Chapter 5: Martial Meet Registration

After eating breakfast, Feng Fu and Feng Mu began their new day of labor.

Seeing that the time was about right, Feng Zi drew a bucket of water, rinsed himself off simply, changed into a clean set of clothes, and headed toward the County Government Office.

A Martial Master's physical fitness had indeed undergone a qualitative change—even though Feng Zi did not deliberately quicken his pace, he arrived before the gates of the County Government Office very quickly.

Today was the big day for Martial Meet registration; a long table had already been set up in front of the County Government Office, and many robust youths were already lining up at the entrance.

The youths came from different martial arts halls in the county, and taking advantage of the time before the Registrar arrived, they struck up conversations with others they were familiar with.

Although this was idle chatter to kill time, the youths were all Martial Artists participating in the Martial Meet, so they would inevitably discuss the formidable rivals in the Martial Meet—

"Have you heard? Li Shou, the head disciple of the Li Family Martial Arts Hall, practiced the Li Family Spear Technique to the realm of Peak Perfection last week!"

"Is it that exaggerated? I remember... the cultivation of the Li Family Spear Technique consumes an extreme amount of Qi and Blood Power; even a Martial Artist at the Fullness realm finds it difficult to practice for long."

"Who's to say it isn't? That person is a genius; I fear he has already achieved the realm of a Perfected Martial Artist."

"A fifteen-year-old Perfected Martial Artist—what a pity; if it weren't for the County Magistrate's eldest son, who is even more monstrous, this year's Martial Meet Champion would definitely be him!"

Wutai County was, after all, just a small place located in the northern frontier of the Great Xia Dynasty, and the local youths who practiced the martial way were often nothing more than ordinary Martial Artists.

Feng Zi did not take these opponents, who were a major realm lower than himself, to heart; he simply closed his eyes to rest his mind, listening to the crowd's conversation in a desultory manner.

Hmm, the early winter sun was very warm, and the breeze blowing past was not that cold, making one feel very relaxed.

Tensed for several days and rarely relaxed, Feng Zi basked in the sun, and one after another, fragmented thoughts emerged in his mind for the first time in a long while.

He only felt his mind was peaceful, to the extent that even his state of mind seemed to have been polished.

【Martial Master (Entry Level): 214/1000】

【Martial Master (Entry Level): 215/1000】

"Oh?" These few lines of text that occasionally surfaced in the depths of his heart made Feng Zi very surprised, and he subconsciously raised his eyebrows.

But immediately, a glimmer of realization arose in his heart, and he thought to himself:

"So that's how it is; martial cultivation requires not only the external cultivation of Qi and Blood Power but even more so the internal cultivation of one's state of mind—using the heart to command the body is the true essence of the martial way!"

Even so, the cultivation of one's state of mind naturally could not be rushed, and Feng Zi did not force it.

He just continued to lazily bask in the sun, realizing the beauty he had never noticed in his daily life.

But unfortunately, before Feng Zi could continue to close his eyes and rest his mind, a voice that seemed to have been heard before came from behind him:

"Isn't this that trash Feng Zi? You really came to make a fool of yourself?"

Who...?

Regarding this mockery that sounded somewhat familiar, the current Feng Zi naturally would not take it to heart; he just felt secretly puzzled and slowly turned around.

It was a youth wearing the training uniform of the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall; he only felt the other person's face was somewhat familiar, but he could not recall who the person actually was no matter what.

Tilting his head and pondering for a long time, Feng Zi could only helplessly spit out three words in the end: "Who are you?"

This could not be blamed on Feng Zi—ever since he entered the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall to learn martial arts, he had put his whole heart into cultivation and had not had much interaction with other Martial Artists.

Even so, in the eyes of others, this attitude of his looked exactly like he was deliberately picking a fight.

Sure enough, that Martial Artist from the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall had come to mock Feng Zi in the first place; how could he listen to such words? He immediately smashed a fist toward his chest.

As the saying goes, the layman watches the excitement, while the expert watches the technique; the youths present were all Martial Artists, so they naturally had their own thoughts:

"Tsk tsk, as expected of a Martial Artist trained by Martial Master Zhao Feng—although the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall hasn't cultivated any heaven-defying geniuses in recent years, the basic skills of their disciples are truly solid!"

But in Feng Zi's view, the foundation of that Martial Artist from the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall... was truly somewhat unstable.

"His footwork is floating, his stance is unsteady, to the point that he cannot concentrate the strength of his whole body into his waist and abdomen, and the speed of his punch is not fierce enough; is he really a disciple of the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall?"

Feng Zi watched the rapidly approaching fist, analyzing it secretly in his heart, but he did not dodge, instead taking the punch solidly with his chest.

He already had an idea in his heart—the folk customs of Wutai County were fierce and allowed private fighting, but this was, after all, in front of the County Government Office, and it was truly not good for him to be the one picking a fight.

While he was pondering, that punch had already reached his chest.

Qi and Blood surged within Feng Zi's body, yet his body remained motionless, not affected by this punch in the slightest.

Instead, the Martial Artist on the other side was affected by the counter-shock, to the point that his arm went numb, and he retreated several steps in a row!

"Feng Zi, you farmer actually cheated!" The Martial Artist subconsciously clutched his fist, looked at the calm Feng Zi before him, and shouted subconsciously.

The Martial Artists of the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall all knew just how poor Feng Zi's aptitude was; the other party naturally would not believe that he could have achieved something in just a few days.

Having said that, the Martial Artist did not believe in evil and swung another punch at him.

Seeing the other party picking a fight time and time again, Feng Zi was helpless and had no choice but to raise his hand, nonchalantly gripping the other party's fist, making it impossible for him to struggle!

This time was the first time he had truly revealed his own strength, and the onlookers, seeing this, were all greatly shocked:

"Hiss... who is this person? To actually have such hidden strength?"

"Don't know, but listening to what that Martial Artist from the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall said, this person is named Feng Zi; he should also be a disciple of the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall."

"Interesting, this person is actually so deep and unrevealing; after registration, I can go around the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall to inquire about his true situation."

Regardless of how the other party struggled, Feng Zi just gripped his fist, pondering the other party's identity.

After thinking hard for a long time, he still could not remember the other party's name, only remembering that the person should be the second son of some landlord's family, having no real ability and often hanging out with fox friends and dog companions.

Thinking of this, Feng Zi vaguely recalled—there was always a group in the Zhao Family Martial Arts Hall that liked to mock him, and one of them should be him!

Ever since he advanced to a Martial Master, his mindset had changed:

Although he was still obsessed with winning the top spot in the Martial Meet, he no longer dwelled on the mockery he had suffered in the martial arts hall in the past.

After all, rather than wasting his mind on these useless trifles, it was better to throw a few more punches.

But this did not mean that Feng Zi was a coward who feared trouble—if someone came looking for him, he naturally would not mind giving the other party some profound lessons!

Thinking of this, he exerted a little force, and the Martial Artist heard the sound of fine, fragmented cracking coming from his own arm bone!

But even so, as the party picking the fight, that person was still unwilling to let the matter rest, still shouting: "Let go, see if I don't beat you to death, you trash!"

Before Feng Zi could make any further moves, a calm voice came from not far away:

"Enough, this is the County Government Office—picking a fight in the street... do you treat the laws of the Great Xia imperial court as mere decorations?"