Life Needs a Sense of Ceremony

At the burly man's command, the hundred disciples swiftly lined up in two rows and stepped forward one by one to receive their Military Rations Pills.

There were not many people, and the burly man distributed them quickly. Before long, it was Gu Yang's turn.

Taking the vermilion porcelain bottle handed over by the burly man, Gu Yang shook it beside his ear and immediately heard a string of crisp sounds.

Ding ding dong dong, like gold and jade striking together.

Gu Yang's movements were fairly restrained. Beside him, after Li Zhiwu took the bottle and stepped aside, he immediately opened it, poured out a Military Rations Pill, and carefully examined it in his palm.

The Military Rations Pill was fiery in color and only as large as a soybean.

Yet such a tiny pill contained an immense medicinal potency. It had to be swallowed whole and left in the stomach to digest naturally.

After a Strength Training martial artist consumed one Military Rations Pill, he needed to go without food for three days, drinking only water. He could not even relieve himself, lest he expel the Military Rations Pill before it had fully digested.

"A pill this small can sustain three days of hard training? Is that for real?" Li Zhiwu looked at Gu Yang with a doubtful expression.

This was his first time reaching the top hundred in the Minor Competition. Though he had heard of the Military Rations Pill's great reputation before, this was the first time he had truly obtained one.

"Don't look at me. It's my first time seeing this thing too. Why not eat one and find out?" Gu Yang smiled and headed toward the formation.

"Hey, brother."

At that moment, someone called out from behind them.

Turning around, Gu Yang saw a noble-looking young man with a kindly smile approach Li Zhiwu. "Brother, if you think these Military Rations Pills are unreliable, you can sell them to me. One tael of silver per pill. If you sell me the whole bottle, I can give you twelve taels!"

Clearly, the young man had come over after hearing their earlier conversation.

"Not selling!" Li Zhiwu had been questioning them a moment ago, yet now he poured the pill back into the porcelain bottle as though guarding against a thief, then quickly moved away to put distance between himself and the noble young man.

"I'm not selling either." Seeing the hopeful look in the young man's eyes, Gu Yang refused directly and turned to leave.

What a joke. Unless he was insane, why would he sell his own cultivation resources to someone else?

By noon, the Minor Competition had finally ended.

At the same time, the heavy snow that had fallen for half the day also came to a stop.

After lunch, Gu Yang stepped over the snow-covered road and returned all the way to the Training Ground. There, he finally experienced treatment completely different from before.

Eyes!

Though more than ten people from this Training Ground had made it into the Minor Competition's top hundred, the majority of gazes were focused on him.

Everyone had a rough idea of who among the others was strong and who was weak. Only Gu Yang had remained silent until he suddenly shocked everyone, completely exceeding the disciples' expectations.

Doubt, confusion, surprise, envy, jealousy, awe...

The gazes fixed upon him carried all kinds of positive and negative emotions, making Gu Yang feel as though he stood beneath a spotlight. His heartbeat could not help quickening slightly.

"Gu Yang, I'm Xiahou Ji. When we have time, we can practice together."

A voice rang out. Gu Yang turned to the side and saw a young man built like a little bull calf smiling and nodding at him.

Gu Yang recognized this young man. He was also one of those who had reached the top hundred in this Minor Competition.

Of course, that was not why Gu Yang remembered Xiahou Ji.

More importantly, this young man was the one who had taken him to the dining hall on his first day at the Martial Academy.

The former indifference had turned into today's friendliness and closeness. Gu Yang understood perfectly why.

Strength!

Back then, he had been ignored because he was weak. Today, he was actively accepted because he was strong.

Whether one's attitude was good or bad depended entirely on strength.

Even more gazes fell upon him and Xiahou Ji. Gu Yang smiled in response. "No problem."

At that moment, he understood even more deeply just how important strength was in this world.

Xiahou Ji turned and left. Gu Yang adjusted his mindset and continued practicing his Stance Training.

Having realized the importance of strength, his attitude toward cultivation became even more focused. He completely ignored the gazes upon him. Every punch and every kick contained all his understanding of the Blood Nourishing Stance Art.

Crack, crack.

Bones ground together, muscles and tendons condensed.

His physical strength was rapidly consumed, then slowly yet continuously restored.

Gu Yang no longer paid attention to the clamor of the outside world, pouring all his energy into cultivation.

After a long while, he finished a set of Stance Training. A line of small text immediately flashed before his eyes.

Skill 'Blood Nourishing Stance' Proficiency +3

In the evening, the Martial Academy's bell rang.

Rejecting Li Zhiwu's invitation to have dinner together that night and celebrate their entry into the Minor Competition's top hundred, Gu Yang quickly left the Martial Academy. After meeting up with Gu Dashan, he headed straight home to Nine Bends Ward.

When the two arrived home, Gu Mother was still cooking porridge.

The rice was coarse rice, the porridge was thin, and there were some dried vegetables in it.

His youngest sister, Gu Yingying, crouched beside the large stove. She warmed herself by the fire while remaining ready to follow Gu Mother's instructions and add wood to the firebox.

Even though there was still pork Gu Yang had bought that remained uneaten, Gu Mother could not bear to cook meat for every meal.

In Gu Mother's words, what kind of family could eat meat every day? Wouldn't that mean they ate even better than the City Lord's family?

With his left arm, he picked up Gu Yingying as she rushed at him. With his right hand, he grabbed Gu Mother, who had seen him return and was about to cook Black Tiger Meat for him. Smiling at his family, Gu Yang said, "Mother, we're not eating at home tonight. Let's go eat at a restaurant!"

Life needed a sense of ceremony. He had achieved an excellent top-hundred result in today's Minor Competition, so naturally, they had to go out and celebrate.

And if he had to choose whom to celebrate with, his first choice would certainly be the three family members before him, not Li Zhiwu.

Under his family's curious gazes, Gu Yang smiled and recounted today's Minor Competition.

Naturally, he emphasized how strong he was, how easily he had fought, how highly the Martial Academy instructors regarded him, and how generous the rewards were.

To make his parents believe him, Gu Yang even took out the porcelain bottle containing the Military Rations Pills and handed it to his parents and sister to look at.

Unlike outside, where he needed to remain modest and restrained, Gu Yang knew very well that his parents were actually deeply anxious and worried about his studying martial arts at the Martial Academy.

So he had to tell them, and he had to tell them with facts and reason, to convince Gu Dashan and Gu Mother.

Why did Gu Dashan save the money rather than spend it after Gu Yang handed it over? Why did Gu Mother still not dare eat meat often even after Gu Yang bought it home?

It was because Gu Dashan and Gu Mother feared that he would be swept out of the Martial Academy. Once the family returned to their "normal" life, they would find it hard to bear such an enormous drop.

Once one grew accustomed to good days, one could no longer endure a life of poverty and hardship.

Gu Dashan poured the Military Rations Pills into his palm, and three heads gathered together to examine them carefully.

This little bottle of pills was the reward for the Martial Academy's Minor Competition?

Amused by the sight, Gu Yang could not help laughing. "Father, don't underestimate these little pills. Someone offered twelve taels of silver to buy this whole bottle from me!"

"What? Twelve taels..." Gu Dashan's hand trembled, and the porcelain bottle nearly fell to the floor.

Clenching his fist, he shoved away Gu Mother's and Gu Yingying's heads. "Go, go, go. Move aside. Stop looking."

As he spoke, he tremblingly poured the pills in his hand back into the porcelain bottle with the utmost care, then sealed it and handed it to Gu Yang.

Seeing Gu Dashan's cautious manner, Gu Yang could not help feeling both amused and exasperated.

"If you want to look, just keep looking. You won't wear them out by looking."

"No more looking. Come on, let's eat." Gu Dashan stepped out the door, then turned back to look at Gu Mother and Gu Yingying, who were still standing there foolishly. "Caihua, Yingying, what are you standing there for? Let's go. We're eating at a restaurant tonight!"

"What about the porridge that's cooking?" Gu Mother asked foolishly.

"We'll eat it tomorrow morning." Smiling, Gu Yang pushed Gu Mother toward the door.

"Hey, wait a moment. I need to bank the fire first. When we come back after dinner, we can take it out and warm ourselves by the fire."

"..."