Registered Disciple

"Break through!"

His mind clicked on the plus sign.

Five points of energy flashed, vanishing in an instant, and the Righteous Yang Posture transformed.

Greater Accomplishment!

Whoosh.

Zhang Lingshan's body trembled slightly. Just like when he had broken through before, a warm current inexplicably flowed from within him, racing wildly through his limbs and bones.

Hiss, hiss, hiss.

Zhang Lingshan suddenly heard something.

Strangely, the sound had not come from outside, but from within his body.

He sensed carefully and discovered that it was coming from the flesh beneath his skin.

His body seemed to be growing!

Normally, the body grew bit by bit in an unconscious state.

But at this moment, all those changes came at once.

Not only did his flesh hiss and crackle.

The bones inside his body also gave off a series of crack-crack-crack sounds.

It was like someone who had not moved for a long time suddenly stretching, their bones and joints popping and snapping crisply.

Zhang Lingshan immersed himself in the transformation, wishing time would never stop and that he could keep growing forever.

Ever since he had transmigrated into this world and inherited this Shorty's body, he had truly had enough of being less than one and a half meters tall.

Discrimination—discrimination everywhere!

He wanted to grow taller, bigger, stronger. He never wanted to be looked down upon again.

Huff—!

He exhaled a mouthful of turbidity.

Zhang Lingshan calmed down, and the changes in his body finally came to a complete end.

After checking his height, he found that he had grown by roughly five centimeters.

It was not much, but he had finally poked his head above one and a half meters.

And he was only fifteen. He still had room to grow, not to mention the improvements and changes the Panel brought him.

The future was bright.

As he continued examining his body, Zhang Lingshan found that his flesh seemed to have become firmer.

As a Shorty, his body had always been broader than others', growing only in width and never in height.

But now that his body had lengthened, his proportions had become more balanced. His muscles had stretched along with it, gaining greater contraction strength and elasticity.

He could clearly feel that his strength had increased by quite a bit.

With my current condition, the Righteous Yang Posture should count as mastered, right?

Zhang Lingshan thought to himself.

But he had never seen what a truly mastered Righteous Yang Posture looked like. After tidying himself up, he immediately returned to the Hong Clan Martial Hall.

At lunch, he had heard everyone discussing how Tie Feng would be taking the Righteous Yang Posture assessment that afternoon.

It was the perfect chance to observe.

Hong Clan Martial Hall.

Hong Zhengdao sat imposingly at the entrance to the Main Hall, his eyes blazing like torches as he watched the apprentices in the outer courtyard practicing their Standing Postures. He frowned repeatedly.

Beside his table, Little Stone, Shi Lei, attended him diligently, fanning his master.

"Stop fanning!"

Hong Zhengdao suddenly slapped away his fan in annoyance, then sprang to his feet and bellowed sternly.

"What are you all good for?! You can't even grasp this little bit of Stance Skill. Have you put any effort into it at all?! You want to learn martial arts with that kind of attitude? I say none of you get dinner today! Go back and think carefully about what you paid so much money to come here for!"

The apprentices did not dare make a sound. All of them lowered their heads and listened to the hall master's reprimand.

Just then, Zhang Lingshan emerged from beside the screen. Although he promptly stopped and lowered his head obediently, he still caught Hong Zhengdao's attention.

"Where did you go?! Why are you running around instead of practicing properly? If you little Bastard don't want to learn, then get the hell—"

The curse flew from his mouth, but he suddenly stopped. He had recognized Zhang Lingshan. "It's you. Have you recovered from your injury?"

"I have recovered. Thank you for your concern, Hall Master."

Zhang Lingshan hurriedly seized the opening.

Hong Zhengdao nodded. "Not bad. You returned to practice as soon as you recovered from your injury, far better than these lazy, slippery fellows. No wonder you smashed your head against a wall. You truly have the talent and heart for martial arts..."

As he spoke, he noticed that everyone's expressions were off. They all wore strange looks, as though they wanted to laugh but could not.

Hong Zhengdao's face darkened, and he was about to fly into a rage and scold them.

Then Shi Lei beside him said, "Master, you misunderstand. This kid's injury healed long ago, but he already gave up practicing Stance Skill. He comes every day just to mooch two meals. Isn't it dinner time again? That's why he came scampering over."

The apprentices all nodded in unison, chiming in one after another.

A perfect live target had arrived to draw the hall master's attention, so they would not have to be scolded.

"Is that so?"

Hong Zhengdao's face darkened as he looked at Zhang Lingshan.

Zhang Lingshan remained calm. "In reply to Hall Master, this student has practiced Stance Skill at home and gained a little understanding. I ask the Hall Master to inspect it."

With that, without caring whether Hong Zhengdao agreed or not, he immediately went through the Eighteen Forms of Righteous Yang Posture once.

The apprentices had not expected Zhang Lingshan to be so bold. He was not the slightest bit flustered before the hall master, and his movements were so solid.

At the very least, he performed them far more smoothly than most of them, and every posture was standard.

On that point alone, he had already surpassed half of them.

This kid actually...

Shi Lei stared, dumbfounded.

He had clearly taught him only once, and it had only been a few days. Yet he had actually mastered the Righteous Yang Posture?

Could this kid have secretly found some Senior Brother to give him extra lessons?

But even with extra lessons, he should not have improved this quickly.

Sigh, if he had known this fellow was so talented, why had he needed to give him the cold shoulder over three qian of silver?

He had called him trash at noon, and that afternoon, Zhang Lingshan passed the Stance Skill assessment.

Too late for regrets!

Shi Lei felt bitterly annoyed.

He had noticed his master leaning forward slightly, light shining in his eyes and a smile on his face. That was the look of someone cherishing talent.

With this kid's talent, along with his resolute martial heart that had driven him to smash his head against a wall, it would probably not be long before he stood over Shi Lei's head and became his Senior Brother.

I need to find a way to build a good relationship with him. After all, I was the one who taught him the Righteous Yang Posture. That counts as the kindness of imparting knowledge.

Shi Lei secretly pondered.

"Good!"

When Zhang Lingshan finished and drew back his stance, Hong Zhengdao let out a thunderous shout.

He strode over to Zhang Lingshan, squeezed his shoulders, lower back, and thighs, and praised, "Not bad, not bad. You trained very solidly. All of you, look carefully. This is what a true martial artist looks like. He got injured and still managed to master it. What excuse do you have to slack off? Practice properly!"

With that, he pulled Zhang Lingshan into the Main Hall and said, "From now on, you are my Registered Disciple. You may call yourself my disciple and address me as Hong Master."

"Yes, Hong Master!"

Zhang Lingshan hurriedly bowed.

Hong Zhengdao smiled and had him stand to one side with Shi Lei. Then he sat in his chair and looked at Tie Feng. "Didn't you apply for an assessment? Go through it once and let me see."

"Yes."

Tie Feng promptly obeyed.

A moment later.

Hong Zhengdao nodded reluctantly. "Passable. In a few more days, you would have made it anyway. I'm in a good mood today, so I'll count you as having passed."

Tie Feng hurriedly bowed. He secretly glanced at Zhang Lingshan beside Hong Zhengdao, his heart filled with a tangled mix of emotions.