Appointed Position

"It actually happened!"

Watching the red marks emerge on Chen Jing's arms, Pu Shaojie felt a thunderous roar in his mind.

He had just been making a bet with Zhuang Tao about whether Chen Jing could break through to Blood Creek within half a month, yet no sooner had the wager been struck than Chen Jing achieved the breakthrough.

This reversal... it came a bit too fast, didn't it!

"Senior Brother Pu, don't forget, you owe me fifty taels~"

Zhuang Tao, standing to the side, was stunned for a moment before delivering the finishing blow, then walked toward Chen Jing with a beaming smile.

"Junior Brother Chen... no, congratulations, Senior Brother Chen!"

"I hope Senior Brother Chen will look after us in the future..."

"Senior Brother Chen, could you tell us the secrets to this breakthrough..."

Once Chen Jing broke through, the surrounding fellow disciples immediately swarmed him with enthusiasm.

Some disciples who had joined before Chen Jing but had yet to break through hurriedly changed their address to "Senior Brother," their eyes filled with a mix of envy, lingering reluctance, and undisguised bitterness.

They never imagined that Chen Jing, whom they had viewed as wasting his time, would be the one to step into the Blood Creek realm first!

While they remained trapped in place, unable to advance.

At this moment, how they wished that they were the ones who had broken through!

Just then, Zhuang Tao walked over and said with a smile, "Congratulations, Junior Brother Chen!"

Chen Jing cupped his fists, replying with a sincere attitude, "Many thanks, Senior Brother Zhuang. If not for your guidance, I might not have broken through so quickly."

If Zhuang Tao hadn't used the Exemption Bead to pre-charge the Green-skinned Horned Pig meat, he would have needed at least three or four more days to accumulate enough energy at his original absorption rate.

At that point, the time for his breakthrough would have been delayed by several more days.

Pu Shaojie also walked over, his face having regained its composure, and put on a smile again. "Congratulations on your breakthrough, Junior Brother Chen. Our River-Breaking Fist Academy has gained another Blood Creek martial artist. I hope you will continue to work hard."

Having said this, Pu Shaojie gestured toward the middle courtyard. "Master is already waiting for you there; don't keep him waiting."

"Understood!"

Chen Jing responded and walked straight toward the middle courtyard.

Now that he was a Blood Creek martial artist, he had become an official disciple of the River-Breaking Fist Academy.

Naturally, he was qualified to enter the middle courtyard!

As Chen Jing walked into the middle courtyard, he saw Fei Feng standing with his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed intently on Xiang Lingfei.

Although the middle courtyard was a place for official disciples only, Fei Feng's fondness for Xiang Lingfei had led him to make an exception, allowing him to temper his blood energy here.

Noticing Chen Jing's arrival, Fei Feng asked, "How does the breakthrough feel?"

Chen Jing took a deep breath and answered earnestly, "It feels as if my blood energy has... leaped to a new level. My strength is also significantly greater than before."

Fei Feng nodded and explained, "Exactly. This is the gap between a First Blood martial artist and an ordinary one. Mortals rely on their muscles and bones, while martial artists rely on blood energy to break mountains and split rocks."

"The reason why experts can snap stone and shatter rivers with a single punch is the effect of blood energy. The more vigorous the blood energy, the heavier the force of the punch."

"This is why the rules of this world are set by powerful martial artists."

"So-called ordinary people are nothing more than ants that can be crushed at will by a powerful martial artist."

Listening to Fei Feng's explanation, Chen Jing's heart churned.

Back then, as an ordinary person, wasn't he just like an ant, killed by a single punch from Yan Peng?

Therefore, in this world, only by being strong does one have the right to survive.

Fei Feng continued, "Now that you have reached Blood Creek, according to custom, you will be given some opportunities for assigned posts, which provide a decent monthly reward."

"As for those matters, I remember you are quite close with Zhuang Tao, so I will let him explain it to you later."

"Regarding your martial arts training, since you are now my official disciple, I will no longer charge you tuition. However, you must fund the tonics and meat required for your training yourself."

"After all, the stronger the strength, the more potent the meat required!"

At this point, Fei Feng's expression became incredibly serious. "If a martial artist lacks a steady supply of meat for a long period, their blood energy will decline. You must remember this."

Chen Jing replied immediately, "This disciple will keep it in mind!"

"Good, perform a set of punches; let me see your current state."

Chen Jing took a deep breath, focused his energy, and unleashed his fist techniques like a collapsing tide. Each strike carried the power of the Blood Creek realm, the wind of his punches exploding with a sharp crack.

Watching Chen Jing's form, Fei Feng nodded and began to provide pointers one by one, explaining the deeper essence of the River-Breaking Fist and filling in the gaps that Zhuang Tao had previously failed to fully clarify.

With Fei Feng's guidance, many of the doubts in Chen Jing's mind were resolved, and his overall understanding of the River-Breaking Fist's structure became increasingly clear.

"Very well. Continue to temper your blood energy in the middle courtyard. Only when you break through to Blood River will you be considered a big shot here in Red Rock County!"

After teaching Chen Jing, Fei Feng left him with these words and walked away with his hands behind his back.

Watching Fei Feng's departing figure, Chen Jing prepared to find Zhuang Tao to ask about the details of the assigned posts.

But just as he turned around, he saw Zhuang Tao walking toward him with a radiant smile.

"Junior Brother Chen, here!"

"Open it and see."

Before the words had even faded, a heavy cloth bag flew straight into Chen Jing's arms.

Seeing this, Chen Jing caught it instinctively, and the moment it landed in his hands, he felt his wrist sink under the weight.

He pulled open the drawstring.

Inside, there were actually fifty taels of silver!

The silvery glint was so dazzling he almost thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Senior Brother Zhuang, what is this for?"

Chen Jing's heart tightened, and he immediately tried to push the bag back.

Even though his relationship with Zhuang Tao had progressed by leaps and bounds during this period, and even though Zhuang Tao had waived the cost of the Green-skinned Horned Pig last time, there had been a specific reason for that.

Moreover, fifty taels of silver was no small sum; it was enough to equal two years of Chen Sanwu pulling a cart, and that was only if he didn't pay for cart maintenance and didn't eat or drink a single thing.

Having such a massive amount of money shoved at him without any warning made Chen Jing feel a sense of panic.

In the next second, however, the bag of silver was shoved firmly back into Chen Jing's hands by Zhuang Tao.

"Junior Brother, I won this in a bet against Senior Brother Pu."

Zhuang Tao laughed, looking relaxed and carefree as he began to explain the origin of the money.

"So, rest assured and keep it. You earned this for me with your own ability, so it's yours to take."

"But this money..."

Chen Jing still wanted to refuse, but was cut off by a single sentence from Zhuang Tao: "Junior Brother Chen, if you don't accept it, are you looking down on me?"

Hearing this, Chen Jing was momentarily stunned.

"You know my family's situation, don't you?"

"This little bit of money is nothing to me!"

Hearing this, Chen Jing realized that he had to accept the money; to push it away again would be to create distance. He had no choice but to say, "In that case, Senior Brother, I will accept it with gratitude. If there is anything you need help with in the future, just say the word."

First the Green-skinned Horned Pig meat, and now silver—Chen Jing felt he owed Zhuang Tao more and more favors, but for now, he could only keep it in his heart and repay him in the future.

At this moment, Chen Jing remembered the matter of taking on a side position and hurriedly asked, "By the way, Senior Brother, I wanted to ask about the situation with side positions."

"You've asked the right person regarding side positions!"

Hearing Chen Jing's inquiry, Zhuang Tao immediately became interested. He waved his hand with a hint of pride and said, "You know that the current world is unstable. There are more gangs inside the city than bandits outside, and recently there have even been rumors of enemy troops stirring up trouble at the border."

"Because of this, some prominent gangs, guilds, and merchant firms in the city are all looking for capable martial artists to hold down the fort."

"To put it nicely, it's a side position as a guard; to put it bluntly, it's a part-time job watching over their territory."

"When there's nothing going on, you stay at the martial arts academy to practice your punches, eating meat and drinking soup as usual."

"But if something actually happens, you have to step in and help out."

"This is one of the sources of income for some of our fellow disciples from ordinary families."

"After all, martial artists need to eat meat at every meal, and good meat at that. Aside from those from wealthy families, how could an ordinary household possibly afford it?"

After hearing this, Chen Jing finally understood the meaning of a side position.

"Then... what if a situation arises where fellow disciples are working for opposing gangs?"

At this point, Chen Jing remembered the conflict between the Blue Scarf Gang and the Canal Gang near his home, so he quickly asked.

Zhuang Tao explained again, "That is why every Blood Creek martial artist from our academy checks which factions other fellow disciples are affiliated with before taking a position, to avoid such things from happening."

"However, such occurrences are rare. After all, most of those who can reach the Blood Creek stage come from wealthy families and generally don't need the silver from such side positions."

After listening to Zhuang Tao's explanation, Chen Jing nodded his head and replied, "I see."

At this, Zhuang Tao chuckled and asked, "Since you've asked me about it, Junior Brother, would you like to take a side position at my family's place?"