Chapter 1

The autumn colors were deep, and the night was cold.

The entire snowy region was filled with a chill.

In the early morning, when the east had yet to turn white, Tanggu pushed open the door of a secluded thatched cottage outside Shiyantown.

He put on the only light gray robe he had and set off for the center of Shiyantown.

The street paved with blue stone slabs was bone-chilling, and the simple straw shoes woven from thin grass and hemp rope on Tanggu's feet offered no warmth at all.

Even someone as resolute as he could not help but shiver, feeling the icy coldness piercing his soles.

However, despite the cold, his back remained straight. Although his face had turned slightly pale, his expression remained calm, as if it did not matter to him.

Clearly, he was already accustomed to such bitter cold.

He silently recited a few simple mantras from the martial arts hall, guiding the meager internal energy in his body from his dantian to his feet.

Once his feet felt slightly warmer, Tanggu did not hesitate and strode forward.

A moment later, Tanggu arrived at the gate of a grand courtyard with red-painted double doors.

He stood silently in front of the courtyard gate, looking up at a huge blue stone stele standing there.

On the blue stone stele, someone had carved about twenty large characters with a sharp tool: "Sun, moon, mountains, and rivers, movement and stillness in harmony, the way of nature, the realm of life, actions follow the heart, the peak of martial arts."

Each character was about a foot long, with a style that was both majestic and graceful, displaying a unique and rugged beauty.

These characters were carved by the former head of the "Autumn Dao Martial Arts Academy," Mr. Qiuxi Wu, who had reached the peak of the sixth level of Qi Dao, thirty years ago. They later became the academy's motto.

It was said that these characters not only contained Mr. Qiuxi Wu's lifelong insights but also the various realms of life and the secrets of martial arts he had experienced over several decades, with many twists and turns.

However, over the past thirty years, although many people had passed by this stele, none had gained any insights.

In the early morning, the "Autumn Dao Martial Arts Academy" was still quiet, with no disciples up yet. Tanggu stood under the blue stone stele for a full incense stick's time. If the disciples inside the courtyard had seen him, they would have found it very strange.

His eyes had a faint glow, as if tracing the characters on the stele, winding and twisting like dragons and snakes, giving a very peculiar feeling.

Occasionally, the glow would flash, giving a sharp and piercing sensation, like the light of a sword.

At this moment, the sound of beds being turned over came from inside the courtyard. Although it was still early, some diligent disciples had already started to get up and prepare for their morning exercises.

Hearing the sound, Tanggu, who had been standing still, immediately changed his expression, lowered his head, and took out a thick iron key from his pocket to open the courtyard gate and enter.

Once inside the courtyard, the sword-like glow in his eyes had completely disappeared, as if it had never existed.

He had once again become an ordinary, lowly servant disciple.

He did not head to the training ground but instead went around it, passing through a winding outer courtyard corridor to a servant's room in the side courtyard.

He took out a wooden bucket, filled it with spring water, and returned to the front courtyard. Tanggu began to silently clean the dust and fallen leaves from the training ground.

After a night, the originally clean and tidy training ground had accumulated a large number of new leaves.

Since autumn, Tanggu's daily tasks had undoubtedly become much heavier.

However, he never complained, always completing his tasks on time and to the best of his ability.

A short while later, the entire training ground was once again spotless, with no trace of dust. Every corner had been thoroughly cleaned by Tanggu.

Even the few damaged stone bricks from yesterday's training matches had been replaced with new ones from the servant's room in the side courtyard.

After cleaning and wiping all eighteen types of weapons on the weapon rack, Tanggu picked up a bag of miscellaneous items and prepared to go outside to dispose of them.

At this moment, a robust young man in a blue robe walked by. Seeing Tanggu, he immediately grinned: "Tanggu, you're here again. Why are you always so early?"

This robust young man in a blue robe was named Yanshan, the third-ranked disciple in the outer courtyard of the "Autumn Dao Martial Arts Academy" and the most diligent outer courtyard disciple. The sound of beds being turned over that Tanggu had heard earlier was from him.

Tanggu knew that every day before dawn, Yanshan would get up on time and go to the top of "Shouyang Mountain," fifteen miles outside the town, to practice his "Seven Steps King Fist."

"Seven Steps King Fist," originally called "Fierce Sun King Fist," was a famous first-class high-level fist technique in the "Autumn Dao Martial Arts Academy." Apart from a few extremely rare fist techniques, it had no rivals.

Among the nearly a hundred outer courtyard disciples of the "Autumn Dao Martial Arts Academy," only Yanshan, with his most fierce and powerful nature, could successfully practice this fist technique.

This fist technique was as fierce as thunder, as sharp as a knife, as powerful as the rising sun, and as swift as a tiger descending a mountain. It was extremely powerful in its broad and open movements.

However, its practice required a special environment, a vast and sunny place. In the entire Shiyantown, only Shouyang Mountain, fifteen miles outside the town, met these conditions.

Therefore, every day before dawn, Yanshan would get up early and travel fifteen miles. By the time he reached Shouyang Mountain, it would be the time of the day when the sunlight was strongest, perfect for his practice.

He would return only when it was nearly dusk.

Because of this, even he considered himself the most diligent practitioner in the outer courtyard.

However, what frustrated him was that every time he got up, finished washing, and was about to leave, he would always encounter Tanggu, who had already finished his daily tasks and was preparing to take out the trash.

This made him feel that no matter how hard he tried, he was still not as diligent as a servant disciple in the outer courtyard.

Fortunately, he knew that Tanggu was only there to clean and was not an outer courtyard disciple, and did not know any martial arts techniques, so he did not feel much jealousy.

He looked at Tanggu and kindly reminded him: "Tanggu, I know your life is hard, and you're afraid of losing this job, but you don't need to come so early every time.

Now that the weather is getting colder, you don't have many clothes, and those guys won't start their training for a while. It's fine if you come a little later. Although I get up early, I never practice in the courtyard, so you don't need to be in such a hurry."

Tanggu, hearing this, knew that Yanshan was just being kind. Although he had his own reasons, he did not plan to explain them.

He nodded and stepped aside: "Thank you, Senior Brother Yanshan, for your concern. It's fine, whether I come a little earlier or later doesn't matter. Sometimes, a few senior brothers might want to be diligent, and if I haven't finished cleaning by then, I'll get scolded again."

Hearing this, Yanshan immediately knew what he meant and frowned.

Everyone in the outer courtyard knew that Tanggu was very diligent and meticulous in his work, and no one could find any fault with him. However, there was always an exception.

In the outer courtyard, there was one person who always looked at Tanggu unfavorably. Every time he got up, he would nitpick, saying this place was not clean and needed to be swept again, or that place had a problem and needed to be fixed.

Anyone with eyes could see that he was deliberately finding fault.

This person, named Wang Zheng, was also an outer courtyard disciple, with average strength.

However, he relied on his uncle, who worked in the outer courtyard, and would bully everyone.

In the entire "Autumn Dao Martial Arts Academy," countless people had been scolded by him, but no one dared to speak out. His uncle, Wang Zhenwu, was one of the two managers in the outer courtyard.

Unless they suffered a significant injustice, the outer courtyard disciples did not want to really confront him, so they could only endure in silence.

However, there were a few people whom even Wang Zheng did not dare to provoke, and Yanshan was one of them.

People like him, with astonishing strength and extremely high talent, were destined to enter the inner courtyard.

Although Wang Zhenwu was also a manager in the outer courtyard and held a high position, he was nothing in front of an inner courtyard disciple.

However, unless necessary, Yanshan did not want to really have a falling out with Wang Zhenwu, as some elixirs and benefits still needed to be distributed by him before entering the inner courtyard.

Therefore, Yanshan sighed, looked at Tanggu with pity, and said helplessly: "Forget it, do as you please. Being more careful is better, so he won't have any excuses."

"Alright, I'm going to practice. Take care of yourself. Please go ahead."

Saying this, he turned and walked toward the gate of the martial arts academy.

However, after walking about twenty paces, he could not help but pause, as if thinking of something. He hesitated for a moment and then turned back: "If Wang Zheng still causes trouble for you without reason and you can't bear it, just mention my name."

Saying this, he did not look back and directly left the courtyard gate, heading east.

In an instant, the robust figure in light blue had completely disappeared.

At first, when he heard Yanshan's earlier words, Tanggu had only slightly lowered his head. However, when he heard the last sentence Yanshan said before leaving, Tanggu suddenly raised his head, looking forward in disbelief.

There, Yanshan's figure had already completely disappeared, but his words still echoed in Tanggu's ears, leaving no doubt. Instantly, a warm current surged in Tanggu's heart.

"Wang Zheng, huh?"

He thought to himself, although he did not care about such a person, and the minor injustices were completely insignificant to him.

But Yanshan's sincerity was genuine.

Not every outer courtyard disciple was willing to risk offending Wang Zheng, another outer courtyard disciple, and the risk of offending Wang Zhenwu, a manager in the martial arts academy, for someone like him, a lowly servant in others' eyes.

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