Taking a Post, Bright Force

Days passed one after another. One day, Wu Zhong suddenly gathered all the disciples. Even the eldest and second senior brothers, who were usually as elusive as dragons whose heads could be seen but tails could not, had assembled at the martial hall.

Looking at the sea of disciples, Wu Zhong cleared his throat and said:

"Today, I have gathered you to announce two matters. First, I am formally accepting Chen An as a personal disciple. From now on, he will be my sixth disciple!"

Everyone below had long known this news, so they were not particularly surprised, and it did not cause much of a reaction.

"Chen An, come forward. Today, we will formally hold the apprenticeship ceremony."

Chen An, dressed in the formal disciple uniform and brimming with vigor, leaped out from the crowd. Holding a cup of tea, he slowly approached Wu Zhong.

Chen An now stood tall and straight, his complexion rosy. Compared with a month ago, he was as different as heaven and earth!

Arriving before Wu Zhong, Chen An dropped to one knee and respectfully offered the tea in his hands.

"Master, please have some tea!"

Looking at Chen An before him, Wu Zhong could not help but smile in gratification.

"Good!"

After saying the word "good," he accepted the tea from Chen An and drank it in one gulp.

"Rise!"

The apprenticeship ceremony formally ended. Then Wu Zhong said solemnly to the disciples below:

"You must not slack off either. Reach the Bright Force realm as soon as possible."

The disciples below fell silent as cicadas in winter and respectfully answered in unison.

Which of the disciples who came to the martial hall to learn martial arts did not want to rise above the masses and bring glory to their ancestors?

Cheng Heng narrowed his eyes slightly below. His most urgent task was to break through to the Bright Force realm as soon as possible.

"The second matter is about taking posts!"

"Several wealthy households in the Inner City have come to the martial hall seeking martial artists to take posts. The terms they offer are extremely generous—the higher one's realm, the better the treatment!"

"At the same time, this is also an opportunity for you to enter the Inner City. Those wealthy households have considerable means. Any disciple who wishes to take a post may seek your third senior brother, Gao Huan, later. He will handle the registration."

The moment those words fell, the disciples below erupted into discussion as though a pot had exploded.

When did these poor children from the Outer City ever have the chance to come into contact with wealthy households from the Inner City?

Thus, many disciples who came to the martial hall to study martial arts did so precisely in hopes of finding a place to take a post through the martial hall and entering the Inner City.

After thinking for a moment, Cheng Heng turned and sought out his third senior brother, Zhao Wei, intending to ask him about taking a post.

"Third Senior Brother, do you have any guidance regarding taking a post?"

Cheng Heng usually had the most contact with Zhao Wei. Moreover, his third senior brother was an honest and kindhearted man, so whenever something came up, Cheng Heng often liked to seek him out.

Hearing Cheng Heng's words, Zhao Wei was slightly taken aback. Then, with a complicated expression, he said:

"Junior Brother, does your family have enough money to support your future cultivation?"

A trace of suspicion flashed through Cheng Heng's heart. After considering it, he continued:

"My family still has some money. It is more than enough to cover my tuition. What do you mean by that, Senior Brother Zhao?"

Zhao Wei fell silent for a moment before saying, "If Junior Brother has money to support him, you should first focus your efforts on breaking through to Bright Force. Put taking a post aside for now."

"After taking a post, you may enter the Inner City early or find a source of income, but in those wealthy households, escort agencies, or smithies, you would merely be doing odd jobs for others."

"You would still be doing hard, exhausting work just to scrape together a meal. Only after breaking through to Bright Force would those people treat you as an honored guest and grant you some status!"

Only after hearing Zhao Wei's words did Cheng Heng understand the twists and turns within.

Guard, servant—those were merely nicer ways of putting it. Once he reached the Inner City, he would probably still be a slave at the beck and call of wealthy households or employers!

Cheng Heng breathed heavily, a fierce breath lodged in his chest. He had to break through to Bright Force as soon as possible.

After thanking Senior Brother Zhao, Cheng Heng put the matter of taking a post out of his mind for the time being and resumed his dull, tedious training in stance arts and fist techniques.

Watching Cheng Heng's diligent figure as he trained, Zhao Wei sighed softly in his heart.

In this outer courtyard, he had already seen far too many hardworking disciples like Cheng Heng.

Yet merely breaking through to Bright Force was like a heavenly chasm lying across everyone's path.

To successfully break through to Bright Force, aside from needing at least middling-to-low natural talent, medicinal materials to nourish one's blood and replenish the body were also indispensable. Relying on diligence and hard work alone? Not enough!

Time cycled onward, and in the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed. Cheng Heng had now spent nearly three months at the Tiger-Subduing Martial Hall.

Over these three months, people came and went in the outer courtyard. Many familiar faces were never seen again, while new faces continued to arrive.

[Tiger-Subduing Stance Art Beginner (998/1000): Train ten times a day; minor accomplishment in three months, major accomplishment in one year]

Today, his stance art would soon reach minor accomplishment, which also meant Cheng Heng was about to break through to Bright Force.

The rising morning light scattered over him. After being tempered day after day by the stance art, Cheng Heng had long shed his former stiffness. As he completed the final repetition of the stance art, his mind stirred!

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

"Crack!"

Crisp explosions burst from within his body. The immense amount of blood and vitality accumulated in his limbs, flesh, skin, tendons, and bones was no longer scattered and disorderly. It coursed through his entire body along the force pathways of the Tiger-Subduing Stance Art. At that instant, the barrier of Bright Force shattered with a thunderous boom!

The shackles that had built up over many days completely shattered. His flesh, skin, tendons, bones, and blood and vitality underwent a thorough tempering. His five senses were clearly far stronger than before. He could see the veins of leaves on a poplar tree in the distance with perfect clarity, and even faint sounds dozens of meters away could not escape his ears.

As impurities expelled layer by layer from within his body coated his skin, Cheng Heng felt a deep, powerful strength rise from his dantian, while all four limbs and every bone in his body felt incomparably light.

[Fate: Heaven Rewards Diligence]

[Persevere without fail, and achievement will come.]

[Tiger-Subduing Stance Art Minor Accomplishment (1/5000): Train ten times a day; major accomplishment in one year, perfection in three years]

[Tiger-Subduing Fist Technique Beginner (784/1000): Train ten times a day; minor accomplishment in three months, major accomplishment in one year]

[Martial Dao Space: Unlocked (Charge 30/100)]

"I broke through!"

As naturally as water flowed into a channel, after more than two months, he had finally broken through to Bright Force!

This meant that from today onward, he was a true martial artist.

In Gaoyang County, he finally possessed the strength to protect himself!

Smelling the waves of foul stench emanating from his body, Cheng Heng hurried to the well in the outer courtyard, drew several buckets of water, and thoroughly washed himself.

After washing himself clean, Cheng Heng began practicing the Tiger-Subduing Fist Technique in the outer courtyard. As he demonstrated the fist technique, explosive "pa! pa! pa!" sounds occasionally rang out in the air.

Gradually, he drew the attention of many martial hall disciples!

How could these disciples fail to understand? Cheng Heng had clearly broken through and officially reached the Bright Force level.

Once he finished a set of Tiger-Subduing Fist Technique, many disciples stepped forward to congratulate him!

"Congratulations, congratulations!"

"Senior Brother Cheng, please look after us in the future!"

Among the many surrounding disciples, some looked envious, some astonished, and even more wore complicated expressions. They all knew what Bright Force meant!