Chapter 39

After the news of Wei He breaking through the stone skin was released.

Since the actual situation was concealed, apart from Old Zheng, no one else knew that Wei He's actual breakthrough time was two months earlier than now.

Therefore, although this breakthrough caused a bit of a stir in the courtyard, it quickly subsided.

Now, what everyone is more concerned about is when the Seven Families Alliance and Hong Family Fort will start fighting. The city is in a state of unease, both inside and out.

Many people want to leave, but the outside is even more chaotic and dangerous, with bandits and wild beasts everywhere. After all, people are also a kind of resource.

Men, once captured, are forced into hard labor, and women, if they have some beauty, are sent to brothels. Even those without beauty have to work as servants.

Some are even cruelly captured to be made into dried meat.

In the outer city, those who had the means to flee have mostly left. The remaining ones are those who can't run or can't escape.

Early in the morning, Wei He got up and practiced a set of boxing, then wiped the sweat, ate some coarse porridge with minced meat and eggs with his elder sister, and then quickly headed to Old Zheng's place.

He was instructed by Old Zheng to go to the inner courtyard first when he arrived at the courtyard.

Leaving the Wei family courtyard, the sky was just beginning to brighten. On the right side of the road, a narrow alley faintly echoed with the sounds of a fight.

As Wei He passed by, he saw several half-grown boys fighting. One person was fighting against two.

The one fighting alone shouted loudly, continuously sprinkling large amounts of lime powder. The two on the opposite side howled and retreated continuously.

However, after a short while, one of the boys on the opposite side threw a brick back with a swift motion.

The boy who was sprinkling lime powder stumbled, roared again, and continued to sprinkle lime powder, charging forward with a series of wild punches.

Wei He shook his head slightly.

'Too crude, lime isn't used like that... bricks should be aimed at the head.'

He lowered his evaluation of the new generation of street fighters even further.

Passing through the alley, some shops on the street had already opened. However, the doors were not fully open; wooden boards were placed outside to block the entrance, leaving only some gaps.

People were passing things through these gaps, bartering for goods.

As Wei He passed by, he glanced at the transactions. The people were not using silver, but small bags containing unknown items.

He remembered that initially, some people used copper coins, but now even silver was gone.

In the inner city, gold notes were already being used as currency for transactions.

Looking around, the empty street had only three shops open on both sides, and the number of people passing by did not exceed ten.

The ground was littered with garbage, and no one was cleaning it up.

'This place is getting more and more dilapidated...'

He sighed in his heart, quickened his pace, turned a few corners, and arrived at the entrance of Huishan Boxing Academy.

Taking out the key, he opened the door and walked in.

In the outer courtyard, a few people had already arrived. As soon as he entered, he attracted their attention.

Wei He remained calm, neither too fast nor too slow, as he walked through the outer courtyard.

He could feel the weight in the gazes around him, compared to when he was still a novice, and the gazes he received when he entered.

Back then, they would just glance and look away. Now, they carried a bit more weight.

Some were indifferent, some were不服不甘 (unwilling and resentful), some were envious, and some were warm and friendly.

The gazes now were much heavier than before.

This was the weight.

Wei He glanced back, and the fellow disciples who met his gaze all unconsciously lowered their eyes, avoiding his.

He walked into the courtyard, clearly feeling that wherever he went, the nearby disciples would unconsciously pay attention to his position.

It was different.

Completely different from before.

This was the treatment after breaking through. No matter what he did, someone would unconsciously pay attention to him.

Stone Skin, this was the true core of Huishan Boxing Academy, the highest level. It was the level closest to Old Zheng, the one he would treat differently.

This level truly set apart the inner courtyard disciples from the outer courtyard disciples, creating a qualitative difference.

Wei He suddenly understood a sentence Old Zheng had told him before.

A secondary qi-blood elite could be a capable middle-level hand in the Seven Families Alliance.

A middle-level hand in the Seven Families Alliance would be a high-level figure in a small gang outside.

"Bad news, Yang Zhou, your brother is being cornered again! It's the Thieves' Gang!"

Suddenly, a half-grown boy in tattered clothes rushed to the gate and shouted.

A short-haired boy who was practicing was startled.

"Take me to see!" His voice was surprisingly clear and pleasant, revealing that he was a girl.

However, her face was dirty, her hair was messy, and her body was as thin as a bean sprout, so no one could tell she was a girl.

"Where is he?" This girl was a new recruit, having joined Huishan Boxing Academy just a few days ago. Her name was Yang Zhou.

Wei He had a slight impression of her.

Not because she was a girl, but because Yang Zhou, like him, came from the Rat Alley.

She also lived in one of the dilapidated houses next to Rat Alley.

Hearing the name "Thieves' Gang," Wei He's heart stirred, suddenly thinking of his elder sister Wei Chun, who had once faced all the family's pressures alone, protecting her family and younger siblings.

He felt a sense of admiration and paused, thinking about going to see.

However, Yang Zhou was just a new recruit, only learning the basics, and had no connection with him.

He didn't want to get involved in other people's affairs.

He lifted his leg again and headed for the inner courtyard.

After a few steps, a sudden angry shout came from outside the courtyard. It was Yang Zhou, along with others, shouting and cursing.

"Did they actually fight outside the courtyard?" Wei He paused, turned around, and walked out of the courtyard.

Some of the other disciples who were practicing also stopped and came out to see what was happening.

Huishan Boxing Academy was one of the most famous places in Shiqiao Town. Now, someone dared to cause trouble outside the academy?

On the street outside the courtyard.

Yang Zhou and a half-grown boy were fighting fiercely with several strong men.

On the ground lay a thin, bruised, and barely conscious youth.

The two strong men should have had the upper hand, but Yang Zhou and the other boy used various dirty tricks, making them flustered.

For a moment, the two sides were evenly matched.

At this moment, a few more men arrived on the street.

These men had the black mark of the Thieves' Gang on their bodies.

The leader's face turned cold, and he was about to roll up his sleeves and join the fight when he suddenly saw Wei He and a few other Huishan Boxing Academy disciples standing outside the courtyard.

His face changed slightly, and his companion quickly whispered a few words. It seemed they recognized Wei He.

"Since Brother Wei is here, sorry for disturbing you, we'll leave!"

Without another word, he bowed and led his two companions away.

Under the leader's guidance, the group quickly disappeared into the depths of the alley.

Wei He hadn't even said a word, and they had already run away.

He was slightly surprised, not expecting that he now had such a deterrent presence.

These Thieves' Gang members looked similar to the Chen Biao group, just idle ruffians hanging around. Sometimes they robbed, sometimes they worked as temporary laborers, and they would do anything for a benefit.

Now, they ran away just by seeing him?

Wei He suddenly felt a bit puzzled. When he hadn't yet become a disciple, he had been trembling with fear when he encountered Chen Biao and his group, carrying money.

Now, encountering Thieves' Gang members... he didn't even need to say a word to make them turn and run.

Unconsciously, he was no longer the weak person he used to be.

Wei He felt a sense of emotion.

At this moment, Yang Zhou rushed over, bowed deeply, and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Wei."

Wei He shook his head. "I didn't do anything, no need to thank me."

He turned and walked toward the courtyard gate, paused for a moment, and said, "Practice hard, and you won't be bullied anymore."

Yang Zhou's body trembled at these words, and she nodded heavily, bowing again before rushing to her brother's side, helping him up, and heading to the pharmacy.

At this moment, the Thieves' Gang members ran far away and stopped at a garbage pile, panting heavily.

"Boss... who was that person just now?" one of the men asked, still out of breath.

"The Huishan Boxing Academy just announced two days ago that a new core disciple, Wei He, had broken through to secondary qi-blood... secondary qi-blood..." the leader sighed.

"Don't think about it. Just know that he's a formidable person. Even if we all ambush him, we'd just be delivering ourselves to him." He had some insight.

Sighing, he slapped his subordinate's head.

"From now on, keep your eyes open. I'll teach you a lesson: you need to always keep an eye on the slightest movements in these martial arts courtyards. Otherwise, if a new powerful figure suddenly appears and you offend him, it could mean certain death."

"These days, a person's death is like a dog's, and no one will bury them." He took a deep breath and straightened his back.

"Let's go. Leave the Yang Zhou brothers alone for now and target other families."

The others looked at each other, not daring to speak, and followed him slowly away.

Peng!

Wei He punched Zheng Lao's forearm, not using full force, then turned and delivered an elbow strike, spinning to hit the opponent's forehead.

"This move has too much movement and too many flaws."

Zheng Lao lightly pushed, deflecting Wei He's attack.

His palm suddenly clenched into a fist and struck forward.

"Take this!"

Peng!

Wei He stumbled backward, another fist mark appearing on his shoulder.

Cough, cough...

He coughed a few times, looked up at Zheng Lao with admiration.

"Teacher is truly amazing!"

"What? Did you think I, an old man, would definitely be no match for you?" Zheng Fugui chuckled, "Let me tell you, you young ones are still too inexperienced!"

"You have some skills now, but do you know why you can't beat me, this old man?" Zheng Lao smiled.

"Disciple doesn't know." Wei He was also puzzled. Zheng Lao was not muscular, not tall, and didn't look heavy, but his strength was unusually great.

He could clearly feel that Zheng Lao was not using his full strength, and even with a casual strike, his power was much greater than his own.

"Xiao He, compared to others, you are a bit too reserved." Zheng Fugui said, "Go out more, interact with more people, and broaden your network. This will also help you gather more information."

"What do you mean, teacher?"

"Position." Zheng Fugui said calmly, "Now that you have some strength, do you know where you stand in Feiye City?"

Wei He was speechless. He had indeed not paid attention to these things.

"Disciple doesn't know." He answered honestly.