Rules, Exploitation

Coach Qin led Li Bufan through the noisy training grounds of the new guards in the West Courtyard, heading toward a relatively secluded area at the rear, where the guards were even tighter. The atmosphere here was clearly different—there was less of a beginner's disorder and clamor, and more of a grave, lean sharpness.

"There, this is where you Second-Class Guards usually spend your time," Coach Qin said, pointing at the buildings ahead.

The first thing Li Bufan saw was a martial training ground smaller than the new guards' field, yet its paving and equipment were clearly far more refined. Around twenty people occupied the grounds. Some sparred in pairs, blades flashing and shadows dancing as fierce winds whistled; others honed their strength alone or cultivated their techniques. Every one of them had bulging temples and vigorous blood and vitality. They were plainly experts of the Muscle Tempering realm.

When they saw Coach Qin enter, everyone stopped what they were doing and saluted respectfully. Their gazes naturally fell upon the unfamiliar Li Bufan behind him, carrying appraisal, curiosity, and even a few traces of barely perceptible scrutiny.

Li Bufan could feel that most of those gazes were far from friendly. His sudden arrival as Number Thirty-One had clearly drawn some attention.

As though he saw none of it, Coach Qin continued his introduction. "The place is a little smaller, but there are fewer people, it's quieter, and the facilities are better. Those are the weapon racks—every common weapon is there. If one breaks, just register it and you can get a replacement. Over there are stone locks and barbells for building strength. They weigh far more than the ones at the new guard camp."

Then Coach Qin took him to the residential area. There were no longer huge communal bunks where dozens slept together, but rows of relatively independent rooms.

"If you want to live here, you can stay on this side. Five men to a room, with beds and cabinets all provided." Coach Qin pushed open the door to an empty room. Five wooden beds stood inside, along with a simple table and chairs. It was still plain, but compared to the communal bunks, it offered far more privacy and comfort. "You're new. If you're staying here, take this room for now."

Li Bufan was quite satisfied with this. At the very least, he had a relatively private space to handle some of his own affairs.

At last, Coach Qin brought him to a hall in the corner of the area. A plaque reading "Merit Hall" hung above its entrance. Inside sat an old man who looked like an accountant.

"Old Zhou, this is the newcomer, Li Bufan, Number Thirty-One. Register him, then explain our rules to him," Coach Qin said to the old man.

The accountant surnamed Zhou raised his eyelids and glanced at Li Bufan. He took out a thick ledger and began recording, then slowly said, "Second-Class Guard Li Bufan, is it? I'll briefly explain the manor's rules."

"First, your monthly salary is three taels, paid on the first day of every month. Second, every day you may eat in the Second-Class section of the dining hall, where the Second-Class Guards take their meals. Third, at the start of each month, you may come here to collect your allotted Medicinal Baths. The basic allotment is three times, and you can exchange merit for additional ones."

"Fourth, the ways to earn merit." Old Zhou held up three fingers. "One, hunting. The manor purchases materials from all kinds of fierce beasts and rare medicinal herbs year-round, converting their value into merit. Here's the booklet. Read it yourself." He pushed over a thick price list.

Li Bufan glanced at it. It was densely packed with entries: Wolf Pelt, intact—5 merit; bear gallbladder—20 merit; tiger bones, complete set—20 merit; Silver-Crowned Snow Fox pelt—50 merit... His heart jolted. If the two Silver-Crowned Snow Fox pelts he had handed over were exchanged for merit, they would amount to a fortune! But he also understood that they had been his token of allegiance, traded for status and the young lady's favor. Their value was far beyond anything merit could measure.

"Two, assessment rankings," Old Zhou continued. "At the Year-End Tournament, the top twenty all receive merit rewards. First place earns 500 merit, second place 450, with the rewards decreasing in order. The last ten receive nothing."

Five hundred merit! Li Bufan secretly clicked his tongue. That was enough to exchange for a vast amount of resources.

"Three, silver exchange," Old Zhou said blandly. "One tael of silver can be exchanged for 1 merit. But there is a monthly limit—no more than 50 merit." This was clearly intended for guards from wealthy families, but the exchange rate was abysmal.

"Four, missions." Old Zhou pointed at a wooden board hanging on the wall, where slips of paper were occasionally posted. "The master's household or the manor's stewards sometimes issue missions, such as scouting, guarding locations, or resolving troubles. The difficulty varies, and so do the merit rewards. These missions usually carry risks, so act within your limits."

Li Bufan silently committed it all to memory. Hunting, assessments, spending money, and taking missions—the four paths lay clearly before him.

"As for the uses of merit," Old Zhou concluded, "they are mainly for exchanging for additional Medicinal Baths, cultivation pills, and martial arts manuals from the manor's collection. The specific exchange rates and items are listed on the wall over there. Read them yourself. Anything else you don't understand?"

"Thank you, Old Zhou. This junior understands," Li Bufan said respectfully.

Seeing that everything had been handled, Coach Qin said to Li Bufan, "All right, you know the place now, and you understand the rules. Settle in today and familiarize yourself with the surroundings. Starting tomorrow, report on time for martial training. There'll be dedicated instructors to guide you. Don't forget to eat the medicinal cuisine at the dining hall! I've got things to do, so I'm leaving. If you run into trouble, come find me—but don't come running to me over every trivial fart!" With that, he strode off in a gust of wind and fire.

After seeing Coach Qin off, Li Bufan looked again at the exchange list on the Merit Hall wall.

"Skin Tempering Paste: 5 merit/bottle"

"Qi and Blood Pill: 10 merit/pill"

"Additional medicinal bath: 20 merit/time"

"Savage Ox Fist: 300 merit"

"Spirit Ape Muscle Tempering Technique: 500 merit"

The items on the list made his eyes swim and deepened his hunger for merit.

But he currently had zero merit. His most pressing task was to raise his strength and strive for a good ranking in the year-end assessment.

He returned to his assigned room, tidied the bed a little, and put away the clothes and waist token he had received. Looking at the empty room and the waist token marked "Thirty-One," Li Bufan clenched his fist.

Hunting, assessments, missions... I have to act as soon as possible.

Li Bufan was deep in thought in his assigned room, planning how to make use of Lin Manor's resources to raise his strength as quickly as possible, when the door creaked and was pushed open.

Three men stood at the door, all in their early twenties. They wore the dark blue-black fitted uniforms of Second-Class Guards, with lean, capable builds and eyes full of undisguised arrogance and scrutiny. They vaguely formed a half-encirclement, blocking the doorway. The leader was a dark-skinned young man with his arms folded, a teasing smile at the corner of his mouth as he sized up Li Bufan inside the room.

Li Bufan's heart tightened. He knew trouble had arrived. Rising calmly to his feet, he said, "Gentlemen, what can I do for you?"

The dark-faced youth gave a derisive snort and stepped into the room. The other two followed, casually pulling the door mostly shut behind them. The cramped space immediately felt oppressive.

"Advice? Hardly." The dark-faced youth looked Li Bufan up and down, his gaze sweeping over Li Bufan's rather ordinary clothes and the newly issued uniform. "We're just here to teach you the rules among us guards."

He paused, his tone carrying ill intent. "Listen carefully, newcomer. From now on, for every ten-day allotment of Medicinal Baths the manor gives you, keep one for yourself to sample the taste. Hand over the rest obediently. And that monthly salary of three taels—seeing as you've only just arrived, we'll leave you five hundred copper coins for pocket money. Hand over the rest as well."

This was outright plunder! Medicinal Baths and monthly pay were the most basic benefits of a Second-Class Guard, and they were also crucial to Li Bufan's current advancement and survival!

Li Bufan frowned tightly and asked in a deep voice, "What do you mean by this? The Medicinal Baths and salary are issued by the manor. Why should I hand them over to you?"

A tall, skinny man beside him cut in with a strange, mocking tone. "Why? Because that's the rule! Newcomers have to learn the rules! Showing filial respect to your seniors is as natural and right as the heavens themselves!"

Another short, sturdy man folded his arms and sneered. "Normally, by the old custom, newcomers only need to show their 'respect' for three months. But who told you to be promoted as an exception? You stepped in dog shit and got lucky. Why should you get to be here when we fought tooth and nail back then? We can't stand the sight of it! So for you, this rule has to last longer. Make it a year."

A year. With one assessment each year, an ordinary man who lost the aid of Medicinal Baths and silver would lose the very source of his progress if no opportunity came his way. These people wanted to ruin his martial path, then kick him out of the guards.

Suppressing his anger, Li Bufan calmly asked, "You're doing this so openly. Aren't you afraid Lin Manor will find out and hold you accountable?"

"Hold us accountable?" The dark-faced youth laughed as though he had heard the greatest joke in the world. The other two sneered along with him. "Kid, is this your first day out in the world? Do you think what we do can be hidden from the eyes of the manor's big shots?"

He stepped closer and lowered his voice, his tone filled with mocking insight into the inner workings. "Let me tell you—the people above know perfectly well about these things below! Why do they allow it? This is Lin Manor's style! Without competition, without pressure, where does the drive to climb come from? Did you think resources were handed out for free? The strong are honored, and resources naturally tilt toward the strong! Understand? This is reality!"

Li Bufan understood completely, and at the same time, his heart turned cold. So that was how it was! Lin Manor was not unaware—it had deliberately created, even indulged, this environment of competition, allowing these unwritten rules to exist. In the most direct and cruel way possible, it spurred and even forced its guards to fight and grow stronger. If you could take from others, it meant you had ability; if others took from you, it meant you were weak, and you deserved it!

"Well? Do you understand now?" Seeing Li Bufan remain silent, the dark-faced youth assumed he had been intimidated, and his tone became even more arrogant. "If you understand, then be sensible. At the start of next month, we brothers will come collect the goods. Don't play tricks, and don't even think about tattling, or else..."

He clenched his fist, the threat unmistakable. "On the training grounds, fists and feet have no eyes. A scrape here, an injury there—that's common enough!"

After saying that, the three men shot Li Bufan one last warning glare before swaggering out and leaving, their departure filling the room with oppression.

The three arrogant figures vanished beyond the door, their heavy footsteps gradually fading away. Li Bufan stood where he was. Silence returned to the room, yet an invisible pressure hung in the air. The calm on his face slowly receded, replaced by an extreme composure. His eyes were deep, like the sea before a storm.

He slowly walked to the bed and sat down, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the cold Bronze Waist Token.

The Medicinal Baths and monthly salary will be issued at the start of next month... There are still some days left. The year-end assessment is still some time away as well.

This stretch of time was the key!

A direct clash was absolutely not the best option right now. Those three dared to be so brazen, so their strength certainly was not weak. At the very least, they had been immersed in the Initial Muscle Tempering stage for a long time. Perhaps one of them had even reached Minor Mastery. One against three—even if he won, it would be a miserable victory, and it would affect the assessment coming soon. Reporting them? Just as they had said, the manor permitted this kind of competition. Complaining upward might not work, and would instead make him seem incompetent, perhaps even invite harsher retaliation.

The only way was to raise his strength as quickly as possible before the assessment! So long as he could display sufficient strength in the year-end guard competition, produce results, and even secure a decent ranking, he would naturally be able to intimidate these petty wretches! This was the most direct way to strike the mountain and frighten the tiger!

I must break through to Minor Muscle Tempering as soon as possible! This thought became more intense than ever before. Only by reaching Minor Muscle Tempering would he have the confidence to establish himself among the guards and the ability to protect his own resources!

At that thought, he could no longer sit still. Staying in the room would only waste time. Coach Qin had told him that the main duty of Second-Class Guards was to take turns guarding the manor's key areas every seven days, with a designated person arranging the shifts. As a newcomer, his name had not yet been added to the rotation roster. That meant that for at least the next seven days, he had plenty of time at his own disposal! Since Second-Class Guards normally had relatively free schedules, and he had just arrived without yet being assigned a specific guard shift, this was the perfect opportunity to seize every moment for cultivation!

He immediately stood up, locked the door, and left Lin Manor without delay, striding quickly toward home.