Corvée Labor

After the previous upheaval, the Rebirth Sect seemed to have vanished, with no news of it stirring outside.

The major powers also devoted themselves wholeheartedly to preparing for the Martial Exam, and the conflicts between them dwindled considerably.

The whole of Anning County sank into a long-lost peace.

The days passed one by one, and the Martial Exam drew ever closer.

Meanwhile, Li Chuan's proficiency in Thunder Shadow Leg steadily increased.

[Practiced Thunder Shadow Leg, proficiency +1]

[Practiced Thunder Shadow Leg, proficiency +1]

[Practiced Thunder Shadow Leg, proficiency +1]

[Skill: Thunder Shadow Leg (Minor Mastery)]

[Proficiency: 719/2000]

"Tiger meat is all gone... I need to buy some more meat."

Counting the days, he had not left the Martial Hall for nearly ten days.

After changing out of his sweat-soaked training clothes, Li Chuan first went to the Inner City to see his family.

Only after finding that they were living well did he leave with peace of mind.

Then he went to a butcher shop in the east of the city and bought ten jin of tiger meat.

On his way back, he stopped by the Luo Family Apothecary to collect this month's wages, as well as another ten jin of tiger meat.

By rights, he was preparing for the Martial Exam these past two months and had no time to deliver medicine for the Luo Family, so he should not have accepted any payment.

Yet Luo Zheng merely waved his hand and insisted on stuffing the silver into his hands.

He wanted Li Chuan to prepare for the Martial Exam without worries.

Li Chuan said nothing more, only committing every bit of this kindness to heart.

After returning to the Martial Hall, he resumed his routine of three points and one line.

Training, eating, sleeping.

[Skill: Thunder Shadow Leg (Minor Mastery)]

[Proficiency: 1200/2000]

[Skill: Thunder Shadow Leg (Minor Mastery)]

[Proficiency: 1791/2000]

Li Chuan exhaled a breath of stale air and slowly opened his eyes.

"There are only six days left until the Martial Exam. At this pace, I can break through to Major Mastery the day before it begins!"

Li Chuan let out a breath, and his mind settled.

Knock, knock, knock.

Li Chuan opened the door and found Luo Zheng outside.

"A-Chuan, the government has come to announce the corvée labor roster. All disciples must go."

Li Chuan nodded.

"About how many people does our Martial Hall get drafted each year?"

Luo Zheng thought for a moment.

"Our Martial Hall has roughly eight hundred people. Around ten are drafted each year."

"After all, Dragon Court has decreed that everyone but those at Transforming Force and Martial Scholars must take part in corvée labor conscription."

At that, Luo Zheng shook his head.

"But only so few are selected each year. The odds are merely one percent, so there is no need to worry. It is just going through the motions."

As Li Chuan spoke with Luo Zheng, they soon arrived at the Outer Courtyard.

The Outer Courtyard was packed to the brim.

Several officials in government robes stood atop the high platform of the Martial Arts Arena, registers in hand.

After waiting a while longer until everyone had arrived, the lead clerk declared in a ringing voice, "By the grace of the Son of Heaven, those whose names are called must gather before the government office in half a month. Someone will arrange your destination."

The clerk paused, then continued.

"Huang Wenbin, Lu Xiuhua, Wei Yan..."

The clerk's voice was not loud, nor did his tone carry any emotion, yet to everyone present, it sounded like the death summons of Ox-Head and Horse-Face!

Thud!

Wei Yan collapsed to the ground. Fine beads of cold sweat seeped from his forehead, and his body shook uncontrollably.

He had only recently entered the hall and was just preparing to knock on the gate and break through to Bright Force. His life was about to get on track, only for such terrible news to strike...

"Sir, this humble one has a seventy-year-old mother at home. I am her only son and the only one left to care for her. Could you perhaps..." Wei Yan raised his head and pleaded.

The clerk gave him a cold glance.

"Are you trying to defy the laws of the dynasty?"

At the words "laws of the dynasty," Wei Yan's face turned deathly pale. He did not dare say another word, and only hot tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.

At this sight, everyone sighed.

The Great Li Dynasty was not particularly strict about murder and arson.

So long as it did not happen under the government's nose, or was not too atrocious, they would turn a blind eye and close one eye.

But where "taxes" and "corvée labor" were concerned, the punishments were severe.

Anyone who fled labor duty would be personally captured and brought to justice by the Six Fan Sect.

By then, it would already be too late to serve the corvée labor.

What awaited those who fled was endless torture.

"Lighting the sky lantern," "death by a thousand cuts," "ripped apart by five horses"—not a single punishment would be repeated.

After all, these were the matters that truly shook the foundations of the state.

Like Yama calling roll, the clerk read out several more names.

At last, he hesitated for an instant before saying uncertainly, "Li Chuan."

"What?!"

The crowd was stunned. Everyone wondered whether they had heard wrong.

Such low odds, yet they had fallen squarely upon Senior Brother Li?

Zhuang Beiwang said softly, "Sir, could you have read it wrong?"

The clerk turned the register around with its back to the crowd. The two words "Li Chuan" were written there beyond doubt.

Still unwilling to give up, Zhuang Beiwang said, "Perhaps the higher-ups..."

"Impudence!" the clerk shouted. "How dare you speak so freely about the affairs of those above!"

Those words were both a warning and a reminder.

The clerk sighed, walked over to Li Chuan, and said in a low voice, "Li Qing is your elder brother, isn't he? He was drafted too. Make the most of your time with your family..."

Luo Zheng gritted his teeth.

"One chance in a hundred, yet you and your elder brother both happened to draw it?

How could there be such a coincidence... I fear it is not that simple."

Li Chuan's eyes flickered.

When his name had first been called, he had merely been surprised, without any other emotion.

But when the clerk told him that his elder brother had also been drafted for corvée labor, he truly felt anger rise within him.

He absolutely did not believe this was a coincidence!

I have always acted prudently and never flaunted myself. When I encountered enemies, I wiped them out with thunderous force. Who, exactly, is plotting against me?

Li Chuan narrowed his eyes and swept his gaze over every person in the Outer Courtyard.

Outside the hall, he had never gone out to socialize, nor had he had any chance to make acquaintances.

Within the hall, he had always followed the principle of not making enemies if he could avoid it.

Even after breaking through to Dark Force, he had never acted like a gifted man looking down on the world.

The only ones he could be said to be at odds with were Tang Xiang, Qin Feng, and Jiang Ting.

At most, Jiang Ting and he found each other unpleasant to look at. It was far from becoming a grudge.

Tang Xiang... their only interaction had been when Li Chuan rejected his recruitment.

As for Qin Feng, he had never shown Li Chuan a pleasant face, but there had not truly been any enmity between them.

Li Chuan simply could not think of any reason Qin Feng would have to harm him.

With that thought, Li Chuan turned his gaze toward Qin Feng in the distance.

Qin Feng was lowering his head and rubbing his fingers, as though he sensed Li Chuan's gaze.

He suddenly looked up and flashed his teeth in a smile.

The smile was strange, carrying an unfathomable meaning.

Boom!

It was him!

The instant Li Chuan met his eyes, he knew with certainty that Qin Feng had tampered with this!

Qin Feng did not even seem to have any desire to hide it. He simply stared straight at Li Chuan.

It was as though he was certain Li Chuan could do nothing to him.

Go complain to their master? Who would believe it...

The two of them did not even exchange a single word in their daily lives.

Qin Feng's eyes brimmed with satisfaction.

The scene from not long ago surfaced in his mind again.

That day, Li Chuan had broken through to Dark Force, and their master had been overjoyed.

Because of that, their master, who had always cherished Qin Feng, rebuked him for the first time...

From that moment onward, Qin Feng's dislike for Li Chuan had risen into hatred!

For this, he had not hesitated to beg the County Magistrate...

And now, at last, his great revenge had been avenged!