Chapter 16: Five Years Later (Please keep reading, Tuesday!)
The Golden Crow rose in the east, and the morning light was faint.
Xu Family courtyard.
Xu Mingwei and Xu Mingyuan, the two brothers, were sparring.
Xu Chuan, Li Er, Zhao Dalong, and others watched from the sidelines.
Xu Mingyuan stepped on the Bagua positions with his feet, his arms wrapped around him like a Jiaolong coiling around a pillar.
This was the opening Move of the Jiaolong Fist—Dragon's Sleep in the Deep Abyss.
“Big Brother, be careful.”
“Just go all out.”
Xu Mingwei was calm and composed.
Winter came and summer went.
Five years had passed since Xu Mingyuan started Cultivating Martial Arts.
Xu Mingwei was also fifteen years old this year.
He was already about the same height as Xu Chuan, and in two years, he would definitely surpass him.
Xu Mingyuan was a head shorter, but these past few years, he had trained diligently through summer heat and winter cold, smoothing out his restless nature.
His eyes had a restrained Divine Power, and he had become a Martial Artist.
He had not given up on reading and practicing calligraphy, but he spent less time on them than on Martial Arts.
As for doing business, he only went out with Chen Ergou after the annual fruit and vegetable harvest.
Now, they transported fruits and vegetables to Qingjiang County for sale, and gradually, the reputation of Dongxi Village Xu Family fruits and vegetables grew.
The landholdings of both families had increased significantly over the past five years.
The Xu Family purchased land directly, now owning one hundred twenty mu of paddy fields, sixty mu of farmland, and eighty mu of mountain forest.
The eighty mu of mountain forest included a pond called Bihantan. The surface of this pond was cold, yet it never froze.
After entering the water for a hundred meters and continuing downwards, it gradually became warmer, which was quite peculiar.
Even a Martial Artist, jumping into this pond and staying for a short while, would freeze to death.
As for trying to dive deep, it was incredibly difficult.
Because of its uniqueness, Xu Chuan found a way to acquire it.
Xu Chuan had gone down into Bihantan but came up very quickly.
As his Martial Dao Cultivation continuously improved, with the blessing of his Fate Talent, his Qi and Blood became increasingly vigorous.
Although he was only a second-rate Martial Artist, his Qi and Blood were 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 a first-rate Martial Artist.
Genius Martial Artists who could reach the first-rate Martial Artist realm before the age of sixteen could probably only be cultivated by families with Grandmasters in the county city.
Xu Mingwei had the Fate Talent of Heavenly Strength, and being young, his body had not yet fully matured, making it easier to open acupoints.
In addition, he was diligent day and night, never slacking off.
Furthermore, he had been nourished by medicinal meals every day for the past five years.
Only then did he achieve such progress.
Since obtaining the Xiantian Five Elements Creation Skill, Xu Mingyuan decided that everyone who practiced Martial Arts should consume medicinal meals daily for Cultivation.
Those with Fate Talent blessings could manage without medicinal meal assistance.
However, ordinary people Cultivating Martial Dao absolutely needed the assistance of medicinal meals or corresponding Qi and Blood-supplementing medicinal materials; otherwise, it would lead to a decline in Qi and Blood.
Whether it was medicinal meals or Qi and Blood medicinal materials, they all cost a lot of silver.
Fortunately, the Xu Family's earning capacity was not weak now.
A few years ago, they received an unexpected fortune of twelve thousand taels from Boss Xiong.
The qingyu pear brought in a stable income of over three thousand taels annually, and the fruits and vegetables, which started at seven to eight hundred taels annually, now brought in over two thousand taels after expansion.
The income from mountain forest fruit trees was also similar.
The Xu Family was now the wealthiest household in Dongxi Village, second only to the Xu Family.
In fact, in terms of annual surplus after deducting various expenses, the Xu Family was definitely number one in Dongxi Village.
However, no one knew this except Xu Chuan, Bai Jing, and Zhou Ming.
Even the Xu Mingwei brothers only knew some general information.
The Xu Family was very low-key in Dongxi Village.
All the direct descendants of the Family were humble and never overbearing.
Even Zhou Ming, Zhao Dalong, Sun Fugui, and others were the same.
Five years passed.
They had all married and were quite diligent in having children.
Each Family had one to two children.
With wives and children, these people truly took root in Dongxi Village and gained a sense of belonging.
In the future, they would no longer just strive for themselves but also for their descendants.
Xu Mingyuan and Xu Mingwei sparred.
Their palms formed claw shapes, slashing and chopping, their waists twisting explosively, like a Dragon extending its claws and an angry Dragon parting water, exhibiting fierce power.
Li Er smiled and nodded from the side, “Young Master Xu Mingyuan’s Jiaolong Fist is already no weaker than mine; I’m afraid he will surpass me in less than a year or two.”
Zhao Dalong glanced at the smug Li Er and sneered, “How can you even compare yourself to Young Master Xu Mingyuan?”
“How old are you, and how old is he?”
“By the time Young Master Xu Mingyuan reaches your age, he’ll probably already be a first-rate Martial Artist.”
Li Er’s expression was sheepish.
His Martial Dao Talent was originally ordinary, and he couldn’t refute.
However, he was from a prominent Family after all, and his vision was beyond what Zhao Dalong and the others could compare to.
Xu Mingyuan was personally taught by him, and even with daily medicinal meal support, his Cultivation speed was definitely not slow.
The medicinal meals he used to consume were much more precious than those provided by the Xu Family, but it took him until he was seventeen or eighteen to reach Xu Mingyuan’s level.
However, it also had something to do with his own occasional slackness.
As for later, after getting married, he became even less focused.
This was why he had only just become a third-rate Martial Artist now.
Li Er felt that relying on his Family, at least his life could be very smooth.
Who would have thought that unforeseen events would occur?
Xu Mingyuan, Li Er could still see through, but Xu Mingwei, he could not.
The young man, merely fifteen years old, appeared unfathomable to him, already possessing the demeanor of a Martial Dao expert.
“Could it be that Da gongzi quietly became a second-rate Martial Artist? A second-rate Martial Artist of such an age is rare in the families of the county town.”
“Thinking back to my Li Family, only one or two people at most in each generation became a second-rate Martial Artist before the age of fifteen.”
“Da gongzi is so outstanding, and Young Master Xu Mingyuan is also good. Could this Xu Family have a Martial Dao Bloodline Legacy?!”
Li Er pondered secretly.
He had heard that some large families in the county city possessed Bloodlines, which made it easier for Martial Dao powerhouses to emerge.
Facing Xu Mingyuan’s offensive, Xu Mingwei’s expression remained unchanged. His arms crossed over his chest, directly blocking his attack.
Immediately after, he delivered an outward-spinning collapsing palm.
With the burst of force, Xu Mingyuan flew backward.
After a somersault, he knelt on one knee, sliding two or three meters before stopping.
“Dragon Scale Surging Waves!”
Xu Mingyuan bent down and slid close to the ground, his right fist spiraling upwards in a thrust.
This Move specifically attacked the lower body.
Xu Mingwei smiled, lifted a corner of his long gown, and continuously raised his left and right legs, retreating backward.
After a few steps, he clearly saw the opponent’s Move, stood firm on one leg as if rooted to the ground, unmoving.
His right leg swung like an elephant’s trunk, directly colliding with Xu Mingyuan’s right fist.
Xu Mingyuan tumbled several times, looking somewhat disheveled, while Xu Mingwei, receiving the opposing force, remained as steady as a mountain, slowly lowering his leg.
“Good!”
Zhao Dalong, Sun Fugui, and Qian Youcai all cheered loudly.
Looking at Xu Mingyuan’s grimacing expression, Xu Chuan smiled and said, “A Yuan, your amateur skills are just making a fool of yourself in front of Stone.”
“Zhao Dalong, you spar with Stone; don’t hold back.”
“Yes, Family Head.” Zhao Dalong stepped forward, cupped his fists at Xu Chuan, then turned to Xu Mingwei and said, “Da gongzi, please enlighten me.”
Zhao Dalong had once been an apprentice in a Martial Arts academy and frequently sparred with others.
His combat experience was much more seasoned than Xu Mingyuan’s; he was no longer confined to the Moves in the Secret Manual but adapted flexibly.
Every Move targeted vital points, fierce and decisive.
However, even so, he couldn’t harm Xu Mingwei in the slightest.
Xu Mingwei always only used the strength of a third-rate Martial Artist in front of others, but his eyesight and combat skills were richer than Zhao Dalong and others.
In the past two years, he would go deep into the mountain forest every two or three days to fight with fierce beasts.
Every now and then, he would bring back the corpses of fierce beasts.
Just the wolf furs, fox furs, and so on, added up to a considerable amount of money.
There was even one time he brought back a complete white fox.
The white fox was as swift as the wind; even a first-rate Martial Artist would find it difficult to catch in the mountain forest.
A complete white fox fur 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 touched and couldn’t bear to wear it.
A moment later.
Zhao Dalong was already completely unable to resist.
Xu Chuan then said, “Sun Fugui, Qian Youcai, the two of you, along with Zhao Dalong, attack together.”
“Yes, Family Head.”
The two were also itching for a fight, and now that the Family Head had spoken, they quickly rushed into the battle.
With three people attacking, each of them a Martial Artist who had opened more than twenty acupoints, Xu Mingwei finally felt pressure.
He slightly increased the power of his internal energy.