A Retainer Position

Early the next morning, Yang Jing arrived at the Martial Arts Hall.

As before, he was the earliest to arrive among all the disciples.

Many disciples thought he had already exhausted his potential. No matter how hard he worked, he could never break through to hidden strength. He would be better off finding another path sooner rather than later; burying himself in martial training at the Martial Arts Hall now only made him look foolish.

None of these opinions could shake Yang Jing's resolve.

The System Panel's effectiveness had already been proven.

He only needed to train his martial arts and cultivation methods to their limits, and he could break through to the next realm without any bottleneck.

This meant that although he cultivated slowly, given enough time, he would surely climb high and travel far.

After Yang Jing had trained for an hour, more disciples gradually gathered in the Martial Arts Hall's Front Courtyard.

Fourth Senior Brother Liu Maolin arrived as well. Seeing Yang Jing still as focused on training as ever, his gaze shifted slightly, and he gave a small nod. Then he stripped off his shirt, walked over to Yang Jing, and said with a smile, "Junior brother, you're working hard."

Hearing his voice, Yang Jing immediately withdrew his fists and turned, a smile spreading across his face. "Fourth Senior Brother, you're here."

"Come on, spar with me." Liu Maolin settled into a fighting stance, his gaze sharpening. "Let me see how solid your inner force is."

Yang Jing did not hesitate either. He sank his waist and lowered his elbows, assuming the opening stance of the Mountain Collapse Fist. "Please instruct me, senior brother."

The moment their punches met, the difference between them became clear.

Liu Maolin's punches looked effortless, yet carried a clinging force as they drew near. Yang Jing's bright strength was fierce and powerful, but Liu Maolin always dispersed it with a gentle redirection.

"Watch your waist and hips."

Liu Maolin turned his wrist, avoided Yang Jing's incoming fist, and lightly tapped his waist with his fingertips. "The Mountain Collapse Fist demands that you remain unmoved even as a mountain collapses before you. Your steps are too unsteady. Without firm roots, your force scatters."

Something stirred in Yang Jing's mind. He adjusted his footwork as instructed, and sure enough, his lower body felt considerably more stable.

When he punched again, Liu Maolin abruptly changed his move. His fist slid past beneath Yang Jing's ribs, the wind it stirred making his skin tingle. "Bright strength isn't just about power. You also have to know how to draw it back. It's like driving a piling: you don't just have to hammer it deep, you also have to recover your force. Otherwise, your next punch will have nothing behind it."

He demonstrated as he spoke. As hidden strength circulated through his body, his clothing actually billowed slightly, and the wind from his punches sent the grass clippings on the ground swirling.

Yang Jing watched intently, committing every detail to memory as understanding dawned on him. So the transition from bright strength to hidden strength is actually concealed within this release and recovery.

They exchanged over a hundred moves. Liu Maolin held back seventy percent of his strength throughout, yet helped Yang Jing understand the principles of the fist art's second level with ever greater clarity.

As they finished the final move, Yang Jing was panting, but his eyes shone brilliantly. "Thank you, senior brother! I think I understand what 'Force Through the Flesh' means now!"

Liu Maolin smiled and handed him a towel. "Good, as long as you understand. The Martial Path is like climbing a mountain. Every step offers a different view. Don't rush. Just keep climbing."

Yang Jing nodded.

Liu Maolin opened a waterskin and handed it to Yang Jing. Only after watching him gulp down more than half its contents did he casually ask, "Junior brother, how is your search for a retainer position going?"

Yang Jing handed the waterskin back and shook his head helplessly. "A few households have approached me, but they only offered seven or eight taels a month. I want to wait a little longer. If nothing better comes along, I'll have to choose one of them."

Liu Maolin frowned. "Junior brother, you've only just reached bright strength. This is when you need to build your foundations. You can't do without nourishing food and medicinal supplements."

He paused briefly, then continued, "You know my family runs a Medical Hall and trades in medicinal ingredients. We often have shipments to transport, and sometimes we run into petty thieves who don't know what's good for them. My father happens to be looking for a reliable martial artist to oversee the escorts. You wouldn't need to go more than a few times a month. Mostly, you'd be there to keep troublemakers in line."

"I'd like you to take a retainer position at my family's Medical Hall. You'd escort two shipments of medicinal ingredients each month for a monthly stipend of ten taels of silver. We also have some fierce beast meat stored in our Medical Hall's warehouse, so we'd give you another ten jin of bear meat every month. What do you think?"

After speaking, Liu Maolin fixed his bright, intent gaze on Yang Jing.

Over these past few months, he had formed a very good impression of Yang Jing. He was focused, dependable, and conscientious, with a resilience all his own. Even when a thousand fingers pointed at him in condemnation, he remained calm and unhurried.

Yang Jing had qualities that inspired trust.

Even if he never progressed any further in martial arts, he was worth that price. After all, even many talents favored by the great lineages might never open the door to hidden strength, whereas Yang Jing had already attained bright strength.

A bright strength martial artist of excellent character was well worth ten taels of silver and ten jin of bear meat a month.

The Liu Family's medicinal ingredient business involved escorting valuable herbs, so they placed even greater importance on their escorts' character and integrity.

Yang Jing looked up at Liu Maolin, his eyes filled with surprise.

Ten taels of silver?

That was two or three taels more than the monthly retainer stipends offered by the other households that had approached him.

More importantly, there were another ten jin of bear meat every month. That already amounted to financial support beyond the retainer position itself.

As far as Yang Jing knew, fierce beast meat was outrageously expensive.

Bear meat, for example, cost over five hundred copper coins per jin-nearly a tael of silver.

After eating the braised bear meat at Jufou Restaurant last time, Yang Jing had felt his subsequent training progress remarkably quickly.

If he could receive ten jin of bear meat every month and buy some more fierce beast meat himself, he would surely reach hidden strength considerably sooner.

"This... this is too generous." Yang Jing had to admit that he was tempted.

But precisely because he and Liu Maolin were so close, he felt even more hesitant.

Liu Maolin was mostly finding a way to help him.

"Junior brother, don't think I'm just being polite or deliberately offering you a higher rate. You can ask around yourself. These are the terms our Liu Family offers the guards and retainers we recruit."

Liu Maolin patted Yang Jing's shoulder. "Besides, you might encounter bandits while transporting medicine for the Medicine Hall. You'd be earning this through your actual skills, not taking it for free. And with a skilled bright strength practitioner like you around, my family's medicinal ingredients will be better protected. It benefits us both."

Seeing that Yang Jing was still somewhat hesitant, Liu Maolin added with a smile, "If you feel bad about it, just train until your skills are even more solid. If trouble really comes someday, make sure you don't let us down."

Looking into Liu Maolin's sincere eyes, Yang Jing smiled as well, and that last trace of hesitation gradually faded.

He knew how rare this opportunity was. It was not just the ten taels of silver each month, but also the ten jin of precious fierce beast meat. All of it would play a crucial role in his future martial training.

He drew a deep breath and solemnly cupped his hands. "Thank you, senior brother!"

Seeing Yang Jing agree, Liu Maolin immediately burst into hearty laughter. "Hahaha, that's more like it. I'll take you to the Medical Hall this afternoon to meet my father. As it happens, we have a shipment of medicinal ingredients going to the outskirts tomorrow. There's little danger, so you can come along and get familiar with the routes first."

Yang Jing nodded solemnly.

That afternoon.

Yang Family Village, Wazi Township.

Old Master Yang squatted outside the main room, smoking his pipe.

Liu Cuiling tidied the bowls and chopsticks beside the stove.

His grandmother, Madam Qin, was wiping down several farming tools in the courtyard.

The courtyard was quiet, with only the sound of wind passing through the branches.

From time to time, all three glanced at the sturdy plow ox in the corner of the courtyard.

Liu Cuiling emerged from the kitchen, and her brow furrowed again as she looked at the brand-new pad on the ox's back.

"Just what is the Ning Family up to?"

Madam Qin sighed. "Giving us an ox out of nowhere like this... it keeps making my heart flutter with unease."

"Exactly," Liu Cuiling chimed in. "Not long ago, they looked like ferocious fiends, and now they're all smiles. How could there be anything so good? Could they have dug a pit and be waiting for us to jump in?"

Old Master Yang tapped out his pipe and said gravely, "It's a fine ox, but where it came from..."

He did not finish, but the worry in his eyes was plain.

The two mu of Grade-A Farmland north of the village were still a source of anxiety. Now this ox had arrived too, and instead of a blessing, it felt like a heavy stone weighing on them.

They knew all too well that, with the Ning Family master's miserly nature, he would never give farming folk like them something for nothing.

As they spoke, the village peddler Yang Lao San called from outside the courtyard gate, "Auntie Yang, there's a letter for your family!"