Bright Force

"Who are you?!"

The sudden turn of events left everyone in the room stunned. Only after several breaths did the steward in red recover and bark coldly.

The men who had been waiting in line immediately surrounded Wei Sheng, watching him warily.

Looking at the woman at their mercy, the boy pouring out his grief, and the middle-aged man who had died with his eyes still open, Wei Sheng felt his anger explode. A vicious aura rose from him, and murderous intent surged in his eyes.

"The Hong Family?" His voice was hoarse, betraying neither joy nor anger.

"That's right! Get lost if you know what's good for you, or we'll kill you too!"

As though he had heard nothing, Wei Sheng took a step forward.

"Courting death!"

The steward in red's gaze turned icy.

Without waiting for his orders, the burly men dressed as household servants were already swinging their blades at Wei Sheng with savage grins.

The steward in red watched quietly, a smile appearing on his face.

Although he had no idea where this masked man had come from, he knew how the man would die.

But the next second.

His smile froze.

The screams he had imagined never came.

His vision blurred, and a figure suddenly appeared before him. Before he could make out the newcomer's face, he caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye-the burly men who had charged at the masked man were all flying backward, screaming!

Yet the masked man who should have been surrounded by them was nowhere to be seen.

The steward in red's pupils abruptly contracted!

As a Second Refinement expert, how could he fail to understand?

Without hesitation, he threw a punch at the masked man's chest.

Bang!

His iron fist, bearing a thousand jin of force, tore through the air with a roaring thunder, seemingly capable of punching through anything before it. But as his fist struck, the steward in red's smile froze, and his heart sank to rock bottom.

The impact did not feel like striking flesh and blood, but rather layer upon layer of tough oxhide. There was none of the satisfying sensation of a fist pounding flesh. Instead, it felt like punching cotton, leaving him utterly stifled.

Worse still.

In the instant he froze, the masked man clamped a hand around his wrist.

"Second Refinement? No, Third Refinement!"

Sweat broke out on the steward in red's forehead.

He had only ever encountered such astonishing skin defenses in the expert at the estate who had reached the peak of Third Refinement.

"Since you're a Third Refinement expert, why wade into these muddy waters for a stranger? Leave now, and the Hong Family can treat this as though nothing happened!"

His answer was a series of explosive cracks.

Wei Sheng instantly twisted his entire arm into a braid!

The steward in red's face contorted in pain, and he screamed miserably.

"Noisy!"

Wei Sheng's eyes were cold. Ignoring the sneak attack from the man's other hand, he brought his palm down on the crown of his head.

He unleashed two thousand five hundred jin of force in anger, driving the steward in red's head into his torso with a single slap. Blood sprayed out, even splashing Wei Sheng's face.

Wei Sheng paid it no mind. He was even somewhat exhilarated, an uncanny light shining in his eyes!

After his initial shock, the delicate-featured boy's expression turned ruthless. He picked up a blade from the ground and hacked the gravely wounded men to death one by one.

Then, covered in blood, the boy knelt before Wei Sheng. "I, Sun Li, thank you for saving my life, benefactor!!"

"What do you plan to do next?" Wei Sheng's voice remained hoarse.

The delicate-featured boy looked lost.

He instinctively looked toward the middle-aged man's corpse.

Then his face instantly filled with unbearable grief, as though only at this moment had he finally realized that his father was truly gone!

His mother, however, put on her clothes and thanked Wei Sheng before saying mournfully, "We plan to go to Black Forest Ward and seek refuge with relatives."

"Flee for your lives!"

Wei Sheng tossed the boy five taels of silver, then picked up the corpses of the steward in red and the others and left, throwing them all into a foul ditch.

He now had a hundred-tael banknote and five or six taels of loose silver in his hands.

Wei Sheng did not hurry away.

He stood on a rooftop, quietly watching the mother and son bid farewell to the middle-aged man's corpse, then take their luggage and head straight for a single-story house in Black Forest Ward.

Only when a lamp lit up inside the house and a man came out to welcome the mother and son inside did he turn and leave.

He had already done everything he could.

Whether they could survive would depend on the mother and son's fate.

Back home.

Wei Sheng took off his bloodstained outer garment and burned it, then washed himself and climbed into bed.

He carefully went over the details of his earlier actions. Only after confirming that he had not exposed his identity did he lie down to sleep.

Early the next morning.

Wei Sheng arrived at Fire Bull Outer Court as though nothing had happened.

Che Zhenzhong and Niu Yong were already there, but Xiao Ran was nowhere to be seen.

Neither of them looked particularly happy.

"How far have you gotten in your cultivation?"

Che Zhenzhong's very first question left Wei Sheng bewildered. He thought his breakthrough to Third Refinement had been discovered.

Only afterward did he learn that today marked the end of the two-month period Fire Ox had promised.

"Two months ago, when Brother Fire Ox taught us the Ox Demon Skin Refinement Method, he said whoever made the fastest progress after two months would receive a great opportunity."

Che Zhenzhong sounded somewhat helpless. "My talent is average. Even after two months of hard cultivation, I'm still at Second Refinement..."

Hearing this, Niu Yong's expression turned rather ugly, because he was still only at First Refinement!

"But Xiao Ran broke through!"

Wei Sheng understood. No wonder the two were reacting this way.

His own failure was certainly painful, but the success of someone beside him was even more like a thorn in his back and a bone stuck in his throat.

"Breaking through from Second Refinement to Third Refinement isn't easy. How did Xiao Ran do it so quickly?"

Wei Sheng was rather curious.

After all, he had spent thirty-three years in total breaking through to Third Refinement!

Yet Xiao Ran had gone from Second Refinement to Third Refinement in just two months. It was downright frightening!

"He..."

Che Zhenzhong hesitated, then finally lowered his voice. "A few days ago, I saw him enter the Doujin Gambling House."

The Doujin Gambling House was a gambling establishment under Weiyuan Hall.

Of course, it was more than just a gambling house. Its second purpose was lending money at usurious rates.

Xiao Ran was not fond of gambling.

That made his purpose in visiting the Doujin Gambling House obvious: borrowing money!

Wei Sheng raised an eyebrow. He had thought Xiao Ran had charged into Third Refinement on talent alone, but it turned out he had paid his way there!

While the two were talking.

Fire Ox strode over from the rear courtyard.

Someone followed beside him. It was none other than Xiao Ran.

But unlike his usual self, who cultivated diligently and had no time to pay attention to the others, Xiao Ran now walked with a spring in his step, his spirits soaring.

When they reached the others, Xiao Ran returned to join the three first, and the four stood in a row.

Fire Ox swept his gaze over the four and said with a smile:

"Everyone's here. Good, I have an announcement!

Xiao Ran has broken through to Third Refinement... Starting today, I'll be guiding his cultivation one-on-one. Xiao Ran will also represent those under Fire Ox's command in the Five Tiger Generals selection!

Of course, if any of you three break through to Third Refinement within the next half month, you can come to me too!"

As for why it was half a month, that was because the Five Tiger Generals selection would take place in half a month.

Afterward.

Fire Ox asked Wei Sheng and the other two about their recent cultivation progress.

"Brother Fire Ox, I've reached Second Refinement!"

Wei Sheng revealed it himself.

He was giving them an inoculation in advance, so they would not be frightened when he revealed his Third Refinement in the future.

Even so.

Upon hearing this.

Che Zhenzhong and Niu Yong were stunned.

The smile on Xiao Ran's face faded considerably too.

Even Fire Ox froze for a moment. "Second Refinement?"

Wei Sheng said nothing. Instead, he walked to the corner and lifted the thousand-jin stone lock with one hand.

Fire Ox immediately believed him and laughed heartily. "Good! I knew I hadn't misjudged you!"

In truth, of the four before him, Wei Sheng was the one he had the highest hopes for.

He had risen from an ordinary person to Second Refinement in just two months. That talent far surpassed Xiao Ran's.

Unfortunately, Wei Sheng had started too late, and his cultivation lagged far behind Xiao Ran's.

And there were only a little over two months left until the Five Tiger Generals selection...

Given enough time, Wei Sheng might well have been the best candidate!

Still, this was good too. Even after Xiao Ran rose to his position, he would still have a capable general at his side.

At this thought, Fire Ox's mood lifted greatly:

"I'll take this opportunity to explain how to cultivate in the Flesh Refinement Realm."

Hearing this, Wei Sheng perked up.

"Cultivating in the Flesh Refinement Realm is extremely similar to refining the skin. The difference is that after entering the Flesh Refinement Realm, your qi and blood fill your entire body and condense into 'force,' commonly known as Bright Force."