Isolation

Wiping away his sweat, Zhang Yuan sat down on a stone bench beside the Martial Arts Field.

A large tree cast its shade here, keeping off the sun, and the breeze was wonderfully cool. He felt thoroughly at ease.

"Food's ready!"

Several servants carried over two enormous wooden barrels and set them before the young martial trainees.

One barrel was filled with snowy-white steamed buns, while the other contained vegetable soup!

The youths, already ravenous with hunger and thirst, cheered in unison.

Though every one of them had green light gleaming in their eyes,

no one rushed forward to scramble for food. Instead, they formed a proper line.

Seeing this, Zhang Yuan joined the back of the queue.

There were not many people, so he quickly received his share of lunch.

Two large steamed buns stuffed with braised pork, along with a bowl of vegetable and egg-drop soup!

Even in the County Town, only well-off households could afford food like this.

Zhang Yuan sat down and took a huge bite of a bun, and oil immediately filled his mouth.

The bun was white and soft, with no coarse grains mixed in, carrying a sweet fragrance.

The braised pork inside was seven parts fat and three parts lean, rich in grease and savory flavor, making his appetite surge.

Zhang Yuan wolfed down one pork bun in a few bites, then drank half a bowl of vegetable and egg-drop soup.

At once, he felt that life was complete!

The Raging Whale Gang truly deserved its place as one of Great Qian's foremost martial factions. The Linhe Branch alone possessed extraordinary wealth, enough to provide such fine food.

A martial artist's vitality and blood came from the body, benefited from cultivation methods, and also required nourishment from food.

Money meant strength!

Since lunch was all one could eat, Zhang Yuan rarely let himself eat his fill. He devoured five large pork buns in a ravenous rush.

Along with three bowls of vegetable and egg-drop soup!

But he had been too focused on eating to notice the strange looks around him.

After filling his stomach, Zhang Yuan asked for another bowl of cooled tea.

He sat beneath the tree shade to settle his food.

Just as he took a sip of tea, three youths walked over.

"Are you Zhang Yuan?"

One of them, a handsome youth of fourteen or fifteen, asked, "Are you Instructor Dong's relative, or something else?"

Zhang Yuan disliked the other's tone intensely, but his expression remained unchanged. "No."

This exceedingly arrogant youth reminded him of the Chen Family's Young Master.

Yet this person's manner of speech and bearing were far beyond that useless fool who had long since become a dead soul beneath Zhang Yuan's blade!

Zhang Yuan guessed that he was the son of some important figure in the Raging Whale Gang.

People like that were the most troublesome.

Zhang Yuan did not like trouble, but trouble often came looking for him.

Just like these youths before him!

"How is that possible?"

The handsome youth looked utterly unconvinced. "If you don't have any connections, why did Instructor Dong teach us the first three forms of the Surging Wave Palm today? Everyone had already learned them."

"He taught them again for you, the newcomer!"

The youth spoke with absolute certainty, as if he had uncovered some great secret.

The other two youths chimed in as well. "Exactly, exactly! And you still dare say you aren't?"

Zhang Yuan was speechless.

He drained the tea from his bowl in one gulp and said calmly, "I suggest you ask Instructor Dong that question. I'm sure he'll give you an answer."

The handsome youth was immediately choked up.

If he had dared question Dong Yuanwei, why would he be wasting words on Zhang Yuan?

After a moment, the handsome youth said irritably, "I'll remember you!"

After throwing down that threat, he turned to leave.

Zhang Yuan suddenly said, "Wait."

The handsome youth immediately smiled. "What do you want to say?"

Zhang Yuan smiled back. "I still don't know who you are."

The handsome youth's face instantly flushed crimson. "Remember this—I'm Xu Zhengyang!"

With that, he huffed and left with his two lackeys.

Zhang Yuan nodded.

This fellow was rather proud and temperamental.

But he was not a bad person.

What gave Zhang Yuan the greatest headache was encountering those unreasonable, domineering young dandies.

Though Xu Zhengyang's status was clearly extraordinary, he did not seem inclined to use it to pressure Zhang Yuan.

So he was not difficult to deal with.

But Zhang Yuan quickly discovered that all his "classmates" had isolated him!

No one came to speak with Zhang Yuan anymore, much less exchange words or grow close to him. Even the space around him seemed to have become a vacuum.

Everyone kept their distance from Zhang Yuan.

Another youth his age might have felt all sorts of negative emotions in such circumstances.

But Zhang Yuan thought...

Wonderful!

He did not think lowering himself to befriend these unfamiliar senior and junior brothers would bring him much benefit.

Zhang Yuan's identity and ambitions meant that he and Xu Zhengyang were not cut from the same cloth.

So unless Zhang Yuan was willing to bow and scrape and acknowledge Xu Zhengyang as his big brother, what did it matter whether he was isolated or not?

More importantly, with no one disturbing him, he could focus wholeheartedly on learning Martial Skills.

Thus, in a corner of the Martial Arts Field, Zhang Yuan practiced the Surging Wave Palm over and over again.

Sweat soaked through his clothes, dripping from the hems in droplets.

Each drop kicked up tiny puffs of dust when it struck the ground.

Zhang Yuan did not notice at all. He even forgot the passage of time, completely immersed in his practice.

All along, an inescapable sense of crisis had dwelled in Zhang Yuan's heart.

That sense of crisis stemmed from what he had experienced in the County Town years ago.

The bearded master who had slain seven Wandering Martial Artists in succession within the span of ten breaths had left an incomparably deep impression on Zhang Yuan.

On many nights, he had awakened from nightmares.

He could still feel the splattered blood lingering on his face!

That encounter had made Zhang Yuan deeply realize the danger of this world. Thus, even if he had to live through hardship, he had never used the knowledge and experience from his previous life to seek profit.

Weakness was the original sin!

For the same reason, Zhang Yuan had developed an immensely strong desire to learn martial arts.

To that end, he had gone to great pains to curry favor with Hunter Gao.

Yet it had all come to nothing.

Now that he had finally gained an opportunity to learn martial arts, how could he be willing to waste his time on petty schemes and scrambles for profit!

The sight of Zhang Yuan diligently practicing the Surging Wave Palm was seen clearly by Dong Yuanwei and Chen Zhize, who stood atop the watchtower!

Dong Yuanwei watched for a while, then suddenly said, "He is a talent worth shaping."

Chen Zhize said, "I have already investigated him. Zhang Yuan's background is clean. He has only a widowed mother at home and has no connection whatsoever to the Fierce Tiger Gang."

"As for the few things about him that are somewhat out of the ordinary, I imagine they are simply the result of his talent and good fortune!"

"Mm."

Dong Yuanwei nodded. "Then observe him for a while longer. If there are no problems, he is worth cultivating as a core disciple."

Chen Zhize smiled. "I believe that as long as we give Zhang Yuan an opportunity, he will surely return us a surprise!"

Dong Yuanwei sighed. "That would naturally be for the best. At present, our Raging Whale Gang is caught between old and young, and deep-rooted ills plague the gang. We sorely need fresh blood to wash them away. You have worked hard as well."

Chen Zhize shook his head. "It is my duty. Only what I should do."

He did not dare respond to anything else.

After all, Dong Yuanwei's status was special, so speaking bluntly was not much of a problem.

Chen Zhize, on the other hand, was merely a minor incense master.

The two fell silent at the same time and, as if by mutual agreement, looked once more toward Zhang Yuan.

That youth was still tirelessly throwing his palms!