Half a month later.
In the western part of East Market, in Qingjiang County Seat.
Over the past three months, a grand compound had risen there, complete with pavilions, towers, artificial hills, and jade-green pools.
It also had a vast open yard paved with bluestone.
Wooden training dummies of varying heights stood in the southwest corner. In the southeast stood an array of traditional weapons—spears, sabers, swords, and halberds—each polished to a gleam that reflected a cold light.
A pair of imposing stone lions stood proudly before the gate.
Not far away, a towering willow trailed a thousand silken strands into the jade-green Square Pond.
Four gleaming gold characters on the signboard read: Dragon Elephant Martial Hall.
At that moment.
Red firecracker scraps carpeted the ground, red silk hung from the signboard, and a crowd packed the entrance. There were wealthy merchants in fine robes and ordinary folk in plain clothes.
"Everyone, today the Xu Household opens the Dragon Elephant Martial Hall. We hope you'll come and show your support!"
Xu Mingwei was the Xu Household's next head and a prospective Grandmaster of extraordinary talent. His words carried the full weight of the household.
"Please, come inside."
"The Wang Clan presents three fine swords to congratulate the Dragon Elephant Martial Hall on its grand opening!"
"The Cao Clan presents a pair of jade pendants carved with dragons to congratulate the Dragon Elephant Martial Hall on its grand opening!"
"The Wu Household presents three fine sabers..."
When a martial hall opened, its guests naturally brought gifts.
But not every guest came with goodwill, nor was every gift given in good faith.
The Xu Household meant to claim a share of Qingjiang County's martial-hall business. The Aristocratic Clans knew it, and most had come to watch the spectacle.
After all, the three major martial halls were backed by the Wu, Fang, and Wang clans.
Those three were arguably Qingjiang County's strongest Aristocratic Clans. Their lineages had endured there for nearly two hundred years, and their foundations ran deep.
Even the Xu Household, as it stood now, fell far short of them.
With Yang Zhao transferred to the Commandery Seat, they had less reason to fear the Xu Household. After all, even a mighty dragon did not bully the local snake.
And now the Xu Household was moving against their interests.
Trouble and attempts to crush the new hall were inevitable.
The Xu Household was represented today by the three brothers Xu Mingwei, Xu Mingyuan, and Xu Mingxuan.
They showed the guests around, then introduced the instructors they had hired and Gu Yiping, the hall's master.
But the Aristocratic Clans paid Gu Yiping little heed. They saw him as nothing more than the Xu Household's figurehead; the real authority rested with the household.
"Young Master Xu, we've seen the Dragon Elephant Martial Hall. It certainly looks the part. But the true heart of a martial hall lies in its instructors and its master."
"Without a good teacher, studying here would only waste a student's time. Wouldn't you agree?"
A burly middle-aged man in a black gauze cloak, its collar embroidered with gold dragon motifs, suddenly stepped forward. He looked at Xu Mingwei with a trace of disdain.
"An illuminating insight, Black Wind School Master. Then what, in your view, makes a good teacher?"
"A martial hall is built around martial skill. Among martial artists, the strong command respect."
"I see. Which of your disciples do you intend to send, Black Wind School Master?"
"No need to waste time. I'll test them myself."
"Then please, everyone, come to the training yard."
The crowd swept into the training yard. The Black Wind School Master walked to its center and surveyed the men beside Xu Mingwei.
"Young Master Xu, whom will you send? Rest assured, I won't bully a junior with my seniority."
"I've admired you for a long time, School Master. I'd like to seek a few pointers."
Smiling, Xu Mingwei stepped forward to face the Black Wind School Master.
The Black Wind School Master's eyes brightened. The thought flashed through his mind: he could cripple Xu Mingwei and end his path along the Martial Way.
Xu Mingwei was too great a threat.
If he could be stopped now, the Xu Household's rise would be delayed by at least twenty years.
"Make your move, Young Master Xu. Let me see how strong you've become."
The Black Wind School Master brimmed with confidence. He had become a Xiantian Martial Artist years ago, and though he remained at the early stage, his foundation was exceptionally solid.
Subduing seven or eight Houtian Peak martial artists would be effortless.
Xu Mingwei wasted no words. He lunged before the Black Wind School Master, his palm weaving like a snake, twisting and turning until afterimages streaked through the air.
His palm strike whistled toward the man's chest, its path shifting unpredictably.
The Black Wind School Master's pupils contracted. He stamped his foot and darted back, but Xu Mingwei matched his speed. The palm strike clung to him like a green snake that refused to let go.
He sprang into the air, flipped over, and landed behind Xu Mingyuan.
Xu Mingwei turned his palm into a fist, his supple force becoming fierce and tyrannical. The punch bore down like mountains and seas overturning, its pressure relentless.
The Black Wind School Master had already retreated once. If he backed away again, people would think he feared Xu Mingwei.
And who was he?
One of Qingjiang County's few Xiantian Martial Artists.
He also held great seniority within the Wang Clan: he was the clan head's uncle.
If he retreated, the Wang Clan would be yielding to the Xu Household.
"Black Wind Palm!"
The Black Wind School Master held nothing back. Black energy gathered into a palm print and met Xu Mingwei's fist head-on.
"Xiantian True Qi?"
"Black Wind School Master, I happened to master it myself not long ago!"
Xiantian True Qi erupted. The force around Xu Mingwei's fist turned gold, forming a gleaming golden fist in an instant. Its fierce, domineering power reached its peak.
Boom!
Fist and palm collided in midair.
Black and gold each claimed half the space between them.
Several breaths later.
With a boom, both men staggered back several steps. Neither had gained the upper hand.
"The Xu Household's eldest young master has broken through to Xiantian?!"
"He isn't even twenty yet, is he?"
"In three months, after the Year Sacrifice, he will be."
"No wonder he's a future Grandmaster. He's only just entered Xiantian, yet he's holding his own against a veteran Xiantian Martial Artist like the Black Wind School Master."
The surrounding Aristocratic Clans exclaimed in surprise. Among those who had come to watch the spectacle, Xu Mingwei's breakthrough stirred fresh unease.
At this rate of progress.
Given another ten years or so, Xu Mingwei might well become a Grandmaster.
With that kind of martial might behind him, not one Aristocratic Clan in Qingjiang County would dare provoke him. Even the authorities would be wary.
After all, the strongest martial artists in the County Seat were only at Xiantian Perfection.
"Black Wind School Master, you're as formidable as ever! Again!"
Xu Mingwei shouted and charged the Black Wind School Master once more.
The Black Wind School Master's face turned livid. As though insulted, he began aiming every strike at Xu Mingwei's vital points.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Attack and defense traded places again and again.
As they fought, the Black Wind School Master felt Xu Mingwei's blows grow heavier, as though his strength had no limit.
But a Xiantian Martial Artist's Xiantian True Qi was finite.
If Xu Mingwei kept attacking with such force, his Xiantian True Qi would run dry in a few dozen moves.
Yet in moments.
Xu Mingwei began to drive the Black Wind School Master back.
The repeated clashes had numbed the webbing between the older man's thumbs and forefingers. He barely had the strength left to grip a weapon.
He was only holding on by sheer will.
If this continued, the sinews and bones in his hands would be injured. They might even be ruined outright.
What fearsome strength in his bones and sinews. No wonder he's a martial prodigy!
The Black Wind School Master was past sixty, and his bones had begun to weaken.
Naturally, he could not match a younger martial artist of the same realm.
Still less a Xiantian Martial Artist like Xu Mingwei, bolstered by a Fate Talent.
As he wavered between struggling on and admitting defeat, Xu Mingwei suddenly stopped. "As expected of a senior, your experience is beyond that of a junior like me. Shall we end today's test here?"
The Black Wind School Master was surprised, but Xu Mingwei had given him a graceful way out. He let out a breath of relief.
Then he remembered that Xu Mingwei was not yet twenty and had only just entered Xiantian.
He himself had spent more than a decade in the Xiantian realm. Though he had never reached Mid-Xiantian, his foundation was firm.
The young man had truly beaten the old master with a flurry of wild punches!
The Black Wind School Master sighed softly. "Young Master Xu, your talent is extraordinary. I fear it won't be long before you surpass this old man."
"Age has caught up with me."
With another sigh, the Black Wind School Master left the yard and returned to the Wang Clan's side.
"Would any other senior care to offer me a few pointers?"
Xu Mingwei's gaze suddenly sharpened, sweeping the crowd like a blade. Ordinary onlookers did not dare meet his eyes.
He stood calm and unhurried, already bearing something of a Grandmaster's poise.