The Rift

"Martial arts cultivation really is extraordinary!"

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

When mining in the tunnels, his body could keep working for an hour or two without tiring. But after just two or three minutes of practicing the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, he felt as if his whole body were falling apart. His muscles throbbed with pain, and his lungs burned unbearably.

Sun Tao took turns instructing the ten of them. Within half an hour, Xu Yang had received his guidance twice.

He had no idea how many times he had practiced the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. Each time he could no longer hold on, he stopped to rest, then resumed once he had recovered.

He had practiced it at least a dozen times, yet the progress for the Turtle-Snake Great Stance on his Status Panel was still "0."

By then, he was so exhausted he felt ready to fall apart. He was even more tired than after a whole day of mining, and he was ravenous.

"Everyone, stop. It's time to eat," Sun Tao said.

After having his bones tested at the Huang Family's residence and then spending quite some time training here, it was finally noon.

At the mention of food, everyone perked up and followed Sun Tao to the dining hall.

Along the way, Sun Tao began introducing them to the various parts of Wei Yuan Hall.

"This is the Medicine Hall. Those of you with an allocation of Body-Strengthening Soup should register your information here after lunch. When it's time for you to take it, someone will let you know.

"Of course, the Huang Family is paying for this. If you have extra money and want to buy more yourself, you can. Come here to ask for details..."

Sun Tao deliberately took them on a bit of a detour. By the time they reached the dining hall, Xu Yang and the others had gotten a good grasp of Wei Yuan Hall and learned about some of the services it offered.

Xu Yang soon found out what a meal worth one silver tael looked like.

A bowl of beef, a bowl of bone broth, a bowl of greens with tofu, and all the rice and steamed buns they could eat.

Everyone except Lu Ren had the same meal, all worth one silver tael.

Lu Ren's meal wasn't all that different from theirs, either.

They could eat as much rice as they wanted, but their side dishes were limited. Lu Ren, on the other hand, could eat as much meat as he wanted—even meat alone.

He also had a wider variety of meat: chicken, duck, fish, beef, and pork. There was even a bowl of medicinal beef blood, which was excellent for replenishing qi and blood.

"He's got good Bone Roots, so he eats better than us. Is there any justice in that?"

Many people looked enviously at Lu Ren's meal. Eating so well, he was bound to pull ahead of them in no time.

Someone curiously asked about Lu Ren's meal and learned that it cost three silver taels a month.

Xu Yang collected his food, picked an empty table, and dug in.

After a few bites, he noticed something different. He could clearly feel his stomach, like a parched field, rapidly absorbing the nutrients from the food. He had never felt anything like it before.

"No wonder Master Lin said we needed to eat."

One after another, the others joined his table. They were all sponsored by the Huang Family, but no one spoke. They just wolfed down their food like starving ghosts.

As he ate, Xu Yang kept an eye on the dining hall. Wei Yuan Hall had quite a few people—at least forty.

There were the most in the Outer Courtyard, nearly thirty. The Inner Courtyard seemed to have about a dozen.

The meal was over quickly, and everyone ate until they were stuffed. Since Lin Cheng had told him to, Xu Yang had let himself eat his fill, stopping only when his stomach could take no more and he began to feel nauseous.

"If only I could eat nothing but meat!"

Even though he felt like vomiting, he thought he could still manage more if there were meat. His body instinctively rejected rice.

After resting in the dining hall for over ten minutes, their aching stomachs had eased somewhat. The ten of them got up and headed to the Medicine Hall to register. They were told they could come back after dinner to drink their Body-Strengthening Soup.

After thinking it over, Xu Yang took out one silver tael and added it to his Body-Strengthening Soup allocation.

He had originally had two taels and five qian. Zhou Shunchang had given him five qian last night, and today he had given him another tael, bringing his total to four taels. He could afford to spend one tael to strengthen his cultivation.

That way, he could drink six bowls of Body-Strengthening Soup this month, the same as Zhang Yong.

"My parents don't know I got selected, so they didn't give me any money. I'll bring some tomorrow and pay for more Body-Strengthening Soup, too," Luo Dehu said.

He had only forgotten to bring money. Everyone knew the silver tael Xu Yang had was from his uncle.

Xu Yang glanced at the damn fool but said nothing.

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

Xu Yang leaned against a wall and closed his eyes, recovering his energy as his food digested.

"I really want to take a nap," someone said.

After training all morning, it would be best to sleep at noon. Wei Yuan Hall had beds where disciples could rest, but they weren't free, and the Huang Family hadn't paid for them.

"How's everyone doing with the Turtle-Snake Great Stance? Has anyone memorized the whole thing?" Luo Dehu asked.

"I still haven't memorized some of it," said a young man named Qian Jiaxing. A few others immediately admitted that they hadn't memorized the entire Turtle-Snake Great Stance either.

"I've memorized all of it. I just can't perform it smoothly yet, and I keep making mistakes."

The speaker was Zhang Hong, the last of the three with Grade C Inferior Bone Structure.

At his words, those who hadn't even memorized the full Turtle-Snake Great Stance stared at him in surprise. People really did differ in their Comprehension.

They had all received the same instruction, yet their results were completely different.

"I've memorized all of it, too," Zhang Yong said coolly.

As the second-best in Bone Roots, he naturally didn't want Zhang Hong to outshine him. He was still a youth, after all. Who didn't want to show off in front of others?

"Me too. I've already learned part of it," Lu Ren said.

His face was glowing, as if he had been given a new lease on life. He showed no sign of fatigue.

That was why the Huang Family valued his Bone Roots!

They had all trained with the same intensity, and everyone else was half dead with exhaustion. Not only did he feel no fatigue, he seemed to grow more energetic by the minute.

The gap between them was already beginning to show.

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

Xu Yang was annoyed at being disturbed.

Before, he had only regarded Luo Dehu as a clown. Now, he was starting to dislike him.

He opened his eyes, looked at Luo Dehu's overly familiar face, and replied evenly, "I've memorized it all."

He made no attempt to hide it. There was no need, and nothing to be gained from it. He simply disliked rude people.

No one was surprised. After all, his Bone Roots ranked in the third tier.

"I suggest that those who've memorized the whole thing help the ones who haven't. I said this before: as brothers, we should help one another," Luo Dehu said, looking at Zhang Yong and the others.

In truth, he hadn't memorized the whole Turtle-Snake Great Stance, so his suggestion was entirely for his own sake.

But he didn't say that. First, it would embarrass those in the third tier of Bone Roots. Second, if he admitted it, everyone would realize he had a selfish motive. And third, he wanted to win over those who hadn't memorized the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

Sure enough, as soon as he spoke, those few looked at him gratefully.

"Sure," Lu Ren said first.

At this, the corner of Luo Dehu's mouth curled into a faint smile. He had put Lu Ren on the spot that morning, and now he was reaping the rewards.

"Lu Ren, you're the best!" He gave a thumbs-up. Lu Ren smiled at the praise.

"If you want to teach Luo Dehu, go ahead. Don't count me in. I don't have time to teach other people," Zhang Yong said. He wasn't buying Luo Dehu's pitch, even though Lu Ren had already agreed.

"Same here. I'll teach anyone who wants my help, but it'll cost ten copper coins," Zhang Hong said with a smile, sounding as if he were joking.

But he wasn't joking at all. He was serious.

First, he didn't want to openly offend Luo Dehu and Lu Ren. Second, he wanted to make money, because he already understood how important it was.

"Luo Dehu put Lu Ren on the spot, trying to make him the leader of everyone, but he lacks experience. Zhang Yong is cold and very level-headed, Zhang Hong is shrewd, and Luo Dehu is mercenary, with a calculating streak."

Listening to them, Xu Yang had roughly worked out each of their personalities.

"If you don't want to teach, then don't. What's with all the excuses? We have Lu Ren as our leader, so we don't need you anyway. Besides, Senior Brother Sun Tao will keep teaching the Turtle-Snake Great Stance this afternoon. I only wanted to bring all of us closer as brothers."

After Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong had both opposed him, Luo Dehu was getting irritated. This time, he didn't ask Xu Yang.

Xu Yang shook his head to himself. Luo Dehu kept talking about brotherhood, but they hadn't even been here a day and divisions were already forming.

Luo Dehu really was something. If that damn fool hadn't been stirring things up, the ten of them would never have fallen out so quickly. If they'd simply spent time together, they might even have become friends and supported one another. But now, that seemed impossible.