Personal Disciple!

Personal Disciple!

"Disciple?!" Liang Qu raised a hand to wipe the bloody froth from the corner of his mouth. Only then did he realize that, at some point, his tiger jaws had split open, flesh curling back, his entire hand covered in blood. Perhaps it had happened when he smashed the bricks. He failed to wipe the blood clean and instead smeared a streak of red across his face.

His face full of blood and grime, Liang Qu could not care about any of that. His eyes were filled with disbelief.

So many people had jumped down from the roof, with Hu Qi and Xiang ChangSong close behind. The identity of the old man leading them was self-evident.

Yang Dongxiong! The true owner of Yang Martial Hall, rumored to be the most powerful Great Martial Master in all of Ping Yang Town!

Liang Qu did not know what Third Master Zhao, Zhao Xueyuan, had thought before this farce unfolded. If he did, he would definitely have deeply agreed.

In storybooks, the Son of Heaven was always wise and mighty, while the people's misery must be caused by treacherous ministers wielding power and deceiving the world.

But storybooks were ultimately just storybooks. Only what one sought but could not attain was written into tales.

Reality did not have so many brilliant detectives. Nor would anyone's parents be willing to spend vast amounts of effort sorting out every right and wrong, every twist and turn, until everything was crystal clear.

After suffering a loss, how many people dared report it to the authorities?

At school, how many victims of bullying dared tell the teacher?

Those in high positions had no energy to distinguish who was right and who was wrong among those below them. They would only think that someone had caused trouble, beat them all up, and drive them out. Problem perfectly solved.

People of low status were accustomed to hardship. It was difficult for them to harbor illusions about those of high status.

If they could not settle things once and for all, thoroughly drive someone out of their sphere of activity, then in the end, the only one left battered and bruised would be themselves.

Liang Qu had thought the Martial Arts School's Martial Masters would see him as a troublemaker and throw him out. He had never imagined things would develop like this!

Yang Dongxiong bent slightly at the waist, smiling. "What? You unwilling?"

At those words, Li LiBo and Chen Jiechang behind him both grew frantic. If they could communicate by thought alone, they would definitely have shouted in Liang Qu's head ten thousand times: Hurry up and agree! Hurry up and agree!

The other Martial Arts School apprentices nearby fell silent.

Liang Qu imagined those people looking at him from behind, their eyes full of envy, jealousy, and hatred.

A disciple—a true Personal Disciple—was not an ordinary apprentice who could enter the Martial Arts School simply by paying money! Liang Qu snapped out of his daze and immediately dropped to his knees, banging his head three times against the ground.

"Disciple Liang Qu pays respects to Master!"

There was gold beneath a man's knees, but kneeling to acknowledge a master was nothing shameful!

As the saying went, teach a disciple and starve the master. If one wanted to learn a craft, one had to provide for one's master in old age and see him through to the end. That was the rule everywhere.

Yang Dongxiong's actions made Liang Qu believe that his choice could not be wrong.

"Good, good, good!" Yang Dongxiong was overjoyed. He bent down and helped Liang Qu up. "Get up quickly. You're injured, so the Tea Offering to the Master can wait until another day. But since you have knelt, the bond of master and disciple between us is settled from this moment on. From now on, you are my Ninth Disciple!"

Liang Qu raised his head and saw the seven people behind Yang Dongxiong—six men and one woman. Though one was missing, Senior Brother Xiang and Senior Brother Hu were among them.

Senior Brother Xiang waggled his brows at him, while Senior Brother Hu secretly gave him a thumbs-up.

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Liang!"

"Junior Brother Liang is truly a man of exceptional bearing."

"It's over! Now that Junior Brother Liang has joined us, won't my title as the most handsome be in danger?" A tall young man was greatly shocked.

"Oh, please. Even if Junior Brother Liang hadn't come, I'd be the one holding the title of most handsome, all right?"

"You two ought to take a piss and look at yourselves." The only female disciple sneered.

Xiang ChangSong felt around in his pocket, looking rather regretful. "Unfortunately, I don't have any presentable welcome gift on me right now. I'll make it up to you next time we meet."

"Damn it, Junior Brother Xiang, why did you have to bring that up? I hate picking gifts the most!"

The scene was exceedingly lively, and Liang Qu could not help smiling.

How wonderful. It seemed his choice had indeed been right.

Yang Dongxiong stroked his beard, finding Liang Qu more pleasing to the eye the longer he looked.

He did not take disciples casually, much less out of any desire to compensate Liang Qu. He had simply developed an appreciation for talent.

While on the eaves, Yang Dongxiong had already heard the conscripted apprentice recount the entire chain of events. Though there were some gaps, at his age, he naturally understood what had happened at a glance.

Xiang ChangSong had also told him how Liang Qu had used all his savings to rescue Chen Qingjiang, all because Chen Qingjiang had once given Liang Qu a pancake.

It was not that the incident had become famous enough to spread from Yi Xing City to Ping Yang Town. Rather, Li LiBo and Chen Jiechang had told him about it.

After Hu Qi took leave, the only person the two knew at the Martial Arts School was Xiang ChangSong. They occasionally spoke, so naturally the matter had come up.

One incident heard, one witnessed—together, they were enough to prove Liang Qu's excellent character.

Furthermore, after only one month at the school, he could fight one against seven. That was enough to show Liang Qu's talent was not poor. His Qi and blood had to be at least as thick as a little finger for him to possess such physical fitness.

He had talent, character, and was already an apprentice of his Martial Arts School.

His only flaw was that his fighting method was unrefined. He was too foolish—fighting seven people and actually choosing to go head-to-head. He could have dealt with them at far less cost. Still, it was not a major problem.

There were plenty in the Martial Arts School who learned only the Refining Method and not fighting methods. Everyone had come hoping to become Martial Artists and find a way forward, so it was understandable. He could make up for it later.

Yang Dongxiong offered some encouragement. "Your courage is commendable. Your fighting method is unrefined. Though the Refining Method is certainly the highest priority, you must not neglect learning fighting methods. Martial Artists seize their chance at life through martial arts."

Liang Qu quickly cupped his fists. "This disciple will remember."

He knew Master Yang was right. He only had the Refining Method and no fighting method; whenever he fought, he relied entirely on a surge of hot-blooded courage. But he had had no choice.

A fighting method was not something one could master merely by posing and memorizing routines. One only had to look at the seven people lying on the ground.

They had been here just as long, yet they still only knew how to swing sticks. To become an expert required long-term sparring to forge muscle memory.

His outstanding performance on the Martial Arts Field had rested entirely on his physical fitness, as well as the ferocity and composure he had honed while fighting the Crab Monster for his life.

Yang Dongxiong nodded, then turned to his disciples. "ChangSong, Hu Qi, since you already know each other, take your Ninth Junior Brother to wash up and change clothes. Right—don't forget the other two. There should still be vacant rooms in the backyard. Tidy them up tonight and let them stay."

Liang Qu's face was covered in blood, some his own and some belonging to others. It was truly unsightly. His body ached in waves as well; he had taken quite a few blows from sticks and urgently needed cleaning up.

"Yes!"

Xiang ChangSong and Hu Qi cupped their fists, then stepped forward to support Li LiBo and Chen Jiechang. Liang Qu could still walk on his own, but Li LiBo and Chen Jiechang were more seriously injured and found even walking quite difficult.

They headed together toward the corridor leading to the backyard. High walls on both sides blocked the moonlight and lamplight, leaving the narrow passage pitch-black.

The Martial Arts Field was brightly lit, crowded with shifting figures.

The crowd naturally parted and made way for them, like Peach Mountain split apart by Erlang Shen.

Dozens of apprentices watched Liang Qu. The mockery, ridicule, and gloating in their eyes had turned into awe, jealousy, and resentment.

The crickets in the flower bed began chirping again.

The two sides passed each other—one in the light, one in the dark.

Liang Qu vanished into the darkness, yet everyone knew that he was walking toward a road brighter than that of everyone on the Martial Arts Field.

Yang Dongxiong silently watched his new disciple leave, then turned toward the people on the Martial Arts Field, his expression becoming stern once more. "The matter is over. I won't waste everyone's time. Line yourselves up, then come out one by one and demonstrate for me!"

Most of those present were old students and knew what was about to happen. Those who had not experienced it followed the example of the others.

A long line quickly formed before Yang Dongxiong. The apprentices stepped forward in turn to demonstrate what they had learned that day, hoping to receive guidance.

Lu Tingcai and the others, battered from head to toe, lay sprawled on the ground bleeding. No one gave them a second glance.