Early the next morning, in the training grounds.
Jiang Fa stood in his stance.
After breaking through to An Jin, he needed to readjust to his body.
The greatest difference between An Jin and Ming Jin lay in one word: penetration.
Ming Jin force remained on the surface, affecting only an object's exterior.
An Jin force, however, seeped like water into sand, silently destroying the structure within.
Zhao Zhong had shattered a three-inch-thick bluestone tablet with a palm strike, leaving the surface intact while pulverizing the inside-a classic hallmark of An Jin.
Jiang Fa walked up to the ironwood post and slowly raised his right palm.
He merely rested his palm lightly against its surface.
Then, force flowed out through his palm.
The wooden post did not budge.
Yet several fine cracks silently appeared along its edges, spreading outward like a spiderweb.
Wherever the cracks passed, an invisible force shattered the wood grain, and wood dust sifted down from the fissures.
Jiang Fa withdrew his palm and looked down at his hand.
A faint current of warmth stirred in his palm-the penetrating force he had condensed after bringing the second level of the Mountain-Breaking Stance to perfection.
This force had fused with the blood and Qi within his body, gathering and releasing at his will. It was far more than twice as powerful as the brute strength he had possessed at Ming Jin.
"An Jin..."
He clenched his fist, feeling that unprecedented sense of power within him.
Nearly a year had passed since he joined the martial hall.
From a "low-grade aptitude" good-for-nothing to an inner court disciple at early An Jin.
An An Jin martial artist.
Even in all of Qingshan County, he would count as a skilled fighter. If he went to any of the major lineages, he could likewise be received as an honored guest.
As he was now, he no longer had to worry about making a living in the future.
Jiang Fa settled into the Mountain-Breaking Stance again and began adapting to the physical changes brought by the An Jin realm.
Most of the snow on the training grounds had melted. The bluestone paving was wet, reflecting the gray sky.
As Jiang Fa stood before the ironwood post, getting used to exerting An Jin force, he suddenly heard a clamor of angry shouting from the eastern side of the training grounds.
He dropped his stance and looked toward the noise.
A ring of people had gathered beside the weapon racks on the eastern side. Through them, he could just make out Xu Feng's rotund figure being shoved.
Xu Feng staggered back two steps and struck the weapon rack with his back, making the spears hanging from it clatter.
"Fatty Xu, getting full of yourself, are you?"
Xie Tan's voice was sharp and shrill.
He stood in the middle of the crowd with his arms folded, his head tilted as he looked at Xu Feng, undisguised mockery curling his lips.
Xu Feng's face flushed red, and he clenched his fists. "Senior Brother Xie, I only wanted to get the armory key to collect two new wooden sabers. What right do you have to stop me?"
"What right?" Xie Tan sneered and turned toward Sun Yi beside him. "Senior Brother Sun, listen to this. This brat's asking what right I have."
Sun Yi leaned against a stone bollard at the edge of the grounds. At those words, he merely lifted his eyelids without answering.
Seeing this, Xie Tan grew even more brazen. He stepped forward until his face was almost touching Xu Feng's. "Because I'm your senior brother. That armory key is mine to manage. If I say you can't have it, you can't have it. You're a newcomer who's barely spent a few days in the inner court, and you dare talk back to your senior brother?"
Ma Ping stood beside Xu Feng, his dark face flushed crimson. "Steward Ma is the one who manages the armory key," he said in a low voice. "Since when did that fall to you, Senior Brother Xie?"
At those words, the smile on Xie Tan's face cooled.
He slowly turned his head, his sinister gaze settling on Ma Ping. "Ma Ping, a middle-stage Ming Jin piece of trash like you thinks he's worthy of speaking to me?"
Ma Ping clenched his fists, a trace of anger appearing on his face.
He was quiet and reserved by nature. At the martial hall, he normally did nothing but bury himself in grueling training, never taking the initiative to stir up trouble.
But being silent did not mean he had no temper. Anyone would find it unbearable to have someone point at their nose and call them trash in public.
"What, not happy?" Seeing his clenched fists, Xie Tan smiled even more broadly and thrust his face toward Ma Ping. "Go on. Hit me right here. Do you dare?"
Ma Ping pressed his lips into a thin line.
He did not dare.
Xie Tan was an established inner court disciple at early An Jin. In both cultivation and seniority, he stood far above Ma Ping.
Throwing that punch would give Xie Tan an excuse to make trouble.
Seeing this, Xu Feng hurriedly caught Ma Ping's arm and lowered his voice. "Don't be rash. Let's go."
"Go?"
Xie Tan seized Xu Feng by the back of his collar and hauled him back. "Who said you could leave? Did I say you could leave?"
Xu Feng stumbled from the pull. His collar tightened around his neck, and his face instantly turned the color of pig liver.
He struggled to pry Xie Tan's hand away, only to be kicked behind the knee and sent crashing to his knees with a thud.
"Xu Feng!" Ma Ping's expression changed, and he raised his fist to charge forward.
This was precisely the moment Xie Tan had been waiting for.
He struck Ma Ping in the chest with a backhand palm strike. Early An Jin force burst through his palm, sending Ma Ping reeling several steps back.
Clutching his chest, Ma Ping staggered backward. A sweet, metallic taste surged into his throat, and a trickle of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
More and more disciples gathered around them, yet none dared speak up to stop it.
Some of the veteran disciples folded their arms and watched the commotion.
Others even chatted and laughed quietly, their tones relaxed. They were clearly enjoying the show.
"You dare challenge me with that little ability?"
Xie Tan looked down at Xu Feng kneeling on the ground and reached out to pat his face.
"Remember this: in the inner court, whatever your senior brother says goes. If I tell you to kneel, don't stand. If I tell you to roll, don't crawl. Do you understand?"
Xu Feng knelt with his head lowered, his eyes stretched wide with fury. An immense sense of humiliation welled up in his heart, but he did not say a word.
"Gone mute?" Xie Tan frowned and raised his foot to stomp on Xu Feng's shoulder.
Just then, a hand reached in from the side and firmly caught his ankle.
Its fingers clamped around Xie Tan's ankle and shoved. Xie Tan was pushed back three steps, nearly colliding with Sun Yi.
He steadied himself and jerked his head up, only to find that Jiang Fa had stepped in front of Xu Feng without him noticing.
Jiang Fa glanced down at Xu Feng. Seeing that he was disheveled but fortunately uninjured, he withdrew his gaze and looked at Xie Tan.
"Senior Brother Xie," he said slowly, his voice level. "We're all fellow disciples. Why go this far?"
Xie Tan froze for a moment, then reacted as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world. "Why go this far? What day is it today? One after another, you jump out to reason with me. Do you really think I, Xie Tan, am easy to push around?"
He turned and swept his gaze around. The watching disciples let out low chuckles of agreement.
Jiang Fa remained unmoved.
"Jiang Fa!" Xu Feng struggled to his feet and caught Jiang Fa's sleeve, his voice trembling. "Let's go. A wise man doesn't take a beating when the odds are against him."
"Right... let's go." Enduring the pain, Ma Ping staggered forward and wiped the blood from his mouth with his sleeve.
Xie Tan's laughter stopped abruptly.
"Go?" He narrowed his eyes and looked Jiang Fa up and down, his cold gaze settling on his face. "Instead of standing there practicing your punches, a blockhead like you comes meddling in my business, and now you think you can just leave?"
He tilted his head, his lips spreading into a mocking grin.
"I hear you have low-grade aptitude? Tsk, tsk. Making it into the inner court with low-grade aptitude-you really did step in dog-shit luck."
Jiang Fa's expression did not change. He merely took Ma Ping by the arm in silence, then turned to leave.
"Did I say you could leave?"