Ambush

"Come with me to the front courtyard." Huo Shan led Zhao Feng there.

He felt delighted. No matter what, Dark Force disciples were a group worthy of great attention and formed the backbone of the martial arts hall. Zhao Feng's successful breakthrough into Bright Force could be chalked up to luck for the time being, but if he had also broken through to Dark Force in a single attempt, it could no longer be summed up as luck. Even if it was luck, that too was a kind of strength.

"In the first and second forms of Eight Extremes Fist, the methods of exerting Bright Force and Dark Force are entirely different. Bright Force emphasizes fierce power, while Dark Force is fierce outwardly yet penetrating within. It pierces the surface and breaks what lies beneath! Put simply, it mobilizes the internal force forged through tempering flesh, blood, tendons, and bones, erupting suddenly in an instant during combat and penetrating the enemy's body."

"Watch closely!" Huo Shan assumed a stance and began performing the first form of Eight Extremes Fist. Though his fist wind was fierce, every strike carried a penetrating force. The air three inches ahead of his fists faintly rippled.

Zhao Feng watched intently and could tell that the fist stances and the striking postures of some moves differed somewhat.

"Did you see it?" Huo Shan asked, testing him.

"From watching Master use Dark Force, I noticed it differs somewhat from Bright Force. For example, in Mountain-Embracing Brace Hammer, it seems your arm retracts by an inch, while your shoulder and hip are aligned. This..."

"Good!" Huo Shan laughed heartily. This disciple truly had excellent comprehension. He looked at Zhao Feng with bright eyes. This was a piece of uncut jade he had overlooked.

"This is the supple method of exerting force in our Eight Extremes Fist: strength within suppleness, and suppleness born from extreme strength. Or rather, it is the same principle as restraining force. Only by restraining it first can you make it penetrate! Note that restraint and storing force are not the same. And you were right about the shoulder and hip aligning. I'll explain it in detail when I teach you the stake skill later." Huo Shan patiently explained the theory.

"One path of Dark Force strikes the surface, while another penetrates within. Use hardness and softness together with flexibility! Take this move, Horse-Testing Mountain-Splitting. Turn the palm half an inch, striking and crushing at once! While the Bright Force palm blade chops down fiercely, internal force travels through the elbow and penetrates the body with inch force..."

Zhao Feng listened seriously, continually following along as he assumed the fist stances and postures. Huo Shan patiently corrected him as well.

Master had never taught him so carefully and hands-on before. Zhao Feng was like a sponge, absorbing knowledge. He knew that if he could adjust his posture and force exertion correctly, the progress of his Eight Extremes Fist on the panel would also increase faster.

Seeing how quickly Zhao Feng grasped it, Huo Shan was delighted. "Your bone structure is ordinary, but your comprehension and perseverance are first-rate. These are things outsiders cannot see, and they are your wealth. From what I have observed, your understanding and control of internal force are far stronger than those of ordinary disciples who have just entered Dark Force. Take those moves just now—you understood Dark Force's penetration and suppleness quite well. If you can properly combine them with the concepts of coiling and storing that you mastered before, your strength will surely exceed that of ordinary Dark Force practitioners by a fair margin. So long as you remain diligent, you may not be unable to touch the threshold of Transforming Force in the future."

Hearing Huo Shan's words, Zhao Feng remained calm. He neither rushed to rejoice nor asked about Transforming Force. One had to eat one bite at a time and walk one step at a time.

"Very good." Seeing that he was neither arrogant nor impatient, Huo Shan nodded in satisfaction.

"Now I will impart to you the Eight Extremes Stake Skill for the Dark Force stage. Watch closely!" He leaped onto the plum blossom stakes and assumed a stance. Zhao Feng could sense that this stake skill posture differed again from those of the introductory and Bright Force stages. "The stake skill of the Dark Force stage is not merely about sinking force in a cross shape. More importantly, it emphasizes the force of the six harmonies. In general, this means the shoulder harmonizing with the hip, the elbow with the knee, the hand with the foot, the heart with intent, intent with qi, and qi with force—coordinating them as one and applying them to the fist stances." Huo Shan demonstrated as he spoke.

Zhao Feng committed the posture and the key points of exerting force to memory, then jumped up and tried the stance himself. Huo Shan taught him the posture and force exertion hands-on, only stopping once Zhao Feng had completely memorized the stake skill posture and its essentials.

"Disciple, if you have any questions in the future, come directly to me." Huo Shan was in high spirits.

"Oh, right. Since you have successfully broken through to Dark Force, you can begin actively preparing for the martial examination. I only just learned some news myself. A Commandant Xu came down from the prefectural city a few days ago to take charge of Big Stone County's military affairs. He may well be the chief examiner for your county martial examination when the time comes," Huo Shan said.

Then he seemed to recall something and took out a small bottle from his robes.

"These are Solid Foundation Pills, pills I obtained while in the sect. There are not many left now, only two. You have just broken through to Dark Force, and the upheaval in your qi and blood has consumed too much. You need to strengthen your foundation, nourish your origin, regulate your qi and blood, and stabilize your cultivation."

"Thank you, Master. This disciple is deeply grateful." Zhao Feng respectfully saluted.

"Enough. There is no need for thanks between master and disciple. Come into the rear courtyard and have some tea." Huo Shan spoke warmly.

Within the martial arts hall, those who reached Dark Force and became inner disciples no longer needed to pay tuition. Of course, inner disciples generally gave gifts to their master from time to time. Chu Fan, for instance, had given half of his reward of one hundred taels of patterned silver to his master. The other inner disciples also often presented Master with some of the wealth and treasures they acquired. Thus, what was gained from Dark Force disciples far exceeded tuition fees.

This family banquet had originally been held to celebrate Mistress's birthday and Chu Fan's killing of a notorious bandit. However, because Zhao Feng had unexpectedly succeeded in breaking through, he became the main character—at least for the latter half.

Once the family banquet ended and they exited the martial arts hall's gates,

"Not bad, Junior Brother Zhao! You really brought us honor. You hid it well." Wei Yuan could not help punching him lightly.

Other than Master, he was the happiest about it. At the same time, he secretly rejoiced that he had not spoken of reducing Junior Brother Zhao's benefits. Otherwise, not only would he have made a complete fool of himself, all his previous efforts would have gone to waste.

"I'll have to rely on Senior Brother Wei's care in the future." Zhao Feng cupped his fists.

"Naturally! Junior Brother Zhao, now that you've reached Dark Force, your basic monthly stipend will be raised to thirty taels of silver, along with two Treasure Fish and fifteen jin of ferocious beast meat. What do you think?" Wei Yuan said. Since this Dark Force expert was on good terms with him, he naturally needed to win him over properly.

"Then I'll gladly accept." Zhao Feng did not stand on ceremony. Money had been flowing away like water lately, and nearly half of his more than four hundred taels of silver had already been spent.

The more support, the better.

After parting with Wei Yuan, Zhao Feng headed alone toward his courtyard in Willow Tree Alley. From the martial arts hall to his residence, he only needed to cross three streets, much closer than before.

So a Commandant Xu has come down from the prefectural city to oversee military affairs. Zhao Feng thought.

As far as he knew, Big Stone County only had local militia and garrison troops. Their daily affairs were managed by the county commandant and inspectors under the county magistrate. Yet now, a commandant had suddenly come down from the prefectural city to take over the county's military affairs. That was worth pondering.

Of course, Bing Province had recently fallen into rebellion, while Qingzhou also had displaced refugees and mountain bandits gathering together. It was normal to dispatch a dedicated military officer to take charge of military affairs. Still, the county magistrate's authority had objectively been divided.

And this was probably not an isolated occurrence.

Zhao Feng felt increasingly fortunate that he had not joined the patrol force organized by the county magistrate.

Lost in thought, he unknowingly entered Arch Bridge Alley, the route he had to take. Zhao Feng stopped. From the other end of the alley, a young man in plain clothes slowly approached. His brows slanted sharply toward his temples, his body was sturdy, and his hands and feet were broad. At a glance, he was clearly an expert in hard martial arts.

"Are you Zhao Feng?" the young man asked.

"Who are you, sir? Why are you blocking my way?" Zhao Feng narrowed his eyes. In truth, he had already guessed the man's identity from his appearance.

"Feng Second Tiger, younger brother of Black Tiger Gang leader Feng Dahu. Come with me. I have a few things to ask you." As Feng Second Tiger spoke, he immediately reached out. His five fingers hooked like claws as they grabbed toward Zhao Feng's shoulder.

A sharp whistling tore through the air. This claw strike already contained Dark Force! He was actually using the Tendon-Severing Bone-Dislocating Hand, intending to directly dislocate Zhao Feng's arm!