Estrangement

"Martial arts cultivation is truly extraordinary!"

Xu Yang finally grasped the wonders of the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

When he worked in the mines, his physique allowed him to labor for one or two hours without a break, but after practicing this Turtle-Snake Great Stance for a mere two or three minutes, he felt as if his entire body were falling apart; his muscles throbbed with intense pain, and his lungs burned with unbearable heat.

Sun Tao took turns instructing the ten recruits, and within the span of an hour, Xu Yang had been corrected twice.

He lost count of how many times he had practiced the Turtle-Snake Great Stance; whenever he could no longer hold the posture, he would stop to rest for a moment, only to resume once he had recovered.

He had practiced at least a dozen times, yet the progress bar for the Turtle-Snake Great Stance on his panel remained at "0."

By now, he was so exhausted he felt like he was coming apart at the seams—more tired than after a full day in the mines—and his hunger was becoming unbearable.

"Everyone stop, it's time to eat," Sun Tao announced.

Between the bone-touching at the Huang Family and the long session of practice here, it was finally midday.

Hearing that it was time to eat, everyone perked up and followed Sun Tao toward the dining hall.

Along the way, Sun Tao began introducing the various areas of Wei Yuan Hall.

"This is the Medicine Hall. Those of you with an allotment for Body-Strengthening Soup, come here to register your information after you eat. From now on, someone will notify you when it's time to take your medicine."

"Of course, the Huang Family pays for these, but if you have extra money and wish to buy more yourself, that is also possible. You can ask for details here..."

Sun Tao intentionally took a detour, and by the time they reached the dining hall, Xu Yang and the others had a fairly clear understanding of Wei Yuan Hall and the services it provided.

Soon, Xu Yang learned what his one-tael-of-silver-level meal looked like.

A bowl of beef, a bowl of bone marrow soup, a bowl of greens and tofu, with rice and steamed buns available in unlimited quantities—he could eat as much as he wanted.

Except for Lu Ren, everyone else's meal was the same, all at the one-tael level.

In truth, there wasn't much difference between Lu Ren's meal and theirs.

While the others could eat unlimited rice but had limited portions of vegetables, Lu Ren could eat unlimited meat—he could eat nothing but meat if he chose.

Furthermore, the variety of meat was rich: chicken, duck, fish, beef, and pork were all available, along with a bowl of ox blood infused with medicinal herbs, which was excellent for nourishing qi and blood.

"With good natural talent, he gets to eat better than us. Is there no justice left?"

Many people looked at Lu Ren's meal with envy; eating so well, Lu Ren would surely pull ahead of the rest of them very quickly.

Someone curiously inquired about Lu Ren's meal plan and discovered it cost three taels of silver per month.

Xu Yang collected his food, found a random table, and began to wolf it down.

After a few bites, he noticed a difference; he could clearly feel his stomach, like long-parched earth, rapidly absorbing the nutrients from the food—a sensation he had never experienced before.

It really is about eating. No wonder Master Lin said what he did.

One by one, others sat at his table—all of them sponsored by the Huang Family—but no one spoke; they all ate like starving ghosts.

Xu Yang kept an eye on the dining hall while he ate and discovered that there were quite a few people in Wei Yuan Hall, likely over forty.

The Outer Courtyard had the most, nearly thirty people, while the Inner Courtyard had about a dozen.

The meal ended quickly, and everyone was stuffed. Because of Lin Cheng's words, Xu Yang had eaten until his stomach couldn't hold any more and he felt slightly nauseated.

"If only I could eat nothing but meat!"

Even though he felt sick, he felt he could still eat more if there were meat; his body instinctively rejected the rice.

After resting in the dining hall for a dozen minutes, the bloated pain in his stomach subsided. The ten of them rose together to leave for the Medicine Hall to register, where they were told they could come to drink their Body-Strengthening Soup after dinner that evening.

After much deliberation, Xu Yang took out one tael of silver to add to his Body-Strengthening Soup allotment.

He had originally possessed two taels and five mace of silver; Zhou Shunchang had given him five mace last night, and he had received another tael today, totaling four taels. He could afford to spend one tael to boost his strength with the soup.

In this way, he would be able to drink six bowls of Body-Strengthening Soup this month, the same as Zhang Yong.

"My parents didn't know I was selected, so they didn't give me money. I'll bring money to add to my soup tomorrow, too," Luo Dehu said. He simply hadn't brought money with him; everyone knew that Xu Yang's tael of silver had come from his uncle anyway.

Xu Yang glanced at the brat but said nothing.

The ten of them left the Medicine Hall and went to the Outer Courtyard, finding a shady spot to sit and rest.

Xu Yang leaned against the wall and closed his eyes, digesting his food while simultaneously recovering his energy.

"I really want to sleep!" someone said.

After a morning of practice, a nap at midday would be ideal. Wei Yuan Hall did have beds for disciples to rest on, but they weren't free, and the Huang Family hadn't paid for that service.

"How is your Turtle-Snake Great Stance practice going? Has anyone memorized the whole thing yet?" Luo Dehu asked, bringing up the subject of the stance.

"I still haven't memorized a part of it!"

A man named Qian Jiaxing whispered, and immediately, a few others admitted they hadn't memorized the entire stance either.

"I've memorized it all, but I can't seem to link the movements together when I practice; I keep making mistakes."

The speaker was Zhang Hong, the last of the three with "Grade C-Low" natural talent.

As soon as he said this, those who hadn't even memorized the full stance looked at him in astonishment. Truly, people's comprehension varied.

Everyone received the same instruction, yet the results they achieved were completely different.

"I have also memorized it all."

Zhang Yong spoke indifferently. As the person with the second-best aptitude, he naturally did not want to be outdone by Zhang Hong. After all, they were just youths; who wouldn't want to show off in front of others?

"Me too, I've already mastered a portion of it," Lu Ren said.

At this moment, his face was glowing, as if he had been rejuvenated, showing no signs of fatigue whatsoever.

This was the reason the Huang Family valued his aptitude!

Under the same training intensity, everyone else was exhausted to the point of collapse, yet he not only felt no fatigue but was becoming increasingly energetic.

The gap between them had already begun to manifest.

"What about you, Xu Yang?" Luo Dehu shoved Xu Yang, who was leaning against the wall with his eyes closed.

Being disturbed, Xu Yang felt somewhat displeased.

Previously, he had only looked at Luo Dehu with the mindset of watching a clown, but now, he found him somewhat annoying.

He opened his eyes, swept a glance over the overly familiar Luo Dehu, and said indifferently, "I've memorized it all."

He did not hide or hold back; there was no use or need for such things. He simply disliked people who lacked manners.

No one was surprised by this, as his aptitude was ranked in the third tier.

"I propose that those who have completely memorized it can offer guidance to those who haven't. As mentioned before, we are brothers and should help one another." Luo Dehu looked toward Zhang Yong and the others.

In truth, he had not fully memorized the Turtle-Snake Great Stance himself, so this proposal was entirely for his own benefit.

However, he did not mention this. Firstly, it would be a disgrace to his third-tier aptitude; secondly, if he said it, everyone would know he had ulterior motives; and thirdly, it was a way to win the favor of those who hadn't memorized the stance.

Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, those few people looked at him with gratitude.

"Fine by me!" Lu Ren was the first to agree.

Upon hearing this, a subtle smile tugged at the corner of Luo Dehu's mouth. He had propped Lu Ren up that morning, and now, it had paid off.

"Boss Lu Ren is generous!" He gave a thumbs-up, and Lu Ren's face lit up with a smile.

"If you want to offer guidance, Luo Dehu, do it yourself. Don't count me in; I don't have time to tutor others."

Zhang Yong did not buy into Luo Dehu's act, even though Lu Ren had already agreed.

"Same here. If you want me to guide you, pay me ten wen."

Zhang Hong spoke with a smile, making it sound like a joke.

But he wasn't joking at all; he was being serious.

His reasons were twofold: he didn't want to openly offend Luo Dehu and Lu Ren, and he wanted to make money, as he had already realized its importance.

Lu Ren has been propped up by Luo Dehu and wants to be the boss of everyone, but his insight is lacking. Zhang Yong has a cold personality and is very rational. Zhang Hong is slick, while Luo Dehu is snobbish and also quite calculating.

Listening to their words, Xu Yang roughly analyzed their personalities.

"If you won't teach, then don't. Why say so much? With Boss Lu Ren here, we don't need you anyway. Besides, Senior Brother Sun Tao will continue to teach the Turtle-Snake Great Stance this afternoon. I just wanted to help everyone deepen our bond as brothers."

Having been contradicted by Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong in succession, Luo Dehu was getting annoyed. This time, he didn't bother asking Xu Yang.

Xu Yang shook his head inwardly. So much for being brothers; they hadn't even lasted a day before rifts began to form.

Luo Dehu was quite the talent. If it weren't for this idiot jumping around, the relationship between the ten of them would never have soured so quickly. If they had just gotten along slowly, they might have actually become friends in the future and moved forward together, but now, that seemed impossible.