Chapter 66: Chapter 65: The Ancestral Law is Immutable

Wu Chen had already roasted and eaten the Bear’s organs on the way back.

The chunks of meat, once roasted, were only the size of a fist. They weighed less than a thousandth of the Bear’s total mass, but they were the creature’s most essential part, worth no less than one hundred silver.

So, from the five hundred silver Lin Gaoyuan offered, Wu Chen only took the two hundred that was rightfully his.

As for the rest, Wu Chen maintained it was nothing more than a small favor.

As for Lin Gaoyuan’s other request for help, Wu Chen had his reasons for not getting involved.

Fenglin County had soldiers on patrol, so the security seemed decent. If he got caught up in the business of killing people, he’d surely end up on a wanted list.

He was already a wanted man on the black market’s bounty list.

If he ended up on the official wanted list as well, wouldn’t that mean he’d have nowhere to go, in either the criminal underworld or lawful society?

’Take on the whole world with his Four Meridians Meridian Passage Realm strength?’

Wu Chen felt that would be insane.

Besides, the bounty on his head was already one hundred silver. For Lin Gaoyuan to offer an extra three hundred silver on top of that, the Lin family’s problem had to be serious. It might be more than he could handle.

After leaving the inn, Wu Chen started weaving through the bustling streets.

"Excuse me, how do I get to Chen’s Boxing Hall?"

Wu Chen squatted before a young beggar and dropped a few copper plates into his chipped bowl.

"Thank you, sir. Just go down this street and turn right at the sixth alley. Keep going and you’ll see it."

Wu Chen stood up and followed the beggar’s directions, turning right at the mouth of the sixth alley.

He walked less than a hundred paces before he saw a martial arts hall with a plaque that read ’Chen’s Boxing Hall’.

However, the entrance to the martial arts hall looked rather desolate. Through the open gates, he couldn’t hear any of the "HUH! HAH!" sounds of punching and stomping he had expected.

’Is it break time?’

Wu Chen walked into the martial arts hall. The layout was simple: a large training ground came into view, surrounded by red brick buildings.

The center of the yard was filled with stone locks, sandbags, weapons, wooden posts, and all sorts of training equipment.

On the ground around the equipment, a dozen or so youths in gray martial arts uniforms were lying down.

They were drenched in sweat, their chests rising and falling erratically. It looked like they had just finished training and were utterly exhausted.

’Such a large martial arts hall, and only a dozen or so students?’

Wu Chen was a bit surprised as he looked at the empty training grounds.

He had calculated before that, given the size and population of Fenglin County, a martial arts hall should have no problem recruiting a hundred or so disciples.

’No wonder Sun Cang told me to challenge Chen’s Boxing Hall first.’

’So this is a martial arts hall in decline!’

After a sweeping glance, Wu Chen had a good grasp of the situation. His eyes fell upon a corner of the courtyard.

A figure was lying there in a rocking chair, a book covering their face as they dozed leisurely.

Judging by the curves of the figure, it was a woman.

’Is this person the Martial Artist instructor?’

Wu Chen started walking toward the figure. He hadn’t taken more than two steps when a muffled voice came from under the book.

"Whatcha want? Here to learn martial arts, are you? Go practice with the others first, build up your Qi Power. It’s free."

"If you’re satisfied later, we can talk about payment for meals and tonics."

Wu Chen got straight to the point. "I’m looking for Master Chen Yang."

The girl resting with the book on her face fell silent. "What about it? You here for the Thunder Fist?"

"Yes."

Wu Chen didn’t hide it. This was, after all, the reason he had come to Fenglin County and sought out its martial arts halls.

Besides, he was planning to buy it with money. A legitimate transaction.

Even if the deal falls through, goodwill remains. There was no need to become enemies over it if they couldn’t agree.

SWISH!

Hearing his confirmation, Chen Xiaoqing thought of the humiliation her family had suffered at the hands of Zhenyuan Martial Arts Hall these past few months. Fury surged within her, and she snatched the book from her face.

"This is my family’s ancestral fist manual! Ancestral! Do you even know what ’ancestral’ means? I won’t..."

Unconcealed fury was written on her face. As she spoke, her eyes landed on the visitor.

Dress: ordinary.

Weapon: ordinary.

Face... Dreamy!

Her gaze fixed on Wu Chen’s face, locked on, and her eyes suddenly lit up.

It couldn’t be helped. The Wu Chen of today was a far cry from the refugee he had been months ago. Nourished by meat and his own Qi and Blood, his skin was now stretched taut over a fine bone structure, giving him a handsome, dignified appearance.

Though his clothes were plain and unremarkable, this was simply his usual, unadorned style.

Because he had blood on his hands, he did his best to project a gentle and amiable demeanor. Yet, beneath his refined features, there was an undercurrent of ferocity that could not be concealed.

Add to that an Evil Qi that he exuded, something Wu Chen himself hadn’t even noticed.

Chen Xiaoqing took one look at this man and was completely captivated.

Her coarse voice instantly became as smooth as silk. In a soft, delicate tone, she said:

"An ancestral heirloom... I... can’t be the one to decide..."

"I’ll go ask my grandpa!"

With that, she vaulted off the rocking chair with a kip-up and ran towards the back courtyard.

"Oh."

Wu Chen nodded and stood where he was, waiting patiently.

The dozen or so young martial artists in the courtyard lifted their heads, looking curiously at the visitor.

They, too, seemed to have noticed that something was different about Chen Xiaoqing today.

Soon, Chen Xiaoqing returned with a white-haired old man: Chen Yang, the Hall Master of Chen’s Martial Arts Hall.

"Not for sale, not for sale! Tell him to leave immediately!"

"Oh, come on, Grandpa! Just take a look at him?"

Chen Xiaoqing dragged the white-haired old man in front of Wu Chen.

"This is the Hall Master of Chen’s Martial Arts Hall. He’s my grandpa."

"Master Chen."

Wu Chen greeted him politely with a cupped fist salute.

Chen Yang sized him up. "You look unfamiliar. Not from around Fenglin County, are you?"

"I’m from Qingzhou," Wu Chen answered honestly.

"So you’re not from Zhenyuan Martial Arts Hall."

Chen Yang nodded, his impression of Wu Chen improving.

"It’s a pity, but this is an ancestral technique. My ancestors decreed it should never be taught to outsiders. The ways of the ancestors cannot be changed. My hands are tied..."

As he spoke, Chen Xiaoqing, who was standing beside him, began winking frantically at Wu Chen.

Wu Chen had no time to pay attention to her. He believed everything was negotiable and threw out a test offer.

"Three hundred silver."

Chen Yang paused. The price was much higher than what Zhenyuan Martial Arts Hall had offered, and they had wanted his granddaughter as part of the deal.

But he still shook his head.

"Four hundred silver."

Chen Yang’s expression wavered. A hundred silver was not a small sum, let alone four hundred. But he still shook his head.

"Five hundred silver."

This time, Chen Yang hesitated for a few moments before shaking his head again.

"Six hundred silver."

This time, Chen Yang was genuinely tempted. He could tell the young man was serious about acquiring this martial art.

Still, he hoped for a slightly higher price. Just one hundred more silver, and to hell with the ancestors, he would sell it on the spot!

However, the moment he shook his head, Wu Chen turned to leave, giving up on bidding any higher.

Wu Chen wanted the martial art, that much was true, but he wasn’t about to be taken for a fool.

He himself had considered selling a martial art before, one that even contained the concept of ’Force’.

His asking price would have been a mere seven or eight hundred silver, aiming for a high volume of sales at a low profit margin.

For Chen Yang to ask seven hundred silver or more for a common Meridian Passage Realm technique... Wu Chen felt the man was trying to fleece him like an idiot.

At this rate, the nine hundred silver in banknotes he carried wouldn’t even be enough to buy two Meridian Passage Realm techniques?

How absurd!

"Don’t go, Young Master! We can still discuss this! Everything is negotiable!"

Seeing Wu Chen about to leave, it wasn’t Chen Xiaoqing who panicked, but the old Hall Master Chen Yang. He trotted after him, calling out to make him stay.

He trailed behind Wu Chen, trying to persuade him, but Wu Chen didn’t slow his pace. He had already reached his limit.

Since the deal was off, there was no point in wasting any more time.

"Six hundred silver! Let’s do six hundred!" Chen Yang called out anxiously.

Wu Chen didn’t even turn his head.

"Five hundred! We agreed on five hundred!" Chen Yang was starting to feel the sting.

Wu Chen’s pace didn’t slow in the slightest.

"Four hundred! I can’t go any lower!" Chen Yang felt like his heart was bleeding.

Wu Chen stopped. He turned around, holding three banknotes between his fingers, and faced Chen Yang.

"Hall Master Chen, no matter how fine a cricket, it can never be sold for the price of an eagle."

"D... Deal..."

Looking at the three silver banknotes, Chen Yang didn’t put up much of an internal struggle. He snatched them from Wu Chen’s hand, afraid that any further delay would mean losing even the three hundred!

He wanted to slap himself for being so greedy. If he hadn’t been, he could have made several hundred more!

"Here!" The deal was done, and Chen Xiaoqing, who felt no pain in selling off a family heirloom, trotted over with the ancestral manual and handed it to Wu Chen.

It was an ancient, yellowed manual that radiated an air of antiquity. It was the original, not a copy.

With the martial art in hand, Wu Chen had no other distractions.

He immediately found a quiet, empty corner of the courtyard, sat down on the spot, and began flipping through the manual, paying no more attention to the grandfather-granddaughter duo.

Chen Xiaoqing, however, looked at her grandfather with a grin.

"Grandpa, don’t you always say ’The ways of the ancestors cannot be changed’? Now that this martial art has been passed to an outsider, aren’t you afraid of displeasing the ancestors?"

"Sigh..."

Chen Yang waved his hand dismissively. With a sigh of resignation, the old man said:

"The ways of the ancestors cannot be changed... so we’ll just burn a little extra for them during the next festival!"

"I’m sure if they receive enough offerings, they won’t have any complaints."

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