Senior Brother, Please!

"You could put it that way, but it would be hard to pull off in a real fight.

Unless your qi and blood had reached the very peak of Dark Force Perfection, and your opponent's happened to be failing.

But remember, there aren't that many ifs.

Every threshold on the martial path is a transformation.

Once you reach the Transformation Realm, protective Astral Energy circulates around your body on its own, yet consumes scarcely any qi and blood.

Ordinary blades can hardly pierce even that thin layer of Astral Energy. It would be harder still to drive your Dark Force through it!

And Transformation Realm martial artists learn many new things. With your experience, you'd be cut down before you could even get close."

"Still, it isn't impossible. Back in my day..." Chen Feng coughed twice and said no more.

Duan Xuan had no idea whether a Transformation Realm expert had once beaten his master senseless or knocked every tooth out of his mouth.

"For now, commit the fifth and sixth moves to memory and practice them hard every day. Only when you reach the Transformation Realm can you truly unleash their power!

Together, they're also the ultimate offensive form of our Mountain-Breaking Stance: Brute-Force Technique-Breaking."

Chen Feng offered no further explanation and made no unnecessary movements. As though worried Duan Xuan would not understand, he drew directly on his Transformation Realm cultivation.

His right hand turned slightly, instantly gathering a surging wave of Astral Energy around his fist. With a shout, he sent it hurtling forward.

It flew with astonishing speed. More importantly, nothing slowed its charge or diminished its force as it shot toward an iron-sand stone more than ten meters away.

The next instant, bang!

The stone shattered as though struck by a heavy hammer. Fragments sprayed through the air and struck the ground all around.

Every disciple stared, dumbfounded, forgetting whatever he had been doing.

Even Duan Xuan was shaken by the sight.

Were these the later moves of Broken Mountain Fist? Was this the power of the Transformation Realm?

Chen Feng laughed heartily. "Not every Transformation Realm martial artist, nor every martial art they practice, can strike from a distance with the tremendous power I can.

You were lucky, boy, to choose my Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall.

Had you chosen some nobody's hall, even if you managed to reach the Transformation Realm, you'd likely flee for your life the moment you met one of ours!"

Chen Feng was the only Transformation Realm martial artist Duan Xuan had ever seen, so he could not judge whether the claim was true.

But his master's tone left no room for doubt, and Duan Xuan's heart surged like a storm-tossed sea.

Looking at his panel, he smiled faintly. No one needs to tell me how strong the Transformation Realm is. I'll reach it myself!

After that, Chen Feng demonstrated two more moves for Duan Xuan, followed by the final six forms.

To Duan Xuan, they all seemed almost fantastical. Without exception, Chen Feng performed them using the power of the Transformation Realm.

Astral Energy whirled across the training ground. Anyone who did not know better might have thought his master had cut loose and rediscovered his younger self.

Duan Xuan etched every movement into his mind. Nearly an hour later, Chen Feng left, and Duan Xuan quietly began practicing the moves in a corner.

Junior and senior brothers passing by no longer dared show him disrespect. Each offered a friendly smile and a few words of concern.

Several disciples from fairly well-off families even brought out dried meat and other nourishing food to share with him.

That would never have happened before.

Just then, a thought sprang into Duan Xuan's mind.

When you're weak, the people around you trample you, curse you, humiliate you, and take everything you want.

But when you're strong, everyone around you is a good person!

The sun sank westward, plunging into the valley.

The disciples headed to the dining hall one after another. Duan Xuan ran through Broken Mountain Fist one last time. The first few moves flowed smoothly, but no matter how he practiced the fifth and sixth, he could not grasp the slightest knack for them. It was as though Dark Force could not perform them at all.

He tried using the Ming Force method of erupting his qi and blood, releasing the fifth and sixth moves the instant that power became force.

But his qi and blood burned away rapidly, and the moves consumed tremendous force, yet he could not achieve even a tenth of what Chen Feng had shown.

"This Broken Mountain Fist is interesting. The fifth move, Armor-Breaking, and the sixth, Heaven-Breaking, seem as though they belong to a different style from the first four.

Broken Mountain Fist is supposed to be fierce and domineering, meeting an enemy head-on.

But those last two moves turn it into a ranged attack, using force to cut off an enemy's life. How is that any different from Xiang Yu wielding a grenade launcher?"

Still, his points in Broken Mountain Fist and the Broken Mountain Stake Method were rising quickly. Satisfied overall, Duan Xuan eased off and prepared to leave the hall.

Then Song Dayuan and Wu Hui approached him.

The honest, unassuming Song Dayuan cupped his fists. "Junior Brother Duan, wait. I..."

Halfway through, Song Dayuan seemed embarrassed. He took a packet of Blood-Qi Powder from his pocket. The oiled paper wrapping was badly creased and stained where its contents had seeped through.

Duan Xuan could tell at a glance that it was a treasure Senior Brother Song had struggled to obtain. He had carried it close to his chest, unable to bring himself to drink it, taking it out again and again just to smell it.

For honest men from poor families like them, Ming Force martial artists whose abilities were nothing remarkable, taking an outside post meant choosing between backbreaking work and dangerous work.

Without any resources allocated to them by the hall, buying a packet of Blood-Qi Powder worth two taels of silver was an extravagant dream.

They would only bring themselves to use it when badly injured or on the verge of a breakthrough.

"Senior Brother Song, what are you doing? We're brothers of the same hall. There's no need for this. Just tell me what's on your mind."

Song Dayuan kept holding out the packet, his head bowed too low to meet Duan Xuan's eyes.

Wu Hui gently waved his wooden fan. "If you don't accept it, this stubborn donkey won't say a word.

When you ask someone for a favor, you ought to show some sincerity. Senior Brother Song has done nothing wrong there. Go on, take it!"

Duan Xuan had no choice but to accept the Blood-Qi Powder. Only then did Song Dayuan straighten up. He let out a breath, and some of the embarrassment left his face. "In five days, I'll make my third attempt to break through to Dark Force. I'd like to test myself against you, Junior Brother Duan.

I want to see just how far I am from Dark Force. Don't worry. I won't blame you if you hurt me.

I only have one chance left anyway. I never... had much hope."

Duan Xuan immediately understood what Senior Brother Song meant.

To rise in the martial world, one needed a good master.

And with a good master, one still needed official recognition: to join a sect and become an honored guest of a great power.

Otherwise, one would have to be fiercely independent, possess extraordinary martial talent, and seize a great opportunity to become a legendary hero from humble roots. Without that, there was no hope of getting ahead.

For most martial artists, the nearest opportunity was placing in the Martial Arts Examination. Even the lowest rank, Martial Scholar, would raise one's standing in society.

At the very least, it would bring in considerably more money and help pave the way for future cultivation.

Unfortunately, neither Song Dayuan nor Wu Hui had broken through to Dark Force. Entering the Martial Arts Examination at their current level would make them mere also-rans, there to see the world.

They had to reach Dark Force before the examination, then consolidate their cultivation in time so an unstable foundation would not cause them to fall back.

Sparring with Duan Xuan would, for one thing, help Song Dayuan and the others see where they fell short and by how much.

More importantly, the fight might help them hone their blades and break through the second threshold in a single stroke a few days later, attaining Dark Force.

Duan Xuan saw through it all, yet he answered earnestly, "Senior Brother, please!"