Colluding with Each Other [Requesting Recommendation Votes]

Chen Le tilted his head back, his pupils dilated slightly from intense fear, his face filled with pure, incomprehensible horror as he stared blankly at Su Yang, who had already withdrawn his gaze and returned to normal.

"what?"

Behind the long table, Instructor Yang Yunxing, who had been half-closing his eyes as if resting, suddenly opened his eyelids, his gaze sharp as lightning, and fixed precisely on the calm profile of the young medicine boy in blue robes in the center of the room.

Just a moment ago, he clearly felt that the boy was emanating an extremely subtle yet pure aura, carrying a wild and majestic power, like a lurking tiger suddenly opening its eyes. Although it did not roar, it made all beasts tremble!

That was no ordinary martial artist's restless energy; it was more like a sense of oppression from a superior, originating from the very source of life. It flashed by so quickly that one almost thought it was an illusion.

But Yang Yunxing knew that it was no illusion.

Su Yang, however, seemed completely unaffected. He slightly turned his body and calmly walked past Chen Le, who was slumped on the ground, seemingly oblivious. His steps were steady and even as he headed straight for the end of the line. Sunlight shone on his blue-green back, gentle and ordinary, as if the heart-stopping ripples just now were nothing more than a pebble thrown into a deep pool, leaving no trace in an instant.

"Brother Chen?! What...what happened to you?!"

Zhao Si rushed forward in a panic, frantically trying to help him up.

"What happened? Did Chen Le fall by himself?"

"It doesn't look like it..."

"Could it be... that she was paralyzed with fear after Su Yang glanced at her?!"

The servants around them then erupted in a commotion, their eyes scanning back and forth between the limp Chen Le and Su Yang, who was walking towards the back of the line.

"What nonsense!"

Zhao Si defended himself to the servants who were gossiping, and then dragged Chen Le to his feet, feeling the weight of the man pressing down on him, his hands and feet still trembling slightly.

He himself felt inexplicably uneasy.

"Um... I guess I woke up too fast this morning and my eyes are blurry..." Zhao Si shook his head, supporting Chen Le even more firmly, and said, "Brother Chen? Brother Chen, wake up! The ground is slippery, it's nothing serious!"

Chen Le was shaken by him, and his dazed pupils finally returned to normal, but the lingering shock on his face remained.

He kept his head down, not daring to look in Su Yang's direction.

Behind the long table.

Coach Yang Yunxing had already withdrawn his gaze from Su Yang and half-closed his eyes again, as if the incident had never happened.

However, his fingers unconsciously tapped lightly twice on the rough wooden table.

............

As dusk fell, twilight descended.

After Fei Jianhua finished dealing with a few miscellaneous tasks, he returned to his small but private courtyard, where he saw Chen Le walking in with his head down and unsteady steps. His face was still filled with fear, but also with resentment.

"Manager, that scoundrel Su Yang... humiliated me in public at the archery range today!"

He omitted the details of his own collapse, only emphasizing the result through gritted teeth: "Relying on Elder Zheng's influence, he was arrogant and domineering when he registered, he simply... he simply didn't take you seriously at all!"

Fei Jianhua lifted his eyelids and gave a nonchalant hum.

He naturally already knew about the wind during the day.

Seeing the steward respond, Chen Le quickly leaned forward, lowered his voice, and added a crucial sentence while his eyes darted around: "I also vaguely heard him mutter something about 'Once the guards are chosen, let's see who dares to cheat us'... Steward, this boy is vengeful and arrogant. If he really gains power, I'm afraid he might..."

Fei Jianhua's fingers, which were tapping the table, paused almost imperceptibly for a moment.

He raised his eyelids and looked at Chen Le, his eyes devoid of any emotion, only a bottomless murky depth.

"understood."

Three words: bland and uneventful.

Chen Le grew anxious: "Manager! That kid's acting all high and mighty now that he's in the medicinal cuisine room. Should we...?"

"Shut up." Fei Jianhua lifted his eyelids, his cloudy eyes showing no anger, only a bottomless coldness: "This place is personally overseen by Yang Yunxing, what can you do? Can you replace Shi Suo, or make the guards listen to you?"

Chen Le choked, his face turning pale.

Fei Jianhua leaned back, his thin fingers tapping lightly on the table. His voice softened, but became deeper: "However... you do have a use."

He stared at Chen Le and said, word by word, "During the selection process, make sure you see him clearly."

"Whether it's a dragon or a worm, solid iron or hollow, I want to know it all clearly."

"Only after you understand the details will you know where to strike... where the most painful part will be."

Chen Le shuddered; this time he understood.

The manager wasn't after the little tricks on stage; he wanted to thoroughly investigate Su Yang, inside and out.

"I understand!"

He bowed quickly, his voice strained.

"Go ahead." Fei Jianhua waved his hand, as if brushing away a speck of dust. "Observe more, talk less. Come see me after the selection is over."

After Chen Le left, the courtyard was completely plunged into darkness.

Fei Jianhua sat alone for a long time before taking out the worn-out booklet from the drawer. His fingertips brushed against the cold cover, but he didn't open it.

In the dim light, a faint, cold smile slowly curved his lips.

..........

"drink!"

"ha!"

At dawn, as the sun rose, the shouts of guards doing their morning exercises could be faintly heard from the direction of the Huang family's archery range. Even through the many courtyards, the sounds carried a fierce and valiant air.

Su Yang stood quietly in the small courtyard behind the medicinal cuisine room, slowly clenching his fist, feeling the immense power between his knuckles that seemed capable of crushing iron and stone, and the solid, mountain-like feeling emanating from deep within his muscles and bones. He felt very satisfied.

The transformation brought about by the Perfect Tiger Form Fist is revolutionary.

"If I were to face Coach Yang Yunxing in my current state... what would happen?"

With a slight thought, a clear contrast naturally emerged in his mind.

This is not arrogance, but an instinctive assessment of one's own strength after gaining control of power.

The so-called "muscles, bones, strength, and skills" are probably based on my body, which has been reshaped by the perfect boxing intent. The instinctive prediction and power exertion brought about by the Tiger Form Boxing's perfection are no less than any other skill.

But the difference lies on another level.

Yang Yunxing joined the army at a young age, and his experience in life-and-death battles was something he lacked.

More importantly—internal strength.

Master Zheng's "Tiger Form Fist" is an external martial art for building a solid foundation, but it lacks methods for cultivating internal energy. I am now like a piece of refined iron, incredibly hard. But Yang Yunxing, even though he has only practiced rudimentary internal skills, has already generated true energy within his body, as if he has begun the transformation from iron to steel.

The essence is different now.

Fists and kicks imbued with internal energy can damage the internal organs and meridians that one cannot currently defend against.

"If I were to fight him, I would surely be defeated in a prolonged battle, and might even be defeated in a single blow."

Su Yang exhaled slowly, the light in his eyes settling into a clear calm.

This is not a setback, but rather a clearer understanding of the path forward.

The perfect Tiger Form Fist is not the end point; it is the key that opened the door to martial arts for him; it is also the furnace that tempered and refined his body, forging it into a cauldron capable of bearing even greater power.

"The position of guard is just a stepping stone! The next step... must be mastering internal martial arts!"

At this moment, Su Yang's goal was clearer than ever before.