Days passed one by one. On this day, Wu Zhong suddenly gathered all the disciples. Even the eldest and second senior brothers, who usually appeared as elusive as divine dragons with only their tails in sight, had assembled at the martial hall.
Looking over the throng of disciples, Wu Zhong cleared his throat and said:
"I have gathered you all today to announce two matters. First, Chen An is formally being accepted as my personal disciple. From now on, he will be my sixth disciple!"
Everyone below had long since heard the news, so they were not particularly surprised, and it did not stir much of a reaction.
"Chen An, come forward. Today, we will formally conduct the disciple-acceptance ceremony."
Chen An, dressed in the formal disciple uniform and glowing with vitality, leaped out from the crowd. Holding a cup of tea in both hands, he slowly approached Wu Zhong.
Chen An now stood tall and straight, his complexion ruddy. Compared to a month ago, he was as different as heaven and earth!
Reaching Wu Zhong, Chen An dropped to one knee and respectfully offered the tea before him.
"Master, please have some tea!"
Looking at Chen An before him, Wu Zhong could not help but smile in gratification.
"Good!"
With that one word of praise, he accepted the tea from Chen An and drained it in one gulp.
"Rise!"
The disciple-acceptance ceremony officially concluded. Wu Zhong then spoke solemnly to the crowd below:
"You must not slacken either. Reach the Bright Force realm as soon as possible."
The disciples below fell silent as cicadas in winter and respectfully acknowledged his words.
Which of the disciples who came to the martial hall to learn martial arts did not wish to rise above the rest and bring glory to their ancestors!
Cheng Heng narrowed his eyes slightly. His most urgent task was to break through into the Bright Force realm as soon as possible.
"The second matter is about appointments!"
"Several wealthy households in the Inner City have come to the martial hall seeking martial artists for appointments. The terms they offer are quite generous—the higher one's realm, the better the treatment!"
"At the same time, this is an opportunity for you to enter the Inner City. Those wealthy households have substantial means. Any disciple wishing to take an appointment may seek your third senior brother, Gao Huan, afterward. He will be responsible for registration."
The moment these words fell, the disciples below erupted into discussions as though a pot had exploded.
How could these impoverished children of the Outer City normally have any chance to come into contact with the wealthy households of the Inner City?
Thus, many disciples who came to the martial hall to study martial arts had done so in hopes of finding an appointment through the martial hall and entering the Inner City.
After pondering for a moment, Cheng Heng turned and found his third senior brother, Zhao Wei, intending to ask him about appointments.
"Third Senior Brother, do you have any guidance regarding appointments?"
Cheng Heng usually had the most contact with Zhao Wei. His third senior brother was also a rather honest and kind man, so whenever something came up, Cheng Heng was often willing 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 thinking it over, he continued:
"There is still some money at home, 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 you have money to support yourself, you should first focus your energy on breaking through to Bright Force. Put appointments aside for now."
"After taking an appointment, you may enter the Inner City early or find a source of income, but at those wealthy households, escort agencies, or smithies, you would merely be running errands for others."
"You would only be doing hard, exhausting work to scrape together a meal. Only by breaking through to Bright Force can you be treated as an honored guest by those people and gain some standing!"
Only after hearing Zhao Wei's words did Cheng Heng understand the twists and turns involved.
House guards and servants were merely prettier names. Once he entered the Inner City, he would likely still be a slave ordered about at will by wealthy households or employers!
Cheng Heng's breathing grew heavy, and he fiercely swallowed down a breath of resentment. He had to break through to Bright Force as soon as possible.
After thanking Senior Brother Zhao, Cheng Heng put the matter of appointments out of his mind for the time being and resumed the dull, tedious cultivation of Stance Training and fist techniques.
Watching Cheng Heng's diligent figure as he cultivated, Zhao Wei sighed softly to himself.
In this outer courtyard, he had 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 break through to Bright Force successfully, one needed at the very least below-average-to-average bone structure. Medicinal herbs to nourish one's blood and qi and replenish the body were also indispensable. Could diligence and hard work alone suffice? No!
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 from the outer courtyard. Many familiar faces were never seen again, while new faces continually arrived.
[Tiger-Subduing Stance Art Beginner (998/1000): Practice ten times daily, minor mastery in three months, major mastery in one year]
Today, his stance art would soon reach minor mastery, which also meant Cheng Heng was about to break through to Bright Force.
The rising morning light scattered over him. After day after day of tempering through Stance Training, Cheng Heng had long since shed his initial stiffness. As he completed the final set of Stance Training, his mind stirred!
"Crack!"
"Crack!"
"Crack!"
Crisp explosions burst from within his body. The immense blood and qi that had accumulated in his limbs, flesh, skin, sinews, 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 moment, the barrier of Bright Force shattered with a thunderous crash!
The shackles that had built up over many days completely broke apart. His flesh, skin, sinews, bones, and blood and qi underwent a thorough tempering. His five senses were clearly much sharper than before: he could see the veins on leaves atop a poplar tree in the distance, and even faint sounds dozens of meters away could not escape his ears.
As filth expelled layer upon layer from within his body covered his skin, Cheng Heng felt a powerful force rise from his dantian, while his limbs and bones became incomparably light.
[Fate: Heaven Rewards Diligence] [Persevere without fail, and achievement will surely come.] [Tiger-Subduing Stance Art Minor Mastery (1/5000): Practice ten times daily, major mastery in one year, perfection in three years] [Tiger-Subduing Fist Technique Beginner (784/1000): Practice ten times daily, minor mastery in three months, major mastery in one year] [Martial Dao Space: Locked (Charge 30/100)]
"I broke through!"
As naturally as water flowing 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 proper martial artist.
In Gaoyang County, he finally possessed the strength to protect himself!
Smelling the waves of stench wafting from his body, Cheng Heng hurried to the well beside the outer courtyard and drew several buckets of water, thoroughly washing himself clean.
After washing himself clean, Cheng Heng began practicing the Tiger-Subduing Fist Technique in the outer courtyard. As he demonstrated his fist technique, explosive "pa!" "pa!" "pa!" sounds periodically rang out through the air.
Gradually, it drew the attention of many martial hall disciples!
How could these disciples fail to understand? Cheng Heng had clearly broken through and formally reached the Bright Force realm.
After completing a set of Tiger-Subduing Fist Technique, the many disciples stepped forward one after another to offer congratulations!
"Congratulations, congratulations!"
"Senior Brother Cheng, please look after us in the future!"
Among the many surrounding disciples, some looked envious, some astonished, but even more wore complicated expressions. They too knew what Bright Force meant!
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