Fang Shiyu and Hong Xiguan

Training Ground.

"Eighteen Bronze Men Formation!"

Eighteen golden, brawny men stood in opposing positions. Then, like human pyramids, they stacked themselves into a towering wall, forming a gleaming bronze barrier.

Li Changfeng instantly felt a powerful force erupt within his body, and his physical defense became much tougher!

"Does this formation stack the strength of all eighteen Bronze Men together? Its power is terrifying. Once this formation is assembled, even ordinary second-rate experts can forget about breaking through!"

"Sixth Brother! You've learned the formation well! Your talent truly is astonishing. Otherwise, you couldn't have trained the technique to the beginner level so quickly."

"Senior Brother! You flatter me. I only learned it so quickly because of all my brothers' help."

"Heh! You brat! You even know how to flatter people! Not bad. I'll reward you with a chicken leg at lunch later!"

"Haha! Thank you, Boss!"

Clang! Clang! Clang!

A series of loud bell chimes suddenly rang out.

"Hm? What happened? Three bell chimes—something must have happened," Li Changfeng said solemnly.

"Sixth Brother! Time to get to work again! Come with me! I wonder which disciple can't take it anymore and wants to return to secular life. Every Shaolin disciple who wishes to leave has one rule to follow: they must pass through the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation! If they make it through, they can leave. If not, they stay!"

"Pass through the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation? Without the strength of a second-rate expert, there's no chance. Unless Shaolin Temple deliberately lets them go, anyone capable of cultivating to the second-rate level here would never leave Shaolin. Shaolin has its own methods. It won't let them leave so easily."

At that moment, a slightly trembling voice rang out.

A fat man dripping with grease stepped forward and said:

"Disciple Fang... Fang Shiyu requests to force his way through the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation. I ask my senior brothers to grant my wish!"

A man as thin as a bamboo pole followed behind him and said:

"Disciple Hong Xiguan requests to force his way through the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation. I ask my senior brothers to grant my wish!"

"Hm? Fang Shiyu! Hong Xiguan! These two brats are impressive," Li Changfeng thought to himself.

Hearing this, Boss walked out and shouted angrily, "Where did these two little bastards come from? You dare force your way through the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation? Are you tired of living?"

The fat Fang Shiyu fawned, "Senior Brother, there is a letter here from the Shaolin Abbot. Please take a look!"

Boss took the letter and read it. Raising a brow, he said calmly, "Elder Yuanzhen actually gave you a pass. That makes things easier. But if we brothers just let you through like this, it wouldn't look right, would it?"

"Hehe! Of course I wouldn't make all my senior brothers work for nothing!" He then took out a stack of banknotes and distributed them. "Two hundred taels for each senior brother, as a token of this junior's respect!" Fang Shiyu said with a flattering smile.

"Oh! You brat really know how to behave! Fine! Once you go in, use all your strength and punch each of us once. We'll put on a show for you, then you can leave."

"And you, skinny brat! You want to force your way through too? Do you have a letter? If not, I advise you not to try. With your build, you'll be beaten to death in there in minutes."

Hong Xiguan said timidly, "I... I don't have a letter. This humble student spent all his savings, yet still failed to place first in the imperial examinations. With no other choice, I entered Shaolin Temple to become a monk."

"But I truly can't endure practicing martial arts every day, so I wish to return to secular life. I have nothing to offer my senior brothers, except an Internal Fist I created at Shaolin Temple called Hong Fist. I hope this fist art may catch my senior brothers' eyes!"

Fang Shiyu looked at Hong Xiguan and shook his head helplessly. He really had no way to help him. The two had become brothers in adversity after coming here. He himself could not endure the hardship and wanted to flee, while Hong Xiguan simply was not suited for martial arts.

"Heh! A skinny little runt like you can create a fist art? What a joke. Go, go, go! Don't offend this Buddha's eyes."

At that moment, Li Changfeng's eyes gleamed. Hong Fist! This was a fist art that had been passed down in China for generations. It was incredibly powerful! Even the name was the same. He had to take a gamble—turn a bicycle into a motorcycle!

Li Changfeng then grabbed Boss and slipped a hundred taels into his hand. "Boss, do me a favor. I want that fist art."

Boss raised his brows, accepted the hundred taels, and said in surprise, "Are you sure? You believe this kid can create a fist art?"

"Take a gamble! What if it's real? Wouldn't that be a huge profit?"

"Since you've made up your mind, I'll give you face. Besides, this kid is useless in Shaolin anyway. The elders probably sent him here for this very reason."

"Fine! You brat got lucky. Why aren't you thanking this senior brother for pleading your case?"

Hong Xiguan hurriedly handed the Hong Fist manual to Li Changfeng and said gratefully, "Thank you, Senior Brother, for granting my wish! I am deeply grateful!"

"Alright! You two can make your attempt together!"

The two looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and charged in. Giving it everything they had, they both used the Luohan Fist move Black Tiger Claws the Heart against the others.

Cooperating with them, the others let out cries of pain. "Ah! Ouch! Hiss! You're actually this strong? Fine, you pass. Go!"

"Finally, I'm out! This hellish place—I, Fang Shiyu, have finally escaped! Damn it, I'm never learning martial arts again. I thought learning martial arts would make me look cool and help me pick up lots of girls. Who knew I'd be worked like a dog? Better to have my father buy me an official position!"

"Hiss! Damn it, these people are beasts! Their bodies are like bronze walls and iron barriers. Punching them felt like punching rocks. It hurts like hell!" Fang Shiyu said painfully, clutching his reddened fist.

Hong Xiguan also clutched his fist and said in pain, "Alas! I truly am not suited for martial arts. That fist art of mine was created by combining the martial techniques and cultivation methods I learned at Shaolin. It truly is an Internal Fist. I hope that senior brother can carry it forward!"

"Hey, Old Hong! Interested in coming back with me to be my advisor? You look like you've got some literary talent. Call me Big Brother and follow me. I won't treat you badly!"

After considering for a moment, Hong Xiguan gritted his teeth and agreed.

Now is not the time to be lofty and proud. Though I failed to become the top scholar, I am still a xiucai. I can serve as his advisor. A true man can bend and stretch. There is nothing wrong with it! Hong Xiguan thought to himself.

Arhat Hall.

Li Changfeng carefully studied this Internal Fist art of Hong Fist. An Internal Fist was a fist art that included both cultivation methods and martial techniques. The true qi cultivated through its methods was specifically meant to complement those techniques.

When used, it was far more powerful than ordinary martial techniques, its might surpassing normal martial arts by another level!

Hong Xiguan truly was talented. This fist art emphasized fierce strength, and the true qi it cultivated was incomparably forceful. It focused on Qi-Driven Force and contained three sets of moves.

First form: Hong Fist Twelve Bridge Hands—the twelve bridge-hand formulas of "hard, soft, piercing, bracing, dividing, stabilizing, inch, lifting, chopping, moving, controlling, and crashing." It was the opening form of Hong Fist and also its most basic technique.

Second form: Gong Zi Taming Tiger Fist—modified from Luohan Fist, its footwork traced the shape of the character "Gong." It was the foundational fist art of the Hong family.

Third form: Iron Wire Fist—a martial art for close-range combat with short bridges and narrow stances. Iron Wire Fist primarily cultivated internal power, following the practical routine of "externally train the tendons, bones, and skin; internally cultivate a breath of qi." With Qi-Driven Force, every move was ferocious and overwhelmingly domineering.

Finally, there were the Hong Fist Twelve Bridge Stances for cultivating internal power.

Hong Fist Twelve Bridge Stances referred to twelve footwork patterns: Four-Level Horse, Midnight-Noon Horse, Taming Tiger Horse, Kirin Horse, Hanging Horse, Solitary Crane Horse, Center Character Horse, Triangle Horse, Defeat Horse, Two-Character Clamping Sheep Horse, Jumping Horse, and T-Character Horse. Every stance had its own unique cultivation effect.

The more Li Changfeng read, the more excited he became. If I succeed in cultivating this, I'll count as someone with internal power too. Damn, I've struck gold! Li Changfeng secretly rejoiced.

Li Changfeng then opened the panel.

A screen of light instantly flashed before his eyes.

Host: Li Changfeng (Li Dazhuang).

Identity: Shaolin Temple disciple

Inner Force: 0

Strength: 250 jin

Experience Points: 10

Techniques: Shaolin Bronze Body Skill, Beginner (0/160); Luohan Fist, Beginner (0/160).

Title: Jianghu Scrub.

Fame: Unknown (10/80) (For every 10 Fame, 1 Cultivation Point can be obtained.)

Cultivation Points: 11 (For every 20 Cultivation Points, one Lucky Pack can be opened or System Training Time can be entered at a 1:3 conversion rate. Each session allows one month of training.)

Current Lucky Packs: 0.

Current mission: Within three months at Shaolin, train Shaolin Bronze Body to the major mastery level.

Ding! Two missions have been added.

Mission One: Within one year, send off Peak Third-Rate Expert Gold Master. Reward: 200 Experience Points, 10 years of Inner Force, Superior Bronze Body Elixir.

Mission Two: As the saying goes, if I do not enter hell, who will? The host must accept commissions from Shaolin Temple and help others send off evildoers. No time limit. For every completed commission: 50 Experience Points and 1 year of internal power.

Reminder: If the deadline is exceeded and the mission is not completed, 200 Experience Points will be deducted!

"Damn it! So this means I have to go out and gain experience, right? I wanted to lie low until I became a first-rate expert before going out to have fun, but now you're forcing me out already?"

"Fine! I can't stand staying in Shaolin all day anyway. I need to break through Shaolin Bronze Body Skill to major mastery within the next two months.

"Otherwise, if a hundred Experience Points get deducted, I'll be in trouble. If I don't have enough Experience Points to deduct, who knows whether it'll deduct the Experience Points I've already invested in my martial techniques? Damn it, that really is possible!"

"For now, I'll first learn Hong Fist to the rudimentary level, then cultivate some internal power while I'm at it. I've been craving that for a long time. Just now, I saw my Cultivation Points suddenly increase by ten."

"Could it be because my two martial techniques advanced to the beginner level, giving me ten Cultivation Points? Then each martial technique gives five Cultivation Points whenever it advances one level."

"And my Fame somehow increased by ten. What's going on?" Li Changfeng pondered.

"Holy shit! Could Gold Master have discovered that I killed his son? Otherwise, my Fame wouldn't have risen by so much. That must be it! This is trouble!"