When he finished speaking, Lord Han turned and walked away. After a few steps, he stopped and looked back at Fang Yue.
"Follow me."
"Oh, oh... okay."
Fang Yue hurried to his feet and followed.
This time, Lord Han took Fang Yue on a tour of most of Ancient Moon Village before stopping in front of a large courtyard.
Inside, many youths stood in neat formation on the muddy ground after the rain. They chanted, "One, two! One, two!" as they threw punch after punch, sweat pouring down their faces.
At the entrance, several people waited in line.
To Fang Yue's surprise, Shi Wuliao was among them.
Shi Wuliao had obviously spotted Fang Yue too. He was about to speak, but when he saw Lord Han beside him, he immediately shut his mouth.
During the two hours Fang Yue had been away from the game, Shi Wuliao had done plenty of research. He knew just how high Lord Han's standing was in the village. A single word from him could decide whether refugees like them lived or died.
Fang Yue sent Shi Wuliao a message through the friend system, then turned to Lord Han.
"This is the Guard Team. They're responsible for the village's security and daily patrols. If you want to learn martial arts, you'll need to join the village's Guard Team and help defend Ancient Moon Village in the future. Are you willing?"
Lord Han explained, then quietly watched Fang Yue.
Of course he was willing!
Fang Yue nodded repeatedly, his heart pounding with excitement.
He was finally going to learn martial arts!
It was time to gain attribute points and get stronger.
Fang Yue had read the forum posts. Most players entered the village as refugees. Forget learning martial arts—they couldn't even find a decent job.
The villagers had very little goodwill toward refugees. Disdain and hostility were the norm.
Most people worked desperately for the villagers, took on quests, and built up goodwill, hoping for a chance to meet someone from the village's Guard Team.
Some were lucky enough to meet special villagers, learn other skills, or stumble into different opportunities. Fang Yue could only envy them.
In any case, unlike those who wanted to learn martial arts but couldn't find a way in, Fang Yue had skipped straight to the finish line.
When you had someone powerful backing you, you could do whatever you wanted.
"Good. Come inside with me."
Fang Yue followed Lord Han into the courtyard, swaggering in as if he owned the place.
Shi Wuliao watched, his eyes turning red with envy.
Damn it! Why wasn't I that lucky?
Everyone else looked at Fang Yue with envy and jealousy too.
In this world, without some skill to protect yourself, you could die outside at any moment without even knowing why.
That was why learning martial arts was the dream of so many people.
But the Guard Team wasn't a charity. Its requirements for recruits were high, and without offering some kind of benefit, you couldn't even get through the door.
After entering the village, Shi Wuliao had originally tried to get by with the fellow who claimed to know the village apothecary.
But he found out that becoming the apothecary's apprentice came with all kinds of requirements—and the apothecary didn't want him anyway, thinking he was stupid and forgetful.
Come on! You hand me a thick book full of medicinal herbs and their properties and expect me to memorize it all? Who'd want to learn that?
So Shi Wuliao gave up on the apothecary route. After asking around, he heard that the Guard Team taught martial arts, so he came to wait in line and try his luck.
Maybe he had an extraordinary talent and the Guard Team would take him in.
Now, he thought Fang Yue was the one with the truly extraordinary talent...
Leaving aside what Shi Wuliao thought.
The youths training in the courtyard that night all stopped when they saw Lord Han. The instructor in charge hurried over and bowed respectfully.
"Lord Han, what brings you here?"
"I'm recommending someone for the Guard Team. You carry on with what you're doing."
"Yes, sir!"
The instructor glanced at Fang Yue but didn't think much of it. Soon, the courtyard rang once more with the youths' "One, two! One, two!"
They crossed the courtyard and continued farther inside, where they found a large building.
Lord Han pushed open the door and went in.
"Lord Han? What brings you..."
The middle-aged man seated inside hurried to his feet.
"Sit. I'll keep this brief, then I'll be on my way."
"Please, go ahead."
"This young fellow is called Little Ye. I want him to join the Guard Team and learn martial arts from you."
"...Lord Han, I looked into his background before, but couldn't find anything. He must be a refugee too."
"I don't care where he came from. I want you to teach him martial arts."
"Understood. If that's your order, I, Chen Mu, will do it. You saved my life back then..."
"Let's not bring up the past. I'm leaving this young fellow in your hands. Make sure you teach him well."
"Of course."
Lord Han left.
After talking with Chen Mu, Fang Yue got a general idea of how the Guard Team worked.
The Guard Team was the village's backbone. It had three captains.
Chen Mu was the captain of the first squad and the Captain-General. He usually stayed in the village.
Hua Wuye, captain of the second squad, was generally in charge of daytime patrols.
The third squad was led by Lin Ling, whom Fang Yue had met before. Lin Ling was responsible for the safety of the core.
The three captains' duties could change, so nothing was set in stone. As captains, they generally didn't need to handle minor matters unless something strange appeared, leaving them with plenty of free time.
"Lord Han once did me a kindness. Since he's entrusted you to me, I'll do everything I can to train you, even if you're a little older than most."
"I practice saber techniques. With other recruits, I'd teach them only the basics and leave it at that. But I'll teach you my saber techniques—once you meet the minimum requirements."
After a pause, Chen Mu asked, "By the way, how much do you know about the martial path?"
"Absolutely nothing!" Fang Yue declared without a hint of shame.
"...All right. Let's go outside first."
Fang Yue followed Chen Mu outside. The moment he looked up, he saw the youths in the courtyard gathered in a circle, chattering about something and pointing now and then.
"What's going on?" Chen Mu asked sternly.
The youths hurried back to their places and resumed their punches.
Once they dispersed, only the instructor and... a muscular man remained.
Fang Yue recognized him. It was the player who claimed his talent was Innate Divine Strength. He seemed to be called Niu Niu Da Niu...
"Brother Ye! You're here too!"
Niu Niu's voice was loud. He spotted Fang Yue and immediately looked delighted.
Fang Yue answered, and the instructor walked over.
"Captain Chen, this man has Innate Divine Strength. He's never learned any martial arts, yet his Strength Control is already at three points! I think he has great potential."
"Then take him in."
"Yes, sir!"
The instructor turned to Niu Niu. "From now on, you're a probationary member of the Guard Team. You'll need to report here every day. Don't worry, you'll get all the benefits you're entitled to."
"Thank you, sir!"
The instructor pulled Niu Niu aside. Fang Yue watched as, after receiving his instructions, Niu Niu began throwing punch after punch at a large rock. His fingers were soon covered in blood.
Was it really that brutal? Was this how they taught boxing? Did it even work?
Fang Yue secretly messaged Niu Niu, who replied at once.
"Brother Ye, it's not going to work that fast. That skinny guy who entered the village with us got noticed by a hunter. He's been running around the village ever since he arrived. He's been at it for almost two hours and ran himself into dehydration and exhaustion before gaining just 0.1 Strength Control. I figure it'll be about the same for me."
So that was how it worked. It was pretty much what Fang Yue had read on the forums.
Before you continue