Formal Disciple!

Zhou Chen walked up to Old Zheng and briefly reported his breakthrough.

Old Zheng halted, lifting his eyelids as a flash of shock crossed his eyes!

"You broke through?"

In his view, with Zhou Chen's natural aptitude, he definitely could not have become a Martial Warrior within three months. But on the path of martial arts, no one could say for certain how far someone might go in the future.

There were also those with mediocre aptitude who soared into the heavens and transformed into true dragons.

But those were, after all, mostly tales from storybooks.

Still, Zhou Chen's breakthrough delighted Old Zheng. He looked him up and down, confirming that the fluctuations of Blood Vitality had indeed reached the level of First-Rank Skin Tempering. Only then did he stroke his beard and nod with a smile. "Not bad, not bad. Though your aptitude is somewhat lacking, you've studied and trained diligently every day. Your master has seen it all. On the path of martial arts, Heaven rewards the diligent. So long as you persevere, perhaps unexpected surprises may yet come your way. Now that you've become a Martial Warrior, you must also guard against arrogance and impatience. Perhaps you may even have a chance to break through to Second-Rank Martial Artist."

After saying that, he withdrew his gaze and asked no further questions.

With Zhou Chen's aptitude, it had already been no easy task for him to luckily gain Initiation. Presumably, his talent had been all but exhausted, and his martial path would likely end here.

A shadow flickered through Old Zheng's eyes. In a voice only he could hear, he muttered, "If not for that matter I'm plotting, then for the sake of that piece of Black Taisui, I could have spared you some more resources... But right now, I have my hands full. I still need to spend my effort on that Zhao brat."

"Tomorrow, have your eldest senior brother teach you Wild Bull Fist. Little Ma! Take Zhou Chen to change clothes."

With his hands behind his back, he strolled away.

"Coming!"

Ma Ge had already jogged over. The shock on his face was equally hard to conceal. He sized Zhou Chen up for quite a while before grinning. "Congratulations, Senior Brother Zhou! Come, come, I'll take you to change clothes."

"You're too polite, Ma Ge. It was merely luck." Zhou Chen cupped his hands.

"Oh, I couldn't possibly accept that!" Ma Ge hurriedly stepped half a pace aside and waved his hands repeatedly. "I'm just a handyman. You're now a proper First-Rank Martial Artist. I can't accept such courtesy."

"You're older, Ma Ge. It's only a form of address."

Zhou Chen smiled, his tone natural and calm.

Ma Ge gave him another look and silently nodded to himself.

Over his years guarding the martial hall, he had seen too many people. Some became so full of themselves the moment they entered First Grade; others turned their backs on old acquaintances, too lazy even to acknowledge the fellows they had once joked around with.

Someone like Zhang Shaojiu had stopped giving him so much as a proper glance after gaining Initiation. Many said Old Zheng thought highly of Zhang Shaojiu and might take him as a Closed-Door Disciple, but Ma Ge knew that was absolutely impossible!

What mattered most in martial arts was not talent, but temperament—especially when taking disciples. Every martial master proceeded with the utmost caution! Even someone as outstanding as Zhao Tianhong had merely received Old Zheng's full investment of resources; Old Zheng had never mentioned taking him as a Closed-Door Disciple. That alone showed how cautious Old Zheng was.

Old Zheng had once muttered to himself in private that Zhang Shaojiu's temperament was impetuous, and that he would surely suffer a great loss because of it.

Though Old Zheng usually looked lecherous, Ma Ge alone knew that Old Zheng was nowhere near as simple as he appeared. He had served Old Zheng for so many years, yet he had never truly seen through him.

But Zhou Chen had clearly come from poverty, and now, in a single step, he had crossed the threshold into becoming a Martial Warrior. Yet he remained just as he had been before, neither arrogant nor impatient. That temperament alone was enough for Ma Ge to regard him highly.

Perhaps temperament could not be of much help in martial cultivation, but Ma Ge knew that people like this often lived long. In martial arts, that was the most important thing.

After arriving at the inner courtyard, Zhou Chen quickly changed into his new clothes.

Ordinary Disciples wore gray, which was somehow even plainer than black, though the fabric felt quite good. According to Ma Ge, although these clothes looked ordinary, they were woven with a special kind of silk and could not easily be cut through.

"Master Zheng didn't say much to you just now, so let me add a few words. After becoming an Ordinary Disciple, if you reach Second-Rank Martial Artist within three years, you can become a Direct Disciple."

Ma Ge chuckled. "Don't think three years is a long time. Master Zheng has run this martial hall for ten or twenty years, yet he has taught fewer than ten Direct Disciples so far, while there are already over a hundred Ordinary Disciples."

Three years truly was not very long for a Martial Warrior. Tempering Blood Vitality and training hard in martial arts—neither was anything but slow work, like water grinding through stone.

Let alone three years, even becoming a Second-Rank Martial Artist after ten years of hard training marked one as exceptionally talented.

Generally speaking, the older one grew, the harder it became to break through. If one had not reached Second-Rank Martial Artist by their thirties, even maintaining their Blood Vitality became exceedingly difficult, much less breaking through to Second-Rank Martial Artist.

That was enough to show just how difficult the martial path truly was.

Thinking of it that way, Zhang Shaojiu's arrogance was understandable. He had successfully tempered his Blood Vitality and gained Initiation in less than a week. Now, in under a month and a half, his fist technique was about to gain Initiation as well. So long as nothing unexpected happened, entering Second-Rank Martial Artist was as certain as a nail driven into a board.

"Thank you for telling me, Ma Ge. I will certainly work twice as hard."

Zhou Chen nodded.

"Oh, right!"

As if recalling something else, Ma Ge added, "After becoming an Ordinary Disciple, one of the Direct Disciple senior brothers will come each month to guide you. Of the five Direct Disciples, your Third Senior Martial Brother Zhao Tianhong teaches the most conscientiously. He's straightforward, answers every question, and never keeps anything to himself. If you happen to catch one of his sessions, ask him anything you're confused about. As for Shen Ao, he's narrow-minded. Try not to say too much in front of him."

"Alright, I'll remember that." Zhou Chen's heart stirred.

Ma Ge clearly did not tell everyone such details. If others had to figure it out for themselves, they would likely have to hit several walls before learning whom they could ask and whom they should avoid.

But he had never seen this Third Senior Martial Brother Zhao Tianhong in the martial hall.

Seeing his confusion, Ma Ge explained, "He usually isn't at the martial hall. You can only see him when he returns to teach. Master Zheng set the rule that disciples must nourish martial arts through battle. Your Third Senior Martial Brother has the best talent among the Direct Disciples. Master Zheng has poured heaps of resources into him, so there's practically no difference between him and a Closed-Door Disciple. Master Zheng teaches him so attentively not so he can spend every day fighting crickets like your eldest senior brother. In the future, he'll be the one to support Old Zheng in his old age and block fists for him. So half a year ago, he was sent into the Night Patrol Bureau as a Night Guard. Now he has risen to become a Night Patrol Commander. No fewer than a hundred Mist Monsters have died by his hand."

Zhou Chen knew of the Night Patrol Bureau. It was a group of Martial Warriors responsible for patrolling the city at night. The Martial Warriors he often encountered while running his stall belonged to it. Back then, he had greatly envied them, never expecting that he now had the qualifications to join.

Every day at the hour of the rooster, night patrol guards struck their gongs three times along the streets, urging residents to close their stalls and shut their doors. After nightfall, squads patrolled fixed routes until the hour of the rabbit the next day.

As for what rank a Night Patrol Commander was, he had no time to look into it for now, nor did he need to.

He only heard that a hundred Mist Monsters had died at the hands of this Second Senior Brother, and knew that this Second Senior Brother was definitely a ruthless man!

Ma Ge continued, "Now that you're a First-Rank Martial Artist, it won't be long before someone comes asking whether you want an affiliated post. If you can't find a suitable household, it won't be too late to consider work at the Night Patrol Bureau."

He then explained that although the Night Patrol Bureau's pay was considered above average, its dangers were equally real.

Those with good luck might not encounter a single Mist Monster all year; those with bad luck could run into intermediate or high-level ones just days after entering the trade. Those things were as capable as Second-Rank or Third-Rank Martial Artists. Encountering one basically meant meeting your end.

It was far better to take an affiliated post with a Noble Family Trading House, where life was much steadier.

After that, Ma Ge enthusiastically introduced the situation in the Outer City.

"In our Outer City, there are four great surnames among the First-Tier Noble Houses: Su, Cheng, Li, and Sun. They are the heavens of our Outer City, collectively known as the Four-Family Alliance. Even if the Outer City's lord wants to change any rules, he must discuss it with the Four-Family Alliance. There are also two great gangs: the Black Armor Gang in the north and the Money Gang in the south. These noble houses and gangs all have Third-Rank Martial Artists like Master Zheng overseeing them. As for Second-Tier Noble Houses that only have Second-Rank Martial Artists, there are many more. Your eldest senior brother Lian Taoze and Fourth Senior Brother Shen Ao both come from such lineages. A step below them are lineages with only Second-Rank Martial Artist Attendants, such as the Liu Lineage your Senior Sister Liu belongs to and the Sun Household your Senior Sister Sun belongs to."

Ma Ge explained in great detail, even distinguishing the different kinds of Second-Tier Noble Houses. Among them, there was a vast difference between a Second-Rank Martial Artist born into the lineage and one affiliated with it. The most obvious difference was that when faced with a life-or-death crisis, an affiliated Second-Rank Martial Artist would not live and die alongside the lineage.

Zhou Chen finally gained a vague understanding of the powers within the Outer City.