Bright Strength

When Chen Qing arrived at Zhou Academy, quite a few disciples were already practicing their fists.

Chen Qing silently went to a corner. Once he had steadied himself, he took a deep breath and began loosening up his muscles and bones.

His arms, shoulders, spine, waist, and hips—every joint stretched fully, while his muscles shifted between relaxation and tension.

After several breaths, Chen Qing began practicing the Tongbei Stance Practice.

His movements were smooth and natural, his footwork coordinating exquisitely with the techniques in his hands.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence, Success Is Inevitable]

[Tongbei Stance Practice: Beginner (399/500)]

[Tongbei Fist: Beginner (318/500)]

"Judging by my current progress, perhaps in less than a month, I'll be able to cultivate the Tongbei Stance Practice to minor mastery and reach Bright Strength."

After completing one round of stance practice, Chen Qing sat down to catch his breath, calculating inwardly.

The bits of silver he had gotten from Qian Biao had allowed the mother and son to eat meat for several meals, speeding up his progress somewhat. But the money had also gone quickly, and there was little left now.

Over this period, people had come and gone from the academy. Familiar faces had gradually grown scarce, while new faces kept pouring in.

He was already one of the "old hands" at Zhou Academy.

In another month, tuition would be due again.

Chen Qing could keep his composure, but several of his fellow disciples from the same batch wore grim expressions, looking weighed down by worries.

"Why hasn't Senior Brother Guo come today?"

At that moment, a disciple asked in a low voice.

Chen Qing looked up at those words, his gaze sweeping across the courtyard.

Guo Dachui, who came from a poor farming family, was always exceptionally diligent in his martial practice. He had never been late.

"Him?" The senior brother beside him sighed, his voice low. "He failed his breakthrough attempt last night. He packed his things overnight and returned to the countryside."

The air suddenly froze. Several disciples from the same batch lowered their heads without prior agreement. Some unconsciously rubbed the calluses on their palms, while others stared blankly at their worn-through cloth shoes.

Chen Qing's brows furrowed slightly. Zhou Liang had once said that if one failed the first breakthrough attempt, then one would basically have no fate with the martial path for the rest of one's life.

Moreover, the longer one waited, the smaller the chance of breaking through became.

If one could not break through and reach Bright Strength, could not obtain a part-time appointment, then how could one possibly sustain the path of martial training?

A disciple sighed. "Senior Brother Guo and Junior Brother Qin always had a good relationship. Before he left last night, he called out to Junior Brother Qin, but Junior Brother Qin ignored him."

The atmosphere grew oppressive.

Between disciples who had broken through to Bright Strength and those who had not, the divide was clearly distinct, as though they had been separated into two different worlds.

Chen Qing's gaze drifted involuntarily toward Qin Lie.

That genius from humble roots had truly changed greatly.

The surrounding disciples all began entertaining different thoughts. Those with even a little family wealth considered their future escape routes.

If martial training failed, where should they go from there?

Meanwhile, disciples whose homes were bare to the four walls secretly clenched their fists, treating this as a desperate, all-or-nothing chance to turn their lives around.

After resting briefly, Chen Qing threw himself back into training.

From that day onward, Guo Dachui never appeared at Zhou Academy again.

Zhou Academy remained the same Zhou Academy. It did not change just because one person was missing.

Several new disciples arrived during that time, and one with decent aptitude received special attention from Zhou Liang.

Where people came, people naturally also left.

As time passed, some people's attitudes toward Chen Qing underwent subtle changes as well.

Such was the warmth and coldness of human relationships.

That afternoon, Chen Qing went to Wang's Cloth Shop on Four Directions Street.

Madam Han told him that Yang Huiniang had come looking for him yesterday, apparently because something had happened.

Jinxiu Cloth Shop's storefront was not large. Bolts of cloth in every color hung throughout the street-facing shop, and the air carried the distinctive scent of washed and starched fabric.

Chen Qing stood at the entrance and looked around. Inside, figures bustled about, the sounds of looms, cutting, and pounding washed cloth blending into one.

In a corner, Yang Huiniang stood beside a large wooden basin. Her sleeves were rolled high, exposing forearms reddened by the cold and covered in cracks as she laboriously pounded heavy coarse cloth.

Water splashed over the hem of her ruqun, while fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead.

"Cousin," Chen Qing called softly.

Yang Huiniang looked up at the sound, surprise flashing across her face. "A Qing! You're here?"

She hurriedly wiped her wet hands on her apron and quickly came over to the door.

"I nearly forgot!" As though she had suddenly remembered something, Yang Huiniang swiftly turned and ran to a small stool in the corner where odds and ends were stored, feeling out a little cloth bundle beneath it that had been washed pale.

She carefully opened it. Inside were two boiled eggs that still carried some warmth, with over twenty copper coins tucked underneath.

"Here, take them."

Without allowing any argument, Yang Huiniang stuffed the eggs and copper coins into Chen Qing's hands and lowered her voice. "The Young Owner rewarded me with these yesterday. I just reheated the eggs this morning."

Chen Qing hurriedly tried to refuse. "How can I accept this?"

"Why are you being polite with me?"

Yang Huiniang shot him a reproachful glare, then revealed a warm smile. "Keep the copper coins on you. There will always be places to spend money when practicing martial arts. Didn't I say it before? You can pay me back later—but I'll charge interest."

Holding the faintly warm eggs and the weighty copper coins, Chen Qing felt warmth fill his heart. "If you give me all the money, what will you do?"

"Don't worry. I have almost no use for it here," Yang Huiniang said lightly.

Chen Qing took a deep breath and said with utmost seriousness, "Cousin, great kindness needs no words of thanks."

Other than Madam Han, Yang Huiniang was undoubtedly the one who had helped him the most, the one to whom he owed the deepest debt of gratitude.

Yang Huiniang's willow-leaf brows knit slightly as she feigned anger. "If you keep talking like that, I really will get angry!"

"Got it." Chen Qing smiled. "I'll put it in the ledger for now, then repay it with principal and interest when the time comes."

Yang Huiniang broke into a smile as well.

"I was wondering where you'd run off to!" Suddenly, a shrill, cutting voice rang out from the inner part of the cloth shop.

A manageress in a silk jacket, with high cheekbones, stood at the doorway with her hands on her hips. She glared viciously in their direction. "There are still three bolts of cloth piled up in the back waiting to be washed and pounded! Are you going to dawdle until dark? You don't want your wages anymore?!"

The smile on Yang Huiniang's face instantly stiffened. Helplessly, she said to Chen Qing, "A Qing, I need to get back to work. Hurry home..."

"Why aren't you moving already!"

The manageress's urging rang out again.

Yang Huiniang did not dare delay any longer. She turned and jogged back to the enormous wooden basin.

The manageress shot Chen Qing a sidelong glance, snorted through her nose, and turned away.

Chen Qing frowned slightly and silently left Wang's Cloth Shop.

That afternoon, Chen Qing went to Zhou Academy to continue training.

Ever since what happened to Guo Dachui, the fellow disciples from his batch had all become anxious.

Zhou Liang constantly recruited disciples, yet only a dozen or so had remained by his side all along. From this alone, one could see the clues.

Reaching Bright Strength was no easy matter. This first breakthrough attempt alone blocked seventy percent of people, and with external factors added in, even a seventy-percent success rate was impossible.

Chen Qing stood steadily atop a wooden stake, his body as immovable as an ancient pine.

Sweat slid down from his temples, glimmering with scattered light in the morning sun.

This was his final round of Tongbei Stance Practice.

Sun Shun was secretly worried for Chen Qing as well.

More than anyone, he knew how hard Chen Qing worked and how diligently he trained. But on the martial path, effort alone was far from enough.

On the other side, Qin Lie impatiently waved away a junior disciple seeking guidance. The disciple flushed red and left in embarrassment.

In Qin Lie's eyes, questions from people of mediocre aptitude were nothing more than a waste of his precious cultivation time.

His gaze happened to sweep across the training ground, falling upon the figure drenched in sweat.

He remembered that Chen Qing had entered half a month before him and trained as though his life depended on it, yet had been unable to break through for a long time.

That dark, damp latrine suddenly surfaced in his mind, along with the scene of the two of them cleaning filth side by side.

Qin Lie unconsciously touched his brand-new training clothes. The feel of fine cotton stirred an unfamiliar irritation within him.

He shifted his gaze away, as though trying to cast off that memory completely, and focused on his own fist forms.

"Junior Brother Qin, what are you looking at?"

A senior sister approached with graceful steps. Following Qin Lie's earlier line of sight, she glanced at Chen Qing. "Him? It's been nearly three months, hasn't it? He's still stubbornly grinding away atop those wooden stakes."

Her name was Luo Qian. Her appearance was ordinary and unremarkable, but her family was prosperous and wealthy, one of the rich households of the Inner City.

Besides training martial arts at Zhou Academy, Luo Qian would seek out disciples with potential and sponsor them while they had yet to show their talent, drawing them to her side.

Once those disciples grew stronger, even if they could not join the Luo Family, a favor owed would still be worth a great deal.

In her eyes, this was entirely a matter of panning for gold in dung—yet she really had panned out a piece of gold.

That piece of gold was Qin Lie.

Chen Qing knew nothing of the gazes and discussions around him. His world contained only the wooden stake beneath his feet, the blood vitality within his body, and every minute key point of the stance practice in his mind.

Sweat soaked through his single-layer garment. Under sustained tension, his muscles sent out waves of aching pain, yet his will was iron. Again and again, he adjusted his breathing, guiding that faint but persistent blood vitality through its circulation.

Then, all at once, a strange change occurred.

It was neither mountains collapsing and seas roaring, nor blazing fire searing his flesh.

It was like a river channel clogged for ages being silently opened by a gentle yet resilient force.

Chen Qing felt his vision suddenly brighten. He could clearly see the veins in the leaves of the Old Scholar Tree in the distance; even the tiny droplets of dew gathered at the leaf tips reflected in his eyes.

The clamorous sounds of training and the wind seemed to retreat in an instant. Only the steady, powerful beating of his own heart remained, like a drumbeat—once, then again—ringing clearly through his chest.

Even the sound of his blood surging became vivid, like a stream washing over a riverbed.

The wooden stake beneath his feet seemed to grow roots, joining as one with the solid earth.

His skin became extraordinarily sensitive. He could clearly feel the faint coolness brought by the morning breeze passing over his sweat-soaked body, and could even catch the paths of dust motes drifting through the air.

A gentle yet abundant force silently rose from the Dantian in his lower abdomen. Unhurried and unruffled, it slowly seeped through his limbs and bones like spring water.

At the same time, his muscles and bones gave off a series of crisp crackles.

The long-standing feeling of stagnation was swept away. It was as though clouds had parted to reveal the sun; the mist that had troubled him for so long finally dispersed, and the road ahead opened broad and clear.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence, Success Is Inevitable]

[Tongbei Stance Practice: Minor Mastery (1/1000)]

[Tongbei Fist: Beginner (425/500)]

"Success." Chen Qing slowly opened his eyes, then breathed out a mouthful of stale air. "So this is minor mastery of the Tongbei Stance Practice!?"

Joy rose within him.

Having reached Bright Strength meant not only that he could continue practicing martial arts, but that he could even obtain a part-time appointment and work as a guard.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Chen!"

"Junior Brother Chen, please look after us in the future!"

The surrounding senior and junior disciples eagerly stepped forward to offer congratulations, and the atmosphere changed in an instant.

The disciples still hovering outside the threshold of Bright Strength had envy in their eyes, along with traces of unwillingness. They understood only too well what this meant.

Chen Qing inwardly let out a sigh of relief.

Now that he had reached Bright Strength, not only could he obtain a part-time appointment, but he could also take the Martial Arts Examination.

Sun Shun stepped forward with a broad smile. "Junior Brother Chen, congratulations."

"Thank you, Senior Brother Sun."

Chen Qing clasped his hands in salute toward Sun Shun.

Zhou Yu also walked over with a smile, encouraging him. "Zhou Academy has gained another Bright Strength disciple today. Congratulations, Junior Brother Chen. Keep up the good work."

As she spoke, she handed him a small paper packet. "This is a packet of Blood Vitality Powder. Keep it."

Though she was somewhat surprised by Chen Qing's breakthrough at this moment, it strengthened the academy's overall power regardless.

Chen Qing's eyes lit up, and he nodded. "Thank you, Senior Sister!"

Blood Vitality Powder was an orally taken medicinal powder that increased the rate at which blood vitality accumulated, making it greatly beneficial for cultivation. Chen Qing often saw senior brothers and sisters from wealthy families, or those with part-time appointments, taking it at the academy.

Not far away, surprise flashed through Luo Qian's eyes. Then she said quietly, "He really did stumble into it. This kid's luck isn't bad, but his potential is already exhausted by the limits of his innate frame. He has no hope of attempting a second breakthrough."

Those words were her attempt to salvage her reputation for being a good judge of people.

Qin Lie turned a deaf ear to the discussion behind him and did not even raise his eyelids.

Whether Chen Qing succeeded or failed, whether he broke through quickly or slowly, in his eyes, Chen Qing was merely a stone by the roadside that rubbed against one's foot—not worth even the slightest bit of attention.