Taking an Honorary Post

"It actually worked!"

Looking at the red marks appearing on Chen Jing's arms, Pu Shaojie felt as though his mind had exploded with a boom.

Just a moment ago, he had been betting with Zhuang Tao on whether Chen Jing could break through to Blood Creek within half a month. He hadn't expected Chen Jing to break through right after the bet was made.

This reversal... had come far too quickly!

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

Seeing this, Zhuang Tao was also taken aback at first. Then he piled on, before walking over to Chen Jing with a beaming smile.

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

"We'll be counting on you to look after us from now on, Senior Brother Chen..."

"Senior Brother Chen, could you tell us the key to breaking through...?"

After Chen Jing's breakthrough, the surrounding fellow disciples immediately crowded around him enthusiastically.

Some disciples who had joined before Chen Jing but still hadn't broken through also changed how they addressed him, calling him Senior Brother Chen. Their eyes held both envy and unwillingness, along with an undisguised sourness.

They had never imagined that Chen Jing, whom they had thought was wasting his efforts, would be the first to step into Blood Creek!

Meanwhile, they were still stuck where they were, unable to advance.

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

Just then, Zhuang Tao came over with a smile. "Junior Brother Chen, congratulations!"

Chen Jing hurriedly cupped his fists and replied sincerely, "Thank you, Senior Brother Zhuang. If you hadn't given me a hand, I probably wouldn't have broken through so quickly."

If Zhuang Tao hadn't used an Exemption Bead to charge up early by giving him Green-skinned Horned Pig meat, then at the rate he'd been absorbing energy before, it would have taken at least another three or four days to fill it up.

That would have pushed his breakthrough back by several more days.

Pu Shaojie also came over. His composure had returned, and he wore a smile once more. "Congratulations on your breakthrough, Junior Brother Chen. Our academy has gained another Blood Creek martial artist. Keep up the good work from now on."

As he spoke, Pu Shaojie raised a hand and pointed toward the Central Courtyard. "Master is waiting for you over there. Don't keep him waiting."

"Yes!"

Chen Jing answered, then headed straight for the Central 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 Central Courtyard!

When Chen Jing entered the Central Courtyard, he saw Fei Feng standing with his hands behind his back, his gaze fixed on Xiang Lingfei.

Although only official disciples were allowed to stay in the Central Courtyard, Fei Feng was so fond of Xiang Lingfei that he had made an exception and let him temper his qi and blood there.

Just then, Fei Feng noticed Chen Jing coming over and asked, "How does it feel to have broken through?"

Chen Jing took a deep breath and answered seriously, "Right now, I feel as if my qi and blood have... leapt to a whole new level. I'm also clearly much stronger than before."

Fei Feng nodded and explained, "That's right. This is the difference between a First Blood martial artist and an ordinary martial artist. Ordinary people rely on their muscles and bones to make a living, while martial artists use qi and blood to split mountains and shatter rocks."

"Why can the strong break rocks with one punch and shatter rivers with another? It's because of the power of their qi and blood. The more abundant their qi and blood, the heavier the force of their punches."

"That's why the rules of this world are set by powerful martial artists."

"Ordinary people, in the eyes of powerful martial artists, are no more than ants that can be crushed with a casual flick of the hand."

Listening to Fei Feng's explanation, Chen Jing's heart surged like a storm-tossed sea.

Hadn't his past self, when he was an ordinary person, been just like an ant, killed by a single punch from Yan Peng?

In this world, only the strong had the right to survive.

Fei Feng continued, "Now that you've reached Blood Creek, you'll be given some opportunities to take honorary posts, as is customary. They'll earn you a decent allowance each month."

"As for the details, I remember Zhuang Tao is quite close to you. I'll have him explain it to you later."

"As for your martial training from now on, you're already my official disciple, so I won't charge you any more tuition. But you'll have to pay for the tonics and meat you need for training yourself."

"After all, the stronger you become, the more meat you'll need—and the better it will have to be!"

At this, Fei Feng's expression turned utterly serious. He spoke each word deliberately: "If a martial artist goes without meat for a long time, his qi and blood will decline. Be sure to remember that."

Chen Jing hurriedly replied, "This disciple will remember!"

"All right. Show me a set of punches so I can see how you're doing."

Chen Jing took a deep breath, focused his mind, and circulated his qi. Then his fists surged forth in a continuous tide, every punch carrying the power of Blood Creek, the air exploding with each crack of his fists.

Watching Chen Jing's punches, Fei Feng nodded. He began correcting him step by step, explaining the deeper essence of River-Breaking Fist and filling in all the gaps in what Zhuang Tao had taught him before.

As Fei Feng explained, the many doubts in Chen Jing's mind gradually cleared. His understanding of the overall principles of River-Breaking Fist grew increasingly clear.

"All right. Temper your qi and blood in the Central Courtyard from now on. Once you break through to Blood River, you'll finally count as a major figure in Red Rock County!"

After teaching Chen Jing, Fei Feng left with his hands behind his back, leaving him with those words.

Watching Fei Feng's departing figure, Chen Jing was about to find Zhuang Tao and ask about the details of taking an honorary post.

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

"Junior Brother Chen, here!"

"Open it and take a look."

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

Chen Jing instinctively caught it. The moment it landed in his hand, he felt his wrist sink under its weight.

He tugged the pouch open.

Inside were fifty taels of silver!

The gleam of silver dazzled him so badly he almost thought his eyes were playing tricks on him.

"Senior Brother Zhuang, what are you doing?"

Chen Jing's heart clenched, and he immediately tried to push the pouch back.

Although his relationship with Zhuang Tao had grown by leaps and bounds lately, Zhuang Tao had waived the cost of the pig meat he'd bought last time for a reason.

Besides, fifty taels of silver was no small sum. It would take Chen Sanwu a year or two of pulling a cart to save that much—and only if he paid no cart fees and spent nothing on food or drink.

Having such a large sum of money shoved at him out of nowhere made Chen Jing uneasy.

But the next second, Zhuang Tao forced the pouch of silver back into Chen Jing's hands.

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

Zhuang Tao smiled easily, then explained what the money was for.

"So just accept it. You helped me win it with your own skill. You deserve your share."

"But this money..."

Chen Jing wanted to refuse again, but Zhuang Tao cut him off with a single sentence: "Junior Brother Chen, if you don't accept it, does that mean you look down on me?"

Chen Jing froze.

"You know what my family's like. How could you not?"

"I don't care about this little bit of money!"

Hearing this, Chen Jing understood that he had no choice but to accept it. If he kept refusing, he'd only create distance between them. So he said, "Then I'll accept it, Senior Brother. If there's ever anything you need help with, just ask."

First it had been the Green-skinned Horned Pig meat, and now it was money. Chen Jing felt that he owed Zhuang Tao more and more, but for now, he could only remember the favor and repay it in the future.

Just then, Chen Jing remembered the honorary post and hurriedly asked, "By the way, Senior Brother, I wanted to ask about taking an honorary post."

"You've come to the right person for that!"

Hearing Chen Jing's question, Zhuang Tao immediately perked up. He waved a hand with some pride, then explained, "You know the times are unsettled. There are more gangs inside the city than bandits outside it, and lately there have even been rumors of enemy troops causing trouble along the border."

"So the prominent gangs, guilds, and trading houses in the city all need capable martial artists to hold the fort."

"Put nicely, it's an honorary post as a guard. Put bluntly, it's a part-time job watching over a place."

"When nothing's happening, you train at the academy and keep eating meat and drinking soup as usual."

"But if trouble does arise, you'll have to step in and help."

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

"After all, martial artists eat meat at every meal, and it has to be good meat. How could ordinary families afford that, unless they were wealthy?"

After hearing all this, Chen Jing finally understood what taking an honorary post meant.

"Then... what if fellow disciples end up taking posts with rival gangs?"

At that moment, Chen Jing remembered the conflict between the Blue Scarf Gang and the Canal Gang near his home, so he hurriedly asked.

Zhuang Tao explained again, "That's why, before any Blood Creek martial artist takes a post, our academy asks which factions the other disciples have aligned themselves with. That way, we can prevent this sort of thing from happening."

"But it doesn't happen often. Most people who manage to reach Blood Creek come from wealthy families, so they generally don't need the little bit of silver a post brings in."

Hearing Zhuang Tao's explanation, Chen Jing nodded and replied, "I see."

Zhuang Tao chuckled and asked, "Since you've asked me about it, Junior Brother, would you like to take a post with my family?"