Chapter 2: Withdrawing from the Martial Arts Hall

Immediately after, Feng Zi tried throwing a few punches at random, only to find the progress bar remained completely unmoved, without the slightest trend of increasing.

Regarding this, Feng Zi did not feel surprised in the slightest:

After all, if throwing punches at random could increase progress, that would be too exaggerated; wouldn't that mean he could lie in bed and throw punches at random to increase the progress bar?

The so-called path of martial arts has the tempering of the physical body, the condensing of Qi and Blood, and the circulation of internal breath as its core, with every realm having "breaking the limit" as its goal.

If a practitioner of martial arts is unwilling to be diligent and earnest, even if their talent and bone structure are excellent, they will ultimately never achieve any great accomplishment.

Inside the house, after a brief hesitation, the parents finally made the firm decision to sell the fields.

Feng Fu took the land deed from the deepest part of the cabinet, intending to take advantage of the fact that the sky had not yet turned completely dark to make a trip to Liu Fuhu's home and sell the fields to him.

Feng Fu gripped this deed for the five mu of land tightly, his hands unable to stop trembling:

The five mu of fertile land in the family was something the ancestors had managed to pass down with great difficulty; Feng Fu had played in these fields since he was a child, and in a flash, nearly forty years had passed.

This land... he truly could not bear to part with it.

But in order to let his child practice martial arts and secure a good future, no matter how much he could not bear it, this land had to be sold!

But just as Feng Fu intended to head out, he was blocked by a silent Feng Zi.

Even without a golden finger, Feng Zi would absolutely not allow his parents to sell the five mu of meager land the family relied on for survival, just for the sake of his own martial arts practice.

"Father, don't sell the land. I have already decided that starting tomorrow, I will not go to the Martial Arts Hall anymore; from now on, I will practice martial arts at home."

As soon as these words fell, a rare look of anger appeared on Feng Fu's face:

"You brat, what kind of nonsense are you spouting! How can you not go to the Martial Arts Hall? If you don't go to the Martial Arts Hall, how will you still practice martial arts?"

After a pause, the other's tone softened accordingly: "Rest assured, even if the land is sold, at worst, I will go work the fields for Liu Fuhu; your father has plenty of strength."

Speaking of this, Feng Fu even smiled and lifted his own dark, thin arm.

"Father." Feng Zi's tone was somewhat choked with emotion, but he firmly blocked the doorway, saying resolutely amidst his parents' worried gazes:

"Father, Mother, I have already decided. I will go to the Martial Arts Hall tomorrow to return the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall clothing, and from now on, I will practice martial arts at home.

"Half a month from now, at the martial arts gathering held by the County Government Office, I will definitely be able to win the Champion title and secure the qualification to participate in the Martial School!"

This time, Feng Zi's tone was filled with confidence.

Feng Fu and Feng Mu knew deeply that although their son rarely expressed his stance, once he made a decision, no one could sway him, so they could only each take a step back—

Feng Fu did not ask for anything else; as long as Feng Zi could place in the martial arts gathering in half a month, he would let Feng Zi follow his own ideas from then on.

But if he failed to place, he would have to obediently return to the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall to apologize to the Hall Master.

How could Feng Fu not know what Feng Zi's level actually was?

For these past two years, Feng Zi's progress in the path of martial arts could only be described as slow; he had seen all of this with his own eyes.

So when Feng Zi said he would take first place at the martial arts gathering in half a month, he really found it hard to believe.

It was just that, in order not to dampen Feng Zi's confidence, he simply let him be and decided not to sell the land for the time being.

In any case, it was only a delay of half a month; at worst, after this matter was over, he would cast aside his old face and take Feng Zi to apologize to Hall Master Zhao.

The second half of the night.

Feng Fu and Feng Mu had already gone to sleep; only Feng Zi remained standing before the crude wooden stake in the courtyard, tirelessly throwing punches over and over again.

Even though the fresh blood on his fists stained the wooden stake red, he still did not stop.

Upon throwing the final punch, the progress bar was finally full!

【Zhao Family Long Fist (Not Yet Entered): 100/100】

The next moment, the progress bar underwent a new change:

【Zhao Family Long Fist (First Glimpse of the Path): 0/500】

Having practiced martial arts for two years without ever finding the method, he had finally brought the Zhao Family Long Fist to the realm of entry!

At the same time, due to the correct method of practice, the Qi and Blood Power within Feng Zi's body also achieved significant progress:

【Martial Artist (First Glimpse): 51/500】

However, the Zhao Family Fist Technique did not consist only of the Long Fist; it also included the Standing Stake Skill for specifically training the lower body, with the Long Fist being merely the core fist technique of the entire set of martial arts.

Only by combining a rock-solid lower body with powerful and forceful fist techniques could one avoid falling into a disadvantage when facing an enemy.

The next day, before the sky had even brightened, Feng Zi rolled out of bed, carried two buckets of water drawn from the well, and crouched down to perform the Horse Stance.

For every minute he persisted, the progress bar for the Horse Stance would increase by one point.

【Horse Stance (Entering the Hall): 20/200】

Every minute of persistence brought a minute of harvest; watching the constantly rising progress bar, Feng Zi only felt infinite strength surging within his body.

By the time the two elders got up, Feng Zi had already been in the Horse Stance for a full hour.

【Horse Stance (Entering the Hall): 140/200】

The Horse Stance is very difficult; in the past, Feng Zi could hardly persist for even half an hour.

Although by the end, his body was shaking uncontrollably like a winnowing sieve, looking at the harvest before him, he gritted his teeth and persisted without making a sound today.

After helping his parents start the fire to cook and resting for a while, Feng Zi resumed the Horse Stance until the progress bar underwent a new change:

【Horse Stance (Pure Mastery) 0/500】

Now, when Feng Zi performed the Horse Stance, his lower body was already very stable; even if someone were to aim a sweeping kick at his lower body, his stance would remain unmoved.

Subconsciously looking up, he realized the sun had already risen quite high; Feng Zi drew a bucket of water from the well and rinsed his body.

Afterwards, he returned to the house, shouldered the already packed clothes belonging to the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall, and prepared to inform the Hall Master of his intentions.

When Feng Zi arrived at the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall, saw Zhao Feng, and stated his purpose, the other calmly glanced at the package Feng Zi handed over and tossed it onto the table to the side.

Regarding Feng Zi's intention to no longer come to the Martial Arts Hall, Zhao Feng spoke in a flat tone: "Not coming is fine too; it can be considered finally accepting your fate."

Upon hearing this, Feng Zi subconsciously clenched his fists, but in the end, he let go of the resentment in his heart—

Admittedly, Zhao Feng was a bit greedy for money and had a very sharp tongue, but toward him, this Martial Arts Hall Master had done all that was expected of him.

Furthermore, the opponent is a Martial Master above the level of a Martial Artist; a single punch could shatter a boulder, and his body is like copper skin and iron bones.

For Feng Zi as he is now, he has only just entered the basics of the Zhao Family Long Fist; he couldn't possibly risk his life against a Martial Master just because of an unpleasant truth, could he?

To ascend to the Martial Master realm, one must at least practice the Zhao Family Long Fist to Peak Perfection, which is the Great Accomplishment of the Zhao Family Long Fist.

Feng Zi's Zhao Family Long Fist is only at the First Glimpse of the Path, with Entering the Hall and Pure Mastery still standing in between.

Feng Zi turned to leave, and Zhao Feng's voice came from behind him once more:

"Since you have already decided to withdraw from the martial arts hall, live your life peacefully from now on, and do not say again that you are a Martial Student of this hall or my disciple."

"If I find out that you are using my name or the name of the martial arts hall to swindle others, I will personally cripple you!"

Hearing this, Feng Zi left without even looking back.

Behind him, the disciples of the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall watched Feng Zi's receding figure, gathered together, and began to mock him, using him as the butt of their jokes:

"I said long ago he wasn't material for martial arts, yet he insisted on hanging around the hall for two years. Look, now he still can't pay the fees and is slinking away in disgrace."

"Haha, it's a good thing he's leaving now; otherwise, if he showed up at the Martial Arts Competition in half a month and got knocked out in the first round, it would be our Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall that loses face."

"He looks so pathetic; practicing with him just lowers our standards."

"..." Feng Zi had not walked far, and his former senior fellow apprentices intentionally raised their voices so he could hear them clearly.

Seeing this group of disciples becoming increasingly excessive, Zhao Feng could not help but frown and scold: "This is a martial arts hall! Is gossiping the only skill you have learned?"

Feng Zi only lowered his head and clenched his fists, remaining silent.

Half a month... in half a month, at the County Government Office martial arts competition, he would use his fists to beat them until they were sprawled on the ground!