One Step to Heaven

Xu Yuan's side had remained fairly peaceful.

But Li Daqiang of the Wild Wolf Gang had been in a rather foul mood lately.

"Brother Qiang, the gang leader sent someone to ask again. Why has the matter with the Xu family dragged on for so long?" one of his subordinates reported in a low voice.

Li Daqiang frowned, his mind in turmoil. He turned to the lackey Xu Yuan had knocked down before. "What did your nephew say?"

After returning, he had looked into it thoroughly. The Shangyang Family had the Laborers practice martial arts merely to cast a wide net; catching even a few fish fry would count as profit, and it cost them nothing.

However, if they failed to break through to become a one-vein martial artist within two months, they would still be lowly Laborers. No one would bother asking after them.

When the time came, he would grease a few palms, and everything above and below would be neatly arranged.

"I found out."

The thug was built like a bear, with a long scar across his forehead. He hurriedly stepped forward and said in a deep voice:

"The Shangyang Family's Laborers have been practicing martial arts for over a month now. The poor-quality ones have long since been screened out... According to my nephew, that Xu Yuan still hasn't even found the Essence of Qi and Blood."

"So that brat was just borrowing a tiger's hide to flaunt his power. Let's see how I crush you to death later!"

Li Daqiang raised his brows and gave two cold laughs. Back when he had followed the gang leader, he had learned a little about martial training.

He knew about stance practice and tempering one's qi and blood.

Moreover, the gang leader had specifically said that the Martial Path demanded great talent. Out of ten people, having one or two become martial artists was already considered plenty.

Xu Yuan had trained for over a month without finding his qi and blood. He was clearly someone of mediocre talent.

What did he have to fear, then?

"But there's no rush."

Li Daqiang shook his head. To be safe, he intended to make his move only at the end of the month.

Thinking this, he instructed one of his lackeys, "Tell the gang leader there was a small hitch. It'll be resolved soon."

After speaking, a glint of coldness flashed through Li Daqiang's eyes.

Since he had already offended the Xu family, he had to pull out the weeds by the roots, lest Xu Yuan crawl back up from somewhere again!

That was the way he had survived and established himself in the dangerous outer city until now!

"Once I finish this matter, my position as hall master should be secure."

At that thought, his mood improved somewhat.

Shangyang Family.

At dusk, after all the martial instructors had rested,

Xu Yuan and the other man finished training and returned to their dormitory.

Liu Hong was indeed asking everyone about their progress again. Most merely shook their heads, saying they had made no progress at all.

Ever since that conflict last time, Liu Hong had stopped asking about them. Still, he continued to question the others in the dormitory as usual.

After making the rounds, Liu Hong looked much more relaxed, as though his heart had found some balance.

Yet there was one oddity.

Tian Yang kept glancing toward Liu Hong, seemingly long impatient to "report" his progress. The moment Liu Hong came over, he immediately said:

"As for me, these past few days, I tempered my qi and blood to saturation. By sheer coincidence, I've already reached the bottleneck... What did it feel like? Nothing much, really. I just kept training, and suddenly I reached this stage."

"..."

Liu Hong stared wide-eyed, feeling as though his heart had stopped for an instant.

Everyone else in the dormitory wore equally speechless expressions.

Damn it, you actually got to show off again, huh!

Xu Yuan looked at Liu Hong's expression, as though he had eaten shit. Though Liu Hong was clearly jealous, he still had to put on a congratulatory face. Xu Yuan secretly shook his head. What was the point?

Every day, comparing answers only brought oneself misery either way. Whether others were doing well or poorly, it was not as if it would change anything for you.

After all, martial training depended most on talent and accumulation.

If someone else suddenly erupted at a certain moment, only to leave you unsettled and helpless, it would merely add to your frustration.

The next day.

Because news spread that Wang Huan and Sun Rong had reached the bottleneck,

the Laborers, who had relaxed somewhat, tensed up again. The morning hours no longer felt sufficient, so they slipped stance practice into the gaps between their work.

For this, Fatty Wang and the others caught several examples and beat and cursed them before everyone else. Only then did it gradually die down.

Meanwhile, some Laborers who still had not found the Essence of Qi and Blood lost heart one after another.

From then on, they no longer practiced their stances and returned to their former routines, honestly doing the work of serving others.

And Li Shan finally got his wish that day. His qi and blood had reached saturation, and he had touched the bottleneck. Overjoyed, he even paid to treat Xu Yuan and the other man to a hearty meal of meat and vegetables.

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Time flew by, and several more days passed. It was now the fortieth day since the Laborers had begun martial training.

That morning, after Feng Xiao led everyone through several rounds of stance practice, Wang Huan suddenly looked delighted and quickly raised his hand, saying he had broken through.

Amid the uproar of the Laborers, Feng Xiao had him circulate his qi and blood to his palm, then press lightly against a wooden board, leaving behind a clearly visible palm print!

"You became a martial artist in exactly forty days. Very good!"

Feng Xiao was exceedingly pleased. No matter how great the difference in aptitude might have been said to be before, if one had not crossed the bottleneck, it did not count for anything.

Though this man could not be called a shining pearl, he could still be considered part of the Lineage's lower-to-middle-tier strength.

More importantly, this meant one additional achievement for the month, allowing him to buy several more portions of medicinal broth.

In his delight, he even personally led Wang Huan out of the dormitory and into another courtyard.

Xu Yuan remembered that courtyard. It was also a place the Laborers were responsible for sweeping and cleaning.

Who would have thought that now, their statuses had been exchanged?

"Wang Huan has leapt in one bound to become a man above men!"

The Laborers who had shared Wang Huan's dormitory could not help but sigh with endless emotion.

He would not have people waiting on him like a martial instructor did, but his future was still boundless. At the very least, he would no longer need to handle all sorts of menial chores.

As for those who had given up martial training, their eyes were red with envy. They wished they could rush forward at once and snatch that position for themselves!

"Alright. With Wang Huan as an example before you, I believe you can all improve as well."

After Feng Xiao returned and offered everyone a few words of encouragement, he left with his hands clasped behind his back.

Then, on the sixth day afterward, Sun Rong actually overtook them on the curve, breaking through the bottleneck again and becoming an official martial artist.

This greatly exceeded everyone's expectations.

After all, everyone had believed Tian Yang would be the second person to break through and become a martial artist.

Within the crowd, Tian Yang's face turned ugly. He clearly had not expected someone to get there before him.

Xu Yuan looked at him, his heart clear as a bright mirror.

Whenever Tian Yang made the slightest progress, he loudly proclaimed it. After reaching the bottleneck so early, he had grown lax amid his roommates' repeated praise.

He spent no small amount of time each day bragging and shooting the breeze, so naturally his stance practice progressed slowly.

Feng Xiao was happy to see this happen as well. To him, every additional breakthrough meant another half tael of silver!

And perhaps it might even draw the attention of the higher-ups.

Feng Xiao knew that among the many Laborer instructors in the outer courtyards, his pace ranked among the best. His teaching standards could be called excellent.

This time, however, he did not go to see Sun Rong off.

Once attention became too plentiful, it lost its value.

Thus, Xu Yuan and Li Shan, who were acquainted with her, volunteered to escort her instead.

Feng Xiao naturally had no objection.

After Sun Rong packed her belongings and came over, she strolled away amid the envious gazes of the servant girls without offering so much as a greeting.

Soon, the group left the rear courtyard together and arrived at a broad, bright courtyard.

Bright bluestone slabs covered the entire yard, while the surrounding walls had been coated in smooth, pristine white lime.

Apart from the spacious training grounds, several lush emerald pines had been planted along both sides.

The air was fresh, and the scenery was orderly.

Simply looking at it was enough to brighten one's mood.

Though Xu Yuan and Li Shan had already come here several times, they still could not help sighing each time over the difference between this place and the Laborers' dormitory.

Li Shan looked around and said with a face full of envy:

"What a wonderful place. Even some of the masters outside probably don't live anywhere better than this, right?"

"It's not that exaggerated. The masters' surroundings must surely be more imposing. This is only a dormitory." Though Sun Rong said so, she could not hide the surprise and delight on her face.

She had lived in utter poverty since childhood and had never even eaten a candied hawthorn skewer. How could she ever have imagined that one day, she would live in such an elegant residence?

As Sun Rong sighed with emotion, she saw Li Shan preparing to walk farther inside. She hurriedly grabbed him and bid the two farewell.

"Alright, Brother Li, Brother Xu, let's leave it here for today. After all, this is where the martial artists live."

As she spoke the last words, she pointed inside, indicating that it would be easy to violate some taboo.

Li Shan froze for a moment, then understood. "Oh, oh, I hadn't considered that. Fine! We'll head back first, then. If anything comes up, give us a shout."

Xu Yuan quietly watched Sun Rong. She still wore a smile across her face, but he could taste a faint, almost imperceptible distance within it.

"Mm. You two brothers must work hard as well!"

Sun Rong raised her fist in encouragement. Only after the two of them slowly walked away did she let her smile fade, carrying her bundle as she entered the corridor alone.

Ahead of her seemed to lie magnificent sights, waiting for someone to take them all in.

If you think this book is good, remember to add it to your bookshelf so you won't lose it next time.