Disciple Faction

During his recovery, he couldn't train, so his experience points stopped growing. Apart from the 100 points from completing the trial, there was no other income.

However, half of the Mountain Lord Life-Replacing Pill brought an unexpected surprise.

Not only did it sweep away the phantom evil energy that had invaded his body, but it also increased his attack by 5 points.

It's just...

Like the Tiger Subduing Fist, the Mountain Lord Life-Replacing Pill's effects focused on strength and defense.

Strength and defense increased by 2 points, but speed only increased by 1 point.

Zhou You felt a bit obsessive-compulsive. He spent 10 experience points to raise his speed to 22, bringing it in line with the others.

"Attribute increases are essentially forcing growth; they must be matched with corresponding internal force circulation methods and proficiency."

"Next, I need to diligently practice the Tiger Subduing Fist and raise its level through my own efforts."

Zhou You's injuries were almost healed. As soon as he could get out of bed, he had to move.

That's right, he was now a formal apprentice and could no longer stay in the collective dormitory for new students.

Although formal apprentices were still in the outer court, they were not in this area. They had their own living quarters.

New students and formal apprentices didn't usually cross paths in their daily activities and rarely saw each other.

For example, Li Hao, who had broken through earlier, hadn't been seen much by the new students since he transferred and moved out.

"It's you?"

Zhou You hadn't expected that the formal apprentice sent to help him move would be Li Hao.

Li Hao was also a bit surprised. He had underestimated Zhou You. This young man from the city had silently cultivated Internal Force.

He also felt a bit fortunate that he hadn't listened to Zhang Shu's instigation to make trouble for Zhou You back then.

Otherwise, he would have created a powerful enemy by now.

"That's right, Senior Brother Shen sent me over to help."

Li Hao was concise, his words clearly indicating his backing.

Zhou You was a little surprised that Li Hao knew Shen Sijing. It seemed the relationships within the martial arts school were also very complex.

In fact, Li Hao's presence was more about lending support and prestige.

Zhou You was now a formal apprentice. He didn't have to do anything himself; a shout would bring several strong new student apprentices to help.

These people were not familiar with Zhou You, and some had even kept their distance due to Zhang Shu's rumors.

However, they were now exceptionally enthusiastic...

"Senior Brother Zhou, you just recovered from your injuries. I'll handle this menial work."

A student who looked older than his years snatched the light clothing bundles from Zhou You's hands.

The other apprentices were not to be outdone, working quickly and packing everything up in moments.

Zhou You kept his truly valuable possessions on his person, so he wasn't worried about others seeing them.

"Is there anything else?"

Li Hao asked.

Zhou You instinctively looked around, his gaze falling on Fang Guiqi's bed.

While he was recovering, some students had been ordered to search the place and pack up Fang Guiqi's belongings.

The students doing the work were very dissatisfied, complaining that this monster was a pauper and didn't know how to save wealth like others.

These clean-up tasks usually had some oil and water to be skimmed, but they hadn't expected it to be so clean, not even a single silver particle found.

Who would have thought Zhou You was so ruthless? During his recovery, he had crawled to the bedside and taken away the valuables beforehand.

"Nothing else, let's go!"

That day, Zhou You officially moved into the formal apprentice area, formally becoming part of the Jianxiong Martial Arts School.

Li Hao introduced him to another formal apprentice named Xu Ying.

"This is your apprentice badge. Wear it on your waist to prove your identity."

"There are 10 sets of training uniforms for the martial arts school, provided by Senior Brother Shen's family."

"By the way, Junior Brother Zhou, I heard your father also works at Senior Brother Shen's family business?"

After introducing all the necessary matters, Xu Ying asked at the end.

Upon receiving Zhou You's affirmative answer, Xu Ying became even more enthusiastic. "What a coincidence, my father also works in the business. We're practically family friends!"

From this single sentence, Zhou You knew that Xu Ying was definitely one of Senior Brother Shen's people.

Furthermore, due to his father's connections, he was also considered a potential subordinate of Shen Sijing.

During their conversation, Zhou You learned that Xu Ying's father was a shopkeeper in the business, part of the management.

When he learned that Zhou You's father was still a low-level worker, he patted Zhou You on the shoulder. "Don't worry, Senior Brother Shen is fair. He'll definitely give you an explanation."

"What explanation? A promotion and raise for my dad?"

Zhou You suddenly thought, was it possible that Zhong Shaoying's hostility towards him was because of this?

He casually asked, "Is Zhong Shaoying from the inner court at odds with Senior Brother Shen?"

Xu Ying glanced at Zhou You in surprise. This new junior brother was quite perceptive.

He had been planning to remind him later.

"That's right. Zhong Shaoying's family has an estate outside the city, and he comes from a tenant farmer background under the martial arts school owner. Later, he became an inner court disciple, and his mother was promoted to manage the estate, so they've become well-off."

"There are several apprentices who are also tenant farmer disciples, and they follow Zhong Shaoying."

"We who grew up in the city don't get along too well with them."

Understood, understood.

Zhou You's mind cleared up. He had unknowingly been drawn into the internal strife among the martial arts school disciples.

Wang Jianxiong was the owner of the martial arts school. Besides being a Martial Master, he was also a major landlord who collected rent.

He owned shops and residences in the city that he rented out, generating a substantial annual income. He also had hundreds of acres of fertile land and estates outside the city, employing thousands of tenant farmers to work the land.

The disciples in the martial arts school came from complex backgrounds, including respectable families from the city and tenant farmers from the estates.

Those from the city and those from outside the city had different origins and naturally clashed.

Shen Sijing's family was a major merchant family, representing the city connections, while Zhong Shaoying was an outstanding young man from the estate's tenant farmers.

The two sides were in constant conflict, leading disciples and apprentices of different statuses to form factions.

The reason Zhong Shaoying was giving Zhou You a hard time was precisely because Zhou You was a young man from the city.

Shen Sijing speaking up for him, and then specially coming to recruit him afterward, was also for the same reason.

"Human relationships are full of traps, so treacherous, so treacherous!"

Zhou You couldn't help but wipe a bead of sweat from his forehead and sincerely cupped his fists, "Thank you for the guidance, Senior Brother Xu."

"No need. Our fathers were colleagues, and we should get along well in the future."

As Xu Ying finished speaking, his expression suddenly turned serious. "There is one more person in the inner court whose status is transcendent. Neither our side nor the enemy dares to provoke him easily. Remember this, remember it well."

"Who?"

"The third young master of the Qi family from Gongliang City, Qi Fengzhang."

Just one person's influence overshadowed both the city and outside factions. He was a scion of a noble family, Qi Fengzhang.

There was a reason behind this. Old Master Wang Jianxiong's ability to establish himself in the city and run this martial arts school also relied on the strength of the Gongliang noble families.

Therefore, Qi Fengzhang held a transcendent position within the martial arts school, and no one dared to offend him.

As soon as Zhou You settled down, someone came looking for him urgently. It was Song Fugui.

He had arrived in such a hurry that his oil jug had fallen, spilling oil everywhere, attracting stray dogs eager to lick it up.

Song Fugui looked anxious. Upon seeing Zhou You, he grabbed his sleeve, "I'm glad you're alright."

"I came to deliver oil today and saw the Wild Fox Gang blocking your door. They were all saying you were gravely ill and would never recover."

"Tu Laosan was being very aggressive. Hurry back, it'll be too late if you delay!"