Inner Courtyard

Xu Yang... had mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. He was only a little over a day behind Lu Ren, the supposed genius, and Lu Ren still needed another day or two to master it.

For a moment, Zhang Yong could hardly accept it.

His goal had been to surpass Lu Ren, yet he couldn't even measure up to Xu Yang. All his hard work these past few days seemed like a joke.

"Congratulations!"

He spoke sourly, the words anything but sincere.

"You really mastered it!"

Hearing Zhang Yong, Zhang Hong, Qian Jiaxing, Luo Dehu, and the others hurried over in shock. They happened to see Xu Yang's skin flushed red all over, and every one of them gaped.

"Congratulations!"

Zhang Yong struggled to his feet, forcing a smile. Xu Yang's mastery of the Turtle-Snake Great Stance hurt him more than anyone.

He had trained so hard, pushing himself to exhaustion every time. Why hadn't he been the first to break through?

"Congratulations. From here on, the path of martial arts will be smooth sailing."

Luo Dehu, Zhang Hong, and the others joined in, hiding the envy in their eyes.

"Smooth sailing on the path of martial arts? He's only mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. He's still a hundred and eight thousand miles away from becoming a martial artist." Zhou Yang's voice rang out.

He and a group of senior disciples had also been drawn over by the commotion. They stopped training and came to see what was happening.

His gaze passed over the handsome young man, and he was privately astonished by Xu Yang's talent. It had taken him eight days to master the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

Xu Yang had been training for a little over six days, at most.

"Senior Brother Zhou Yang, Xu Yang only mastered it a little over a day after I did. That means his talent can't be bad, right? Why are you still saying that?"

Lu Ren had come over with Zhou Yang and the others. Hearing him, he couldn't help frowning.

In just a few days, he had matured considerably. He understood what kind of person Luo Dehu was and knew that, as he grew, he would need people like Luo Dehu working for him.

But he also needed promising people who could become martial artists and follow him. Although Zhou Yang and the others had befriended him, they came from well-off families and naturally wouldn't become his followers.

Xu Yang and Zhang Yong, who had struggled alongside him in the mud, were undoubtedly the best choices.

Xu Yang had mastered the stance only a day after him. If Lu Ren could win him over, Xu Yang might be able to follow at his side for some time in the future.

But Zhou Yang's attitude toward Xu Yang was still the same as ever. He didn't believe Xu Yang could become a martial artist.

"That's right. Xu Yang only mastered it a day after Lu Ren. Do you still think he can't become a martial artist?"

Zhang Yong tamped down his envy of Xu Yang and spoke up for him. He thought Zhou Yang and the others were rotten to the core. They were willing to lie through their teeth just to buy their resources at a low price.

"Mastering the Turtle-Snake Great Stance a few days earlier or later doesn't mean much. There isn't much difference, really. His chance of becoming a martial artist is still one in ten. If you don't believe me, ask Master Lin."

"Why is that?" Lu Ren stared at Zhou Yang.

Since Zhou Yang had brought up Lin Cheng, he was probably not making it up.

"Because he's poor. Like I said, money is the most important thing when it comes to martial arts. Money! People think you can become a martial artist because of your Bone Root, sure, but the main reason is that the Huang Family is willing to spend ten taels of silver on you every month."

Lu Ren fell silent.

"Is money really that important? Talent and hard work are useless...?"

Xu Yang had mastered the stance only a day after Lu Ren, yet people like Zhou Yang still thought he couldn't become a martial artist. Zhang Yong and the others couldn't help feeling despair.

If even Xu Yang had so little hope, they had it even worse.

"It's not that they're useless, just that they don't help much. In three months at most, you'll have to attempt the breakthrough. Whether you succeed depends on your martial foundation. The firmer your foundation, the better your chances.

"Other people eat meat and fish every day, drinking Body-Strengthening Soup and Health-Nurturing Soup in turns to build up their qi and blood. You eat plain rice every day. How much qi and blood can you build up?

"Then there's tempering the body. You can work hard at stance training for three days and still not match the effects of one medicinal bath that purifies the body. And while they're taking that bath, they're practicing their stance too. After three months, you can't even imagine the difference between you."

Zhou Yuan shook his head.

His own family wasn't particularly well-off, which was why he had set his sights on the things Xu Yang's group had.

"Senior Brother Zhou Yang, have you forgotten that we're being trained by the Huang Family? Xu Yang mastered the stance so quickly. The Huang Family will surely increase the resources they invest in him."

At Lu Ren's words, Zhang Yong and the others perked up. They might not have money, but the Huang Family did.

Zhou Yang still shook his head. "The Huang Family might increase its investment in him, but I guarantee it won't be more than two taels. What good can two taels do?"

"Why are you so sure?" Lu Ren asked curiously.

"Because the Huang Family has you. You're all they need!"

Zhou Yang spoke with absolute certainty. He knew the Huang Family.

"Eh... Where's Xu Yang?"

Someone suddenly noticed that Xu Yang was gone. They looked up and saw that he had already left. His back had disappeared into the Inner Courtyard; he hadn't stayed to listen to Zhou Yang's blathering.

Watching Xu Yang's retreating figure, Zhou Yang said, "Just watch. If my judgment is wrong, when he comes back, an Inner Courtyard senior brother or sister will have given him a gift. If he comes back empty-handed, then I'm right."

[Turtle-Snake Great Stance · Beginner (1/100)]

Xu Yang looked at the panel, at a loss. He hadn't expected that after mastering the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, the proficiency needed to reach the next stage would jump from "5" all the way to "100." The leap was absurdly large.

He had no interest in listening to Zhou Yang's poisonous chicken soup and gloom, and it wouldn't affect him anyway.

This was his first time entering the Inner Courtyard. It looked completely different from the Outer Courtyard. There were pavilions specially built for shade; unlike the Outer Courtyard, where people could only hide in a corner.

This place didn't look like somewhere people practiced martial arts. It was more like a gathering place. A group of Inner Courtyard disciples had gathered in a pavilion, drinking tea and eating pastries. Some were even playing the zither.

Sun Tao spotted Xu Yang and strode out of the pavilion.

Xu Yang cupped his hands. "Greetings, Senior Brother Sun!"

Sun Tao nodded. "Junior Brother Xu, what brings you here?"

Xu Yang replied, "Senior Brother, I've mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, so I came to find Master and learn boxing."

Sun Tao looked a little surprised. "You've already mastered it?"

He had thought Zhang Yong would be the second to master the stance. He hadn't expected it to be Xu Yang.

"Come. I'll take you to find Master."

Sun Tao didn't say much more. He soon led Xu Yang to Lin Cheng, who was in a courtyard, then took his leave and returned to the pavilion.

"Junior Brother Sun, has someone else among the people trained by the Huang Family mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance?"

As soon as Sun Tao sat down, someone asked him.

Sun Tao nodded. "Yes. This batch of people the Huang Family sent over is pretty good, if you ask me. I didn't expect anyone besides Lu Ren to master the Turtle-Snake Great Stance so quickly."

"Mastering the Turtle-Snake Great Stance in six days is certainly pretty good."

The Inner Courtyard disciples in the pavilion reacted calmly.

Everyone here was a genuine martial artist, someone who had succeeded in the breakthrough.

Mastering the Turtle-Snake Great Stance in six days was a rare feat, but among their group, it wasn't anything remarkable. Several of them had mastered it in five or six days.

"Senior Sister Gu Fang, Senior Brother Jiang Ping, Xu Yang mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance in six days. Surely he deserves your 'friendship'?"

Sun Tao looked curiously at the man and woman across from him. Their so-called friendship was really a gift. They came from well-off families and enjoyed befriending talented people. Whenever they met someone truly gifted, they used money to pave the way to a friendship. Just yesterday, they had each given Lu Ren a valuable gift.

"What kind of Bone Root does Xu Yang have?" Jiang Ping asked.

"Grade C Inferior!"

Jiang Ping shook his head. "With a Grade C Inferior Bone Structure, even if the Huang Family raises their investment in him to the same level as Lu Ren's, his chance of success is only thirty percent."

"Let's talk about it once he can enter the Inner Courtyard and stand before us," Gu Fang said at last.