Huo Courtyard, Inner Courtyard. Fallen petals paved the winding path.
"Two wins and one loss? That’s acceptable," Huo Lin said flatly after listening to Tao Ping’s report.
Tao Ping added, "Master, from what I saw, Junior Brother Chen didn’t use his full strength. Although his vitality and blood are average, his progress in the Xin Yi Liu He Fist is rapid. If all goes well, he might break through to Manifest Force in another month or two."
"Oh?" Huo Lin was somewhat surprised. "Breaking through to Manifest Force in about three months... For a Grade D-Upper Root Bone to reach this step, according to you, this Chen Yuan’s Comprehension must not be low."
He recalled the time he first taught Chen Yuan the Xin Yi Liu He Fist, but he hadn’t felt that Chen Yuan’s Comprehension was particularly high back then. Was his brilliance merely overshadowed by Xu Heng, or was Chen Yuan the type of talent who accumulated strength over time before finally bursting forth?
Xu Heng walked over and said indifferently, "Chen Yuan is quite diligent, but his Root Bone is a fatal flaw. It will be difficult for him to achieve great things. His current progress proves nothing. He might get stuck at the bottleneck of Manifest Force for a year or a half."
Tao Ping’s words made him somewhat disdainful. Since when could Chen Yuan be considered to be progressing rapidly? Losing even one of his three battles was an absolute disgrace to the Huo Courtyard.
Huo Lin nodded slightly and told Tao Ping, "Just keep an eye on him. Only when he successfully breaks through the bottleneck will he have truly taken his first step on the Martial Dao."
With the Martial Examination approaching, Chen Yuan’s current progress was still not enough to qualify.
In the Outer Courtyard.
Upon returning, Chen Yuan found a quiet corner, stood firm, hollowed his chest, straightened his back, sank his qi into his Dantian, and began practicing the Rocky Pile Skill. Having resolved the trouble with the Chen Family, he should be able to cultivate in peace for a while. For a martial artist, maintaining a pleasant state of mind was crucial.
Seeing Chen Yuan looking so calm and composed, Sun Chengjie thought, "He must have resolved his private matters." He then calmed his own mind and focused on his training.
In less than half a month, it would be the Gu Family’s assessment day again. To prevent him from being eliminated, his family had scraped together over one tael of silver. He had to make them proud!
He then thought of He Qing. He Qing’s family was even more impoverished; his father had lost an arm and could only do light chores to make a living. For the sake of this assessment, He Qing had actually considered going up the mountain to hunt.
Although finding precious herbs or hunting rare beasts would bring in a substantial amount of silver—perhaps even enough to cover several months of martial arts expenses—the risks were as great as the rewards. Even if he often accompanied his father on hunts and was experienced with the terrain, the wild beasts were extremely ferocious. One careless mistake would spell eternal doom; his father was a living example.
Therefore, over the past few days, He Qing had been searching the Huo Courtyard for like-minded senior brothers, wanting to form a group to reduce the risk. Naturally, He Qing first shared this idea with their four-man group. However, the other three had all turned him down.
Without even breaking through the Skin Gate, what capital did they have to fight wild beasts? Still, if He Qing possessed valuable leads, perhaps some senior brothers who had successfully broken through would be tempted. After all, the potential gains were significant.
Zhang Shi looked at Chen Yuan’s figure, having already made his own guesses, and leaned over to strike up a conversation. "Junior Brother Chen, you didn’t actually go and challenge them at their doorsteps earlier, did you? Seeing how calm and composed you are, could it be that you won all three matches?"
Chen Yuan shook his head and laughed. "You flatter me, Senior Brother. I gave it my all just to barely win one match. The only reason I’m unhurt is that those senior brothers showed mercy."
Zhang Shi chuckled. Though he looked honest and simple, he wasn’t stupid. How could anyone expect their opponents to show mercy during a doorstep challenge? It wasn’t as if Chen Yuan were some beautiful young maiden whom they couldn’t bear to strike.
However, since Chen Yuan wasn’t going to tell the truth, he tactfully refrained from pressing the matter. Instead, he laughed heartily. "Come on, Junior Brother Chen. Let’s spar a bit so I can see how deep your skills really go."
Chen Yuan thought, "Why does that phrase sound a bit off?" His mouth twitched slightly, but he still cupped his hands and stepped forward.
Instantly, fists and kicks clashed.
Lotus Lane, the Chen’s home.
The house was in complete disarray. Chen Dashan and his wife had been beaten black and blue, and even their dining table had been smashed. Mrs. Li sat on the ground, wailing mournfully and complaining.
"Chen Dashan! Look at the animal you spawned! We raised him, and in the end, he actually had people beat his biological father and Late Mother to death! His short-lived mother gave birth to such a cheap bastard—she deserved to die!"
"Shut up! Haven’t we been beaten enough?" Chen Dashan roared. "Stop provoking Chen Yuan. He’s a lunatic now."
"So we’re just going to let this go? Chen Dashan, why are you so useless?" Mrs. Li shrieked at the top of her lungs.
Chen Dashan slammed his hand onto the broken table and shouted angrily, "I said shut up! Do you want to force Chen Yuan to go crazy and cripple Kai’Er? At the end of the day, this only happened because you insisted on stealing his two taels of silver!"
Mrs. Li’s expression instantly became incredibly complicated. She felt worried and terrified for Kai’Er, but also resentful that Chen Dashan had dug up old accounts to push the blame onto her. "Everything I did, wasn’t it all for Kai’Er’s sake?"
Chen Dashan sighed. "Then don’t say another word. Once Kai’Er succeeds in his martial arts training, everything will be fine."
"Right, once Kai’Er masters martial arts, he will definitely get his revenge. I’ll skin that little bastard alive! I’ll make him kneel and apologize!" Hope reignited in Mrs. Li’s heart as she ground her teeth.
Just as she staggered up from the ground, several voices rang out from outside the door:
"Is this the Chen Family?"
"Are Chen Kai’s parents here?"
The couple hurriedly walked out, only to see Chen Kai—whom they considered their greatest hope—lying deathly pale on a stretcher, being carried in by two people.
Chen Dashan felt as if the sky had fallen. His legs gave out, and he nearly collapsed, barely managing to support himself against the doorframe. He asked sorrowfully, "Little brothers, what happened to my son?"
One of the disciples carrying the stretcher replied, "At the Martial Arts Hall, Junior Brother Chen sparred with Chen Yuan, who came to issue a challenge. Your son got three ribs broken and fell unconscious from the shock. Following our master’s orders, we have brought him home to recuperate for now. Once his injuries have healed, he may return to the Martial Arts Hall to continue his training."
A single thought buzzed loudly in the minds of Chen Dashan and Mrs. Li. Chen Yuan had said he would cripple Chen Kai, and he actually dared to do it! Furthermore, he had done it openly and aboveboard, delivering heavy blows right in front of the Martial Arts Hall’s disciples!
They had thought that Chen Yuan hired people to attack them because he didn’t dare lay a finger on Chen Kai. They never expected him to take a two-pronged approach!
Overcome with a mixture of grief and fury, Mrs. Li couldn’t catch her breath. Her vision went black, and she fainted dead away.
Chen Dashan forced himself to stay standing so he could settle Chen Kai into bed. Looking at his young son’s pallid face, endless regret surged in his heart.
He shouldn’t have provoked Chen Yuan again!
Unfortunately, it was too late for everything.
Time was ruthless; it never paused for anyone. In the blink of an eye, another half a month passed. The world was equally ruthless. Everything developed along its predetermined trajectory. It did not bend the rules for the hardworking, nor did it spare the extraordinarily talented from setbacks.
Senior Brother Zhang Shi had attempted to break through the bottleneck, but it ended in failure. He lost control of his vitality and blood, injured his body, and left dejectedly.
Chen Yuan went out to see him off. The two sat down at a table outside a tavern and ordered a pot of strong, fiery liquor. Chen Yuan took slow, small sips as he listened to Zhang Shi alternate between gulping down liquor and recounting his past. Zhang Shi sighed over the hardships of martial arts, hated his own incompetence, and resented the unfairness of the world.
In the end, all that was left was a blessing for a fellow practitioner. "Junior Brother Chen, I hope you soar like a dragon. The martial world is vast; we shall meet again if destiny allows."
He then hoisted his knapsack onto his back and walked into the distance.
Chen Yuan raised his cup, bidding him farewell with unfiltered wine.
Upon returning to the Huo Courtyard, Chen Yuan continued his cultivation at his own pace.
A few days later, another major event occurred in the courtyard.
Xu Heng had comprehended Manifest Force.
From his entrance into the courtyard to this moment, it had been a mere two months.