**Chapter 16: Five Years Later**
The Golden Crow rose in the east. Morning dew glistened.
**The family compound.**
The two brothers were sparring with each other.
Xu Chuan, Li Er, Zhao Dalong, and the others watched from the sidelines.
Xu Mingyuan's feet stood in the bagua position, his arms coiled like a dragon around a pillar.
This was the opening form of Dragon Fist—Dragon Sleeping.
"Brother, be careful."
"Just do your best."
Xu Mingwei was unhurried, unflustered.
Cold against heat.
Five years had passed since Xu Mingyuan began practicing martial arts—five springs, autumns, winters, and summers.
He was now fifteen years old.
He was already nearly as tall as Xu Chuan and would certainly surpass him in two years.
Xu Mingwei was a head shorter, but over the years—through the dog days of summer and the coldest depths of winter—he had suppressed his desire to stand out.
The sharpness in his eyes had been restrained. He had become a true warrior.
He hadn't given up reading and writing, but he no longer invested as much time in them as he did in martial arts.
As for business, every year after the harvest of fruits and vegetables, he followed Chen Erzheng out to sell.
Nowadays, they transported all their fruits and vegetables to Qingjiang County for sale, gradually building the reputation of the Xu family's produce from Dongxi Village.
Both farms had expanded significantly over the past five years.
The Xu family had directly purchased more land. Currently, they owned 120 acres of rice fields, 60 acres of dry farmland, and 80 acres of mountain forest.
Within the 80 acres of mountain forest was a pool of water. It was called the Emerald Pool—bone-chillingly cold, yet it never froze.
After entering the water for a hundred meters, it gradually warmed up. Quite strange.
Even a warrior, jumping into this pool, would freeze to death after remaining for the time it takes to drink a cup of tea.
As for going deeper—it was extremely difficult.
Because of its strangeness, Xu Chuan had only tried to find a way to use it.
He had gone down into the cold pool himself but came back up quickly.
As his martial arts cultivation continued to advance, under the blessing of his inborn talents, his blood and energy grew more and more surging.
Though he was only a second-rate warrior, his blood and energy were so strong that they were more formidable than many first-rate warriors'.
Xu Mingwei was also a second-rate warrior. He had opened as many as 286 acupoints—more than twenty more than Xu Chuan.
He was not far from the realm of a first-rate warrior.
Reaching the level of a first-rate warrior before the age of sixteen—that was a genius that only the great families in the county could cultivate.
Xu Mingwei had inborn talents. He was young, and his bones had not yet fully set, making it easier to open acupoints.
He had never hesitated in his nightly cultivation.
For five years, he had taken daily medicinal food supplements.
That was the reason for his progress.
Since obtaining *The Five Elements of Innate Creation*, Xu Chuan had decided to have all martial arts practitioners in the family take medicinal food every day to aid their cultivation.
Those with inborn talents could manage without medicinal food assistance.
But when ordinary people cultivated martial arts, they needed medicinal food or corresponding blood supplements—otherwise, their blood and energy would decline.
Whether medicinal food or Qi-Blood Pills, both cost a great deal of money.
Fortunately, the family's ability to make money was not weak now.
They had obtained a fortune from Bear Boss a few years ago.
Every year, the Green Jade Pears brought in a steady income of silver, and the other melons, fruits, and vegetables did well too.
The Xu family was now the wealthiest household in Dongxi Village—except for the Xu family of the manor.
In fact, when it came to the surplus remaining after all annual expenses, the Xu family was definitely number one in Dongxi Village.
Except for Xu Chuan, Bai Jing, and Zhou Ming, no one knew this.
Even the brothers only knew a fraction.
The family was very low-key in Dongxi Village.
They were humble to others but never groveling.
The same was true of Zhou Ming, Zhao Dalong, Sun Fugui, and the others.
Five years had passed.
They had all married and worked hard to build their own lives.
Each family had one or two children.
With wives and children, these men had finally put down roots in Dongxi Village. They had a sense of belonging.
Their future was no longer just for themselves—but for their descendants as well.
---
*Crack—*
*Whoosh—*
Xu Mingyuan's two palms formed claws, crossing and cutting through the air. His waist explosively twisted, as if a dragon were probing its claws. The dragon's wrath parted the water—the power was extremely fierce.
Li Er smiled and sighed. "The second young master's Dragon Fist is no worse than mine now. In less than a year or two, he'll surpass me."
Zhao Dalong glanced at Li Er, who wore a self-deprecating face, and said sarcastically, "You really like comparing yourself to the second young master."
"How old are you? And how old is he?"
"When the second young master reaches your age, he'll probably be a first-rate warrior."
Li Er's face twitched.
His martial arts talent was ordinary. He couldn't refute that.
But he came from a proper family background, after all. His vision was not something Zhao Dalong could compare to.
Xu Mingyuan had been taught by him. Even with daily medicinal food support, his pace of cultivation was certainly not slow.
The medicinal meals Li Er had taken in the past were much more precious than what this family provided. Even so, he hadn't reached Xu Mingyuan's current level until he was seventeen or eighteen.
But that also had something to do with his own laziness.
As for what came after—he didn't care at all.
That was why he had only now become a third-rate warrior.
Li Er felt that if he could return to his family, at least his life would be very smooth from then on.
Who would have thought there would be an unexpected storm?
Li Er could see through some things, but not others.
This fifteen-year-old boy—in his opinion—was unfathomable. He had the bearing of a martial arts master.
*"Could it be that the eldest young master has silently become a second-rate warrior? A second-rate warrior at this age—that's rare even in the county's great families."*
*"In my Li family, becoming a second-rate warrior before the age of fifteen—at most one or two people per generation."*
*"The eldest young master is so outstanding. The second young master is also good. Does this family have some kind of martial arts bloodline?"*
Li Er thought darkly.
He had heard that some of the big families in the county possessed bloodline advantages, making it easier for martial arts experts to emerge.
---
In the face of Xu Mingyuan's onslaught, Xu Mingwei's expression didn't change. He crossed his arms to protect his chest and directly blocked the attack.
Then, with one blow, he broke it.
With a turn of his waist, Xu Mingyuan was sent flying.
He spun in the air, landed on one knee, and slid two or three meters before stopping.
"Reversing the Current!"
Xu Mingyuan leaned low and slid forward, his right fist spiraling upward from below.
This was a technique specifically designed to break through three defenses.
Xu Mingwei grinned, lifted his long shirt, and his left and right legs lifted and stepped back in rapid succession.
After a few steps, seeing through his opponent's move, he braced himself on one leg as if his foot had taken root—immovable.
His right leg was like an elephant's trunk, directly smashing into Xu Mingyuan's right fist.
Xu Mingyuan tumbled several times, looking somewhat wretched. Xu Mingwei, affected by the reverse force, remained as steady as Mount Tai, slowly lowering his leg.
"Excellent!"
Zhao Dalong, Sun Fugui, and Qian Jinsan all applauded loudly.
Watching Xu Mingyuan grit his teeth, Xu Chuan smiled and said, "Aiyuan, your three-legged cat kung fu—don't embarrass yourself in front of Shitou."
"Zhao Dalong, you spar with Shitou. Don't hold back."
"Yes, master." Zhao Dalong stepped forward, clasped his hands to Xu Chuan, then turned to look at Xu Mingwei. "Eldest young master, please instruct me."
Zhao Dalong had been an apprentice in a martial hall and had often sparred with people.
His combat experience was much richer than Xu Mingyuan's. He was no longer stuck rigidly to the manual but could adapt flexibly.
Every move he made was hard-hitting, fierce, and decisive.
Yet even so, he couldn't land a single blow.
Xu Mingwei used only the strength of a third-rate warrior in front of others. But his eyesight and killing skills were far superior to Zhao Dalong and the others.
In the past two years, he had gone deep into the mountains every two or three days to fight wild beasts.
Every three to five days, he brought back the carcass of a beast.
Those wolf pelts, fox furs, and the like alone were worth a considerable amount of money.
He had even brought back a pure white fox.
The white fox was as fast as the wind—even first-rate warriors in the mountains found it difficult to catch.
A complete white fox pelt was worth several hundred silver taels in Qingjiang County.
Xu Chuan had let Xu Mingwei handle it himself. Instead of selling it, Xu Mingwei had made it into a fur robe and given it to Bai Jing.
Bai Jing was overjoyed. She couldn't bear to wear it.
A moment later.
Zhao Dalong was thoroughly defeated.
Xu Chuan spoke again. "Sun Fugui, Qian Jinsan—the two of you join Zhao Dalong. Attack together."
"Yes, master."
The two had been itching to join the fight. Now that the master had spoken, they quickly rushed into the sparring ground.
The three men attacked together. Each was a warrior who had opened more than twenty acupoints. Xu Mingwei began to feel the pressure.
He increased his inner strength slightly.
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