Chen Jing assumed the Fierce Tiger Stance, drew one fist to his waist, and took a deep breath. His gaze sharpened. Then he twisted at the waist and drove his fist forward.
Their fists collided squarely in midair.
Chen Jing felt a heavy force surge through his knuckles. His arm jolted, and he staggered back three steps before regaining his footing.
Cheng Qingshi's stance did not budge.
Even his expression remained unchanged.
He withdrew his fist and glanced at Chen Jing.
Without a word, he turned and returned to his place.
Chen Jing said respectfully:
"Young Master Cheng, your punching skill is superb. I'm no match for you."
Chen Jing was telling the truth.
Cheng Qingshi had a stronger foundation in stance training, and when he unleashed his punch, Chen Jing sensed a faint tremor of blood-qi within it.
It felt much like the bandit's power from the night before.
Both were probably skills beyond Body Tempering.
But Chen Jing had not used [Tiger Valiance]. If he had increased his strength by 150%, he should have been able to hold his own for a while.
But how could Chen Jing embarrass the Cheng family's young master in the Cheng Family Martial Hall? He was not that foolish.
Cheng Lianshan nodded slightly, his smile undiminished:
"Your technique for releasing force is sound. All you lack is practice."
"Wang, you've found me a fine prospect."
Wang Chong realized Cheng Lianshan had agreed to take Chen Jing in and hurriedly urged him, "What are you standing there for? Thank Master Cheng and his wife."
Chen Jing promptly bowed and thanked them.
Cheng Lianshan laughed and immediately had the steward prepare tea for the formal apprenticeship ceremony.
Becoming a disciple required three bows and nine kowtows, followed by serving tea and addressing the master by his new title.
Cheng Lianshan and his wife, Su Ru, sat in the seats of honor.
Chen Jing knelt respectfully, bowed and kowtowed, then served Cheng Lianshan tea and called him Master.
He served Su Ru tea as well and called her Mistress.
Cheng Lianshan accepted the bowl and drained it in one gulp. He laughed:
"Good! Up you get, Little Jing."
"From today on, you are my seventh personal disciple."
He pointed to the young man and woman beside him. "This is your second senior sister, Mei Qinghe. This is your fourth senior brother, Cheng Qingshi, who is also my son. You must get along well from now on."
Mei Qinghe smiled and nodded at Chen Jing. Cheng Qingshi gave a faint nod too, which passed for a greeting.
Cheng Lianshan continued:
"As for my other disciples, your eldest senior brother often manages the outer hall and teaches martial arts in my stead. The others have livelihoods of their own and aren't at the hall right now. I'll introduce you to them one by one later."
Seeing that the matter was settled, Wang Chong cupped his fists and smiled.
"Congratulations on taking another fine disciple, Master Cheng."
No sooner had he spoken than he began coughing violently. He pressed a hand to his chest, and his face grew paler.
Seeing that something was wrong, Cheng Lianshan sprang to his feet:
"You're injured? Sit down, quickly. What happened?"
Chen Jing immediately helped Wang Chong sit and briefly recounted their encounter with Clear Wind Stronghold on the way there.
He began with the bandits blocking the road, then told how they had detoured through the wild woods and, while spending the night in a ravine, come upon Steward Bai fleeing his pursuers.
Chen Jing kept his account of the desperate fight with the tall, thin bandit brief, but Cheng Lianshan's brow furrowed deeper as he listened.
When Chen Jing finished, Cheng Lianshan snorted and slapped the armrest. Even the tea bowl shook:
"Clear Wind Stronghold, is it? After lying quiet for years, they're stirring up trouble again."
"Qingshi, go fetch a physician at once to examine your Uncle Wang."
Cheng Qingshi cupped his fists in acknowledgment and left.
"Qinghe, take Little Jing to settle in, and show him around the hall while you're at it."
Cheng Lianshan turned to Wang Chong. "Stay here and recover, Wang Chong. It'll give us a chance to catch up."
Mei Qinghe led Chen Jing out of the main hall and down the corridor through the rear courtyard, pointing things out as they walked.
She spoke briskly and quickly, but never stumbled over her words.
First, she pointed out several courtyards in the inner compound. They were the Cheng family's private residence, and even disciples of the inner hall were not to enter without an urgent reason.
Then Mei Qinghe showed him the kitchen, bathing room, storeroom, and latrine, and told him when meals and training took place each day.
Finally, she led Chen Jing around to the Martial Arts Arena in the front courtyard.
The stern-looking young man from earlier was there, instructing disciples in their boxing practice.
Mei Qinghe brought Chen Jing over. "Little Jing, this is your eldest senior brother, Zhang Chengji. Eldest Senior Brother, this is Chen Jing, the personal disciple Master just accepted."
Zhang Chengji paused, clearly unaware that their master planned to take on a new disciple today, but he quickly recovered.
He looked Chen Jing up and down, nodded, and said in a steady voice, "Train hard. Don't disgrace our school."
His words were courteous, but Chen Jing caught a hint of scrutiny in his eyes. It was the instinctive appraisal of a newcomer by someone who had spent years in charge—not hostile, but hardly warm.
The disciples in the Martial Arts Arena had heard Mei Qinghe too. They all stopped what they were doing and began whispering among themselves.
Chen Jing had entered the inner hall as a personal disciple.
Some looked envious, but more were skeptical.
After all, Cheng Qingshi alone had been accepted directly as a personal disciple because he was Cheng Lianshan's son.
The other five personal disciples in the inner hall, including Zhang Chengji and Mei Qinghe, had all trained hard in the outer hall and stood out from dozens, even hundreds, of others before Cheng Lianshan chose them.
Chen Jing had skipped that entire process and become the hall master's personal disciple. To many, it seemed he had broken the rules of fair competition, and they could not help feeling resentful.
After Mei Qinghe led Chen Jing away, the Martial Arts Arena erupted. Someone tilted his chin toward an ordinary-looking young man with a gloating smile:
"Zhou Fan, you must be close to mastering your stance training, aren't you?"
"We all thought you'd be the next one into the inner hall. Who knew this Chen Jing would appear out of nowhere?"
"I doubt Master will take anyone else into the inner hall anytime soon."
Zhou Fan said nothing. He only watched Chen Jing's retreating figure and silently clenched his fists.
Mei Qinghe brought Chen Jing to the Side Courtyard. Two loquat trees grew there, and several rooms lined the wall, most of them empty.
"This used to be where the inner hall disciples lived."
"But the other senior brothers have homes of their own in the city, so only our sixth junior brother lives here regularly. Choose whichever room you like."
She pointed to a room with its door shut. "Our sixth junior brother lives there. His name is Liang Youheng, and he's Steward Liang's grandson. You'll meet him when you get the chance."
Chen Jing nodded and chose an empty south-facing room.
When he opened the window, he could see the small garden in the rear courtyard and the outline of the distant city wall.
Mei Qinghe continued:
"There are a few more things I need to make clear."
"Now that Master has accepted you into the inner hall, your tuition, food, and lodging are covered. Master also provides one medicinal bath every five days and one portion of Blood-Qi Powder every ten days."
"But if you want to advance quickly, those Martial Resources won't be nearly enough. That's why none of us relies solely on Master's support."
"Apart from Eldest Senior Brother, who helps Master teach and run the martial hall, and Fourth Junior Brother, who is Master's son, the others all have livelihoods of their own to supplement what Master provides."
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