Promotion to Three Stripes

Not long after Liu Yue left, Gao Yuan, who also worked in the manor, came upon hearing the news, intending to offer one tael of silver as a congratulatory gift.

Seeing the faint joy between his brows and the deep, steady rhythm of his breathing, Xu Yuan could not help asking, "You broke through to the Second Meridian?"

"Yesterday, I had a sudden realization and luckily broke through. Naturally, I can't compare to Brother Xu's rapid progress." Gao Yuan smiled, feeling somewhat pleased with himself.

His aptitude had always been decent, his family circumstances were fairly good, and he was reasonably diligent. Breaking through to the Second Meridian was nothing unusual.

Xu Yuan did not accept the tael of silver. He merely smiled and said, "Then congratulations."

Gao Yuan sighed inwardly when he saw this. He knew the other party did not wish to deepen their relationship, and could only regret not having seized this friendship back then. After thinking it over, he still tried to salvage it.

"My family is doing fairly well. If Brother Xu ever needs anything, just speak up."

"Thank you, but I have enough for now." Xu Yuan's expression remained unchanged, though there was distance in his smile.

Not to mention that he was not short of money now—even if he were, he would borrow from Feng Xiao, Zhao Qiusheng, and the others. Why go far afield when help was close at hand?

"That's good." Gao Yuan nodded, bitterness welling in his heart. They had at least once shared a room, yet he had failed to hold on to that connection.

Seeing his reaction, Xu Yuan pondered briefly before continuing, "At the beginning of next month, Chen Sanli and Tian Yang will come here to gather with me. If you have time, you may as well join us."

Gao Yuan conducted himself properly enough, and now that he had broken through to the Second Meridian, he had some value as an acquaintance. There was no harm in bringing him into their small circle.

"Really?" Gao Yuan abruptly raised his head. How could he fail to understand what those words meant? Xu Yuan was willing to accept him!

Though he would not be as close as Chen Sanli, Tian Yang, and the others, at least this thread of goodwill would remain. He cupped his hands and said, "I'll be free, Brother Xu. I'll definitely come at the beginning of next month."

After Gao Yuan left, the day was nearly at its end as well.

Xu Yuan returned to his residence and carefully counted the congratulatory gifts. Together, they came to over twenty taels, a sizable unexpected windfall.

"With this, I have more than one hundred forty taels on hand—enough to last until the Fourth Meridian."

Xu Yuan happily counted his money, confidently planning out his future path.

Elsewhere.

In the side courtyard.

Li Hua met Ye Qing'er, whom she had not seen for a long time. Ye Qing'er happened to be on her monthly leave that day and had returned to chat with her sisters. Her words were full of the complicated rules and sights of the inner courtyard.

Though she sounded as if she were complaining, there was a faint sense of superiority and satisfaction at being part of it.

Seeing her surrounded by the others, Li Hua felt a sourness rise in her heart for no reason. She suddenly brought up Xu Yuan's breakthrough to the Third Meridian while watching Ye Qing'er's reaction.

"Martial Master Xu... broke through to the Third Meridian?"

After hearing this, Ye Qing'er was stunned for a long while, an indescribably complicated expression flickering across her face.

Li Hua saw it all and knew her guess had been correct.

Only after the others had left did she earnestly admonish her. "Sister Qing'er, you did not handle this matter very thoughtfully. If you had feelings for Martial Master Xu, why did you go to the inner courtyard to take the selection?"

"The inner courtyard may seem glamorous, but only the drinker knows whether the water is warm or cold. The hardships within may not be any fewer than outside."

Hearing this "well-meaning" lecture, Ye Qing'er glanced at her without replying.

In truth, she had felt it too.

Third-rank maids in the inner courtyard seemed to stand on equal footing with three-stripe martial artists, but whether in status, earning power, or future prospects, they were far inferior to the latter. They merely looked good on the surface.

Above third-rank maids were senior maids and steward maids, and advancement depended on winning the favor of important people. Such subjective choices were naturally filled with social maneuvering and scheming against one another.

As time went on, it became utterly exhausting and draining.

But now that the wood had become a boat, it was too late for her to turn back.

After speaking, Li Hua added with disappointment, "Even if you intended to leave, you should have said something to him first. That way, whether by sentiment or reason, there would still have been room to turn things around."

"I previously..." Ye Qing'er's breathing caught, and she swallowed the words that had reached her lips.

Back then, she had not told Xu Yuan and had gone directly to the inner courtyard selection. First, she feared that if Xu Yuan knew, he would strongly try to stop her.

Second, though she thought his talent was good, what if something went wrong and he became stuck at the Second Meridian?

She had to find herself a way out.

If she failed the selection, everything would remain as before. If she luckily passed, she could reject him openly on the grounds that they were unsuitable, and from then on they would drift farther and farther apart, never crossing paths again.

Who could have known that he would break through so quickly?

"Forget it, Sister Hua. What's done is done; spilled water cannot be gathered again. I'll take it one step at a time." Ye Qing'er shook her head and replied.

She did indeed feel some regret, but on second thought, as a third-rank maid, she now enjoyed many more benefits and greater respectability than before. Those were tangible things.

Besides, she had also learned that the path from the Third Meridian to the Fourth Meridian was a hurdle. Who knew how many geniuses had been stuck there, unable to advance another inch for their entire lives?

Perhaps Xu Yuan would fall silent because of that.

Ye Qing'er pressed her lips together, her eyes wavering. Her choice might not have been wrong after all. Only the one who endured to the end would be the winner.

Though Xu Yuan had broken through to the Third Meridian, he still had to wait until the beginning of next month to register for promotion to a Three-stripe Household Guard.

Thus, he did not remain in that high-spirited state for long. He continued teaching martial arts and training himself without neglecting either.

Moreover, now that he had silver, he did not need to worry about cultivation resources for the time being.

As a result, he became even more free of distractions. His daily routine was regular, and his progress steady.

In the blink of an eye, several days passed.

The first day of the second month arrived.

Inside a quiet room at the training ground.

[Skill: Tai Chi Exercise (Mastery 14%) Stone Platform Stance Practice (Mastery 7%) Thunderclap Fist (Minor Accomplishment 40%)]

[Attribute: 15 (Exceptional Bones)]

Xu Yuan opened the System Panel and looked at the data above, drawing in a soft breath.

Five days earlier, the Tai Chi Exercise had already reached the Mastery realm, while his attribute had also increased to 15 points.

There was no need to mention the corresponding improvements. With every additional point of attribute, he could feel his comprehension grow stronger by another fraction.

Reflected in his stance practice, the crucial points he once needed to ponder over could now be solved in an instant. His cultivation rhythm became increasingly smooth and natural.

However, the accumulation of qi and blood required for the Belt Meridian also grew more abundant, and would therefore consume quite a bit of time.

The next morning.

Xu Yuan successfully passed the Heavenly Net Mirror's test and was promoted to a Three-stripe Household Guard. His monthly base pay became five taels, he received a new waist token, and he began enjoying three-stripe benefits.

For clothing, he received three sets of straight-collared blue garments woven from fine combed cotton. For food, he could purchase five jin of Precious Meat at the First Transformation realm each month. For housing, depending on where his assigned duty lay, it would also be much roomier than when he was at the Second Meridian.

It could only be said that after advancing a realm, the changes touched every aspect of life.

As for his duties... Xu Yuan had been somewhat unlucky last month. Only Li Shun and one other person had successfully broken through.

Fortunately, the Laborers in the rear courtyard had performed quite well, producing three official martial artists. Together, the two sides brought him two taels and five mace in performance earnings.

Adding the one tael withheld from last month, Xu Yuan could receive a total of eight taels and five mace of silver this month—enough for an ordinary family of three outside to live on for two or three years.

Next came choosing this month's assignment. Having reached the Third Meridian, the assignments available to him naturally offered better treatment.

However, Xu Yuan found the martial instructor's job quite comfortable: stable, with few tasks and decent pay.

So he once again chose the position of instructional martial instructor at the group training academy, which was the work Chen Ze usually did.

The work itself was more or less the same. Besides the base salary, he would receive five mace for every martial artist he guided into the entry level of a fist technique or helped advance in cultivation. If both were achieved, there would be an additional reward of two taels of silver.

I'm so suited to being a teacher. In my previous life, I should have gone to a teachers' college!

Xu Yuan inwardly laughed at himself, though he was only saying it casually.

Schools were not like the Shangyang Family. Low pay and lots of work were the norm, and if he encountered two students who went downstairs without taking the stairs, that would truly be fatal.

Shaking his head with a smile, he took his assignment slip and registered at Zhao Qiusheng's window.

When Zhao Qiusheng saw the assignment he had chosen, he could only laugh helplessly.

For an ordinary person, after breaking through to the Third Meridian, they would generally choose to go to the medicinal fields or the Level Three areas. Though those places carried some risk, the extra income was considerable.

After all, once someone became a Third Meridian martial artist, they would be a squad leader in those places, managing five or six people. There was plenty of profit to be skimmed from things like Precious Meat and shops.

Yet Xu Yuan, for some reason—whether he was cautious, afraid of death... or truly simply enjoyed being a teacher—still chose to remain within the Shangyang Family estate.

After registering, Xu Yuan changed his waist token. Just as he was holding his three sets of clothing and about to walk out of the Personnel Hall, he ran into Wang Huan.

Wang Huan's face was pale, and his left hand trembled slightly. He had clearly suffered no minor injury.

Still, this was no surprise. Ever since Wang Huan had seen blood and collected several heads, he had firmly believed that tempering himself through life-and-death struggles would allow him to improve.

As a result, he had stumbled just a few days ago. He was ambushed on the road and injured his arm.

Wang Huan saw Xu Yuan as well. Then his gaze instantly fell upon the clothes and waist token in Xu Yuan's hands.

He froze at once. Though he already had the answer in his heart, he still refused to believe it, asking in a hoarse voice:

"Xu Yuan, whose clothes did you borrow? You can't just wear that color however you please!"