Grueling

The next day, before dawn, everyone got up.

Meng Yuan had rested for a night. Although he still had bruises, he was much better, and the Essence Flame had slightly diminished.

"When I was starving and freezing, the Essence Flame continuously nourished me. Now it seems the Essence Flame can also slowly heal injuries."

"I just don't know what would happen if it were a life-threatening injury."

Meng Yuan reviewed what happened last night.

Last night's brawl was completely chaotic, without any strategy.

Meng Yuan and Tie Niu had the advantage of being strong and weren't afraid of fighting multiple people, but once the lights went out, they didn't know who was hitting whom.

Especially Tie Niu, when his strength surged, he swung his fists wildly, not only injuring the enemy but also hitting Meng Yuan's back twice hard.

Meng Yuan's main injuries were from Tie Niu!

And having caused such a commotion in the dormitory right after arriving to learn, Meng Yuan had prepared for the worst.

Getting up before dawn to wash up, Meng Yuan took the opportunity to instruct Tie Niu.

"Tie Niu, remember, if Master Nie asks, just tell the truth. I was the main culprit in last night's incident, Master Nie can tell. If he kicks me out, don't say anything foolish, you must stay," Meng Yuan said.

"Then what will I do if you leave?" Tie Niu was very confused. "My dad told me to follow you closely. I'll do whatever you do."

"Listen to me," Meng Yuan said.

"If you leave, it won't be interesting for me alone. Let's just leave together and go back to the manor to shovel manure," Tie Niu didn't think far ahead.

Meng Yuan patted Tie Niu's shoulder, knowing he couldn't persuade him, and said no more.

After washing up, it was morning practice.

The atmosphere was slightly different today. Both male and female students occasionally looked at Meng Yuan and Tie Niu, but their expressions varied.

After morning practice, everyone went to the mess hall. Breakfast was hot porridge, pickles, and steamed buns.

As soon as they sat down, Wu Changsheng followed and sat next to them.

Without needing to be asked, Wu Changsheng spilled everything.

The person who got hit the hardest last night was named Liu He, the son of Steward Liu.

The tall girl was named Hu Qian, the youngest daughter of the Princess Consort's wet nurse.

These two were considered the highest-ranking among the students and were the leaders of the male and female students. Especially Hu Qian, she always had the final say.

"Last night's incident is neither big nor small. That dog Liu He will definitely complain. When that happens, Sister Qian and I will plead for you!" Wu Changsheng was very loyal.

Meng Yuan nodded slightly and looked at Liu He not far away.

Liu He was also looking at Meng Yuan. He no longer looked like he was crying, but instead said fiercely, "You brat, just you wait! After I tell Master Nie, I'll have you kicked out today!"

Meng Yuan stood up. Liu He was so scared he trembled and almost fell off his seat.

After training for about an hour in the morning, Nie Yannian finally arrived late.

Seeing the young men with bruised faces and injuries all over, he smiled and said, "Were you fighting for the courtesan last night? Who won and who lost?"

"Master Nie!" Liu He stepped forward. He had a large cut on his lip and his eyes were so swollen they were just slits. He said aggrievedly, "Master Nie, last night the newcomers Meng Yuan and Zhao Tie Niu beat me because..."

"Stop giving me that bullshit about reasons!" Nie Yannian interrupted Liu He impatiently, walked over, and patted Liu He's head with his large hand. "You're here to learn martial arts! If you lose a fight, fight back! You're coming to me to complain? I don't care if you're right or wrong! How old are you, and you don't understand this? Do you want me to lift up my clothes and let you suckle? It's just that your mother is too old, otherwise I'd definitely stuff you useless wretch back into your mother's belly! Useless thing!"

Liu He didn't expect Nie Yannian to completely ignore his complaint and even mock him. He immediately couldn't hold back and started crying again.

"Your crying sounds quite good!" Nie Yannian laughed heartily. "If this little guy went to be a male prostitute, he'd definitely be the top one!"

All the young men and women were stunned.

Meng Yuan was also dumbfounded. Leaving aside Nie Yannian's martial arts skills, just his ability to insult people made Meng Yuan realize he would never be able to reach his level in his lifetime.

Nie Yannian walked up to Meng Yuan with his hands behind his back and asked, "I heard you're very good at fighting?"

He had spoken to Meng Yuan and Tie Niu yesterday and knew that Tie Niu was a simpleton, so the fight must have been started by Meng Yuan.

"It was all my fault alone, please punish me, Master Nie!" Meng Yuan didn't answer his question directly and immediately expressed his willingness to accept punishment.

Anyway, whatever the punishment, he would accept it.

"Master Nie..." Wu Changsheng was about to speak up to plead for him, but was glared at by Nie Yannian.

"You two go stand in a horse stance on the Plum Blossom Stakes for a day. If you fall down, climb back up and stand again!" Nie Yannian gave the punishment.

Plum Blossom Stakes are used to train body coordination and balance, and are divided into high and low stakes. Also, to prevent practitioners from getting injured if they fall, fine sand is spread under the stakes.

This was hardly a punishment. Standing in a horse stance for a day was certainly difficult for beginners, but Meng Yuan and Tie Niu were strong young men. At most, they would fall a few times.

Meng Yuan quickly pulled Tie Niu to accept the punishment, and the two went to stand on the Plum Blossom Stakes.

Throughout the day, the two fell off the Plum Blossom Stakes dozens of times, and their legs felt numb. However, when the session ended at night, after they had washed up and returned to the male dormitory, no one dared to provoke them anymore.

Their two bags were placed together, untouched, and no one even wanted to get too close.

Liu He's expression was gloomy. He didn't know where he got the medicine he was applying to his face.

According to the rules, male and female students were strictly forbidden from leaving the training ground, and even more so from contacting people outside the training ground.

When Liu He saw Meng Yuan and Tie Niu, he feigned a couple of grunts, but in the end, he was afraid of pain and didn't dare to say a word.

Meng Yuan ignored him and slept soundly.

After that, Meng Yuan trained every day according to Master Nie's arrangements, building up his strength and eating heartily.

However, Nie Yannian, who used to come twice a day, only came once a day after the fight. He didn't teach any moves, only letting the young men build up their strength, which was truly like letting them run wild.

As the end of the year approached, the students saw that they would be spending the New Year in the training ground. Not only did Nie Yannian not teach any real skills, but he simply stopped coming altogether.

Seeing that they were unsupervised, these students couldn't help but have ideas.

At first, they were just slacking off in training, but later they even started sleeping in, skipping morning practice altogether.

Especially Liu He, whether he was used to living a good life or held resentment towards Nie Yannian, he actually took the lead and gathered several people, getting up only after the sun was high every day. He wasn't serious during training and often chatted with the female students. As soon as the north wind blew a little harder, he would go back to the male dormitory to sleep.

Moreover, he wasn't stupid and even arranged lookouts to prevent Nie Yannian from suddenly checking, but Nie Yannian never showed up again.

Out of twenty-seven students, nearly half were just going through the motions.

Meng Yuan watched with a cold eye but never had the thought of being lazy. He got up before dawn every day to train, meticulously and without cutting corners.

Tie Niu was simple-minded. He was pure-hearted and had been instructed by Zhao Datou, so he just followed Meng Yuan in training every day.

In the blink of an eye, half a month passed, and it was already New Year's Eve. Snowflakes were falling from the sky again.

The Princess Consort was benevolent and sent people to deliver New Year's rewards. Each student received a roasted chicken and two catties of pork.

But Nie Yannian still didn't appear, and the others were not allowed to go out.

Firecrackers exploded outside the training ground, and the sound of music could still be heard.

It was a day for family reunions, but everyone could only train in the snow. Some of the household servants even cried.

Meng Yuan didn't take it seriously at all. He ate and drank as usual.

On the first day of the new year, Meng Yuan got up before dawn and called Tie Niu to go out with him.

The north wind howled, and the ground was covered in heavy snow, adding to the desolation.

Meng Yuan and Tie Niu drew water from the well, washed their faces and brushed their teeth, then started shoveling snow, and only then did they begin their morning practice.

First, they did a set of punches to warm up, then picked up stone locks to exercise their arm strength, and then practiced the Horse Stance Punch.

Normally, even if some people were lazy, there would still be about ten people who came for morning practice. But Meng Yuan and Tie Niu had been practicing for a quarter of an hour and hadn't seen anyone else come.

"Brother, today is the New Year. Every family has to rest well for a day. Why are we practicing when they aren't? They all say behind our backs that we're fools." Tie Niu asked with steam rising from his head, looking simple-minded.

"Master Nie said, 'One day of practice is one day's work, ten days without practice is ten days lost.' It means that practicing martial arts requires perseverance. Only by practicing consistently every day can you continuously improve. If you interrupt your practice for a day, you will lose the results you have accumulated before and will need to spend more time to recover to your original level."

Meng Yuan said while practicing his punches, "Tie Niu, I am from a refugee background, and your father was a tenant farmer. To put it bluntly, we are both mud legs. Learning martial arts is the only opportunity to change our fate, so we must seize it firmly."

"But no one is watching. Master Nie hasn't come for several days. They all say Master Nie doesn't care about us anymore," Tie Niu said, not understanding.

"We are practicing for ourselves, not for Master Nie. You don't need to care what others think, we just do what we do," Meng Yuan said.

In fact, Meng Yuan had his own insights. Looking at the Princess Consort's previous actions, it was clear that she was capable and effective.

If so, with the Princess Consort's decisive and swift approach in dealing with Manor Head Li, how could she tolerate Master Nie letting them run wild?

The Princess Consort was training this group of young men, strictly forbidding them from leaving the training ground and not allowing them to go home for the New Year. It was clear that she hadn't forgotten about this group, as she had sent meat yesterday on New Year's Eve.

In Meng Yuan's opinion, the Princess Consort was probably selecting a group of people who were hardworking, obedient, and patient.

Because practicing martial arts is the most difficult, it cannot be achieved overnight, and there is no room for slacking off. It requires patience, perseverance, and willpower.

Everyone was a teenager around fifteen years old. Starting martial arts training was already a bit late, and they were not exceptionally talented. They had to be self-disciplined and obedient to achieve anything.

Therefore, Meng Yuan felt that the Princess Consort, or Master Nie, was testing people, using this to select those who were worth cultivating.

Of course, Meng Yuan couldn't be certain that his idea was correct.

But no matter what, having food and drink every day and being able to build up strength was beneficial and harmless to him.

If Master Nie still didn't teach any real skills after the first month, Meng Yuan planned to jump ship. At that time, whether it was to fawn over Xun Mei or find another way, he had to find a way out.

After all, that little girl Jiang Tang was still waiting in Pasture Manor.