Chapter 67: Chapter 66: More Talented Than Me? A Better Fighter Than Me?

He looked at the three-hundred-tael silver banknote in his hand.

Chen Yang sighed, but he didn’t feel like he had gotten the short end of the stick.

Outside Fenglin County, Qingzhou was in turmoil, filled with countless refugees.

He had heard that some Martial Artists, afflicted by bizarre Demon Techniques, had transformed into powerful Demon Corpses and were now roaming the lands of Qingzhou.

Although the chaos hadn’t reached Cangzhou yet, he figured it was only a matter of time.

And within Fenglin County itself, the Zhenyuan Martial Arts Hall was growing more powerful by the day.

Over a month ago, the master of the Zhenyuan Martial Arts Hall had another breakthrough in his cultivation. As one rose, others fell; the other two martial arts halls in the city grew weaker, and their recruitment numbers dwindled.

So, three hundred taels of silver was certainly not a small sum.

Besides, in previous years, teaching martial arts to apprentices for a whole year would only bring in about this much money anyway.

Don’t be fooled by the appearance of a grand establishment with a hundred or so apprentices—it sounded impressive, but it was far from glamorous.

In reality, the moment he opened his eyes each day, he had to face a hundred hungry mouths to feed, and every little thing cost money.

Earning three hundred taels after a whole year of hard work was, to put it bluntly, just spare change saved by scrimping and saving.

"Since this young master spent three hundred taels to learn our boxing, Xiaoqing, you personally... Hm? Where did she go...?"

Tucking the silver banknote into his inner pocket, Chen Yang had planned to have his granddaughter personally teach the newcomer.

After all, his granddaughter had also learned their ancestral Thunder Fist technique and achieved a high level of mastery, even surpassing him, an old man with one foot in the grave.

But before Chen Yang could finish, he noticed his granddaughter had already taken the initiative and walked over to the young man who had come to learn!

Chen Yang’s casserole-sized fists clenched, crackling audibly, but then he felt the heavy weight of the three-hundred-tael silver banknote in his clothes...

’He really paid too much!’

Out of sight, out of mind. With a flick of his sleeve, he turned and headed for the back courtyard.

"Young Master, is there anything in this manual you don’t understand?"

Chen Xiaoqing sat down on the floor beside Wu Chen, her voice high and shrill, as if someone were pinching her throat.

"If you don’t understand, I can explain it to you~"

"I’m quite proficient in this boxing style myself~"

Her uncharacteristically squeaky voice, complete with a strange lilt at the end of her sentences, sent an inexplicable shiver down the spines of the young men who had been training at the hall for a long time.

When had they ever seen their Senior Sister act like this?!

Perhaps sensing their strange stares, Chen Xiaoqing worried they would expose her. She shot the group a sidelong, menacing glare, though her voice remained soft and high-pitched.

"The same goes for all of you! If you have any questions about Martial Arts, you can come to me anytime!"

Noticing Chen Xiaoqing’s increasingly hostile gaze, the disciples quickly looked away, got up, and began swinging their fists and arms to temper their bodies.

Only then did they escape Chen Xiaoqing’s death glare.

RUSTLE! RUSTLE!

At that moment, Wu Chen was holding the martial arts manual he had bought for three hundred taels of silver. He had no time to pay attention to Chen Xiaoqing beside him.

Having spent three hundred taels of silver, it would be a lie to say his heart didn’t ache.

Therefore, he was completely focused, silently and carefully flipping through every page of the ancient-looking booklet, afraid of missing a single word.

Seeing Wu Chen’s focused and serious expression, Chen Xiaoqing knew it wasn’t a good time to bother him.

So she stood up, ready to brew him... well, to brew everyone, some Qi and Blood replenishing soup.

To help them recover their strength.

As she walked toward the back courtyard, wondering what ingredients would be best for replenishing Qi and Blood, she heard a flurry of footsteps at the hall’s entrance.

A look of displeasure immediately crossed her face.

When a fat-headed, big-eared face appeared at the martial arts hall’s main gate, she was utterly disgusted.

"Miss Chen, long time no see, long time no see."

This chubby man was named Wang Erhu, the second young master of the Zhenyuan Martial Arts Hall, a rival to Chen’s Martial Arts Hall.

The reason Chen’s Martial Arts Hall was now in decline, with so few students, was precisely because their rival’s growing power had stolen most of their business.

"What are you doing here again? I already told you, my family’s ancestral Martial Arts are not for sale!" Chen Xiaoqing blocked their path, preventing the group from entering the courtyard.

"Miss Xiaoqing, I was in the wrong last time. I’m not just here for the Martial Arts this time—I’m here for you, too. I even brought the betrothal gifts with me!"

"Look!"

Wang Erhu pointed to the dozen or so large, red chests being carried by martial artists behind him—a procession that was definitely considered grand in a small city like Fenglin County.

"I wouldn’t even give you the Martial Arts!"

Chen Xiaoqing grew anxious, afraid that Wu Chen would overhear. She forced a few words through her clenched teeth: "How could I possibly marry you!"

She cautiously glanced toward the corner and saw Wu Chen was just focused on rapidly flipping through the martial arts manual, completely oblivious to the commotion at the entrance. Only then did she breathe a sigh of relief.

Having been rejected multiple times, Wang Erhu was getting exasperated. "Miss Xiaoqing, what are you saying? If you don’t marry me, who else could you marry?"

"I, Wang Erhu, am still young, yet at only twenty years old I’ve broken through to the Four Meridians of the Meridian Passage Realm. Can you find another person like that in all of Fenglin County?"

"Would you be losing out by marrying me?"

Chen Xiaoqing fell silent at his words. This was precisely why the rival hall was flourishing. Wang Erhu had reached the Four Meridians of the Meridian Passage Realm at a young age, and his father was at the Five Meridians.

Even if Wang Erhu’s realm had been achieved by piling up vast amounts of silver coins, it was a testament to his family’s extraordinary wealth.

He was powerful in his own right, considered one of the top figures in Fenglin County, and his family was rich.

If she married him, she would truly be marrying up.

"Anyway, no matter what, don’t even think about it!" She didn’t care if he was one of the top figures; that was Chen Xiaoqing’s final word.

"Then what kind of man does Miss Xiaoqing want to marry?"

Wang Erhu was getting angry. He figured she must already have someone she liked; why else would she reject him again and again?

’Could there really be someone in Fenglin County more talented than me?’

"Is that any of your business? I’ll marry anyone but you!"

Chen Xiaoqing lost her patience and was about to close the gate to see them out, but Wang Erhu grabbed her wrist in a death grip.

Wang Erhu was two minor realms higher than Chen Xiaoqing, so naturally, she couldn’t break free.

But Wang Erhu wasn’t about to get rough with a girl; otherwise, he wouldn’t have come personally with betrothal gifts.

"The person Miss Xiaoqing likes, the man she wants to marry, must have a name!"

Wang Erhu’s voice was sullen. He was truly angry this time and was determined to get a name so he could go teach that guy a harsh lesson.

Then he’d throw some money at him and run him out of Fenglin County.

After that, what could stop him from marrying Chen Xiaoqing?

Faced with Wang Erhu’s questioning, Chen Xiaoqing was at a complete loss.

She didn’t have anyone she liked. As for marrying someone...

’Crap, I didn’t ask that young man for his name!’

She was about to make up a name just to get Wang Erhu to scram and give her some peace and quiet.

But she suddenly realized she didn’t actually know his name.

Just as she hesitated, unable to come up with a name, she caught a glimpse of a familiar figure walking toward the gate.

Without a moment’s hesitation, she pointed and said, "Him."

’???’

’Can someone please tell me what’s going on?’

This figure was, of course, Wu Chen, who had sped up his reading of the martial arts manual after Chen Xiaoqing left.

Once he finished reading the manual, Wu Chen heard the argument at the gate and realized that Chen’s Boxing Hall probably had some unwelcome guests.

Wu Chen knew that if he didn’t leave soon, a fight would break out between the two parties at the gate, and he, an innocent bystander, might get caught in the crossfire.

He had come to buy a martial arts manual and naturally didn’t want to get involved. But thinking that he hadn’t done anything to provoke anyone, he placed the manual on Chen Xiaoqing’s lounge chair.

Then he decided to leave openly through the front gate.

’Besides, I’m a newcomer to Fenglin County. No one should be looking for trouble with me, right?’

With this thought in mind, he walked out confidently.

But what Wu Chen never expected was that, even so, he would be pointed at by Chen Xiaoqing for no reason at all.

With that single point, he instantly felt the gazes of thirty or forty people from both inside and outside the hall lock onto him.

Wu Chen had been engrossed in the martial arts manual and had no idea what had just happened.

All he knew was that after Chen Xiaoqing pointed, the chubby young man in front of him was now staring at him, looking furious.

It was as if he had stolen his martial arts.

How could Wang Erhu not be angry? He never imagined that the man Chen Xiaoqing wanted to marry had already been brought home.

And he even had the audacity to swagger right past him without a care in the world!

Wang Erhu looked at Wu Chen’s face.

He had to admit, the face was handsome.

’But could this guy be more talented than me?’

’He’s as skinny as a beanpole. Could he be a better fighter than me?’

His beloved had been snatched away—how could he tolerate this?

In Fenglin County, Wang Erhu was basically a local tyrant. Backed by his father and the old master of his family, he had never been afraid of anyone.

Looking at the indifferent expression on the face before him, his rage became uncontrollable. He waved a hand at the men behind him and roared:

"Put all that stuff down! First, beat the hell out of this bastard!"

"And remember, aim for the face!"

"I won’t allow such a handsome man to exist in Fenglin County!"

[Author’s Note]

I didn’t drop the novel~

No, seriously, I looked at my phone and saw several "masters" saying I dropped it...

I was just saying that I’m summarizing my experience from the previous parts, and that the writing will definitely get better and better from now on, and that my next book will be even better, and I definitely won’t make the same mistakes again.

How did I wake up to find I’d been "eunuch-ed"...

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