Half an hour passed, but Sun Tao never showed up, and no one came to remind them it was time to practice.
"Looks like Senior Brother Sun isn't coming. We'll have to practice on our own."
Someone spoke with a troubled expression. He hadn't memorized the entire Turtle-Snake Great Stance, and several others reacted much the same way.
What were they supposed to do without Sun Tao there to teach them how to practice?
Luo Dehu felt as though he'd been slapped in the face. He regretted snapping at Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong. He hadn't expected that after spending so much money, Wei Yuan Hall would treat them so carelessly.
Lin Cheng had given them one lesson before leaving, and Sun Tao had only taught them three times.
"Ten copper coins, and you can come to me anytime."
Zhang Hong spoke cheerfully, then got up and walked onto the Martial Arts Arena, where he assumed the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.
Xu Yang had rested enough. He went over near Zhang Hong and started practicing too. Zhang Yong soon joined them and struck the same stance.
"Boss Lu Ren..." Luo Dehu looked at Lu Ren for help.
"No problem. I'll teach you!" Lu Ren said, rising to his feet.
The few who hadn't memorized the stance were overjoyed. They shot Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong provocative looks, as if to say, See? This is the difference between you and a true genius.
They couldn't match his bone root, and they couldn't match his bearing either.
Xu Yang paid them no mind. He simply focused on practicing, and the feel of it grew clearer and clearer.
"Sure enough, you have to eat well—and eat a lot."
That morning, he'd only had a little brown rice and two slices of pork belly. He hadn't even come close to filling his stomach. With nothing in his belly, his practice was naturally far less effective.
This lunch was even better than what most people ate for the New Year. With plenty of nourishment, the results changed at once when he stood in the stance. He could hold the Turtle-Snake Great Stance for longer and longer.
"You fools, I'm done helping. Practice on your own."
Lu Ren's voice suddenly rang out. He threw up his hands and walked away, going off to practice by himself.
Partly, Luo Dehu had put him on the spot, and partly, he wanted to play the leader. But he was a Grade B Superior Bone Structure genius, not a fool. The longer he wasted his time, the more he realized it would hold back his own progress.
"I thought he'd keep teaching them forever!" Zhang Yong said with a laugh.
Being a good guy wasn't so easy. Lu Ren simply hadn't seen through Luo Dehu's little scheme; Zhang Yong had spotted it at a glance.
"He couldn't teach them anyway," Xu Yang said, shaking his head.
Lu Ren had memorized the entire Turtle-Snake Great Stance, but he only had a vague grasp of it himself. How could he possibly teach anyone else? Those people might not only fail to appreciate his good intentions, but even think he was holding back.
"So this is the guy you were talking about—the one with Grade B Superior Bone Structure." A young man came over.
During their break, disciples who'd joined Wei Yuan Hall earlier than them had come over to meet and talk with them.
His name was Zhou Yuan. He'd arrived half a month before Xu Yang and the others, and he'd already mastered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.
As they chatted, he learned that Xu Yang and the others had come to practice martial arts with financial support from the Huang Family.
"Yeah, that's him," Zhang Hong said with a nod.
"At least you few have your heads on straight. If Lu Ren doesn't come to his senses soon, he'll have a hard time becoming a martial artist. He's actually wasting his own time teaching other people." Zhou Yuan shook his head.
Zhang Yong asked in confusion, "Lu Ren has Grade B Superior Bone Structure. Even if he wastes a little time, that shouldn't keep him from becoming a martial artist, right? At most, he'll be a little late."
Of the ten of them, it might not yet be certain whether the others could become martial artists, but Lu Ren's bone root should be a sure thing.
Yet Zhou Yuan was saying Lu Ren would have a hard time becoming one.
"Haha... A little late? You don't think the Huang Family will keep funding your martial arts training forever, do you? Three months at most. If you haven't become martial artists by then, they'll cut off your money. You really think you can take your time? Did no one tell you about this?"
A burly figure walked over, muscles bulging and sweat running down him like raindrops. He gulped water from his cup.
His name was Zhou Yang. He'd spoken with Xu Yang and the others before, and he was Zhou Yuan's cousin.
Zhang Hong and Zhang Yong's expressions changed. They knew the Huang Family wouldn't support their training forever, but they hadn't expected the support to last only three months at most.
If becoming a martial artist in three months were that easy, martial artists wouldn't be so rare.
"Senior Brother Zhou Yang, is there more to it?" Xu Yang asked, frowning.
He didn't think Zhou Yang had any way of knowing the Huang Family's higher-ups' decisions. The only explanation was that there was something about martial arts that these newcomers didn't understand.
Zhou Yang sat down beside Xu Yang without ceremony, panting hard. "Martial arts cultivation starts with stance training. Those with good talent can master it in three to five days. Even those with weaker talent can do it in ten days to half a month.
"If you can't master it in ten days to half a month, you're a fool. You'd better go home before you waste any more food.
"Once you've mastered the stance, you start building up your blood and energy and tempering your body. At the same time, you begin practicing fist techniques to prepare for breaking through the First Martial Barrier.
"From the moment you start practicing fist techniques, you have at most three months before you reach the First Martial Barrier.
"Once you attempt the breakthrough, success makes you a martial artist. Failure means you leave in defeat. That's why the Huang Family won't support you for longer than three months."
"After failing the breakthrough, can't you try a second time?"
Zhang Hong looked grim. At last, he understood why martial artists were so rare. They only had three months.
"Do you think breaking through in martial arts is like sitting the civil service exams? Fail this year, try again next year, and keep taking the test a dozen times? Your first attempt is when your essence, energy, and spirit are at their peak. If you can't succeed then, you won't succeed later.
"Of course, if your family can produce several hundred taels of silver to build your body back up and train it all over again, then go ahead and treat what I said like shit."
Their families couldn't produce several hundred taels. They'd be hard-pressed to come up with even a few.
"Senior Brother Zhou, what's the usual success rate for the breakthrough?" Xu Yang asked.
"Usually, it's around thirty percent!"
Zhou Yang held up one finger. "But for the ten of you... it's only ten percent."
He might as well have said that only Lu Ren could become a martial artist and all the others would fail.
"How come it's only ten percent for us?"
By then, Luo Dehu and the others had come over to rest too. Though he was panting, he couldn't help asking.
Zhou Yuan glanced at him. "For the average person, martial arts training over three months takes at least several dozen taels of silver to buy a thirty percent chance.
"Except for Lu Ren, each of you has spent less than ten taels on martial arts training over the past three months. What makes you think your chances are the same as those who spent dozens of taels?
"As for bone root, if someone can master the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, how poor can their bone root really be?"
None of the ten said anything. Even Lu Ren fell silent.
Other people spent dozens of taels at a time. He'd spent only around twenty taels, so he was in danger too.
Thinking back to what Master Lin had said earlier, it seemed to make sense.
"Come to think of it, the Huang Family is stingy too. They think a few taels of silver can train a martial artist? What a pipe dream. They treat martial arts training like child's play." Zhou Yuan shook his head.
Zhou Yang wore a scornful expression. "Short-sighted nouveau riche, hoping to turn a little into a lot. They want to train their own martial artists but don't want to spend more and take a risk. Health-Nurturing Soup, Body-Strengthening Soup, medicated baths to cleanse and temper the body—how can they do without any of that?"
"So you're saying we're doomed to fail?" Qian Jiaxing's voice was low.
"If I were you, I'd turn the resources you have into money. That way, you might at least get some benefits."
After saying so much, Zhou Yang finally revealed what he was really after.
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