The golden crow rose in the east, and the dawn light first appeared.
At the Xu family compound, the two brothers Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan were sparring with each other.
Xu Chuan, Li Er, Zhao Dalong, and others watched from the sidelines.
Xu Mingyuan stood with his feet planted in the Eight Trigrams positions, his arms embracing like a flood dragon coiling around a pillar.
This was the opening stance of the Flood Dragon Fist, Dragon Sleeping in the Deep Abyss.
"Big brother, be careful."
"Just come at me with full force."
Xu Mingwei was calm and composed, unhurried and unruffled.
Cold came and heat went.
Xu Mingwei was now fifteen years old.
He was already about the same height as Xu Chuan, and would definitely surpass him in another two years.
Xu Mingyuan was a head shorter, but these past few years of training through the three hottest periods of summer and the three coldest periods of winter had smoothed out his restless nature.
His eyes held an inward divine light, and he had become a martial artist.
He had not abandoned reading and practicing calligraphy either, though he didn't invest as much time in them as in martial arts.
As for commerce, he only went out with Chen Ergou after the annual fruit and vegetable harvest.
Now, they transported their produce to Qingjiang County for sale, and gradually built up a reputation for the Xu family produce from Dongxi Village.
Both families' land holdings had increased considerably over the five years.
The Xu family purchased directly, now owning one hundred twenty mu of rice paddies, sixty mu of farmland, and eighty mu of mountain forest.
The eighty mu of mountain forest encompassed a water pool. This pool was called Jade Cold Pool, its surface cold yet never freezing.
After entering the water and descending a hundred meters, it gradually grew warmer, quite peculiar indeed.
Even a martial artist who jumped into this pool would freeze to death after the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
As for trying to dive into the depths, it was extremely difficult.
Because of its uniqueness, Xu Chuan had found a way to acquire it.
Xu Chuan had gone down into Jade Cold Pool before, but had quickly come back up.
As his martial Dao cultivation continuously advanced, with the enhancement of his fate talent, his qi and blood became increasingly abundant.
Although he was only a second-rate martial artist, the vigor of his qi and blood was more formidable than many first-rate martial artists.
Xu Mingwei was also a second-rate martial artist, having opened two hundred eighty-six acupoints, more than twenty more than Xu Chuan.
He was not far from the realm of first-rate martial artist.
A genius who could reach first-rate martial artist before age sixteen could probably only be cultivated by families in the commandery city with grandmasters presiding over them.
Xu Mingwei possessed the fate talent of Innate Divine Strength, and being still young with his physique not yet fully formed, opening acupoints was somewhat easier for him.
Combined with his diligent efforts day and night, never slacking off, and five years of daily medicinal meal nourishment, he had made such progress.
Ever since obtaining the Innate Five Elements Creation Art, Xu Mingyuan had decided to have everyone practicing martial arts consume medicinal meals daily to aid their cultivation.
Those with fate talent enhancement could manage without medicinal meal assistance but for ordinary people cultivating the martial Dao, they absolutely needed medicinal meals or corresponding qi and blood replenishing herbs to assist them, otherwise they would suffer from declining qi and blood.
Whether medicinal meals or qi and blood herbs, they all required considerable silver to purchase.
Fortunately, the Xu family's money-making ability was not weak now.
Several years ago, they had gained a windfall from Boss Xiong.
The green jade pears provided stable silver income each year, and the proceeds from other fruits and vegetables were also good.
The Xu family was now the wealthiest household in all of Dongxi Village aside from the Xu San family.
In fact, in terms of annual surplus after deducting various expenses, the Xu family was absolutely first in Dongxi Village. However, apart from Xu Chuan, Bai Jing, and Zhou Ming, no one knew this.
Even the Xu brothers only knew the general situation.
The Xu family maintained a very low profile in Dongxi Village.
Each member of the direct family line was modest and courteous toward others, never arrogant.
Even Zhou Ming, Zhao Dalong, Sun Fugui, and the others were the same.
Five years had passed, they had all taken wives and been quite diligent in producing offspring.
Each family had given birth to one or two children.
With wives and children, these people could be considered truly rooted in Dongxi Village, with a sense of belonging.
In the future, they would no longer be striving just for themselves, but also for their descendants.
Xu Mingyuan sparred with Xu Mingwei.
His palms formed claw shapes and slashed crosswise, his waist explosively twisting, like a flood dragon extending its claws, an angry dragon parting the waters, the momentum extremely fierce.
Li Er smiled and nodded from the side, "Second young master's execution of the Flood Dragon Fist is already no worse than mine. I'm afraid in less than a year or so he'll surpass me."
Zhao Dalong glanced at the smug-faced Li Er and mocked, "You have the nerve to compare yourself with the second young master."
"How old are you, and how old is he?"
"By the time second young master reaches your age, he'll probably already be a first-rate martial artist."
The expression on Li Er's face became awkward.
His martial Dao talent was mediocre to begin with, and he couldn't refute this. However, he ultimately came from a distinguished family, and his horizons were not comparable to those of Zhao Dalong and the others.
He had personally instructed Xu Mingyuan, and even with daily medicinal meal support, this cultivation speed was definitely not slow.
The medicinal meals he himself had consumed in the past were far more precious than those provided by the Xu family, but when he reached Xu Mingyuan's level, he was already seventeen or eighteen years old. However, that was also related to his own slacking off.
After he got married, he paid even less attention to it.
This was why he had only just become a third-rate martial artist now.
Li Er felt that with his family backing him, his life would at least proceed quite smoothly.
Who could have imagined that the heavens are unpredictable.
Li Er could still see through Xu Mingyuan, but he couldn't see through Xu Mingwei.
The fifteen-year-old youth seemed unfathomable to him, already possessing the bearing of a martial arts expert.
"Could it be that the eldest young master has silently become a second-rate martial artist? A second-rate martial artist at this age is quite rare among families in the county seat."
"In my Li family back then, there were at most only one or two per generation who became second-rate martial artists before age fifteen."
"The eldest young master is so outstanding, and the second young master is also excellent. Could the Xu family possibly have a martial Dao bloodline inheritance?" Li Er pondered silently.
He had heard that some great families in the commandery city possessed bloodlines, which made it easier for martial Dao powerhouses to emerge.
Facing Xu Mingyuan's assault, Xu Mingwei's expression remained unchanged. He crossed his arms to protect his chest, directly blocking the attack.
Immediately after, he executed an outward rotating collapsing palm.
Under the explosive force, Xu Mingyuan was sent flying backward.
After a flip, he knelt on one knee and slid two or three meters before stopping.
"Reverse Scale Rushing Wave!"
Xu Mingyuan crouched low, sliding close to the ground, his right fist spiraling upward in a thrust.
This move specifically targeted the lower body.
Xu Mingwei smiled slightly, lifting a corner of his long robe, continuously raising his left and right legs while stepping backward.
After several steps, having seen through his opponent's technique, he stood firm on one leg as if rooted to the ground, immovable.
His right leg swung like an elephant's trunk, directly colliding with Xu Mingyuan's right fist.
Xu Mingyuan tumbled several times, appearing somewhat disheveled, while Xu Mingwei, receiving the reactive force, stood steady as Mount Tai and slowly lowered his leg.
"Excellent!"
Zhao Dalong, Sun Fugui, and Qian Youcai all cheered loudly.
Watching Xu Mingyuan's grimacing expression, Xu Chuan smiled and said, "Ahyuan, you should stop embarrassing yourself in front of Shitou with your amateur skills."
"Zhao Dalong, you spar with Shitou, don't hold back."
"Yes, family head." Zhao Dalong stepped forward, cupping his fists toward Xu Chuan, then turning to look at Xu Mingwei, said, "Eldest young master, please instruct me."
Zhao Dalong had once been an apprentice at a martial hall and frequently exchanged blows with others.
His combat experience was much more seasoned than Xu Mingyuan's, no longer rigidly adhering to the moves in manuals, but adapting flexibly.
Every move attacked vital points, ruthless and decisive. However, even so, he completely failed to harm Xu Mingwei in the slightest.
Xu Mingwei only ever displayed the strength of a third-rate martial artist in front of others, but his perception and combat techniques were more sophisticated than those of Zhao Dalong and the others.
Over the past two years, he had ventured deep into the mountain forests every two or three days to fight fierce beasts.
Every few days he would bring back the corpse of a fierce beast.
The wolf pelts, fox pelts, and such added up to considerable money.
Once he even brought back a complete white fox.
White foxes were swift as the wind, and even first-rate martial artists found them very difficult to catch in the mountain forests.
A complete white fox pelt was worth over a thousand taels of silver in Qingjiang County.
Xu Chuan let Xu Mingwei decide for himself, and without a second thought, he had it made into a fur coat and gave it to Bai Jing.
Bai Jing was very moved and couldn't bear to wear it.
Moments later, Zhao Dalong could no longer withstand the assault.
Xu Chuan said again, "Sun Fugui, Qian Youcai, the two of you join with Zhao Dalong in a group attack."
"Yes, family head."
The two had been itching to join in from watching, and now that the family head had spoken, they quickly rushed into the battle.
With three people attacking together, each one a martial artist who had opened over twenty acupoints, Xu Mingwei finally felt some pressure.
He slightly increased the power of his internal energy.