Protagonist Template

"I owe you one today—without you, I'd have taken a beating. You're a real brother to me! Come on, come on, ditch that stuff, I'm treating you to a proper meal at noon."

Han Zheng had just grabbed a plate to get some rye buns when Li Sancheng pulled him aside.

"Your dad gave you silver?"

Li Sancheng's father had nearly emptied his savings sending him to the martial arts school, so he almost never got pocket money.

"Heh, I stashed away some private funds earlier. Took a little gamble a couple days back, won a bit."

Gambling addicts don't deserve sympathy.

Han Zheng figured it was better to blow the money on a good meal than let Li Sancheng lose it all gambling.

Still, before leaving, Han Zheng snagged two eggs from the school.

Those were good stuff—he could skip the rye buns, but not the eggs.

Li Sancheng led Han Zheng to a small eatery with only three tables.

"Don't let the size fool you. Word is the boss used to be a cook for some big family in Jingzhou Prefecture. His skills are the real deal."

Li Sancheng ordered a few dishes like a regular, and soon the boss brought them out.

Han Zheng noticed the boss was missing a hand. Strapped to his wrist was a spatula with a sharpened edge, doubling as a cleaver.

Once the boss was gone, Li Sancheng lowered his voice. "That boss had it rough. Heard he was cooking for some big family's master, served the young master's meal a bit late, and got a hand chopped off, beaten, and thrown out to fend for himself. Actually, it was the servant in charge of supplies who didn't deliver the ingredients on time. He just got caught in the crossfire."

Han Zheng had heard plenty of stories like that.

Still, when those big families hired servants or cooks, common folk flocked to apply.

In this chaotic world, working for a big family meant you didn't have to worry about starving or suddenly losing your life.

Han Zheng took a few bites. The flavor was way better than the random taverns and restaurants he'd tried before.

"Brother, you're about to make it big this time. The head coach is grooming you for big things—at least Xiantian is within reach!"

Li Sancheng's tone carried envy, but no jealousy.

He'd seen how hard Han Zheng worked.

At the school, Han Zheng was meticulous in training; at home, he was even more diligent. Practically every waking hour was spent eating or cultivating.

Li Sancheng couldn't match that kind of effort, so what was there to be jealous of?

Han Zheng shook his head. "It's still early. I need to learn the White Ape Through-Arm Fist first. And the others in the other groups aren't weak either. The more critical the moment, the less I can afford to slack off."

"True. I heard from the school staff that the head coach said privately this batch of disciples is the best he's taught in years."

Li Sancheng glanced around and lowered his voice. "If you want to beat those guys and learn the White Ape Through-Arm Fist, you'll need to step it up. None of them are pushovers. Of those four, Lin Qing is the son of the County Yamen's Chief Clerk. His family's well-off, no shortage of money. I heard Chief Clerk Lin even wants to send him to train at a Sect in Jingzhou Prefecture. Guo Mingyuan is the only son of Boss Guo, who runs the grain shop. With grain prices skyrocketing lately, the Guo family's raking it in. Word is Guo Mingyuan does medicinal baths every day—his cultivation is basically bought with cash. That guy who uses the Iron Whip is Chen Zhao. His family's average, but his talent's solid. Even the head coach praised him when he first joined. And then there's Song Tianqing, the one I fought. Damn, that guy hits hard! But he's a real player—he's the son of the East City Song Family's head!"

Li Sancheng was a certified gossip hound. He'd dug up info on almost every disciple in the school.

But when he heard Song Tianqing's background, Han Zheng froze.

"East City Song Family? They're a branch of the 'Heavenly Blade' Song family in Shannan Dao. Even as a branch, they're a genuine martial arts clan. Why would he come to a school to train?"

"Because his birth is lousy. He's not even a concubine's son—he's a bastard."

Li Sancheng lowered his voice. "I heard his mother was just a servant in the Song household. Song Kangyuan, the family head, got drunk and slept with her, and that's how he was born. His mother wasn't much to look at, and afterward, Song Kangyuan treated it as a disgrace. He gave her some silver and kicked her out to fend for herself. After Song Tianqing was born, his mother couldn't make it on her own, so she brought him back to the Song family. They confirmed he was Song Kangyuan's son, but it was too shameful. Song Kangyuan's wife flew into a rage and beat his mother to death. She didn't even get the status of a concubine before she died. So Song Tianqing grew up with no standing in the Song family, bullied by everyone, even less valued than favored servants. No one taught him the Song family's martial arts. Song family disciples all get a shop when they turn sixteen. Song Tianqing got one too, but it was a failing shop nobody wanted. Yet that guy, with just a seventy-something-year-old old manager, turned that shop profitable and made a good chunk of silver, far surpassing the other Song disciples. But the Song family is a martial arts clan, so showing talent in business alone doesn't count for much. The other disciples hated him, threw obstacles in his way, and kept him from learning the Song family's martial arts. In a rage, he said screw it, took his silver, and enrolled in Zhenwei Martial Arts School. Honestly, the guy's ruthless, but I respect his grit. If I were in his shoes, I'd probably have been dead by now."

Han Zheng rubbed his chin.

After hearing what Li Sancheng said, he too felt that this Song Tianqing was indeed quite a figure.

This was clearly a textbook case of the "don't bully a youth for being poor" protagonist template.

He might have his own cheat, but this world was filled with countless geniuses and extraordinary talents.

Even in a small county town, there were plenty of remarkable people.

If he thought having the Gluttonous Crucible was reason to get cocky and assume a bright future, that would be the real path to self-destruction.

After eating and drinking their fill, the two went home separately.

Over the next half month, Li Jingzhong indeed gave Han Zheng and the other five special attention, guiding and instructing them according to their individual strengths.

"Han Zheng, your greatest advantage is your exceptionally solid and deep understanding of martial arts.

Even when I was young and first learning the Vajra Fist, I wasn't as proficient as you are now.

So what you need to do now is push that advantage to the absolute limit!

The core of any martial skill is the same: converting the power in your body into maximum killing force.

When you strike, sense the power in your acupoints, feel the energy mobilized through your meridians.

Fully integrate that power into your fist techniques, into the heat of combat and battle.

I can't teach you this systematically—you have to practice mobilizing that power over and over on your own, or adapt to it through actual combat.

Some people can only bring out eighty percent of their full strength, while others can bring out a hundred and twenty percent.

In a fight between martial artists of the same rank, that kind of gap is enough to decide life and death."

Li Jingzhong stood before Han Zheng, speaking in a low, firm voice.

He was already quite satisfied with Han Zheng's performance.

His cultivation hadn't fallen too far behind disciples like Guo Mingyuan, who soaked in medicinal baths every day and built up their power through sheer resources.

His practical combat ability was formidable, and his grasp of martial skills like the Vajra Fist far surpassed the other disciples.

If it weren't for the fact that Song Tianqing and the others were also outstanding, Li Jingzhong might have already decided to teach Han Zheng the White Ape Through-Arm Fist.

"Yes, thank you for the guidance, Master."

Han Zheng replied respectfully.

Li Jingzhong nodded in satisfaction and turned to instruct the others.

Just then, the door to the martial arts hall was knocked open. A middle-aged man in his fifties, dressed in a blue silk robe with a refined, scholarly air, stepped inside.

"Shopkeeper Chen, what brings you to my place today?"

Li Jingzhong greeted him with a smile.

"To be honest, I've come to ask a favor of you, Hall Master Li."

"Come, come, let's talk inside."

Li Jingzhong seemed to be on good terms with the man. Smiling, he pulled him into the inner hall.

Watching Li Jingzhong leave, quite a few disciples started slacking off, sitting down on the floor to rest.

Li Sancheng sidled up to Han Zheng, a hint of curiosity in his voice. "That's Chen Baiqing, the boss of Shenghe Hall. What's he doing at the martial arts hall?"

"Shenghe Hall? The pharmacy?"

Han Zheng thought for a moment. He seemed to recall that Shenghe Hall was a medicine shop.

"It's the biggest pharmacy in all of Black Stone County!

Other pharmacies only sell ordinary medicines, at most some wound-healing ointments.

Only Shenghe Hall sells spiritual medicines—the kind martial artists use for medicinal baths."

Han Zheng nodded in understanding.

When martial artists soaked in medicinal baths to boost their blood energy and internal force, the medicine wasn't something like common herbs.

It was specially cultivated spiritual medicine, potent and rich in power, digestible only by martial artists.

If an ordinary person soaked in such a bath, they'd probably start bleeding from the nose within minutes—too weak to handle the nourishment.

Meanwhile, in the inner hall of the martial arts school.

Li Jingzhong had someone serve Chen Baiqing a cup of tea before asking, "Shopkeeper Chen, just say whatever's on your mind. We're old friends—no need for formalities."

Back when Li Jingzhong first established himself in Black Stone County, he needed various spiritual medicines for medicinal baths to boost his strength.

Chen Baiqing hadn't taken over Shenghe Hall yet back then; he was just in charge of dispensing prescriptions and diagnosing patients.

That was when the two met. Chen Baiqing formulated several medicinal bath recipes for Li Jingzhong, all with excellent results.

Li Jingzhong had been buying his spiritual medicines from Shenghe Hall ever since—a friendship spanning over a decade.

Chen Baiqing sighed. "Our Shannan Dao has barren land. Not only do we have to import grain from Huainan Dao, but in truth, almost all of Shenghe Hall's spiritual medicines come from Huainan Dao as well.

But now the Incense Cult is raising quite a ruckus over in Huainan Dao. I hear they've even captured several prefectures, with incense offerings filling the entire city.

The sects I used to work with, the ones that specialized in cultivating spiritual medicines, I can't get in touch with them anymore. Shenghe Hall's stock of spiritual medicines is almost out."

But the problem is, I'd already made big moves before this—signed contracts with the Shen Family, the Song Family, and even the Black Tiger Gang, Sky Eagle Gang, and Three Harmonies Gang, agreeing to deliver Spiritual Medicine to them on a fixed schedule. I've already taken their silver.

Now that the Spiritual Medicine supply is cut off, if even one of those families comes knocking, I can't bear the consequences—let alone all of them at once."

Li Jingzhong let out a sharp hiss.

"Shopkeeper Chen, the mess you've stirred up is no small matter.

If it were just one family, I could still use my face to smooth things over for you.

But five families together? How could they possibly give face to a mere martial arts hall master like me?"

Chen Baiqing quickly shook his head. "There's no way I'd let you mediate such a huge liability. In fact, I've already thought of a countermeasure.

Supplying Spiritual Medicine to five families at once was indeed a gamble—I was worried something might go wrong in Huainan Dao.

So after signing the contracts, I also found a plot of Medicine Field in Jingzhou Prefecture to grow Spiritual Medicine, as a backup for emergencies.

But that place is a bit far—over five hundred li from Black Stone County, between Huainan Dao and Shannan Dao.

There's an Estate on the Spiritual Field. I've already sent men to guard it for half a year. By my estimate, part of the crop should be mature by now, enough to tide us over in an emergency.

You know how things are these days—it's not safe even fifty li outside the city, let alone five hundred.

The major Escort Agencies in Black Stone County have all sent their teams out on jobs, and no one's left. I can't trust the gang members.

So I have no choice but to beg you for help."