While the Yang Family was furious about Yang Ling's ambush, their subsequent reaction was ultimately all thunder and no rain.
After all, Yang Ling had only been knocked unconscious and robbed; his life was not in danger.
Besides, Zou Feng had been cautious enough to leave absolutely no clues behind.
So, after the Yang Family made a symbolic fuss for a while, the matter came to nothing.
As for Zou Feng, now that he had money, he was in no hurry to go to the Ghost Market.
He expected his Five Poison Palm to advance to the next stage in just two or three more days.
Just as Zou Feng had predicted, his Five Poison Palm successfully advanced to the next level after only one more day—perhaps because he had finally used it in actual combat, or maybe due to the increased dosage of the venom.
It went from the Slightly Accomplished level to the Realm of Entering the Hall and the Room.
At the moment of the breakthrough, Zou Feng's body shuddered, and a series of crisp cracks echoed from his joints.
At the same time, all five of his senses sharpened, and everything around him became much clearer.
When Cultivating, the fragrance emitted from his palms became even fainter and harder to detect.
Furthermore, when he executed the Five Poison Palm, the blackness on his palms changed to a blackish-blue hue.
Zou Feng didn't even need to test it to know this was a massive improvement.
Anyone could reach the first two stages of a Cultivation Skill, Initial Glimpse and Slightly Accomplished, just by grinding away over time, as long as their martial Talent wasn't completely abysmal.
But the "Entering the Hall and the Room" Realm was a different story.
In fact, most of the Martial Artists in the Yang Mansion had only cultivated their skills to the "Slightly Accomplished" level.
The "Entering the Hall and the Room" Realm was a major hurdle in itself.
Only by overcoming this hurdle and quickly advancing again to the "Integration and Mastery" stage could one attempt Entering Grade and ascending to the Inner Qi Realm.
Unfortunately, perhaps because it was of too low a grade, the Five Poison Palm manual Zou Feng had obtained only recorded the method for cultivating to the "Entering the Hall and the Room" stage.
If he wanted to advance further, he would have to figure out a way himself...
This was why Zou Feng had previously taken the initiative to capture more venomous creatures, attempting to improve the venom required for his Cultivation.
"Brother Feng, you awake? The Patriarch is calling for all of us to gather immediately!"
A voice shouted from outside his door.
It was Xu Haoran, the new servant brought into the mansion to replace Li Rui, who had died.
Zou Feng paused, stunned. 'The Yang Family Patriarch is personally summoning all the servants?'
'This has never happened in all my time at the Yang Mansion.'
'Don't tell me their investigation into Yang Ling's attack actually turned something up...'
After a moment's thought, Zou Feng quickly dismissed the possibility.
'If they'd really found something, I'd be surrounded by now.'
"Coming!"
He called back, then pushed the door open and stepped outside.
'Something else must have happened at the Yang Mansion!'
Soon, Zou Feng followed Xu Haoran to the front courtyard.
He scanned the crowd. It wasn't just the servants; even the Hospital Martial Artists and every member of the Yang Family currently living in the mansion were present.
The current Patriarch of the Yang Family, Yang Wu, stood with his brow deeply furrowed and a grave expression on his face.
Even Yang Qianqian, who was supposed to be at the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall, was there.
She stood there with her head held high, an indignant look on her face.
Zou Feng wanted to ask his master, Luo Yong, who wasn't far away, what on earth was happening.
But seeing that none of the other servants dared to whisper among themselves, he abandoned the idea.
"Everyone, listen well!"
"The Patriarch has a major decision to announce."
The one who had shouted was another of the Yang Mansion's Stewards, not Yang Ling.
Once the Steward had everyone's attention, Patriarch Yang Wu stepped forward and announced in a resonant voice, "I will not hide this from you. Malicious actors have recently targeted the Yang Family and may move against our mansion!"
"However, you need not worry. The Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall will station disciples here at the Yang Mansion as a precaution."
"Furthermore, all household servants of suitable age may practice Martial Arts with the Hospital Martial Artists for one hour each day and will take turns joining the night patrols."
When they first heard that malicious people were targeting the Yang Mansion, the servants had all looked stunned and confused.
But upon suddenly hearing the Patriarch tell them they would be learning Martial Arts, nearly everyone's first reaction was to wonder if they had misheard.
After all, everyone knew that learning Martial Arts was a chance to change one's destiny.
As mere servants, however, they'd never had such an opportunity.
Once they confirmed the Patriarch's words were true, the crowd immediately erupted in an uproar.
Xu Haoran's eyes were filled with ecstatic joy as he shook Zou Feng's arm. "Brother Feng, we... we get to learn Martial Arts!?"
Zou Feng smiled and nodded in agreement, but inwardly he scoffed, 'Heh, so on top of being the Yang Mansion's beasts of burden, we now get to play the part of cannon fodder!'
Although Yang Wu hadn't specified who they had offended, Zou Feng didn't need a brain to know their enemy must be incredibly troublesome.
If their enemy attacked openly, the Yang Mansion, with the support of the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall, would have nothing to fear.
The real fear was that they would resort to underhanded tactics, like sneaking in at night to carry out assassinations.
That was why Yang Wu was making the servants learn Martial Arts—to increase the number of people on alert.
'Otherwise, they couldn't possibly expect the big shots from the Heart Meeting Martial Arts Hall to help with patrols every night, could they?'
'Even the Hospital Martial Artists wouldn't be able to handle staying up all night, every night.'
Having the servants cram their Martial Arts training at the last minute wouldn't produce any real masters in a short time, but it would, at the very least, strengthen their bodies and improve their reaction speed.
And that was enough. It would greatly increase the chances of spotting anything unusual during the night patrols.
They might even have enough time to shout the three words, "There's an assassin!" before being killed.
It might not seem like much, but that one warning could truly save many lives in the Yang Mansion.
'So, should I consider making a run for it and getting out of the Yang Mansion?'
The problem was, as a servant who had sold himself into the Yang Mansion's service, if he fled, he would be violating Great Yan Law. Never mind what the Yang Mansion might do; the Government Office itself would intervene, issue a warrant, and hunt him down.
Most importantly, as his master, Luo Yong would immediately be held responsible, and his fate would be dire.
Luo Yong and his family truly treated him like an adopted son...
'Besides, after thinking it over, the danger isn't unacceptably high.'
'Even if the Yang Family's enemies do manage to sneak in, their first targets will definitely be members of the Yang Family.'
'And I won't be the only Household Servant on patrol. When the time comes, I just need to run faster than the others.'
'Heck, if trouble really does find me one day, I might already be an expert who has Entered Grade by then...'
This wasn't just Zou Feng being overly optimistic; the main advantage of practicing an Evil Skill was its speed!
Over on the other side, Yang Wu finished his announcement, shot Yang Qianqian a harsh glare, then flicked his sleeves and departed.
Yang Qianqian just turned her head and huffed, her face still full of indignation.
Next, a Martial Artist stepped forward and had all the servants of suitable age remain behind, clearly intending to begin their martial arts instruction on the spot.
The rest were dismissed to return to their duties.
Luo Yong had already left.
He was no longer considered of suitable age. Besides, as a cook who enjoyed relatively better treatment, Luo Yong already practiced some basic, unranked Martial Arts for physical fitness.
Although Zou Feng didn't think the Hospital Martial Artists would teach any decent Cultivation Skill, he was still a little curious.
'What if a Righteous Martial Art doesn't conflict with my Evil Skill? What if it could even serve a supplementary role?'
'If I could cultivate both Righteous and Evil arts, wouldn't I become unbelievably powerful?'