Departure, Wei Yuan Escort Agency

The group gathered at Song Academy once more, then followed Master Song directly toward the city gates.

Everyone else, just like Lu Yuan, knew they were about to learn blade techniques and had found a way to acquire a blade.

However, aside from Wu Yu, Chen Pi, and Gu Ming, who were all carrying proper long blades, the blades held by Chen Yong and the others were rather bizarre.

Some had wood-chopping axes, some had kitchen knives, and there were even some with wooden blades.

Clearly, they could not afford real long blades and had to make do with these instead.

As for Hong Lei and Fang Chang, who followed closely behind Master Song like two personal guardians, they naturally each possessed a fine blade.

Judging by their appearance alone, these were significantly better than the long blade Lu Yuan had bought from the blacksmith for half a tael of silver.

It went without saying that Master Song must have prepared them personally.

It was evident that Master Song treasured these two inner disciples with exceptional aptitude dearly.

Before long, the group arrived outside the city gates.

They saw several carriages loaded with cargo crates already waiting there.

A man sat on each carriage.

Even if they were not martial artists, they looked quite sturdy and were likely the transport hands responsible for driving the carriages and moving the goods.

"That's a lot of cargo!"

Looking at the dozen or so carriages filled with goods, someone couldn't help but exclaim.

"Look at the escort flag on that carriage!"

Another person pointed toward the most luxurious carriage at the very front.

Everyone raised their eyes to look, seeing four large characters on the flag—Wei Yuan Escort Agency.

"I seem to recall Brother Hong mentioning before that Master Song has always held a position at Wei Yuan Escort Agency; this must be their escort mission!"

Chen Pi smiled and said.

"No wonder everyone gets a reward of five taels. This cargo must be worth a fortune, and that luxury carriage in front—the person inside must be wealthy or noble!"

Chen Yong's eyes flickered, and he spoke with a strange expression.

"Master Song is a grandmaster of the Transformation Realm; for him to be personally escorting this, the client must be someone extraordinary!"

Wu Yu nodded.

"Do you think we count as half-fledged escorts for Wei Yuan Escort Agency now?"

Someone asked, sounding quite excited.

"If we perform well on this escort mission, it's not impossible for us to actually join Wei Yuan Escort Agency as official escorts!"

"Once we become escorts for Wei Yuan Escort Agency, even if we only go on one mission a month, it should be enough for us to eat meat at every meal, right?"

While the group was discussing this with some excitement, Hong Lei walked over directly.

"You can all just sit on the carriages with the cargo!"

Hong Lei smiled at the group and then spoke directly.

"Brother Hong, when will we be able to learn the blade techniques?"

Someone asked impatiently.

"I will teach you when we stop to rest tonight!"

Hong Lei said with a smile, then turned and walked back to the side of the luxury carriage.

"That's great!"

Hearing this, everyone became even more excited and expectant.

Although it was still not Master Song teaching them personally, they were already very satisfied.

They were merely martial arts students paying to train at the outer academy; being taught by Hong Lei, an inner-academy disciple, and learning a blade technique unconditionally was already a great stroke of luck. How could they ask for more?

Lu Yuan was naturally quite expectant as well, and as for whether it was Master Song providing the instruction personally, he didn't care at all.

As long as he could learn it, he would be able to master it on his own without any issues.

The group did not delay; they each chose a carriage and climbed on.

Lu Yuan was no exception, randomly selecting one of the carriages.

The transport hand on the carriage was a dark-skinned, sturdy middle-aged man.

"Young man, are you a disciple of Master Song?"

The man smiled at Lu Yuan and asked.

"I wouldn't call myself a disciple, just an ordinary student!"

Lu Yuan replied with a polite smile.

"That's still very impressive!"

The man looked at Lu Yuan with a hint of envy and continued, "Unlike us, who have no aptitude or talent and have long passed the golden age for martial arts training, we can only sell our strength to earn some hard-earned money, barely enough to keep our families fed."

Although the Great Zhou was founded upon martial prowess, it was not the case that everyone could become a martial artist.

If one lacked innate bone structure and talent, and had already passed the golden age for training, it was nearly impossible to become a true martial artist; at most, one could practice some crude routines and, combined with a bit of brute strength, be slightly more capable in a fight than the average person.

Although Lu Yuan had only been exposed to the martial path for a mere half-month, he had seen many people come and go at the Song Academy.

Even though many were only sixteen or seventeen years old—the golden age for martial training—they still struggled to gain entry after practicing the Five Animals Fist at the Song Academy for a month or two, and lacking sufficient silver to sustain their training, they had no choice but to give up.

After all, not everyone was like Wu Yu, Chen Pi, or Gu Ming, who, despite not having peerless bone structure, could still rely on hard work to step onto the path of martial arts; if they had enough silver and resources to assist them in the future, they might even aspire to reach higher levels.

Nor was everyone like Hong Lei or Fang Chang, who not only possessed excellent bone structure but also encountered good mentors; as long as they could mature, their futures would be limitless.

And certainly, not everyone was like Lu Yuan, who had awakened a destiny like Practice Makes Perfect, allowing him to completely ignore bone structure and talent; he could not only practice faster and faster, but also achieve permanent mastery once a skill was learned.

Amidst their brief conversation, the caravan soon began to move.

Master Song, accompanied by Hong Lei and Fang Chang, was already seated outside that luxurious carriage.

Clearly, what they were truly protecting was not the cargo trailing behind, but that luxurious carriage—or rather, the noble person sitting inside.

As for the outer-academy martial disciples like Lu Yuan, Chen Pi, and Wu Yu, they naturally only needed to look after the cargo in the rear.

At the beginning, everyone appeared quite cautious, frequently scanning their surroundings with vigilant and guarded gazes.

As time passed, however, everyone could not help but relax, and some even leaned against the cargo and began to doze off.

Perhaps due to the deterrent effect of the escort flag, the journey was devoid of the imagined dangers, save for some bumps along the way.

They did not encounter road bandits or highwaymen, nor did they run into gang members blocking the path, let alone mountain brigands.

As night fell, the caravan came to a halt on a plain in the wilderness.

After lighting a campfire, Wu Yu, Chen Pi, and Lu Yuan all sat together in a circle.

The escort guards, meanwhile, gathered around another campfire to eat and drink.

Master Song, Hong Lei, and Fang Chang remained on guard beside the luxurious carriage.

As for the noble inside the luxurious carriage, they seemed to have no intention of coming out.

Before long, amidst the expectant gazes of the crowd, Hong Lei and Fang Chang walked over together.

"Before I teach you blade techniques, I want to ask you: who knows what a technique is?"

Hong Lei nodded toward the group and asked with a smile.

"A technique is an art of killing!"

Wu Yu pondered for a moment before speaking directly.

"Techniques allow us to possess greater explosive power!"

Chen Pi also spoke up.

The others were also deep in thought, wanting to offer different insights, but they scratched their heads, unable to come up with an answer.