Recruitment

Zhou Ye and Zhang Chen had been beaten beyond recognition. Only a few steps into the courtyard, Zhou Ye's eyes rolled back, and he was about to pass out.

Fortunately, there were many disciples present, and they caught him in time.

Zhang Chen naturally tumbled down from his shoulder.

Duan Xuan squeezed through the crowd, stepped forward, and steadily caught his chatterbox senior brother.

His eye sockets were bruised purple, his skin split open, and his muscles hung limp.

The bones throughout his body had been shattered. Had he not long since reached dark force and possessed robust qi and blood, he would likely have already breathed his last.

Yet most horrifying of all was the string of thick, crimson marks across Zhang Chen's lumbar vertebrae.

Those were not marks left from being pressed against something. They were cumulative injuries inflicted by a flexible martial art.

"It's the Scale Python Martial Academy's supreme art, the Scaled Serpent Coiling Art!"

"The Scale Python Martial Academy again! Those bastards again! Brothers, grab your weapons and avenge Senior Brother Zhang Chen!"

A clatter erupted as disciple after disciple seized weapons, their eyes bloodshot.

They were all in the prime of youth, their qi and blood brimming. How could they possibly swallow such an insult?

More importantly, the ones injured were Zhang Chen, with whom they were on rather good terms.

Each of them asked themselves: when they had first entered the martial arts hall, who among them had not received favors and help from Senior Brother Zhang Chen?

The only reason they usually kept their distance from Zhang Chen was that he talked too much. They simply wanted a little peace and quiet.

As they spoke, the crowd was about to rush out the gates. Just then, an immensely forceful rebuke came from the entrance to the inner courtyard. "What do you all think you're doing? Causing trouble! This is the crucial time to make a final sprint for the martial examinations, yet you're making such a huge fuss. Use your heads—who benefits the most? Every martial arts hall other than the Scale Python Martial Academy!"

"But Master, Senior Brother Zhang Chen and Junior Brother Zhou Ye were beaten into this state. Are we really supposed to swallow this? What will others say about us?"

"That's right, Master. If you simply bring Junior Brothers Liu Mingze and Lin Hu back, we won't be weaker than the Scale Python Martial Academy. But if you don't take a stand, our Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall will probably have a hard time from now on..."

Chen Feng snorted coldly. He had the two bright-force disciples carried into the rear courtyard first, where their wounds could be dressed and medicine applied to ease their injuries. Then he said, "You need not tell me about this debt. I will repay it a hundredfold myself—but not now. How could they not know that Lin Hu and the other were absent from the hall? If we go now, we will be walking right into their trap!"

"Our martial arts hall has now lost one dark-force expert. The rest of you must stick together and not be caught alone again. We will settle this matter in full after the martial examinations. Go attend to your own business. If I learn that anyone has defied my words today and privately gone to seek revenge on the Scale Python Martial Academy, they will be expelled from the sect without room for negotiation!"

Once those words were spoken, no matter how resentful the disciples were, they no longer dared act recklessly. They could only wave their hands in frustration, put down their weapons, and go eat.

Duan Xuan looked at the blood on his hands. It had stained him when he supported Senior Brother Zhang Chen; some belonged to Zhou Ye, and some to Zhang Chen.

The two were seriously injured, but the qi and blood in their bodies still circulated. That meant their chances of recovery were high, and the foundation of their martial path had not truly been damaged.

At that moment, there was only one sentence in his heart: Break through to bright force as soon as possible. Dark force could not protect him!

Nor could it keep those around him safe.

Just as Duan Xuan was about to leave the martial arts hall, a hand suddenly shot out from behind him and clamped onto his shoulder like iron pincers.

From the corner of his eye, Duan Xuan saw that it was Lin Hu, the yin-yang fellow built like an iron tower.

"Senior Brother Duan, you really make me sick and surprise me at the same time. Someone with qi and blood as weak as yours actually broke through to bright force, then entered dark force after only a little over three months. Even among all the martial arts halls on this entire street, that rate of improvement would not be considered slow. I really underestimated you."

Duan Xuan had no interest in listening to him ramble. With a slight shake of his shoulder, he jolted Lin Hu's hand away.

Lin Hu did not get angry. Instead, he took a large step forward and blocked Duan Xuan's path. "Senior Brother Duan, where are you hurrying off to? I didn't come this time to humiliate you. I came to find you a path to survival for the future."

Duan Xuan fixed Lin Hu with a sharp gaze. Less than half a meter separated them, yet the air between them seemed to crackle with electricity.

After a moment, neither looked away.

Lin Hu abruptly realized that in just five short months, the once short, skinny mud-legged peasant had grown slightly taller than him.

Disgust immediately churned within him like rivers and seas overturning.

"Senior Brother Duan, you should know that aside from the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall's generous allocation of resources and Master's tutelage, Golden Jade Hall and the Dragon Gate Escort Agency have also funded me. Even Dragon-Elephant Academy, one of those legendary academies from whose hands all martial arts under heaven emerge, has reserved a place for me in advance. As long as I give a slight nod, I can step right in. On the path of martial arts, I walk steadier, higher, and farther than anyone on this street. But I am no petty man who hoards resources for himself. For the sake of our brotherhood, I must give you a hand!"

Lin Hu changed tack. "As long as you are willing to follow at my side, I guarantee you will never lack food or clothing and will enjoy all the glory and riches you could want. What do you say?"

Duan Xuan raised a brow and instantly understood what Lin Hu meant. He wanted to recruit him, make him a lifelong thug—or perhaps a servant. "Not interested!"

With that, Duan Xuan turned to leave. At that very moment, a vicious glint flashed through Lin Hu's eyes, and his body suddenly sprang into motion.

The first three moves of the Broken Mountain Fist fused into one, their force united. All nine forms linked together as his strike shot mercilessly toward Duan Xuan's heart.

Duan Xuan had naturally anticipated this. The instant Lin Hu exerted force, he had already guessed his motive.

If he could not have him, he would cripple him. That was the old yin-yang man's usual tactic.

Thus, Duan Xuan bent his knees slightly and borrowed force from beneath his feet, stirring up his qi and blood.

Like Lin Hu, he fused three moves and nine forms into one, throwing a crashing fist through the air.

Boom!

Like mountain-cleaving chisels and axes, the two fists and their two streams of force collided. In an instant, both men felt the qi and blood within them roil.

In terms of qi and blood, Duan Xuan was naturally inferior to Lin Hu, who received a constant supply of pills and meat to nourish himself every day. But in terms of fist techniques...

The instant he retreated, Duan Xuan's other fist had already burst forth. Lin Hu's face darkened, and his other hand changed from fist to claw. Black light flared as it lunged again for Duan Xuan's heart, executing a Black Tiger Rips Out the Heart.

This move was not only vicious, but its angle was tricky and exceedingly sharp. What it brought forth was not fist wind, but claw wind that seemed capable of piercing even pillars of refined iron.

Duan Xuan did not need to think to know that such an advanced move was not a martial art of the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall. It was something Lin Hu had learned at Dragon-Elephant Academy.

As fist and claw met, the Black Tiger Claw carried yin baleful energy as it sought to seize Duan Xuan's fist from every angle.

Fortunately, Duan Xuan saw through it the instant they exchanged blows and wrapped his force around his fist wind.

Otherwise, Lin Hu's attack would surely have invaded his body, and the consequences would have been unthinkable.

Seeing his attack neutralized once more, Lin Hu completely lost patience. His crafty, wretched expression suddenly changed.

He looked like a bloodthirsty demon. His other fist likewise transformed into a claw, and even his stance no longer resembled the Broken Mountain Stake Method.

He had become a black-furred ferocious tiger in every respect.

Duan Xuan showed no fear, but unlike Lin Hu, he was not so arrogant as to use martial arts from elsewhere inside the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall. He still assumed the stance of the Broken Mountain Fist.

Just as the two prepared for a second exchange.

"Junior Brothers, what are you doing?" Chen Jingyun's soft, gentle voice rang out.

Her older sister, Chen Jingshu, had come with her.

The latter's brows were raised coldly, and her bearing was equally fierce.

Lin Hu hurriedly withdrew his stance and greeted them with the smile of a tiger wearing a human face. "So it's the two Senior Sisters. Junior Brother and I were discussing martial arts. It's getting late, and I need to make a trip to the inner city. You two chat first."

With that, he cast Duan Xuan a cold look and strode away.

After watching Lin Hu leave through the gates, Chen Jingyun walked over with her hands behind her back, her delicate index fingers lightly hooked together and her steps graceful as lotus blossoms. Her round eyes blinked. "Private fighting is forbidden in the courtyard. It's best not to clash with Lin Hu. He has a close relationship with Liu Mingze, and you alone could easily come out on the losing end."

Chen Jingshu crossed her arms, her voice icy. "Senior Brother Zhang Chen is on good terms with you, but do not act impulsively and seek revenge against the Scale Python Martial Academy. Losing the big for the sake of the small would be foolish indeed. If Father finds out, he certainly will not spare you lightly."

"All right, Sister and I did not come to lecture you. We only wanted to remind you to be careful in all things. Especially since you do not live here—if you are worried about being ambushed, I can have Father clear out a dormitory room for you..."

"Thank you for your kindness, Senior Sisters, and thank you for the reminder. But I still have my mother at home to care for, so I cannot stay here." Duan Xuan cupped his fists and bid the two senior sisters farewell.

The two of them remained outside the gates of the Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall for a long while. Only after ensuring that no one on the street was lying in ambush or following Duan Xuan did they finally close the gates in relief.