Entering the Sect

"So fast!" Zhang Yong looked at Lu Ren in shock.

His bone structure was ranked second, and for the past few days, his motivation for grueling training had been to be the first to master the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

Yet he felt he would still need three or four more days to master it, while Lu Ren had already succeeded.

"Congratulations, Brother Lu! Brother Lu is amazing!"

Luo Dehu, the sycophant, ran to Lu Ren with a flattering expression, spouting fawning words. In just a few days, he had completely become Lu Ren's lackey.

Even when training was exhausting, he would drag his weary body to fetch food for Lu Ren.

Although everyone looked down on him and secretly despised him, Xu Yang understood that if only one person among them could become a martial artist, it would likely be Lu Ren.

Once Lu Ren succeeded, he would be the earliest follower.

"A mere entry-level milestone, how could it stop me?" Lu Ren laughed.

In just a few days, his transformation had been the most dramatic. Every gesture revealed the spirit of a youth; he was becoming confident, and a heroic aura had emerged between his brows.

"Wait for me, I'm going to find Master Lin to learn the fist techniques and see the mysteries of the style."

Having mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, he was impatient and turned to run toward the Inner Courtyard.

"I'm almost there too!"

Since Lu Ren had already mastered it, his own progress would no longer seem abrupt.

Xu Yang looked at his status panel!

[Turtle-Snake Great Stance: 4/5]
[Martial Dao Longevity Points: 9]

Except for the very first time, he had only used the panel to boost his progress in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance once over these past few days. He already felt that even without the panel, he would master the stance by tomorrow at the latest.

In other words, without using the panel, he would have mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance in about eight days. While this speed couldn't compare to Lu Ren's, it was definitely better than most.

As for the Martial Dao Longevity points, he had been gaining three points every day. If he kept a low profile, his talent would eventually surpass Lu Ren's.

"When Brother Lu comes back, I'll have him guide me on how to master it. You all thought it was a waste of time when I suggested we unite, but you're regretting it now, aren't you?"

Luo Dehu looked smug, wanting to see the regret on the faces of Xu Yang, Zhang Hong, and Zhang Yong.

The ten people had effectively split into small groups; Luo Dehu and the five with Grade D Superior Bone Structure were all on Lu Ren's side.

Xu Yang and the other two hadn't spoken of an alliance, but they had gathered together to resist Luo Dehu and the others.

"He just mastered it and can already guide you? If it were that simple, wouldn't the senior disciples who mastered it earlier be better teachers?" Zhang Yong retorted bluntly.

Luo Dehu laughed, "Keep talking tough. When Brother Lu becomes a martial artist and you're forced to leave in disgrace, I hope you can still say that."

Zhang Yong fell silent and took his stance to resume training; he truly couldn't refute that point.

He trained harder than ever, pushing himself to the limit until he collapsed on the ground, only then stopping.

Half an hour later, Lu Ren returned, looking invigorated and carrying some items.

"Brother Lu, how did the lesson go?" Luo Dehu hurried to meet him, offering to take the items from his hands.

But Lu Ren leaned away, not giving them to him: "The fist technique is indeed profound; it's much more difficult than the Turtle-Snake Great Stance."

"What are those things in your hands? Did Master Lin give them to you?" Luo Dehu asked curiously, wondering why he would bring things back from a lesson.

Lu Ren shook his head: "No, these were gifts from a senior brother and a senior sister in the Inner Courtyard—a five-year-old wild ginseng and a packet of herbs for tempering the body."

Luo Dehu was shocked: "The senior brothers and sisters in the Inner Courtyard are that generous?"

He didn't know how much the body-tempering herbs were worth, but a five-year-old wild ginseng was worth at least two or three taels of silver. Wouldn't he be able to get some too once he mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance?

"Generous? It's not just anyone who masters the Turtle-Snake Great Stance and enters the Inner Courtyard who gets gifts from Senior Sister Gu Fang and Senior Brother Jiang Ping. They only give them to true geniuses."

The Zhou Brothers and several veteran disciples arrived together, cupping their hands toward Lu Ren: "Congratulations, Junior Brother Lu, on mastering the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. From now on, we can all practice fist techniques together and spar to verify our progress."

"Indeed!"

By the afternoon, Lu Ren's mastery of the Turtle-Snake Great Stance had even startled the Huang Family. Huang Jin arrived, not only encouraging Lu Ren but also increasing his cultivation funding from eight taels to ten, drawing the envy of everyone present.

A day passed quickly. Today was the fifth day since Xu Yang and the others had entered Wei Yuan Hall. He had added one tael of silver to purchase Body-Strengthening Soup, so today was another day for him to consume it.

After eating, the ten people, who were at odds with one another, went to the Medicine Hall as usual. Unexpectedly, besides Luo Dehu, Zhang Hong's family had also given him a tael of silver to buy the soup, so the five of them all had Body-Strengthening Soup to consume, just like last time.

Of course, Lu Ren was different; his Body-Strengthening Soup was one bowl every two days, totaling fifteen bowls per month.

After drinking the soup, everyone walked outside.

"Brother Lu's mastery is a joyous occasion. Why don't we all chip in some money to celebrate?" Luo Dehu suddenly looked at the others.

"Can you even afford to eat?"

"How many coins do you have in your pocket?"

Zhang Hong and Zhang Yong spoke almost simultaneously, and Luo Dehu was instantly choked into silence.

These people, before this, could barely afford enough food to eat, and being youths, their pockets were cleaner than their faces.

"Forget it, let's talk about it later."

Lu Ren sighed. Such a momentous occasion certainly called for a celebration, yet he didn't have a single copper to his name. Even if all ten of them pooled their resources, they likely wouldn't scrape together a hundred coppers—not even enough for a pot of wine.

The next day, afternoon!

Under the scorching sun, Xu Yang's skin had taken on a bronze hue; he was no longer the fair-skinned youth he once was, having turned dark and weathered.

Sweat soaked through his pant legs and drenched his hair, with beads of perspiration the size of peas constantly sliding down his cheeks to drip onto the ground.

His expression was focused, his chest and abdomen rising and falling as he exhaled plumes of hot air.

"It's almost there!"

Suddenly, a look of joy appeared on his face. In that last repetition, he had managed to link the Turtle-Snake Great Stance together without a single hitch, unlike his previous attempts.

This meant he had mastered the basics of the Turtle-Snake Great Stance; he was only a hair's breadth away from feeling what it meant for power to rise from the ground.

Xu Yang didn't continue training immediately. Instead, he ran to a shaded spot to sit down, carefully recalling every detail to lock in that state while adjusting his body in preparation for fully entering the threshold of the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

"What is Xu Yang playing at? Has he given up and started slacking off?"

Zhang Yong's gaze swept over Xu Yang.

He wanted to be the second person to master the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, and his only competitors were Xu Yang and Zhang Hong. As for that lackey Luo Dehu, he had never taken him seriously.

When resting, one usually wouldn't take more than a quarter of an hour, but this time, Xu Yang had been resting for longer than that, even closing his eyes as if he were sleeping.

This situation had never happened before, and the only explanation he could think of was that Xu Yang had realized the hardships of the martial path and started to give up.

"Giving up is fine, too. It's better than ending up broken and bloody."

Two quarter-hours later, Xu Yang felt his physical state had been fully adjusted. He returned to the Martial Arts Arena and assumed his stance.

This time, it was truly different from before. As soon as he began to execute the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, he felt his muscles and bones moving in rhythm with his breathing, his blood growing hotter and hotter.

At a certain moment, he felt a faint current rising from the ground, climbing up through his feet, passing over his shoulders, surging straight to the top of his head, and then slowly sinking down into his dantian.

Power rises from the ground!

"Boom!"

In an instant, it was as if something had been detonated. A surging wave spread from his dantian, sweeping through his entire body. Xu Yang felt his blood boiling like water, his body feeling as if it were being inflated, his muscles swelling.

It was as if all his old ailments had been purged and he had been reborn. Under the scouring of his boiling blood and energy, his muscles and bones tightened like bowstrings, being tempered and strengthened over and over again.

"The Turtle-Snake Great Stance, mastered!"

Xu Yang was filled with joy. He finally understood why Lu Ren had been so emotional when he broke through that day. It wasn't about showing off; it was because this feeling of rebirth was truly magnificent.

This state, where he could clearly feel his blood flowing and his bones growing stronger, was indescribably wonderful—like a seedling breaking through the soil to feel the warm spring breeze.

"You... you've mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance?"

"That's right!"

The moment he opened his eyes, the first thing Xu Yang saw was Zhang Yong, who was lying on the ground in exhaustion with an expression of disbelief.