Withered Wood Fist Hall, Apprenticing Under Chen Wang

After leaving Heavenly Fragrance Tower.

Lu Yuan asked around.

Then, following the directions others gave him,

he arrived at the end of West Street.

This place was secluded, far from the town's clamor.

Lu Yuan stopped before a somewhat old but sprawling courtyard.

He looked up.

Above the entrance,

hung a weather-beaten plaque.

Upon it were four vigorous, powerful characters: "Withered Wood Fist Hall."

Lu Yuan stated his purpose at the entrance.

He was then led into the courtyard.

Beneath the grapevine trellis in the inner courtyard

stood an old wooden rocking chair.

An emaciated old man lay upon it.

The old man wore a faded gray roughspun outfit, his grizzled hair casually pinned up with a wooden hairpin.

He looked a little like a master, but not much.

The longer one looked, the more he resembled an ordinary old farmer from the countryside.

There was not the slightest hint of a martial hall's imposing might about him.

Still, Lu Yuan did not dare underestimate him.

He could sense the man's long, steady breathing

and his restrained aura.

This old man was absolutely no simple figure.

He was the man in charge of Withered Wood Fist Hall,

Chen Wang, respectfully called Elder Chen by everyone.

"Here to take a master and learn boxing?"

Chen Wang lay in the rocking chair as he spoke in a hoarse voice.

He did not even lift his eyelids as he spoke.

"Yes."

Lu Yuan's attitude was respectful.

After all, he was here to take a master. He could not look down on other martial artists just because his Basic Demon-Slaying Saber Technique was complete and his Wild Bull Force had reached major accomplishment.

Other than his martial techniques, his realm did not even count as the Entry Realm.

Naturally, he had to keep a low profile.

"Come here. Let me feel your bones."

Chen Wang beckoned Lu Yuan over.

He had seen no shortage of people come seeking apprenticeship.

But he could not simply accept every one of them.

Whether one possessed talent for learning martial arts made a difference as vast as heaven and earth.

He would not, for the sake of greed for money, lead young people astray.

As he spoke, Lu Yuan walked over.

Chen Wang extended his withered fingers and placed them upon Lu Yuan's shoulder and spine.

He felt along the pathways of his bones for a while.

Then,

Chen Wang withdrew his hand.

His brows furrowed.

"Leave! Withered Wood Fist Hall will not accept you."

Chen Wang leaned back into the rocking chair, speaking bluntly.

He gave Lu Yuan an order to leave.

"Why?"

Of course Lu Yuan had to ask.

"Your bone age has already set, your bone seams have closed, and your meridians are sluggish. Though your blood and qi are vigorous, they cannot support you for long on the path of martial arts."

Chen Wang shook his head.

In truth, he was somewhat puzzled as well.

Logically speaking, someone with Lu Yuan's natural physique should not have vigorous blood and qi.

How strange indeed.

But how could Chen Wang know

that Lu Yuan had exchanged lifespan for it?

"Is there really no possibility?"

Lu Yuan asked again.

He was not particularly surprised.

Before awakening the system, he truly had been a thoroughgoing waste in martial arts. Even his unofficial corpse collector job at the yamen had only been obtained through connections.

But even though he had prepared himself mentally, when he truly heard just how useless he was,

he still felt a trace of disappointment.

Chen Wang spared no mercy as he struck him down. "Practicing martial arts requires tempering the muscles and bones from childhood. With a body like yours, even if you trained until death, you probably could not achieve Grade Entry. It would be nothing but a waste of time and money."

To make Lu Yuan completely abandon the thought of pursuing martial arts,

his words were rather harsh.

Lu Yuan did not argue further.

He secretly drew out that warm, lustrous mutton-fat jade token from his robes, revealing one corner of it.

Chen Wang clearly saw the characters on the jade token as well.

"Elder Chen, Mr. Yan referred me here."

Upon hearing Lu Yuan's words,

Chen Wang's drooping eyelids twitched sharply, and he suddenly opened his eyes.

"You know Mr. Yan?"

Chen Wang sized Lu Yuan up.

The contempt in his eyes receded considerably.

Could someone personally referred by the unfathomably well-connected Mr. Yan

be an ordinary person?

Even if the other party lacked talent for martial arts,

accepting this young man might not be a bad thing.

"Since it is for Mr. Yan's sake, naturally you may take a master and learn martial arts. However, this old man will put the ugly words first."

Chen Wang no longer hesitated.

Still, he gave Lu Yuan a warning beforehand.

"Please, speak..."

"First, the fee for learning boxing is not low. The apprenticeship gift is three taels of broken silver, and the offerings for the three festivals and two birthdays cannot be lacking. Second, the usual conditioning of your body, medicinal baths, and food will not be provided by the hall. You must handle them yourself."

Chen Wang slowly raised three withered fingers, his tone solemn. "Third, and most importantly: you have one month. If you cannot achieve Grade Entry and step into the First Martial Realm, then roll up your bedding and leave. After achieving Grade Entry, if you fail to break through to become a Second-Rank Martial Master in the future, then after leaving, you may not claim to others that you are this old man's disciple!"

After hearing Chen Wang's words,

Lu Yuan agreed cleanly and decisively. "This junior understands. These are the rules."

After all, the cost of cultivating a martial artist was not low, especially the food and physical conditioning.

Those were the largest expenses.

Ordinary martial halls would not take responsibility for them.

Seeing that Lu Yuan had no objections,

Chen Wang nodded and closed his eyes.

He sat in the rocking chair and took a light nap.

He instructed the young man beside him, saying, "You Tai, take him over."

"Yes, Master."

A burly, honest-looking young man walked over from beneath the corridor.

He beckoned Lu Yuan over and said with a hint of a smile, "Come with me. From now on, just call me Eldest Senior Brother. If there is anything you do not understand, you can ask me."

"Eldest Senior Brother, doesn't our hall first give us something like a boxing manual?"

Lu Yuan was puzzled.

Hearing this, You Tai explained amiably, "Junior Brother, before practicing boxing, you must first undergo Grinding Force. Without force qi protecting the body, forcing yourself to practice boxing will only strain your muscles and shatter your bones."

"So it is not that Master is singling you out or refusing to give you a boxing manual to practice with."

"Rather, every new disciple must pass this stage of Grinding Force."

You Tai feared Lu Yuan might overthink it.

His explanation was quite detailed.

As they spoke,

the two arrived at the martial training ground in the rear courtyard.

The training ground was not small. At this moment, more than ten disciples were practicing until they dripped with sweat, their shouts shaking the heavens.

You Tai led Lu Yuan to a corner at the edge of the training ground and pointed at something on the ground. "The method for Grinding Force is very simple. Look at this."

Lu Yuan followed the direction You Tai pointed.

It was a massive wooden trough, half the height of a man, filled with densely packed, sharp chunks of gravel with distinct edges and corners.

In the middle of the gravel, a two-hundred-jin piece of bluestone was pinned down.

Then You Tai planted himself in a horse stance.

He reached his hands into it.

As he demonstrated, he explained to Lu Yuan, "Hold a proper horse stance, reach both hands into the gravel trough, quickly lift that two-hundred-jin boulder out, then put it back down. Repeat this until your skin remains uninjured despite the grinding of the sharp gravel. Then you will have passed the stage of Grinding Force."

Lu Yuan watched You Tai's movements.

He had gained some understanding of Entry Realm martial artists.

With just that move, against ordinary people who had not entered the realm,

he could definitely deal with more than five of them with ease.