Learning Martial Arts

With his words, Lord Han turned and left. After a few steps, he stopped and looked back at Fang Yue.

"Follow me."

"Oh, oh... okay."

Fang Yue quickly got up and followed.

This time, Lord Han took Fang Yue and basically toured Ancient Moon Village before stopping in front of a large courtyard.

Inside the courtyard, many youths were on the muddy ground after the rain, striking neat poses and shouting "one, two, one, two," performing punches with sweat pouring down like rain.

At the entrance of the courtyard, some people were waiting in line, queuing up.

Fang Yue was surprised to find Shi Wuliao among the people lining up.

Shi Wuliao clearly saw Fang Yue and was about to speak when he saw Lord Han next to Fang Yue and immediately shut his mouth.

In the two hours Fang Yue was idling in the game, Shi Wuliao had done his homework and knew how high Lord Han's status was in this village, able to decide the life and death of refugees like them with a single word.

Fang Yue sent a message to Shi Wuliao using the friend system, then looked at Lord Han.

"This is the Guard Team, responsible for the village's safety and daily patrol missions. If you want to learn martial arts, you need to join the village's Guard Team and contribute to defending our Ancient Moon Village in the future. Are you willing?"

Lord Han explained, then quietly watched Fang Yue.

Of course, I'm willing.

Fang Yue nodded repeatedly, his heart filled with excitement.

He was finally going to learn martial arts!

It was time to increase his stats and get stronger.

Fang Yue had seen forum posts. Most players entered the village as refugees, let alone learning martial arts, they couldn't even find decent work.

The villagers' favorability towards refugees was very low; disdain and hostility were the norm.

Most people worked desperately for the villagers, took on quests, and increased their favorability before they had a chance to interact with members of the village's Guard Team.

Some people encountered special villagers, learned other skills, and had other opportunities, which Fang Yue could only envy.

No matter what, compared to others who wanted to learn martial arts but couldn't find an opportunity, Fang Yue's situation was like jumping straight to the front.

Having someone important looking out for you means you can do whatever you want.

"Alright, come in with me."

Fang Yue swaggered into the courtyard behind Lord Han.

Seeing this, Shi Wuliao's eyes turned red.

Damn! Why don't I have this kind of luck!

Everyone else also focused envious and jealous gazes on Fang Yue.

In this world, without some skills to protect yourself, you could die inexplicably at any time.

Therefore, learning martial arts was the desire of most people.

However, the Guard Team was not a charity organization; they had high requirements for recruits, and without some benefits, you couldn't even get in the door.

After entering the village, Shi Wuliao had initially stuck with the guy who claimed to have connections with the village pharmacist.

As a result, he found that the pharmacist had various conditions for accepting disciples, and he didn't want him at all, thinking he was stupid and had a bad memory.

Nonsense! You throw a book with so many herb properties at me and expect me to memorize it? Who would be willing to learn that!

So Shi Wuliao gave up on the pharmacist route. After inquiring everywhere, he learned that the Guard Team taught martial arts and came to queue up to try his luck.

Perhaps he was exceptionally talented and would be noticed by the Guard Team.

Now, he felt that Fang Yue was the one who was truly exceptionally talented...

Never mind what Shi Wuliao was thinking.

The youths practicing martial arts in the courtyard at night all stopped their movements when they saw Lord Han. The instructor in charge of teaching also quickly bowed respectfully.

"Lord Han, why have you come?"

"I'm here to recommend someone to join the Guard Team. You carry on."

"Yes!"

The instructor glanced at Fang Yue and, without thinking further, the shouts of "one, two, one, two" from the youths soon echoed in the courtyard again.

Passing through the courtyard and walking further inside, they could see a large house.

Pushing the door open.

"Lord Han? Why are you..."

The middle-aged man sitting inside quickly stood up.

"Sit down. I'll make it brief and leave after I'm done."

"Please speak."

"This little fellow's name is Little Ye. I want him to join the Guard Team and learn martial arts from you."

"Lord Han, I investigated his background before, but I couldn't find anything. He should be one of the refugees."

"I don't care about his origins. I want you to teach him martial arts."

"Alright, Lord Han's orders are my command. I, Chen Mu, will obey. You saved my life back then..."

"Don't mention the past. I'm entrusting this little guy to you. Teach him well."

"Understood."

Lord Han left.

Fang Yue and Chen Mu chatted, and he gradually understood the situation of the Guard Team.

The Guard Team of Ancient Moon Village was the core strength of the village, with three captains in total.

Chen Mu was the captain of the first team and the overall captain, usually stationed in the village.

The captain of the second team, Hua Wuye, was usually responsible for daytime vigilance.

The captain of the third team, whom Fang Yue had encountered, was Lin Ling, responsible for the safety of the core.

The duties of the three would shift; they were not fixed. Moreover, as captains, they generally didn't need to handle trivial matters when no anomalies were encountered, leading a very leisurely life.

"Lord Han has been kind to me. Since he entrusted you to me, even though you are a bit older, I will do my best to cultivate you."

"I practice Blade Technique. For anyone else, I would just teach them basic martial arts and send them away. But for you, I will teach you my Blade Technique, but you must first meet the minimum requirements for it."

He paused, and Chen Mu asked, "By the way, how much do you know about martial arts?"

"Absolutely nothing!" Fang Yue stated righteously.

"...Alright, let's go out first."

Fang Yue followed Chen Mu out and looked up to see the youths in the yard gathered in a circle, chattering about something, pointing and gesturing occasionally.

"What's going on?"

Chen Mu asked in a deep voice.

The youths were startled and quickly returned to their positions, continuing to practice their punches.

The youths dispersed, leaving only the instructor and... a muscular, burly man.

Fang Yue recognized this burly man; he was the Player who claimed his Talent was Innate Divine Strength. He remembered his name was Niu Niu Da Niu...

"Brother Ye! You're here too!"

Niu Niu had a loud voice, and upon seeing Fang Yue, he showed an excited expression.

Fang Yue responded, and the instructor walked over at that moment.

"Captain Chen, this person has Innate Divine Strength. He hasn't learned any martial arts, yet he has 3 points of Control Power! I think he's a promising talent."

"Then accept him."

"Yes!"

The instructor looked at Niu Niu. "From now on, you are a reserve member of our Guard Team. You must report to the Guard Team every day. Don't worry, you'll receive all the benefits you're entitled to."

"Thank you, Brother Instructor!"

Niu Niu was pulled aside by the instructor. Fang Yue watched as Niu Niu, after being instructed, began punching a large rock repeatedly and furiously, his fingers bleeding.

Is this terrifying? Is this how you teach boxing? Does it even work?

Fang Yue secretly sent a message to Niu Niu, who replied immediately.

"Brother Ye, how can there be results so quickly? That skinny monkey who entered the village with us was spotted by hunters. He's been running around the village since he entered. He ran for almost 2 hours until he was dehydrated and weak, and only then did his Control Power increase by 0.1. I estimate mine will be similar."

I see. This is pretty much in line with the information I saw on the forum.