Part-time Appointment

At that moment, a bright light surfaced in his mind.

[Heaven Rewards Diligence, and achievement is certain]

[Tongbei Stance Practice: Beginner (228/500)]

[Tongbei Fist: Beginner (1/500)]

The sensation was incomparably clear, invigorating his spirits.

Sun Shun's explanation continued as he broke down in detail how to respond to every move.

When an enemy attacked, how should one evade, and which move or stance should one use to counterattack most effectively?

"Watch this move carefully—Spirit Monkey Leaps." Sun Shun called out sharply. "If the opponent chops at you with a saber, do not meet it head-on. You must—"

His body moved with agility, his feet stepping diagonally as he perfectly demonstrated how to evade the blade's edge.

Chen Qing concentrated fully, engraving every piece of Sun Shun's guidance into his mind.

Seeing Chen Qing's diligence and eagerness to learn, Sun Shun's explanations grew increasingly meticulous. He even personally demonstrated several killing moves.

Chen Qing went through the Tongbei Fist once more before walking to a corner at the edge of the yard to sit down, catch his breath, and drink from his waterskin.

"Senior Sister Zhou, thank you for your hard work."

"It's nothing. Be more careful next time."

"Yes, I understand, Junior Brother."

A string of soft, pleasant female voices drew Chen Qing's attention.

He saw a young girl in a plain white gauze dress, holding a small celadon medicine jar as she applied medicine to injured disciples.

Her fingertips were stained with brown ointment, and her movements were gentle.

Each of those "injured men" was red-faced, their gazes wandering uneasily.

Sun Shun noticed Chen Qing's confusion and lowered his voice. "She's Junior Sister Zhou, Master's daughter. You should call her Senior Sister. She returned yesterday after studying medicine at Qing Nang Hall. Junior Sister is kind-hearted and often applies medicine and bandages disciples injured during training."

At that, he scratched his head with a helpless look. "Because of that, there have been especially many junior brothers 'straining their waists' lately."

Chen Qing naturally understood. In this courtyard full of rough men, a pure and lovely white magnolia had suddenly appeared. No wonder this pack of hungry wolves was pretending to limp and play crippled.

After resting for a while, Chen Qing took a deep breath and rose to his feet again.

Merely burying one's head in practice was far from enough for mastering Tongbei Fist. One needed to be tempered a thousand times in actual combat.

By the courtyard wall, Zhou Liang reclined halfway in a grand chair with his eyes narrowed, occasionally offering pointers.

The afternoon sun shone through the Old Scholar Tree, casting mottled shadows across his face.

Time quietly slipped away amid the scattering of sweat.

Suddenly, a commotion broke out at the courtyard gate.

"Escort Guo from the Wangyuan Escort Agency is here!"

"And Shopkeeper Wang from Li's Forge!"

The disciples all stopped what they were doing and looked over curiously.

More than ten men filed inside. At their head was an old man in a gray jacket, striding with the gait of a dragon and tiger. Several sturdy men followed behind him, their temples slightly bulging—clearly all trained martial artists.

"Third Senior Brother, what is this?"

A disciple leaned over and asked curiously.

His name was Guo Dachui, and he was also under Sun Shun's instruction.

Sun Shun explained, "They're here to pick people. Once you reach Bright Strength, you can take a part-time appointment with places like the Wangyuan Escort Agency or Li's Forge, working as a guard or escort runner, and receive quite a decent payment each month."

He glanced around at the many disciples who had pricked up their ears, then added, "Quite a few senior brothers and sisters in the academy do this. Otherwise, how could their families alone afford the daily expense of white flour and meat?"

A part-time appointment as a guard?!

Guo Dachui's eyes instantly widened, his mouth hanging slightly open.

He came from Lower River Village, where his family had been poor peasants for generations. Even his Apprenticeship Fee had been scraped together in copper coins by the villagers. How could he not be excited upon hearing this?

Chen Qing's heart also stirred.

If he could take a part-time appointment, he would no longer need to worry about his future tuition fees.

Sun Shun continued, "If I remember correctly, the forge offers those at Bright Strength three thousand copper cash and thirty catties of meat per month. The Wangyuan Escort Agency calculates payment based on the length of the escort job, though I'm not too sure exactly how they calculate it."

Many disciples grew restless upon hearing this.

Especially those who had only recently entered the academy and came from poor families; longing appeared on their faces.

Hadn't they risked everything to practice martial arts precisely so they could rise above others and change their fates?

Three thousand copper cash, plus thirty catties of meat—this was absolutely a fortune that made one's eyes burn.

One had to know that weaving nets day and night for an entire month only earned around five hundred copper cash.

Sun Shun folded his arms across his chest. "Right now, all the powers in the county need martial experts for part-time appointments, so their offers are quite good. If they encounter an outstanding young talent with potential and good bones—"

He paused, referring to those geniuses. "To win them over and show goodwill, they'll offer even more generous terms. Some wealthy households may even consider taking them in as sons-in-law."

At this point, Escort Guo of the Wangyuan Escort Agency, Shopkeeper Wang of Li's Forge, and several other wealthy patrons had all taken their seats.

"Qin Lie, you go."

Zhou Liang swept his gaze around and said in a low voice, "Remember what I usually told you."

"Yes, Master!"

Qin Lie slowly stepped out and declared loudly, "Esteemed seniors and gentlemen, forgive my poor showing!"

He stood in the center of the yard, took a deep breath, and then unfolded his fist techniques.

What he demonstrated was precisely the Tongbei Fist. With every move, his sinews and bones cracked explosively, and forceful wind surged! Each punch was accompanied by a crisp smack, as though the air itself were being torn apart.

This was the realm of Bright Strength.

The forceful wind howled. Watching from afar, Chen Qing's heart pounded in alarm, especially at how exquisitely Qin Lie executed moves such as Spirit Monkey Leaps and Gallop Past Flowers.

Compared to ordinary people, those at Bright Strength were utterly different. They had truly stepped onto the path of martial arts.

The first gateway tempered the strength of the entire body and stimulated Bright Strength. With one punch, the air exploded, carrying astonishing might.

Among ordinary people, someone at Bright Strength could practically walk sideways. With a certain level of strength, one could take the Martial Arts Examination and strive for rank and honor.

The second gateway involved one's mental force and skin, working in tandem with the body's meridians to stimulate Hidden Strength. It could injure a person's organs through heavy armor, wondrous beyond measure.

This realm already surpassed ninety-nine percent of martial artists. One could become a mainstay of a local power, and only a handful of people in Zhou Academy had reached this level.

The third body-tempering stage was Transformation Force. The five organs and six bowels, flesh, blood, sinews, and bones would all be filled with Hidden Strength. When one's blood and qi shook, flesh, blood, sinews, and bones all moved as one, like thunder resounding through the air, producing Transformation Force of even more terrifying power.

In all of Zhou Academy, only Zhou Liang was currently a great expert of Transformation Force.

After finishing the set of punches, Qin Lie withdrew his stance and stood tall, neither flushed nor short of breath, his Aura long and steady.

"Junior Brother Qin's rate of improvement..."

Even Sun Shun sucked in a breath of cold air at the sight. "Could he be challenging Hidden Strength in half a year?"

Zhou Liang stroked his beard, unable to conceal the satisfaction in his eyes. "My unworthy disciple is dull-witted. He only reached Bright Strength after a month and a half of practicing the fist. Please forgive the laughable display."

Though his words were humble, the wrinkles at the corners of his eyes could not hide his pride.

"Master Zhou, you jest!" Escort Guo stepped forward in a single stride, the Wild Goose Feather Saber at his waist clattering. "For such fine jade, my Wangyuan Escort Agency is willing to offer thirty percent of the profits from red goods!"

"Hold on!" Shopkeeper Wang slapped the table and rose, making the teacups rattle loudly. "Li's Shop offers a Monthly Salary of five thousand cash, along with a Fine Iron Weapon!"

The entire yard instantly erupted.

The maids brought by several wealthy patrons covered their little mouths in shock. That price was enough to buy two strong slaves!

The brothers and sisters of Zhou Academy also murmured among themselves, their eyes carrying a trace of envy.

Qin Lie had been poor since childhood. Hearing such generous terms, even his breathing quickened, and he could not conceal the excitement in his eyes.

Under the pretense of straightening his sleeve, he casually swept his gaze across the faces of his fellow disciples.

Those gazes that had once looked coldly upon him had now turned to astonishment and envy.

"Gentlemen, please calm yourselves. Do not harm the harmony between us."

Seeing this, Zhou Liang rose and smiled as he smoothed things over. "This concerns my disciple's future, a matter of great importance. Why don't we move to the inner hall later and discuss it carefully?"

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Wang and Escort Guo slowly sat back down.

Next, three more senior brothers whose strength had reached Bright Strength came forward to demonstrate.

Their performances were solid enough, but compared to Qin Lie, they seemed utterly unremarkable. In the end, they too won the favor of the wealthy patrons, but the Monthly Salary offered was only around two thousand cash, far below Qin Lie's.

Everyone knew that this was because Qin Lie's potential was more highly valued.

Very soon, the selection came to an end.

Sun Shun looked at Chen Qing and the others with a complicated expression. "You all need to reach Bright Strength as soon as possible."

Only when blood and qi stimulated force could one be said to have grasped the foundation of martial arts.

Bright Strength, Hidden Strength, and Transformation Force were the true essence of Tongbei Fist.

To break through a gateway, one had to have powerful blood and qi as support. And blood and qi required day after day of cultivation, as well as nourishment from meat and medicinal tonics.

"Poor scholars, rich warriors"—that saying was no empty phrase.

Other than disciples with exceptionally good bones, it was extraordinarily difficult for ordinary people to break through each gateway.

Once they failed, all the money, time, and effort invested beforehand would be wasted.

Chen Qing clasped his fist. "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother."

After hesitating for a moment, Guo Dachui asked, "Third Senior Brother, if we fail to reach Bright Strength..."

"Then don't keep painfully grinding away in the academy."

Sun Shun fell silent for a moment before saying bitterly, "Go do odd jobs at an escort agency or a forge, serve as a household guard for wealthy families... do hard, exhausting work. At least you'll always have a mouthful of food."

As his words fell, the hearts of those around him all turned cold.

Household guards? That was merely a nice way of putting it. In truth, they were no more than servants summoned and dismissed at a wealthy man's whim.

Who came to the academy to practice martial arts without dreaming of passing the Martial Arts Examination with flying colors and bringing glory to their ancestors?

Chen Qing narrowed his eyes slightly.

He understood perfectly well that his most urgent task was to enter the realm of Bright Strength as soon as possible.

These words made Guo Dachui and the others turn solemn. Then they silently went their separate ways and threw themselves into training with even greater effort.

All of them held a fire in their hearts. They had to reach Bright Strength.

Before he knew it, evening had arrived, and the disciples in the courtyard gradually departed.

Chen Qing practiced his stance work once more. Only when every muscle in his body ached did he walk wearily to a corner at the edge of the yard and sit down to catch his breath.

"It's so late. You still haven't gone home?"

A gentle voice rang out.

Chen Qing looked up to see Zhou Yu walking out from the inner courtyard, her plain white gauze dress especially conspicuous in the dimness.

Chen Qing wiped the sweat from his forehead and answered respectfully, "In reply to Senior Sister, this junior brother's talent is dull. I can only make up for it somewhat through diligent study and hard practice."

"Martial arts training requires a balance between exertion and rest. You must not rush too eagerly."

Zhou Yu said with concern, "Take care of your body, or you may achieve the opposite of what you intend."

Chen Qing clasped his fist. "Thank you for your concern, Senior Sister. I was just about to rest."

Zhou Yu waved her hand. "That's good. If you're not training, go back early."

"Then this junior brother will take his leave, Senior Sister."

Chen Qing gathered his things simply and left Zhou Academy.

Watching Chen Qing's retreating back, Zhou Yu sighed softly.

This junior brother was humble and polite to others, and exceptionally hardworking in his training. Naturally, she remembered him.

But within this academy, she had seen far too many figures like him gritting their teeth and training bitterly.

In the end, how many could endure past that threshold of blood and qi and break through to Bright Strength?

On the path of martial arts, diligence alone could never truly bridge the chasm of one's innate bones and talent, much less fill the bottomless pit of nourishing one's blood and qi.