Chen Tie immediately got up and opened the courtyard gate.
By the light of his fire striker, he saw a young man outside, dressed in white with a cold smile on his face.
"What took you so long to open the gate?" the young man in white asked with a sneer.
Chen Tie frowned. "I should be asking you that. Why are you knocking at my gate in the dead of night?"
"Enough nonsense. It's your honor to have the Unborn Sect come preach at your door. Join our sect at once."
"Unborn Eternal Mother, Vacuum Homeland. Those who believe in Wusheng shall gain eternal life..."
"Stop. I don't follow any religion. Leave," Chen Tie interrupted.
"If you refuse to join our sect, you're a heretic. You'll have to pay one tael of silver each month to cleanse your soul."
Out of the corner of his eye, Chen Tie glanced at the slight bulge at the young man's waist, suddenly recalling something his third senior brother, Xu Da, had mentioned.
Although the Unborn Sect's origins were unknown, fish and dragons mingled within its ranks. Some members of unknown identity had slipped in, using nighttime preaching as a pretext to extort money, and would even kill.
Chen Tie suspected that the young man before him was one of them, so he feigned panic.
"Where would I get that much money? I'm just an errand runner who delivers letters."
"No money? Then let me inside to search and see if you have anything valuable."
Before he had finished speaking, the young man in white pushed the gate open and stepped into the courtyard.
"This is robbery. Aren't you afraid other members of the Unborn Sect will see?" Chen Tie mustered his courage and pressed him.
The young man in white sneered. "None of them are anywhere nearby. How would they know about any of this?"
"Then you're the only one here, aren't you?"
The young man in white felt a chill sweep over him from behind.
A thick arm looped around his neck from behind, while another hand pressed against the back of his head, forming a rear naked choke.
Veins immediately bulged on the young man's face. His eyes protruded, bloodshot, and his hands flailed helplessly. Soon, he slumped to the ground.
Chen Tie quickly shut the gate, then searched the young man and found two satin bundles, one large and one small. Just to be safe, he also snapped the young man's neck.
Finally, he tossed him into the Flowing Stream River. The churning water soon swallowed the white-clad figure.
Chen Tie returned indoors. His younger sister, Chen Xi, was sleeping soundly, and he lay down as though nothing had happened.
He had thought he would panic, but had never expected to be so calm.
Perhaps, after everything he had seen and heard lately, he had gradually grown accustomed to this world.
Early the next morning, Chen Tie got up and took out the two satin bundles.
He opened the larger bundle first and found assorted pieces of silver inside. A careful count put the total at a full eighty taels.
Chen Tie could not help smiling. This money could buy medicinal herbs to speed up his martial training.
Then he opened the other, smaller bundle and found neatly stacked gold bars weighing ten taels in total, along with a jade token bearing the character "Liu."
Chen Tie's expression immediately darkened. In this world, a single tael of gold could be exchanged for a hundred taels of silver.
Could the young preacher he had casually slaughtered have an extraordinary background?
"With a background like that, why get into this line of work?"
Chen Tie took a deep breath and soon calmed down. Since he had done it, there was no point regretting it.
Horses did not grow fat without night fodder; men did not grow rich without windfalls.
With gold and silver in hand, he only needed to put it all toward improving his strength.
Having thought it through, Chen Tie immediately returned to the martial hall to begin training.
Everyone had arrived at the Fierce Tiger Martial Hall early that morning.
The outer courtyard disciples formed a circle, for today was the day Mo Hong would give a public martial arts lesson.
"With the Fierce Tiger Fist, your punch strikes like a great tiger pouncing, its force landing as though splitting the earth, destroying everything before you with tremendous power."
Mo Hong continued, "When you punch, harbor no thought of defense. Once your fist flies, the enemy must crumble. Like a tiger attacking, remain still until you move, then destroy your enemy."
He looked around, his gaze calm. "Most of you have trained in the outer courtyard for a long time. Your Fierce Tiger Stance Art has built up your Qi and blood, and your strength has reached a certain level. Today, I'll explain actual combat to you. After all, fist techniques are forged through fighting!"
At these words, Chen Tie's eyes lit up. He had been learning martial arts for a month, and Elder Mo was finally going to show his skills.
"Would anyone care to step forward?" Mo Hong asked with a smile.
The disciples exchanged glances, but none stepped forward.
"I would like to try," Shen Yan said, cupping his hands.
He walked over to stand opposite Mo Hong, crouching slightly, his left fist extended forward and his right hand guarding his side.
"Watch out!"
Mo Hong gave a low shout. He merely took one step forward, yet he was like a fierce tiger pouncing, his thin body erupting with astonishing presence.
Drawing on the force of his foot pushing against the ground, Mo Hong rotated his waist and hips forward. Without raising his shoulder or swinging his arm, he channeled his entire body's strength through his torso into his right fist. The wind from his punch rumbled low, without a sharp whistle through the air, only a heavy sense of pressure surging toward Shen Yan.
Before the fist arrived, a heavy pressure bore down on him. Though mentally prepared, Shen Yan was still greatly startled. His body instinctively retreated at once, and his hands rose to guard his chest.
But Mo Hong's right fist suddenly changed course, striking Shen Yan in the lower abdomen.
Shen Yan gave a muffled grunt. Feeling a powerful, heavy force surge into him, he involuntarily stumbled back two steps.
"My Fierce Tiger Straight Punch was originally aimed at the chest, yet it struck the lower abdomen. That was an adjustment made in the moment against an opponent. Moves are fixed, but combat constantly changes. If you cannot adapt to circumstances, your path in martial arts will be very limited."
Opposite him, Shen Yan gathered his focus. Mo Hong lowered his body slightly, his five fingers abruptly curling into tiger claws. The muscles of his shoulders and back tightened like a fierce tiger poised to strike.
He thrust his forearm forward, his tiger claw sweeping sideways straight toward the area beneath Shen Yan's ribs.
Shen Yan hurriedly raised his arm to block. The right tiger claw landed on his forearm, its finger joints hooking slightly before giving a gentle backward tug.
Shen Yan lost his balance. Before he could steady himself, Mo Hong's left tiger claw had already seized his throat.
The withered tiger claw gripped his windpipe like an iron hook. The icy killing intent receded like a tide, but Shen Yan was still drenched in cold sweat.
"The human body has three obvious vital points: the eyes, the groin, and the throat. The throat in particular-if struck by the force of a fierce tiger claw, a single blow can decide life or death. You must be extremely careful."
Mo Hong stopped after explaining only two moves, yet he had opened a door.
Chen Tie's eyes widened as he replayed them over and over in his mind.
The first demonstrated the way of adaptation; the second showed that life and death lay only an instant apart.
Daily fist practice followed fixed moves. Over time, it was easy to develop muscle memory, but actual combat changed in countless ways.
Moreover, one had to be extremely careful in a fight. Seizing a single opening to attack a weak point might be enough to kill in one blow.
Mo Hong reined in his presence. "You all understand now, don't you? Daily martial training is the foundation, and mastering fist techniques and moves is necessary. But you must place importance on actual combat. Only actual combat can hone your fist techniques. Yet their killing power is closely tied to your sinews, bones, Qi, and blood. Without sufficient strength, you cannot unleash their power, and in the end, you'll meet an untimely death in a fight. So there is no room for the slightest carelessness in your daily training."
Mo Hong continued explaining, "The Fierce Tiger Fist isn't about blindly relying on brute force, taking blows head-on and smashing away. Moves can be learned, but force can only be forged through fighting. Forms are for experiencing force, not memorizing by rote. Once you become fixated on moves, your attacks leave telltale traces, and your opponent can predict them at a glance."
"Attack and defense depend on each other; taking and relinquishing go hand in hand. No move is flawless. Every attack exposes an opening. To strike is to make a choice: whenever you attack, you must give something up. But the ultimate goal must be to defeat your enemy as quickly as possible."
Chen Tie felt as though the tangled weeds blocking his mind had suddenly been cleared away, as if a door to a new world had opened.
True combat was not bound by fixed moves. What mattered was adapting flexibly, with every means serving only to defeat one's opponent.
Mo Hong looked around and, seeing the disciples' dumbstruck expressions, felt thoroughly satisfied.
"What are you still standing around for? Martial arts are forged through practice!"
"Understood!" the disciples hurriedly answered.
Then everyone found a partner and began practicing.
Chen Tie and Shen Yan exchanged a glance, and both settled into their stances.
For a time, throughout the outer courtyard, the disciples constantly varied their moves, and the sounds of blows and collisions rang out without end.