Taking a Disciple

The next day.

Inside the Martial Hall.

After delivering the meat, Li Yun was exchanging punches with Zhuo Yong.

"Ha!"

Zhuo Yong roared and struck first.

His shoulder gave a slight feint. As he lowered his shoulder and dropped his elbow, his right fist shot out like a poised tiger's claw, rushing straight for Li Yun's face with a whistling gale.

His punch was tightly focused, carrying the faint force of something splitting the air. He had clearly put his full strength into it.

Facing the fierce attack, Li Yun showed not the slightest panic.

His feet shifted lightly, and he flowed into the Crouching Tiger Mountain Climbing Step, his body sliding aside with a tiger's agility to evade the punch.

At the same time, he twisted at the waist and swept out his right leg like a steel whip.

His toes sliced through the air with a gust of wind. It was the Tiger Tail Sweeps the Floor technique from the Tiger Subduing Fist.

He went straight for Zhuo Yong's lower body, switching between offense and defense with effortless precision.

Fists and feet clashed, dull thuds sounding one after another.

The two traded blows, their moves sweeping wide and powerful.

Zhuo Yong's punches were fierce and domineering, each carrying heavy force as he tried to overwhelm Li Yun with his superior blood and qi.

Li Yun, meanwhile, moved nimbly, linking his techniques together as smoothly as flowing clouds and running water.

Though his blood and qi were not as robust as Zhuo Yong's, he always managed to calmly evade the fierce attacks and counter in turn.

After only a few exchanges, Li Yun seized on a gap between Zhuo Yong's techniques.

He abruptly lowered his waist and sank his qi, driving a Tiger Roar Rending Fist straight into the heart of the attack and landing it precisely on the vulnerable spot at Zhuo Yong's waist.

"Ugh."

Zhuo Yong grunted. A piercing ache and numbness shot through his waist, and his blood and qi instantly stagnated.

Tap, tap, tap—

Clutching his waist, he stumbled backward again and again, retreating four or five steps before steadying himself.

Then he shook his head with a bitter smile and cupped his hands to Li Yun in surrender.

"Junior Brother Li, I admit defeat."

When the two had sparred a little over a month ago, Zhuo Yong had been able to firmly suppress Li Yun, forcing him to do nothing but defend.

But in just over a month, the situation had completely reversed. Li Yun had managed to defeat Zhuo Yong in only a few exchanges.

A bitterness beyond words welled up in Zhuo Yong's heart.

Anyone with eyes could see how hard Li Yun worked at the Martial Hall.

He practiced stance work all day and frantically sought people to spar with.

Yet Zhuo Yong had never expected him to improve so quickly.

He had been in the Inner Courtyard for nearly two years, yet before Li Yun, he seemed utterly useless.

The gulf between them left his emotions in turmoil.

Li Yun lowered his fists and stood still, wanting to say something comforting.

But somehow, nothing felt right.

So he said nothing.

Just then, a commotion came from the vacant area near the Back Courtyard.

"Haha! Good, good!

"Your blood and qi are full, your strength springs from the bones, and your punches break through the air.

"You've truly condensed Bright Force."

Fu Huaixing could barely contain his delight at the sounds coming from Zhu Daqi.

His face was flushed with excitement, and even his voice had risen several notches.

The others in the courtyard had been focused on their own training, but the sudden sounds made them stop what they were doing and look over as one.

Fu Huaixing's words struck like thunder from a clear sky, leaving everyone present utterly dumbfounded.

Disbelief filled their faces.

"Junior Brother Zhu... he's already developed Bright Force?" someone murmured, almost to himself, his voice full of astonishment.

"He's been here for only half a year. He entered the Body Tempering Realm after just over a month, and in a little over four months, he's developed Bright Force!"

"Can the difference between people really be this huge?"

Bright Force and the Body Tempering Realm were worlds apart in strength.

Otherwise, people wouldn't have the saying, "A thousand gold coins can't buy the sound of a punch."

That saying referred to Bright Force.

Zhuo Yong, standing beside Li Yun, still hadn't recovered from the dejection of his recent defeat. He had already been in low spirits.

Now, hearing that Zhu Daqi had developed Bright Force in just half a year, he felt as if a massive stone were pressing on his chest, leaving him unable to breathe.

The crushing disparity nearly shattered the faith he had clung to for so long.

A wave of despair washed over him.

"Junior Brother Li, tell me... do I still have any hope on the path of martial arts?"

At his words, Li Yun didn't answer right away.

The path of martial arts was rugged and hard to walk.

When the road ahead was shrouded in uncertainty, when there was no sign of progress and one's efforts brought no reward, anyone might feel the urge to give up.

Li Yun was different.

He had a proficiency panel. Every punch he threw and every stance he held turned into tangible strength.

That confidence had kept him from ever thinking of retreating.

He and Zhuo Yong had known each other for quite a while, and they got along well enough. After pondering for a moment, Li Yun offered some comfort.

"Senior Brother Zhu, you have a fourth-grade bone structure.

"Since entering the Martial Hall, the master has taught you personally.

"Before the Body Tempering Realm, you had a bowl of Muscle and Bone Soup every day. Once you entered the Body Tempering Realm, you got a serving of Blood Replenishing Powder every day.

"Not once did you miss out.

"And Senior Brother Lu and Senior Sister Yu sometimes gave you medicinal herbs that had been growing for years.

"It's only natural that you were able to develop Bright Force.

"How many apprentices in the Outer Courtyard can't open their blood and qi channels and enter the Body Tempering Realm?

"So, Senior Brother Zhu, don't sell yourself short."

Zhuo Yong's expression shifted at his words.

A moment later, he let out a deep sigh.

"Alas..."

Just then, Fu Huaixing clapped his hands and announced loudly:

"From this moment on, I've decided to take Zhu Daqi as my closed-door disciple!"

Closed-door disciple?

Those words shocked everyone even more than the news that Zhu Daqi had developed Bright Force.

At the Subduing Tiger Martial Hall, disciples were divided into ranks.

Those in the Outer Courtyard paid for lessons. They weren't disciples, just apprentices.

They had to open the blood and qi channels beneath the skin and enter the Body Tempering Realm before they could come to the Inner Courtyard.

Only then could they barely be considered nominal disciples.

There were about a hundred such disciples in the Inner Courtyard, including people like Li Yun and Zhuo Yong.

Those who developed Bright Force could be considered core disciples of the Subduing Tiger Martial Hall.

People like Lu Kuan, Yu Qingqing, and Chen Bin occasionally received personal instruction from Fu Huaixing.

The last rank was that of personal disciples.

The Subduing Tiger Martial Hall had only three personal disciples at present.

The eldest senior brother, Qi Wenxuan, who was known by name but never seen.

The second senior brother, Xiao Shun, who was always at the master's side.

And the Third Senior Sister, Liu Lingyan.

Now, there would be one more: Zhu Daqi, Senior Brother Zhu.

A closed-door disciple was simply another name for a personal disciple.

But compared with an ordinary personal disciple, this title was more special.

A closed-door disciple was regarded as a "prized student" who could "inherit the master's legacy" in the future.

It also meant that, barring any unexpected circumstances, Zhu Daqi would be Fu Huaixing's last personal disciple.

How could such an honor not astonish everyone?

As soon as Fu Huaixing finished speaking, Zhu Daqi's face blossomed into a radiant smile. He bowed respectfully.

"Thank you, Master.

"I... I'll certainly train hard from now on and won't let you down."

Everyone congratulated Fu Huaixing on taking in a prodigy and Zhu Daqi on becoming the master's disciple.

Watching this scene,

Zhuo Yong's eyes were filled with undisguised envy.

He sighed softly, his voice low, tinged with melancholy and unwillingness.

"I don't dare hope to become a personal disciple. I'd be satisfied if I could develop Bright Force in this lifetime."

Over the years, he had poured every last coin his family owned into martial arts to build up his blood and qi.

He had trained day and night, yet he still couldn't reach the bottleneck of Bright Force...

The other disciples also whispered among themselves, some envious, some jealous...

Li Yun didn't join them. He simply returned to the corner and resumed practicing his fist techniques.

At a time like this, he doubted anyone else would feel like sparring.

Only Li Yun carried on as usual.

Because for him, hard work was no empty promise.