True-Tempered Companions

When Du Juan received Zhou Ye's fifteen taels of tuition, she smiled like a greedy little kitten. Her two glossy black eyes had narrowed into slits.

"Senior Brother, I've registered you! Would you like the noon set meal? It'll make it convenient for you to train at the martial hall all day. Payment is monthly. The regular meal guarantees one tael of meat, and you can eat your fill of rice and steamed buns, for two taels and five qian per month; the deluxe meal has five taels of meat plus another meat dish, and costs only five taels per month?"

So they provided lunch here too? That was much more convenient. Still, to maintain his "poor man" persona, he could at most eat better in the evenings.

"Then I'll take the regular meal. But Senior Sister Du, I don't deserve to be called Senior Brother. You entered earlier, so should I call you Little Senior Sister instead?"

This Du Juan was surely a close younger relative of Du Keyuan. Saying a few nice words cost him nothing anyway.

Sure enough, Du Juan covered her mouth and giggled nonstop. "Senior Brother, I haven't even entered the hall yet! Don't you know that only after turning fourteen and coming of age can one formally practice martial arts? They all call me Little Junior Sister."

"Hehe, then I'll shamelessly accept it."

"Oh, right. There's more. Would you like the martial hall's training uniform? It has our martial hall's mark, so it looks very impressive when you wear it out! Only one tael and five qian?"

"Then give me a set!"

This was how Zhou Ye blended in with the crowd. If others bought one, he bought one too, and he would not stand out. But he certainly would not wear it outside, much less swagger around in it. He was already trying his best to keep a low profile.

"Then pay up! Senior Brother Zhou is so generous."

Fine, fine! He knew she was a little money-grubber. Zhou Ye did not know whether to laugh or cry as he took out another four taels of silver.

"Senior Brother Zhou, everything has been taken care of. Remember, once you attain Force, you can buy Blood-Qi Powder and Blood-Qi Pills from me. I'll give you a little discount. Hehehe..."

Zhou Ye: "..."

As he left, Zhou Ye vaguely sensed that this Wind-Thunder Martial Hall had a very distinct style: it would rather die than part with money!

Still, the outcome was good. He had finally joined a proper martial hall and could at last begin formal martial training...

The next day, Zhou Ye arrived at the Wind-Thunder Martial Hall early. Before long, the other apprentices gradually arrived as well. Discovering a new companion, they curiously chatted with Zhou Ye for a while.

Two of them were rather friendly, and they were about the same age as Zhou Ye.

One was named Huang Sheng. He was also an orphan, raised by his uncle. But his uncle's family was poor and had many children of their own. Huang Sheng had spent several years carrying heavy loads at the docks before finally saving up this sum of money.

The other was named Wu Jun. His family circumstances were somewhat better. At least both his parents were alive. But his martial arts tuition had been borrowed from every relative and friend they had, leaving the whole family buried under a mountain of debt.

The two had entered the martial hall two or three days earlier. After learning about Zhou Ye's family circumstances, they found that the three of them came from similarly bitter backgrounds and belonged to the same batch, so they had plenty in common.

Perhaps Huang Sheng was a genius. He found his sense of qi within a single day.

"I'm telling you, it only took me one day! I heard no one's been more impressive than me in recent years." Huang Sheng said excitedly. "After I found my sense of qi, it even alerted Master Du. He rewarded me with a plate of fried pastries."

Wu Jun was somewhat unconvinced. "Oh, cut it out! Didn't you only find your sense of qi on the morning of the second day?"

"Wasn't that exactly one whole day? I only started cultivating on the morning of the first day," Huang Sheng argued. "Not like you, who only found your sense of qi on the third day."

"Fine, fine! You're amazing."

"Of course! I could carry heavy loads aboard ships when I was twelve, doing as much as the adults. They all said I was especially strong. Once I become a martial master, I'll help my uncle move into a big house in the city, and I'll buy delicious food for my younger brothers and sisters. Hahaha!"

"You'll definitely make it," Wu Jun sighed. "I'm just worried that if I can't attain Force, how could I face my parents?"

"Don't worry, you can do it. Not only will we attain Force, the two of us... oh, and A-Ye too—we'll enter Manifest Force together! Then we'll become people above others!"

"But I really can't compare to you! Honestly, if I can attain Force and become a guard for some wealthy household, I'll already be satisfied. I heard they earn several taels of silver every month."

"Then you have to fight for it!" Huang Sheng encouraged him. "Just like me—if you don't fight, where will your future come from? Train a few more hours every day, until you collapse from exhaustion!"

"That won't do. Didn't they tell us to act within our limits?"

"Don't listen to them. How can we compare with children from rich families? We can only work harder than them! Besides, I'm strong, so I'll definitely be fine. Even this chance to enter the martial hall was something I fought for!"

"Mhm, mhm."

Though Zhou Ye did not know what a "sense of qi" was, he still listened with interest. These two companions had such true temperaments, still young men brimming with fighting spirit.

"A-Sheng, A-Jun, how many people are in our batch?"

"Quite a few. There have been over twenty in the last ten days, I think?"

"That many?"

"Actually, that's not much. We take in everyone the other martial halls won't accept. Most are people like us, living outside the city."

"Then how many can find their sense of qi? How many can attain Force?"

"Almost everyone finds their sense of qi; it's only a matter of how long it takes. Master Du said that if you can't find your sense of qi within ten days, or can't attain Force within two months, it's best to give up. Just like with finding a sense of qi, only an occasional person gets eliminated. But attaining Force is much harder. At our martial hall, at most three or four make it through! I heard the martial halls in the inner city do better, with over half making it."

"What about Manifest Force?"

"Manifest Force is even harder. At most, one out of ten can reach it. Our martial hall is basically full of people without money. Once they attain Force, they usually have to find work. Many simply give up like that..."

From Huang Sheng and Wu Jun's explanation, those who had just attained Force were actually not much different from ordinary people. Only after reaching higher levels would their strength increase rapidly.

Therefore, for less important jobs, Force-stage martial artists were usually enough, and at least they were much cheaper. Yet even among Force-stage martial artists, while they had not escaped the bounds of ordinary people, the difference between someone who had just attained Force and someone who had perfected Force might be greater than the gap between a man and a dog.

Once one entered Manifest Force, it was a qualitative leap. They could fight a crowd of ordinary people alone. Even against Force-stage martial artists, they could generally crush them with ease.

In other words, an ordinary person with a knife could still kill a Force-stage martial artist in a sneak attack. But if they slashed a Manifest Force martial master, at most they would break the skin; it was generally difficult to injure any vital spot.

Naturally, Manifest Force martial masters would be fought over by every major faction. Their income was nearly several times that of Force-stage martial artists.

After learning all this, Zhou Ye fell into thought. If that was the case, then his current strength should be equivalent to the Force stage... right?

Perhaps he could not match the highest level of Force, but at the very least, he should be able to contend with an ordinary Force-stage martial artist?