Huwei Arts Hall, Loyalty Hall.
The hall was utterly silent.
An old yet dignified voice broke the silence.
"Let's talk about the matter with the Soul-Chasing Tower."
The speaker was none other than Xue Gui, the old Hall Master of the Huwei Arts Hall. As a Martial Artist who had long been famous in the city, he still commanded great prestige despite his advanced age.
"Perhaps it's an old enemy the Martial Arts Hall has offended in the past. If we investigate them one by one, we're bound to find who hired the assassin."
"I agree with Brother Zhang's assessment."
"Me too."
Zhang Yang was the first to state his opinion, earning the approval of many of the hall's Martial Artists.
The Huwei Arts Hall had been established in Qinghe County for forty years, so it was inevitable that they had made some enemies along the way, such as their professional rivals—the other three martial arts halls.
Another middle-aged man, who had the appearance of a scholar, wore a grim expression.
"This matter is far from simple. That Soul-Grabbing Little Ghost from the Soul-Chasing Tower was just captured yesterday, and the Iron Saber Gang came demanding his release first thing this morning."
The Soul-Chasing Tower was a notorious assassin organization, with branches in hundreds of county seats throughout Xuanyang Country.
The assassins who took on bounty missions from the Soul-Chasing Tower were known as Soul-Grabbing Little Ghosts.
Every year in Qinghe County, if not a hundred, then at least fifty people had their souls reaped by these Soul-Grabbing Little Ghosts, though a good number of the assassins were also captured.
However, it was rare for the Iron Saber Gang to show up at their door demanding one's release.
The Iron Saber Gang...
Hearing those three words, everyone in Loyalty Hall fell silent.
The Huwei Arts Hall was considered quite respectable in Qinghe County, but it was undoubtedly a far cry from the Iron Saber Gang, one of the three major powers.
This morning, the Iron Saber Gang had forcefully taken the man away, and not a single person had dared to stop them.
All eyes turned to the old man sitting in the Grandmaster's Chair.
He had once been a Martial Artist who had reached the Strong Organ Pass, just like the Iron Saber Gang's Leader. But as he grew older, his Qi and Blood withered, and he dropped back to the Muscle Changing Realm. Even so, no one dared to underestimate Xue Gui.
It was precisely because of Xue Gui's presence that the Huwei Arts Hall could thrive without relying on the three major powers.
"Find the person who hired the assassin. Zhang Yang, I'm putting you in charge of this."
"Yes, sir."
Zhang Yang cupped his fists and accepted the order without hesitation, eager to find the enemy responsible.
The crowd dispersed.
Only Xue Gui remained in the great hall, his face obscured and indistinct in the shadow cast by the plaque overhead.
...
「In the blink of an eye, another month passed.」
Bai Yuan had now been at the Huwei Arts Hall for three months.
He had been grinding day in and day out at Mentougou to level up, and he was finally seeing results.
[Name: Bai Yuan]
[Class: Hunter, Swordsman, Boxer]
[Skills: Chop (Proficient), Tracking (Proficient), Archery (Mastery), Tiger Form Crane Style (Uninitiated), Five Animals Fist (Initiate)...]
[Enhancement Points: 0]
Upgrading Archery to the Mastery level required the fewest enhancement points, making it the most cost-effective way to maximize his combat power.
To practice martial arts, one must first cultivate life.
What is life?
To be alive is life.
In the Jianghu, one could not avoid getting entangled in karmic ties, in fights and killings.
If you lost your life, it was all for naught, no matter how great your skills.
In addition, his Five Animals Fist was also showing signs of a breakthrough.
Once he trained his Five Animals Fist to the Proficient level, he would naturally break through the Skin Grinding Barrier.
If one were to really calculate it, his breakthrough speed was considerably faster than Xu Wen's.
But being too conspicuous attracted trouble. Now that the Huwei Arts Hall was being targeted by an enemy, they might just be crazy enough to attack the hall's outstanding disciples.
Bai Yuan had no desire to be targeted.
Just as he was focusing on his fist practice—
"You need to train even harder. From now on, you have unrestricted access to the Martial Arts Arena."
A resonant and powerful voice spoke calmly. It was Instructor Zhang Yang.
He had been watching Bai Yuan's progress this whole time.
He had a very good impression of this hardworking boy who, like himself, came from a poor background.
Originally, at Bai Yuan's pace, it would have taken at least another three months to earn this special treatment, yet he had achieved it a few days faster than even Xu Wen.
The recent incident with the Soul-Chasing Tower had left the disciples in a state of panic, and Zhang Yang wanted to use this opportunity to boost the apprentices' morale for their training.
And sure enough, it was very effective.
At least, it was for Li Ting.
She and Bai Yuan had started at the same time and were both responsible for escorting food supplies.
It was easier to feel competitive with someone you knew well.
Li Ting might appear gentle on the surface, but she was more competitive than most men at heart; otherwise, she wouldn't have come to a martial arts hall to train.
Zhang Yang watched the young men and women in the Martial Arts Arena practice their fists with renewed vigor and nodded in satisfaction.
As a Martial Arts Instructor, he had at least this much authority.
"Thank you, Instructor Zhang."
Bai Yuan cupped his fists and bowed, his manner neither servile nor overbearing, without a trace of flattery.
Martial artists were fiery by nature. A weak-willed person would only earn Zhang Yang's disdain.
Zhang Yang patted Bai Yuan's shoulder encouragingly.
Those who could afford to train at the Martial Arts Hall, even as apprentices, were bound to have decent family backgrounds.
With the Huwei Arts Hall's resources, Bai Yuan's background had long since been thoroughly investigated.
'A petty hoodlum... a Hunter... a prodigal son returns. Not bad, not bad.'
Perhaps because of their similar experiences, he always paid a little more attention to Bai Yuan.
This special treatment for Bai Yuan wasn't entirely for official reasons; he had his own selfish motives.
'If only there were more martial artists like me and Bai Yuan. Maybe then, children from poor families would have more opportunities in life.'
After Zhang Yang left, all the apprentices in the Martial Arts Arena looked at Bai Yuan with envy.
Bai Yuan rarely appeared at the Martial Arts Hall, so most of them didn't recognize this talented young man.
It's hard to feel jealous of someone you don't know well.
In contrast, the feelings of Ma Qi and his two companions were far more complicated.
Only Zhuang Zhao was grinning like a fool.
Brother Yuan was becoming more capable, so of course, he felt honored as well.
After 9 a.m., the apprentices dispersed on their own, and the Outer and Inner Courtyard Disciples entered the Martial Arts Arena.
Compared to the massive crowd of apprentices, the number of Outer and Inner Courtyard Disciples was clearly much smaller, with only a little over forty of them, including Xu Wen.
Xu Wen glanced at Bai Yuan, who was still training diligently.
As the only apprentice who hadn't left, he naturally attracted the attention of many disciples.
"Junior Brother Xu, it looks like the Martial Arts Hall will soon have another outstanding disciple like you."
"I think his name is Bai Yuan?"
"..."
Xu Wen said nothing.
He naturally remembered this peer who had arrived at the Martial Arts Arena even earlier than he had.
However, Bai Yuan's current performance wasn't yet enough to make him extend a friendly gesture.
Like Xu Wen, most of the surrounding Outer and Inner Courtyard Disciples adopted a wait-and-see attitude. Only a few approached Bai Yuan on their own initiative.
"Junior Brother Bai, are you also from Baisha Town?"
A fair-skinned young man came closer.
Bai Yuan recognized the boy as the third son of the town mayor, Liu Laohua. His name seemed to be Liu Qingshan.
He had heard that Liu Laohua's family had some blood ties to the Liu Family in the city. With a thousand mu of fertile land and dozens of servants, they were bona fide landlords.
Liu Laohua doted on this third son, sending him to the city to study martial arts from a young age, so he rarely returned to Baisha Town.
That's why Liu Qingshan didn't recognize him.
"I am."
A look of delight appeared on Liu Qingshan's face.
Here was a promising young talent, a good seed who was bound to become a Martial Artist, and a fellow townsman besides—the perfect person to win over.
It was true that his family was wealthy, but they were still very much in need of capable Martial Artists.
Sowing a seed of goodwill while Bai Yuan was still weak was undoubtedly the most economical approach.
If he waited until Bai Yuan had grown strong, he would surely look down on such small favors.
"Junior Brother Bai, if you ever run into any trouble in Baisha Town, you can just mention my name."