Brandish White Rainbow, Stirring Startling Waves; Alone, Claim Top Honors on the River!

The great sun slanted westward, and the cold wind pierced to the bone.

It was past noon.

Walking out of Flying Swallow House, which stood amidst the bustling streets of Anning County, Ji Xiu strode with the gait of a dragon and tiger.

At his side.

Apart from Wei Zhi, whose finely embroidered blade pressed against her skirt.

There were Lu Yu and Xu Heng.

These two deputy hall masters of the Wind and Cloud Association, the young masters of the Fire Kiln and Firewood Market businesses.

The former was not too bad off. He had merely taken a palm strike to the shoulder blade.

Yet Lu Yu had already begun to grasp the path of Bone Tempering. Though his refinement fell short of Zhang Shi Yao, seventh seat of Tiger Leopard Hall, once the bone joints opened, strength surged forth, reinforcing sinews and strengthening bones.

Even after taking a palm strike head-on, he had suffered only some injuries.

But on the other side.

Xu Heng, whose attainments were only at Sinew Tempering, had it far worse.

Half his arm beneath the sleeve was already bruised purple and blue, and even the bones had warped somewhat. To set them right and nourish them back into shape, he would need at least two or three months of careful recovery.

"Lion Hall, Tiger Leopard Hall, Falcon Gang."

"Lion, leopard, eagle, falcon—the Three Great Overlords!"

"They came for the three fathers behind our businesses."

Xu Heng staggered along, gritting his teeth as he spoke:

"In Anning County, all those martial schools, large and small—the four instructors of Fist, Spear, Saber, Sword—have always focused only on teaching martial arts. They are all great experts from the Prefecture City who came here to enjoy their later years and open schools to take on disciples. Their reputations carry considerable weight."

"Even with the Wind and Cloud Association established, it cannot affect their standing. Those who should offer tea and learn martial arts will still do so. But the Three Great Gangs..."

"Those bandits and saber-wielders who came out of the villages and mountain towns below do not care about any of that!"

"By establishing the Wind and Cloud Association, we seized their momentum. And with the Three Great Businesses as our foundation, plus a Qi Refining Expert from the Prefecture City as our banner, given enough time..."

"Sooner or later, we would crush them until they could not lift their heads, become the sole dominant power, and send them rolling back to wherever they came from!"

"That is why they deliberately picked a fight. We were just unlucky enough to run straight into the muzzle!"

They had only just entered the enormous estate bearing the words "Wind and Cloud" above its gates, with no fewer than four courtyards in front and four behind.

Xu Heng let out a long breath. As retainers at either side applied medicine to him, he ground his teeth in fury.

Heaven had pity!

He had already given that fellow from Tiger Leopard Hall plenty of face!

Unfortunately.

That brat had not held back in the slightest. Xu Heng had lived all these years as the young master of the Firewood Market, accustomed to summoning wind and rain.

Even if his father's direct disciple had overshadowed him and stolen his limelight, he had only ever grumbled a little. Once outside, he was still one of the county's foremost young masters.

How could he swallow this grievance?

Ji Xiu remained silent.

He had no interest in the twists and turns between the Wind and Cloud Association and the Three Great Gangs. Or rather, it was not something he could interfere in or involve himself with.

The reason he had acted was only because he was caught in the affair and had good relations with Lu Yu and the Wind and Cloud Association.

Once that brat from Tiger Leopard Hall subdued the three of them, he would most likely "cordially" invite Ji Xiu, the Medicine Hall Master, away as well.

Thus, if he had not seized the right moment to break the deadlock, once the three joined forces—

With his Sinew Tempering incomplete, even though he had cultivated Mystic Blood Flood Dragon Tendons and gained the beginnings of Gold Muscle Jade Tendons, two fists could not defeat four hands. Before becoming Invulnerable to Blades, it would have been difficult to turn the tide.

But.

Whenever Ji Xiu recalled how he had just thrown punches and pressed his palms against Bone Tempering martial artists, firmly occupying the upper hand, his eyes could not help but shine.

"The Toughening Tendons Realm has three steps."

"Entering Force, Nourishing Blood, Forging Tendons."

"The Tempering Bones Realm also has three steps."

"Spinal Column Great Dragon, Force Entering Marrow, Invulnerable to Blades!"

"Of the three Tempering Bones martial artists from Lion Hall, Tiger Leopard Hall, and Falcon Gang, the seventh seat from Tiger Leopard Hall had fully reached the level of tempering the Spinal Column Great Dragon, able to send force through all four limbs."

"The other two had not completed the first step, but their progress still surpassed Senior Brother Lu Yu's."

"I was able to punch through Qiu Zhen of Falcon Gang, and use a palm at full force to pin Zhang Shi Yao's right shoulder until he could not move."

"A large part of the reason was that they had not achieved Force Entering Marrow—had not extended force from the Spinal Column Great Dragon and hammered every bone in their bodies into an iron-boned frame. That was why I could suppress them."

"If I truly encountered a ruthless character who had achieved Force Entering Marrow, or even refined iron bones and become Invulnerable to Blades..."

"Then no matter how I twisted, turned, and exhausted every trick in my body, I likely still would not be able to subdue them!"

For a moment, Ji Xiu felt rather fortunate.

Fortunately, because the young masters and young ladies of the Three Great Businesses were younger, most had not truly reached Bone Tempering. That had caused the so-called overlords of the Three Great Gangs to underestimate them somewhat.

Otherwise, if some true experts had come—

The four of them would likely have been bundled up and taken away together.

"But I gained something as well."

"Before we fought, because my realm was inferior and my methods of combat were lacking, with nothing to rely on apart from a single Entering Force saber technique, I had hesitated over whether I could stand against those three."

"But the moment I threw that punch, my legs stood like a mystic tortoise in a stance, my waist, abdomen, and spine roared like an enraged flood dragon, and the qi, blood, and great sinews throughout my body seemed to send a ceaseless stream of strength surging upward..."

"Then I understood."

"The superior pile stance I have tempered over these recent days has already been carved into my marrow."

"With stillness and motion stances joined, combined with Mystic Blood Flood Dragon Tendons, even if I know nothing of fighting techniques..."

"Relying only on my pile stance, half a move of Crashing Fist!"

"That is the finest fighting method!"

"When one's foundation is laid thick and solid enough..."

"Perhaps I can also crush those whose pile stances are inferior to mine, whose nourishment and training are inferior to mine..."

"Until they cannot lift their heads!"

Ji Xiu licked his lips, his gaze alight with excitement.

This was the first time, in the truest sense, that he had faced an enemy head-on after practicing stances for so long!

The results, gains, and insights he had obtained meant that if he encountered such a situation again, he would no longer be like a sheet of White Paper.

These three were precisely the finest whetstones.

If the timing had not been wrong.

Ji Xiu might even have wanted to immediately assume the stance of Tortoise Snake Great Pillar, refine the "mountain delicacies and blood food" he had consumed, toughen several more great sinews, and fortify a few more measures of qi and blood.

Practice martial arts, practice stances, soak in medicinal baths!

That was the true foundation of his ability to turn the tide!

Inside the hall.

Two medicine masters were applying medicinal powder to Lu Yu and Xu Heng for the moment, suppressing their injuries.

At the same time, as time passed, word of what had happened in Flying Swallow House gradually spread throughout the Wind and Cloud Association's headquarters.

For a time, when the passing members of the Wind and Cloud Association looked toward the black-clad youth sitting silently with his eyes slightly closed.

The disdain they had once held unconsciously vanished from their gazes.

In its place was a measure of respect:

"Those Tempering Bones experts from Lion Hall, Tiger Leopard Hall, and Falcon Gang..."

"Every single one of them is a ruthless character who has fought, struggled, and killed beyond the Five Hundred Li Mountain Road!"

"The visiting invitation, the Hongmen Banquet—even the children of the three business owners could not resolve it..."

"That man who had kept silent that day, then stole the limelight from everyone the moment the medicine master arrived..."

"Now that today's affair has happened, looking back, how could that have been mere caution?"

"He was clearly full of strategy, hiding brocade within his breast, unwilling to contend with others!"

"Truly mature beyond his years, fully deserving of the title 'Master Ji'!"

They were clearly the same people, the same Wind and Cloud Association.

Yet the whispered conversations in these circumstances were utterly different from before.

Such was the human heart, such was the world. One could not truly blame others for having shallow sight.

Only—

If he did not blame others, yet did not wish for things to be like this again someday.

Then—

Either strive to rise above.

Or drift with the current!

And he, Ji Xiu—

Would brandish White Rainbow to stir startling waves, and alone claim top honors upon the river!