Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall

Knock, knock, knock.

Knock, knock, knock!

Duan Xuan knocked twice. With a creak, the wooden door bearing two handwritten couplets was pulled open from within.

"What is it?" A disciple in a pale yellow martial arts uniform poked his head out and looked Duan Xuan up and down.

"Greetings, Senior Brother. I'm here to take a master."

"Take a master? Come in!"

Yellow Snake County was divided into the inner city and the outer city. Needless to say, the inner city belonged to the most powerful families who had emerged from the surrounding mountains.

They lived in the inner city, enjoying prime locations, abundant resources, and complete security.

The outer city was also part of the county seat, but it was neither as prosperous nor as safe as the inner city.

Most importantly, the outer city served as a protective ring, built gradually outward around the inner city.

If some great calamity ever struck, the outer city would be the first to suffer. For that very reason, there were many small martial arts halls in the outer city.

This gave the poor folk in the villages scattered through the surrounding mountains a sliver of hope.

Strictly speaking, these could not even be called martial arts halls. At most, they were martial training houses.

And today was the day every martial arts hall recruited new disciples.

As Duan Xuan made his way along the street, it was bustling with activity. Countless newcomers streamed into other martial arts halls, while those halls had also sent disciples outside to recruit.

Only Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall was desolate and quiet. Hardly anyone had stepped on the snow before its entrance.

At the words "take a master," the pale-yellow-clad disciple froze for a moment, then shut the door and jogged away.

Duan Xuan waited three to five minutes before the gates opened again.

The disciple who had opened the door now wore an utterly different expression from before—a smile!

"Master is in the back courtyard. Come with me!"

The martial arts hall was not large. Once inside, Duan Xuan saw only three rooms at a glance.

Between the three rooms was a snowless training ground, filled with weapons and equipment—sabers, forks, axes, polearms, wooden dummies, and the like.

More than a dozen disciples in matching pale yellow training uniforms were practicing their punches with shouts of "Ha! Ha!"

Yet every one of them was tall and powerfully built, clearly not one of the newcomers who had come today.

After passing through the front courtyard, Duan Xuan soon saw an elderly man in yellow robes standing in a horse stance. White whiskers and hair mingled with black, and his face was etched with the weariness of time.

His movements were slow, and Duan Xuan could not sense the slightest fluctuation of power from him. In Duan Xuan's eyes, he was no different from the old men practicing tai chi in parks in his previous life.

But at the very instant that thought arose—

Bang!

Whoosh!

The sound of impact was actually faster than the sound of the punch. Duan Xuan did not even have time to see what had happened before the solid wooden post directly in front of the old man took a punch head-on.

Strangely, the post did not move in the slightest, nor were there any cracks on its surface.

"Master. He's here."

Chen Feng gave a calm grunt, then walked toward a grandmaster's chair with his hands behind his back.

As the two passed the wooden post, Duan Xuan examined it closely.

There's nothing unusual? Then where did that impact sound come from? Yet when he lightly tapped it with a finger—

A sound like bones being crushed came from within.

Duan Xuan's eyes widened. This wooden post had suffered internal injuries?

"Which village are you from?" Chen Feng's voice interrupted Duan Xuan's examination.

"Snakehead Ravine. Duan Xuan. Seventeen years old."

"You're somewhat old, yet your frame is far too slight.

"Sigh. With blood and qi like yours, you're even more depleted than ordinary people.

"I'll kindly advise you once: go back. You cannot practice martial arts. At the very least, martial arts can strengthen the body—but if you practice, you'll die!"

Duan Xuan hurriedly bowed. "Master Chen, please accept me as your disciple. I want to practice martial arts!"

As he spoke, Duan Xuan respectfully offered up the tuition fee he had already inquired about with both hands. Chen Feng merely glanced at it coldly, his hands still clasped behind his back.

He walked up to Duan Xuan, and his two hands began feeling him over from top to bottom like great iron pincers.

Duan Xuan was so slight that Chen Feng could almost encircle one of his legs or arms with a single hand.

Duan Xuan felt as if he were about to be torn apart. Chen Feng's strength was no joke!

After feeling him over from head to toe, Chen Feng let out an "Oh." "Interesting. Your bones and physique are upper second-grade.

"Unfortunately, your blood and qi have declined too severely. Martial practice will ultimately lead nowhere for you.

"Fine. For the sake of your decent natural endowment and your sincerity, I'll give you one chance.

"If you fail to reach Manifest Force within two months, roll up your bedding and leave. Do not indulge in fantasies of practicing martial arts any longer.

"This is also for the sake of your life. Do you understand?"

Duan Xuan immediately dropped to one knee. "This disciple greets Master!"

"I don't have so many formalities here. At most, you count as a nominal disciple of my hall.

"If you want to become my official disciple, wait until you enter Manifest Force.

"Of course, since you have taken me as your master, even if you fail to reach Manifest Force in the future, my hall will arrange some means of livelihood for you. That will count as doing right by the tuition you paid."

After hearing this, Duan Xuan felt that he had come to the right place. Whether or not he could succeed in martial arts, Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall was at least responsible.

They would not simply throw their disciples out and let all that money go down the drain. This was a touch of warmth amid troubled times.

But with the system at my side, I can overcome any problem!

"Alright, Zhang Chen. Take this new disciple around the hall and explain the rules to him. This afternoon, I'll come give you your first lesson!"

Duan Xuan cupped his fists, then left with the senior brother named Zhang Chen.

Zhang Chen was tall and powerfully built, his muscles knotted like coiling dragons. Even without knowing martial arts, one could tell at a glance that he was a skilled practitioner.

The temperature was still below freezing, yet he wore only a thin pale yellow training uniform.

He stood over six feet three inches tall, and Duan Xuan was nearly half his height in front of him.

Watching Chen Feng return to his room, Duan Xuan had expected an extremely awkward introduction.

But when he looked up, Zhang Chen grinned. "No need to be so stiff, Junior Brother.

"I reckon that aside from you, no new disciples will come today.

"Come on. I'll show you around our Broken Mountain Martial Arts Hall first. We currently have thirty-two disciples.

"There are twenty in the hall, including me. The other twelve all hold positions outside.

"You won't be involved in those matters for now. Do you want to rent a dorm room?

"A dorm room only costs three copper coins a day. For now, we only provide lunch here.

"The standard meal is two steamed buns, a bowl of meat soup, and two slices of pork belly.

"If you rent a dorm room, breakfast will be buns.

"At night, besides all that, there'll also be a plate of greens.

"If you don't rent a dorm room, you'll have to bring your own food..."

After spending over ten minutes, Zhang Chen led Duan Xuan through the entire martial arts hall.

Only then did Duan Xuan realize that this senior brother, who looked tall, burly, and somewhat fierce—

Was actually the complete opposite on the inside: cold on the outside, warm on the inside.

He was also especially warmhearted, chattering away as if he had an endless stream of things to say.

As for the rules, Duan Xuan only remembered a few useful ones.

For instance: do not use martial prowess to bully others; do not steal, rob, or plunder; do not aid evil or commit violence; do not pass martial arts on to wicked people.

Master's wife, martial uncles, senior brothers, and senior sisters were all elders. Upon first meeting them, one had to greet them with cupped fists and could not address them by name.

Fellow disciples were ranked by order of entry. Those who entered first were senior, regardless of age. Junior disciples had to be respectful and yielding.

During sparring and exchanging moves, one must stop at the right point. Deadly strikes, underhanded moves, and sneak attacks were strictly forbidden. Injuring fellow disciples brought severe punishment; repeat offenders would be expelled from the sect.

These rules suited Duan Xuan's values.

If a martial arts hall indulged its disciples while treating others with vicious cruelty—

If it colluded with evil men, while its disciples were disunited, formed factions, and schemed against one another—

Duan Xuan would leave on his own without even waiting two months.

After receiving a set of the same coarse pale yellow training clothes as the other disciples and eating the lunch provided by the martial arts hall, afternoon soon arrived.

Chen Feng stood in the training ground with his hands behind his back. Just as he was about to explain Broken Mountain Fist to Duan Xuan, a knock came from outside the door.

"Master, another four people have come to take a master!"