Yang Jing watched the man emerge and shove the pearl hairpin at his accomplice. After exchanging a look, the group immediately scattered in three directions. They moved with swift feet, disappearing into the alleyways in the blink of an eye. Their movements were slick and efficient.

"Heh." A cold sneer curled Yang Jing’s lips; he found it almost comical.

’What a novel method. Pretending to be the woman’s husband, robbing her in broad daylight, then running off. It saves them the trouble of drawing blades and allows them to get away before anyone can react. Truly "simple and effective."’

’The woman, however, will have to suffer in silence. Not only was she publicly "disciplined," she also lost her jewelry. If the story gets out, no one would likely believe it was a robbery.’

Yang Jing shook his head, having no intention of getting involved.

The world was growing more chaotic by the day. The city was teeming with gangs, each with their own endless array of schemes.

He averted his gaze and, without lingering, quickened his pace toward the Martial Arts Hall.

......

Chengping Square, Sun’s Martial Arts Hall.

Yang Jing walked through the main gate of the Martial Arts Hall and into the front courtyard. He promptly stripped off his short tunic, revealing his solid arms.

Morning light cast itself upon his taut muscles. Sweat had yet to form, but his skin was already tinged with a faint red from the circulation of his Inner Strength.

He walked to a wooden training post. The moment he settled into the opening stance of the Mountain-Shattering Fist, his fist flew out, whistling through the air.

As time ticked by, more and more disciples filled the front courtyard to practice.

"Lower your elbow. Your power delivery needs to be more explosive."

Sun Yong’s voice drifted over from the direction of the Moon Gate.

Dressed in a navy-blue training uniform, he ambled through the courtyard, offering pointers to the disciples.

Today, however, Sun Yong was primarily instructing Xu Hong, Zhao Wenzheng, Qi Yun, and Lin Yue.

Yang Jing did a quick mental calculation. ’It must be time for the sparring session with the other Martial Arts Halls again.’

As he practiced, he continued to fine-tune his own techniques. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw his master, Sun Yong, coaching Xu Hong and the others one by one, explaining everything in meticulous detail, from the nuances of their fist techniques to the channeling of their Inner Strength.

An hour later, Liu Maolin, clad in martial attire, strode briskly through the main gate of the Martial Arts Hall.

Seeing that Liu Maolin had arrived, Sun Yong clapped his hands. "Alright, everyone, listen up! Today, we’re sparring with the disciples from the Iron Fist Martial Arts Hall. Less talk, more fighting. Make sure you hold your own out there!"

The Registered Disciples on the sparring team all shouted their assent, eager for a fight.

With the martial trials approaching, there was little time left for significant improvement. For these disciples, live sparring was the best possible training. It was a chance to identify and shore up their weaknesses in real combat.

Just as they were about to leave, Sun Yong’s gaze swept coolly over Yang Jing.

Sunlight streamed in from behind Yang Jing, tracing his sharply defined profile in gold. The muffled thuds of his fists striking the training post were steady and powerful.

’The boy’s Dark Energy is already quite solid. If he came along to spar, he’d gain a great deal of combat experience.’

’But I had Sun Ningxiang ask him before. The boy is foolish, dense, and stubborn. All he knows is how to bury his head in his training; he has no intention of joining the Martial Arts Hall’s sparring team.’

Sun Yong shook his head inwardly.

’Ah, well. If the boy doesn’t want to, then so be it. The sparring team is nearly full anyway. Any more members and I wouldn’t be able to look after them all properly.’

In truth, he had other calculations in mind.

It had been seven years since a disciple from the Sun Family Martial Arts Hall had made the rankings in the martial trials. Although Yang Jing had reached the Dark Energy realm, he had only just broken through, and his foundation was still shallow. In the martial trials, a place filled with hidden masters, he would essentially be an also-ran.

’This year, at least, Yang Jing has no hope of making the rankings. But give him a few more years to hone his skills, and he might have a shot at securing a minor official post, bringing glory to the Sun’s Martial Arts Hall in the process.’

For this year’s martial trials, his real hope rested on Lin Yue.

Although Lin Yue had yet to reach the Peak of Dark Energy, his solid foundation in the Mountain-Shattering Fist and his natural combat talent gave him an extremely high win rate in spars against Dark Energy masters from other Martial Arts Halls. His real-world combat experience was far beyond that of a newly advanced Dark Energy practitioner like Yang Jing, who rarely sparred with anyone.

As for whether they could break their seven-year-long dry spell at the trials, Sun Yong was pinning all his hopes on Lin Yue.

In Sun Yong’s opinion, even his eldest disciple, Xu Hong, who had already reached the Peak of Dark Energy, had less of a chance of making the rankings than Lin Yue.

"Let’s go."

Sun Yong put the thoughts aside. With a wave of his hand, he turned and led the Martial Arts Hall’s sparring team out.

In the front courtyard, Yang Jing remained focused on his practice, the force of his punches still steady and sure.

He didn’t know what was on his master Sun Yong’s mind, but he had felt that meaningful gaze. It didn’t waver his concentration, however; he remained focused on his own practice.

’My path is different from everyone else’s.’

’For other Martial Artists, live sparring might lead to an epiphany, break a bottleneck, or otherwise increase their strength. But I don’t need anything so complicated. I just have to follow my routine, cultivate a single martial art to its absolute limit, and I can break through to the next level directly, without any bottlenecks.’

’Not even Master Sun Yong knows this, and I will certainly never tell such an important secret to anyone else.’

’As for real combat, I’m not lacking in experience. I’ve already taken several lives.’

’Besides, I’m still employed by the Liu Family Medical Hall. They try to look out for me by assigning as few tasks as possible, but I still have to go out on missions two or three times a month.’

’In this chaotic world, I frequently run into bandits on the road. When facing villains like that, words won’t drive them away. It’s my fists that repel those bandits and protect the medicinal herbs.’

’So, when it comes to actual combat experience, very few in this entire Martial Arts Hall can compare to me.’

’That’s why, compared to wasting time traveling back and forth just to spar with disciples from other Martial Arts Halls one by one, I’d much rather spend that time improving myself.’