The Great Zhou Founded on Martial Might!

Swords and sabers have always been the most common weapons for martial artists.

Of the final half of the martial arts school's disciples, fifty percent chose the sword, forty percent chose the saber, and the remaining ten percent chose the spear, staff, or hammer.

One disciple even chose the same weapon as Li Jingzhong—the Iron Whip.

Many present looked at that disciple with mocking eyes.

They were still just apprentices at the martial arts school; what they could learn was not Li Jingzhong's true core martial arts.

Li Jingzhong's only true core martial art was the "White Ape Through-Arm Fist."

But the White Ape Through-Arm Fist wasn't something anyone could learn just by wanting to.

Only the most outstanding disciple in each batch was qualified to learn it.

When that time came, he would no longer call Li Jingzhong "Master of the School," but "Teacher."

Though it wasn't the true master-disciple inheritance of a formal teacher, it was still far closer than the bond with disciples who left after a year or two of study.

This guy chose the Iron Whip, such an obscure and niche weapon—did he really think he could stand out in the end?

If he failed to learn the White Ape Through-Arm Fist, his choice of weapon would be wasted, and all his effort would be for nothing.

Li Jingzhong's teaching was strict but responsible.

After giving everyone a general explanation of the common details of weapons, he went on to explain the finer points based on the differences between each weapon.

Walking before the disciples who had chosen the saber, Li Jingzhong suddenly stopped in front of Han Zheng.

"Han Zheng, have you ever seen someone killed?"

Han Zheng nodded: "I've seen an execution by beheading."

That was the truth. In Han Zheng's memory, there was a scene from his childhood when his father took him to watch a beheading.

Thinking about it now, his father in this life was quite something.

Taking his own son to watch a beheading—not afraid of giving the kid psychological trauma.

But it seemed that in a small place like Black Stone County, whenever the County Yamen executed a criminal, quite a few people would gather to watch.

"The saber is heavy with slaughter. It requires a fearless edge and Killing Intent.

I can teach this, but you won't learn it easily. Only a martial artist who has truly experienced combat can grasp its essence.

Watch closely!"

Li Jingzhong held a long saber and slashed out with sudden force. The biting edge and astonishing Killing Intent surged forward instantly, making many disciples' faces turn pale.

"Now, visualize this slash of mine at full power, one by one."

The martial arts school disciples took their turns striking, but Li Jingzhong shook his head slightly each time, dissatisfied.

The disciples still at the school had all opened over fifty Acupoints and one Meridian, enough to be called Early Acquired Stage martial artists.

They had presence, but lacked real combat experience, and simply couldn't grasp that kind of momentum.

When it was Han Zheng's turn, he gripped the Wild Goose Feather Saber, his blood and qi surging, and suddenly exerted force from his waist and hips!

The saber light arrived in an instant—swift, vicious, and carrying a flow of killing aura within it.

Li Jingzhong let out a soft sound of surprise, staring intently at Han Zheng.

Though Han Zheng's slash didn't unleash full momentum, it was at least a strike that could truly be used in life-or-death combat.

"Have you fought other martial artists before?"

Han Zheng shook his head: "No, but in my mind, I imagined the person standing before me was trying to kill me. It was either him or me, and the saber in my hand naturally carried Killing Intent."

"Not bad. That's also a good method.

Remember, the path of martial arts is never set in stone.

Your enemies won't fight you according to the martial routines you've learned.

Han Zheng did well. All of you should learn from him.

At the level of his slash right now, he's more than qualified to go out and work as a Guard Warrior for big merchants or wealthy landowners."

Hearing Li Jingzhong praise Han Zheng so highly, the other disciples looked at him with envy or jealousy—mostly jealousy.

Han Zheng didn't mind. He had done it on purpose.

Sometimes it's fine to hide your skill, but you can't hide your stupidity.

Be low-key in character, but high-profile in action.

With nearly fifty disciples in the martial arts school, if he didn't show exceptional talent in front of Li Jingzhong, how could he gain more martial arts knowledge?

In fact, Han Zheng had deliberately held back, not revealing too much of his killing aura.

He hadn't just fought people—he had actually killed before.

Sure enough, after Han Zheng displayed his talent with that slash, Li Jingzhong began to pay him more attention.

He had already remembered Han Zheng from last time.

His speed in opening Acupoints was very fast, second only to those wealthy disciples who soaked in medicinal baths.

Moreover, his grasp of the Vajra Fist was quite impressive—one could even say he had exceptional talent.

Add in that slash today, and Li Jingzhong could confirm that Han Zheng was definitely a promising seedling.

He might even be one of the most outstanding among this batch of disciples.

Such a promising seedling was absolutely worth his extra attention.

If Han Zheng went out into the world from his school and made a name for himself, Li Jingzhong would share in the glory.

Today was a full-day class; after the noon break, they would continue blade practice in the afternoon.

Li Sancheng bit into a rye bun, squatting beside Han Zheng with a face full of worry.

"Did I make the wrong choice picking the blade? I didn't feel a thing all morning, and the headmaster chewed me out several times."

Han Zheng had already finished eating. Sipping his vegetable soup, he said, "It's only the first day, what's the rush?

When you practice the blade this afternoon, just imagine the person in front of you is Ma Gui—bullying you and trying to steal your money. Don't you get the urge to split him in half?"

"I'd eat his heart raw!"

Li Sancheng took a vicious bite of his rye bun.

"Right, just practice with that mindset."

Li Sancheng patted Han Zheng on the shoulder, envy in his voice. "Brother, you really stole the show today. With the headmaster's words, even if you left the school right now, you'd never worry about food or drink. Those wealthy families in Black Stone County would be fighting to hire you as a guard."

"Oh? The headmaster's words carry that much weight?"

"Of course! Why do you think the Zhenwei Martial Arts School has such a big reputation? Why is the tuition three hundred taels of silver? Because the disciples who leave our school are guaranteed to have real skill.

Three hundred taels sounds like a lot, but as long as you stick it out for a full year, you're considered a successful graduate. You'll earn that silver back in a few years.

Of course, scum like Ma Gui and the disciples who washed out don't count as successful graduates. They can't use the school's name when they're out and about."

"So what do disciples from our school usually do out there?"

Han Zheng was genuinely curious about this.

In wuxia novels, the heroes never seemed to worry about money.

In reality, poverty drove one to study, but wealth was needed for martial arts. Cultivating the martial path was the most expensive thing—without some family savings, you couldn't sustain it.

Li Sancheng counted on his fingers. "Plenty of things. The most common is becoming a guard warrior for wealthy families, or working as an escort for an escort agency.

The world's chaotic now. Any family with a bit of money hires guards.

Ordinary guards are just thugs with some brute strength. Only those of us who've truly trained in internal energy techniques count as guard warriors.

In Black Stone County, the going rate is about ten taels a month. I hear the prefecture pays more—fifteen to twenty taels."

Han Zheng was a bit surprised. That price was really not low.

His father worked as a clerk in the county yamen and only made three taels a month.

"Guard warriors have it pretty easy and safe. Those wealthy families value their lives and don't go running around.

Escorts earn more—they charge based on the value of the goods. A qualified escort can make three to five hundred taels a year, no problem.

But it's more dangerous too. The world's too chaotic right now.

You run into demons and lose your life; you run into bandits and lose your money.

I've heard escorts from the agencies say this line of work rarely lasts long. Make a quick buck for a few years, then switch careers."

Han Zheng squinted. "It's all life-risking work. Doesn't anyone want to go further on the martial path?"

"Going further takes the ability to do so."

Li Sancheng sighed. "Some people join the army, but the court's busy putting down rebellions everywhere, and the borders are at war. Joining the military just gets you killed faster.

Others roam the jianghu, trying to join the big sects. But those sects start training disciples from childhood—every one of them has excellent talent and bone structure. Why would they look at us?

Some people drift through the jianghu for years, end up destitute, and still come back to be guards in the end."

Han Zheng patted Li Sancheng on the shoulder. "Who knows what the future holds? Maybe you'll go further on the martial path than anyone else."

Li Sancheng struggled to swallow the last of his rye bun. "I haven't thought that far ahead. Right now, I just want to know when I can swap these rye buns for white flour buns.

Eating rye buns at the school, then going home and eating rye buns—I'm about to puke from them."

Despite his words, Li Sancheng's build didn't look like someone about to puke at all.

He'd put on a whole lot of weight since joining the school, though his qi and blood were abundant. Even if he was fat, it was the strong kind of fat.

Han Zheng, meanwhile, was thinking about finding a way to make money.

The ten taels he'd taken from Ma Gui were already half gone, almost all spent on food.

Poverty drove study, wealth fueled martial arts. Even if you didn't soak in medicinal baths or take pills, you couldn't starve yourself, right?

With Han Zheng's current appetite—several times that of an ordinary person—and the need for meat at every meal to keep up with his physical exertion, his expenses were much higher.

"Sigh, in this day and age, being born into a good family is what matters. We're here agonizing over whether to be guards or escorts, and we might end up selling our lives for someone else."

Li Sancheng's tone was seven parts sour and three parts jealous as he jutted his chin toward a small group in the distance.

That group had fewer than ten people, all wearing training uniforms made of fine, breathable silk.

They wouldn't stay at the martial hall for meals after morning lessons, and for the main lessons, servants would deliver all kinds of food, making them stand out conspicuously from the other disciples inside the hall.

From childhood, their resources had been on a level far beyond what a poor disciple like Li Sancheng could ever reach.

Some of the stronger ones weren't even twenty yet, but they had already opened three Meridians.

These people all came from wealthy families. Though they weren't exactly martial arts clans, these were chaotic times, and everyone understood the importance of strength—hence they sent their own disciples to the martial hall to learn.

Another reason was that Great Zhou had built its nation on martial prowess, and the status of the martial path was lofty.

As long as you had power, wealth, rank, and fortune were all within easy reach!