Each Has Their Own Ambitions

Early in the morning, the sky had only just begun to brighten.

Feng Yue clasped his hands behind his back and strolled unhurriedly into the Martial Arts Arena!

It was still early, yet youths had already arrived to practice martial arts, each training with blazing enthusiasm.

But as Feng Yue watched their movements, he could not help but shake his head inwardly.

"Shao Zhuo has been in the gang for a month already, yet he still cannot fully grasp Azure Dragon Force. Though diligent, he will never amount to much!"

"Zhong Bingwen has a green trait, but his natural endowment is too poor. He will not enter the realm within a year!"

"Sun Dai has passable talent, but his trait is white. His potential is too low."

The backgrounds of every gang member present lay fully exposed before Feng Yue's eyes.

As the instructor for the gang's newly recruited students, he knew these young people fairly well.

To go far on the path of martial arts, "comprehension, perseverance, traits, natural endowment, and background"—not one of these five could be missing!

Lacking even one could lead one down countless winding roads on this path.

Missing two, and the road ahead would be bleak!

As for those missing three or more, there was no need to even think about it, unless their strongest point truly pierced the heavens.

In Feng Yue's judgment, most of those present would be eliminated by the gang and reduced to bottom-rung thugs.

This also suited the Azure Dragon Gang's interests.

There were no difficulties in the first realm of martial arts.

With enough patient grinding, even trash could enter the Body Tempering Realm within two years and reach its peak within twenty.

But one never knew the price of rice and firewood until one ran the household!

Money had to be spent on the blade's edge.

Martial artists did not engage in production and instead devoted themselves entirely to training; the resources they consumed were terrifying!

Thus, these gang members who had signed contracts selling themselves were all bottom-level expendables!

If they could not pass the selection within half a year, they would be eliminated, spending the rest of their lives supporting the food, clothing, and daily needs of those martial artists with superior talent.

The Azure Dragon Gang had over a hundred core gang members. On average, every twenty bottom-level gang members had to support one martial artist.

Those supported martial artists, in turn, guarded the forces under the gang's command, maintaining order and stability, ensuring the steady production of all kinds of resources for the Elders who had reached the Post-Heaven Realm to cultivate.

Under such layer upon layer of exploitation, a pyramid structure had been built within the Azure Dragon Gang.

At the very top of that pyramid, taking the largest bite, was the Azure Dragon Gang's leader.

As long as the gang leader did not fall, even if every subordinate died, he could simply gather another Azure Dragon Gang from scratch!

Looking down from above, Feng Yue assessed the progress of the gang members in the Martial Arts Arena.

Just then, a lean figure strode steadily into the arena, drawing Feng Yue's attention.

"It's him..."

Feng Yue watched the young man who had left a deep impression on him.

It was not only Feng Yue. Over the past two days, many people present had noticed that conspicuous fellow.

From the day he had joined the gang until now, he had spent at least seven hours every day soaking in the Martial Arts Arena, practicing Azure Dragon Force over and over!

If it had merely been hard work, that would have been one thing; the Martial Arts Arena did not lack people this earnest.

But Ye Li's rate of improvement was visible to the naked eye.

They all cultivated the same Body Tempering technique, all taught by the same instructor. One glance was enough to tell how well someone trained!

He was still clumsy in the morning, yet by evening he was already proficient.

By the next day, every gesture he made carried an indescribable charm. He even possessed something of Instructor Feng's bearing, and his mastery of Azure Dragon Force had already surpassed that of most people here.

Now, everyone knew that the gang had gained a peerless genius.

As long as Ye Li's natural endowment was decent enough, becoming a core student was as certain as a nail driven into a board. His future would be boundless!

Even Feng Yue watched this newly arrived young man with an appreciative gaze.

He had a trait with potential, perseverance in training, and a sharp mind. Such talent ought to be specially chosen!

As Ye Li entered the arena, he began practicing Azure Dragon Force, just as he had over the past few days.

At this moment, his panel displayed the fruits of his efforts over the past two days.

"Mortal (37/1000)"

"Azure Dragon Force (95/100)"

"Today, I can raise Azure Dragon Force to mastery. I wonder what effect it will have?" Ye Li thought to himself.

After discovering that maintaining Azure Dragon Force while sleeping could greatly ease his fatigue, he had trained himself to the brink of death these past few days, without a moment of personal time.

Now, it seemed the effect was indeed excellent. Every time he woke, the exhaustion of the previous day had been swept away.

As he inhaled, Ye Li raised his hands and began practicing the technique, now incomparably familiar to him, starting a new day of tempering.

As time passed, the Martial Arts Arena gradually grew noisier.

More gang members yawned as they dragged their weary bodies into the grounds.

"I'm exhausted. The snoring in the communal sleeping quarters was too loud last night. I lay there for half the night before I could barely close my eyes."

"And so many people got up in the night. The noise was not small at all, and some even talked in their sleep."

"Exactly. A day or two is fine, but if this drags on, where will we get the strength to train?"

"A palm-sized centipede even crawled in yesterday. It scared me to death!"

Tang Jian rubbed at the dark bags beneath his eyes. Weariness hung in his gaze, and he looked utterly drained as he listened to his companions complain about their lodging.

Unlike Ye Li, who had been assigned a four-person room.

He had to squeeze into a large communal sleeping area with more than a dozen other gang members.

The resting environment was abysmal—stench, laughter and horseplay, people getting up in the night, snoring...

Everyone around him had their own problems, and these past few days, even normal rest had been impossible to guarantee.

Some light sleepers could not endure it any longer and, while winter had not yet arrived, went outside to sleep.

Those living in the communal quarters stared enviously at the lean youth practicing martial arts with complete focus in the arena.

"Stop complaining. Endure it. Once we rise above it and become core students, we can enjoy ourselves!" one person said, then moved near Ye Li to observe carefully.

The other students who had not yet learned Azure Dragon Force followed suit, gathering around Ye Li in twos and threes to study the postures he demonstrated.

Before long, a small circle had spontaneously formed around Ye Li.

This highly conspicuous sight fell into Tang Jian's eyes, and he could not help but snort coldly. "Hmph! Fine if they go bother Ye Li. At least I won't have to waste my time teaching them!"

With that, he silently worked hard alone in a corner, hoping to suppress the resentment and anxiety in his heart through training.

At the other end, Li Xi looked disdainfully at the people practicing with all their strength.

He stood at the edge of the Martial Arts Arena, dressed in an exquisitely tailored training outfit embroidered with golden patterns, utterly out of place among the gang members in their coarse linen clothes.

With a lift of his hand, he took out from the exquisite leather pouch at his waist a pill the size of a longan, bright yellow in color and emitting a faint medicinal fragrance.

This was precisely the Body Tempering Pill Feng Yue had mentioned, the reward for taking first place in the month-end assessment!

After swallowing and refining it, a single pill was worth three days of ordinary people's hard cultivation!

Although Li Xi had fallen so far as to join the Azure Dragon Gang, he was ultimately still a direct descendant of the Li Family. His household provided him with Body Tempering Pills every month for his cultivation.

He elegantly placed the pill into his mouth, feeling its warm medicinal power dissolve within his abdomen. A superior curve lifted at the corner of his lips.

"What use are talent and comprehension? A bunch of mud-legged peasants who crawled up from the bottom!"

Li Xi sneered inwardly. Just taking pills is enough to equal half a month of your effort!

In his eyes at this moment, no one in the entire Martial Arts Arena was worthy of even making him lower his gaze.

Becoming a core student was already as certain as a nail driven into a board. His sights were set farther still!

"At the very least, I must reach the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm within half a year."

Li Xi's gaze sharpened. When the city's youth tournament arrives, if I can represent the Azure Dragon Gang and seize one of the top places... the Lineage will surely see me in a different light!

When that time comes, I will personally seize back everything I lost!