Monkey Wine

Seven days of time passed in the blink of an eye, day after day of standing stakes.

Li He stood in the middle of the training ground, his breathing long and steady.

The stake posture felt natural and effortless, the sensation of being relaxed and grounded carved into his very marrow; with every breath, the sound of tigers and leopards within his body was incredibly clear.

This was the manifestation of Ape Standing Stake reaching the minor achievement stage.

[Proficiency +1]

[Ape Standing Stake: Minor Achievement (0%) → Minor Achievement (1%)]

Even though his proficiency had increased by one, Li He frowned slightly.

It was too slow!

He had been standing in the stake posture for a full five hours, from morning until night, yet he had only gained a single point of proficiency.

"It's like this again." Li He tapped open his attribute panel.

[Name: Li He]

[Vitality: 12.9 (↑1)]

[Skill: Federation Body Forging Fist: Minor Achievement (1%) (↑82%)]

[Skill: Old Ape Stretches Arms: Minor Achievement (1%) (↑1%)]

[Skill: Cloud Hand Eighteen Forms: Minor Achievement (1%) (↑1%)]

[Skill: Wild Goose Eight Steps: Minor Achievement (1%) (↑1%)]

[Skill: Turtle-Crane Health Stance: Minor Achievement (1%) (↑1%)]

[Skill: Silk-Reeling Power: Minor Achievement (1%) (↑1%)]

[Skill: Ape Standing Stake: (Minor Achievement) (1%) (↑201%)]

All five Ancient Martial Arts were stuck at 1% progress after reaching the minor achievement stage. He had tested it and discovered that no matter the martial art, once it reached the minor achievement realm, the growth rate became extremely sluggish.

It often took four or five hours of effort just to gain a single point.

Li He was unsure if it was limited by his innate talent, insufficient vitality, an inability to supply enough blood and qi, or perhaps a combination of both.

But he knew he had to find a way to make money, purchase Exotic Beast Meat, and use massive resources to pile up his proficiency, or else find new martial arts to boost his vitality.

While Lin Feng was drinking water.

Li He sat beside him and asked straightforwardly, "Senior Brother Lin, I wonder when we might begin learning new martial techniques, such as footwork or fist techniques?"

"Junior Brother Li, your progress in stake work is divine; in just seven days, you have reached minor achievement with a solid foundation. I understand your desire to learn new things. However..."

His gaze swept over the others in the training ground.

"The other junior brothers are still stabilizing their foundations. Teaching new techniques too early would be useless for them, as their foundations are not yet firm, and it might even cause them injury. As for you, trying to chew more than you can swallow is not necessarily a good thing."

He patted Li He on the shoulder and said earnestly, "Master Yuan often says that a ten-thousand-foot tower rises from the ground; if the foundation is not firm, the earth will shake and the mountains will sway. Just be a little more patient. Once everyone's foundation is stable, we will naturally teach the subsequent martial techniques."

These words were reasonable and fair.

The martial arts hall was not opened for Li He alone; Master Yuan had to consider the overall progress and endurance of all his disciples.

But Li He knew.

The root cause was that the martial arts hall was short-staffed and truly could not spare anyone to teach him individually.

Sun Ao felt equally unhappy upon hearing Lin Feng's words. Why should he be dragged down just because others were progressing slowly?

The look he gave Li He was filled with more irritability born of shared misfortune than mere competitiveness.

"Hmph, what's the rush? If you haven't mastered your stake work, learning more is just empty posturing. Once your stake work is stable, you'll naturally be able to learn." These words seemed directed at Li He, but even more so, they were meant to comfort and motivate himself.

Shi Lei walked to the side and picked up some dumbbells to begin training. His eyes were even more determined; he knew he was the furthest behind and had to work twice as hard to avoid being left in the dust.

Dusk.

Today's training ended.

Li He packed up his equipment and was just about to leave.

Lin Feng beckoned to him, "Junior Brother Li, come with me for a moment."

Li He stopped his movements, feeling a bit puzzled, but followed silently. They walked out of the martial arts hall gate, crossed the bamboo forest path, and arrived at the old site of the Yellow Mountain Martial Arts Hall.

Inside the small courtyard, several White Apes were basking in the sun. Seeing Li He enter, they lifted their eyelids and let out a few low rumbles in their throats, but they did not surround him in a defensive posture like last time.

In the side room, it was not the scene of the ape troop sharing drinks that he had seen before. Instead, many clay jars of various sizes were neatly arranged; some were still covered in fresh soil, having been moved there recently.

A few White Apes were quietly wiping the jars, looking exactly like warehouse managers.

Master Yuan was sitting on a stone stool, with an opened clay jar and three small porcelain cups placed on the table.

"Master." Lin Feng bowed respectfully.

"Hall Master." Li He followed suit, surprised that the Hall Master was personally waiting for him deep within this old site.

"No need for formalities, sit." Yuan Shan gestured toward the stone stool opposite him.

Li He sat down as instructed.

Yuan Shan picked up the clay jar and poured him a cup of the liquor.

"This is Monkey Wine, naturally fermented by the White Ape using hundreds of fruits gathered in the mountains, stored within a natural stone cave deep in the old ruins, utilizing the cool earth veins and spiritual energy."

Yuan Shan's voice was calm as he stroked the head of the old ape beside him.

"This wine contains spiritual energy and is highly beneficial for tempering muscles and bones, nourishing qi and blood, and activating meridians. Disciples of the Evergreen Martial Arts Hall who have a solid foundation and show excellent performance receive one cup every month to assist in their cultivation."

Li He understood immediately; the master was acknowledging his comprehension and effort, giving him special treatment.

"Thank you for your generous gift, Master."

Yuan Shan nodded slightly. "Your stance training reached minor success in seven days. Such comprehension is truly rare."

Li He did not reply, waiting quietly for what was to come.

"However," Yuan Shan shifted his tone, "on the path of martial arts, innate bone structure is the foundation, and comprehension is the wings. Without sufficient bone structure, it is difficult to support a towering building. If one has high comprehension but is impetuous, they are like duckweed without roots, easily led astray."

He picked up his wine cup and swirled the liquid.

"This Monkey Wine can nourish qi and blood and activate muscles and bones, which may help you break through your current bottleneck. But external force is, after all, external force. It cannot break the limitations of your bone structure for you, nor can it replace your day-after-day of bitter training and polishing."

Li He was left between laughter and tears.

It was clear the master was lecturing him, fearing that he had become arrogant and restless due to his heaven-defying comprehension, and worried that he might go astray and ruin his foundation—yet he had no way to explain himself.

The master was doing this for his own good. He was not someone who could not read people's hearts, so he accepted the gesture and said solemnly, "This disciple understands. Thank you for your guidance, Master. I will certainly guard against arrogance and impetuosity, keep my feet on the ground, and live up to your high expectations."

"Good." Yuan Shan revealed a satisfied smile.

At this moment.

It was the time when the sunset glow was at its most intense, spilling in diagonally through the old wooden windows and dyeing the entire room a warm orange.

The sunset glow also spilled onto the grand training grounds of the Evergreen Martial Arts Hall.

The area was filled with equipment and was wide and open.

Dozens of disciples dressed in uniform training gear were undergoing high-intensity training, their shouts rising and falling one after another; Wang Hao was among them.

Deep within the martial arts hall, in a quiet room.

Chen Changqing sat upright in the main seat, his posture as straight as a pine, his face resolute. He had just finished a short period of seclusion, and a trace of unspent sharpness still lingered between his brows.

"Master, this is the final result of this entrance examination."

Zhao Xiong handed over the report with both hands.

Chen Changqing took the report, his gaze sweeping quickly over the names and scores. His eyes lingered briefly on a few of the higher scores before finally landing on a familiar name.

"Li He." Chen Changqing murmured the name. "He failed the examination? Tell me about his situation."

Zhao Xiong reported Li He's performance and the details of his failure to Chen Changqing in full.

Chen Changqing frowned slightly and pondered for a moment.

"A pity. Limited by his bone structure—such is the will of heaven. I will explain it to Old Man Wang."