Martial Form

Wen Fan's interlude at the Martial Pavilion did not affect Chen Xu's mood in the slightest.

He hailed a carriage and headed straight for the Iron Stele Martial Hall.

It was not because it was the weakest, but purely because this martial hall was the closest to the Martial Pavilion.

Except for the Zhicheng Martial Arts Academy, the masters of the other three martial halls were strong contenders for the top ten experts in Jinning Commandery, ranking at the forefront among the hundreds of large and small martial halls in Jinning Commandery.

Iron Stele Martial Hall.

"Your force is not enough!"

After speaking, a man in martial attire with temples frosted with white violently lashed down with a rule in his hand.

The trainee in front of the sandbag gave a muffled grunt and replied loudly, "Yes, Master!"

"Remember, without arduous cultivation, it is impossible to reach the peak in any path. The martial way is like this, and other paths are the same!"

The master of the Iron Stele Martial Hall spoke in a resonant voice that spread throughout the entire martial hall.

"Yes!" A neat and uniform roar soared into the sky, drawing sideways glances from passersby.

"Got it~~" After the roar of the crowd subsided, a listless voice came from the corner of the courtyard.

Hearing this sound, the Iron Stele master immediately walked quickly to the corner, toward the young man biting a piece of dogtail grass, and called out his name word by word.

"Wen Fan! You have only practiced the Great Stone-Stele Smash to a superficial level and you start slacking off every day; you are wasting your own talent!" The Iron Stele master had an expression of frustration at his failure to live up to expectations, as he really was unwilling to watch his eldest disciple degenerate like this.

"Isn't it just a woman? So what if you were dumped, back when I—" The Iron Stele master slammed on the emotional brakes; he almost blurted out his own dark history.

"Ahem, anyway, you cannot remain this decadent. It is time to pull yourself together!"

Wen Fan rolled over on the bluestone, not letting the master see the tears dripping from his eyes.

With his back to the Iron Stele master, he said, "Master, I am already ruined, so just leave me be."

"You!"

The Iron Stele master caught sight of a few damp marks on the bluestone, heaved a heavy sigh, shook his head, and walked away.

The painted wooden door outside the courtyard blasted apart, and wood chips flew.

Two disciples keeping watch outside tumbled into the courtyard, their eyes mixed with anger and fear.

"Master, someone is challenging the hall!" The gatekeeping disciple, helped up by other disciples, pointed at Chen Xu with an excited tone.

"Challenging the hall?"

The disciples looked at each other in dismay, their faces full of disbelief. This was not the time when they had first established themselves; how long had it been since the Iron Stele Martial Hall had been treated like this by anyone?

Even Wen Fan turned his body to the side, curiosity showing in his eyes. As the eldest disciple of the martial hall, he clearly remembered that the last hall challenge had been nearly two years ago.

Some outsider had wanted to establish a foothold in Jinning and challenge the hall to build prestige, only to be subdued in a single strike by his master's Great Stone-Stele Smash, rolling ignominiously out of Jinning Commandery.

"A teenage boy?" The Iron Stele master walked to the very front. He really had no idea when he had ever offended this young man for whom he had no impression at all.

"Iron Stele Martial Hall, after all these years, how is the Refining Liquid of my Chen Martial Arts Academy?" Chen Xu took the initiative to speak, placing himself on the moral high ground.

His strength was not yet strong enough to act unbridled in Jinning Commandery, so at a time like this, finding an excuse to make a move was always harmless.

Quite a few new disciples looked blank. What was "Refining Liquid"? They had never even heard of it.

Hearing Chen Xu's words, the Iron Stele master's expression changed slightly, and he subconsciously averted his gaze elsewhere, not daring to meet his eyes.

He had lived his life doing things with a clear conscience, but for the sake of that extraordinarily talented child, he had broken the rule after all.

That child Wen Fan should not waste his life away in a martial hall in such a small commandery; his talent deserved the practice of a superior martial way and the enjoyment of superior resources.

His lips twitched slightly, hesitating to speak.

He forced out a smile, suppressing the turmoil in his heart: "So it is Master Chen of the Chen Martial Arts Academy. Please come into the hall to speak."

"Master, he is here to challenge the hall!" The gatekeeper disciple looked bewildered. Since the visitor was so arrogant, shouldn't they ruthlessly beat him up first and talk later?

The Iron Stele master pretended not to hear the disciple's words, his peripheral vision sweeping over Wen Fan on the bluestone. Seeing that he looked expressionless, as if he were just joining in the excitement, he breathed a sigh of relief.

He really didn't want to leave an impression as a thief or a robber in the depths of Wen Fan's heart.

Chen Xu had originally prepared to start fighting the moment he stepped inside, but it turned out the hall master was quite polite. Judging by this attitude, had he already prepared compensation in advance?

Or were there hundreds of blade-and-axe-wielding assassins ambushed inside, waiting to toss a cup as a signal?

Confirming that there was no one deliberately hiding inside the room, Chen Xu followed the Iron Stele master. He wanted to see what kind of game was being played here.

Entering the inner room, the Iron Stele master dismissed the cleaning staff, and only after confirming there was not a single martial hall disciple left around did he close the door.

"I am Cheng Bin, unworthily serving as the master of the Iron Stele Martial Hall. I wonder how Master Chen is addressed?"

"Chen Xu." Chen Xu spoke flatly. He really could not figure out what this Master Cheng was thinking right now.

"Master Chen, regarding the matter of the Refining Liquid, I did not respond directly outside. It was not that I did not wish to repay it, it is just that..."

Cheng Bin looked toward the door once more, gritted his teeth, and said, "I hope you can grant me a bit more time. After this year's Martial Hall Exchange Tournament concludes, I will definitely return the Refining Liquid borrowed over the past few years in full."

"When taking the Refining Liquid of my martial hall, Master Cheng certainly did not obtain our consent. What is the meaning of this now?"

After a few exchanges, Chen Xu found that this Master Cheng was just like an honest man who knew he had done something wrong. He knew it was wrong, but for certain reasons, he still went ahead and did it, resulting in him suffering from moral condemnation day in and day out.

Some villains did not have this trouble; as long as I have no morals, no one can condemn me on a moral level.

After introducing Wen Fan's situation for a bit, Cheng Bin changed the subject: "I wonder if Master Chen has ever heard the term [Martial Form]?"

"[Martial Form]?" Chen Xu carefully recalled the memories of his predecessor and gently shook his head.

"After rated martial arts reach a certain level, a martial artist's spirit and body will undergo [fusion] with the martial arts, or perhaps [interaction]?"

Cheng Bin also found it difficult to describe that state, because he too had heard the term from elsewhere. When he first heard of it, he simply did not believe a human could reach that degree.

"Through this [fusion], a martial artist's physical fitness and spiritual aura will usher in a massive enhancement. Following the enhancement is the so-called [Martial Form] tier. In the martial world, they possess an exclusive, honored title, addressed as [Martial Artist].

It is said that experts at the Martial Artist tier possess thousands of catties of strength, and even certain experts among them can use tons as a unit of measurement. Their exhaled breath is like thunder, moving dozens of meters in a single step—an unfathomable strength that is difficult for us to imagine."

"So, in order to nurture Wen Fan to that level, you had no choice but to borrow the Refining Liquid of the Chen Martial Arts Academy?"

Chen Xu did not buy it at all. No matter how nicely it was phrased, whether or not that person could advance to [Martial Form] what did it have to do with him? Furthermore, this was showing generosity with someone else's property, and that too without the owner's consent.

Cheng Bin seemed to have known this would happen all along, standing up and taking out several brocade boxes from the drawer at the side.