Chengping Year 2, August 20.
Early this morning, all the apprentices had already gathered in Apprentice Plaza.
Jiang Liu looked around, but did not see the Pan brothers. He had previously heard members of Miscellaneous Affairs Hall say that they had withdrawn from Fallen Blossom Gang. Now, he merely wanted to confirm it.
There were exactly thirty apprentices still standing there. Of them, eight were from Rising Eagle Hall, ten from Scattered Eagle Hall, seven from Hunting Eagle Hall, and five from Shadow Eagle Hall. Even the weakest had the strength of more than twenty tempered bones. Compared to ordinary gang members, they could be considered exceptionally talented.
Otherwise, they would already have been eliminated. One had to know that after being eliminated once during the gang entrance test, then enduring three more rounds of elimination after entering Training Hall, those who remained would at the very least have no trouble reaching Entry Grade before the age of thirty. Those with good talent might even reach Entry Grade before twenty.
"Today, your cultivation period in the main hall's Training Hall has come to an end. You performed very well. Your batch is the one with the most people remaining. I hope that after returning to your respective branch halls, you can continue cultivating diligently and strive to reach Entry Grade before the age of twenty."
"The benefits and treatment for reaching Entry Grade before twenty—I don't need to explain them to you, do I? If anyone truly doesn't know, go back and ask around in your respective branch halls. Today is the last day I'll be teaching you in Training Hall. I hope your martial fortunes flourish in the years to come!"
After Master Ma finished speaking, he clasped his hands behind his back and drifted away without looking back.
The apprentices watched Master Ma leave with such effortless flair. At first, they all looked around in silence.
Before long, they began chatting in groups of two and three. Although everyone had usually been busy cultivating and had not interacted much, they had still spent a year together. They could not claim to know one another well, but at least they had become familiar faces.
Not long afterward, everyone dispersed, since they still had to hurry to their respective branch halls to report in.
Jiang Liu and Wang Zhuang returned together to the small courtyard where they lived, since they belonged to the same branch hall. As for whether they would still be in the same hall in the future, no one knew.
He was about to leave the main hall, so Jiang Liu prepared to pay Uncle Hai a visit. He had said before that he would learn medicine once the year was over, and now he could finally begin.
With a thought from Jiang Liu, a deep-blue light screen appeared.
Auxiliary System: Name: Jiang Liu Realm: Body Refinement (Blood Exchange 87%) Alchemy (Beginner 56/100) Five Elements Fist (Perfected) (Trait: Qi-Blood Inducement) Wandering Steps (Great Accomplishment 1418/1500)
"Uncle Hai, I've come to see you!" Jiang Liu shouted as soon as he entered Medicine Hall.
"What? Your term in Training Hall is over?" Uncle Hai asked.
"Yes, Uncle Hai! I want to learn medicine from you." Jiang Liu spoke earnestly.
Uncle Hai looked Jiang Liu up and down before saying, "Are you sure? Studying medicine may take up a great deal of your time. Otherwise, it will be difficult to achieve anything. It might even cause you to neglect your martial cultivation."
"Mm! Uncle Hai, I want to give it a try." Jiang Liu spoke sincerely.
"All right! Since you've already studied basic medical texts and learned to identify medicinal herbs at An Sheng Pharmacy, take a look at this and see whether you have the aptitude." With that, Uncle Hai handed him a medical book.
Jiang Liu took it and saw four large characters written on the cover: Hundred Cures Compendium. When he opened it, the first page read: "Medicine is the art of saving lives, but also the art of killing. May those who use it keep benevolent thoughts in their hearts. Zhang Muzhi."
Jiang Liu skimmed through the entire book once, and sure enough, the system reacted.
Medicine (Not Yet Initiated 0/50)
Seeing Jiang Liu flip through the medical book as though racing past flowers on horseback, Uncle Hai shouted angrily, "You brat, you've only just started learning, and you're already being careless?"
Jiang Liu hurriedly apologized. "Uncle Hai, it's not like that. I was just getting a rough understanding first. I'll study it properly."
"All right! I'll take your word for it, brat. Since you want to learn, then study properly. Don't waste your time and still fail to learn anything." Uncle Hai admonished him.
"I will, Uncle Hai!" Jiang Liu quickly replied.
"Mm! Take this book back with you and study it in detail first. Once you feel you've understood it well enough, come back here. I'll test you and see whether you have the aptitude to study medicine," Uncle Hai said.
"Then, Uncle Hai, I'll go report to Hunting Eagle Hall first. I'll come see you again in a few days." Jiang Liu rose to his feet.
"All right! Go on!" Uncle Hai waved his hand.
Jiang Liu had barely walked out of the Medicine Hall gates when he ran into Lin Hai.
"Brother Hai! Were you looking for me, or for Uncle Hai?" Jiang Liu asked.
"I was looking for you. Your term in Training Hall just ended, didn't it? I went to your residential courtyard earlier. How did you end up here with Uncle Hai?" Lin Hai asked, puzzled.
Jiang Liu spoke with a trace of hesitation. "I made an appointment with Uncle Hai before. Once my term in Training Hall ended, I would come to learn medicine from him."
"Learn medicine? Brother Jiang, have you really thought this through? Don't waste your talent for martial arts. You should know that the hall master thinks very highly of you," Lin Hai said.
"Thank you, Brother Hai. I'll manage my time properly." Jiang Liu spoke gratefully.
Lin Hai patted Jiang Liu on the shoulder. "All right, let's not talk about that for now. Tell me, how many bones have you tempered now?"
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