Hope

Seeing that everything had been settled, Jiang Minghai clasped his hands in farewell.

Before leaving, he stepped up to Jiang Tian. A smile appeared on his face as he gave Jiang Tian's shoulder a firm pat.

There wasn't much in his eyes to say.

But Jiang Tian still understood what his big brother meant.

Just do your best. Don't push yourself too hard.

Yuan Long sat back down in the armchair, picked up the cup of tea that was still warm, and drained it in one gulp. He smacked his lips, cleared his throat, then looked at Jiang Tian and asked unhurriedly, "Kid, why do you want to practice martial arts?"

"I want to become stronger!" Jiang Tian's expression was calm, but his gaze was exceptionally resolute. "In this world, a hard fist is the only real truth!"

Mostly because—if he didn't start practicing martial arts now, he was really done for.

Yuan Long gave a slight nod, a trace of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

Not bad.

His Root Bone was a little lacking, but he had a good fire in him.

"You're right. In this world, a hard fist is the only real truth."

His voice wasn't loud, but every word rang with steady conviction.

"We who practice martial arts have never done it to prolong our lives—martial arts have always been a way to kill."

"To make you stronger, make your body more agile, make your fists more vicious! That's the goal of martial arts, the very heart of training!"

When Jiang Tian heard the words "prolong our lives," his eyes flickered slightly.

Wasn't that one of the reasons he'd come to learn martial arts? Now... at last, he'd seen a glimmer of hope!

Without a word, he stepped forward, picked up the teapot, and respectfully refilled Yuan Long's cup.

Only after Yuan Long finished speaking did Jiang Tian ask, as if the question had just occurred to him, "Master Yuan, people say practicing martial arts can prolong your life. So... how far do you have to go?"

"Hm?"

Yuan Long looked up at Jiang Tian, his brows drawing together almost imperceptibly.

This kid! He'd just said he wanted to practice martial arts to become stronger. How had he suddenly veered back to prolonging his life?

Still, he patiently began to explain.

"That has to do with what I'm about to tell you."

He held up four fingers, lowering them one by one.

"Body Tempering, Hidden Energy, Manifest Energy, and Transformation Energy. Those are the four realms of martial arts."

"If you can reach the Transformation Energy realm, you'll gain sixty years of life."

Transformation Energy?

Sixty years?!

Jiang Tian's eyes blazed, as if two flames were burning in his pupils.

A storm surged inside him. If he could train to Transformation Energy, wouldn't that solve the urgent problem of his dwindling lifespan?

Seeing his expression, Yuan Long shook his head with a smile, his tone touched with amusement. "Kid, what are you thinking?"

"Do you think reaching Transformation Energy is as simple as you imagine?"

He said no more, and without even turning his head, called out, "Zhang Ergou!"

"Present!"

At once, a sturdy young man with a round, chubby face hurried over.

He had an honest look about him, and a smile rested on his round face. He seemed dependable at a glance.

"Take Jiang Tian and help him build up his qi and blood. Start with the basics."

"Okay."

Though Yuan Long was the head of the Martial Arts Hall, he didn't handle everything himself, much less personally teach ordinary disciples.

He only guided those promising young talents with exceptional Root Bones and Outstanding Comprehension, or disciples whose realm was good enough to catch his eye. Someone like Jiang Tian, with a Grade C Bone Structure, wasn't worth his personal attention.

"Come on, I'll take you to change first."

Zhang Ergou led Jiang Tian to a side room, rummaged through a cabinet, and handed him a well-fitting padded coat.

The coat was black, with five kinds of animals embroidered on the back in white thread: a tiger, a bear, an ape, a deer, and a bird.

The stitching was fine, the figures lifelike.

"Make sure you take good care of this coat," Zhang Ergou warned him.

"If you can't stay at the Martial Arts Hall, you'll have to return it. Don't damage it. If you do, you'll have to pay for it."

Jiang Tian nodded, quickly put on the coat, and followed Zhang Ergou back to the courtyard.

"Senior Brother Zhang," Jiang Tian asked as they walked,

"Are you going to teach me the Five Animals Martial Hall's techniques today?"

He'd read plenty of web novels before, and figured the Five Animals Martial Hall's martial arts were probably something like the Five Animals Frolics or the Five Animals Fist.

"Haha." Zhang Ergou laughed, showing a row of white teeth.

"You've only just arrived. How could we teach you martial arts already? Today, you're mainly going to learn Post Standing. You won't be taught any techniques until you can hold the stance for three shichen."

"Post Standing?" Jiang Tian was taken aback.

"That's right." Zhang Ergou's smile faded as he explained seriously.

"Martial arts require a lot of qi and blood to support them. You can only learn martial arts once you've built up enough qi and blood in your body. If you try to force it now, you'll only hurt yourself."

As he spoke, he walked over to a wooden post.

He lightly tapped the ground with his foot, and his body floated up onto the post, his movements clean and crisp, his landing soundless.

He settled into a strange stance atop the post. It looked a little like a horse stance, but not quite: his waist and hips sank slightly, his back stood straight as a pine, and his arms curved as if embracing the moon. He looked like an old tree rooted deep in the earth.

"Watch each of my movements carefully and commit them to memory," Zhang Ergou said, patiently explaining while holding the pose.

"Post Standing..."

He explained everything methodically, but inside, he was wondering:

How long would it take this bookish-looking junior brother to learn Post Standing?

Back when his senior brother taught him, it had taken a full half-day before he'd even begun to get the hang of it. He'd still been hazy on quite a few details.

It had taken him three days to truly learn it.

Zhang Ergou let out a breath of stale air, lightly leaped down from the post, and clapped his hands. "All right, give it a try."

"Don't be afraid of making mistakes. Be bold and give it a shot. If anything's off, I'll point it out."

"Okay."

A glint passed through Jiang Tian's eyes.

With Innate Wisdom Root bolstering him, every movement and detail Zhang Ergou had just demonstrated had been carved into his mind like a knife cutting into stone.

Even the rhythm of Zhang Ergou's breathing and the instant his center of gravity shifted had been crystal clear.

He climbed onto the post, took a deep breath, and imitated the image in his mind.

He sank his hips, drew in his chest, straightened his back, and rounded his arms.

The stance took shape.

Zhang Ergou turned away to grab a water jug and gulped down a few mouthfuls of cold water.

When he wiped his mouth and came back, he glanced at the post.

"Pfft—"

He sprayed out every drop of water in his mouth.

"Cough, cough, cough! Cough, cough!"

Choking, Zhang Ergou's face turned red. He doubled over, coughing violently until tears nearly sprang from his eyes.

Seeing him like that, Jiang Tian scratched his head and asked in confusion, "What's wrong, Senior Brother Zhang? Am I doing something wrong?"

"Um..."

Zhang Ergou wiped the water from the corner of his mouth, straightened up, and stared at Jiang Tian on the post. A storm was rising in his heart.

This junior brother... his comprehension seemed a little too good!

Could this newly arrived junior brother be a genius?

There were still a few tiny details he hadn't quite gotten right. The coordination between his shoulders and hips was a little stiff, and his breathing hadn't fully matched the stance. But after seeing it demonstrated only once, he'd already managed this much...

"Quick learner" didn't even begin to describe it.

Zhang Ergou tamped down his shock, cleared his throat, and spoke with forced calm. "Keep going. A few of your little movements aren't quite right yet. I'll guide you through them."

"Okay."

By the end of the day, Jiang Tian's whole body ached. Every muscle was sending him a clear signal that it was exhausted.

But his spirits were remarkably good.

He could clearly feel that as he practiced Post Standing more and more, a warm current began to flow through his body, winding slowly through his limbs and bones like a gentle spring breeze.

Wherever the spring breeze passed, his aching muscles loosened little by little, like the last snow of early spring melting beneath the warm sun.

The Martial Arts Hall provided two meals, lunch and dinner, but not breakfast.

There was a little meat in the lunch, though not much: a few thin slices floating on the soup. Even so, that was a rare taste of grease.

Dinner was a bowl of thin porridge, two coarse-grain buns, and a small dish of pickled radish.

The disciples from wealthy families didn't eat dinner here. Some even turned their noses up at lunch. They had their own food boxes, filled with chicken, duck, fish, and meat.

Jiang Tian didn't care about that.

As long as he got full, it was fine.

After dinner came the medicinal bath.

Strangely enough, the medicinal broth was pitch-black and sent up bitter-smelling steam. It smelled like an entire pharmacy had been knocked over.

But after soaking for a quarter of an hour, his aching, stiff body completely relaxed, and even his steps felt lighter.

Jiang Tian climbed out of the tub, dried himself, and put on the black padded coat embroidered with the five animals. He could feel that faint, warm current inside him.

He lowered his head and looked at his palms. They were still thin, but something had changed. Even the veins pulsing on the backs of his hands seemed full of strength and life.

"Twenty taels of silver..." he murmured, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

Worth every penny.