Entry Level! Medicinal Soup

"All right!"

Hearing Zhang Lingshan agree so readily, Shi Lei was overjoyed. He called out for him to wait, then excitedly ran toward the Backyard.

As soon as he left, Zhang Lingshan immediately turned his attention to the "+" on the Panel.

He clicked it with his mind!

Whoosh!

The Panel immediately changed.

Name: Zhang Lingshan

Martial Art: Righteous Yang Posture (Entry Level)

Energy: 0.2

It only takes 0.1 Energy to upgrade? This Righteous Yang Posture is a little too...

Before Zhang Lingshan could continue grumbling inwardly, an inexplicable warmth surged from within his body. Every limb and bone felt incomparably comfortable.

Unfortunately, the warmth came quickly and vanished even faster. It disappeared in the blink of an eye, leaving Zhang Lingshan no time even to savor it.

As expected, it's only the lowest-grade martial art. Even after reaching Entry Level, it doesn't do much.

Zhang Lingshan sighed inwardly.

But he soon discovered that he had underestimated this Righteous Yang Posture.

The pain all over his body had actually lessened, and his body seemed to have grown a little stronger.

Others might not have noticed anything, but he could clearly feel that his entire body was no longer as exhausted as before. It no longer hurt whenever he moved, and he could even leap high into the air.

Other than the stabbing pain brought on by several more difficult movements in the Righteous Yang Posture, such as the Pillar Yang Stance and Horizontal Yang Stance, he could perform all the other movements properly.

Checking his skin again—

Zhang Lingshan found that the red marks had faded somewhat.

Good. Martial arts really are useful. As long as my body is strong enough and my Blood Qi is abundant enough, these Weird red marks will disappear!

Zhang Lingshan saw a real, tangible change and knew he had not chosen the wrong path. Greatly encouraged, his heart immediately surged with excitement, and he practiced with even greater vigor.

As time passed, noon soon arrived.

Though the late-autumn sun was not especially fierce, its rays still felt pleasantly warm.

At this moment, Zhang Lingshan discovered that the red marks had faded further, and he could perform every movement of the Righteous Yang Posture completely.

Though the red marks had yet to disappear entirely, their disappearance was not far off.

He was overjoyed.

Yet while his spirits were high, his body was beginning to give out. Not only were his limbs weary, but his stomach was rumbling as well.

He needed to get some meat to eat.

Since he had used the twenty taels of tuition money from Wang Datou and the other man, none of the money saved at home had been touched. He was flush with funds now, so eating something good was hardly excessive.

Besides, eating meat could raise the Panel's Energy value.

So not only did he need to eat meat—he needed to eat his fill.

Merely reaching Entry Level in the Righteous Yang Posture had already faded the red marks. Zhang Lingshan was greatly looking forward to the benefits its next breakthrough would bring.

Didn't Shi Lei tell me to wait while he sold me the medicinal soup? Why hasn't he come yet?

Puzzled, Zhang Lingshan craned his neck to look toward the rooms in the Main Hall.

Someone beside him suddenly said, "Stop looking. We haven't mastered our Stance Skill yet. We're merely apprentices who paid money, with neither status nor the right to enter there. We can only practice in the Front Courtyard. Only after mastering the Stance Skill do we become Registered Disciples, able to pass through the Main Hall and enter the Middle Courtyard to learn true martial arts."

Zhang Lingshan turned and saw a handsome young man, one of those practicing the Stance Skill with everyone else in the Front Courtyard.

The man was tall and powerfully built, nearly two heads taller than Zhang Lingshan.

Seeing Zhang Lingshan look over, he smiled faintly. "My name is Tie Feng."

"My name is Zhang Lingshan."

Zhang Lingshan quickly introduced himself. He could not have asked for more than someone willing to talk to him, so he immediately asked, "Brother Tie Feng, how long have you been here? You should be about to master the Stance Skill and enter the Middle Courtyard, right?"

"Mm, I've been here for over a month. I'm about there."

Tie Feng did not hide it and answered honestly, a hint of pride on his face. "I plan to pass the assessment and enter the Middle Courtyard in a few days."

Zhang Lingshan said, "Then congratulations in advance, Brother Tie Feng."

"Mm, it's nothing. You can do it too. I think you're much smarter than the others here. Even though this is only your first day practicing, you already look the part. You'll definitely master it within three months. I'll wait for you in the Middle Courtyard. By then, we'll be proper Senior and Junior Brothers. If anything comes up, you can come find your Brother Tie."

He patted Zhang Lingshan on the shoulder, looking every inch the big brother encouraging his little brother.

Zhang Lingshan cooperatively nodded and agreed.

In his eyes, these young men were all just children. He did not care what they said; all he cared about was what he could learn from them.

So he continued playing the role of an honest little brother, flattering Tie Feng while slipping in questions at just the right moments.

Tie Feng enjoyed it greatly and answered them all.

Only then did Zhang Lingshan learn that the martial hall provided two meals, one at noon and one in the afternoon. The food was not bad either, worthy of their tuition fees.

And that was merely the treatment for apprentices.

Once they mastered the Stance Skill and became Registered Disciples, their treatment would rise another level. As their strength grew, their treatment would improve further. In the end, the martial hall might even spend money to cultivate them.

But that was all talk for later.

Tie Feng himself did not know the details.

But one thing was certain: the stronger you were, the more you received.

Therefore, one had to fight for it!

Once one broke through to a new realm, one had to immediately pass the assessment and raise one's status and treatment. Only then could one become even stronger.

"All right, all right, enough talking. Food's ready. Hurry and line up."

Tie Feng gave Zhang Lingshan a push.

Zhang Lingshan saw someone bring two large basins out from the Main Hall—one filled with white rice, the other with a mixed stew.

All the apprentices immediately ran over to line up obediently. Everything was orderly; no one made trouble, cut in line, or scrambled for food.

They were all hot-blooded young men, yet each of them was more obedient than they were at home. It was clear just how strict the Hong Clan Martial Hall's management was.

"Everyone gets only one bowl. Take as much as you want, but there are no second helpings, and you can't leave any behind," Tie Feng explained to Zhang Lingshan.

So Zhang Lingshan scooped himself a heaping old bowl. He had paid money, after all—wouldn't it be a loss if he did not eat more?

But he had overestimated his appetite.

The food here was unlike the food at the Red Leaf Temple worksite. It had meat and oil, and who knew what else had been added, but it was incredibly filling. By the end, Zhang Lingshan's stomach was swollen like a frog's. He forced himself to hop twice before finally cleaning up the last bite.

Just then, Shi Lei came running over with a bowl of medicinal soup, saying excitedly, "I got the medicine for you. Drink it while it's hot."

"..."

Zhang Lingshan was speechless. "I'm stuffed to Death right now. Will the medicine lose its potency if I let it cool?"

"Not really. It'll just become even harder to swallow. But I don't care how you deal with it in the end. I brought you the medicine, so you have to give me the three qian of silver we agreed on."

"Fine."

Zhang Lingshan pulled several pieces of broken silver from his clothes, weighed them in his hand, and passed them over.

"Hehe."

Shi Lei happily accepted them. "Junior Brother really is straightforward. If you think this medicinal soup works well, you can keep coming to your Senior Brother here. But you'll have to wait three days."

With that, he happily headed out, though no one knew where he was going.

As Tie Feng watched him leave, he immediately moved close to Zhang Lingshan again. He curiously stared at the bowl of medicinal soup, then leaned closer and sniffed it.

"It smells bitter enough."

He shook his head with a frown and gave Zhang Lingshan a sympathetic look.

In his mind, Zhang Lingshan had already become synonymous with a fool and his money. He did not know whether the medicine worked, but it definitely was not worth as much as Zhang Lingshan had just paid Shi Lei.

That foolish kid had obviously been swindled by Shorty.

Zhang Lingshan did not know what Tie Feng was thinking. He simply sat honestly on the ground, guarding the medicinal soup resting atop a stone stool.

Only when his stomach no longer felt fit to burst did he gulp the medicinal soup down in one go.