[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-high-martial-arts-across-two-worlds":3,"chapter-high-martial-arts-across-two-worlds-high-martial-arts-across-two-worlds-chapter-49":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","High Martial Arts Across Two Worlds",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2361020,4616,"Chapter 49: The Steward Liang","high-martial-arts-across-two-worlds-chapter-49",49,"\u003Cp>“Sigh! I hope Wang Fuhai doesn’t bring me trouble.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cang Luo let out a soft sigh and continued carrying the boar toward the southwest corner of the outer sect training ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At a glance, the outer sect training ground of Xuantian Sect was bustling with noise; thousands of outer disciples sweated under the blazing sun, fiercely practicing martial techniques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some disciples trained alone against stone dummies, striking with fists and kicking with legs, deepening their mastery and strengthening their bodies.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Others trained in pairs, refining their moves and formations, honing their reflexes—only real combat could test the fruits of cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Some disciples listened intently to the instructions of the stewards...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among the disciples were both men and women; if this were Earth, they’d be a group of teenagers in high school.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>To Cang Luo, this scene felt vaguely like school, bringing him some comfort and lessening his loneliness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Peace and harmony were what Cang Luo most desired, whether on the Yuanwu Continent or on Earth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Walking slowly through the vast training ground, Cang Luo gazed at a patch of land in the southwest corner—the shared cultivation area for Dorm Xin 176 and its two neighboring dorms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Generally, the dorm with the bigger fists claimed the larger training area.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Clearly, Dorm Xin 176 and the other two dorms didn’t have big fists; their patch was less than two hundred square meters, divided among three dorms—each got barely sixty square meters, too cramped to properly practice techniques.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, over thirty outer disciples and four stewards crowded onto that small patch of land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cang Luo searched for Zang Feng, Liu Xuande, and others; after linking to his satellite, he spotted them immediately—but his brow suddenly furrowed, for he saw a familiar bald head...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the southwest corner of the training ground, the area assigned to Dorm Xin 176, under Cang Luo’s satellite view.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, over thirty outer disciples, led by four outer stewards, split into two groups.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One side was led by Steward Liang, comprising the disciples of Dorm Xin 176 and the two neighboring dorms, Xin 175 and Xin 177, totaling over twenty people—including Zang Feng, Liu Xuande, and Li Zhan.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other side was smaller, exactly eleven people including their steward—belonging to a single dorm; Cang Luo didn’t recognize anyone except the bald head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two groups stood sharply divided, like rival gangs fighting over territory on the street.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, they were fighting over territory—the training ground—deciding victory through disciple duels, with stewards not participating.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Currently, Dorms Xin 175, Xin 176, and Xin 177 were the defending side, while the bald head’s group was the challenger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They sought to seize the training ground of less than two hundred square meters owned by Dorms Xin 175, Xin 176, and Xin 177.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they won, the land would be theirs to use or sell to other dorms.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If they lost, the defending side wouldn’t just lose face—they’d lose their training ground entirely, forced to buy from others or fight to reclaim it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This territorial struggle was tacitly permitted by the sect, meant to foster competition among outer disciples; similarly, the petty affairs of disciple gangs were ignored as long as they didn’t violate sect rules.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If you’re weak, you won’t even have a place to cultivate...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this moment, two disciples were dueling fiercely in the center of the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All three stewards from Dorms Xin 175, Xin 176, and Xin 177 watched the duel with grim expressions; both fighters were at Warrior Sixth Layer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The pale-faced youth on the defensive was a disciple of Steward Liang’s Dorm Xin 176—one of Cang Luo’s six unseen roommates—named Zhao Renwu.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Renwu was the strongest among the three dorms, but his opponent was even stronger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Steward Liang judged that Zhao Renwu would be defeated within five more moves.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, after just three moves, the outcome unfolded exactly as Liang had predicted.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhao Renwu lost—he was slammed to the ground by his opponent, a tall bald youth, and collapsed unconscious, dragged back by Dorm Xin 176’s members.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was the third match; the first two, fought by disciples from Dorms Xin 175 and Xin 177, had also ended in defeat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Good! Brother Chen, you’re amazing!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Brother Chen, invincible! Three wins, three victories!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Opponents, can you even fight? If not, get out and hand over the ground!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bald head’s group won again; their dorm brothers immediately cheered, praising their bald Brother Chen as unparalleled on earth and rare in heaven.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Who else?!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bald youth roared, though his voice carried a sharper edge.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He scanned the opposite side, searching for one person—the one who had crippled his manhood over twenty days ago: that damned Cang Luo!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The bald youth was Chen Da. His injury had healed two days ago; his body was fine, but the unbearable pain remained.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had lost the ability to continue his lineage.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His manhood was ruined!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It would never rise again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Once a fierce, roaring little tiger, now he was a flabby, drooping sack of skin—lifeless, limp...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Da channeled his rage into cultivation, pushing himself to the brink of qi deviation, and within two days, he broke through from Warrior Fifth Layer to Sixth Layer—high Sixth Layer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Though his strength surged, he felt no joy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What use was all this cultivation if he couldn’t enjoy life, couldn’t cherish his sister-disciples?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of it, Chen Da burned with fury—he swore Cang Luo would suffer the same fate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So he ordered his older brother, Chen Da, to seek revenge; after investigation, they learned Cang Luo had hidden in the Beast Forest since that day, afraid to return to Xuantian Sect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After half a month of waiting, they finally spotted Cang Luo at a camp outside the Beast Forest. Chen Da immediately set out overnight, determined to capture him alive and bring him back for punishment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Chen Da waited at the sect, but five days passed—no word from his brother.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He grew anxious, but assumed the Beast Forest was too vast, and they simply hadn’t found him yet.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With no news arriving, Chen Da’s fury had nowhere to vent, so he turned his attention to Cang Luo’s dorm brothers—seizing the training ground as a way to extract some interest first.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Especially that Zang Feng—he’d interfered back then; if not for him, Chen Da would have crippled Cang Luo in one blow, and none of this would’ve happened.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Heh! Old Liang, your disciples are weak. By year-end, many will be expelled—how will you handle your annual evaluation? You’re doomed!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The speaker was Zhang, the steward on Chen Da’s side. That morning, Chen Da told him he wanted to seize the training ground; after checking the opponents’ strength, Zhang readily agreed—hence this duel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zhang’s words left Liang and the other two stewards, Wang and Liu, deeply troubled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three stewards exchanged glances, faces etched with helplessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They were close; they’d been fellow inner sect disciples of the same cohort, and after graduation, they became outer sect stewards together.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because their dorms were adjacent and their disciples’ strength nearly equal—none above Warrior Sixth Layer—they’d formed an alliance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For the past two years, the steward hall had assigned them disciples of extremely mediocre talent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All came from common families, unable to afford expensive cultivation resources; their future achievements were already predictable—mediocre at best.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the saying goes: the poor study literature, the rich practice martial arts. Even the most gifted cannot succeed without sufficient resources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They, as veterans, understood well: so-called geniuses were mostly fed by torrents of resources.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ordinary people without resources could only grasp a sliver of hope through relentless effort, sheer will, and luck to forge a path in martial cultivation.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, Liang, Wang, and Liu didn’t expect their disciples to achieve greatness—just half or more passing the year-end exam, avoiding expulsion, was enough.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That would satisfy them, and spare their own steward evaluations.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But honestly, though their disciples had mediocre talent, no family resources, and no connections...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They could swear on their conscience: they never slacked off, pouring out all their experience and knowledge, answering every question, never hiding anything.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet the strongest among the three dorms was only Warrior Sixth Layer—Zhao Renwu, just defeated by Chen Da—everyone else was weaker.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>What did this prove?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not that the stewards taught poorly—but that the disciples’ talent was too poor.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thinking of this, the three stewards sighed helplessly, especially Liang, who sighed repeatedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liang’s sighs weren’t just because Zhao Renwu lost—he had another worry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Over twenty days ago, his dorm was assigned another disciple.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>An older disciple, twenty-two years old, still at Warrior Third Layer—named Cang Luo. He hadn’t been seen for some time.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why assign a disciple of this talent to my dorm? Because mine has nine people?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>How could such a disciple possibly pass the year-end exam? Was this deliberate sabotage?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Failing the exam would hurt his year-end evaluation, which would damage his bonus, affect his living standards, even risk dismissal by the steward hall...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Sigh!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liang sighed again, glanced at Wang and Liu, then turned to the twenty-odd youths behind him: “Who else wants to fight? Zang Feng?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zang Feng was the only disciple he truly favored—entered the outer sect last year, his progress decent; he’d just reached Warrior Fifth Layer these past few days.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His combat ability was exceptional, with rich experience—he could likely match the opponent, though lately he’d grown unusually quiet, even skipping Beast Forest training.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>If Zang Feng could defeat Chen Da despite the level gap, they might still keep the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The duel rules were simple: fight until no one dares to step forward.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Zang Feng was Warrior Fifth Layer; if he beat Chen Da, the other side wouldn’t dare send a Warrior Seventh Layer disciple, would they?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liang, Wang, and Liu watched Zang Feng with hopeful eyes—but Zang Feng shook his head gently, avoiding their gaze, refusing to fight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He couldn't voice his suffering—twenty days ago, if they had dared provoke him like this, he would have crushed them immediately.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But now, his greatest pillar—his Saint Master—was in deep slumber, unable to aid him; to avoid unnecessary trouble, he had no choice but to lie low.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He’d been cultivating within the sect, planning to stay until his Saint Master awoke; as for the monthly sect tasks, he had ways to handle them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing their strongest fighter, Zang Feng, refuse to fight, the others had no hope.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Everyone hung their heads, avoiding eye contact with the stewards—and especially with Chen Da’s group.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liang shook his head helplessly; talent was innate, they’d done all they could—couldn’t blame them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He bowed to Zhang: “Brother Zhang, we’re outmatched. Let’s end today’s match. Tonight, my treat—at Xuantian Town’s tavern.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t mention the training ground—instead, he invited dinner, signaling he wanted to negotiate; after all, they knew each other, and the other side didn’t even need the land.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Perfect! I’ve been waiting for that! I want two Fiery Rabbits!” Zhang snapped his fingers, grinning lewdly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing “Fiery Rabbits,” Liang and the others understood his demand—Fiery Rabbits enhanced virility; eating them required sexual release, or one would suffocate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fiery Rabbits were second-tier beasts; excluding their core, each was worth ten lower-grade yuan stones—two meant twenty, equal to two hundred silver taels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, the money they spend on women after eating must be paid by them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The three stewards sighed heavily, unconsciously touching their purses, then helplessly glanced at the twenty-odd disciples behind them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Suddenly, Steward Liang raised an eyebrow—he saw a person he hadn’t seen in a long time: the elderly disciple Cang Luo, whose cultivation base was only Warrior Third Layer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huh? He’s even carrying a boar spear—does he know he’s not cut out for cultivation, so he switched careers to become a butcher?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cang Luo nodded at Steward Liang, didn’t go over to greet him, and casually tossed the boar spear onto the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, amid the confused and astonished gazes of the disciples, he strolled calmly to the center of the arena, looked at the furious Chen Dalong, instinctively glanced at his lower body, and then declared loudly: “I’ll be your opponent.”\u003C\u002Fp>",2019,"2026-06-21T06:04:04.528Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","1f1ba17f5c23d0b1e3cf845f4f848008ecc5650a798d2178bd2450df36563915","high-martial-arts-across-two-worlds-chapter-50","high-martial-arts-across-two-worlds-chapter-48",157,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fhigh-martial-arts-across-two-worlds-cover.jpg"]