"Come here," Huang Jin beckoned.
Xu Yang and Lu Ren strode into the pavilion and cupped their fists. "Greetings, Fifth Master!"
Huang Jin nodded. "I called you over for a small matter. Liu Guangfa committed an offense, and I plan to divide the silver he paid to Weiyuan Hall between the two of you."
The fees for Weiyuan Hall were paid every three months. Given the Huang Family's status, they certainly wouldn't ask Weiyuan Hall for a refund of a few taels of silver.
"Thank you, Fifth Master!"
Xu Yang cupped his fists again. He hadn't expected something good to come out of Liu Guangfa's misfortune.
Lu Ren, however, was confused. "Why not give it all to me? Giving it to him is just a waste. If you give it to me, I can break through to the next level faster and better serve the Huang Family."
He was no longer the timid, stuttering boy of the past. Even when speaking with Huang Jin, he carried himself with a certain degree of confidence.
With his talent, even if he offended the Huang Family, plenty of others would be willing to sponsor his training.
Huang Jin gave Lu Ren a long, hard look. "Xu Yang reached the Entry Level for the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture just one day after you did."
'He's changed so quickly. If someone like him grows powerful, can he truly be controlled by the Huang Family?'
Lu Ren said no more, knowing his own wings had not yet fully grown.
"You just need to train hard. If you continue to perform well, the Huang Family will naturally increase the intensity of your training support based on your results."
Huang Jin offered Lu Ren a word of consolation before turning his gaze to Xu Yang. "As for your share, I've taken the liberty of allocating it as Strengthening Soup. If you'd like to exchange it for something else, you can tell me."
Xu Yang shook his head. "I will abide by Fifth Master's decision."
The Strengthening Soup was excellent. With this extra tael of silver's worth, he would now have twelve bowls of Strengthening Soup each month, allowing him to drink one roughly every three days. This way, he could spend more time practicing the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture.
"You may go back now."
The two of them cupped their fists, withdrew from the pavilion, and headed toward the Outer Courtyard.
"When it comes to training the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist, I'll show you that your previous success was just a fluke. You'll see just how wide the gap between us really is."
With that, Lu Ren strode away.
'People really do change quickly!'
Xu Yang could only marvel at what a character Luo Dehu was. Luo Dehu deserved much of the credit for Lu Ren's transformation; the old Lu Ren was never so openly aggressive.
He quickly put Lu Ren's words out of his mind and threw himself back into his training.
...
After announcing he was cutting ties with Xu the Second, Xu the Second didn't show up to cause a scene.
Time flew by. On the eighth day since entering Weiyuan Hall, Zhang Yong reached the Entry Level for the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture in the morning. That afternoon, Zhang Hong reached it as well.
On the ninth day, another person reached the Entry Level for the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture. It wasn't Luo Dehu, who had a Lower C-class Root Bone, but Qian Jiaxing.
By the twelfth day, everyone had reached the Entry Level for the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture and had begun practicing the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.
On that same day, Lu Ren announced that he had reached the Entry Level for the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.
He had mastered the basics of the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist—a Fist Technique more difficult than the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture—in just seven days. Such speed naturally drew another round of gasps and admiration.
That very day, the news reached Huang Jin, who rushed to Weiyuan Hall and announced another increase to Lu Ren's support, this time by two taels of silver.
With this, the Huang Family's support for his training reached thirteen taels of silver per month.
To put this in perspective, many true Martial Artists working as Tributors only earned a monthly stipend of ten taels of silver.
Such an honor naturally made Lu Ren proud. He even taunted Xu Yang, asking, "How much longer will it take you to reach the Entry Level?"
But the very next day, Xu Yang announced that he too had reached the Entry Level for the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.
"Damn it!"
Lu Ren was starting to lose his composure.
It was the same with the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture, and now it was the same with the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist. Whenever he made a breakthrough, Xu Yang would follow suit the very next day. He was sticking too close.
"I'll admit you have some Comprehension, but I'm telling you, cultivation on the Martial Dao ultimately comes down to your Root Bone."
Lu Ren sought out Xu Yang, his face dark. Xu Yang was following too closely on his heels. Despite having so many resources, he hadn't managed to pull ahead of him, and he was starting to worry the Huang Family would divert some of his Cultivation Resources to Xu Yang.
"Isn't cultivation all about money?" Xu Yang asked, feigning confusion. "Oh, that's right. You have more money than I do. You've spent so much and still haven't shaken me off, so now you're here babbling about Root Bone."
With this, the two had a public falling out, their relationship truly shattered. Lu Ren gave up on his plan to make Xu Yang his subordinate and dedicated himself to his training with even greater fervor.
Huang Jin did not appear, as if the Huang Family was completely unaware that Xu Yang had reached the Entry Level for the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist just one day after Lu Ren. Everyone knew that they had been abandoned by the Huang Family—including Xu Yang, whose talent was second only to Lu Ren's.
The look in Zhang Yong's eyes as he watched Xu Yang held almost no hatred, but rather a hint of sympathy.
If Xu Yang hadn't surpassed him, he would have been the one in Xu Yang's position. This thought brought him some relief, but he still didn't speak to Xu Yang.
Half a month passed in a flash since Xu Yang and the others had joined Weiyuan Hall. His body had grown much sturdier. Beneath his loose-fitting clothes, the lines of his firm, powerful muscles were beginning to show.
After finishing a round of his Fist Technique, he summoned his status panel.
[Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist - Introduction (10/150)]
In three days, by adding one point to the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist each day and supplementing it with his own practice, his progress with the Fist Technique had reached "10."
'The saying that after reaching Entry Level, the training speed for Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist accelerates, allowing one to reach the first gate of the Martial Dao in three months at most, is true.'
[Turtle and Snake Grand Posture - Introduction (10/100)]
The progress on his Turtle and Snake Grand Posture was now on par with his Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.
This was mainly because he hadn't used any points on the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture. Another reason was his insufficient nutrition, which meant he practiced the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture far less than the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist.
'Time to test my current strength!'
Xu Yang leaped down from the Meihua Posture, walked over to the Stone Locks, and casually grabbed one with a single hand. He effortlessly hoisted the hundred-jin Stone Lock over his head.
Setting down the hundred-jin Stone Lock, he turned his attention to the one-hundred-and-fifty-jin one.
"Up!"
Xu Yang exhaled with a shout, his muscles bulging as he lifted the one-hundred-and-fifty-jin Stone Lock over his head with one hand.
"Incredible arm strength!" Zhang Hong exclaimed in admiration.
They had all joined the Martial Arts Hall at the same time, yet now he could barely lift the hundred-jin Stone Lock with one hand, while Xu Yang could already lift one hundred and fifty jin.
As time went on, the gap between the members of their group, all sponsored by the Huang Family, gradually widened.
With that kind of strength, even without using any specific Fist Technique or Techniques, he could easily take on four or five ordinary men.
"It's just brute strength from grubbing for food in the dirt every day. An ox has great strength too, and what does it do? Plows fields all day," Zhou Yang's sarcastic voice chimed in.
Although Senior Brother Sun had suppressed the matter with Liu Guangfa, Zhou Yang still took every opportunity to mock Xu Yang and the others.
"To think a dog managed to run into Weiyuan Hall. I'll have to report this to Senior Brother Sun tomorrow. It would be best to beat this dog to death," Xu Yang said, not even glancing at Zhou Yang.
Zhou Yang knew the insult was aimed at him and immediately tried to bait him. "Xu Yang, stop acting tough with just your words. You're a practitioner of Fist Techniques now. Do you dare to spar a few rounds with me?"
"I don't dare," Xu Yang said.
Zhou Yang had started his martial arts training half a month before them, his talent wasn't terrible, and his family had a bit of money. If Xu Yang fought him now, it would at best end in a stalemate where both were injured. He wouldn't gain any advantage.
"Coward!"
Zhou Yang was furious. How could this guy have the nerve to say "I don't dare" so brazenly?
Since Xu Yang didn't take the bait, Zhou Yang had no choice but to drop it.
The day passed quickly. After eating dinner at Weiyuan Hall, everyone dispersed and headed home.
Their little group now existed in name only!
Zhang Yong was the first to part ways. After Xu Yang and Lu Ren's public falling out and the Huang Family's subsequent silence, the few who were close to Lu Ren rarely spoke to Xu Yang anymore.
Qian Jiaxing had completely taken a side, no longer walking home with Xu Yang.
For the past few days, he would either leave early or wait until after Xu Yang had left. Only Zhang Hong still talked to him as usual.
That guy was smooth; he interacted with Xu Yang the same way he did with Zhang Yong and Lu Ren's clique.
"Xu Yang!"
Under the cover of night, Xu Yang had just stepped into Bai Shi Workshop and hadn't yet reached his home when he heard someone call his name from behind.
He turned to see Li Hu approaching slowly with two of his lackeys.