Wei Yuan Hall

The bone-testing at the Huang Family Estate concluded. Out of nearly two hundred youths, exactly ten were chosen.

The one with the best aptitude was the youth with Grade B-High, the only one of his rank. Ranking second was the youth with Grade C-High, also the only one of his kind.

Xu Yang's Grade C-Low aptitude placed him in the third tier, though he was not alone; there were three youths with Grade C-Low aptitude in total. The remaining five all possessed Grade D-High aptitude.

The old master who conducted the bone-testing left immediately, and a prominent figure from the Huang family stepped forward: Second Master Huang, the younger brother of the family head, Huang Ping.

"Congratulations to all you talented youths for standing out..."

Huang Ping wore a kindly expression as he began by congratulating those selected.

He then explained the Huang family's training arrangements, which would be scaled according to each individual's aptitude grade.

The highest was the Grade B-High youth named Lu Ren, who would receive eight taels of silver per month for his training.

Of course, this was not given as cash, but provided in the form of apprenticeship fees, food, and medicinal soups.

For Grade C-High, the allowance was four taels per month. For Xu Yang's Grade C-Low, the monthly training support was three taels.

Excluding the apprenticeship fee paid to the martial arts school, his meal plan at the school cost one tael per month, which included meat at every meal, along with three bowls of Body-Strengthening Soup—exactly one tael's worth.

In other words, the Huang family's arrangement for them to train at the martial arts school was cheaper than enrolling on their own, with the apprenticeship fee costing only one tael.

As for the Grade D-High youths, they received only two taels of support. Aside from the one-tael apprenticeship fee, the remaining tael covered only food, with no medicinal soups provided.

Huang Ping spoke at length, emphasizing that once they became martial artists, they would be required to serve as retainers for the Huang family, and warned of the consequences should anyone attempt to renege on their agreement.

He spoke for a full quarter of an hour until his throat was parched. Not a single person withdrew; all accepted the conditions of being trained by the Huang family in exchange for future service.

Once Huang Ping departed, the middle-aged man who had appeared earlier with Zhou Shunchang returned, ready to lead everyone to the martial arts school to begin their training.

"Wait a moment, Fifth Master. I need to have a word with my nephew." Zhou Shunchang gestured toward Xu Yang.

Only then did everyone realize this middle-aged man was also a member of the Huang family.

"This Grade C-Low brat is your nephew?" Huang Jin looked surprised.

Zhou Shunchang held his head high. "My own nephew!"

Huang Jin smiled. "So he's one of our own. That's excellent."

Because of his connection to Zhou Shunchang, he showed goodwill toward Xu Yang.

Zhou Shunchang hurried over to Xu Yang's side. There wasn't much to say, so he simply pressed a tael of silver into Xu Yang's hand and urged him to train diligently and not waste this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The ten youths soon followed Huang Jin out of the Huang Family Estate and arrived before a large compound, from which came the sounds of shouting and exertion.

"It's actually Wei Yuan Hall!"

Looking at the three gilded characters above the gate, Xu Yang couldn't help but feel a sense of realization.

In his original plan, once he had secured the money, he intended to apprentice at Wei Yuan Hall, as it was the most affordable of the dozen martial arts schools in Qingyuan County. He hadn't expected the Huang family to choose the same place.

The Huang family likely chose Wei Yuan Hall for the same reason: it was cheap.

Following Huang Jin inside, the first thing that caught their eyes was a massive training ground equipped with various apparatuses: stone locks, swords, blades, and Plum Blossom Stakes.

A dozen sturdy youths were practicing their punches, their bronze-colored skin glistening as if oiled, sweat pouring off them like rain.

On the Plum Blossom Stakes not far away, a man in a white training uniform spotted the group and leaped down, landing without a sound.

"Greetings, Fifth Master Huang!" He walked over quickly and bowed to Huang Jin.

"Wait here quietly. I am going inside to see Master Lin."

Huang Jin left them with those words and departed with the man.

"I can finally practice martial arts!"

"I must become a martial artist."

With the Huang family members no longer hovering nearby, the group of selected youths could no longer contain their excitement.

Among them, while some came from decent backgrounds, they were not much better off than Xu Yang, who scratched a living from the soil; otherwise, they wouldn't have needed to "sell themselves" to the Huang family to gain this opportunity.

Being able to train was naturally cause for excitement.

"Everyone, whether at Wei Yuan Hall or in the Huang family, we are now brothers eating from the same pot. We should work together," Luo Dehu said, full of spirit.

"Indeed!"

"That goes without saying. Anyone with half a brain knows there is strength in numbers."

As soon as he spoke, several others chimed in.

He possessed Grade C-Low aptitude and was in the third tier, so his words carried significant weight.

Xu Yang watched coldly, offering no response.

He and Xu Laoer were father and son, yet they were not of one mind. Let alone these ten people who had met for the first time today; even those eating from the same pot were not necessarily reliable.

A few others remained silent like him, clearly unimpressed by this alliance. They were not truly eating from the same pot; in the future, they would be rivals.

The Huang Family could not fund their martial arts training forever; eventually, some would be weeded out, and their resources would be reallocated to those with greater talent.

Although Huang Ping had never stated this explicitly, he had hinted at it vaguely in the past.

"Brother Lu, you have the best aptitude and will lead us in serving the Huang Family in the future. Why don't you say a word about whether we should stick together?"

Luo Dehu did not mind that Xu Yang and the others remained silent; instead, he looked toward Lu Ren, who possessed a Grade B-Superior aptitude.

Lu Ren was his true target; he only cared about uniting with Lu Ren.

While others might not understand what a Grade B-Superior aptitude signified, he knew it all too well.

In a place like Qingyuan County with hundreds of thousands of people, such an aptitude might not even appear once a year—it was the mark of a true genius.

"Naturally... naturally, we should stick together."

Lu Ren's face flushed red, revealing a hint of shyness and inferiority. Judging by the patched clothes he had worn previously, his family background was likely very poor.

Things were different now, however. After his Grade B-Superior aptitude was discovered, the Huang Family had provided him with a fine cotton garment, giving him the appearance of a budding young prodigy.

"Haha... everyone heard Brother Lu. Now, let's each state our names so we can get to know one another," Luo Dehu laughed.

This fellow had the natural potential of a sycophant; already carrying a whiff of someone emboldened by his master's power, he began to issue orders.

"I'll go first, my name is Luo Dehu!"

He spoke up first, but before the next person could respond, a curse rang out from a distance.

"If you want to bark like a dog, get out and do it. Don't disturb our training here."

His loud voice and constant, restless chatter had finally provoked the dissatisfaction of those training nearby.

Xu Yang nearly burst out laughing, and the others were also struggling to hold back their amusement.

Luo Dehu's face turned beet red, yet he was too terrified to talk back.

A man who fawned over the powerful and excelled at climbing the social ladder, he naturally knew that those training at Wei Yuan Hall were "young masters" whose families could afford the fees.

Even if they weren't young masters, they had started their training earlier than him, and he could neither afford nor dared to offend them.

He looked to Lu Ren for help, but while Lu Ren had been dragged into this, he was no fool.

At that moment, Huang Jin arrived with a burly, stern-looking middle-aged man, diffusing the awkward situation.

This man was none other than Lin Cheng, the master of Wei Yuan Hall!