Selected for the Inner Court

Perhaps because he turned in early, it was still dark when Chen Ye opened his eyes, the snoring of his roommates rising and falling in a rhythmic chorus.

He did not get up immediately, choosing instead to lie quietly in the darkness for a while.

The system remained in his field of vision.

The name displayed on the panel was still Foundation Cultivation Technique.

He remembered clearly that Zhang Tieyi had spoken of the Tiger-Capturing Fist, and what he had been practicing was the Tiger-Capturing Fist stance taught by Zhang Tieyi.

There was no doubt about that.

As for whether this set of fist techniques from the Gao Family was not originally called the Tiger-Capturing Fist, or if it was a translation issue with the panel, he could not say.

Information was too scarce; continuing to speculate would only lead to a dead end with no results.

For now, it was better to fully grasp the workings of the system.

Chen Ye rolled over, suppressing his wandering thoughts.

Taking advantage of the pre-dawn gloom, he rubbed his eyes, rose from the earthen bed, threw on an outer garment in the dark, and slipped out silently, circling around to the vacant lot behind the house.

Piles of neglected hay were stacked here; aside from the occasional stray cat foraging for food, no one ever came by.

The morning mist was hazy.

Chen Ye patted his cheeks to wake himself up.

He took a deep breath, lowered his voice, and chanted silently in his heart: "Pawn. Two months of lifespan."

Within his line of sight, a golden balance suddenly manifested, with a crystalline blue weight and a red weight dropping onto the left and right pans, respectively.

[Deducted sixty days of lifespan, provided sixty days of cultivation.]

The status on the panel changed rapidly.

[Foundation Cultivation Technique (Not Initiated)] → [Foundation Cultivation Technique (Initiated)]

A familiar warm current surged from the depths of his abdomen without warning, rapidly spreading to his limbs and bones.

Wherever it passed, his tendons trembled and his muscles hummed, as if a spring thunderclap had exploded, awakening every inch of flesh and blood in his body.

Chen Ye resumed the stance.

It was different.

Yesterday, when he held the stance, it was his willpower forcing his body to stand that way.

Now, his body knew instinctively how to hold the stance.

His shoulders were sunk, his waist and hips were twisted into the perfect position, and his posture was impeccable.

It was as if he had truly practiced hard for two months.

Sixty days of lifespan.

Two months of hard work, delivered in a second.

Chen Ye slowly relaxed his stance, his breathing so steady that even he was surprised.

He took the opportunity to use the only two taels of silver he had to test the Pawn System's redemption mechanism, discovering that one tael of silver could only be exchanged for four days of life.

It was as predatory as the online loans from his past life.

The monthly allowance for a Gao Family servant was two taels.

In other words, he would need to save for three years and nine months without eating or drinking to exchange for one year of life.

He only had three years of lifespan left; no matter how he calculated it, this was a losing trade.

Using silver to redeem lifespan could only serve as an emergency measure, not a long-term solution.

To extend his lifespan, he had to find another way.

Since this world has martial arts, perhaps there exists a path of immortal martial arts, with spiritual medicines and techniques that can prolong life.

Perhaps breaking through in cultivation can also extend one's life.

If that is possible, then this Pawn System... will have immense potential.

Chen Ye set this matter aside for the moment and focused his mind.

The two taels of silver in his hand felt as if they were gently lifted, vanishing in a flash as if they had never existed.

Chen Ye subconsciously clenched his fist; it was empty.

The number on the panel quietly changed to [Three years and eight days].

The sky began to brighten.

When Chen Ye returned to the front courtyard, some people were already practicing.

Three or five individuals occupied various corners of the yard, holding their stances, their postures revealing varying degrees of stiffness and clumsiness.

Some sank their knees too low, while others kept their shoulders too slack.

Chen Ye said nothing, found a corner, and settled into his stance at a leisurely pace.

With two months of cultivation poured into him, the feeling of growing more exhausted the longer he stood from yesterday was gone; he could now hold the stance for half an hour without any effort.

Yesterday had already been a bit too eye-catching.

Coupled with that inexplicable Foundation Cultivation Technique, his mind was heavy, and he had no desire to be the tall poppy today.

Chen Ye managed to hold his stance for about the time it takes for two incense sticks to burn before feigning exhaustion, retracting his posture, and sitting under a pillar to rest.

The few people nearby saw that he was nothing special and breathed a sigh of relief.

The days that followed passed in a flash.

In the blink of an eye, seven days had gone by.

During these past few days, the person who came to instruct them was another Gao Family guard, Zou Rong.

Compared to the detailed explanations of Guard Zhang, Zou Rong seemed much more perfunctory.

He would simply stand in a stance himself, tell everyone to follow along, and then walk away once he had finished his own practice.

Without supervision, and with the novelty of martial arts practice gradually fading, everyone in the courtyard became lax, starting to fish for three days and dry their nets for two.

As for the few who were willing to put in the hard work, their stances improved visibly.

Chen Ye blended in among the crowd, neither showing off nor hiding his light.

His rate of progress was kept right on the line of being excellent but not outstanding.

On the eighth day, Zhang Tieyi, who had not appeared for some time, finally arrived.

He stood in the middle of the courtyard and said straight to the point, "Stance training is difficult if you say it is, and easy if you say it is. Those with good talent can get the hang of it in three to five days. Those with poor talent might not find the way even after three to five months. You have been practicing for seven or eight days, so it is time to test you."

Zhang Tieyi's tone was flat, but his words made everyone present tense their backs.

"Those who perform well will be selected for the inner courtyard, and their monthly allowance will increase by two taels. Those who perform poorly..."

Zhang Tieyi paused, leaving the rest of his sentence unsaid.

But everyone present understood.

"Everyone, get into your stances!"

Zhang Tieyi's sharp shout interrupted their thoughts.

Without time to overthink, everyone assumed their stances.

Zhang Tieyi started from the person closest to him, either kicking or pushing, applying a moderate amount of external force.

Most people fell the moment they were pushed, landing hard on the ground.

"Eliminated."

"Eliminated."

"..."

In the blink of an eye, more than half of the people were eliminated.

Zhang Tieyi walked behind Chen Ye.

Chen Ye could not see the other man's expression, but he vaguely felt that the aura behind him was different, lingering for a few seconds longer.

Just as he was thinking this, Zhang Tieyi kicked Chen Ye in the back without warning.

The force of this kick was clearly much heavier than the ones used on the others.

Chen Ye felt a surge of force suddenly strike him, losing his center of gravity, and he pitched forward.

His knees instinctively twisted inward, his waist and hips sank, and he forcibly neutralized the force.

His upper body swayed, but he immediately steadied himself, and his stance did not break.

Zhang Tieyi did not speak.

Chen Ye stared at the floor tiles in front of him, feeling a chill on the back of his neck.

He silently counted to three in his heart before hearing a faint "Pass" from behind him.

After saying this, Zhang Tieyi continued to test the next person with a calm expression.

Chen Ye maintained his stance, though his heart was beating a few times faster than before.

He had noticed that the force Zhang Tieyi used to kick him was heavier than the force used on the other two people combined.

This did not feel like a test; it felt more like the verification of some idea.

Soon, everyone else in the courtyard had been tested, and only four remained out of the fifteen or sixteen people.

Zhang Tieyi faced the group and said indifferently, "The rest of you, go back to where you came from. The Gao Family does not keep idlers."

The expressions of the eliminated servants were ashen; some were annoyed, some were unwilling, and some were secretly wiping away tears with their sleeves.

No one spoke up for them.

Chen Ye stood with the other three who had been selected.

The three of them whispered to each other, their faces filled with the excitement of being chosen.

Only Chen Ye stared at Zhang Tieyi's departing back, lost in thought.

As instructed, Chen Ye and the others needed to move to new living quarters.

He had traded the communal bunk of a low-level servant for a private side room in the inner courtyard.

The group did not linger, each returning to their original quarters to pack their belongings.

Aside from a few changes of clothes, Chen Ye possessed almost nothing of value.

After spending half a cup of tea's time inventorying the room, he was just about to step out when he discovered a slender figure already at the door.

The newcomer was beautiful, with skin as fair as snow and hair parted and coiled atop her head, cascading down naturally.

Though she appeared to be no more than sixteen, her figure was already exquisitely curved, particularly the lush, heavy swell of her chest, which rivaled that of a woman who had already borne children.

After a fleeting glance, Chen Ye quickly lowered his eyes, careful not to stare brazenly.

Gao Qiaoniang.

The daughter of a maid and the head of the Gao Family.

Gao Qiaoniang's eyes darted about, her voice crisp as she said, "Your quarters have been prepared; follow me."

Chen Ye bowed in acknowledgment and quickened his pace to follow her.