Physical enlightenment begins with Xingyi Quan

Chapter 52 Building Momentum (Godfathers, I'm Begging for First Subscription!)

Li Chengyue took a deep breath, a breath so deep that it aggravated the wound on his chest. His brows furrowed almost imperceptibly before relaxing again.

The blood-stained dark blue cloth jacket swayed slightly in the morning breeze.

But his back remained ramrod straight.

He held the "Hidden Dragon Spear" in his left hand, the tip of the spear dragging on the blue brick ground, leaving a discontinuous, dark red mark.

He walked step by step toward the Xingyi Martial Arts Bureau.

Their steps were slow, each one heavy, making a dull thud on the street, as if striking the heart.

Su Derong's eyes were still red. He opened his mouth, but in the end he didn't say anything. He just silently followed half a step behind him on the left.

Chen Jianghe walked on the right, his gaze lowered, falling on the tip of his master's dragging spear and his cloth shoes stained with mud and blood.

The long street outside the city was deserted and dilapidated.

But it wasn't deserted.

Behind the tightly closed doors on both sides, through the gaps in the window frames covered with tattered paper, and even in the shadows at the far end of the alley, countless eyes were fixed on the three slowly moving figures.

Fear, awe, disbelief, and a hint of barely suppressed excitement—all these emotions flowed silently in the deathly silence.

"They're gone, they're gone—the Zhao family patriarch and the others—have they really retired?" someone asked in a low, trembling voice.

"They retreated! Five against one, the Zhou family patriarch's chest collapsed, and he had to be carried back! That old bastard Zhao Wuji's face looked like he'd eaten shit!" The person who answered had a voice filled with the excitement of surviving a disaster, but even more so with the trembling of witnessing a legend being born.

"Nonsense! He took Zhao Wuji's full-force palm strike head-on! But look at the way he walks! Could you stand still in that situation?"

"Half-step Gang Jin—So that drunkard from the Xingyi Martial Arts School really is half-step Gang Jin—"

"Zhao Wuji of the Zhao family, Qian Shouyi of the Qian family, Sun Hanshan of the Sun family, Li Changfeng of the Li family, and Zhou Kun of the Zhou family—five peak-level experts, he crippled one and repelled the other four—"

The whispers, as faint as mosquito gnats, drifted intermittently into the three people's ears on the wind.

An old man who guards a dilapidated martial arts school and spends his days with a wine gourd is actually a half-step Gang Jin expert.

The five major families in the inner city have been entrenched in Yilin County for decades, deeply rooted in the region, but today they suffered a great loss in front of a martial arts master from the outer city.

Chen Jianghe followed behind his master, his gaze sweeping over the faces on the side of the street.

He saw shock, he saw fear, and he also saw a kind of restless excitement.

In chaotic times, the strong are respected.

Today, Master's battle not only slapped the Zhao family in the face, but also firmly imprinted the four words "Xingyi Martial Arts School" into the hearts of everyone in Yilin County.

From then on, anyone who wanted to mess with the Xingyi Martial Arts School would have to think twice before deciding whether they could withstand the "Hidden Dragon Spear".

.

In this world, showing even a little weakness can invite tenfold devouring.

He continued walking on his own, his steps heavy, yet he never stopped.

After walking half a street, the narrow alley where the Xingyi Martial Arts School is located is just ahead.

Several ragged teenagers were squatting at the alley entrance. They were beggars from the neighborhood and usually avoided martial artists.

At this moment, however, he stared wide-eyed at the gun in Li Chengyue's hand, his eyes flashing with an almost fanatical light.

One of the bolder ones suddenly stood up and shouted hoarsely at Li Chengyue's retreating figure, "Master Li—awesome!"

The voice was childish yet sharp, piercing the silence of the long street.

Li Chengyue paused in his steps.

He didn't turn around, but simply raised his still-functioning left hand and waved it behind him.

Then continue walking forward.

The child, however, seemed to have received a tremendous reward. His face flushed red, and he clenched his fists, standing there watching the three figures disappear into the alleyway.

In the backyard of the Xingyi Martial Arts School, the old locust tree still stands.

Li Chengyue walked to the stone table and finally released the "Hidden Dragon Spear" that had been supporting him.

The spear slipped from his hand and fell to the ground with a clang, rolling half a circle before coming to a stop.

He felt as if his last bit of support had been removed, and he staggered backward.

"Master!"

Su Derong and Chen Jianghe rushed forward at the same time, supporting him on either side and carefully helping him to sit down on the stone bench.

As soon as he sat down, Li Chengyue coughed up a mouthful of stagnant blood.

He instantly slumped, the hard shell he had been putting on shattered, revealing a pale face and sunken eye sockets underneath.

.

"I'll go get the medicine! I'll go fetch a doctor!" Su Derong's voice changed as he turned to rush out.

"Stop." Li Chengyue spoke, his voice weak, yet still carrying an unyielding power.

Su Derong froze at the doorway.

"Get back here!" Li Chengyue spat out another mouthful of bloody saliva, wiped his mouth with his sleeve, raised his sharp eyes, and looked at Su Derong. "What's the panic? You won't die."

Su Derong's eyes reddened again. He slowly walked back, squatted down in front of Li Chengyue, and said in a choked voice, "Master, please don't force yourself—"

"Hold on?" Li Chengyue smirked, his smile laced with ruthlessness. "I'm not just putting on a brave face, I'm teaching you guys."

He turned from Guang to Chen Jianghe.

Chen Jianghe was tearing off a clean piece of his undergarment and carefully wiping the bloodstains from his master's mouth and chest when he heard this, he paused.

Li Chengyue looked at him, his voice low and slow: "Jiang He, have you seen clearly what's happening today?"

"I saw it clearly." Chen Jianghe nodded.

"What did you see clearly?"

"I see it clearly—" Chen Jianghe pondered for a moment, then slowly said, "Having a strong fist is the only way. But I also see it clearly, having a strong fist is not enough. If Master had only fought to the death today, even if he could have taken down one or two, he would inevitably have been exhausted in the end. Your feigned weakness, your luring of the enemy, and your counterattack by seizing the gaps in their ulterior motives—that is both strength and strategy."

A barely perceptible hint of approval flashed in Li Chengyue's eyes.

He took a breath and continued, "That's true, but not entirely. You need cunning, but the foundation is still strength. If I didn't have even a fraction of the Qi Refining level today, and if I didn't have that lingering power from back then—all my cunning would be useless. Those five old guys, weren't they all shrewd and calculating? Why did they ultimately retreat?"

He asked himself and answered, "It's because they're afraid. They're afraid I'll fight to the death, afraid their own losses will be too heavy, afraid that if I replace one or two of them, their position in the inner city will be jeopardized. But this 'fear' is predicated on me having the means to make them 'fear'."

Chen Jianghe remained silent, clutching the blood-stained strip of cloth in his palm.

"From today onwards," Li Chengyue's gaze swept over his two disciples, his tone becoming solemn, "the Zhao family will never let this go. Chen Wanglong's arm was broken by you in public, and Zhao Mingyuan and Li Tian's cultivation was crippled by me—this is a blood feud."

"The five major families have suffered such a great loss of face today, even injuring the Zhou family patriarch; they won't let this go easily. Their retreat now is due to uncertainty and mutual suspicion. Once they've recovered, they'll reunite—"

He paused, not continuing, but his meaning was clear.

Su Derong gritted his teeth: "Master, then let's—"

"Us?" Li Chengyue interrupted him, suddenly coughing violently. It took him a long time to calm down, and his face turned even paler. "I won't be able to fight for a while. If I fight again, I'll be courting death."

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He raised his left hand, pointed to his chest, then to his right arm: "Zhao Wuji's palm strike caused a backlash of internal energy, injuring my lungs and internal organs. Three bones in my right arm are broken, and the tendons are damaged. It won't be able to recover for at least a year or two. Even if I do recover—whether I can retain this half-step internal energy cultivation level is another matter."