Registered Disciples, the Matter of Nominal Positions

Upon receiving the news, Liang Hangzhou, who had been eating dried persimmons in the inner courtyard, arrived.

"Master," Li Chuan said, bowing in salute.

"Not bad," Liang Hangzhou said, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face.

Recently, students with good natural talent had all been scouted away by other martial halls.

For ten whole days, not a single person at Pine Wind Martial Hall had successfully broken through!

In the days of their former glory, someone would break through to Bright Force every two or three days.

Against that backdrop, many people outside were whispering that Pine Wind Martial Hall was on the decline.

Now that Li Chuan had successfully broken through, it had managed to salvage some of their reputation.

"From now on, you are my registered disciple. You may use the name of Pine Wind Martial Hall, but there are three rules I must tell you."

Liang Hangzhou said sternly:

"First, you must remain low-key and cautious when outside; you are not to provoke trouble without cause."

"Second, you may spar with your fellow disciples, but you must not harm one another!"

"Third, you must not harm the interests of the martial hall for the sake of other gains!"

"Violate the second or third rule, and you will be expelled from the sect immediately. Do you understand?"

Li Chuan said respectfully:

"Yes, Master Liang, I understand."

Liang Hangzhou nodded and then asked:

"When did you join the hall?"

"Master, I have been in the hall for five months and sixteen days."

Liang Hangzhou's brows furrowed quietly, and the warmth in his eyes cooled slightly.

He suddenly stepped in front of Li Chuan, his right hand coiling onto Li Chuan's spine like a nimble snake.

"Hiss!"

Feeling the tingling pain radiating from his bones, Li Chuan gasped.

"Inferior talent," Liang Hangzhou shook his head inwardly, his enthusiasm completely gone.

With inferior talent like Li Chuan's, and having only broken through right at the six-month cutoff, his potential was essentially exhausted.

He would be stuck at the Bright Force stage for the rest of his life, unable to make any further progress.

But at the end of the day, even a mediocre Bright Force practitioner was still a Bright Force practitioner, incomparable to an ordinary apprentice.

Out in the world, he could still be considered a capable fighter.

Therefore, Liang Hangzhou still offered a few indifferent words of guidance.

"On the path of martial arts, combat techniques and internal training are equally important."

"As the saying goes, practicing martial arts without internal training leaves you with nothing in your old age; practicing internal training without martial arts leaves you confused when you strike."

"Martial arts, in the end, are not just for show; they are for real combat. Has your Through-Arm Fist reached minor completion?"

Li Chuan said somewhat awkwardly:

"Just about."

Liang Hangzhou shook his head:

"You haven't put in enough hard work. Go back and practice more. I have other matters to attend to, so that will be all."

With that, Liang Hangzhou hurried away.

A disciple whispered:

"Master must be going to give Qin Feng private lessons."

"I heard he spends an hour every afternoon training Qin Feng specifically. No wonder Qin Feng's combat skills are improving so fast. If only he would train me!"

"You have inferior talent; what would be the point of training you!"

Listening to the various complaints, Li Chuan did not feel there was anything wrong with this.

When it came down to it, most actions people took in society were for the sake of "interest."

As someone with superior talent, if Qin Feng were cultivated well, he could not only boost the martial hall's reputation and attract more apprentices, but also serve as a protector in the master's old age.

After all, a Transforming Force expert like Liang Hangzhou must have made many enemies over his decades in the martial world.

As the saying goes, "the fist fears the young and strong." Many martial masters would cultivate a closing-door disciple to take hits for them as they neared old age.

Qin Feng was likely intended for such a role.

It was perfectly normal for his treatment to differ from his own.

"Come to think of it, this is actually fine; at least the favoritism is out in the open. In my past life, I even heard of people swapping the college entrance exam scores of poor students with those of their own children..."

Li Chuan shook his head, intending to find Luo Zheng to ask about the details of taking on a sponsored position.

"Senior Brother Luo, I would like to ask you about the various matters regarding sponsored positions."

Luo Zheng glanced at Li Chuan's attire, understood his intent, and smiled.

"Sponsored positions aren't actually that complicated. They are essentially divided into 'full-time' and 'part-time.' A full-time position is equivalent to selling your services to a patron; the work is tedious, but the financial compensation is much more generous. A part-time position means you don't have to stay at the patron's estate all day, only helping out when needed. Naturally, the silver earned is less than that of a full-time role."

Li Chuan understood.

This full-time arrangement was equivalent to a full-time job in his past life—the pay was high, but the demands were equally high.

Part-time was like a side gig, and a relatively relaxed one at that; he would only go when needed, and could stay at the martial hall when he wasn't.

My main task is to practice martial arts and grow stronger. Full-time isn't suitable for me; I can only choose part-time, Li Chuan thought to himself.

Luo Zheng added:

"The compensation for full-time is generous, sometimes double or triple that of part-time, but you could say you're trading your martial path for money. If you stay at a patron's estate every day, where would you find the time to practice? Usually, only disciples who have lost hope of further breakthroughs and have exhausted their potential choose this path."

"Junior Brother, you have only just broken through to Bright Force. If you still wish to make progress in martial arts, try your best not to consider full-time, or you will regret it for the rest of your life."

"Of course," Luo Zheng said with a hint of envy, "Look at the inner courtyard. If you could be like Junior Brother Qin, it would be best to get full-time pay for a part-time position."

"The Wang family in the inner city offered him a monthly salary of twenty taels of silver for a part-time position the moment he broke through to Bright Force. He only needs to spend one afternoon a week teaching their son. While they call it a sponsored position, it's really an investment."

"Or take that wealthy water merchant who came from afar; he handed over thirty taels of silver upon their first meeting, just to secure a promise of help from Junior Brother Qin in the future. Junior Brother Qin's talent is outstanding; it's not something we can compare to..."

Li Chuan followed Luo Zheng's gaze.

In the inner courtyard, Liang Hangzhou was personally guiding Qin Feng on how to perform his stance and throw punches.

From time to time, representatives from various family factions would approach, handing over a few taels of silver or cured meat upon meeting, and some even stuffed purses directly into Qin Feng's pockets.

The sponsored position he was struggling to obtain was something that came easily to Qin Feng.

"Junior Brother, you don't need to be too envious. Walk your own path. I see that you have a firm heart for martial arts. If you persist in bitter training for three or four years, you might have a chance to break through to Dark Force. As for the sponsored positions, someone will likely come looking for you by tomorrow. Consider it carefully then, and if you don't understand something, you can come ask me again."

Luo Zheng patted Li Chuan on the shoulder.

"Many thanks, Senior Brother Luo." Li Chuan cupped his hands in gratitude.

His thanks were sincere.

As the second senior brother of the Pine Wind Martial Hall and the eldest son of the Luo Family Pharmacy, Luo Zheng was far superior to him in both strength and status.

To Luo Zheng, there was no value in associating with him.

Yet, he could have said nothing, but chose to share so much important information.

He would remember this favor.

According to Senior Brother Luo, there's no need to rush; someone will come to me tomorrow... I can't waste this time. Back to training!

Li Chuan focused his mind and summoned the Primordial Jade Record.

Skill: Mountain-Holding Stance (Minor Achievement)
Proficiency: 1/2000

Skill: Through-Arm Fist (Entry)
Proficiency: 400/500

Thankfully, the proficiency required for the Mountain-Holding Stance didn't increase too much, Li Chuan thought with some relief.

If the proficiency required to reach Great Achievement had jumped to ten thousand, he would really have had to grind!

Two thousand was manageable.

After all, Great Achievement meant Dark Force.

Dark Force was completely different from Bright Force.

In Anning County, no matter where one went, a Dark Force expert was a highly sought-after commodity.

It would be easy to take on a casual sponsored position with a monthly salary of ten taels of silver.

One would be respected everywhere.

Li Chuan's motivation reignited: "I must keep practicing!"

Under the bright, gentle sun, Li Chuan began his martial arts training without a moment's rest.