Fang Shiyu and Hong Xiguan

Training Ground.

"Eighteen Bronze Men Formation!"

Eighteen golden, brawny men stood in opposing positions. Then, like stacked arhats, they piled themselves into a towering wall, forming a gleaming bronze barricade.

Li Changfeng instantly felt a powerful force erupt within him, and his body's defenses became far tougher!

Was this formation created by stacking the strength of all eighteen Bronze Men together? Its power was terrifying. Once this formation was assembled, even ordinary second-rate experts would never make it through!

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

"Senior Brother! You flatter me. It was all thanks to my senior brothers' help that I learned it so quickly."

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

"Haha! Thanks, Boss!"

"Clang!" "Clang!" "Clang!"

A series of loud bell chimes suddenly rang out.

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

"Sixth Brother! Time 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 to follow one rule: they must break through the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation! If they pass, they can return to secular life. If they fail, they stay!"

"To break through the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation, you need at least the strength of a second-rate expert. Otherwise, don't even think about it. Unless Shaolin Temple deliberately lets someone go, anyone who can cultivate to the level of a second-rate expert at Shaolin Temple generally won't leave. Shaolin has its own methods and won't let them leave so easily."

At that moment, a slightly trembling voice rang out.

A fat man practically 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 person as thin as a bamboo pole followed behind him and said as well:

"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 were quite formidable, Li Changfeng thought.

When Boss heard this, he walked out and roared, "Where did these two little punks come from? You dare force your way through the Eighteen Bronze Men Formation? Are you tired of living?"

Fang Shiyu, the fat man, flattered him, "Senior Brother, I have a letter here from the Shaolin Abbot. Please have a look!"

Boss took the letter and read it. His brows rose as he said casually, "Elder Yuanzhen actually gave you a pass. That makes things easier. But if us brothers simply let you through like that, wouldn't that be hard to justify?"

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

"Oh? You kid know how to conduct yourself! Fine! Once you go in, use your full strength and punch each of us once. We'll put on a show with 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 it. With your build, you'll be beaten to death in there in no time."

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 this daily martial arts training, so I wish to return to secular life. I have nothing to offer my senior brothers, except for an Internal Fist I created at Shaolin Temple by the name of 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 truly had no way to help him. The two had come here and become brothers in misery. Fang Shiyu himself could not endure the hardship and wanted to flee, while Hong Xiguan simply was not suited to martial arts.

"Heh! A scrawny little brat like you can create a fist art? What a joke. Get lost, get lost! Don't offend this lord's eyes."

Li Changfeng's eyes gleamed. Hong Fist! This was a fist art that had been passed down for generations in Huaxia, and 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 pulled Boss aside, slipped a hundred taels into his hand, and said slowly, "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 at Shaolin anyway. The elders probably sent him here for that reason."

"Fine! You kid are lucky. Why aren't you thanking this senior brother for pleading on your behalf?"

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 challenge it together!"

The two looked at each other, gritted their teeth, and charged inside. They attacked with all their strength, both using the Black Tiger Claws the Heart stance from Luohan Fist to strike at the others.

The others cooperated, letting out cries of pain. "Ah! Ow! Hiss! You're actually this strong! You pass, now get going!"

"I'm finally out! This hellish place—I, Fang Shiyu, finally escaped! Damn it, I'm never learning martial arts again! I thought learning martial arts would make me look dashing and let me pick up lots of girls, but instead I worked myself like a dog. It'd be better to have my father buy me an official post!"

"Hiss! Damn it, those people were beasts! Their bodies were like copper walls and iron fortresses. Punching them felt like punching stone. It hurts like hell!" Fang Shiyu said painfully, clutching his reddened fist.

Hong Xiguan also held his fist and said painfully, "Sigh! Unfortunately, I'm not suited to martial arts. That fist art of mine was created by combining the martial techniques and cultivation methods practiced 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 adviser? You look like you've got some literary talent. Call me Big Brother and follow me. I won't treat you badly!"

Hong Xiguan considered it for a moment before finally gritting his teeth and agreeing.

Now wasn't the time to be lofty and proud. Though I failed to become the top scholar, I am still a licentiate. I can serve as his adviser. A true man can bend and stretch—there's nothing wrong with that, Hong Xiguan thought.

Arhat Hall.

Li Changfeng carefully studied this Internal Fist art known as Hong Fist. An Internal Fist referred to a fist art containing both cultivation methods and martial techniques. The qi cultivated through its method was specially meant to complement its techniques.

When used, it was far more powerful than ordinary martial techniques, and its might was on an entirely different level!

Hong Xiguan truly was talented. This fist art emphasized fierce power. The qi it cultivated was extremely forceful, and it stressed Qi-Driven Force. It contained three sets of moves.

First form: Hong Fist Twelve Bridge Hands—the twelve hand formulas of "hard, soft, pierce, frame, divide, stabilize, inch, lift, chop, move, control, and strike." This was the opening form of Hong Fist and also its most basic move.

Second form: Gong Zi Taming Tiger Fist—modified from Luohan Fist, its path forming the character gong, making it 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 method of "train the sinews, bones, and skin externally; train a breath internally." With Qi-Driven Force, every move was fiercely powerful and overwhelmingly domineering.

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

Hong Fist Twelve Bridge Stances referred to twelve footwork patterns: Square Horse, 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 horse stance had its own unique cultivation effect.

The more Li Changfeng read, the more excited he became. If I master this, I'll be someone with internal power too. Damn, I've found treasure! Hahaha! Li Changfeng thought in secret delight.

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 level (0/160); Luohan Fist, beginner level (0/160).

Title: Jianghu Scrub.

Fame: Unknown (10/80) (For every 10 Fame points, 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 entry allows one month of cultivation.)

Current Lucky Packs: 0.

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

"Ding!" Two missions had 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. Each completed commission rewards: 50 Experience Points and 1 year of internal power.

Notice: If the deadline is exceeded and the mission remains incomplete, 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 into the world, but now you're forcing me out already?"

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

"Otherwise, if a hundred Experience Points get deducted, that'll be troublesome. If I have no Experience Points left to deduct, I wonder whether it'll deduct the Experience Points I've already invested in martial techniques. Damn, 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 it for a long time. Just now, I saw my Cultivation Points suddenly increase by ten."

"Could it be because both of my martial techniques advanced to the beginner level, giving me ten Cultivation Points? That would mean every martial technique gains five Cultivation Points whenever it advances a level."

"And my Fame suddenly increased by ten for no reason. What's going on?" Li Changfeng pondered.

"Damn! Could Gold Master have discovered that I killed his son? Otherwise, my Fame wouldn't have increased this much. That must be it! Now I'm in trouble!"