Turned Away at the Door
The Tiger Martial Arts Academy stood in the center of Qingshan Town, occupying more than a dozen mu of land. Its imposing gates opened onto a large compound, and stone lions taller than a man stood on either side, looking exceptionally majestic.
From beyond the courtyard wall, the faint sounds of people shouting "hey" and "ha" as they practiced martial arts could be heard.
Qin Ming stepped forward and tapped the door knocker three times.
Three breaths later, the academy doors opened, and a gray-haired old man poked his head out.
"What do you want?"
"To become a disciple."
"Oh, did you bring ten taels of silver?"
"I did."
"Come in, then."
The old man pushed the door open and let Qin Ming inside.
"Follow me. I'll take you to see the academy master."
The old man shut the door and led the way.
Behind the gate was an ornamental rockery and fishpond. Beyond a section of covered walkway lay an enormous training ground.
On the grounds, bare-chested youths held horse stances, sweat pouring off them like rain as heat steamed from their bodies and white vapor curled around them. The senior brother instructing them held a long rod, and whenever he saw someone with improper form, he brought it straight down with a smack, leaving a long, bloody welt that quickly swelled.
The youths who were struck turned pale with pain, but could only grit their teeth, not daring to make a sound.
Under a large tree nearby, several youths who had just finished training sat in groups of twos and threes, resting.
"Oh, another newcomer! Looks like he's here to become a disciple too."
"Qin Ming? What's he doing here?"
One of the youths recognized Qin Ming and looked surprised.
"You know him?"
"His family has been slaughtering pigs for generations."
"A pig butcher?"
The others immediately lost interest, and looks of disgust involuntarily flickered across their faces.
In their deeply ingrained view, pig butchers belonged to the very bottom of society. Like those of debased status, they carried misfortune with them and were harbingers of calamity.
"Since when could a pig butcher enter our Tiger Martial Arts Academy? What bad luck! Who let him in?"
A striking young woman in a fitted martial outfit, her hair tied in a long ponytail, strode over. Her delicate brows knitted slightly, and she made no attempt to hide the disgust on her face.
"Senior Sister Lan, what brings you here?"
Everyone hurried to their feet.
The young woman was Huo Lan, the academy master Huo Zheng's youngest daughter. She had reached minor accomplishment in the Skin Refining Realm and had received the academy master's true teachings in the Tiger Fist, making her very strong.
"Tell me, was everything you just said true?"
Huo Lan's voice turned cold.
"It was."
Having received an affirmative answer, Huo Lan turned and strode after Qin Ming on her long legs, quickly catching up in the direction he had gone.
Meanwhile, Qin Ming had already been brought before Huo Zheng, master of the Tiger Martial Arts Academy.
Huo Zheng sat astride a tiger-skin-covered chair in a bold, commanding pose, his tiger eyes bright and piercing.
Qin Ming had only glanced at him when his eyes felt as though they had been pricked by needles, leaving him inwardly shocked.
If someone in the Flesh Refining Realm was this powerful, how terrifying must those in the Bone Refining Realm and Blood Refining Realm be?
Qin Ming grew even more determined to join a martial arts academy.
"How old are you?"
"Sixteen."
"Step forward!"
Huo Zheng reached out and felt the bones in Qin Ming's body, a hint of disappointment appearing in his eyes.
"Ninth-Grade Root Bone. Very ordinary, and you're rather old too. Still, you can give it a try. By the rules, if you haven't broken through to the Skin Refining Realm in two months, you must leave of your own accord."
"Thank you, Academy Master." Qin Ming bowed in thanks.
"Father, you can't take him in!"
Huo Lan strode inside.
"He slaughters pigs!"
"A pig butcher?"
Huo Zheng sprang to his feet, a flash of anger crossing his face.
This was utterly outrageous!
If word got out that his Tiger Martial Arts Academy had taken a pig butcher as a disciple, where would he put his old face?
Those who didn't know better would think he would even take in someone as lowly as a pig butcher for ten taels of silver!
"A pig butcher thinks he's worthy of entering the gates of my Tiger Martial Arts Academy? Someone, throw him out!"
At Huo Zheng's command, Qin Ming was seized and thrown straight out, and the ten taels of silver for his discipleship fee were slammed onto the ground.
"Not just anyone can enter my Tiger Martial Arts Academy whenever they please, much less a lowly pig butcher like you. Take your stinking silver and get lost!"
Huo Lan stood with her arms folded, her eyes full of contempt.
In her view, pig butchers were of debased status, just like brothel women, carrying a nauseating filth and ill fortune.
"If you dare come back, we'll break your legs!"
The other disciples of the Tiger Martial Arts Academy all glared at him.
Bang!
The academy doors slammed shut.
Qin Ming looked stunned and gave a wry laugh. He hadn't expected the status of a pig butcher to be so unwelcome that even a martial arts academy would refuse him.
In truth, he understood that his root bone was too poor.
With a Ninth-Grade Root Bone, he could barely cultivate, and without a fortuitous encounter, the Skin Refining Realm would be his limit in this lifetime. If he had a First-Grade Root Bone, the Tiger Martial Arts Academy would have been unwilling to turn him away even if he were a pig butcher.
"Looks like I can only try my luck at the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy. If that doesn't work, I'll have to take Embroiderer away from here first."
Qin Ming picked up the silver from the ground and left.
A quarter of an hour later, he stopped.
Before him stood a dilapidated compound. Its iron fence was covered in rust, weeds grew thick around the entrance, and a heavy layer of snow had accumulated. It looked as though no one had come by in a long time.
This was the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy.
Compared with the Tiger Martial Arts Academy, which occupied more than a dozen mu in the center of town, the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy, with its single courtyard on the edge of Qingshan Town, looked decidedly shabby.
If not for the four characters "Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy" carved into the broken wooden board hanging on the iron fence, Qin Ming would have thought he had come to the wrong place.
"Is anyone there?"
Qin Ming gave the iron fence a hard shake. It rattled violently before falling heavily to the ground with a bang, making a tremendous racket.
He looked down and saw a layer of powdered rust on his palm.
Qin Ming was speechless.
How long had it been since anyone came here?
Could the lame master of the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy have already left?
"Cough, cough."
Just then, a fit of violent coughing came from an old house nearby.
Before long, a gray-haired, stooped old man emerged, limping along with the aid of a cane.
"Who is it?"
The old man's face was covered in gray spots, and his voice was weak. He looked as though he had one foot in the grave and did not have long to live.
Qin Ming's heart sank.
Could this be the master of the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy?
"Sir, do you know where the master of the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy is?"
"Inside."
Qin Ming breathed a quiet sigh of relief.
It seemed this man was only the gatekeeper, not the academy master.
"Are you here to become a disciple?"
The old man looked Qin Ming up and down several times.
Though the old man looked sickly, he had a bearing unlike that of an ordinary person, one that instinctively stirred a trace of awe in Qin Ming.
Even the master of the Tiger Martial Arts Academy had not given him this particular feeling.
But the feeling vanished in an instant. When Qin Ming looked again, it had inexplicably disappeared.
"Yes."
Qin Ming nodded.
The Tiger Martial Arts Academy had turned him away, and he had no other choice at the moment. In any case, he had a panel; as long as he obtained an internal cultivation art, he would surely achieve something through relentless practice.
"Little Lu, come out and receive the newcomer."
"Did you bring the discipleship fee?"
"I did."
Qin Ming took ten taels of silver from inside his robe.
"You don't need that much. Eight taels will do."
The old man shook his head and left.
Soon, a sturdily built young man came striding over.
He was all smiles, and as soon as he saw Qin Ming, he came over to greet him.
"Hello, little brother. My name is Lu Liu. Welcome to the Eight Trigrams Martial Arts Academy. Now that you're here, we're all brothers of the same family. By the way, what's your name? What do you usually do? I'll help you register in a moment."
"Hello, Senior Brother Lu. My name is Qin Ming. I make my living slaughtering pigs."
"A... a pig butcher?"
Lu Liu's expression changed.