Chapter Twenty: The Momentum of the Fist

That year, Hu Yu was fifty.

A major case had broken out in the commandery. The higher authorities directly dispatched personnel from the counties below, and he was among them.

This time, the targets included quite a few cultivators who had embarked upon the Profound Path of refining the spirit.

It was said that some among them had already reached the level where their souls could condense and briefly leave the body. One had even seized the body of a commandery constable.

Among the three mainstream cultivation methods of the Profound Realm, the lower Profound focused on refining qi and was the most common, the middle Profound on refining essence and was less so, while the upper Profound, refining the spirit, was the rarest of all.

During one of the raids, Hu Yu and several masters cornered the last demonic spirit refiner.

Among those masters were not a few adept at the middle Profound’s body refinement, their own vital energy emanating thick as wolf smoke, an effective counter to souls leaving the body.

Yet this demon cultivator, by some unknown method, remained unafraid of this vital energy.

From the very beginning, their intelligence had been flawed.

As the heavily wounded demon cultivator was about to escape, he brazenly threatened to slaughter the families of all those encircling him.

In that instant, a tidal wave of killing intent surged in Hu Yu’s heart, for he knew this demon truly had the will to follow through.

He had grown up relying only on his grandfather. After leaving his clan, his greatest fortune was becoming a bodyguard and apprenticing to his master, then marrying and having children, finally setting his life on a proper course.

Having lost his parents early, he cherished his own children all the more, determined to spare them the hardships he had endured.

He knew just how precious his loved ones were.

Now, someone threatened to destroy everything.

Hu Yu’s rage was beyond words; he swore not to rest until this demon was slain.

In his fury, his body partially transformed with bestial features, a kingly sigil emerging on his brow, his arms turning into crane’s wings.

Burning through his demonic blood and vital energy, his movement technique soared, and he charged alone at the enemy.

The other masters, some willing but powerless, others capable but unmotivated, could only watch as Hu Yu outpaced them, drawing ever farther away.

Half an hour later, the chief constable leading another raid finally arrived.

They had expected Hu Yu’s odds of survival to be slim, yet he returned exuding a fearsome aura, clutching the demon’s soul in one hand.

“How is this possible? Vital energy shouldn’t be able to restrain this demon.”

“If I’m not mistaken, that’s the power of Martial Will.”

In martial cultivation, those of peerless talent might, when nearing the peak of the Profound Realm, condense their own essence, qi, and spirit into Martial Will.

Hu Yu was innately gifted in boxing, though he’d lacked superior methods in his youth.

Even so, after decades of hardship, he finally forged his own Martial Will.

His Will was that of the Fist, harmonizing yin and yang, blending hardness with softness.

After this incident, the chief constable of the commandery intended to promote Hu Yu, wishing to transfer him to a post in the commandery capital.

But Hu Yu declined. Having comprehended his own Fist Will, he realized this was the path he wished to pursue in the latter half of his life.

Nevertheless, in recognition of his merits, his second son was granted entry to the commandery’s Confucian Academy to study the Way of the Sages.

Upon returning to the county, Hu Yu resigned his post as constable.

The people of the county, reluctant to see him go, came in droves to bid farewell, bearing many gifts, all of which he politely refused.

Now, at last, he could live according to his heart’s desire.

In the end, his eldest son succeeded him as the new county constable.

Hu Yu devoted himself to martial cultivation, spending his leisure with his wife.

The manual "Tiger and Crane Twin Forms" was revised and renamed "Tiger and Crane Twin-Form Fist," focusing on boxing and recording his insights into the Fist Will.

A year passed, and Hu Yu had already lived sixty years.

His blood-grandfather, the one who had claimed to be over ninety and was said to be dying, passed away two years prior.

Hu Yu brought his sons and grandsons, the entire family, to attend the funeral, mourning the old man in ritual attire.

It was said the old man had once partaken of some rare heavenly treasure, granting him a lifespan far beyond the norm, though the side effect was that his descendants would find it difficult to bear sons.

As for the talk of his imminent death, it had been a ruse to lure Hu Yu back.

In recent years, his second son also returned to the family lineage, changing his surname back to He. Hu Yu did not object.

His master, aged and frail, the hidden injuries from youth resurfacing, was brought home by Hu Yu to be cared for.

Hu Yu himself walked the path of middle dantian body refinement, his vital energy robust.

Having forged the Fist Will, integrating essence, qi, and spirit, his physical body had yet to show signs of aging.

But his wife was only a mortal, sickly and frail since childhood.

Watching her grow thinner each day, Hu Yu’s heart twisted with anxiety, yet he was powerless to help.

Over the years, she had taken countless medicines; ordinary remedies no longer worked.

Those rare elixirs suitable for mortals were all but impossible to obtain.

After much inquiry, Hu Yu finally heard of a supreme Profound-grade Healing Spirit Fruit.

The Healing Spirit Fruit could be taken by ordinary people; after consuming it, one would be free from all illness and, when their lifespan ended, pass away peacefully.

But the fruit was rumored to be located within the Pit of Evil.

The Pit of Evil was a place of grotesque horrors. Even cultivators who had surpassed the first grade of the Profound Realm might be twisted into monsters within.

It was more terrifying than the Demonic Abyss that Yi Xuan had once entered.

Of course, in Yi Xuan’s era, the Pit of Evil did not exist.

It seemed that, every few generations, this world would spawn new places of horror.

To go, or not to go? That was the question. If he went, he would most likely perish, but by now, Hu Yu had long since put life and death aside.

Yet his wife was clever; if he were gone too long, she would surely guess the truth and be consumed by grief.

But if he did not go and continued to watch her suffer, Hu Yu’s heart would bleed anew.

In the end, he made up his mind. After settling his affairs, he told his wife that he had been summoned to the commandery for official business.

To his master, children, and the He family, he said nothing of the truth, leaving behind only letters.

If he did not return, someone would deliver the letters to them.

For some reason, in those days, he often dreamed of his grandfather.

He recalled the past, remembered his grandfather teaching him the "Mountain Tiger Body-Tempering Chapter."

Back then, because his crane demon blood was too strong, Hu Yu would always complain that the method was flawed.

His grandfather would say it was a stopgap; when he grew up, there would be higher methods.

As a youth, Hu Yu boasted that when he found such profound methods, he’d teach them to his grandfather in turn.

His grandfather would laugh heartily and say he’d wait for those advanced techniques.

It was nearly his grandfather’s memorial day. Hu Yu gathered his offerings and set out to visit his clan and pay his respects.

In over forty years, he had rarely returned. This time, his heart was utterly clear.

With the forging of his Fist Will, his resolve was unshakable.

From afar, Hu Yu watched a tall woman and her large family pay respects to his grandfather’s grave.

He felt nothing. With the Fist Will established, old knots in his heart seemed as ephemeral as dreams.

As if sensing his gaze, the tall woman turned and looked at him.

Their eyes met. Seeing those pure black eyes, she was first puzzled, then seemed to recall something. Tears welled up and slowly slid down her cheeks.

Hu Yu smiled, then turned to leave.

After the woman departed, he knelt before the grave, producing the book "Tiger and Crane Twin-Form Fist."

“I intended to burn this for you, but after these decades together, I can’t bear to part with it. I’ll bury it here by your grave instead.

“Haha, but it’s only for you to peruse. If I survive, I’ll retrieve it and perfect this boxing art yet.”

He kowtowed several times, then left the family he’d once lived with for thirteen years.

Returning to the appointed place, he and five other cultivators set out to brave the Pit of Evil, seeking the supreme Healing Spirit Fruit—

All for his wife’s peace and safety.