Stingy

The layout of the Military Service Bureau's Utility Room was different from everywhere else.

The biggest difference was that the person sitting behind the counter was Wei Jinlin.

Although Lu Ming had known all along that it was Wei Jinlin, he still felt a strange twinge when he entered the Utility Room.

Wei Jinlin, Director of the Military Service Bureau, martial arts instructor, and Utility Room steward.

Lu Ming suddenly realized that since joining the Military Service Bureau half a month ago, in the entire sprawling bureau, he had seen only Wei Jinlin besides the disciples.

Could it be that the entire Military Service Bureau... No, no, that couldn't be. He hadn't seen anyone in the Public Kitchen, but there should be cooks there.

After all, Wei Jinlin couldn't possibly be responsible for feeding four hundred disciples by himself. As a martial arts expert, he had no need to work as a cook, either.

"Take this." Lu Ming approached the counter and saw Wei Jinlin glance at him before pushing over a bundle that had already been prepared on the table.

Peering through the opening in the bundle, he saw two sets of white training clothes and about nine wooden tablets. There seemed to be nothing else.

Lu Ming asked, "Master Wei, the wooden tablets might get broken during training. If that happens, can I come get replacements?"

Wei Jinlin replied flatly, "These are specially made wooden tablets. Training with them won't easily injure your hands, and they're not cheap. If you break all nine and still haven't made a breakthrough, you'll have to buy more."

Lu Ming fell silent.

There was no need to ask any further.

He suddenly realized that Wei Jinlin was the Director and a martial arts instructor, which was one thing, but he wouldn't even hire someone to watch the Utility Room. He ran it himself. Wasn't that just stingy?

He wanted to earn every last coin himself.

Once the training tablets ran out, the disciples had to buy more with their own money.

As for hoping he might give out some injury salve as a reward, that was simply out of the question.

But Wei Jinlin had never promised him anything in the first place, so Lu Ming didn't feel resentful.

He was just quietly grateful that Li Youning had given him injury salve. Otherwise, he would have been in a bit of a bind. At least now he had ten portions to fall back on, enough to last him a month.

He took his leave.

When he returned to his little courtyard, the sounds of "thunk, thunk, thunk" rang out around him, along with all sorts of shouts and gasps. Everyone had thrown themselves into training with feverish intensity.

Lu Ming had long been itching to get started, too. In the morning, at the Martial Arts Arena, everyone had to take turns practicing. Most of the time, they trained their footwork and movements on their own, so they couldn't get much practice in.

Besides, he didn't want to reveal his Heaven Leak Divine Ability, so he couldn't strike the Black Leak Points while training at the Martial Arts Arena. It made the whole thing rather uncomfortable.

His daily training time was already enough to fill four shichen. So that morning at the Martial Arts Arena, he had practiced only the basic movements and hadn't worked the stakes.

Now he took out the nine wooden tablets and hung one on each of the nine Puppet Stakes, at the spots Wei Jinlin had specified.

A breeze blew through, setting the tablets swaying gently against the stakes with a clacking sound.

In his sight, small wisps of black smoke appeared at different spots on every wooden tablet. Those were the Black Leak Points!

Black Leak Points were flaws. He hadn't examined the tablets closely when he first got them, but now, scrutinizing them and turning them over in his hands, he couldn't help looking surprised.

The tablets were brown all over and felt somewhat soft to the touch, unlike the hard, brittle wood he was used to.

Each one seemed to have a hollow section inside, though the location varied. Some were hollow in the middle, others near the top or bottom, and some even along the sides.

Those hollow spots were clearly the key to breaking the tablets.

But the hollows were in different places on each tablet. With only three breaths, he absolutely wouldn't have time to test them one by one.

Wei Jinlin's aim, then, was probably to get them to figure out a technique that would shatter a tablet with one strike, no matter where its hollow spot lay.

That didn't sound easy!

Lu Ming thought to himself, but at the same time, he felt a thrill of anticipation. That was what made it interesting.

He couldn't wait to see what kind of strength he would eventually develop!

He let go of the tablets and stepped back outside the Nine Palaces Stakes.

Then, without hesitation, he slid into the stakes with a Mud-Wading Step and used the same technique he'd used to strike the wooden stakes, reaching out to hit a tablet.

"Huh?" The wooden tablet swayed away in the breeze, and his strike missed. Lu Ming froze. So the wind could interfere, too. It seemed this was also a test of their perception and accuracy.

He casually pressed down on the red mark on the stake. There was a Black Leak Point there, too.

Thump!

The Black Leak Point scattered with a light strike, then quickly gathered again.

He paid it no mind. He only felt the wind beneath his feet as he borrowed momentum from the Black Leak Point. His waist had already twisted, his toes turned inward, and he darted toward another stake with a Swing-Buckle Step.

Tap! His palm strike hit the wooden tablet on that stake, sending it swinging sharply upward.

Lu Ming's heart stirred. Hitting the tablet felt like striking cowhide. He had given it everything, yet all he'd done was make it swing.

Becoming a martial artist really wasn't easy. It took hard, diligent practice!

He sighed inwardly, but his hands and feet didn't slow as he continued toward the next stake.

Thump! Tap! Tap! Thump...

After one round of the Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes, Lu Ming had hit only four tablets, and it had taken him about five breaths!

"Haah, haah..."

He felt the tension in his body slowly loosen, like tightly packed cotton fluffing back up. Sweat streamed down him, leaving him refreshed and exhilarated.

Lu Ming thought to himself that although his first attempt at the Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes had been mediocre, his power was improving!

And...

[Acupoint Divine Ability evolution in progress (12/1000)...]

Practicing the stakes once in front of Wei Jinlin had earned him one point of Acupoint Divine Ability experience. Now another round of practice had raised it to twelve!

By training on the Nine Palace Living Stakes, he could increase his martial arts power and gain experience in his Acupoint Divine Ability every time.

Double the rewards left him quite satisfied.

"Keep going!" He applied a little injury salve to his hands and feet, rested for a while, then turned around and stepped into the Nine Palaces Stakes again.

First, he had to hit all nine wooden tablets within three breaths. Then he could try to break them all within three breaths.

Three Breaths Nine Breaks was the standard for passing the Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes. He still had a long way to go.

"Tap! Tap! Thump! Tap..."

The little courtyard rang with the sounds of strikes landing on wooden stakes and wooden tablets.

Puddles of sweat dried and formed again, leaving irregular marks on the ground under the gradually westering sun.

[Currently evolving...]

[Acupoint Divine Ability evolution in progress (40/1000)...]

"Phew~"

After finishing one last round of the Nine Palace Living Stakes, Lu Ming felt every muscle in his body ache, and sweat poured off him like a waterfall. He knew he'd reached his limit and couldn't train any more that day.

But when he saw his Acupoint Divine Ability experience had reached forty, the corner of his mouth lifted.

He had enough injury salve to use now. At this rate, he would be able to evolve his Acupoint Divine Ability again in less than a month.

In those last few rounds on the Wooden Tablet Nine Palace Stakes, he had managed to hit all nine tablets. But it still took him five breaths.

He was pleased with that progress. He had only just started, after all. He could keep practicing and improve gradually.

He applied the salve, rested for a while, then went inside and took a bath.

When he came out, he had taken off his gray training clothes and changed into a set of white silk training clothes. They felt wonderfully smooth to the touch, leaving him refreshed and energized.

He had never worn such fine clothes before.

With the Divine Ability Panel, he believed these white training clothes were only the beginning. In the future, he would enjoy even better clothes and a better house.

He thought to himself.

Seeing that evening was drawing in and it was nearly time for dinner, he opened the door and went outside.

The Public Kitchen hadn't sounded the clappers to call everyone to dinner yet, though, so few people had come out. Many were still bent over their training in the courtyards.

Lu Ming strolled around the courtyard area and came to a grove behind it.

Suddenly, he spotted two disciples in gray training clothes inside the grove, one tall and one short. They were surrounding another disciple, who wore the same gray training clothes, and didn't look friendly.

"Li Hu, I hear you're good at finding things?"

The tall one addressed the surrounded disciple. "Young Master Shen told us to find an anthill, but we can't find one. Do us a favor and help us."