Anning, Inner Street of the martial halls.
Stretching ten li from north to south, with dozens of boxing schools and martial halls of every size arranged in neat rows.
And at the very end of the alley off the ten-li Long Street.
Four grand, high-gated residences bore the characters "Fist," "Spear," "Blade," and "Sword" on plaques hanging from their beams.
Divine Fist Gate, Overlord Spear, Whale Severing Blade, Black Bird Sword!
They represented the most formidable martial establishments in all five hundred li of Anning County.
Whether it was Fire Kiln Firewood Market, Tiger Leopard Hall, or Lion Hall, they were ultimately forces that scraped by in the outer city, or out on mountain roads and in the wilderness.
By nature, they could not compare to these gilded plaques that had ridden the tide down from Jiangyin Prefecture!
In these times, any figure who could struggle and claw his way through the prefecture city might seem unremarkable outside. But once he crossed the vast Eastern Cang Sea, endured the bumpy, winding journey, and disembarked at Anning County's docks—
He would leap from a little shrimp into a river dragon!
Dignified Qi Refining Experts of Jiangyin Prefecture, powerful hands at the peak of external refinement who had completed the Strength Threshold—
Where could one find such people in this five-hundred-li Anning County, backed against mountains and facing the sea, with no contact with other prefectures or counties save through dockside sea transport?
Thus, these four men, honored with the title of instructor, could not only open halls, teach disciples, and rake in silver, but also accept the county yamen's appointment to command the armored County Soldiers.
Moreover, most of those County Soldiers consisted of trusted aides and disciples cultivated by the Four Great Halls and the County Magistrate himself.
No matter