Chapter 88: Hongmen

Night fell, and the darkness was as deep as ink. At home, Qin Yi lay on his bed, lost in thought.

“If I learn another scholarly art soon, what kind of martial art should I study next?” Qin Yi pondered.

The flaw with second- and third-rate martial arts was their low ceiling, not to mention the tremendous hidden dangers they posed to the body. In the end, it all came down to a poor foundation, which greatly affected both potential and physical endurance.

“Most of the martial arts I’ve learned so far focus on the upper and lower limbs. The strain on my body has reached a terrifying level. If not for the protection of the three scholarly arts, I probably wouldn’t dare use a secret technique even once right now!”

Among the nine martial arts he had mastered, only the Five Energies Converging Fist and the Strength of the Giant Elephant did not focus on the limbs. Although the Five Energies Converging Fist was a form of boxing, its distinguishing feature lay in harnessing the power of the inner organs—its stamina was impressive, and its force penetrated deeply.

The Strength of the Giant Elephant mainly enhanced the strength of the torso, somewhat akin to a heavyweight boxer in later generations—once the body’s strength increased, the attacks became straightforward and brutal.

“So next, I should study martial arts that can reinforce the torso, or even the neck and head. Even though such martial arts can’t completely eliminate the body’s hidden dangers, at least they’ll reduce some of the strain!” Qin Yi mused silently.

Second- and third-rate martial arts could not comprehensively strengthen the body, but if one studied a variety of them, the hidden dangers would at least be greatly diminished. With the support of scholarly arts, perhaps his body could, like those who had mastered nine segments of martial arts, endure the output of secret techniques and almost completely resolve the issue of physical strain.

Qin Yi got up from bed and took out a piece of paper.

On it was a record of the martial arts taught by the seven martial halls in Xiangzhou City that possessed six-segment techniques.

Soon, he had his eye on two of the six-segment martial arts.

One was called Giant Spirit Technique, a six-segment martial art from the Giant Spirit Martial Hall. Its main features were abundant vital energy, strong muscles and tendons, and great strength, bearing some resemblance to the Strength of the Giant Elephant.

It was not limited to boxing, palm techniques, or claw techniques focusing on the limbs; rather, it enhanced overall strength, and its attacks were diverse.

The other was called Returning Sea Technique, which shared some similarities with the Five Energies Converging Fist, emphasizing stamina. This art was taught at the Zhenhai Martial Hall, which surprisingly had two six-segment martial arts. The other was called Stacked Waves Palm, a fierce palm technique that most disciples chose to study as their main skill, while Returning Sea Technique was less popular.

As for the other martial halls, most offered martial arts centered on palm techniques, boxing, claw techniques, swordplay, sabre skills, and movement arts.

“It seems I should first study ‘Giant Spirit Technique’ and ‘Returning Sea Technique.’ Once I’ve mastered the basics of these two, I’ll move on to other martial halls’ skills.”

…

Five days passed in a flash.

That morning, Qin Yi was having breakfast at a bustling food stall.

Three baskets of steamed buns, a large bowl of beef noodles, and another large bowl of assorted lamb offal.

“They say Nanyang Commandery has completely fallen. Is that true?”

“Ah, is there any doubt about that? Most of it was lost months ago. Now that the entire region is lost, what’s so surprising?”

“I hear most of Jiangning Commandery has fallen as well. What are our provincial and commandery armies good for?”

“Exactly, exactly…”

Sitting nearby, Qin Yi listened to the diners’ conversation and shook his head slightly.

He had already heard this news a few days ago.

“Once I finish these six-segment martial arts, it’s time to leave Xiangzhou,” he thought to himself.

Although Xiangzhou City appeared robust—especially with its fifteen-meter-high city walls, which would be difficult to breach—if the rebels simply surrounded the city without attacking, it would be a miserable situation.

After quickly finishing his breakfast, Qin Yi set off for the Giant Spirit Martial Hall.

Lately, he spent his mornings there learning Giant Spirit Technique, and his afternoons at Zhenhai Martial Hall studying Returning Sea Technique.

In the training yard, Qin Yi diligently practiced the first set of movements from “Giant Spirit Technique.”

This art comprised nine sets in total, each set containing three moves, making twenty-seven moves altogether.

After practicing once more, Qin Yi glanced up at the blazing sun and stopped.

He planned to find a place to eat, and then head over to Zhenhai Martial Hall.

Just as he was about to leave, he suddenly saw He Hongjun hurrying toward him.

“Boss!”

Seeing the grave look on He Hongjun’s face, Qin Yi knew something serious had happened. He walked over and said, “Let’s talk outside.”

“Yes, sir.”

Once outside the hall, He Hongjun said, “Boss, here’s an invitation from the leader of the Fortune Society, inviting you to a banquet at Eight Directions Pavilion tonight.” As he spoke, He Hongjun handed Qin Yi a gilded invitation.

“Fortune Society?” Qin Yi frowned. That was one of the three most powerful gangs in the west of the city, known to have an eight-segment master presiding over it.

“Yes. In fact, I just heard the news myself. Last night, the Fortune Society changed leaders! The former leader, Zeng Pengren, was killed by the new boss. And now, they’ve invited us to a banquet—eight or nine times out of ten, it’s a trap,” He Hongjun said in a low voice.

“Also, I just learned that Shadow Blade Union, Blood Fiend Society, and the remaining Green Serpent Society all received invitations too. This new leader of Fortune Society clearly has grand ambitions. Boss, should we go?”

These were the strongest gangs in the western part of the city.

Shadow Blade Union and Blood Fiend Society each had an eight-segment master; Green Serpent Society had none, but boasted two seven-segment experts, much like the former Iron Fist Society.

“To be able to kill Zeng Pengren, who possessed eight-segment strength, this new leader is no ordinary person. We have nothing to fear. Let’s go and see what happens,” Qin Yi replied with a smile.

“Understood!”

That afternoon, Qin Yi continued his training at Zhenhai Martial Hall.

At dusk, he returned home, took a bath, changed his clothes, and, accompanied by He Hongjun, set out for Eight Directions Pavilion.

Eight Directions Pavilion was the most luxurious restaurant in the western city.

Tonight, the entire establishment had been reserved by the Fortune Society.

At the very top floor.

As soon as Qin Yi and He Hongjun arrived, they saw six people already present.

“Boss, those six are the leaders and deputy leaders of Shadow Blade Union, Blood Fiend Society, and Green Serpent Society,” He Hongjun whispered.

“Oh…” Qin Yi nodded and walked over.

“You must be the new leader of the Golden Tiger Society, Master Qin Feng?” The leader of Shadow Blade Union, Jiang Ying, greeted him with a smile. “I am Jiang Ying, leader of Shadow Blade Union.”

“So it’s Leader Jiang. A pleasure to meet you,” Qin Yi replied with a slight smile and a cupped fist.

Seeing how young Qin Yi was, the others dared not take him lightly.

Soon, the kindly-looking Jiang Ying introduced the leaders of Blood Fiend Society and Green Serpent Society as well—Qi Feng and Zuo Hanshan.

Although there had been no small amount of rivalry among them before, now, having been summoned together, their common wariness was directed at the new leader of Fortune Society. For the moment, they found themselves standing on the same side.