Oolong

Inner courtyard.

Second Senior Brother Luo Zheng picked up a bite of food and looked at Hu Yuan:

"Master sent a letter. He will be back tomorrow and wants to personally oversee your progress and plan your martial arts path."

Jiang Ting covered her mouth and chuckled:

"The old master has been talking about you for a long time."

Everyone burst into laughter.

Luo Zheng draped an arm over Hu Yuan's shoulder, his face beaming:

"Remember to bring your sister along so she can watch Master take you as his disciple. This is a moment to bring honor to your ancestors."

The group showered him with more compliments.

The smile never left Hu Yuan's face, his eyes filled with longing for the future.

Only Luo Zheng frowned slightly.

Did I imagine it? Forget it... I'll wait until Master returns; it's only tomorrow, anyway.

"Bang!"

"Bang, bang!"

Li Chuan struck the wooden post with three rapid punches.

"Time's up! Time to get to work today!" Instructor Ma roared at the top of his lungs.

Many outer-courtyard disciples practicing stopped their tasks and hurried over.

Li Chuan looked up; Instructor Ma actually looked like someone from the Sichuan region.

He had a thick beard and a small, round face.

Li Chuan instinctively lowered his gaze, wanting to see if he was wearing white socks.

Unfortunately... they were black socks.

Instructor Ma's voice was somewhat effeminate:

"Liu Zhuxing, move stones today; Luo Rui, clean the latrines; Qin Feng, mop the floors; Li Chuan, chop wood!"

Li Chuan nodded to show he understood.

Outer-courtyard disciples, or rather, those "apprentices" who had yet to pass the threshold, were required to perform labor.

Helping the martial hall complete chores every day could reduce their tuition fees.

Of course, if one were wealthy enough, they could do nothing at all—it simply meant paying more silver.

Only "registered disciples," those who had attained Bright Force, could be exempt from these trivial matters and focus solely on tempering their martial arts.

The hierarchy of Pine Wind Martial Hall was strict, manifested vividly in every minor detail.

Li Chuan was just about to head off to chop wood.

Qin Feng walked quickly to his side and blocked his path, a fawning smile on his face:

"Senior Brother Li, I'll do your chores for you."

"That wouldn't be right..."

"What's wrong with that? I've loved doing chores since I was a kid!"

With that, Qin Feng took the axe and rushed ahead of Li Chuan to start chopping wood.

Li Chuan was naturally happy to have the leisure, as it meant more time to practice his stance training.

The next day.

A gray-robed old man with a handlebar mustache walked into the martial hall with the stride of a dragon and the step of a tiger.

Even though his face was etched with deep wrinkles, his every movement possessed more vitality than that of a teenager in his teens or twenties!

The master of Pine Wind Martial Hall, Liang Hangzhou!

One of the few Transforming Force experts in Anning County; even the county magistrate had to treat him with great respect!

Relying on a set of Through-Arm Fist, he had arrived from out of town and forcibly opened a martial hall in Anning County, snatching a living from the hands of the locals.

"Master, you've returned!" Eldest Senior Brother Tang Xiang, Second Senior Brother Luo Zheng, Jiang Ting, and the other inner-chamber disciples stepped forward to welcome him.

Liang Hangzhou stroked his handlebar mustache with a smile:

"Is Hu Yuan here?"

"Master, I'm here!"

Hu Yuan walked over from a distance, accompanied by a young girl in simple attire.

"Greetings, Master Liang." Hu Yuan's sister spoke in a hushed tone, offering a greeting.

Liang Hangzhou examined Hu Yuan carefully, a look of satisfaction appearing on his face:

"Your features are well-defined, and you look quite the talent in these robes."

"From now on, you are my inner-chamber disciple. If you have any questions regarding your cultivation, you may come to me directly. You will receive one tael of silver for daily meals, and every seven days, you may collect a portion of Blood Vitality Powder."

An irrepressible, wild joy appeared on Hu Yuan's face.

One tael of silver for daily meals—what extravagance!

And to receive an extra portion of Blood Vitality Powder every seven days; one had to know that a single portion of Blood Vitality Powder was worth three taels of silver!

Jiang Ting stepped forward, cupped her hands, and smiled:

"Congratulations, Junior Brother Hu. From here on, you shall rise rapidly, and your martial path holds great promise!"

Hu Yuan suddenly drifted into a daydream, imagining his future achievements.

Dark Force... Transforming Force, or perhaps even higher?

"Let me test your bone structure," Liang Hangzhou said with a smile.

He reached out with his right hand, kneading and pressing all over Hu Yuan's body.

The strange force and the pain caused Hu Yuan to tremble uncontrollably.

"How... how are you of inferior bone structure?!"

Even with Liang Hangzhou's decades of breath-cultivation, he could hardly suppress the astonishment on his face.

"What... Junior Brother Hu has inferior bone structure? Master, could you have felt it wrong?"

Jiang Ting hurriedly asked.

She had invested quite a bit of capital into Hu Yuan!

Liang Hangzhou frowned:

"Who tested his bones?"

Lu Zhe, who had just broken through to the Dark Force, raised his hand and stepped forward:

"Master, it was I who tested Junior Brother Hu's bones. At the time, I clearly felt one superior bone structure and one inferior bone structure..."

Luo Zheng asked in surprise:

"Who was the other person?"

Lu Zhe replied: "It seemed to be... Qin Feng?"

Luo Zheng's heart shook violently:

"So it was him... I felt at the time that his comprehension was extraordinary; he only spent half an hour to master the Through-Arm Fist."

A sharp glint appeared in Liang Hangzhou's eyes: "Bring Qin Feng here."

Soon, Qin Feng was brought over, still holding an axe in his hand.

Qin Feng looked at the several big figures before him—people who had been unreachable in the past—all staring at him with strange expressions, and he felt completely bewildered.

"Ah!"

A broad, thick hand climbed up his spine and wandered between his shoulder blades and collarbones, waves of soreness surging up like a tide.

Liang Hangzhou glared at Lu Zhe:

"You are not careful in your work. This is the true superior bone structure!"

Lu Zhe said awkwardly:

"This disciple knows his mistake and will never repeat it again."

"What, superior bone structure, me?!" With a clatter, Qin Feng dropped his axe, his eyes filled with disbelief.

The usually stern Liang Hangzhou wore a gentle smile:

"My bone-testing will not be wrong. Are you willing to enter the inner courtyard and become my inner-chamber disciple?"

Liang Hangzhou repeated the previous terms to Qin Feng.

"Thud!"

Qin Feng immediately knelt on the ground and kowtowed three solid times:

"This disciple greets Master Liang!"

Liang Hangzhou laughed heartily:

"Rise."

Jiang Ting's eyes flickered with a strange light, and she wore a charming smile:

"Congratulations to Junior Brother Qin for entering the inner courtyard. I can assist you with your martial arts."

As for Hu Yuan, who had been left aside, his face turned deathly pale, and he knelt trembling on the ground.

His sister's lips also quivered, unable to speak a word.

But no one cared about them anymore.

"Have you heard? Senior Brother Lu misjudged their bone structure. It turns out Hu Yuan has inferior bone structure, while Qin Feng is the one with superior bone structure!"

"I've been in the academy for three months, and I have never seen anything so preposterous!"

Li Chuan raised an eyebrow.

The two people who shared the same dormitory as him had actually had their fates swapped?

"Look toward the inner courtyard, Hu Yuan is coming out!"

"Why isn't he strutting around anymore!"

"Serves him right!"

Li Chuan looked at Hu Yuan.

The face that had previously been full of arrogance was now desperate and shattered.

The magnificent robes he wore no longer held the same charm they once had.

Many people's confidence stems solely from the "status" they occupy.

If that status were suddenly stripped away, they would be no different from ordinary people, or perhaps even worse.

Hu Yuan was a stark example of this.

Li Chuan shook his head, sighing inwardly:

"Only the status one earns with their own fists is truly real and stable."

Everyone swarmed forward, eager to catch a glimpse of the fallen genius.

Li Chuan remained unmoved, simply practicing his fist techniques and honing his stance training over and over again in front of the wooden post.