Shackles

Zhang Lingfeng had been keeping an eye on Chen Qing for some time.

Although Chen Qing had ordinary aptitude, he cultivated diligently and earnestly, and had an elderly mother to support. Keeping someone like him at home as a martial instructor meant, for one thing, that his background was clear, and for another, that he was easier to control. Since they were fellow disciples, the price was also lower, fitting Zhang Lingfeng's requirements perfectly.

At the same time, Zhang Lingfeng understood that the Zhang Clan was a small household. Only someone like Chen Qing, with no connections or resources and relatively ordinary aptitude, would consider them worthwhile.

Someone like Ye Fan would never attach himself to their Zhang Clan, even if Zhang Lingfeng could afford a monthly stipend of a hundred taels.

And as long as his household's safety was assured and Warm Breeze Hall could bring in a steady income, he could remain behind the scenes and focus on cultivating. Once enough time had passed, he would attain Dark Force.

Then many problems would fall apart like bamboo before a blade.

Still, inviting Chen Qing to take a post in his household, and the financial outlay it represented, made several of his senior fellow disciples see him in a new light. The apprentices in the outer courtyard looked at him with outright respect.

As for attaching himself to another household to earn a monthly stipend, Zhang Lingfeng had never considered it. Although money worried him too, he had not reached the point of sacrificing his fist practice to take a post with someone else.

His family might only be minor landowners, but others could only take posts under him, not the other way around.

Besides, his most pressing task now was to cultivate step by step and ensure he attained Dark Force within the allotted time.

As for Ye Fan, he could let him hop around a few more days.

"Welcome to the Yan Lineage, Young Master Ye. I've already prepared a banquet at Drunken Spring House. Please!"

Dressed in brocade and looking dignified, Young Master Yan cupped his fists toward Ye Fan.

"We're on the same side from now on, so I won't stand on ceremony."

Ye Fan smiled.

"Hahaha, one family needn't speak as though they were two."

Wu Yun laughed.

Several senior fellow disciples who also possessed Dark Force cultivation, including Yang Tao, Liu Rushuang, Zhao Hu, and Ma Fei, were invited to the banquet at Drunken Spring House as well.

Young Master Yan also wanted to invite Guo Wei, but unfortunately, he could not persuade him.

As for fellow disciples at Ming Jin like Zhang Lingfeng, even a peak Ming Jin expert like Liu Feng received only a faint smile or a nod when Young Master Yan saw him.

Everyone knew how much they weighed and had no intention of joining the excitement.

"Senior Brother Liu, Senior Brother Ma, Junior Brother Huang... Junior Brother Chen is taking a post with my family today. I've prepared a table of food and wine at the tavern. Come along!"

While the Yan Lineage hosted a banquet for Ye Fan and invited Wu Yun and the others, Zhang Lingfeng spoke to Liu Feng and the rest as well.

"Thank you for your hospitality, Junior Brother Zhang!"

"Thank you, Senior Brother Zhang!"

Liu Feng and the others smiled.

Hei Hu, Sun Yan, and the others shouted loudest from the outer courtyard, their fanfare eclipsing the Yan Lineage's.

Although they were not going to Drunken Spring House, the large crowd following Zhang Lingfeng still astonished quite a few of those who had come to invite inner courtyard disciples to take posts.

This landowner from Zhang Family Gully seemed rather unusual.

After settling matters with Chen Qing, Zhang Lingfeng arranged for Tang Baihu to escort him to Zhang Family Gully the next day. When Zhang Laochong learned that a martial instructor was coming to their household, he even held a welcoming ceremony. Only after attending to Chen Qing for two days did he take him around the fields.

After some publicity, everyone in Zhang Family Gully now knew that the Zhang Clan had hired a martial instructor and seized the water source on Little Moon Mountain. Even a major household like the Li Clan had to pay water fees to the Zhang Clan.

The tenant farmers and laborers also behaved considerably better than usual.

Although spending that money pained Zhang Laochong, it also left him immensely satisfied. The gentlemen who had once mocked him for spending money on Zhang Lingfeng's martial training were now deeply envious when they saw that he could hire a martial instructor and keep even the Li Clan in check. Their smiles when they met him were brighter than before.

Time hurried by.

In the blink of an eye, another three months passed.

"Boom!"

Day after day, Zhang Lingfeng focused on practicing the Twelve-Routine Iron Mountain Fist in a corner of the martial arts school.

[Twelve-Form Iron Mountain Fist Middle Section: (466/600)]

Now, he needed less than three months to attain Dark Force. His Twelve-Routine Iron Mountain Fist grew smoother with every practice, the Ming Jin power within his body working in concert with his fist technique. After completing a round, not only did Zhang Lingfeng feel no fatigue, he even felt pleasantly open throughout his body, his sinews and bones tingling.

"Master."

He finished practicing.

Zhang Lingfeng discovered that Guo Wei had come to stand nearby at some point and was watching him.

"How long have you been in the inner courtyard?"

Guo Wei asked.

"Nine months and nine days."

Zhang Lingfeng answered.

"You remember quite clearly."

Guo Wei smiled.

"The day I entered the inner courtyard to cultivate was the day my fate changed, so I wouldn't dare forget it."

Zhang Lingfeng spoke humbly.

"You have a thoughtful heart."

Guo Wei could not help examining Zhang Lingfeng's bone structure by touch once more.

Upon attaining Ming Jin, one could become his disciple and gain the opportunity to cultivate in the inner courtyard without paying tuition, needing only to cover the cost of blood and Qi replenishing soup.

But anyone taking a post outside had to hand over twenty percent of their earnings.

That was his rule.

Some thought he was too greedy, taking twenty percent of his disciples' earnings for nothing without doing any work. But if they encountered danger or unfair treatment while holding outside posts, he, as their master, would also step forward to protect them.

The more income he received, the more attentive his usual guidance of his disciples became.

Zhang Lingfeng held no outside post, but the gifts he respectfully offered each month were worth somewhat more than the share Guo Wei received from many Ming Jin disciples working outside.

Combined with Zhang Lingfeng's presence at the martial arts school almost every day, quietly cultivating in a corner, this had kept Guo Wei's attention on him fairly consistently.

But after examining Zhang Lingfeng's bone structure, Guo Wei inwardly lamented once again what a pity it was.

Although Zhang Lingfeng's bone structure was not of the very highest grade, it was still high-grade. While inferior to Ye Fan's, it was exceedingly rare nonetheless. Unfortunately, examining him from head to toe revealed that his bones had long since closed, without any sign of loosening.

Although his fist technique grew increasingly proficient, and he had accumulated ample blood and Qi, with strength far greater than many at Ming Jin, breaking through to Dark Force would be exceptionally difficult.

He could not help saying, "The body has many shackles. Ming Jin, Dark Force, and even Transforming Jin are shackles at different levels. Breaking through to Ming Jin doesn't mean your blood and Qi have been elevated. Rather, your blood and Qi have been freed from one set of shackles, allowing the strength within your body to become more coordinated and your blood and Qi to unleash greater power through your fist technique.

"Undoing each set of shackles is a breakthrough.

"The deeper the shackles lie, the harder they are to undo. Accumulating enough blood and Qi alone won't let you burst through them. Do you understand?"

"I understand. Thank you for your guidance, Master. I'll cultivate even harder."

Zhang Lingfeng spoke respectfully.

"All right."

Guo Wei hesitated to speak further.

He had already made himself so clear, hoping Zhang Lingfeng would stop consuming blood and Qi replenishing soup and save some money to manage his family's modest holdings. Even if he could never attain Dark Force, reaching the peak of Ming Jin would still leave him a hundred times better off than ordinary people. Yet Zhang Lingfeng seemed not to understand.

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