Chapter Twenty-Two: Feng Yuancheng

Meng Qi lowered his voice.
“Deer Fetus Pill is an exceedingly rare elixir. Its value isn’t exceptionally high, but it is difficult to acquire, and it is greatly beneficial for true martial cultivation. Many would be tempted by it.”
In truth, this reward might not be beyond the reach of disciples from prominent families, but it was a different matter to earn it through victory.
“There are some outer disciples who have already cultivated inner breath, and even some who’ve mastered second-class or even first-class manuals early, not to mention those who’ve trained in more than one strength-building art…”
The disparity among strength-building manuals was vast.
Most with mediocre talent could only master third-class manuals. Even if they began cultivating true arts, their martial progression would likely stagnate at the third tier. Those with weak foundations could hardly hope for true strength!
Chen Fan asked,
“Are there many of these outer disciples you mentioned, who have cultivated inner breath early and studied multiple strength-building manuals?”
Meng Qi shook his head.
“Not many, but every martial hall has a few… This isn’t the first time the martial halls of Feiling County have held a joint gathering, but for the scale to be this large and the prize so generous is rare indeed!”
Lowering his voice further, Meng Qi continued, “I’ve heard that this event is hosted by the Flying Tiger Sect, and the scope has expanded to cover the entire Feiling County jurisdiction. It’s the largest in recent years, but the reason remains unclear…”
Feiling County encompassed not just the city and nearby suburbs, but also many towns and villages—a vast region.
Chen Fan, who had felt quite confident before, now found that confidence somewhat tempered. Yet a burning desire to compete surged in his chest.
Since beginning his martial training, apart from ambushing Pi Liu, he’d never truly fought anyone—only sparred with classmates, which hardly proved one’s strength. This was not only a chance to display his abilities but also an opportunity to test himself against others.
“Senior Brother Meng Qi, have you cultivated inner breath?”
Meng Qi shook his head.
“My talent is limited, so I’ve focused on a single art, ‘Wind and Thunder Palm’. I’m just a step away from grasping inner breath… But though I haven’t achieved it, defeating some true martial artists with weak foundations is no difficulty.”
His words revealed a powerful confidence.
The first stage of a martial artist’s true cultivation merely marked the conversion of inner breath into true essence, with no body tempering yet begun. They might be stronger than inner breath practitioners, but the difference was not decisive.
Chen Fan nodded thoughtfully, his mind stirring. He, too, was training in ‘Wind and Thunder Palm’, one of the best manuals under ‘White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm’ at the White Cloud Martial Hall.
In Feiling County, mastering a second-class manual like ‘Wind and Thunder Palm’ at sixteen or seventeen already marked one as a talent—even if only an ordinary one.
…
Half an hour later, several carriages from White Cloud Martial Hall came to a halt before an open field.
Stepping down, Chen Fan was taken aback.
It was a spacious arena, and before him stood several enormous dueling platforms.
Young men and women in martial uniforms of various halls milled about.
There were five massive platforms in all, each clearly marked with a number from one to five.
Platform One stood at the center, the others forming a square at its corners.
Feiling County was comparatively prosperous and ranked among the top counties in Qinghe Prefecture.
Nearly five hundred disciples had come to this gathering, representing almost all outstanding talents under eighteen in the county.
Naturally, the largest contingents were from the martial halls of the county seat.
White Cloud Martial Hall was foremost.
Next came the Flying Tiger Sect, Cold Plum Pavilion, and Four Symbols Hall—these three also being the strongest.
Chen Fan even spotted participants bearing the black ribbon emblem of the Black Tiger Gang…
Clearly, the competition wasn’t limited to the martial halls alone.
In the general populace, perhaps only one in ten had any aptitude for martial cultivation. Such a concentration of martial artists was a rare sight in Feiling County.
The sight of the thronging crowd left Chen Fan all the more excited, his eagerness to compete only intensifying.
After drawing lots with Instructor Zhu, Chen Fan and Meng Qi found themselves assigned to the same arena—Platform Five.
They made their way there together.
The large crowd around them was mostly composed of young martial artists their own age. Chen Fan, naturally curious, looked about in all directions, scrutinizing the competition.
At that moment—
“Out of the way! Out of the way!”
A group strode arrogantly through the crowd, treating the arena as their own home, pushing aside anyone in their path.
They all wore black martial robes, and it was clear from their bearing that they were not to be trifled with.
At the head walked a tall youth, his chin lifted to the sky, a fierce aura radiating from him.
Meng Qi narrowed his eyes and quickly pulled Chen Fan aside.
Chen Fan frowned. “Aren’t these just fellow disciples? How do they dare act so brazenly?”
Meng Qi sneered.
“They’re disciples of the Four Symbols Hall. The leader is Yu Xingzheng. His talent is not especially remarkable—just second-class foundation—but he’s the junior of Gao Yi, the Hall Master of Four Symbols Hall, and greatly favored by him. He’s long been used to throwing his weight around Feiling County… Together with the ‘good-for-nothing’ from the He family, he’s notorious as one of the county’s two great wastrels!”
Chen Fan was astonished. He’d witnessed the He family’s young master racing horses through the street, but hadn’t expected there to be another whose reputation equaled his.
He couldn’t help but ask, “They dare behave like this even here?”
Meng Qi shook his head.
“Don’t underestimate Yu Xingzheng. His foundation may be ordinary, but his cultivation is not. He’s perhaps the strongest participant here. He’s nearly eighteen, doted on by Gao Yi, and who knows how many pills he’s consumed… I’ve heard he reached the second stage of martial cultivation half a year ago!”
Chen Fan frowned. So, here was just the sort of exceptional case he’d anticipated.
Achieving the second tier a year ago—his strength was indeed formidable.
“Most participants besides those from the major halls in the county are from smaller sects. For such preliminary contests, the bigshots rarely attend, so Yu Xingzheng has nothing to fear… We should just be cautious and avoid crossing him.”
Chen Fan could only nod in agreement.
He and Meng Qi arrived at Platform Five, where the other disciples had already gathered.
Coincidentally, Chen Fan spotted Su Qingyang as well!
Unfortunately, his relationship with Su Qingyang was distant, and there had been little contact between them.
Still, as fellow disciples from White Cloud Martial Hall, they clustered together in one area.
Chen Fan and Meng Qi chatted quietly as they waited for the competition to begin.
Su Qingyang, however, stood beside an older youth, adopting an almost deferential posture.
The other White Cloud disciples at Platform Five subtly formed a group around this person, clearly taking him as their leader.
Chen Fan vaguely recalled this youth—he was the very “Junior Brother Feng” he’d glimpsed with Bao Tianyou at Jiangshan Tower. Though only an outer disciple, several of the formal disciples deferred to him, marking him as someone out of the ordinary.
Observing Su Qingyang’s enthusiastic attitude and recalling the chilliness shown toward himself, Chen Fan couldn’t help but shake his head.
Compared to figures like Bao Tianyou, Su Qingyang’s vision was all too narrow…
Noticing Chen Fan’s gaze, Meng Qi lowered his voice and explained,
“That’s Feng Yuancheng, third-generation of the Feng family, reputed to be the strongest outer disciple at White Cloud’s branch hall… He’s said to have been born with robust constitution and abundant vital energy, and has long since mastered the Feng family’s premier strength manual, ‘Red Training Palm’. He’s already cultivated inner breath, but has held off on advancing to true martial cultivation in order to pursue ‘White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm’.”
The Feng family was among the five great families, and Feng Yuancheng’s strength and talent were indeed exceptional.
Meng Qi’s tone betrayed a hint of envy.
“He’s a born prodigy. Now in his fourth year at White Cloud Hall, aged seventeen, he’s on the verge of a breakthrough—any day now he could cultivate the inner breath of ‘White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm’… His strength already surpasses some second and third-tier martial artists who studied weaker manuals!”
“Among our disciples at White Cloud, only Ge Yuantong can compare. He’ll be eighteen next month. Back then, he cultivated inner breath in two different second-class manuals, reached the second martial tier, and is now tempering all his muscles!”
Chen Fan was taken aback.
Once inner breath is cultivated, one may begin training true arts—converting inner breath to true essence, with the second and third martial tiers focusing on tempering muscles and internal organs, greatly boosting strength.
Moreover, cultivating inner breath with two second-class manuals, even if not equal in quality to ‘Wind and Thunder Palm’, was no small feat.
That Feng Yuancheng, only an inner breath practitioner, could rival second-tier martial artists spoke volumes of his prowess.
It was said that Feng Yuancheng’s strength matched that of Ge Yuantong, who had mastered two second-class manuals.
Chen Fan could not help asking, “Is the Feng family’s ‘Red Training Palm’ really that formidable? How does it compare to ‘Wind and Thunder Palm’?”
“There’s no comparison,” Meng Qi replied, shaking his head with a smile. “Let me put it this way—apart from ‘White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm’, ‘Red Training Palm’ is the best strength-building manual in all of Feiling County. It’s a first-class manual!”
Chen Fan’s expression grew solemn. “I see…”
Meng Qi went on,
“In fact, there may be little difference between ‘Red Training Palm’ and ‘White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm’ in terms of body forging and laying foundations. But only by mastering ‘White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm’ can one learn the true White Cloud arts, and those are indisputably stronger. That’s why ‘Red Training Palm’ is ranked just below.”
The differences between martial artists are determined from the moment those foundations are laid.
Whether one grasps inner breath, the quality and number of strength-building manuals mastered, one’s training conditions, even diet—such factors all contribute to disparities in strength.
Meng Qi, too, was seventeen, and on the verge of mastering ‘Wind and Thunder Palm’, already considered a genius. But compared to Feng Yuancheng—barely older—the gap was vast.
Now this was true genius. If He Hongshan from Black Cloud Class could someday match Feng Yuancheng, that would be impressive enough.
He himself had mastered a dozen or more manuals, but with different training environments and natural constitutions, offsetting the innate advantages of someone like Feng Yuancheng was easier said than done.
Meng Qi sighed,
“People can’t be judged by the same standard. Two people may train with the same manual at the same pace, but differing constitutions make a world of difference. Some are born with strong foundations, while we must work hard to catch up by training more manuals—how could we ever keep up?”
Chen Fan nodded gravely.
Feng Yuancheng had already mastered a manual no weaker than ‘White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm’, and was on the verge of mastering the latter itself—his foundations must be unimaginably solid.
A first-class manual was several times more effective than a second-class one, and its combat power vastly superior. Even if he himself had cultivated more than a dozen manuals, their quality was mediocre at best, and might not measure up.
Having never seen Feng Yuancheng fight and with no battle experience himself, Chen Fan could not confidently claim he could defeat such a person.
For all his efforts in training more manuals, none could compare to ‘White Cloud Pine-Crane Palm’.