"The Huang Family... Xu Yang!"
Zhang Yong nearly ground his teeth to dust. Xu Yang had reached the Entry Level of the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture, but the result was that Zhang Yong's own training stipend was reduced from four taels of silver to three.
It was already a difficult path, and with one less tael of silver, his chances of becoming a Martial Artist were even slimmer.
In the words of Martial Artists, this was a feud of obstructing one's path—a grudge that could only end in death.
"How tragic."
Seeing Zhang Yong's wretched state, even Luo Dehu, who didn't get along with him, didn't mock him. After all, wasn't Zhang Yong's fate their own?
"What kind of mess is this!"
Xu Yang sympathized with Zhang Yong, but it was only sympathy.
Everyone was still struggling in the mud. He wouldn't sacrifice himself to save others. Besides, from the very beginning, they had all anticipated this day would come. They were competitors, not partners.
Zhang Yong trained even more diligently, his gaze growing more resolute. But at the same time, the occasional glances he shot toward Xu Yang began to carry a trace of hatred.
Their unofficial alliance immediately dissolved. Zhang Yong stopped speaking to Xu Yang, and when it was time for dinner, he no longer sat with the group. A major rift appeared in their ten-person clique, and it seemed on the verge of breaking up.
This was because another person also stopped eating with the group starting that day—a man named Liu Guangfa.
By the time he dragged his exhausted body home, there was little light left in the world.
Xu Yang pushed open the door, but Xu Qing didn't joyfully leap toward him and ask if he was tired as she usually did.
She was sitting on a stool, and when she sensed Xu Yang's return, she frantically wiped the tears from her face.
"Brother, you're back!"
She tried her best to make her voice sound normal, but the rasp of someone who had just been crying was impossible to hide. The tears were gone, but her eyes were still red and swollen.
"Who bullied you? Tell me!" Xu Yang said in a low voice.
"No... nobody bullied me." Xu Qing lowered her head.
"What did Xu the Second do to you!"
Xu Qing didn't say, but Xu Yang could guess.
The little girl was very strong. If an outsider had bullied her, she would have just been angry and come to him to complain.
The only one who could make her cry from anger was Xu the Second.
Seeing that Xu Yang had guessed, her tears began to fall again. "Just now, he and Zhang Cuiting came to ask me for money. I said I didn't have any, so he tried to grab our egg-laying hen, saying it would be perfect to nourish Yang Jun's body."
"I wouldn't let him take it, so Zhang Cuiting held me tight while Xu the Second forcibly took the hen."
Xu Yang said nothing, simply turned, and pushed the door open to leave.
That old hen was the little girl's lifeline. When they had no grain, she would go up the mountain every day to cut grass to feed it, helping to lighten Xu Yang's burden.
One could only imagine how heartbroken she was, knowing the hen had been taken to be slaughtered for its meat.
"Brother, don't..."
Xu Qing ran out after him, but Xu Yang's figure had already vanished into the night. She hurriedly gave chase, but there was no way she could catch up to him.
"Xu the Second, hurry up! Ah Jun needs to rest after he eats!"
Zhang Cuiting urged. The hen had been raised for almost three years and was very nourishing. Her son had recently reached the Entry Level in his Pile Skill and was in great need of nourishment.
"Almost done. Go boil the water," Xu the Second replied.
He was in the courtyard, plucking the chicken's feathers. He was almost finished.
'There are still a few more chickens over there. I'll go grab another one in a couple of days. Once Ah Jun becomes a Martial Artist, I'll be the father of a Martial Artist master...'
Xu the Second thought with delight.
"BANG!"
Suddenly, the courtyard gate was violently kicked open, the wooden door splintering apart.
Xu the Second looked up and saw his son, Xu Yang, walking in with a face full of rage.
"Rebellious son, what do you think you're doing?" Xu the Second roared in anger.
'The little brat actually dared to kick down my door. What an unfilial whelp.'
"Xu the Second, you old bastard! Stealing from your own daughter, you're not even human!"
When Xu Yang saw the old hen in Xu the Second's hands—already bled and plucked, its skin a golden yellow—he could no longer suppress his rage.
He closed the distance in a few quick strides, snatched the hen from Xu the Second's grasp, and then kicked out, sending the wooden basin used for scalding the feathers flying. It shattered to pieces against a corner of the wall, splashing water everywhere.
Xu the Second was stunned. 'It's just a chicken. How could my meek, submissive son be this furious?'
"Rebellious son, you dare raise a hand against your old man?"
Coming to his senses, he raised his hand to slap Xu Yang across the face. 'Isn't it natural for a father to take from his son?'
But his hand never landed on Xu Yang's face. It was caught by the wrist.
The next moment, Xu Yang's five fingers suddenly tightened with force.
"AARGH..."
Xu the Second felt as if the bones in his wrist were about to be crushed. The intense pain made him cry out subconsciously. He instinctively used his other hand to try and pry Xu Yang's fingers away, but he couldn't budge them at all.
It was only then that he realized how strong his son had become. He was taller than him now, and the exposed muscles were like gnarled tree roots, gleaming with a bronze sheen.
For a moment, he almost forgot the pain. It had only been a short while since he'd last seen him, yet Xu Yang had changed so drastically.
His eyes were sharp, his expression cold. He was no longer the boy who would be too scared to speak after a single glare from him.
"You little bastard, what are you doing?! You dare hit your own father? Be careful or the heavens will strike you down with lightning!"
Zhang Cuiting ran out when she heard the commotion, clawing at Xu Yang's face like a wild animal.
He had still shown some restraint with Xu the Second; he was his biological father, after all, and it wouldn't be right to strike him. But toward Zhang Cuiting, a woman with whom he had no real connection, he had no such reservations.
The instant Zhang Cuiting got close, he planted a kick directly on her stomach.
In an instant, Zhang Cuiting was sent flying back the way she came, crashing heavily into the house and letting out a pained wail.
"Xu Yang, I'll kill you!"
Seeing this, Yang Jun's eyes were practically splitting with rage as he lunged at Xu Yang.
Xu Yang was already prepared for him.
Yang Jun had started martial arts training earlier than him, but not by much. He definitely hadn't made any real progress with his Fist Technique yet.
So, a fight between the two of them wouldn't be much different from a street brawl.
And in a brawl, two things mattered: reflexes and strength.
He had been Mining in the quarry, which had long since built up his brute strength. And after several days of practicing his stances, his power was increasing by the day.
Although Yang Jun had started training earlier, his strength was definitely no match for his.
The moment Yang Jun lunged, Xu Yang shoved Xu the Second, who was standing in front of him, into Yang Jun's path. He then took a step forward and threw a punch.
Yang Jun collided with Xu the Second, and his forward momentum was immediately broken.
He frantically reached out to push Xu the Second away, but he failed to notice that Xu Yang's fist was already upon him, slamming heavily into the spot just below his ear.
"THUD!"
With almost no reaction, Yang Jun collapsed stiffly, as if someone had suddenly cut his power.
"Useless!"
He hadn't expected Yang Jun to be so pathetic, taken down in a single move.
"Ah Jun..."
Zhang Cuiting had just managed to stumble out of the house when she saw Yang Jun collapse unconscious. Ignoring Xu Yang completely, she threw herself at Yang Jun like a madwoman and started forcefully pinching the philtrum below his nose.
"Brother, run! You've killed Yang Jun!"
Xu Qing, who had just caught up, saw this scene and her face instantly turned deathly pale.
"He's not dead, just knocked out for a bit," Xu Yang said.
Yang Jun's Pile Skill had already reached the Entry Level, and he had started to temper his muscles and bones. A single punch wouldn't kill him. Besides, Xu Yang had held back.
Sure enough, amidst Zhang Cuiting and Xu the Second's frantic first aid—massaging acupoints to stimulate blood flow and pinching his philtrum—Yang Jun slowly regained consciousness, then looked at Xu Yang with a face full of terror.
He had reached the Entry Level of his Pile Skill several days ago, yet he had been knocked out with one punch by a mud-legged miner. It was an utter humiliation.
Xu the Second stood up angrily. "Rebellious son! I just took one of your chickens, was it necessary to cause such a scene? When Ah Jun becomes a Martial Artist, it will benefit you too! In all these years, how much of my food have you eaten—"
As he spoke, his words came to an abrupt halt.
He had intended to say, 'How much have you eaten of mine over the years,' but then he realized that, in fact, he hadn't supported Xu Yang at all these past years. On the contrary, he had taken quite a bit from him.
"What? Even you don't have the face to finish that sentence?"
Xu Yang stared at him. "You should be glad you're my father. Otherwise, this wouldn't be over so easily. I would have broken your arm, at the very least.
"And you, Xu the Second, listen up. From this day forward, Xiaqing and I are cutting all ties with you. If you dare show up at our door to steal from us again, I will beat you to death. Tomorrow, I will announce this publicly and ask the villagers to bear witness."
Xu Yang cupped his fist to the onlookers gathered outside Zhang Cuiting's courtyard, then turned and strode away with Xu Qing.
"Rebellious son!"
Xu the Second roared. All this over a single chicken, and he was even cutting ties with him.
"Haven't you caused enough embarrassment? Hurry up and help me get Ah Jun back to his room," Zhang Cuiting yelled.
Right now, she only cared about her son's condition. Everything else could be dealt with later.