Bright Strength Peak

In the Inner City, Zhao Feng arrived before a two-story octagonal tower. It housed a shop called the Four Seas Trading House, which Wei Yuan had recommended for buying the food and medicinal supplements he needed.

After entering, Zhao Feng found a full selection of ferocious beast meat, including tiger meat, bear meat, and leopard meat, as well as various treasure medicines, medicinal herbs, and treasure fish. But he saw no exotic beast meat. That could only be bought at the Four Seas Trading House in the Prefecture City.

According to Senior Brother Wei, the concentrated qi and blood in exotic beast meat was extremely violent and also contained killing intent. Anyone below transformation force should not try it lightly, or their meridians would be unable to withstand it.

He bought ample quantities of bear meat, tiger meat, and treasure fish from the Four Seas Trading House, spending over fifty taels of silver in one go. His dietary nourishment would now consist mainly of ferocious beast meat and treasure fish. Combined with Vitality Pills, this would advance his stance training and Eight Extremes Fist as quickly as possible, while he also kept up with the Cloak Saber Technique.

The days flowed past like running water.

At the martial arts school, Zhao Feng was concentrating on practicing his fists. After he finished a sequence, Wei Yuan pulled him aside with a mysterious air.

"Junior Brother Zhao, something good has come your way today."

"Senior Brother, stop keeping me in suspense." Zhao Feng smiled faintly.

"I came to ask what plans you have for the great matter of your marriage," Wei Yuan said with a broad smile.

Zhao Feng froze.

"Senior Brother, why are you suddenly asking about that?"

"You're eighteen already, well past the age to take a wife. Haven't you thought about marrying one? Look at me. I've even taken a second wife, and I'm getting ready to welcome a child," Wei Yuan said.

"I only want to focus on martial arts. I haven't considered it yet."

"That won't do. Practicing martial arts doesn't stop you from getting married. With a family and someone to look after you, you can train with peace of mind. How about this? I'll arrange a match for you. I guarantee you'll be pleased." As he spoke, Wei Yuan took out a portrait of a young woman he had prepared.

Zhao Feng saw that the woman in the portrait wore a white blouse and skirt. Her features were beautiful and dignified, with a hint of heroic spirit in her brows and eyes.

"She's my distant cousin, Xue Xiangling, sixteen years old and well educated in books and proper manners. She's the second young miss of the Xue Family Trading House. Her family mainly trades in cloth, grain, and furs, traveling frequently between the Prefecture City and the Provincial Capital. They can't compare to the Five Great Families, but they're still comfortably well-off here in the County Seat," Wei Yuan said.

Although Zhao Feng's potential was limited, he was dependable and persevering. Wei Yuan admired him and wanted to draw closer to someone like him. That was why he intended to introduce his distant cousin to Zhao Feng, adding a bond of kinship to their existing ties.

"What?" Hearing all this, Zhao Feng was a little dazed.

"Senior Brother Wei, I'm only a poor boy from a village. How could Miss Xue possibly take a liking to me?" He knew of the Xue Family Trading House. Even in the Inner City, it was a fairly large trading establishment.

"You're mistaken, Junior Brother. You're still young. You may yet succeed in a gate breakthrough and become a hidden force expert." Wei Yuan paused, perhaps feeling that Zhao Feng's chances of breaking through to hidden force really were slim, then changed tack.

"Even if you can't reach hidden force, with your solid foundation in fist techniques, you're bound to achieve something. You could become an escort or the head of a household's guards. As for Cousin Xiangling, she has to marry sooner or later, and the Xue Family's wealth has little to do with her anyway. These days, marrying a martial master is better than marrying into an ordinary wealthy household. I think you're an excellent choice, Junior Brother Zhao." After knowing him for so long, Wei Yuan genuinely thought well of Zhao Feng. His background was clean, and he was dependable and diligent. With martial skills that could put food on the table, he was an ideal choice for a young woman seeking a husband.

So when his elder sister mentioned arranging a marriage for their distant cousin Xue Xiangling, he immediately thought of Zhao Feng. This junior brother of his was far better than those wealthy young men who spent their days drinking and carousing.

"Senior Brother Wei, I really haven't considered getting married yet. Besides, you haven't even asked the Xue Family Girl."

"Don't worry about it, Junior Brother. Leave this to me. In a couple of days, I'll arrange for you two to meet." Wei Yuan was brimming with confidence.

"Then I'm sorry for the trouble, Senior Brother Wei." Zhao Feng felt somewhat helpless. He really wanted to refuse, but Wei Yuan had helped him a great deal. With the man being so enthusiastic, he could hardly rebuff him and make him lose face.

Inside the martial arts school, Zhao Feng stood on the Plum Blossom Stakes, a light sheen of sweat on his forehead.

Stance training at minor mastery tempered qi and blood much more fiercely and demanded longer training sessions.

[Eight Extremes Stake Skill: Minor mastery (820/1000)]

He had already reached bright strength peak.

He was not far from breaking through to hidden force. Sure enough, these two months of relying mainly on ferocious beast meat for dietary nourishment, along with taking Vitality Pills, had greatly accelerated his progress.

Upon reaching bright strength peak and approaching the breakthrough to hidden force, Zhao Feng discovered that his expenditure on dietary and medicinal nourishment was far greater than he had imagined. For instance, he now needed at least two or three jin of tiger meat, bear meat, or leopard meat every day, a packet of Vitality Powder every two days, and a medicinal bath every three days. He also took a Vitality Pill every several days. Only with all that had he pushed his progress into the late stage in just over two months.

It was clear that advancing the Eight Extremes Stake Skill during the bright strength stage consumed enormous amounts of qi and blood. Its requirements were as far apart as heaven and earth from those of the beginner stage.

Zhao Feng had always thought that having several hundred taels of silver was enough, but now he realized how naive he had been. The further he advanced, the more staggering the expense became. He could imagine that after breaking through to hidden force, he would need to spend even more to ensure his progress continued to rise steadily.

He set his thoughts aside and began practicing his fists. Taking the Large Frame stance, he launched into the Eight Extremes Fist Second Form, his movements stirring the air with a tiger's ferocity. Before he knew it, darkness had fallen, and nearly all the disciples in the front courtyard had left in twos and threes. He simply stripped off his upper garments and continued practicing bare-chested.

Every punch and every kick rang with force. Bright strength erupted through his fists and feet, flinging sweat outward to collect in wet patches on the ground. Those patches soon dried in the wind, and the cycle repeated.

Practicing the Eight Extremes Fist at the bright strength stage likewise consumed tremendous amounts of qi and blood, requiring substantial replenishment. With enough tiger meat, bear meat, and treasure medicines to strengthen his qi and blood and physique, his fist technique also improved considerably.

Through the panel, he could clearly see his progress rising bit by bit.

[Eight Extremes Fist: Minor mastery (811/1000)]

At some point, Huo Shan had come to stand behind him. He watched silently, taking in the solidity of Zhao Feng's horse stance, the power and angles of his punches, and their coordination with his footwork. Seeing the sweat covering his body, the sweat stains on the ground, and the small pits stamped out by his feet, Huo Shan could not help being slightly moved.

In the beginning, he had sometimes barely remembered Zhao Feng's name. Now, this disciple had left a deep impression on him.

He had witnessed Zhao Feng's unyielding resolve, tenacious perseverance, and diligence. These were arguably the most precious qualities a martial master could possess.

What a pity... He sighed. Huo Shan knew all too well how difficult the Martial Dao was, and how decisive a role root bone played. With inadequate root bone, however strong one's perseverance, however hard one struggled, one's achievements would ultimately be limited.

He recalled his own youth, when he had been almost exactly the same, training diligently and relentlessly in the Sect. Apart from eating and sleeping, he had done nothing but practice, enduring his fill of hardship. Yet after half a lifetime, he had still remained in the outer gate, unable to enter the Inner Gate. What he lacked was root bone. In the end, once he grew old, he could only leave the Sect with his tail between his legs and open a martial arts school in the County Seat.

His own root bone had at least been third grade, lower. Zhao Feng's was only fifth-grade root bone. The outcome was already foreseeable; he could see the end of that road at a glance.