The Road to Martial Scholar

Jiang Ting's eyes were filled with disbelief:

"What?!"

Though she had never thought much of Li Chuan to begin with, much less intended to marry him.

But rejecting someone herself and being rejected by someone else were two entirely different things!

How dare he? How dare Li Chuan!

Only she could look down on Li Chuan; Li Chuan had no right to look down on her!

Li Chuan glanced at her and said blandly:

"Jiang Ting, we're not suited for each other."

The unspoken meaning was that Jiang Ting simply did not catch his eye.

"You!" Jiang Ting choked with rage. She wanted to say something, only to realize there was nothing she could say.

Was she supposed to beg him to like her?

Jiang Ting was left speechless, her face flushed red, and her disgust for Li Chuan reached its peak.

Tang Xiang raised a brow.

"Junior Brother Li, this is where you're wrong. Junior Sister Jiang has never been married; she is pure as ice and clean as jade.

"If you treat her like this and word gets out, won't people turn her into a laughingstock?"

Luo Zheng sneered.

"Tang Xiang, stop pretending to be a good man. Why didn't you step out and speak for justice earlier?"

The meaning in Luo Zheng's words was razor-sharp: Tang Xiang was clearly taking sides.

"Enough!" Liang Hangzhou slammed the table and roared.

Tang Xiang shut his mouth resentfully, not daring to say more.

Liang Hangzhou sighed helplessly and looked at Li Chuan.

"I merely mentioned it in passing. If you are unwilling, I will not force you."

He turned and swept his gaze across the crowd.

"All of you... no matter what, you are fellow disciples. You should look after one another and together strengthen our Martial Hall."

"Yes, Master." The disciples answered in twos and threes. They looked sincere, though no one knew how many truly meant it.

Liang Hangzhou sighed inwardly again.

Even while he was still here, the Martial Hall had already become like this.

Once he was gone, it might well fall apart.

At that thought, Liang Hangzhou lost all interest.

"Go back."

As everyone scattered, Qin Feng quietly walked over to Tang Xiang's side and asked as though casually:

"Senior Brother Tang, have this year's corvée conscription candidates been decided?"

"Not yet." Tang Xiang looked puzzled. "Why ask about that?"

An inscrutable light flickered in Qin Feng's eyes as he smiled.

"Nothing. I was just asking."

As they left the Inner Courtyard, Luo Zheng came over and said apologetically:

"A-Chuan, I was the one who got you dragged into this. Tang Xiang and the others have never treated me well. Since you are close to me, you have suffered by association."

Li Chuan smiled unconcernedly.

"Qin Feng already dislikes me. He is also close with Tang Xiang and Jiang Ting, so it is only natural that their little clique does not welcome me. It has nothing to do with you."

"Besides, having Senior Brother Luo stand by me is enough."

Luo Zheng laughed and cursed.

"Don't put it that way. I have no desire to stand you up!"

Li Chuan froze for a moment before he realized what Luo Zheng meant.

Helplessly, he nudged Luo Zheng with his elbow.

"Senior Brother Luo, it would be a shame if you didn't draw dirty little picture books."

Dirty little picture books were pornographic booklets.

Luo Zheng caught his elbow, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Come on, let me test the quality of your Dark Force!"

Gratitude welled up in Li Chuan's heart.

He knew Luo Zheng wanted to help him quickly become familiar with using Dark Force.

"Bring it on." Li Chuan readily agreed.

He also wanted to see just how great the gap was between himself and an established Dark Force martial artist like Luo Zheng!

The two headed side by side toward the Martial Arts Arena, drawing many disciples' sidelong glances.

A disciple with a long, shovel-like face snorted mockingly.

"Who knows what kind of bewitching soup he fed Senior Brother Luo to make him look after him so well? If Senior Brother Luo guided me like that, I would have reached Dark Force long ago!"

"Oh, give it a rest. Even if Master guided you day and night, I doubt you'd manage it," his friend mocked.

The shovel-faced disciple snapped in fury.

"Even if I can't, how much better can he be? Don't tell me he's reached Dark Force?"

The shovel-faced disciple waited for a while, but received no response.

When he turned around, he found his friend already frozen in place, staring straight toward the Martial Arts Arena.

"He really... reached Dark Force."

"What?" The shovel-faced disciple had not heard clearly, so he followed his friend's gaze.

On the Martial Arts Arena, Li Chuan and Luo Zheng were locked in an inseparable battle.

Li Chuan's fist techniques flowed like water, nearly seamless in one breath. Every strike carried faint traces of Dark Force circulating within it.

The shovel-faced disciple lost himself in a daze, muttering without pause:

"How is that possible? How is that possible..."

"He has a Low-Grade Bone Constitution..."

On the Martial Arts Arena.

Luo Zheng panted heavily.

"Not bad, A-Chuan. You only entered Dark Force recently, yet you are already using your strength with decent form and substance. Even I have to put in quite some effort to defeat you."

"Is your Through-Arm Fist about to reach Major Mastery too?"

"More or less, but there is still a gap between me and Senior Brother Luo," Li Chuan replied.

Luo Zheng laughed.

"If Tang Xiang had a mouth like yours, I would definitely call him 'Eldest Senior Brother'!"

Li Chuan laughed as well.

It seemed Eldest Senior Brother and Second Senior Brother had long held grudges against each other.

"By the way, Senior Brother Luo, based on last year, what ranking do you think my current strength could earn in the Martial Exam?"

Li Chuan voiced the question in his heart.

Luo Zheng thought for a moment.

"Probably around a hundredth place. If your Through-Arm Fist reaches Major Mastery, you could probably make it to around seventieth, which would be about where I was last year."

"As for why I can beat you now, it is because I also cultivate another fighting technique. Combined together, my qi and blood are much stronger."

Luo Zheng consoled him.

"You only broke through to Dark Force recently. This year's Martial Exam should simply be an opportunity for you to broaden your horizons."

"If you want to earn the title of Martial Scholar, it will probably not be possible until next year at the earliest."

"Oh, right." Luo Zheng suddenly recalled something. "After you break through to Dark Force, many factions will likely come to offer you positions. Their treatment will naturally be far better than what they offer Bright Force martial artists. Make sure to compare them carefully. Go wherever offers the best terms."

Luo Zheng's gaze was somewhat complicated.

"When I return, I will discuss it with my father and eldest uncle, then offer you a new price."

"I will do my utmost to offer you good compensation. But if someone offers better terms than the Luo Family, just go there. You do not need to consider me."

After seeing Li Chuan off, Luo Zheng could not help shaking his head with a sigh.

His family currently had only three Dark Force martial artists: himself, his eldest uncle, and his father.

They truly needed a Dark Force martial artist to lend them a hand, but they might not be able to offer a good enough price.

Perhaps they could have before.

But because of that matter...

Li Chuan walked toward the East City Butcher Shop.

In his heart, he calculated his plans for what came next.

There was still a month and a half until the Martial Exam.

His Through-Arm Fist would soon reach Major Mastery.

But as Luo Zheng had said, merely training Through-Arm Fist to Major Mastery would not be enough to seize a top-fifty Martial Scholar title.

His goal was to at least secure a place in the top thirty. Only then would he have enough leeway to ensure nothing went wrong.

After all... when the Liyang Dynasty conscripted corvée labor, it did not care whether one had reached Dark Force.

The day for corvée conscription was coming soon. He did not want to be abruptly selected and sent to some remote region for forced labor just as his prospects were flourishing.

The corvée labor of this era was nothing like going in to operate sewing machines in his previous life.

No one knew how many would die on the road, nor how many would be worked to death after reaching their destination.

In the end, only a handful would return alive!

Even as a Dark Force martial artist, he might not be safe.

If he were assigned to a military camp and sent to the front lines...

Then his life and death would truly be unknown.

Once one stepped onto the battlefield, life and death were no longer one's own to control.

"I must pass the Martial Scholar exam!" Li Chuan made up his mind.

Only two conditions could exempt one from corvée labor: earning the title of Martial Scholar, or becoming a Transforming Force expert.

Compared to becoming a Transforming Force expert, earning the Martial Scholar title was far easier.

There were only a dozen or twenty Transforming Force experts in all of Anning County.

Other than that, there were probably only some underhanded methods that could not see the light of day.

After all, the candidates for corvée labor were "randomly" chosen by the local County Magistrate.

If someone pulled a few strings, they could also dodge it cleverly.

That was why corvée labor was always levied from commoners, while people from great Lineages were rarely selected.

"But I cannot even speak to the County Magistrate, and relying on myself in all things is the surest course."

Li Chuan secretly shook his head, deciding not to rely on that route.

"Something huge has happened! The Iron Tiger Gang was wiped out overnight! Even the gang leader, Song Jin, had his head chopped off and hung on their gate!"

Li Chuan stopped walking.