Chen Tie glanced around. With no other disciples of the White Crane Martial Arts Hall present, he slowly lowered his hips and assumed the opening stance of the White Crane Fist.
He relaxed his muscles and bones, his breathing as long and steady as a white crane's. With a thought, he turned his waist and hips, sending force rising from his dantian, along his spine, and into his arm as he slowly punched out.
The punch was not merely brute ferocity. Beneath that violent force, his mind remained utterly undisturbed.
He withdrew his fist, his breathing still steady, without the restless surge of blood and Qi he usually felt after practicing.
The white crane beside the pond gave a soft, low cry, its clear note drifting through the quiet courtyard.
A faint smile rose to Chen Tie's lips. Today, he had watched a tiger in its cage and cranes beside the pond. The insights from both experiences bore each other out, and now he had also gained a faint understanding of the White Crane Fist. That punch had confirmed his thoughts, but practicing the White Crane Fist here inside the White Crane Martial Arts Hall would not be appropriate.
Chen Tie turned away from White Crane Pond and took Chen Xi home. After eating, he practiced the White Crane Stance Art and White Crane Fist in the courtyard.
For some time, Chen Tie had focused on the Fierce Tiger Fist. His progress with the White Crane Stance Art had been relatively slow, and he had not even begun practicing the White Crane Fist.
With the insights he had gained today, two hours of uninterrupted practice made his White Crane Stance Art increasingly proficient. The blood and Qi that had circulated through his limbs grew thicker and fuller, like a spring tide washing through his meridians.
Previously, his blood and Qi had circulated fiercely and rapidly, surging with a restless heat; now, they flowed like a river grown deep, steady and unbroken.
Chen Tie could clearly sense a new current of blood and Qi slowly soaking into the muscles and bones beneath his flesh. Every inch of his body was being nourished and tempered, spreading from his heart to his shoulders and back, his waist and hips, then throughout his limbs and bones. There was no bursting ache, only a solid sense of fullness.
"I've reached Skin Refining with the White Crane Fist!"
Chen Tie immediately checked his proficiency.
[Fierce Tiger Fist Greater Mastery (171/300)] [Fierce Tiger Stance Art Greater Mastery (193/300)] [Resounding Viscera Blood Scripture Third Layer (90/100)] [Supple Bone Palm Lesser Mastery (149/200)] [White Crane Stance Art Lesser Mastery (1/200)]
Chen Tie drew a deep, long breath, then slowly exhaled.
He raised his hand and clenched his fist, feeling that it held considerably more strength than before. Yet his mind remained clear, undisturbed by the sharp increase in blood and Qi.
To test his conjecture, Chen Tie threw several more punches. The instant his fist shot forward, the air trembled.
"Just as I thought. There's another current of blood and Qi from the White Crane Fist inside me, so the total amount has increased. Although it wasn't refined through the Fierce Tiger Fist, it can still power the Fierce Tiger Fist, so my punches will become stronger too!"
Chen Tie slowly withdrew his stance, breathing evenly. The rich blood and Qi within him gradually settled, still full and abundant.
The next day, Chen Tie took Chen Xi to the White Crane Martial Arts Hall before returning to the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall.
He ran into Xu Da just inside the entrance.
"Junior Brother Chen, you've been missing for days, but I can tell you've gotten stronger!"
Xu Da moved closer and spoke quietly.
Chen Tie was about to reply when he suddenly noticed that Xu Da had also broken through.
"Third Senior Brother, you've done well yourself. When did you break through to Flesh Refining?"
Xu Da waved a hand. "All of you have broken through. If I still hadn't, my father wouldn't even let me out of the house."
"A breakthrough is good news. Let's find a time to get together."
"Sure, my treat. Bring Eldest Senior Brother along. He's been nowhere to be seen for days, acting all mysterious."
Xu Da patted his chest.
After exchanging a few pleasantries, Chen Tie entered the basement in the inner courtyard, but saw neither Zhang Long nor Mo Hong.
He thought little of it and practiced as usual.
By noon, Master Mo still had not come. He had been bringing food down these past few days, but today Chen Tie would have to go out to the dining hall.
"Second Senior Brother, hasn't Junior Brother Zhang Long come to the martial hall today either?"
"He probably won't be coming today," Xu Da said between bites of his meat pie. "I heard Junior Brother Zhang reached Flesh Refining Greater Mastery last night. Master Mo was delighted and took him around to visit the other streamers first thing this morning, under the fine-sounding pretext of broadening his horizons."
Chen Tie immediately understood Mo Hong's intentions. Presumably, he wanted to show Zhang Long's face, both so friendly martial halls would look after him in the future and so rival halls would see that the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall had a worthy successor.
After a brief rest at noon, Chen Tie practiced as usual.
Early the next morning, when Chen Tie arrived at the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall, he found the training grounds shrouded in gloom. Outer courtyard disciples gathered in twos and threes, speaking in hushed voices. Everyone looked grave, and the atmosphere was unusually oppressive.
Shen Yan and Xu Da immediately approached when they saw him arrive.
"Junior Brother Chen, you're finally back. Something happened to Junior Brother Zhang. Someone ambushed him in the inner city last night and knocked him unconscious with a club."
Chen Tie's heart sank. "How is he now?"
"No one found Junior Brother Zhang until dawn. Master Mo immediately called in Doctor Cao, the best doctor in the inner city." Shen Yan sighed. "Doctor Cao just finished examining him and left. The result... the doctor said an injury to the back of his head left him unconscious, all the bones in his limbs were broken, his blood and Qi had dispersed, and his martial foundation was destroyed. He'll never be able to practice martial arts again."
"His martial path is completely destroyed?" Chen Tie's expression changed in shock.
"The attacker didn't just knock him out and leave. They went up and forcibly broke all four of his limbs. They were clearly intent on crippling Junior Brother Zhang."
Xu Da kept his voice very low. "Junior Brother Chen, Master Mo won't let the others in, but we can go take a look."
Inside a room in the inner courtyard.
The air was thick with the smell of medicine. Zhang Long lay quietly on the bed, his eyes tightly shut, still unconscious. Thick strips of cloth wrapped the back of his head, blood seeping through and staining nearly half the dressing red.
Chen Tie's gaze sharpened.
Zhang Long's limbs were twisted and deformed. Every broken bone had been secured with splints and bound in layers of coarse cloth, yet bloodstains were still visible seeping through the bandages.
His limbs were badly swollen, his flesh mottled with blue-purple bruises that spread from his wrists and ankles all the way to his upper arms and thighs. The sight was shocking.
Chen Tie looked him up and down. He could tell that the attacker had been exceedingly ruthless, deliberately choosing to break the crucial joints that bore the force in his limbs.
Martial artists relied on the muscles and bones of their limbs to draw upon their blood and Qi when exerting force. With these bones shattered, the pathways for blood and Qi had collapsed and become obstructed.
Zhang Long's chest barely rose and fell. His face was pale as paper, his lips cracked, and his brows tightly furrowed, as though the agony still lingered.
Standing beside the bed, Mo Fang gently wiped the fine sweat from Zhang Long's forehead, her eyes misty.
Mo Hong's temples seemed to have gained a few more gray hairs. His voice was low. "Doctor Cao said his life has barely been saved, but the damage to the muscles and bones of his limbs and the meridians throughout his body is too severe. Even if his external injuries heal, I'm afraid his martial path ends here."
A chill surged through Chen Qing's heart. Fighting to the death in the ring was at least open and aboveboard, but against an ambush from the shadows, no matter how high one's cultivation, falling into a trap could lead to this very end.
"Master Mo, do you know who did it?"
Chen Tie asked softly.
Mo Hong shook his head. "There's no way to discern their style from his injuries. Presumably, that was deliberate."
He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but ultimately remained silent.
In the end, he said, "From today onward, no disciple is to go out alone after nightfall. Even if you travel together, pay close attention to everything around you."
"Yes, Master Mo!"
The three cupped their hands in reply.
Chen Tie privately guessed that this was likely a case of the tree rising above the forest being battered by the wind.
Until he was strong enough, he needed to keep a low profile.