If I could drink a cup of hot wine again in a peaceful year, my wish would be fulfilled.

"Elite Selection?"

Luo Bin dressed quickly, a hint of confusion in his eyes as he looked at Feng Yi. He'd only been assigned to Black Sheath Hall last night, and now first thing in the morning he was being told to work... Hall Master Luo really was making them atone in earnest.

Feng Yi lowered his head in thought for a moment, then explained:

"Elite Selection is a tradition our Green Bamboo Gang has maintained over the years. 'Elite' naturally means the sharpest edge—Elite Selection is about picking the sharpest. But there's no war raging near Ping City at the moment..."

At this point, Feng Yi shot Luo Bin a deep look and stopped short, but the latter's mind had grown remarkably keen after Crimson's marrow-washing transformation.

"It's about the 'demons,' isn't it?"

Trouble.

Luo Bin knew that as leftover servants from the Pei Mansion, they wouldn't have an easy time in the gang. He just hadn't expected to be shoved onto the front lines the very next day, ready to risk their lives.

Still, it was already good enough that Luo Wendi hadn't killed them on the spot last night.

Luo Bin followed Feng Yi, walking and chatting as they went.

The two passed through the main gate of the side courtyard. Inside the Pei Mansion, people were packed shoulder to shoulder, bustling like it was New Year's. The dozen or so servants assigned to Luo Bin's command especially had smiles plastered all over their faces.

Seeing this, Luo Bin put his heart back at ease...

The May sun was hazy and warm. On East City's New Street in Ping City, the asphalt shimmered with oily ripples. The air was thick with a mix of earthy grit, the clean scent of foreign soap, and the sweet fragrance of sugar-roasted chestnuts.

Though the scenery was pleasant, the scene was jarringly split. On one side, imported goods everywhere, a new street brimming with Western elements. On the other, a stretch of endless shacks where many rickshaw pullers rested.

Some people even lived outright in those shacks, dozens crammed together, the stench inside unbearable.

Luo Bin turned to look at one shack and spotted several ragged women of varying ages. Some looked barely over twenty, holding children as they stood in the doorway, gazing hopefully at the passing crowd.

One child locked eyes with Luo Bin. His mother immediately leaned out, spotted Luo Bin in the distance, and plastered on a smile, trying to catch his attention.

"Gentlemen, sirs, I can cook and wash clothes. The child only needs a bowl of porridge a meal..." The woman was looking at Feng Yi, but she called out to Luo Bin.

She thought the well-dressed Feng Yi was the one who could afford to support them, while the young man beside him might take pity and take them in.

Luo Bin pretended not to hear, his heart trembling slightly as a line from a TV drama in his past life surfaced:

"If I could once again drink a cup of hot wine in times of peace, that would be enough."

In a world like this, a household without a pillar was nothing short of disaster.

The two reached the entrance of a department store on New Street. From the stone archway diagonally across, a cheerful burst of laughter and chatter drifted over.

A black-gold plaque hung above the arch, reading [Ping City Women's Normal School]. A new student recruitment notice was pasted beside the gate, its corners curling slightly in the breeze.

Female students in moon-white short jackets and black knee-length skirts, clutching books, came and went. Most had neat, ear-length bobbed hair, looking especially clean and fresh, youthful and bright.

Of course, Luo Bin had been through the wringer of modern big data in his past life, sampled countless suggestive online influencers, and even "risen to the rank of university student council vice president"—he'd seen it all.

So faced with these charming female students, he felt no trace of inferiority or timidity. Feng Yi, on the other hand, grew more awkward the closer they got to the women's school.

"Brother Luo, we've reached Black Sheath Hall headquarters."

Luo Bin looked around. Aside from that department store and this women's school, what building here could possibly be the target? Where was a plaque carved with five big characters like [Green Bamboo Black Sheath Hall] like the Pei Mansion had?

Feng Yi scratched his head sheepishly: "Brother Luo, don't be embarrassed. You'll get used to it after a few times."

With that, he awkwardly yet firmly walked toward the women's school's stone archway.

Damn it all!

So the Black Sheath Hall headquarters was in this Ping City Women's Normal School all along!

Then he'd have to pledge his loyalty with everything he had!

Luo Bin had thought two grown men walking into a women's school would cause an uproar, but after a while, he realized the female students inside were already used to it...

After a few minutes, the somewhat cramped school path began to widen, and a massive black iron gate came into view.

"This is our hall?"

"Yeah, follow me in."

Luo Bin followed Feng Yi inside. Before him stretched a large grassy area, like something from an estate. Luo Wendi stood out conspicuously, dressed in the same sharp gray-black thin suit as last night, a pocket watch pinched in his hand.

About twenty people stood before him, spaced evenly across the grass, seemingly practicing some kind of stance... Luo Bin wasn't entirely sure.

On a distant mound, there were dense clusters of people, likely more gang members. But the few sitting beside Luo Wendi didn't look ordinary.

The most striking figures were a man and a woman. The woman looked about seventeen or eighteen, in a moon-white fitted Western-style dress with a slightly short hem. Though Ping City wasn't far from a big city like Tianhai, such trendy attire was rare.

It accentuated her slender figure. Pearl buttons adorned her collar, her black hair was pinned in a low bun, and she carried a small Western handbag.

The boy beside her was younger, around thirteen or fourteen, in a white shirt with neatly combed hair.

Clearly from a wealthy household—and not just any ordinary wealthy household.

Feng Yi elbowed Luo Bin. "Brother Luo, these twenty are almost done. You'll go up with the next batch. The hall master has acknowledged you, but at a time like this, it's best to know your place..."

Luo Bin nodded. "Don't worry, I'm not that green. I'll follow the rules."

"Good."

Luo Wendi's gaze swept faintly over the two approaching men, but he said nothing more.

After about fifteen minutes, people practicing the stance training on the grass began collapsing one after another. Luo Bin wasn't surprised—after all, at the bottom of society in times like these, even getting enough to eat was a struggle, let alone enduring stance training of this intensity.

Luo Wendi stood up and walked to the center of the crowd, speaking clearly: "Do as I say. Spread your feet apart, hold your hands naturally in front of your abdomen, maintain a posture that is relaxed but not slack, firm but not stiff..."

"Breathe..."

"Focus..."

Luo Bin stood in a distant corner and realized this was indeed a superior stance technique, sharing subtle similarities with certain details of the [White Ape Through-Arm Fist].

He listened carefully to Luo Wendi's explanations and quickly sorted out the general framework and finer points. This was the recovery and enhancement of mental acuity that "Crimson" had brought to Luo Bin the first time it modified his martial arts.

If he still had the foggy, muddled mind of his former self, he wouldn't have been able to grasp the framework and details—he might not even have remembered a few sentences of what Luo Wendi said.

A little more time passed, and the noblewoman nearby grew restless. She stood up and asked:

"Uncle Luo, we've swapped out several batches already, but barely anyone can cultivate this Primordial Stance—less than ten people. My brother and I won't be able to explain this to our father when we get back..."