Iron Clothes Gate, Prajna Temple

Inside the room, Xie Yuan stroked the large silver ingot that seemed to gleam with treasure-light, a satisfied look on his face.

This single ingot was worth ten taels of silver!

He had never even seen such a large silver ingot before!

Zhu Dongming's words still echoed in his ears:

"Yuanzi, the tiger sold for over forty-one taels of silver. It could've fetched more, but we had no connections, and those black-hearted merchants forced the price down. Nothing we could do about it. Zhou Feng also took the big bones from the tiger legs. The remaining tiger hide went for seventeen taels, the tiger whip for fifteen taels... and so on. That's everything.

"Wu Lao Si was badly injured, so the doctor and medicine were paid for from that money. There are more than thirty taels left. We discussed it—you take the largest share, twelve taels. Sound good?"

Zhu Dongming had put it politely, but how could Xie Yuan possibly refuse?

They had borne all the danger while he had gone in, used a skill, and picked up a kill—no, a tiger's head! With such gains, he was more than satisfied.

Besides, the tiger leg bone was now in his hands.

In other words, from hunting one tiger, nearly half the gains of a five-man team had gone to him alone!

Xie Yuan weighed the large ingot and the two taels of loose silver again and again, then let out a satisfied sigh.

He had the starting capital to learn martial arts.

Unable to wait any longer, he carefully tucked the silver deep inside his clothes against his chest, then picked up the axe Zhou Feng had just sent over.

The axe head, as large as half a face, was brand-new, smooth and even, polished without the slightest trace of wear. It nearly reflected Xie Yuan's features;

The blade formed a neat, straight line, exceedingly sharp and glinting coldly. It no longer bore the specks of rust and countless nicks of his old axe.

One look told him this axe had been forged from top-quality iron. Grateful that Xie Yuan had saved his only son, Zhou Feng's father had brought out even the treasures kept at the bottom of his chest.

Yet the most eye-catching part of the axe was still its handle, made from a tiger leg bone.

Tiger bone was far sturdier than wood, and Zhou Feng's father had polished it until it shone like jade. The lustrous white handle set beneath the axe head looked like some precious ornament from a wealthy household. How did it resemble a Logging Axe?

It was not merely beautiful, either. The handle was hard and solid, and paired with the fine iron blade, it suited Xie Yuan perfectly at his current stage. Using axe techniques with this axe would raise its power by at least one level.

The axe looked superb, and Xie Yuan himself was striking as well. Standing with the axe in hand, as though holding a treasured weapon, he cut a figure apart from the rest.

No one would ever have guessed he was merely a woodcutter.

After admiring himself for a while, Xie Yuan still took out a strip of cloth and wrapped it layer upon layer around the gleaming white Tiger Bone Axe handle.

First, it absorbed sweat and prevented slipping, making the grip more comfortable and convenient. Second, it kept things a little more low-key. Wealth should not be flaunted.

With the axe in hand, Xie Yuan headed straight out, his steps light as he made for Coiling Dragon Town.

Coiling Dragon Town to the south was the nearest market town to their village and the center of several surrounding villages, with quite a large population.

Beyond Coiling Dragon Town lay Yun Zhao County, the largest "city" in the vicinity that Xie Yuan knew of.

Limited by poor transport and the lack of information, the farthest place mountain villagers might travel in their lifetimes was the county seat—or perhaps only the town. As for what lay beyond the county, they could not name a single thing.

Xie Yuan did not know either, but thanks to his parents' teachings, he could read. His parents had moved to Small Stone Village from elsewhere and were literate. When Xie Yuan and Xie Lun were young, they had taught the two brothers, but when Xie Yuan was still very small, they had passed away one after another due to poor health. Xie Lun had painstakingly raised him, so his memories of his parents were not very deep.

When he was young, Xie Lun had taken Xie Yuan to the town market, so he knew the way. Many people traveled this road, and it was fairly peaceful, but Xie Yuan carried a huge sum of money. All along the way, his hand never left his axe.

After walking for nearly half a day, Xie Yuan finally reached the bounds of Coiling Dragon Town and was able to breathe a sigh of relief.

Coiling Dragon Town was naturally far more bustling than Small Stone Village. Several streets crisscrossed it, with peddlers and crowds flowing back and forth. The streets were paved with bluestone slabs, while the sides were lined with houses of gray brick and black tile. At the town center stood a three-story restaurant, looking down upon all the lesser heights.

Xie Yuan took in the rare bustle of ordinary life, but he did not linger.

Heavy silver lay tucked against his chest, and he strode forward with a clear destination in mind.

"The east end of the street, the east end... There it is."

Xie Yuan stopped before a large courtyard and looked up at the plaque above it.

"Iron Clothes Gate."

The courtyard gate was rather imposing...

As Xie Yuan was thinking this, a disciple in gray clothes came over from the entrance and asked warmly:

"Brother, looking to learn martial arts? Our Iron Clothes Gate's Iron Cloth is renowned far and wide, the finest in Coiling Dragon Town. Even people from Yun Zhao County come here for its fame. It isn't expensive—just eleven taels of silver."

Xie Yuan's eyes widened at that.

"Eleven taels? Wasn't it ten?"

The disciple smiled.

"That's old news. These days, the tea offering upon entry is eleven taels, signifying wholehearted devotion to martial arts."

Xie Yuan was somewhat speechless and deliberately muttered:

"The price has risen so much it's almost caught up with Black Tiger Fist Hall and Divine Weapon Hall. Why shouldn't I go to them instead?"

The disciple hurriedly waved his hands.

"Brother, you don't understand. To practice martial arts, first train yourself. Their techniques may look more imposing than ours, but if you get clubbed from behind, won't you still be knocked down? Unlike our Iron Clothes Gate—Iron Cloth protects the body, impervious to blades and spears. When you spar with others, you stand in an undefeated position. You can only deal damage if you're still standing.

"Besides, the other two have raised their prices too."

So it was all because everyone had adjusted their prices together?

Xie Yuan found it rather amusing.

However, he had come straight to Iron Clothes Gate because he had done his homework.

For one thing, just as the disciple said, the other two focused respectively on fist techniques and weapons. Their fights were full of wind and tiger-roars, more flashy than Iron Cloth. But after struggling through three months as an entry disciple, what could one really learn? In the end, it would all come to nothing. Iron Cloth was better for strengthening the body—though in truth, ordinary people could not even get started with it.

As for Xie Yuan, his axe techniques were already proficient, so he did not currently lack offensive means. Beginning with Iron Cloth to defend himself and temper his physique would better prepare him to become a martial artist.

The second reason was also the most important: Iron Clothes Gate was much cheaper than the other two.

The other two required at least fifteen taels just to enter.

The price of taking on disciples also revealed the relative strength and prosperity of the various martial halls.

Xie Yuan asked again:

"Isn't Iron Cloth just a common martial art? Everyone in the martial world has practiced a move or two of it. What makes your Iron Clothes Gate's Iron Cloth different?"

"Of course it is! Brother, you've hit the nail on the head. If it were merely ordinary stuff, how could our Iron Clothes Gate have founded a school upon Iron Cloth? Naturally, our technique has something special about it.

"Our gate master, Master Liu, is a master who has completed the Second Level of Practice. He was once a lay disciple of Prajna Temple. The Iron Cloth he learned is actually a Prajna Temple martial art, containing Buddhist Resonance and a measure of the power of the Buddhist Golden Bell Shield. At the same level, blades and spears cannot break it.

"That is why our Iron Cloth is far stronger than the Iron Cloth outside. You definitely won't lose out by learning it!"

"Prajna Temple?"

What was that?

Xie Yuan asked as soon as the thought came to him. The disciple stared at him in disbelief, as though he were some wild man from the mountains.

But the disciple quickly looked over his dusty clothes, withdrew his gaze, and thought, He really did come from the mountains.

He explained:

"Prajna Temple is one of the Great Li Dynasty's top sects... Er, a sect is just a big martial hall. Think of Prajna Temple as one of the very greatest martial halls in the entire Great Li Dynasty.

"Its status in the Great Li Dynasty is like the status of our Iron Clothes Gate in Coiling Dragon Town."