Training

Five months passed in the blink of an eye.

Herb Gathering Hall, training grounds.

Ye Qin sat cross-legged on a straw mat, his energy sinking into his dantian. With eyes closed, he practiced breathing and gathering Qi, silently circulating the Gathering Qi and Focusing Spirit technique from the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra.

Ye Qin had discovered that although the cover of this secret manual read Body Nourishing Classic, the text inside referred to the book as the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra.

The book was divided into two parts: the preliminary chapter, Gathering Qi and Focusing Spirit, containing only the first level of the technique.

The upper chapter, a remnant scroll titled Sitting and Forgetting Selflessness, contained the first through third levels. The middle and lower chapters were missing.

Over the past five months, Ye Qin had practiced the preliminary Gathering Qi and Focusing Spirit. From the initial two or three months of feeling nothing, he could finally sense a faint, warm current of air flowing through the meridians in his body. Though that wisp of energy was incredibly weak, it was remarkably resilient.

Ye Qin secretly thought to himself that this must be the legendary internal energy; it was truly marvelous.

After completing one full cycle, Ye Qin opened his eyes.

Over these five months, he had gained a certain understanding of the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra.

The claim that practicing this technique allowed one to endure hardship, go without food or water, and withstand freezing or scorching temperatures for three to five days was, in fact, quite inaccurate.

This technique not only required food, but a great deal of it.

Ye Qin's appetite had increased significantly. Consuming large amounts of food daily had greatly boosted his physical strength, made his limbs agile, and gradually sharpened his vision. Only after reaching a certain level of cultivation and possessing abundant spirit could one truly endure three to five days without food or water.

The ample food supply over these five months had accelerated his cultivation speed. His appetite was excellent, and his body, once frail and weak, had become sturdy. He could carry a hundred-pound sack and walk several miles at a brisk pace without feeling tired.

Yet, whenever he thought of this strange internal art he had chosen, he felt a measure of regret.

Ye Qin looked with some envy at the other children on the training grounds.

At the time, he had no idea what martial arts were for, so he had chosen based on what he wanted most. Thus, he had asked for a technique that allowed one to endure labor, hunger, cold, and thirst. By the time he realized what martial arts were truly for three or five months later, it was already too late.

On the training grounds, there were flashes of blades and shadows of swords everywhere, accompanied by the mighty roars of Tiger Fist and the force of palms, or the sight of others using light-body techniques to leap over a zhang high. Most of the forty-plus Herb Gathering Apprentices were learning powerful martial arts that were formidable in a fight.

Take Ye Qin's four fellow disciples, for example.

Yang Yicheng was learning an external palm technique called Tiger Fist. At the time, Yang Yicheng had no strong opinions on which manual to choose and asked the young guard to recommend one. Seeing that he was quite strong and taller than the average apprentice, the guard suggested Tiger Fist, which was suitable for powerful external arts. Yang Yicheng, delighted that the senior brother said it suited him, accepted it.

After five months of practice, while he was far from being able to tear apart wolves or tigers, he could punch a blue brick and shatter it into several pieces. This sent Yang Yicheng into a frenzy of joy, and he spent all day looking for people to spar with.

The internal art Ye Qin practiced only strengthened his physique and lacked the defensive capabilities of ordinary internal arts, so he dared not take his punches.

Feng Xiao, agile in stature, chose a light-body technique manual called Cloud Ladder Leap. Since childhood, he had admired the high-level martial artists in the county who could scale walls and vault over roofs. When given the chance to learn martial arts, he immediately chose a light-body technique. While this skill couldn't be used to strike others, it ensured others couldn't strike him. He could already stand on his tiptoes and leap nearly a zhang, jumping around the training grounds with ease. Though Yang Yicheng's punches were fierce, he couldn't even touch him. Every time they trained, Feng Xiao would tease Yang Yicheng, leaving him hopping mad.

Qian Ruoxiu chose a close-quarters, intricate palm technique called Plum Blossom Folding Hand.

Sun Ying chose a sword manual, Spirit Sword, a close-quarters sword art suitable for women.

Any one of these four possessed far more offensive power than his Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra. Aside from making Ye Qin's body strong, his spirit vibrant, and his stamina sufficient, the Sitting-in-Forgetfulness Sutra could do almost nothing else. If Ye Qin were to punch a brick, his fist would surely end up red and swollen while the brick remained unmoved. As for running, he was only slightly faster than an ordinary person.

According to the rules of the Medicine King Gang, Herb Gathering Apprentices in the outer hall had a three-year training period. During this time, they could only choose one technique to learn and were not allowed to study others. Exchanging manuals was strictly forbidden. Only the Medicine Making Apprentices in the inner hall were permitted to study two.

Only after three years, when an apprentice was promoted to a Herb Gathering Artisan, could they go to the manual room to pick another.

Yang Yicheng, Feng Xiao, and the others often mocked him for this.

Thinking of this, Ye Qin couldn't help but feel a sense of regret; his hope of becoming a high-level martial artist would not be realized in the short term.

However, he was already satisfied.

During these past few months, he learned three skills every morning: literacy and arithmetic, herb identification, and emergency treatment. The afternoons were for training: standing on stakes, horse stance, body-strengthening exercises, and his chosen internal or external art.

The Herb Gathering Hall required apprentices to memorize at least one thousand varieties of common herbs within five months, including their scent, function, primary uses, growth terrain, and physical appearance. For unknown herbs, they had to at least be able to identify their value. On average, this meant memorizing six to ten herbs a day.

Those who failed to identify the herbs would be whipped—and the punishment was carried out by the law-enforcement disciples from the inner hall.

This finally made Ye Qin realize what the silk-clad youths he had seen at the Herb Gathering Hall were for. They were all law-enforcement disciples, experts specifically cultivated by the inner hall. They learned advanced internal and external arts, and their martial prowess was far superior to those of them who were merely professional herb gatherers.

Ye Qin had no complaints. Although the training at the Herb Gathering Hall was arduous, it was at least much better than wandering and begging in the wild.

During this time, he had also gradually learned about the Herb Gathering Hall from his senior brothers. The Herb Gathering Hall was a subordinate branch of the Medicine King Gang, a major martial arts organization in Ping Province, divided into an inner hall and an outer hall.

The inner hall, managed by Vice Hall Master Ma, was responsible for medicine making (including processing, grading, drying, cutting, and manufacturing), law enforcement (core disciples), security (guarding the gates and transporting herbs), storefronts (managing shops and trade), and miscellaneous affairs (all the trivial daily chores of the hall, overseen by Grand Steward Zhang).

The outer hall, managed by Vice Hall Master Ji, was responsible for herb gathering and identification.

The main headquarters of the Medicine King Gang was in Wanan Prefecture, the capital of Ping Province, and their primary business was medicinal herbs. Herb gathering and medicine making were undoubtedly the most important aspects, divided into two major systems. The Herb Gathering Hall in Zhuqi County focused primarily on herb gathering while also handling medicine making.

The hierarchy within the Medicine King Gang was strict, with a rigorous promotion system.

Herb Gathering System: Herb Gathering Apprentice, Herb Gathering Artisan, Herb Gatherer, Herb Gathering Master, Herb Gathering Grandmaster.

Medicine Making System: Medicine Making Apprentice, Medicine Making Artisan, Medicine Maker, Medicine Making Master, Medicine Making Grandmaster.

Grandmaster-level figures were all at the main headquarters. The branch halls in the various counties only had Master and Maker-level figures, and the Masters were basically at the level of Hall Masters or Vice Hall Masters. Vice Hall Master Ma and Vice Hall Master Ji were a Medicine Making Master and a Herb Gathering Master, respectively. The main Hall Master, Philanthropist Li, was a famous expert in the Zhuqi County martial arts scene; although he knew nothing about gathering or making medicine, he was related by marriage to the leader of the Medicine King Gang.

Ye Qin's master, the Herb Gatherer Wang Hong, was a figure just below the Master level within the hall. There were only a few dozen people of this rank in the entire hall.

At the level of Herb Gatherer, they rarely went out to gather herbs themselves. Instead, they were responsible for teaching disciples, cultivating batches of qualified apprentices, and sending Herb Gathering Artisans to lead the apprentices into the mountains.

Herb Gathering Artisans were not qualified to take on apprentices themselves; they could only lead apprentices out for training, often venturing into the most dangerous parts of the deep mountains to gather herbs.

Herb Gathering Apprentices had to follow an Artisan into the deep mountains for three years and were not allowed to enter alone. If they performed well, they might receive a meager reward from the Artisan. After completing the three-year training, their master would perform a sword-handing ceremony, promoting them to Herb Gathering Artisans. Only then could they gather herbs independently, either alone or in groups with other Artisans, and submit the collected herbs to the Herb Gatherer to earn income based on the quantity collected. After seven or eight years, those with good records would be promoted to Herb Gatherers. The treatment for a Herb Gatherer was considered quite high, as they could split profits directly with the Herb Gathering Hall.

The Herb Gathering Hall evaluated the rank of herb gatherers based on their performance.

Ye Qin occasionally heard people in the hall say that many herb gatherers died every year. Those who survived became increasingly precious, their status rising, and they were sent to the most dangerous and complex places to gather the most precious herbs.

Such rumors caused great panic among the Herb Gathering Apprentices.

However, Vice Hall Master Ji promised the apprentices that once their years of service were up and they were promoted to Herb Gathering Artisans, they could choose to continue gathering herbs or opt to guard shops and make medicine in the county, enjoying a life of comfort without having to risk their lives. This slightly calmed the apprentices' hearts, giving them something to look forward to.

Therefore, Ye Qin's greatest desire now was to finish his apprenticeship as quickly as possible and accumulate enough of a record to become a Herb Gathering Artisan.

He had no idea just how difficult it would be to become one.