Time flew by like a white horse galloping through the rifts of time, and in the blink of an eye, another month had passed.

"Ling'er, I want to go out for a walk," said Chen Xuan to Ling'er, who was blocking the door.

"Young Master, Master said you shouldn't go out recently. It's still dangerous outside. He ordered that if you don't want to stay at home, you should go to the martial arts training ground and practice with the other family disciples," Ling'er said firmly.

"I understand. I'll go to the front yard training ground."

Passing through the corridors, Chen Xuan arrived at the training ground. From a distance, he could hear the shouts coming from inside, mixed with the clashing sounds of weapons.

Upon entering, Chen Xuan was amazed. "Wow." The entire training ground was almost as big as a football field from his previous life. Although Chen Xuan had memories of this training ground, experiencing it firsthand was still mentally shocking.

Chen Xuan saw many young people around his age swinging their fists in the training ground, some wielding weapons, displaying various martial skills, while others were lifting stone locks. Each of them was sweating profusely, full of energy and vitality.

At that moment, one of the teenagers looked up and saw Chen Xuan, shouting, "Xuan ge, you're here!" His shout caught everyone's attention, and they all stopped to greet him.

Then a seventeen or eighteen-year-old boy walked over and patted Chen Xuan on the shoulder.

"Brother, are you alright?"

The boy who spoke was Chen Xuan's second uncle's eldest son, Chen Lihao, three years older than Chen Xuan. Chen Xuan's father was obsessed with martial arts and married relatively late, which made Chen Xuan younger than children of the same age.

"I'm fine, Hao ge. My body has basically recovered completely," Chen Xuan replied.

"Good. You shouldn't go out for a while. Practice with us," Chen Lihao said cheerfully.

Then, one by one, the young people approached Chen Xuan, greeting him warmly. In his previous life, Chen Xuan had mostly been alone, with only a few drinking buddies. Seeing the family members showing so much concern for him, Chen Xuan's eyes became a little moist.

"Is this the cohesion of the family? This is family, this is brotherhood. In this life, I will protect this bond," Chen Xuan silently vowed.

"Are you practicing with us today?" asked a young man who was about the same age as Chen Xuan, patting him on the shoulder.

"Li-ge, I won't practice today. I'll come over in a few days to practice with everyone," Chen Xuan replied.

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Li-ge, whose full name was Chen Liangyu, was Chen Xuan's best friend, the kind of friend he had grown up with since childhood.

"You guys go ahead. I'll just watch," Chen Xuan said, heading towards the weapons rack.

Looking at the rows of weapons, Chen Xuan's heart couldn't calm down. In his previous life, it was the age of technology, and cold weapons had been eliminated. But Chen Xuan had always had a martial arts dream. Whenever he saw those heroes in his past life helping people, Chen Xuan's heart would surge with excitement.

He picked up a steel knife and waved it around. He could feel the sharpness of the blade. In his previous life, Chen Xuan had come into contact with some weapons, but they were all synthetic and not as heavy as the weapons here. The weapons here were forged through countless hammerings, much better in quality than those of his previous life.

Putting the steel knife back on the rack, Chen Xuan walked over to Chen Liangyu and said with a smile, "Liang-ge, your Big Compassionate Palm has improved a lot!"

"After you had the accident, the patriarch ordered us to practice for an extra hour every day. How could we not improve?" Chen Liangyu sat down, exhausted, and said to Chen Xuan with a wry smile.

"What rank are you now?" Chen Xuan asked again.

"Rank five."

"Not bad. You've improved by one rank in just over two months. You're quite a little genius."

Chen Xuan stayed at the training ground for the whole day before returning home.

By the time he returned from the training ground, it was already dusk. Chen Xuan knew that this world revered martial strength and followed the law of the jungle—only the fittest survived. Without strong martial power to protect oneself, one could only be at the mercy of others.

So, the family members were all practicing martial arts. Without strong martial strength, they could only live ordinary lives. The attack on him must be related to the other two major families.

"Young Master, dinner is ready!" Ling'er saw Chen Xuan coming back to the yard and quickly called out.

"I know. I'll be there soon."

After a simple wash-up, Chen Xuan arrived at the dining room, where his father and mother were waiting for him.

"Dad."

"Mom."

Chen Xuan greeted.

"Come, let's eat!" After his mother finished speaking, she quickly served Chen Xuan.

"I heard from Ling'er that you went to the training ground today," said Chen Xuan's father after sitting down.

"Yes, and I also heard that all the disciples are practicing for an extra hour because of me," Chen Xuan recounted today's events without hiding anything.

"In fact, this matter has little to do with you. It's just a trigger that exposes the issue. Don't overthink it. Let's eat quickly!" his father said.

"What issue has been exposed?" Chen Xuan asked.

"Let me tell you. Get prepared. The temporary crisis our family is facing. I heard that recently, the Wu family and the Li family have been getting together often. The patriarch suspects they are planning something against our Chen family. That's why he ordered all the disciples to practice more, just in case we're caught off guard," his father explained.

"Weren't the three major families in Hongling Town peaceful for years? Why would they suddenly want to deal with our Chen family?" Chen Xuan put down his chopsticks and asked.

"This matter started last year. Since last year, the mining output of the three families in Hongling Town has decreased significantly, and in another two years, they may become abandoned mines. But our Chen family has discovered a mine in the Western Mountains. To be prepared for the worst, who knows how this news leaked out, but now the Wu and Li families are also eyeing this mine. If the mine is really exhausted, the entire family's income will be halved. With such a large family, the expenses for martial artists, servants, and household staff are significant. Without this income, it will be difficult for the family to develop further and will eventually be swallowed up by other forces," Chen Xuan's father explained slowly.

"Father, are the patriarchs of the Wu and Li families also at the Spiritual Martial Realm?"

"Wu Hao and Li Yuan, the heads of the Wu and Li families, are both at the early stage of the Spiritual Martial Realm. Your grandfather is at the mid-stage of the Spiritual Martial Realm, so for now, they still fear us. But if one of them also breaks through to the mid-stage of the Spiritual Martial Realm, they will come for our Chen family," his father replied.

"If father breaks through to the Spiritual Martial Realm, can't he confront the two families?"

"It's easier said than done. With the Chen, Wu, and Li families combined, there are seven or eight of us in the mid-ninth grade. But how many can actually break through? I've been stuck at the mid-ninth grade for a whole decade," Chen Xuan's father sighed.

The difference between the Spiritual Martial Realm and the Ninth Stage was like the difference between heaven and earth. Crossing the sky was like turning from a fish into a dragon, leaping to the sky in one step.

"Father, what's the difference between the Spiritual Martial Realm and the Ninth Stage?"

"Let me give you an example. In the Ninth Stage, it's all about competing with techniques. Whoever has stronger true strength and higher martial skill levels has a greater chance of winning. But in the Spiritual Martial Realm, you can release your spiritual power externally. You can use weapons to release your spiritual power, harming people from a hundred steps away, hitting the bullseye from a hundred steps away, and killing all within a hundred steps with a single punch."

"Ninth stage martial artists can't even get close to Spiritual Martial Realm practitioners. How can they fight?"