Taking a Post!

"Buy it? Heh-heh! How could you buy it? The Tai Sui Lords of the Inner City set the rules: every few years, our Outer City holds a Flesh-Cutting Tournament. The various forces of the Outer City send disciples under twenty-five to fight in the arena. Only the martial arts halls and lineages that take first place and win the Flesh-Cutting Golden Blade can secure the flesh-cutting quota for the next three years."

"Between us, although Master Zheng was greedy for money and women, he sold us this White Taisui Meat at friendship prices. A bowl cost only one tael of silver. If it were sold outside, plenty of people would fight over it even at twenty taels a bowl. He truly hoped we could raise our Blood Vitality quickly."

As Lian Taoze spoke, a hint of pride appeared on his face.

Yet Zhou Chen's brow furrowed slightly upon hearing this.

A bowl of Qi-Blood Soup that cost one tael of silver could sell outside for twenty taels. When Ma Pengcheng had shamelessly demanded Zhou Chen's soup for free, he had simply been relying on Zhou Chen's ignorance of its true value.

The grudge of blocking one's path was like severing one's future.

This debt had to be repaid!

Lian Taoze continued, "Those who perform exceptionally at the Flesh-Cutting Tournament can not only secure a three-year flesh-cutting quota. If they catch the eye of some great lineage in the Inner City, they might even shed their lowly status, enter the Inner City, and soar to the heavens in a single step."

"People from the Outer City can enter the Inner City too?"

"Yes. This is the only path. At the last Flesh-Cutting Tournament, we won. Your Fifth Senior Brother, Gongsun Wuyang, swept through the Outer City without a single rival. That earned him the favor of the Inner City, and he entered it. He came back once the year before last, but never returned after that. They said he had gained great esteem over there. Even his family was well protected by the Inner City lords. Even Master Zheng had to treat him with respect when he saw him."

Lian Taoze went on, "But ever since your Fifth Senior Brother entered the Inner City, our Zheng Family Martial Arts Hall has had an empty spot. That was why Master Zheng had put so much effort into training your Third Senior Brother these past three years, hoping he could successfully defend the arena. Your Third Senior Brother has lived up to expectations too. During Skin Tempering, he refused to break through until he had reached Copper Skin. Now he is a Second-Rank Martial Artist at Major Accomplishment in the Flesh Tempering Realm. His flesh and sinews have reached Copper Sinew-Flesh, and his fist art achieved Major Accomplishment long ago. He is now trying to break through to Golden Tendon Flesh. The next Flesh-Cutting Tournament is a year and a half away. With his ability, defending the arena should not be a problem."

After saying all that, he took another gulp of tea and lifted his chin at Zhou Chen. "If there's anything else you don't understand, ask away."

Naturally, Zhou Chen would not let such an opportunity slip by. While the iron was hot, he threw out all the doubts he had accumulated in his heart.

At last, he had grasped most of the cultivation system.

It turned out that during cultivation, one not only had to eat better meat and minimize the accumulation of Miasma Poison in the body, but also push every stage as far as possible. Only then could one achieve greater things in the future, though the required resources and time would multiply accordingly.

One had to weigh the gains and losses for oneself.

Zhou Chen was not worried about time.

With the Divine Statue in his mind, his cultivation speed was nearly several times that of an ordinary person.

Naturally, he wanted to push every stage to the limit. For instance, he already wanted to challenge Golden Skin. But in terms of resources, he was far too lacking. He had just asked how much it would cost to cultivate Golden Skin, and Lian Taoze told him it would take at least a thousand taels—and that still depended on luck.

Those words frightened him.

The little silver he had was no more than a drop in the bucket.

Lian Taoze comforted him, "Junior Brother, don't aim too high. Being able to cultivate even halfway to Copper Skin already makes you a capable hand! Oh, right—now that you've broken through and become a First-Rank Martial Artist, it's time to choose a suitable post. If you're willing to come to the Lian Household and guard a warehouse, I can give you five taels of silver and ten jin of white meat each month. But don't rush to agree, Junior Brother. You count as a capable hand now, so others will surely come invite you today. Compare the offers first; it won't be too late to decide afterward."

For Lian Taoze to put it so plainly showed the sincerity of his intentions. Still, Zhou Chen knew Lian Taoze used much the same words with nearly every fellow disciple. Even so, he would remember this goodwill.

Sure enough, several people came to contact him that afternoon. Some needed escorts for cargo shipments, while others offered him positions at gambling houses, but none of their terms matched those of the Lian Household.

Especially the job at a gambling house, watching the premises. Who knew whether some great shot might come there to gamble extravagantly? If someone caused trouble and he went over to stop them, what if they slapped him to death?

Guarding a warehouse for the Lian Household was still the safer choice.

For the remaining time, Lian Taoze taught him the Wild Bull Fist.

[Martial Art: Wild Bull Fist (Initiation) 3/1000]

Zhou Chen looked at the prompt on the panel and breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it could appear on the panel, he could light Mist Incense to assist his cultivation.

When the martial arts hall closed, Zhou Chen sought out Lian Taoze. Lian Taoze showed no surprise and said with a smile, "Good. Just come back with me to register."

At the Lian Household residence, the procedures were handled swiftly. Zhou Chen received the datewood waist token carved with the character "Lian" and gripped it heavily in his hand. A sudden feeling of emotion rose within him. From this day onward, he was a Martial Warrior holding a post under the Lian Household.

After all these years in this world, he had finally secured a proper rice bowl.

"Junior Brother, my Lian Household has four trading firms and three warehouses spread across the districts of the Outer City. The one you need to guard is Warehouse Number Two in Qingtian District, where heavy goods such as medicinal materials are stored. There was originally a First-Rank Martial Artist named Du Ruming guarding it, but my eldest uncle believed one tree could not hold up a forest, so it would be safer to send additional manpower. I recommended you for the post. It's close to home, making it convenient for you to attend to both sides." As Lian Taoze spoke, he handed over a map marked with the warehouse's location and several precautions.

Zhou Chen took it, gave it a glance, and nodded. "Thank you, Eldest Senior Brother."

To put it plainly, guarding a warehouse was not tiring work.

He only had to lead people on two patrols a day. The rest could be left to the guards, so he did not need to keep his nerves taut every moment. He would have plenty of free time to practice martial arts.

Moreover, with two people taking shifts, it would be even more relaxed. Lian Taoze's favor was truly no small thing.

"Oh, right, Junior Brother. You're at the golden age for cultivation right now. Perhaps I can give you a little more help."

During this time, Lian Taoze had noticed that Zhou Chen cultivated diligently and worked hard. After becoming a Martial Warrior, Zhou Chen remained unruffled by favor or humiliation. Such temperament was quite good as well. If he could offer Zhou Chen some help, perhaps Zhou Chen could travel farther down the martial path.

Zhou Chen's eyes lit up. "Senior Brother, my monthly allowance is enough already."

"Enough? When has there ever been such a thing as enough for us martial artists? Wait here."

Lian Taoze turned and entered the inner room.

Inside the accounting room, Lian Yunfeng, Lian Taoze's eldest uncle, was bent over an abacus. He had just picked up his brush and written a line in the ledger when he looked up and saw Lian Taoze enter. "Why aren't you seeing Nephew Zhou off to take up his post? Why have you come back?"

"Eldest Uncle, I have another matter to ask of you!"

Lian Taoze rubbed his hands together, gave an embarrassed smile, and then asked that Zhou Chen be granted an additional five doses of Blood-Boiling Powder each month.

After hearing this, Lian Yunfeng put down his writing brush, sighed, and rubbed his temples before saying, "Your Junior Brother Zhou has only just entered the ranks of Martial Warriors, and his strength is still somewhat lacking. Assigning him to guard a warehouse was already done for your sake. The Martial Warrior your cousin brought back last time was sent to watch a trading firm. Where could he find such leisure? Your eldest uncle believed he had done right by you, yet you still come asking for more."

"We pay four hundred copper coins per dose for this Blood-Boiling Powder. Five extra doses a month comes to two taels of silver. There are over a hundred mouths in the Lian Household to feed. Every day I work the abacus until I am exhausted in body and spirit, thinking day and night about how to save a little. Yet every time you bring someone in, you wish you could give them another portion of salary. It would be one thing if all the people you brought were good seedlings, but among the few you favored these past years, not a single one amounted to anything!"

Lian Taoze's ears burned red from the scolding. He scratched the back of his head and defended himself awkwardly, "Eldest Uncle, this time really is different. Zhou Chen can endure hardship. I see it in his daily conduct..."

"Diligence cannot be eaten as food." Lian Yunfeng cut him off. "With middling-to-low aptitude, he still needed a month and a half after drinking Qi-Blood Soup just to reach Initiation. His future achievements will only amount to so much. Don't blame your eldest uncle for being hard-hearted. It was not easy for the Lian Household to reach where it is today. Sometimes, I cannot merely be your eldest uncle—I must also think for the entire Lian Household."

He rose and walked to the window, his back to Lian Taoze, his voice becoming several shades heavier. "So many people have suddenly flooded into Azure City, and they are negotiating terms with the Inner City lords. The people of Azure City have large appetites. The Inner City lords will not let many of them into the Inner City, but they must give them a bite of meat to soothe them. And where will that meat come from? It can only be cut from us Outer City folk. Xiao Ze, this world is about to fall into chaos."

Lian Yunfeng turned to look at Lian Taoze. He knew that his nephew liked to act on loyalty, but loyalty could not support a household.

"With the situation unclear, if the Lian Household is to gain a foothold and survive, every coin from now on must be spent where it ought to be spent. I cannot allow you to fool around any longer!"

After hearing all this, Lian Taoze looked at Lian Yunfeng's increasingly aged face and found himself unable to say anything for a time. He could only nod silently and say hoarsely, "Sorry, Eldest Uncle. I did not think it through."

He turned to leave.

"Wait." Lian Yunfeng suddenly called out to him.

Lian Taoze paused, then turned back.

Lian Yunfeng had sat down at the desk again. Picking up a vermilion brush, he added a line to the ledger. "Five doses are impossible, but three can still be managed. What was his name again? Zhou Chen, right?"

"Yes! Thank you, Eldest Uncle!"

The gloom on Lian Taoze's face vanished in an instant, and he broke into a delighted smile.

Lian Yunfeng said nothing more, merely waving his hand.

Seeing this, Lian Taoze left with light steps and pulled the door shut behind him for Lian Yunfeng.