Chen Yuan had guessed right.
As soon as Xue Anping arrived, he came right out with it:
"Brother Chen, you know the Gu Family's four-month deadline is nearly here. I'm not as capable as you, and I only have a forty percent chance of succeeding. So I was hoping you could lend me some silver. Would you accept nine out, thirteen back?"
Chen Yuan thought it over briefly, then said:
"I'll lend you enough to buy a Blood-Qi Pill, too. If you succeed in breaking through, you can pay me back at nine out, thirteen back. If you fail, I won't charge you any interest."
Xue Anping let out a breath and smiled. "Thank you for your generosity, Brother Chen. I'll do my best to break through."
Chen Yuan nodded slightly. "Keep at it. I hope you can break through, too."
Nine out, thirteen back meant more than one qian in interest. Even a mosquito was meat.
Xue Anping gave a quiet "Mm," then seemed to remember something. "Brother Chen, someone came to Huo Academy to seek a master earlier today. He said he was your friend."
Chen Yuan paused and raised an eyebrow. "What's his name? How did it go?"
Xue Anping shook his head. "Master Huo tested his bones and found he didn't have the aptitude for martial arts, so he sent him away. His name was... Zhang Tieniu, I think."
Chen Yuan understood, then felt a little melancholy.
He remembered the days a few months earlier, when he'd sweated like rain working as a dockhand at Hengjiang Wharf. In his few moments of leisure, he would sit on the dock planks and stare blankly at the river, its rippling surface dyed red by the setting sun.
Zhang Tieniu would sit beside him, eyes bright as he said that once he'd saved enough money, he would definitely learn martial arts.
Chen Yuan had shared that hope and quietly saved his money, too.
Because for people like them, martial arts were the only road to changing their fate.
Back then, he never would have imagined that just four or five months later, their lives would have diverged so drastically.
He had already become an entry-level martial artist, with minor mastery in Skin Refining. He could earn more than ten taels of silver a month—dozens of times what he'd made hauling cargo at the docks.
But Zhang Tieniu, who had finally saved enough money, didn't even qualify to learn martial arts.
That was only natural. Even Sun Shun, who'd been eliminated in the first month, had been one of the best among more than a dozen boys.
Sun Chengjie sighed.
Compared with Chen Yuan's friend, he realized he was already quite fortunate.
Being able to stand here and practice his fists, with even a chance to reach the Skin Realm, put him ahead of many of his peers.
He wanted to keep standing here.
Chen Yuan sighed softly. "He really is my friend. What a shame."
Ever since he'd left the Chen Family on Lotus Lane, he hadn't seen Zhang Tieniu or Liu Dachun again.
Even in the same city, the odds of running into them were slim if he didn't go looking.
But even if he did see them now, Chen Yuan wouldn't know what to say.
Raise a pot of wine and toast an old friend? In the end, an invisible barrier stood between them.
After resting, Chen Yuan continued practicing his stance work. Xue Anping and Sun Chengjie didn't dare slack off, either.
The sun rose and the moon set. Time flowed eastward like a surging river, never to return.
Chen Yuan's routine had changed a little. He no longer needed to get up early, since he now had a reason to stay up late.
His cultivation of qi and blood had become more efficient, and he no longer had to waste time on trivial tasks like patrols.
He usually practiced martial arts in the open space beside the Herb Garden. Life was quite leisurely.
He did run into vicious beasts on occasion—tigers and leopards, fierce creatures indeed.
But Chen Yuan and Liu Hong hid behind an iron fence. Chen Yuan jabbed at them with his spear while Liu Hong shot arrows. Both the spear tip and arrowheads were coated with paralyzing poison, and the beasts never made it back out.
Then they could enjoy a feast. They would light a bonfire beneath the jungle's evening sun and roast meat to their hearts' content. It was a fine life.
Tiger pelts, tiger bones, tiger whips, and all the tiger meat they couldn't finish could be sold for money, bringing in a little extra income.
But this sort of thing wasn't common. Tigers were usually very wary and nimble, making them difficult to kill.
All in all, the guard duty proceeded in an orderly fashion.
At Huo Academy, both Sun Chengjie and Xue Anping waited until the final deadline to attempt their breakthroughs.
In the end, the results were harsh but realistic.
Xue Anping succeeded in breaking through and became a Skin Realm martial artist. With his aptitude, there was a good chance he could comprehend Clear Force, and becoming an entry-level martial artist was just a matter of time.
That meant more interest for Chen Yuan.
Sun Chengjie, however, failed. His resources and aptitude both fell short, just as expected. Fortunately, he had taken a Blood Qi Pill and managed to withstand the backlash of his qi and blood without damaging his bones.
If he could keep pouring money into martial arts, he would still have another chance to break through.
But given his circumstances, without the Gu Family's support, he could only withdraw with a heavy heart.
That was reality. Some people had countless chances to do the same thing; when they failed, they could simply try again.
Others had to wonder whether this was the only chance they would ever get.
Sun Chengjie was clearly one of the latter.
Just as he had when Zhang Shi left, Chen Yuan saw Sun Chengjie off.
Before they parted, Sun Chengjie forced a smile. "Brother Chen, you have to keep going. I'll pay you back that three qian of silver as soon as I can."
Chen Yuan patted him on the shoulder and smiled. "There's no rush. We have plenty of time. Take care."
Sun Chengjie's back gradually vanished around a street corner.
And with that, the first stage of martial arts training for the eight people funded by the Gu Family came to an end.
Two were eliminated, one died, and one was expelled.
Yu Yan, Gao Mingchang, Cao Yan, and Xue Anping had all passed the assessment and could stay on to work for the Gu Family.
Chen Yuan shook off his distractions and returned to Huo Academy to practice martial arts.
Xue Anping's successful breakthrough didn't cause much of a stir. After a few simple congratulations, only Tao Ping, following the usual custom, gave him a Blood-Qi Pill.
It wasn't as dazzling as Xu Heng breaking through the Skin Realm in a month and a half, nor as shocking as Chen Yuan, with Grade D-Upper aptitude, comprehending Clear Force and breaking through the Skin Realm in two and a half months.
Then, just a few days later, something major happened at Huo Academy.
Xu Heng, who had been cultivating quietly in the Inner Court and out of sight for two whole months, broke through without a word and became a Bone Realm martial artist!
He had been training at Huo Academy for only four months.
When Xu Heng appeared in the Outer Court, all his fellow disciples swarmed around him, offering congratulations without end.
The congratulatory gifts from several senior disciples at higher realms were all at least on the level of a Bone-Strengthening Pill.
Even entry-level martial artists couldn't afford to give decent gifts.
Chen Yuan didn't have to fret over what to give, though, because he hadn't planned to give anything.
Xu Heng was his senior brother. What kind of reason was there for a junior brother to give a gift when his senior brother broke through? It was enough that he hadn't demanded a red envelope.
Still, he was secretly astonished by Xu Heng's progress.
His own aptitude was Grade C-Upper, yet he had only achieved minor mastery in Skin Refining a few days ago. Xu Heng had already broken through the Skin Realm.
He had most likely broken through after reaching the pinnacle of Skin Refining—Copper Skin.
Grade B-Upper aptitude was terrifying indeed!
"Junior Brother Chen, what do you think?" Fang Minghai asked with a grin.
Chen Yuan gave a wry smile. "Senior Brother Xu is a born prodigy. He broke through the Bone Realm in four months. I'm nowhere near his equal."
During this time, thanks to the sponsorship, he had grown quite close to Fang Minghai. They often sparred together, honing their mastery of Six Harmonies Mind Boxing.
Senior Brother Fang's situation was rather tragic, too. His physical cultivation had already reached minor mastery in Muscle Refining, yet he had been stuck at the peak of Clear Force for years, unable to comprehend Dark Force.
As he put it, aptitude was an unfathomable thing. Some people had decent bones but could spend their entire lives failing to comprehend Dark Force; even Clear Force could be beyond them.
And Transformation Force was harder still.
Huo's former star pupil, Huang Yan, had been stuck at Dark Force for more than ten years.
Fang Minghai smiled. "Grade B-Upper aptitude really is the best of this generation. But compared with Grade A, it still falls quite short."
Chen Yuan furrowed his brow slightly and asked, "Senior Brother Fang, are there Grade A talents among our generation?"
Fang Minghai shook his head slightly.
"Not among your class. The best aptitude in this year's Martial Examination was Grade B-Upper. But last year, there was someone with Grade A aptitude.
"He broke through the Bone Realm in less than three months and comprehended Dark Force in four. It caused a sensation. In the Martial Examination, he outclassed all the other competitors and claimed first place, unmatched in his glory. He was far more dazzling than Xu Heng.
"He's a little over twenty-five now, and he's already a renowned expert in Qingyuan County. You serve the Li Family, so you should know who I mean, right?"
Chen Yuan had naturally heard of him. "The Li Family's young master, Li Qingshan. I've heard people talk about him, but I've never had the chance to meet him."
Li Qingshan was definitely a freak of nature. His talent was enough to take him beyond Qingyuan County and into a far more prosperous prefectural city.
Chen Yuan wasn't in a hurry, though. He wasn't even eighteen yet. Once he'd kept his head down until he was twenty-five...
Grade A aptitude? What kind of lousy spiritual root is that? Get out of my way!
Before you continue