of muffled thuds.

The Surging Waves Palm deflects and attacks in one continuous flow. If I only defend, I'll be driven further and further onto the back foot! With that thought, he exhaled with a shout, his sinews and bones crackling throughout his body.

"Braced Hammer Mountain-Crushing!" Zhao Feng swung both arms, blasting through the opposing palm force with the power of a driving elbow. Then he brought his fists together and smashed them down in a single blow, like a giant hammer propping up the heavens.

Thud! The hammering blow landed precisely when Xu Song's old force was spent and his new force had yet to emerge. In haste, Xu Song brought his left palm across to block, but the impact sent severe pain through his arm. It went numb and weak, dropping to his side.

Now! Zhao Feng twisted his waist and hips, adhering firmly to the principle of driving force through his heels and uniting his waist and abdomen. He rolled his body forward into close range!

"Fierce Tiger Shakes Mountain!"

"Three Strikes at the Gate!"

"Tower-Bearing Twin-Gate Break!"

...A string of close-range strikes followed, fierce and explosive. His fists and palms flashed in rapid succession, each new burst of force arriving before the previous technique was spent, one move flowing straight into the next.

Thrust! Lean! Shake! Crash! Coil! The rapid barrage gave Xu Song no chance to catch his breath or adjust.