Sparring

Back then, the Black Tiger Gang had recruited a group of thugs in the countryside, intending to expand from the county seat into the rural areas and exploit the common people. Huang Biao had been the ringleader of those thugs, but someone had killed him.

Of course, in these chaotic times, that was commonplace. What did the death of some minor thug matter?

Huang Biao had nominally been a member of the gang, so for the Black Tiger Gang's reputation, they had put on 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 people who might have been Huang Biao's enemies, Feng Dahu had merely glanced at it and tossed it aside. Later, when faced with the aggressive Three Harmonies Gang, he had long since forgotten the matter.

"Once may be a coincidence. Twice is enough to make people suspicious."

Even so, Feng Dahu had no intention of provoking a direct conflict. Huo Shan was a master of Transformation Force; Feng Dahu absolutely could not afford to provoke him. Besides, this was no major matter. The Three Harmonies Gang had already given him more than enough headaches. The important thing was recovering that ledger. They only needed to investigate in secret.

Inside the county seat, at the Wei Family's warehouse yard.

Zhao Feng was waiting for the servants to sort and load the goods from the storeroom. This shipment was headed for Three Yang County, and it was sizable—ten large carts in all. Thus, the Wei Family had dispatched four Bright Force martial artists, including Zhao Feng, to escort it.

"Junior Brother Zhao, sorry to trouble you with this trip." Wei Yuan walked over with a genial smile.

"What are you saying, Senior Brother Wei? As a disciple of the Wei Family, how could I accept support for nothing? This is simply 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, causing bandits to spring up everywhere. Qingzhou is in the southeast, originally a land of fish and rice, but even it has inevitably been badly affected. That is why we have to send more people on these escort missions," Wei Yuan said.

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

"Doesn't the government suppress them?" Zhao Feng asked.

"The government?" Wei Yuan shook his head. Then, after glancing around, he lowered his voice and said:

"For three consecutive generations, our dynasty has been ruled by empresses' relatives. Imperial authority has weakened, and from the court on down, officials are lazy and lax. The lower levels are even worse."

Zhao Feng nodded. Officials only ever appeared to collect taxes or conscript labor. Even when the Black Tiger Gang and Three Harmonies Gang fought bloody battles in the outer city, no one intervened. The county office simply turned a blind eye.

"Now, nearly every region relies on aristocratic families, powerful local clans, and sects to govern themselves."

Over the past half year, as far as Zhao Feng knew, the five great families in the county seat—the Wei Family, Wang Family, Zhou Family, Han Family, and Zhu Family—not only had their own guards, but could practically be considered private armies. They were much like the armed landowners back on Earth. Combined with the tangled web of gangs, martial arts schools, and other forces, this truly was a chaotic age of martial arts. That was why martial artists held such high status.

At that moment, shouts and the sounds of fighting rose from the warehouse yard. A few martial artists, bored from waiting, had begun sparring.

Zhao Feng recognized one of them. He was Xu Song, a martial artist who had escorted a shipment with him last time. Xu Song's palm techniques were like surging waves, layer upon layer, suppressing his opponent.

"Xu Song retired from the Vast Sea Martial Arts School. His Surging Waves Palm is formidable. Its specialty lies in its unceasing flow, suppressing opponents layer by layer like rolling waves. It can attack and defend alike, but it requires enduring vitality and force to sustain it," Wei Yuan said.

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

"Junior Brother, want to go up and give it a try?" Wei Yuan asked with a smile.

"Sure!" Zhao Feng rubbed his hands together eagerly. Previously, he had only sparred with his fellow disciples at the martial arts school. Since they all practiced Eight Extremes Fist, they knew one another's methods inside and out. This was his first time engaging in a real spar with another Bright Force martial artist.

And Xu Song was an experienced veteran of the Bright Force realm. His combat experience was abundant, and sparring with him would surely greatly improve Zhao Feng's practical experience with Eight Extremes Fist.

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

"Brother Zhao, I've wanted to spar with you for a long time," Xu Song said with a hearty laugh.

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

They wondered how capable Zhao Feng was in actual combat.

Zhao Feng bent his legs slightly and settled into a steady horse stance. His left fist rested by his abdomen, while his right arm extended levelly with the elbow bent—the signature opening stance of Eight Extremes Fist.

"Brother Zhao, watch out!" Xu Song charged forward in a single stride. One palm sliced through the air like a blade, carrying a faint howl of wind. Zhao Feng remained calm. He sank into his horse stance and shifted slightly aside to evade the palm strike, while his right elbow suddenly drove forward. It was the Eight Extremes Fist's Mountain-Crushing Form, the elbow tip shooting straight toward Xu Song's ribs.

"Hm?" Xu Song cried softly in surprise, abruptly halting and retreating. Zhao Feng followed through, sinking and twisting his waist and hips. His left knee thrust forward as his forearm turned outward, sweeping across Xu Song's waist and abdomen.

"Good!" Surprise flashed across Wei Yuan's face, and he could not help shouting his praise.

Though they had exchanged only one round, Zhao Feng had already combined Eight Extremes Fist's close-range short strikes with Pigua's long-range chopping techniques. Coupled with the formidable power of Bright Force, it was a blend of offense and defense, long and short techniques.

What a kid! Xu Song was secretly shocked. Zhao Feng looked young and immature, yet his attacks were tricky and flawless.

A sharp gleam flashed in Xu Song's eyes. Rather than dodge, he sank his right palm, and a gust of force carrying yielding power pressed down on Zhao Feng's left knee. At the same time, his left palm flipped and twisted. Zhao Feng felt a powerful force coil around his extended forearm, trying to wrench it apart!

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

"Then let's see!"

The next instant, instead of retreating, he advanced. Iron Mountain Lean! He slammed straight into Xu Song's chest. Had he retreated, the coiling and twisting forces from before might well have torn his arm apart. Instead, he charged in head-on, forcibly dispersing both forces.

Heart-Top Elbow! Zhao Feng's elbow tip shot like lightning toward Xu Song's chest, targeting the center point between his breasts. Yet in that split second, Xu Song swept a palm horizontally before him. Zhao Feng then felt a suction force seize his elbow tip, followed by a powerful force that shoved him away.

Xu Song's palms immediately began to whirl.

Surging Waves Break the Air! Palm force crashed forth like waves, striking repeatedly through the air.

Cross-Shaped Bell Embrace! Zhao Feng crossed his arms in defense. Palm wind repeatedly collided with his forearms, producing a rapid series of dull thuds.

Surging Waves Palm neutralizes and attacks in the same motion. If I only defend, I'll become more and more passive! With that thought, he exhaled sharply and cried out, his muscles and bones crackling throughout his body.

Braced Hammer Mountain-Crushing! Zhao Feng swung both arms, using the force of his elbow to blast apart the opposing palm force. Then he clasped his fists together and struck downward, like a colossal hammer holding up the heavens before smashing down.

Thud! The blow landed precisely when Xu Song's old force had been spent and his new force had yet to emerge. In his haste, Xu Song raised his left palm horizontally to block. The impact sent agonizing pain through his arm, leaving it numb and powerless as his left arm drooped.

Now! Zhao Feng twisted his waist and hips, rooted himself through his heels, and surged forward in accordance with the principle of uniting waist and abdomen!

Fierce Tiger Shakes Mountain!

Three Strikes at the Gate!

Tower-Bearing Twin-Gate Break!

...A series of close-range short strikes, fierce and explosive. His fists and palms lashed out in rapid succession, with fresh force already emerging before the previous move had fully run its course, each combination flowing into the next.

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