Strength of One Bull

Shen Xiu's gaze sharpened, and the shocking image of that Senior Brother sending a several-hundred-pound water buffalo flying with one punch immediately surfaced in his mind. His heart stirred with eagerness.

So Shen Xiu wanted to try that Senior Brother's feat as well, though he would hold back somewhat.

He immediately leaped down from the riverbank.

Then he crept lightly toward the yellow ox.

The yellow ox continued leisurely munching on water grass, utterly unaware of what its bovine life was about to endure in the next moment.

Just then, Shen Xiu sneaked closer, then suddenly spun around sharply!

Catching the yellow ox off guard.

With both hands moving faster than the eye could follow, he seized its two legs and, with a burst of strength, hoisted it straight up from the ground.

The yellow ox had no time to react. It still had half a stalk of grass in its mouth, and the abruptly altered scene left it utterly bewildered. Its huge bovine eyes stared blankly at the blue sky, at a complete loss.

Then it came to its senses.

Its four legs flailed wildly toward the heavens. Panic filled its face as it let out terrified moos, unable to make heads or tails of what had happened.

Beneath the ox, Shen Xiu only felt some weight in his arms, but he could still endure it. So he carried the Big Yellow Ox forward another few steps before setting it down.

The instant its hooves touched the ground, the yellow ox kicked off fiercely and bolted away.

It then stood far off in the distance, its enormous eyes fixed on the two-legged beast that had lifted it, filled with terror and confusion.

Too terrifying! Too frightening for an ox!

In a daze, it remembered a close childhood companion. Not long ago, that companion had merely been grazing by the river when it had been slapped flying.

The dreadful memories connected to that figure surged forth. The Big Yellow Ox's legs immediately began to tremble, and it stood by the river shivering like a leaf.

It wanted to run away from home. It wanted to leave this river!

That counted as the Strength of One Bull, didn't it?

Ignoring the Big Yellow Ox that had been scared senseless by the river, Shen Xiu understood through this test the gulf between Body Tempering and Muscle Tendon Training—a gulf like a vast chasm.

It was not that he was weak. That Senior Brother Lin Yuan was simply too strong.

Shen Xiu pondered that he would have to drink more Monster Beast Tonic Soup in the future. Had that pot of tonic soup not given him the final push, it would have taken him several more days to enter the Body Tempering Realm.

After finishing his test, Shen Xiu returned to the dormitory.

The moment he entered the courtyard, Wang Si, who had just emerged from his room, fixed his eyes on Shen Xiu and could not look away for a long while.

"Shen Xiu, something's wrong with you. Very wrong."

Wang Si circled Shen Xiu twice, his eyes rolling as they scrutinized him from head to toe while he muttered to himself.

It had only been one afternoon, yet he suddenly felt that his roommate had somehow changed. But he could not say exactly what was different.

Shen Xiu merely smiled without replying and asked instead, "How is your White Tiger Fist practice going?"

The martial art Wang Si had chosen was White Tiger Fist. Shen Xiu had advised him against it at the time and even explained his reasoning, but Wang Si had not listened and had still chosen White Tiger Fist.

At Shen Xiu's words, Wang Si's face flushed red.

"Don't bring it up. I'm starting to regret it. Even now, I can't bring out half its power. If I'd chosen the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art back then, I could have followed behind you and learned."

However, once a martial art had been chosen, it could not be changed.

To change it, one had to become a Formal Disciple before there was any possibility.

All Shen Xiu could do was pat his shoulder in consolation.

That afternoon, he continued with the day's miscellaneous chores. The most obvious change brought by his improved realm was that he no longer felt exhausted doing such physically demanding work.

After working busily for an entire afternoon, Shen Xiu still felt as though he had strength to spare. That was likely the benefit of the Body Tempering Realm.

As time passed.

Its drawbacks gradually began to show as well. After reaching First Realm Body Tempering, Shen Xiu discovered that his appetite had multiplied.

The food distributed by the school had once been enough to sustain him.

Now, the rations originally allotted to a Labor Disciple, even together with the meat he occasionally ate, were no longer enough. He watched the silver he had saved in his pocket vanish at a visible rate.

Shen Xiu felt rather helpless about this. As a Labor Disciple, he would naturally face the predicament of lacking resources, unless he became a Formal Disciple.

Unfortunately, there were still two months until the Formal Disciple assessment.

With no other choice, Shen Xiu could only lower his standards and squeeze out more time to instruct others in exchange for payment.

Yet even those earnings attracted someone's attention.

"Shen Xiu, I hear you've been guiding quite a few Registered Disciples lately!"

One morning, as Shen Xiu carried two wooden buckets into the back kitchen, he heard Steward Yu's irritating voice.

Steward Yu smiled as he continued, "Kid Shen, do you know the rules of our Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School for taking jobs? Since you're taking jobs under the name of our school's disciples, the earnings must be split with the school. Think about how much silver you need to hand over to me."

Shen Xiu's expression did not change. After a brief consideration, he said,

"Steward Yu, the school's rules on splitting task earnings refer to tasks accepted by Formal Disciples, don't they? They seem not to mention Labor Disciples. It's not that I refuse to pay, but there is no written rule in the school concerning this. Why not ask the School Master to add one? Once this youngster sees it, I will certainly follow it strictly."

Shen Xiu answered neither servilely nor arrogantly, but Steward Yu's face darkened by the moment, and he was deeply displeased.

Ask the School Master to add such a rule? After School Master Yang Jinhong had been injured in a fight with the Crimson Fire Bandits roaming nearby last year, he had rarely been seen while recovering. Now that he had healed, he had secluded himself for several months to make a push toward the Gui Cang Realm. Where was Steward Yu supposed to find him? Even if Yang Jinhong had not entered seclusion, Steward Yu would not dare trouble him over such a trivial matter.

Shen Xiu did not wish to look at Steward Yu's obstructive figure either. He turned sideways, passed around him, and headed for the well to draw water.

Having stayed at the Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School for over a year, Shen Xiu had gained a rough understanding of its rules.

The profit-sharing rule Steward Yu mentioned did indeed exist, but it applied only to Formal Disciples.

The Golden Rainbow Martial Arts School was not a charity hall, after all. Once Labor Disciples passed their assessment and became Formal Disciples, they received higher monthly pay, all the fish and meat they could eat, and medicinal soup for cultivation.

They also no longer had to perform all sorts of tedious miscellaneous chores, but they had to complete several tasks assigned by the school every month.

The earnings from completed tasks were split three to seven with the school: three for the disciples, seven for the school.

Shen Xiu could not judge such rules. After all, most martial arts schools in this world operated in much the same way.

Some were even worse.

Besides, it was a willing bargain. You wanted an opportunity to learn martial arts; the school wanted heaps of silver. Neither side could fault the other.

After that, Shen Xiu maintained this rhythm in his life, practicing the Dragon Subduing Tiger Taming Art every day and tempering his body.

Having only just entered Body Tempering, he had completed his first body refinement and still had a long way to go before the next two. But aside from Jian Shuhao, he had instructed several more disciples, so at least the silver in his pocket was enough to keep him from going hungry.

Before long, a month had passed, and the atmosphere within the martial arts school suddenly became somewhat strange.