Disciple Treatment

Liu Zhen pulled Shen Fan along to register with the steward.

Soon, everything was done, and Shen Fan found a token in his hand, with an ox demon pattern carved on it so lifelike it seemed ready to leap off.

"Junior Brother Shen, this is your identity token. Take good care of it. From now on, this is your proof as an official disciple of the Martial Hall. Whether you're collecting medicinal cuisine or silver, you'll need this token!"

Liu Zhen explained in detail. He had a favorable impression of Shen Fan, after all—this was someone who had come through his hands, naturally bearing the label of his lineage.

Not to mention, there was the Martial Hall's reward to consider!

"Don't worry, Senior Brother Liu. I'll be careful." Shen Fan replied politely.

"Mm. With this identity token, you can claim a serving of body-nourishing medicinal cuisine every day, and two taels of reward money each month!

Of course, that's only for newcomers like you who've just reached Skin Refining. If your strength advances further in the future, the Martial Hall's support will increase too. Medicinal cuisine is nothing—you might even get the chance to obtain medicinal pills!

You should know, the effects of medicinal pills far surpass ordinary medicinal cuisine. They're just one step away from becoming true elixirs!" Liu Zhen explained in detail.

"These are things you must understand as an official disciple. Don't reach for what's beyond you. The Martial Path, in the end, relies on your own strength!

When you have strength, everything you deserve will come to you.

On the other hand, if you forcibly obtain treatment you're not ready for, one day you won't be able to hold onto it!"

With these words, Liu Zhen gave Shen Fan a deep look.

Shen Fan nodded slightly. Ever since he learned that this world thrived on the Martial Path, he knew he had to keep his head down and lie low.

After all, with the Attribute Panel in his possession, as long as he could stay alive, immortality was merely a matter of time!

Seeing Shen Fan's obedient demeanor, Liu Zhen smiled with satisfaction. This junior brother was quite compliant—but his talent was still a bit lacking. It had taken him over a year just to reach Skin Refining; at this rate, before his qi and blood began to decline, he'd probably only make it to Bone Forging at most!

Liu Zhen silently evaluated him in his heart. As he looked at Shen Fan, the sharp gleam in his eyes gradually dimmed.

"Alright, I'll be heading back now. If you have any problems, come find me anytime!" Liu Zhen shook his head and strolled away leisurely.

"I see Senior Brother off!" Shen Fan called out respectfully from behind.

When facing someone stronger than yourself, it was best to be "well-behaved"—this was a bit of shallow experience Shen Fan had accumulated in his past life.

But when your own strength was enough to handle everything, you could reach the realm of "never overstepping."

A strong person's words were the rules, so naturally, they "never overstepped!"

Gripping the token tightly in his hand, Shen Fan finally felt a bit of reassurance in his heart.

From today onward, he could finally devote himself fully to the Martial Path. Back when he was an apprentice, the miscellaneous chores had taken up far too much of his time and energy!

That very day, Shen Fan finally tasted the legendary medicinal cuisine.

It was a bowl of brown liquid medicine, exuding a thick, bitter smell. The moment he laid eyes on it, Shen Fan's heart rejected it outright. But thinking of how this stuff could help his Martial Path, he gritted his teeth and downed it in one go.

As the bowl of medicinal cuisine entered his stomach, Shen Fan immediately felt a warmth in his gut, followed by a surge of heat flowing through his entire body.

Shen Fan knew this was the medicinal cuisine taking effect. Not daring to waste it, he immediately began practicing his fists. Compared to the Savage Bull Fist, which still had a long way to go before reaching Great Accomplishment, Shen Fan shifted his focus back to True Combined Strength.

Because cultivation methods were relatively easier to improve at lower realms!

And once he raised the realm of his cultivation method, Shen Fan's talent and lifespan would also increase, which in turn would speed up his training pace, making it easier to reach even higher realms.

This was a closed loop—the most beneficial cycle for Shen Fan.

And now, because his Savage Bull Fist had broken through to Minor Accomplishment during the day, Shen Fan's current Attribute Panel looked like this:

code
Host: Shen Fan
Talent: 12 (Slightly Gifted)
Lifespan: 53
Martial Arts: Savage Bull Fist (Minor Accomplishment), True Combined Strength (Beginner)
Realm: Skin Refining

The Minor Accomplishment of Savage Bull Fist had increased Shen Fan's lifespan by 10 years, and his talent had also gone up by one point.

Following this pattern, Shen Fan vaguely guessed the rules for adding points to the panel.

Before talent reached 10 points, every increase in lifespan added one point to talent. But after 10 points, it seemed to take 10 years of lifespan to add just one point of talent!

Thinking of this possibility, Shen Fan took a deep breath to calm his restless heart.

Although increasing talent was becoming harder and harder, the further he went, the more each point of talent brought explosive effects on top of the previous foundation.

For example, this time, even though only one point of talent had been added, Shen Fan could clearly feel his understanding of martial arts becoming sharper. His training speed had increased by at least twenty percent!

Further down the line, maybe each added point of talent would double his training speed.

With 12 points of talent, Shen Fan's practice of True Combined Strength at the Beginner level had sped up considerably. If before, with 11 points, it would have taken him over a month to reach Minor Accomplishment in True Combined Strength, now he only needed a little over half a month!

And because he had become an official disciple of the Martial Hall, he could spend more time training, with ample meals and the aid of medicinal cuisine—this time would be drastically reduced!

A conservative estimate put it at most ten days before he could reach Minor Accomplishment in True Combined Strength.

This was the importance of resources to a Martial Artist.

That was why most Martial Artists in the world were frantically collecting all kinds of resources. After all, their talent was fixed. To train faster, consuming resources became an inevitable choice.

And Shen Fan, compared to ordinary Martial Artists, undoubtedly had many more advantages.

But the existence of the panel could never be exposed—make a fortune in silence, then quietly astonish everyone. That was Shen Fan's current plan.

The next day, Shen Fan slept in for the first time until the sun was high in the sky.

He got up slowly, then hurried to the Martial Hall's cafeteria to enjoy a breakfast he'd never dared to imagine before—five big meat buns, plus a bowl of congee!

As an apprentice, breakfast was only two plain vegetable buns.

And this was merely the smallest difference in treatment between the two.

After breakfast, Shen Fan arrived at the dedicated training grounds for Martial Hall disciples. Everywhere were professional training props, and of course, all free to use.

Shen Fan found an empty spot and began practicing punches to warm up.

While Shen Fan was immersed in his own world, a Young Apprentice suddenly approached him cautiously and said respectfully, "Senior Brother, is there anything I can help you with?"

This Young Apprentice was thin and small, with a sallow complexion—clearly another poor soul. But as an apprentice, he had to do all the menial work.

If he couldn't meet certain requirements, he might even be expelled from the Martial Hall.

Aside from simple tasks, serving the formal disciples was the most common type of chore.

Pouring tea, fetching water, massaging shoulders and legs—whatever a servant did, the apprentice had to do. Even serving as a sparring dummy and getting beaten was a common occurrence. Such was life when living under someone else's roof.

Shen Fan glanced at the Young Apprentice and said nothing.

The Young Apprentice was so anxious tears were about to fall. Clearly, this was a newcomer with a very thin skin.

Shen Fan suddenly smiled slightly and said, "Pour me a pot of tea, will you? I'm thirsty!"

Hearing Shen Fan's order, the Young Apprentice's face lit up with joy, and he scurried off.

With work to do, no one could drive him away. As long as he could stay in the Martial Hall, he could survive!

Pouring tea and fetching water was undoubtedly the easiest task. At least compared to others, Shen Fan was truly too gentle.

But Shen Fan didn't think this was a bad thing. Having suffered hardship himself, he couldn't bear to see others suffer more. Though Shen Fan's abilities were still limited, following his own heart within his means wasn't a bad thing.

Martial Artists train in martial arts, but they must also cultivate their hearts!