Inner and Outer Courts

[Coiling Dragon Stance Art: Not Initiated]

[Progress: 3/100]

In an entire morning, Lu Chen's Coiling Dragon Stance Art progress had only increased by 3 points.

Watching the numbers slowly appear on the panel, Lu Chen's chest heaved violently. Sweat streamed down his forehead and into the corners of his eyes, stinging them until they ached.

He raised a hand and wiped his face, his palm covered in sweat.

"Martial cultivation truly is difficult!"

Lu Chen could not help sighing inwardly.

Even with his golden finger, every effort he made pushed him one step further ahead.

But each step nearly left him utterly exhausted.

Back in the mountains, he could chop firewood and carry water for over a dozen li without stopping to catch his breath.

But practicing the Coiling Dragon Stance Art just once left his entire body sore, as though his bones were about to fall apart.

After every round of practice, he had to rest and pant for half an hour.

That was why, over the entire morning, he had only practiced the Coiling Dragon Stance Art three times.

"All right, that's enough practice for this morning. Go eat!" Senior Brother Chen Chong called out to the youths.

"Food?"

"We can finally eat!"

"Quick, quick, quick! My stomach's been growling forever!"

The moment they heard it was time to eat, the youths who had been sprawled on the ground in exhaustion suddenly came alive. Cheering, they followed Chen Chong toward the dining hall.

Along the way, Chen Chong walked at the front, casually introducing the various parts of Hidden Dragon Martial Hall to these youths who had just entered it.

The youths dragged their aching, weakened legs behind him. Though they were grimacing from exhaustion, their eyes never rested, darting left and right as if they had entered some rare and wondrous place.

On both sides of the long path paved with blue bricks stood rows of houses, staggered in height.

From the distant training grounds came the occasional muffled crack of fists and kicks tearing through the air, along with the synchronized shouts of the outer court disciples. The sounds were deep and powerful; to these mountain village youths, they seemed to make even the ground beneath their feet tremble.

"Hidden Dragon Martial Hall is divided into the inner court and the outer court."

Chen Chong spoke as he walked.

"The place you are in now is the outer court."

He raised a hand and pointed at the broad training ground behind them, then at several rows of low courtyards nearby.

"The outer court is large, and all kinds of people gather here. Servants, registered disciples, ordinary apprentices, and mountain youths like you who have just been selected all move about in the outer court."

"You will usually practice, eat, and live here as well."

The youths listened attentively.

Someone could not help asking, "Senior Brother Chen, what about the inner court?"

As soon as those words were spoken, quite a few of them pricked up their ears.

Chen Chong did not slow his pace. He merely glanced toward the depths of the martial hall.

Following his gaze, they saw a tall wall ahead. Beyond it, they could vaguely make out upturned eaves and blue tiles, while the courtyard gates looked far more imposing than those of the outer court.

"As for the inner court, you are not yet qualified to enter it."

Chen Chong's tone was calm, yet his words were like a basin of cold water poured over their hearts.

"Those who can enter the inner court are either martial artists or geniuses favored by the Hall Master."

"There, you can receive the Hall Master's personal instruction, and you will also have private training rooms and medicinal bath rooms."

At that, Chen Chong turned back to glance at them.

"If you want to enter, then work hard. Three months from now, only those who remain and are accepted as formal disciples will be qualified to head that way."

The youths instinctively looked toward the high wall, their eyes burning with greater fervor.

For children born in mountain villages like them, the outer court was already more novel and grand than they could have imagined.

But from Chen Chong's words, the truly good things lay beyond that wall.

Lu Chen also silently glanced at it.

The wall was not especially high, yet it seemed to carve an invisible chasm between the outer court and the inner court.

Chen Chong did not stop before the inner court gate, leading everyone onward instead.

Before long, a faint medicinal scent drifted over from ahead.

It was somewhat bitter, yet also sharp and spicy. Once it entered their noses, it made their spirits seem to jolt awake.

"This is the Medicine Hall."

Chen Chong raised a hand and pointed toward a large building roofed in blue tiles.

A wooden plaque hung above the Medicine Hall entrance, bearing two jet-black characters. Disciples came and went from time to time. Some carried medicine packets, while others had just emerged from within, looking painfully at their flattened money pouches.

The youths immediately grew much quieter.

To mountain villagers, medicine had never been cheap.

In the village, if someone fell ill, being able to brew a bowl of herbal medicine was already considered good. As for these medicines specially made for martial artists, they had never even heard of them before.

Chen Chong said, "Martial training damages the body."

"When your qi and blood are depleted, they must be replenished. When your sinews and bones are injured, they must be nourished as well."

"You could say that every martial artist is a medicine jar."

"The Medicine Hall has Tiger-Bone Body-Strengthening Soup, Tendon-Nourishing Salve, Blood-Qi Powder, and some pills for martial artists in the Blood-Moving Realm."

"You will inevitably need them in the future as well."

One youth could not help swallowing before asking quietly, "Senior Brother Chen, are these medicines... expensive?"

Chen Chong chuckled.

"They are somewhat cheaper than at the apothecaries outside."

But no matter how cheap they were, these youths still could not afford them.

Most of them came from farming families in mountain villages, where their households could not save much money even over an entire year.

Being brought into the martial hall was already a rare opportunity. How could they have any spare money left to buy medicine?

Some looked at the outer court disciples entering and leaving the Medicine Hall, their eyes filled with envy.

Chen Chong seemed long accustomed to such reactions from youths like them. He said nothing more and simply continued leading them onward.

After passing through the small courtyard before the Medicine Hall and going around a row of wood sheds, things gradually grew livelier ahead.

Before they even approached, everyone smelled a rich aroma of food.

Steam carrying the scent of rice and meat wafted out through the open doors and windows. The youths, whose steps had been heavy just moments ago, immediately perked up.

Someone's stomach gave an uncooperative growl.

Then several more rumbles sounded nearby.

A few youths exchanged glances, their faces somewhat embarrassed, but they could not help grinning.

Chen Chong pointed toward the spacious building ahead. "This is the dining hall."

"For these three months, the dining hall will provide all three of your daily meals for free."

The moment those words fell, the youths' eyes lit up.

Free meals!

To them, those four words were more tangible than any cultivation art or medicinal pill.

Back in the village, many families struggled even to eat their fill.

Seeing their expressions, Chen Chong could not help reminding them, "Don't celebrate too early."

"The dining hall will make sure you are full, but meat is distributed in portions. It is not as though you can eat however much you want."

"Ordinary food can fill your stomach, but meat is the key to cultivating qi and blood."

His tone grew slightly more serious.

"You practiced the Coiling Dragon Stance Art once this morning, so you should have felt it too. Martial training consumes a tremendous amount of energy. If you do not replenish what you expend through food, your body will only grow weaker the more you train."

The youths listened with only half an understanding.

But Lu Chen took the words to heart.

He recalled the feeling of being completely hollowed out after practicing the Coiling Dragon Stance Art three times.

Martial cultivation trained one's strength and consumed one's qi and blood.

Without food to replenish it, even the toughest body would eventually be drained dry.

At that moment, quite a few people had already gathered at the dining hall entrance.

Some outer court disciples held wooden bowls as they gulped down soup.

Servants also moved back and forth, carrying steamers and wooden buckets. The steam rose in clouds, and the fragrance struck their noses.

Looking at the buckets of white rice and meat soup, the youths' throats bobbed continuously.

The exhaustion, soreness, and frustration accumulated during morning practice seemed to transform into hunger at that moment.

Chen Chong stopped and glanced back at them.

"All right, go in."

"Remember, line up for your food. No fighting over it."

The moment his words fell, the youths could no longer hold back. They surged impatiently toward the dining hall entrance.