Dietary Supplement, Cultivation

"Brother Yuan... listen to me!"

"I always thought my life would just be like this. In the end, I'd either freeze to death, starve to death, or be bullied to death by those gang thugs. I never even imagined that, before I died, I could truly live like a human being!"

"I never expected that the heavens would favor me so much, giving me such a massive surprise."

"Brother Yuan, do you know? Master not only accepted me as a personal disciple, but I also get to eat three nutritional meals at Song Academy every day. Not only is there fine grain, but there's also meat and vegetables! He even promised that as long as I can successfully reach the minor accomplishment stage of the Five Animals Fist within half a year and defeat Hong Lei—the personal disciple who joined before me—he will pass the entire Song Academy to me!"

"I never even dreamed that I, Fang Chang, would actually have a day like this!"

Lu Yuan watched Fang Chang, who grew more excited as he spoke, simply eating his meal in silence and listening quietly.

"Brother Yuan, don't worry. Once I become the master of Song Academy, I definitely won't forget you. At the very least, I'll make you a steward. When that time comes, you and I, brothers, will eat well and live large. Wouldn't that be wonderful!"

After Fang Chang downed the wine in his cup, he seemed to grow a bit tipsy and continued to spout grand ambitions with spittle flying: "Master told me that among everyone in Song Academy, my bone structure is the best—even better than that Hong Lei's. So, I will definitely be the one with the most promising future."

"It's not me, Fang Chang, bragging, but I can say for certain: in half a month at most, I'll be able to reach the minor accomplishment stage of the Five Animals Fist. Then, I will step by step climb to the very top. I won't just be the master of Song Academy; I will also be the master of all of Qinghe County..."

Before he could finish, he slumped onto the table, fast asleep in a daze.

Lu Yuan first packed up all the leftovers, called the waiter to settle the bill, and then helped Fang Chang up to head back.

"From now on, no one is allowed to speak loudly to me again!"

"Whoever dares to bully me again, I'll kill them!"

Hearing the drunken ramblings in his ear, Lu Yuan could only smile and shake his head.

If he hadn't guessed wrong, the reason Master Song accepted Fang Chang as a personal disciple was because he saw potential in Fang Chang's bone structure and wanted to cultivate a successor to provide for his own old age.

Of course, that was assuming Fang Chang could truly reach the minor accomplishment stage of the Five Animals Fist within half a year and successfully defeat the other personal disciple named Hong Lei.

To be honest, regardless of bone structure, with his Practice Makes Perfect talent, Lu Yuan's cultivation speed would likely be much faster than both Fang Chang's and Hong Lei's.

If he were to reveal such speed, Master Song would likely choose him as the successor instead.

However, Lu Yuan had no intention of doing so.

The reason he was able to touch upon the martial path so quickly was because he had hitched a ride on Fang Chang's coattails; otherwise, he didn't know how much longer he would have had to waste before taking this step.

Of course, it wasn't just because he didn't want to compete with Fang Chang or turn into enemies; it was also because, in such a chaotic world, being steady was absolutely necessary.

Without strength or backing, it was better to keep a low profile.

Cultivating in silence and growing stronger quietly was never a bad thing.

Besides, with his cultivation speed, he would have everything sooner or later.

"Hmph, ha, hey..."

The next day, Lu Yuan arrived at Song Academy as usual to practice on his own alongside Chen Pi and the others.

As for Fang Chang, he was naturally called into the inner courtyard by Master Song for special instruction.

Having recharged his energy for the night, Lu Yuan was finally able to begin his third round of practice.

[Five Animals Fist: Not Yet Initiated (10/100)]

He saw that his proficiency had reached 10, a full 5-point increase!

At this rate, it probably wouldn't take more than a few days for Lu Yuan to officially initiate his training in the Five Animals Fist.

Without hesitation, he continued his practice.

"Thump!"

Just then, someone suddenly collapsed onto the ground.

"It shouldn't be anything serious. He must have forced himself to start practicing before his body had fully recovered."

Chen Pi smiled, then turned to Lu Yuan and said, "Ah Yuan, you must remember: never overdo it, and always act according to your ability. The body is the foundation of a person. If you exhaust it too severely, not only will you damage your health, but you might also damage your foundation, making it almost impossible to succeed in tempering your body with qi and blood."

"Brother Chen Pi, how can one recover faster?"

Lu Yuan asked quickly.

He hadn't eaten poorly yesterday—he'd had rice, vegetables, and even meat—yet it had still taken him the entire night to fully recover.

"It's very simple: supplement!"

Chen Pi smiled and said, "Or you could say, eat. The better you eat, the faster you supplement, and the faster your body will naturally recover. It's best to be full at every meal, or even have meat at every meal. If conditions allow, you can also take medicinal soups or even Rejuvenation Pills!"

He paused for a moment before continuing, "However, the cheapest medicinal soup costs three taels of silver per serving, and expensive ones can cost seven, eight, or even over ten taels. As for Rejuvenation Pills, those aren't things ordinary people can afford; they likely cost twenty or thirty taels each."

Hearing Chen Pi's words, Lu Yuan could only sigh softly and shake his head.

Forget about Rejuvenation Pills; even medicinal soup was beyond his current means.

Even eating meat at every meal, or just being full at every meal, was still a major problem for him right now.

In summary, it all came down to one word: poverty!

"In the entire Song Academy, I'm afraid only Brother Hong and your little brother have that blessing. Not only do they get three free nutritional meals every day, but even for medicinal soups and Rejuvenation Pills, Master Song will find a way to provide them."

Chen Pi looked toward the inner courtyard with a hint of envy, wishing he could take their place.

"I must find a way to earn money as soon as possible."

Lu Yuan remained silent, pondering secretly in his heart.

He was naturally happy that Fang Chang had earned the favor of Master Song, and he still had no intention of competing with him.

After all, even without those resources, he could still rapidly improve his strength.

Of course, even if it weren't for martial arts training, being able to eat his fill at every meal, or even eat meat, was a goal that had to be achieved.

Moreover, if he could recover his condition faster, his speed of improvement would naturally be even greater.

"Thump, thump, thump..."

Not long after Lu Yuan returned home, a hurried knocking sounded at the door.

He turned his head and signaled with his eyes for Madam Yang to take Nannan and hide first, then rose to open the door.

He saw two middle-aged men, one tall and one short, standing outside holding clubs.

On the back of both men's hands, a small black tiger head mark was visible.

"Black Tiger Gang!"

Lu Yuan's gaze narrowed; these two were likely thugs from the Black Tiger Gang.

"Thirty wen for three heads. Are you paying directly in cash, or with grain?"

The tall man among them craned his neck to peek inside, then grinned at Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow, but without any wasted words, he handed over thirty wen directly.

Such was this world; for ordinary people, trying to survive was as difficult as ascending to heaven.

The government imposed all sorts of harsh taxes and levies, stripping the flesh from the bones layer by layer.

Gangs like the Black Tiger Gang would also collect head money, euphemistically calling it protection fees.

Although Lu Yuan had been practicing the Five Animals Fist for two days and was progressing rapidly, he had not yet truly entered the threshold and remained an ordinary person, not a martial artist.

Therefore, even if he had the heart to resist, he lacked the ability for the time being.

As the saying goes, endure humiliation without showing it on one's face; a gentleman's revenge is not too late even after ten years!

Besides, he would not have to wait too long!

"How about it, what's the quality?"

"Not bad. Selling her to a brothel could fetch a few taels of silver. There's also the little one, who should be worth even more. Even if some wealthy master doesn't take a fancy to her, we can break her limbs and throw her out to beg for a living. As for the remaining one, if all else fails, we can sell him to Mother Sun's bun shop to make some 'fragrant meat' money!"

Before the two had even walked far away, they actually began to conspire loudly.

"Bang!"

Lu Yuan took a deep breath, then slammed the door shut.