Circle

In the days that followed, Cheng Heng returned to his regular routine.

Every day, aside from patrolling the Inner City, he devoted all his energy to training. In the blink of an eye, four months had passed.

The weather had begun to turn cold, but to a martial artist, it was nothing.

Over the past few months, Cheng Heng had clearly shot up several more centimeters. At seventeen, he was already about 1.89 meters tall by the standards of his previous life. His entire body was packed with lean, sturdy muscle, and his bearing had grown ever more spirited!

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell at a glance that Cheng Heng was now a capable martial artist!

[Tiger-Subduing Stance Art, Minor Success (3585/5000): Train ten times a day; major success in one year, completion in three years]

[Tiger-Subduing Fist Technique, Minor Success (3459/5000): Train ten times a day; major success in one year, completion in three years]

[Mountain-Cleaving Saber Technique, Minor Success (2000/3000): Train ten times a day; minor success in one month, major success in five months, completion in one year]

The progress of his stance art and fist technique was much faster than he had estimated. He had originally expected it would take eight months to break through to Hidden Force, but if he kept up this pace, he would break through in less than two more months.

And all of this, besides his painstaking daily training, was thanks to the abundant supply of meat and Blood-Qi Pills regardless of cost!

However, Cheng Heng was almost out of money. He had only two taels of silver left.

The savings he had accumulated before had all been spent. He urgently needed more silver, or his progress would slow down!

That day, the many formal disciples of the Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall gathered together officially for the first time.

At present, there was only one martial artist at the Skill-Transforming Force level in the Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall: Wu Zhong.

There were three Hidden Force experts. Aside from First Senior Brother Zhou Qing and Second Senior Brother Wang Yin, the other was Chen An.

Chen An truly lived up to his Superior Bone Constitution. After breaking through Bright Force, he had officially crossed into Hidden Force a month ago.

He had become a Hidden Force expert in less than half a year of martial training!

Such cultivation speed would have made him among the very best even in the Inner City!

Aside from those three, Third Senior Brother Gao Huan, Fourth Senior Brother Zhao Wei, Fifth Senior Sister Zhao Yanran, and Cheng Heng were all currently at the Bright Force level!

At this moment, First Senior Brother Zhou Qing was the first to speak, saying to Chen An:

"Junior Brother Chen, you truly are gifted. You actually broke through to Hidden Force in less than half a year."

"I imagine that in next year's Martial Examination, Junior Brother will certainly claim one of the top ranks!"

"When that time comes, this tiny Gaoyang County will no longer be able to contain a hidden dragon like you!"

Chen An's entire bearing had undergone an earth-shaking transformation. There was no longer any trace of his former dark, skinny appearance.

His face was as fair as jade, his posture straight and tall, and every gesture carried an oppressive air. It was practically a transformation as complete as shedding one's bones and changing one's marrow.

The other senior brothers all chimed in with agreement.

Chen An modestly cupped his hands toward Zhou Qing.

"Senior Brother Zhou flatters me too much. In the Inner City, martial artists like me are everywhere. I have no confidence at all in next year's Martial Examination!"

Though he said so, Chen An placed immense importance on next year's Martial Examination!

As long as he could place in the top ten, he would surely be able to join one of the renowned major sects in the prefectural city.

The Great Gan Dynasty was already sick beyond cure, and its control over the lower classes was growing weaker and weaker. Thus, the previous emperor had issued a rather bold decree.

He declared that the dynasty would govern the realm together with those renowned major sects that possessed deep foundations!

Thus, those behemoths entrenched in the various prefectural cities held the rights to levy taxes and govern their respective territories.

The major sects within the prefectural cities had numerous experts. Even experts above Skill-Transforming Force were far from rare!

Seeing that the gathering had grown lively, Second Senior Brother Wang Yin suddenly spoke.

"Everyone, it is rare for all of us to gather together. Why not take this opportunity to spar properly?"

At those words, everyone grew eager to try. On the path of martial arts, focusing on cultivation alone was not enough!

Practical combat ability was equally important!

"But Junior Brother Cheng only broke through to Bright Force recently. Wouldn't sparring with us put him at too much of a disadvantage?"

It was Zhao Wei who spoke.

He was worried that Cheng Heng's aptitude was rather poor and that, having only recently advanced to Bright Force, he would be at a disadvantage sparring with the rest of them.

Wang Yin glanced at the silent Cheng Heng and frowned slightly.

Among them, Cheng Heng had the poorest aptitude. With a Low-Grade Root Bone, he might only ever remain at Bright Force for the rest of his life!

"How about this? Junior Brother Cheng can watch from the side instead!"

Chen An spoke at this moment.

Seeing the awkwardness on everyone's faces, Chen An stepped in to smooth things over.

Cheng Heng had already spotted some clues. Zhou Qing and Wang Yin were clearly somewhat hostile toward him.

After thinking briefly, Cheng Heng understood the crux of it.

Though their master had taken few disciples, aside from Cheng Heng, all the other senior brothers and sisters came from the Inner City.

Only Chen An and he himself came from the Outer City.

The reason they valued Chen An was his aptitude. His Superior Bone Constitution gave him the qualifications to stand shoulder to shoulder with them!

Cheng Heng fell silent for a moment before speaking.

"Senior Brothers, I still have some matters elsewhere that I have not finished today. Why don't you exchange moves and spar first? When there is another opportunity, I will spar with all of you Senior Brothers."

After saying that, Cheng Heng cupped his hands to each of the other six in turn, then headed back home.

"Ah, Junior Brother Cheng?"

Zhao Wei had wanted to offer a few more words of persuasion, but Second Senior Brother Wang Yin interrupted him.

"Junior Brother Zhao, let Junior Brother Cheng leave. If he stays here, I fear he would not even be able to take a few of our moves!"

"Hmph. If you ask me, Master's standards for accepting disciples are far too low. An Outer City man with a Low-Grade Root Bone happened to break through to Bright Force, and that gives him the right to stand shoulder to shoulder with us?"

Zhou Qing said to Zhao Wei with a face full of displeasure.

Zhao Wei paused at those words, then said indignantly:

"Junior Brother Cheng is steady in character and extremely diligent in training. I do not think it is certain that he will not achieve great things in the future!"

"Junior Brother Zhao, talent for martial arts determines everything. Though Cheng Heng has some perseverance, taking another step forward will likely be as difficult as ascending to the heavens!"

Zhou Qing said calmly.

Seeing this, Zhao Wei did not argue further. Beside them, Zhao Yanran saw that the atmosphere was somewhat delicate and spoke up to ease it.

Only then did the six relax, and they finally began to spar.

As for Chen An, who had remained silent the entire time, he merely stared blankly at Cheng Heng's departing back.

Junior Brother Cheng is no useless piece of firewood in your eyes. I fought him before. Though he truly does have a Low-Grade Root Bone, his fist technique is exceptionally outstanding. Among Bright Force martial artists, he is already among the very best.

After leaving the martial hall, Cheng Heng headed straight home.

Seeing that it was still early, he began training directly in the small courtyard.

Cheng Heng did not feel much over Zhou Qing and Wang Yin's obvious exclusion. He was less than two months away from breaking through to Hidden Force.

When that time came, he would use his strength to crush every voice of doubt!