Abnormal Expansion of Enrollment

The matter of that punch splitting the wooden post soon spread throughout the entire outer courtyard.

Early the next morning, the training ground was far livelier than usual.

Before dawn had fully broken, quite a few apprentices were already standing before the wooden posts, practicing their punches.

As they practiced, some of them muttered the words Instructor Li had spoken yesterday.

"Again!"

"This time, I have to be steadier."

"If I can really cross that threshold..."

Zhao Chuan had risen earlier than usual as well.

He performed the Basic Fist Technique more than ten times in a row. Sweat quickly beaded across his forehead, yet he still refused to stop.

Chen Mo stood nearby and watched for a while.

"Did you take the wrong medicine today?"

Zhao Chuan stopped and took a breath.

"What do you mean, take the wrong medicine?"

"Whenever I told you to practice a few more times before, didn't you always complain about being tired?"

"How is that the same?"

Zhao Chuan wiped his forehead.

"Yesterday, I finally saw it clearly. With the little skill we have now, we're still far from true experts."

Chen Mo smiled.

"So now you know how to work hard."

"Of course."

Zhao Chuan settled back into his stance.

"At the next quarterly assessment, I'll definitely make the top ten."

Chen Mo glanced at him.

"First, work on your defense."

Zhao Chuan's face darkened.

"Can't you forget about that last match?"

"No."

"..."

As the two spoke, a burst of footsteps suddenly sounded nearby.

Several disciples hurried over from the direction of the inner courtyard, their expressions strange.

"Have you heard?"

"Heard what?"

"A lot of newcomers are coming to the martial hall today."

Someone immediately leaned closer.

"Didn't they already finish recruiting?"

"This isn't a new recruit assessment."

That person lowered his voice.

"I heard the authorities issued another document, ordering the martial hall to keep expanding enrollment."

"Keep expanding enrollment?"

Discussion immediately erupted around them.

Chen Mo stopped moving as well.

"Didn't they say they were only taking five this time?"

"Those were the previous slots."

"I heard this time is different."

Someone said,

"As long as your family can pay, you can get in."

"Really?"

"How could it be false? My older brother works as a servant in the hall. He already heard the news."

Zhao Chuan frowned.

"You can get in just by paying?"

That person nodded.

"It seems you don't even need to take the kind of trial we did."

At that, the surrounding voices grew even louder.

Some people thought it was a good thing.

"Isn't that perfect?"

"With more people, the martial hall will definitely expand."

"There'll be more instructors in the future too, right?"

"Maybe there'll even be more medicinal herbs."

Quite a few faces even showed anticipation.

But Chen Mo said nothing.

He thought of what Instructor Li had said yesterday.

Medicinal herbs.

Innate talent.

Fortuitous opportunities.

All these things affected cultivation.

If the martial hall truly expanded enrollment, its resources should increase accordingly.

Yet for some reason, he could not shake the faint unease in his heart.

Sure enough, a batch of newcomers arrived at the hall that afternoon.

They were completely different from when Chen Mo had first entered the hall.

There was no long line.

No rounds of trials.

Nor was anyone anxiously waiting outside the gates.

The moment the gates opened, more than a dozen youths walked straight in.

Some wore brocade robes, some had family servants following behind them, and some carried weapons they had just bought.

A middle-aged steward stood nearby, registering their names.

"Those who have paid the silver, go collect your waist tokens first."

"Your lodgings are in the apprentice courtyard to the east."

"The dining hall arrangements will be changed this afternoon."

The crowd buzzed with excitement.

Zhao Chuan watched from afar for a while before he could not help saying,

"This is far too easy."

Chen Mo looked at him.

"When we entered, we nearly threw away our lives."

"Exactly."

The longer Zhao Chuan watched, the more uncomfortable he became.

"Back then, there were five spots, and so many people fought until their heads bled for them."

"But these people just pay and walk in."

Chen Mo did not reply.

Because he soon noticed something else.

Although there were many more newcomers, there was no obvious increase in the martial hall's supplies.

The training ground was still the same size.

The wooden posts were still the same ones.

The stone blocks were still arranged in the same few rows.

Even the dining hall's pots had not been replaced.

The most obvious place was the dispensary.

Previously, when outer courtyard apprentices came to collect Body-Strengthening Powder, they had to queue, but they could always receive some in the end.

Now, the line was clearly much longer than before.

Chen Mo waited in the back for a long time. By the time it was his turn, the person distributing the medicinal powder had already closed the wooden box.

"There's none left today."

Chen Mo froze for a moment.

"None left?"

"Come back tomorrow."

After saying that, the man called for the next person.

Chen Mo could only step aside.

Zhao Chuan heard it from beside him.

"Wasn't there still some yesterday?"

The apprentice responsible for distribution spread his hands.

"There are more people today."

Zhao Chuan immediately flared up.

"So because there are more people, there's none for us?"

"What's the point of telling me?"

That person was helpless too.

"This is all that was sent from above."

Zhao Chuan still wanted to say something, but Chen Mo tugged at him.

"Forget it."

He glanced at the newcomers waiting behind them.

"Don't hold up the others."

Zhao Chuan gritted his teeth and could only retreat to the side.

The two left the dispensary.

"Why didn't you let me say anything?"

"It would have been useless."

Chen Mo said,

"It wasn't him who took the medicine."

Zhao Chuan's face was grim.

"But we worked our bones to the marrow to pass the assessment and get in. Why do we have to squeeze in with them now?"

Chen Mo thought for a moment.

"Who knows."

He said nothing more.

Because he could not figure it out either.

After that day, the changes in the martial hall became increasingly obvious.

There were not enough wooden posts in the mornings.

Before, they could practice anywhere they found an open spot. Now, they had to queue.

The dining hall was more crowded than before as well.

Sometimes Chen Mo carried his bowl around for ages before finding a place to sit.

The instructors became much busier too.

In the past, when Instructor Li patrolled the training ground, he could often stop to correct their movements.

Now, it was difficult for him to remain beside the same disciple for long.

After he had only said a few words, someone would call for an instructor from the other side.

By the time he went over there, problems had cropped up elsewhere.

Once, Chen Mo made a mistake while practicing his punches. He had wanted to ask for guidance and waited at the edge of the grounds for half the day, only to end up figuring it out again by himself.

It was not that no one cared for them.

It was simply that once the number of people suddenly increased, many things were no longer as they had been.

Wang Lie, however, said nothing about it.

When there were not enough wooden posts, he practiced in an open space.

When there was less medicinal powder, he practiced a few more times.

When someone took his spot, he went somewhere else.

He worked harder by the day.

Chen Mo watched him and felt somewhat impressed.

This guy truly ignored whatever happened around him and only knew to do what he himself needed to do.

As for Zhao Chuan, he was clearly nowhere near as calm.

One afternoon, just after he came out of the dining hall, he could not help complaining.

"Were we scammed?"

Chen Mo looked at him.

"Scammed out of what?"

"They promised the martial hall would provide meals and medicine."

"Now the dining hall is packed like a marketplace, and even the medicine requires lining up."

Chen Mo smiled.

"That wasn't what you said back then."

Zhao Chuan froze for a moment.

"What did I say back then?"

"You said having two meals a day was already good enough."

"I..."

Zhao Chuan was at a loss for words.

"So what if my standards are a little higher now?"

Chen Mo laughed.

But after laughing, he glanced toward the training ground again.

There really were more and more people.

It was lively, all right.

But for some reason, he always felt that something was off.

Just then, a commotion suddenly broke out at the martial hall entrance.

"Isn't that Zhou Ye?"

Zhao Chuan immediately turned his head.

Chen Mo followed the sound and looked over as well.

At the entrance stood a familiar young man.

It was Zhou Ye.

The young man who had ranked first among the alternates during the expansion assessment, yet had ultimately failed to enter the martial hall.

Zhou Ye had changed into cleaner short clothes. He held a new wooden token in his hand and stood at the entrance, looking inside.

Chen Mo was startled.

"How did he get in?"

Zhao Chuan was somewhat surprised as well.

"Did they take in more people?"

The two walked over.

Zhou Ye saw them too.

The few of them looked at one another across a short distance for a moment.

In the end, Chen Mo was the first to smile.

"You got in now?"

Zhou Ye nodded.

"Mm."

Zhao Chuan looked him up and down.

"What kind of luck did you run into?"

Zhou Ye shook his head.

"The expansion."

He put it simply.

"The authorities told the martial halls to take in more people, so all the previous alternates were admitted too."

Zhao Chuan clicked his tongue at once.

"If I'd known this would happen, I wouldn't have worked so hard back then."

Zhou Ye glanced at him.

"You passed the assessment."

Zhao Chuan froze.

"Yeah."

"Then you still got the better deal."

Chen Mo could not hold back his laughter.

Zhao Chuan glared at him.

"You're still laughing."

The three of them stood there, but the atmosphere was not as awkward as they had imagined.

Zhou Ye looked toward the training ground.

There were many people.

More than he had seen before from outside the wall.

He fell silent for a while.

"Are there this many people every day now?"

"More or less."

Chen Mo answered.

Zhou Ye frowned.

He had been hoping to enter the martial hall all this time.

But when he truly stepped inside, the first thing he saw was not the quiet cultivation he had imagined, but a crowded and noisy scene.

Yet his gaze quickly fell upon the rows of wooden stakes.

"Where can I train?"

Chen Mo pointed ahead.

"Find a spot yourself."

Zhou Ye nodded.

Without saying another word, he headed straight for the training ground.

He walked quickly.

It was obvious that he had waited a long time for this day.

Chen Mo stood where he was and watched for a while, a feeling he could not quite describe stirring in his heart.

Zhou Ye had finally gotten in.

But by the time he entered, the martial hall was no longer the martial hall it had once been.

Just then, another burst of footsteps came from the direction of the raised platform.

Instructor Li and several other instructors emerged from the inner courtyard.

None of them looked particularly at ease.

"Has that batch of newcomers been settled?"

"There isn't enough lodging."

"Then have them squeeze in for now."

"What about the pharmacy?"

"We're already trying to figure something out."

Chen Mo stood nearby and vaguely overheard a few lines.

Instructor Li did not notice him, merely speaking in a low voice with the people beside him.

Chen Mo watched his back.

This instructor, who was always stern, had his brows knitted tighter than usual today.

But by the time they reached the training ground, Instructor Li had already returned to his usual expression.

"Don't crowd around."

"Practice your fists if you should be practicing fists."

The newcomers quickly dispersed.

Chen Mo did not keep watching.

At dusk, he stood beneath the corridor and looked out over the entire training ground.

There were more than twice as many people as before.

Some practiced their fists, some carried stone stools, and some crowded around the wooden stakes, fighting for space.

From afar, it truly looked far livelier than before.

Like a martial hall that was genuinely flourishing.

But Chen Mo knew that lines had already begun forming elsewhere.

There was less medicinal powder.

The dining hall was crowded.

The instructors no longer had as much time as before to guide them.

The liveliness was real.

So was the crowding.

He leaned against a corridor pillar, his gaze slowly shifting westward.

Beyond Qinghe Town, the mountains still lay quietly there.

A few days ago, hunters had been injured in those mountains.

Then, the martial hall had suddenly expanded its recruitment.

And now, the authorities were demanding that large numbers of martial artists be added.

These things had happened one after another, far too closely.

Chen Mo stood there for a while.

"It can't be such a coincidence, can it..."

His voice was very soft.

No one answered.

The evening breeze blew from the west, carrying a trace of damp mountain air.

Chen Mo withdrew his gaze and turned toward the apprentice courtyard.

Meanwhile, new apprentices continued to stream through the distant gates of Clear River Martial Hall.

No one knew what this sudden expansion of recruitment was really for.

And no one knew what exactly the authorities had discovered.