Grudges

The next day, as dawn had just broken, Duan Xuan bade his mother farewell and went to the martial arts hall as usual.

Though he had no good solution for the moment, learning every move of the Broken Mountain Fist as thoroughly as possible would at least prepare him for any eventuality.

To be honest, at the old house where his grandfather had lived, the only people Duan Xuan worried about were his aunt and grandmother.

Back then, the two of them had endured immense pressure and taken out the silver they had secretly saved to support Duan Xuan's martial training.

For the sake of that kindness alone, if anything happened to them, Duan Xuan could never stand by and do nothing.

Besides, his aunt had treated him no less well than his mother, Zhao Rui, and Liu Chunmei.

Casting aside his thoughts, Duan Xuan waited and waited, yet still did not see Master Chen Feng or his two senior sisters arrive. He could only proceed as usual and practice the Broken Mountain Fist.

"Good morning, Senior Brother Duan!" A handyman who had just changed into the martial arts hall disciple uniform greeted him with a smile.

Duan Xuan recognized him. His name was Liu Tie, and he was a disciple who had reported in belatedly after Duan Xuan and the others had joined.

There was no helping it. Having missed the registration period, they could only work as handymen for several months to earn their qualifications again.

Liu Tie's innate aptitude was indeed ordinary as well, ranked B-middle.

But he was diligent—so diligent that Duan Xuan saw a reflection of himself in the boy.

After breaking through to Bright Force, Duan Xuan had chosen an outside post and was rarely at the martial arts hall.

Senior Brother Zhang Chen had said that every night, the last disciple to leave was always Liu Tie.

These handymen did not spend all their days working. They could practice some of the Broken Mountain Stake Method beforehand to temper their own qi and blood.

After several months, Liu Tie had become the one with the most abundant qi and blood among the four handymen.

Duan Xuan reckoned that, with the Broken Mountain Fist to complement it, Liu Tie would certainly be able to make a bid for Bright Force in another month or two.

He nodded and returned the greeting.

Having become a formal disciple and received his disciple uniform, Liu Tie was thrilled beyond measure.

He kept clutching at the few embroidered characters on his sleeve, as though he wanted the entire martial arts hall to know of this joyous occasion.

Yet after wandering around several times, no one paid him any mind. He had even nearly been given a severe beating by several ill-tempered senior disciples, so he could only slink back to Duan Xuan's side.

He obediently squatted nearby, practicing the Broken Mountain Stake Method while observing Duan Xuan's fist and footwork.

Duan Xuan naturally knew the rule that senior disciples could not privately teach moves to new disciples.

But he deliberately slowed down as much as he could, allowing Liu Tie to see every movement over and over. It was his way of looking after a fellow disciple who had also come from poverty.

By the time it was noon and time to eat, Liu Tie was exhausted. He lay beneath the shade, bored out of his mind.

Duan Xuan sank his qi into his dantian and drew back his force, severing the contact beneath his feet and halting the generation of qi and blood.

"Hey, Senior Brother Duan, do you know why Master and the others haven't been at the martial arts hall these past few days? Senior Brothers Lin Hu, Liu Mingze, and Zhang Chen were also urgently called away some days ago. Do you know what happened?"

Seeing Duan Xuan rest, Liu Tie hurriedly brought his flatbread over and sidled up beside him, eager for gossip.

Duan Xuan glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Wasn't this sort of gossip usually Senior Brother Zhang Chen's job?

Now that Senior Brother Zhang Chen was gone, had this kid taken over?

"I knew you wouldn't know. Our martial arts hall may look harmonious lately, but beneath the surface, it's anything but peaceful. Senior Brother, since you don't live here, you must be careful whenever you're out and about."

Seeing Duan Xuan's confused expression, Liu Tie chuckled and moved even closer, lowering his voice. "Do you know the Scale Python Martial Academy on West Street? The martial arts hall where father and son fight side by side—the hall master is at Transforming Force, while his son has reached the peak of Dark Force. I heard they recruited a disciple with A-grade innate aptitude several months ago, and his Dark Force is already stable."

He was naturally talking about Duan Xu. Duan Xuan nodded in understanding.

"Originally, our two martial arts halls are so far apart that there should have been no grudge between us. You know what Master is like—a broad-minded, rugged man who gets along well with the various martial arts halls outside. But not long ago, someone saw Zhao Bastard, Zhao Hui, and his sister secretly meeting with people from the Scale Python Martial Academy."

Those two had fought Liu Mingze before and spent a full month bedridden. Even now, Zhao Hui's arm had not recovered, and trying to break through to Dark Force was still rather difficult for him.

Upon hearing that, Duan Xuan's first thought was: were they planning to switch halls?

If the Scale Python Martial Academy truly poached them, then with the quality and rank of the martial arts inheritance at stake, the two martial arts halls would surely become bitter enemies from then on.

"And what time is it now? The martial examination is only a month away. Master has high hopes for Senior Brothers Lin Hu and Liu Mingze, hoping they can place highly in the martial examination and bring fame to our Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall in Yellow Snake County. Yet those siblings clashed with Liu Mingze and even injured him. How could Master not be angry?"

Liu Tie rattled on at length, and Duan Xuan roughly understood the whole story.

Master Chen Feng had mistakenly believed that the Scale Python Martial Academy was jealous that the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall had two disciples with A-grade innate aptitude.

After all, three disciples with A-grade innate aptitude had appeared this year. Two were at Broken Mountain, while one was at Scale Python.

The Scale Python Martial Academy had developed with ferocious momentum in recent years, so naturally it did not wish to see its own momentum suppressed.

Nor did it want the number of future Transforming Force experts it produced to be surpassed.

And then there were the martial examination results—it certainly could not bear to see others perform better than itself.

So it had bought off Zhao Hui and his sister, ordering them to stir up trouble within the hall.

Chen Feng had not made a move against the siblings, but he had gradually sidelined them. The pace at which he taught them moves became slower and slower, and even now, he had yet to teach them the third move.

But someone had to bear the brunt of the blame, and the target was undoubtedly the Scale Python Martial Academy.

At a time like this, the two martial arts halls were still at daggers drawn, while the other martial arts halls watched tigers fight from the mountain, supporting both sides.

They simply hoped the two halls would have a real fight, crippling all three disciples with A-grade innate aptitude in the end.

Then everyone would be happy—except for those two halls!

Unfortunately, the matter had escalated until it alerted people from the Dragon-Elephant Academy. Lin Hu and Liu Mingze held outside posts at the academy.

Coupled with their excellent innate aptitude, they were very likely to catch the eye of the academy's instructors. The last time Liu Mingze was injured, Liu Xuan'er had come to demand an explanation, which was proof enough.

"Senior Brother Duan, do you think that was the end of it? It wasn't. Though the Dragon-Elephant Academy stands with our Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall, the Scale Python Martial Academy refuses to accept it! They've been pulling all sorts of tricks, openly and in the shadows. Just last night, a senior brother at Dark Force was beaten so badly he was seriously injured. Master is certain the Scale Python Martial Academy did it, and the two sides have gone off to discuss the matter somewhere!"

Duan Xuan was delighted. That was excellent.

Until the martial examination ended, Duan Xu probably would not dare show his face outside so easily.

So long as someone kept Duan Xu tied down, once Duan Xuan had mastered the Broken Mountain Fist, he was completely confident he could suppress him.

After all, his golden finger gave him an enormous advantage in battle. Even if his qi and blood were inferior to his opponent's at the same realm, as long as his fist technique proficiency was high enough—

Someone at the initial stage of Dark Force could still contend with a seasoned expert at the late stage of Dark Force!

Just then, the entrance grew lively.

Lin Hu, Liu Mingze, and Zhang Chen entered from outside and headed straight for the rear courtyard. Then came the appearance of the people who made all the junior brothers' eyes go wide.

Senior Sisters Chen Jingshu and Chen Jingyun stepped over the threshold together, one aloof as winter frost, the other gentle as flowing water—their contrasting airs washed over the courtyard.

Only Duan Xuan and Liu Tie were exceptions, paying no attention to any of it.

Just as they were about to leave the training yard, Liu Tie suddenly asked, "Senior Brother Duan, some time ago your fist technique was fierce and domineering, your force spreading outward like the boom of war drums. Why have your punches become so savage recently, yet there's no outward-released force at all? You haven't been slacking off lately and growing lax in your training, have you?"

The moment those words left his mouth, Chen Feng and his two daughters abruptly halted.

All three turned to look at Duan Xuan at once. Chen Feng said in a deep voice, "What did you just say? Say it again!"