Damn It

On the way back to the County Office, Li Nuo learned from Steward Wu that among these people, only two were in the Martial Arts Second Realm, while the rest were ordinary people without any martial arts foundation.

Looking at the vast crowd ahead, Li Nuo said with some regret, "Only two in the Internal Breath Realm? Not a single one in the True Qi Realm?"

The difference in lifespan bonus between Martial Arts Masters and ordinary people was quite significant.

He wasn't asking for them to have his wife's strength, but even someone in the True Qi Realm would have been acceptable. He still didn't know how many times one's lifespan could be extended by reaching the third realm of judgment.

"True Qi Realm? How is that possible?"

Steward Wu slowly explained, "A martial arts foundation isn't something you find everywhere. Among ordinary people, one in a hundred might have it. Of those, half will never cultivate Internal Breath in their lifetime, and of those who cultivate Internal Breath, half won't be able to condense True Qi. Anyone who can reach the Object Control Realm can be considered a Martial Dao genius, and that's even with diligent practice. Without diligent practice, even with innate talent, one won't achieve much..."

Li Nuo was taken aback. "Is martial arts cultivation that difficult?"

Steward Wu took a deep breath and said leisurely, "Martial arts cultivation isn't like judging cases or farming. Talent and effort are both indispensable. These children of officials are pampered and spoiled; how could they endure the hardships of martial arts? Even if they have a martial arts foundation, most of it will likely go to waste. Someone like the Wang family's son, who has talent and works hard, is rare. It's a pity he also went down the wrong path..."

Hearing Steward Wu's words, Li Nuo felt much better.

Out of a hundred people, only one had a martial arts foundation. He belonged to the ninety-nine percent.

Moreover, although he didn't have a martial arts foundation, his guards were all Martial Arts Masters above the third realm. Thinking about it that way, it didn't seem so regrettable anymore...

Afterward, Li Nuo asked a question that had puzzled him for days: "After all this talk, what exactly is a martial arts foundation?"

Steward Wu thought for a moment and said, "There isn't a precise definition for a martial arts foundation. In short, someone with a martial arts foundation will experience a rapid surge in strength and a significant increase in physical toughness in a short period once they start cultivating martial arts. Conversely, if their strength and body grow extremely slowly during cultivation, they lack a martial arts foundation. Such people, even with ten or a hundred times the effort, won't be as good as others who just practice casually..."

In other words, Li Nuo, without a martial arts foundation, wouldn't be as good as his wife practicing for just fifteen minutes, even if he practiced desperately for twelve hours a day without sleep.

The reality was indeed hurtful...

The path of martial arts is about talent. Without talent, no amount of effort is useful.

And there's a vast difference between different levels of talent.

Steward Wu said that Wang Yue, the son of the Director of the Ministry of Personnel's Examination Department, had some talent.

Wang Yue's talent was a crushing blow to Li Nuo.

But this talent of his was nothing compared to Song Jiaren.

Li Nuo suddenly thought of Song Mu'er. She was only six years old and seemed to have already cultivated Internal Breath. He asked Steward Wu, "Mu'er's talent is also considered quite good, right?"

Steward Wu nodded and said, "Of course. The women of the Song family have excellent martial arts talent. Those two young ladies, and Miss Song Zhen, although their talent is still a bit inferior to the Young Madam's, it's far beyond ordinary people. If they cultivate diligently, their future achievements will surely be remarkable, at least reaching the level of a Grandmaster..."

Li Nuo noticed a strange phenomenon in the Song family.

The women in their family had heaven-defying martial arts talent.

In contrast, the men lacked even a basic martial arts foundation. If Song Yu had even a little bit of a martial arts foundation, he wouldn't have been chased around like a dog with just a rolling pin.

Could it be that martial arts genes are passed down to women but not men?

Since the matter was brought up, Steward Wu decided to explain in more detail. "Unlike the paths of the various masters, a martial arts foundation is inherited through bloodline. The higher the martial arts talent of the ancestors, the greater the possibility of martial arts geniuses appearing in the descendants. The offspring of two Martial Grandmasters will definitely have good martial arts talent. Our Li family has never produced any martial arts powerhouses, which is why the Master and the Young Master do not have martial arts foundations."

As he spoke, he looked at Li Nuo with fervent eyes and said, "If the Young Master and the Young Madam have children in the future, their martial arts talent will definitely not be bad. With the Young Madam's bloodline, there will be more people with martial arts foundations in the Li family's descendants. Young Master, the future of the Li family rests on you. You and the Young Madam must have more children in the future!"

"We'll see," Li Nuo waved his hand. He and his wife weren't very familiar with each other yet, and the future was still a long way off.

Song Yu, Zhou Yu, and their group followed the constables from the County Office for a long time before finally arriving at the Chang'an County Office.

As soon as they entered the courtyard of the County Office, many people collapsed onto the ground, refusing to get up.

"So tired!"

"My feet are killing me!"

"Damn it, why is this damned County Office so far away..."

Without exception, they were all children of officials. They usually traveled by sedan chair or carriage, never having walked such a long distance. Upon arriving at the Chang'an County Office, they took off their shoes, rubbed their feet, and cursed.

Lieutenant Wang saw this and said sternly, "This is the County Office. What kind of behavior is this? All of you, get up!"

However, no one paid attention to his words.

As the saying goes, the law does not punish the masses. Each of the more than twenty people present had some background in their families. Furthermore, they hadn't committed any serious crimes, so they simply didn't take a mere Chang'an County Lieutenant seriously. Zhou Tao, while rubbing his feet, urged, "Sir, we've arrived at the County Office. Tell us what you intend to do with us..."

Lieutenant Wang ignored him. Instead, he respectfully bent down, bowed to a young man entering the County Office, and asked, "Young Master, how do you intend to deal with these people?"

Zhou Yu and the others were stunned, a hint of doubt appearing on their faces.

This Chang'an County Lieutenant, who had been arrogant in front of them, was now bowing and acting extremely respectfully to this young man who was even younger than them, as if he had transformed into a different person... Who exactly was this young man?

Unlike the confusion of Zhou Yu and the others, Song Yu's face was filled with shock.

Brother-in-law?

Why was he here!

In an instant, he thought of a possibility. Did Li Nuo know that he was going to have a duel with Zhou Yu and the others, and worried about his safety, so he brought people to ambush them in advance? Then, when he was in trouble, he would have the Chang'an County Lieutenant bring people to help...

If that wasn't the case, how could he explain the timely arrival of the Chang'an County Office?

It had to be someone on their side!

At this moment, besides being moved, Song Yu's heart was filled with deep regret.

He had treated his brother-in-law so poorly in the past, yet he didn't hold a grudge and was so good to him. And yesterday, he had even doubted him...

Thinking about his past actions, Song Yu wished he could slap himself twice... He truly deserved to die!

Li Nuo didn't notice Song Yu's face flush with shame. Holding a copy of the Great Xia Codex, he slowly said, "Zhou Yu, Zhou Tao, Song Yu, and the others, for gathering and brawling outside Yunmeng Academy, causing a terrible disturbance. According to the Great Xia Codex, Zhou Yu, Zhou Tao, and ten others will receive ninety strokes of the beating; Song Yu, Wang Hua, and thirteen others will receive seventy strokes of the caning, as a warning to others. Do any of you have objections?"

Song Yu was touched. He didn't know why Li Nuo was judging them, but a brother-in-law was a brother-in-law. They were all involved in a brawl, yet Li Nuo's sentence for them was only seventy strokes of the caning, much lighter than the ninety strokes of the beating for Zhou Yu and the others...

The beating was already a higher level of punishment than the caning. The caning was at most a matter of skin-deep pain, but the beating could injure bones and sinews, even leading to death...

Before Song Yu could speak, Zhou Yu immediately retorted, "I have an objection! This is unfair. It's the same brawl, so why do they only get caning while we get the beating? You're showing favoritism and making an arbitrary judgment!"

Li Nuo, of course, would not make arbitrary judgments.

He flipped to a certain page in the Great Xia Codex he held and pointed to a passage, explaining to Zhou Yu, "According to Article Fifteen of the 'Disputes and Brawls' chapter of the Great Xia Codex, 'Anyone who strikes another with hands or feet shall receive forty strokes of the caning; anyone who uses a weapon to assault another shall receive sixty strokes of the beating; if three or more people jointly assault and injure someone, the punishment shall be increased by one degree; if five or more people, by two degrees; if ten or more people, by three degrees.'

Although it was a brawl, Song Yu and his group were unarmed, so according to the law, they should receive forty strokes of the caning. Furthermore, because the number of people involved in the group brawl exceeded ten, the punishment was increased by three degrees, with each degree adding ten strokes of the caning, resulting in seventy strokes. You, on the other hand, used weapons, so according to the law, you should receive sixty strokes of the beating. With the number of people exceeding ten, the punishment was also increased by three degrees, with each degree adding ten strokes of the beating, resulting in ninety strokes... Do you have any further questions?"

Li Nuo cited the legal provisions and acted entirely according to the law, with sound reasoning. Not only were the penalty levels correct, but even the numbers were precise, not a single stroke more or less.

After explaining this, he handed the matter over to Lieutenant Wang and went to the back hall of the County Office to have tea with Pei Zhe.

Zhou Yu and the others stood frozen in place.

They vaguely recalled that when they studied law in the academy, their teacher had seemed to teach them this.

But as the sons of military families, destined to serve in the army, they didn't necessarily have to take the imperial examination route. In the academy, they had always been inattentive to subjects other than military strategy and equestrian archery. They had either skipped or slept through law classes, so how could they remember this?

However, after today, they would definitely remember this legal provision by heart.

The knowledge they hadn't learned in class was now deeply etched into their minds in a peculiar way outside of the classroom.