Chapter 0029: The Final Step

In the evening, in the Hall of the Huo Family.

"Master!"

"It's you, Ah Kan. What is it?"

"Master, I wanted to talk to you about the matter of accepting disciples."

"Oh, Ah Kan, have you taken on a disciple?"

"No, no, it's not me. I meant the matter of you accepting disciples, Master!" Chen Zheng said, looking at Huo Yuanjia.

"What do you want to say?"

"I hope that in the future, Master will carefully assess the disciples before accepting them. Some of these people are not here to learn martial arts, Master. Accepting them will only tarnish the reputation of the Huo Family Fist!" Chen Zheng spoke frankly.

"Hmm, I understand!" Huo Yuanjia was a wise man, and he had already thought about this. However, those people came to him when he was excited, and in his moment of enthusiasm, he accepted them all.

But Huo Yuanjia had his own plan for these disciples. When they reached a certain level, he would send them out to roam the martial world, much like most of the disciples who had joined two years ago.

These disciples had learned a few techniques, and as long as they were clever, they could still make their way in the world. This would also help spread the fame of the Huo Family Fist, and every year they would offer some tribute to Huo Yuanjia, which could be considered an income.

In fact, Huo Yuanjia's assessment of disciples was strict. Take Chen Zheng as an example. After accepting him as a disciple, Huo Yuanjia carefully observed his talent and character for more than a year before deciding to formally teach him the Huo Family Fist. At first, Huo Yuanjia didn't teach him everything but gradually imparted the techniques after multiple assessments.

Even now, Huo Yuanjia had not taught Chen Zheng all the secrets of the Huo Family Fist. For example, the ultimate killing technique of the Huo Family Fist had not yet been revealed to him because Huo Yuanjia still needed to assess Chen Zheng further.

However, after his big victory, Huo Yuanjia had become a bit overconfident and ended up accepting so many disciples in one go.

Thinking of this, Huo Yuanjia sighed and said, "Hmm, what you say is right. I should have thought this through more carefully!"

"Master~!" Chen Zheng was a bit surprised. He had braced himself for a scolding, but Huo Yuanjia's reaction was unexpectedly different.

"Ah Kan, tell me, is Master not the number one in Tianjin now?" For some reason, when Huo Yuanjia said the last four words, his voice became passionate, and his eyes sparkled.

"Of course, you are the number one in Tianjin!"

"No, no, I'm still not the number one in Tianjin!" Huo Yuanjia suddenly shouted excitedly. "I'm still not the number one in Tianjin. There's someone I haven't defeated. Only after I defeat him can I truly be the number one in Tianjin!"

"Master, even if you take the title of number one in Tianjin, so what?" Chen Zheng asked, looking at Huo Yuanjia. "Even if Master is the greatest in the world, so what? Master, Zhuangzi once said, 'My life has boundaries, but knowledge has no boundaries. To seek infinity by means of the finite is dangerous.' Isn't martial arts like this, Master?"

Huo Yuanjia didn't answer Chen Zheng's question but instead looked into his eyes for a while. Although he didn't speak, Chen Zheng could see the determination in Huo Yuanjia's eyes. Indeed, Huo Yuanjia was obsessed with this goal.

"Do you know why you haven't broken through to dark strength yet?" Huo Yuanjia suddenly questioned.

"Please, Master, guide me!" Chen Zheng had been stuck at the peak of bright strength for two years, unable to find the breakthrough point. Moving from bright strength to dark strength required not only skill but also luck. Now, what Chen Zheng lacked was the right opportunity.

"Dark strength is different from bright strength. Bright strength requires learning various techniques, but to break into dark strength, you must understand the essence of each technique. The explosiveness of the 崩拳 (Beng Quan), the resilience of the 八卦掌 (Bagua Zhang), the subtlety of Tai Chi... Do you understand?" Huo Yuanjia stared at Chen Zheng.

"I understand, Master!" Chen Zheng now understood that he hadn't yet grasped the true essence of Huo Family Fist, which was why he hadn't broken through to dark strength. This also answered the question Chen Zheng had posed earlier.

"Hmm, think about it carefully," Huo Yuanjia said as he turned to leave.

"The essence of Huo Family Fist? Does the essence of Huo Family Fist really have such a murderous aura?" Chen Zheng muttered to himself in confusion. He couldn't quite understand. Huo Family Fist came from the battlefield, and Huo Yuanjia's current path didn't seem wrong, but Chen Zheng felt there was something amiss.

For the past two years, Chen Zheng had worked hard to break through to dark strength, even studying the Tang Sect's secret manual to find a way to break through, but it was all in vain.

However, not everything was a loss. Chen Zheng had truly experienced the effects of his increased talent. This time, he had gained a 100% increase in both martial arts talent and physical constitution. He had already noticed the physical benefits early on.

But talent, Chen Zheng hadn't fully realized it until now. The increase in talent made a huge difference. He had felt it when learning Huo Family Fist, where he picked things up a bit faster than Liu Zhensheng. But since Huo Yuanjia didn't teach too many techniques at once, Chen Zheng hadn't felt the full impact of his enhanced talent.

When he started learning the Tang Sect's hidden weapon techniques, however, Chen Zheng was shocked. No matter how complex the technique, he could grasp it in the shortest time.

At first, Chen Zheng thought this increase in talent was like a double experience booster in a game, but now he realized that this talent boost was much more powerful.

To put it simply, it was like the difference between someone with an IQ of 100 and someone with an IQ of 200 learning a science subject—the latter's efficiency would be far greater than just double!

This increase in talent made a huge difference, and for techniques, Chen Zheng's learning speed was exceptionally fast. He mastered the entire Tang Sect secret manual in just over a year.

If the Tang Sect people knew this, they would be terrified. The most talented person in Tang Sect history had taken twelve years to master these techniques, while Chen Zheng did it in just over a year. This was truly monstrous.

After speaking with Huo Yuanjia, Chen Zheng never brought up the topic of "Tianjin number one" again. However, Nong Jinsun came to find Huo Yuanjia one day, but Chen Zheng wasn't there. He heard that in the end, Nong Jinsun left in anger.

These past few days, Chen Zheng had been distracted. He felt like he was on the verge of breaking through to the essence of Huo Family Fist, but he was just missing that final push.

This feeling was extraordinary, as though Chen Zheng was completely out of sync with himself.

Huo Yuanjia noticed Chen Zheng's state, but this was something Chen Zheng had to overcome on his own.

That evening, Chen Zheng was about to find Huo Yuanjia again when he overheard a conversation between Huo Yuanjia and Uncle Fu, the family steward, in the hallway.

"Where are the savings? Bring them out," Huo Yuanjia said with a tired tone.

"Young master, the savings are all gone. The disciples you recently accepted have been racking up huge debts outside. The savings were all used up long ago!" Uncle Fu said, glancing at Huo Yuanjia, hesitating to continue. "Young master, if you continue accepting disciples like this… sigh!"

Uncle Fu let out a long sigh but said nothing more. Huo Yuanjia understood what he meant.

"Hmph, I really have taken in a bunch of great disciples," Huo Yuanjia said bitterly. "Uncle Fu, you may leave now. I'll think of a way!"

"Yes, young master."

As Chen Zheng watched Uncle Fu leave, he felt a sense of bitterness in his heart: "Huo Family Fist..."