Why do I have so many masters?

At the base of Great Liang Mount in the village, Wang Anfeng's figure abruptly appeared in his house; his body was still entwined with a circle of heavy iron chains, causing the slightly worn wooden bed beneath him to emit an overwhelmed creaking sound. The Buddha beads on his wrist shimmered lightly as a piece of yellow paper appeared in the air and floated down to his chest.

Bang Scratch!

The wooden bed, which had been struggling to hold up, completely collapsed. The young man's body slammed onto the floor, his eyes opening from the pain only to fall back into a deep sleep almost instantly. Starlight spilled from the slightly open window, casting its glow on the young man's gradually reddening cheeks.

The Jade Rabbit sank in the west and the Golden Crow rose in the east; the cool starlight was replaced by the dawn, casting its light on Wang Anfeng's face. The young man's eyelids trembled slightly, and he slowly opened his eyes, feeling exhausted yet pervaded by an unprecedented clarity.

He stretched instinctively, yawning, but felt an overwhelming heaviness around him, the chains making a light clattering sound that startled him slightly.

It was not until his gaze fell on the dark chains wrapping his body that Wang Anfeng remembered the punishment he had endured. Due to getting up, the yellow paper on his chest fluttered down. Wang picked it up; the writing was gentle, likely his master's hand. His eyes swept over it, and he read aloud softly,

"You were given three times the usual dose of Qi-absorbing Pills. Even though your Inner Qi has been dispersed throughout your body, you still need to be diligent. The deeper your Inner Qi, the better the effect of Body Tempering, and the easier it will be for you, Anfeng. The chains cannot be removed; consider this part of your training.

Today, you must practice punches for three Hours and avoid laziness."

The writing paused here, a bit of ink staining the paper, before continuing.

"The tea was very good; I liked it very much."

A slight smile tugged at the corner of Wang Anfeng's mouth, his heart seemingly warmed by a sliver of sunlight, which made him feel slightly happy. He folded the paper, but noticed there seemed to be more writing on the back. He flipped it over, and before he could read the words, a sharp chill rushed towards him, making the hair on his skin stand on end.

Outside, the temperamental Green-Maned Horse neighed loudly in distress.

His heart pounded wildly in his chest for dozens of breaths before slowly calming down. Wang Anfeng swallowed, and the yellow paper had only three words on it, concise and to the point.

Go Cultivate!

"...Okay, okay, that's terrifying, Mr. Ying...scary."

Wang Anfeng swallowed again; the drowsiness from just waking up was instantly scared away. Suddenly, a light crack came from the wall behind him, scattering a fine dust. A gleam of beautiful dawn light shone from the crack onto the boy's stunned face.

Looking at the sudden appearance of the smooth crack on the wall, and recalling that it was just in line with his abdomen, Wang Anfeng shivered again, his complexion turning pale.

With such a warning, he dared not hesitate any longer. He did not even bother about the broken old bed beneath him, immediately getting up. First, he fed some prepared hay to the terrified Green-Maned Horse, then he went to rinse rice and prepare food.

His cultivation intensity had spiked the day before, and even though the Shaolin Elixirs were healing his hidden injuries, the energy consumption was real and full without any discount. He ate almost twice as much as he usually did on his way to Liuxu Villa.

Wang Anfeng stared at the rice container, now two-tenths emptier, and patted his stomach, which was only seventy percent full. After a moment of silence, he abandoned the idea of practicing punches in the courtyard he originally planned. For the sake of survival, even though his master hadn't asked, he was prepared to go up the mountain as always to practice punches and chop wood.

But today was different from before; he could not summon his Inner Strength, and his body still bore these heavy bonds.

The sky brightened slightly, and from the small wooden house came the young man's desperate sigh.

The appetite has increased again...

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

Recently, Great Liang Village has been really strange, yet bustling.

First, a scholarly family moved in, each member handsome as if painted, even the little child beautifully sculpted, making the village children pale in comparison. Daily, the sound of the zither was faint and the scent of tea clear, giving this remote small village a flair of scholarly essence, making the villagers hold their heads a bit higher when talking to people from other villages.

Then, the orphaned Wang Anfeng returned riding a tall, spirited horse, which, albeit fiery in temper, was endearingly well-behaved around Wang.

And today, the already noteworthy Wang Anfeng, burdened with chains like a punished criminal, walked slowly up the mountain.

The Innkeeper, dressed in vigorous attire, had just finished practicing a fierce set of punches. Even in the cool autumn, he was sweating profusely, lifting his clothes to fan himself while gulping down cold tea from last night. As the tea went down, he felt extremely refreshed. Just then, he saw a familiar figure walking past the door of his house.

His glance was initially casual, but then he stiffened slightly, whirling around to look again. He was just about to swallow a sip of cold tea when it choked him, causing a violent cough.

"Wang, Wang Anfeng?!"

The passing young man looked slightly startled, turned his head, and saw the innkeeper, who looked as if he'd seen a ghost. He turned around, raised his hand in greeting, and said with a smile,

"Good morning, Uncle Innkeeper."

He raised his right arm, the entangled chains naturally swinging and lashing at the old tree by the door, knocking down a pile of yellow leaves. The Innkeeper swallowed, saying,

"Morning... good morning..."

"Are you making breakfast at home? Would you like to come in and have some?"

As he spoke, his eyes uncontrollably drifted toward the intimidating dark chains on Wang Anfeng's body. The young man smiled and shook his head, "No, I have already eaten."

"I still need to go up the mountain to chop wood, so I'll not chat with you for now, innkeeper."

The innkeeper nodded, then watched as the young man turned and slowly walked away. A part of the chains entangled around his legs dangled onto the ground, quietly clinking and scraping two noticeable marks on the surface.

Only when the sound of the chains had faded away did the innkeeper put down the teapot in his hand, took three steps as if they were two, and rushed out the door. He first touched a white scrape on the old tree bark and then looked at the marks made by the chains on the ground. Back when he roamed Jianghu, his discernment was sharp.

He immediately judged that the chains on the young man weighed no less than two hundred kilos, which made him gasp in shock.

"This child... what kind of master has he found..."

"In Jianghu, only those boxers and strongmen from Heavenly Dragon Institute are known to endure such physical conditioning. Could it be that Anfeng has been accepted into Heavenly Dragon Institute?

No, that can't be right, the Institute is strict about recruiting disciples, and once selected, they would return with the master to Heavenly Dragon Mountain to cultivate with fellow disciples, and he wouldn't still be in our Great Liang Village."

"However, to possess such a physique and method of cultivation, even if he hasn't climbed the ranks of Heavenly Dragon Institute, he must still be from an extraordinary background. Anfeng, what good fortune..."

"No, it should be said that finally a passing expert who isn't blind has spotted this piece of fine jade."

The innkeeper was quite emotional. From the backyard came the whooshing sound of swinging stone locks for body tempering, and his son's dull shouts. Turning around, he saw his son dressed in a short jacket, catching the stone lock in mid-air. His muscles bulged as he moved, creating a strong wind with his punches and kicks, making anyone who saw him praise, "What a robust young man!"

Initially, he had been quite pleased that his son could temper his body with a three hundred and fifty-kilogram stone lock, believing that he would stand his ground in the future and lead a comfortable life.

But now, looking down at the marks made by the chains, and remembering the young man's complexion, pale yet firm as a mountain, and re-listening to his son's shouts beside him, he felt they sounded more and more contrived, more and more grating. His expression darkened. He strode into the yard, and as the young man looked up to speak, he received a fierce scolding:

"Stop yelling! Yell yell yell, are you calling springs or what? I told you to train in martial arts, not your voice. Look at Wang Anfeng, how much better is he? Still training with a three hundred-kilogram stone lock at his age, not embarrassed in the least. Tomorrow, I'm getting you a five hundred-kilogram one, to properly train!"

Five hundred kilograms?!

The smile on the young man's face instantly stiffened.

Behind Great Liang Village, Liang Mountain was just a small peak at the edge of a mountain range. It wasn't particularly dangerous, so Wang Anfeng frequented this area a lot in his youth, but this time he had never felt the mountain's height so acutely. It took him about an hour to reach the usual logging area.

After catching his breath, he positioned himself into a horse stance, his left hand shaped like a tiger's claw guarding his waist, and his right hand clenched into a fist. With a momentum as heavy as a mountain, he gathered his strength and after a breath, heavily smashed it against the old tree's bark.

Clatter!

With one punch, the iron chains clanged, the old tree shook violently, and in the next instant, Wang Anfeng's left fist turned into a chopping knife. Simultaneously, his body sharply turned to the right, his right elbow bending, and without any courtesy, smashed onto the tree.

The Shaolin Changquan's thirty-two stances, now devoid of inner strength, relied solely on muscular force due to the restraining chains; each movement seemed like a battle against himself, demanding the use of full muscular strength to prevent the actions from deforming into something fearsome.

Hence, in just a short time, Wang Anfeng already felt a severe muscle soreness. Breathing lightly, he noticed that the swelling pain of inner strength filling his muscles had dissipated quite a bit. Frowning slightly, he took out a porcelain bottle from his bosom, tilted his head back to swallow a Qi-absorbing Pill, and after meditating for a moment, his inner strength refilled his body.

Then he stood up again, shouted clearly, and swung his fist towards the tree.

The iron chains clinked, and the sound of the fist colliding with the tree trunk grew even more substantial.

Not far from there, a group of middle-aged men were chopping wood, the leader of whom had slightly graying temples. Hearing the thunderous noise, his expression changed slightly. He signaled to the men behind him to stop their work and, after listening for a moment, his expression became even more solemn and he lowered his voice:

"Let's go, we're heading down the mountain today, no more chopping."

A burly man frowned:

"What's the matter, Boss? We haven't chopped many trees today, and we're going back now? We won't even get enough for a few drinks and meals..."

Boss glanced at him sideways, cracked a smile:

"With that noise, I reckon it's a blind bear hitting the trees."

"Drinks and meals?! I think you are looking to become its meal. Move, move, let's take a shortcut back to the village. As winter approaches, blind bears become more active. Except for giving birth, these days are their fiercest. If we encounter one, it spells death.

It'll be much better once it gets colder."

Reminded of the blind bears just before winter, everyone genuinely shuddered and, without further talk, followed Boss down a smaller path quickly descending the mountain.