As the Quarterly Assessment drew nearer, the atmosphere within Blue Martial Arts Hall changed with it.
In the past, after morning practice, plenty of idle chatter could still be heard on the Training Ground. Now, things were different. The moment Instructor Li called for them to begin, everyone hurriedly focused, afraid that practicing one round less would leave them behind the others.
This was especially true for the youths who had paid to enter the hall later.
They had already started a step behind the official outer courtyard disciples. Now that the Quarterly Assessment was drawing close, they inevitably felt anxious.
No one wanted to spend silver to enter, only to fail to even make the top twenty in the end.
"I heard the top ten rewards have changed again this time."
"What changed?"
"They switched to a new batch of Body-Strengthening Powder. It's more effective than before."
"Really?"
In a corner of the Training Ground, several youths spoke in hushed voices.
Chen Mo happened to be passing by when he heard that, and his steps paused.
He did not go over to ask.
But his ears had already perked up.
Advanced Body-Strengthening Medicinal Powder.
Of course, he had heard of it.
Even ordinary Strengthening Medicinal Liquid was not cheap. Better medicinal powder was something one might not be able to buy even with silver.
For ordinary apprentices like them, the greatest benefit of medicinal powder was not that it could turn someone into an expert overnight. Rather, it allowed them to recover faster after training. Over time, the gap would naturally emerge.
Thus, a saying had recently spread rapidly through the martial arts hall.
In the Quarterly Assessment, rank meant resources.
The higher one ranked, the better the things one received.
Those who ranked low could only slowly grind on.
Zhou Ye had clearly taken those words to heart as well.
Over the past few days, he had trained even more fiercely than before.
At dawn, when the sky had only just begun to brighten, he was already standing in a horse stance on the Training Ground.
When others finished practicing the Seventy-Three Forms and began to rest, he was still going.
Some people advised him not to wear himself out, but he merely shook his head.
"The gap is too wide."
"I have to catch up somehow."
Once, Chen Mo passed by and heard those words. He could not help asking, "Who are you trying to catch up to?"
Zhou Ye wiped away his sweat.
"The official apprentices."
Chen Mo looked at him, then at the wooden post beside him.
"If you chase like that, they won't stand still and wait for you."
Zhou Ye glared at him.
"Stop talking nonsense."
Chen Mo laughed.
"I'm reminding you."
"Reminding me of what?"
"Don't chase so hard that you break your own legs."
Zhou Ye waved him off irritably.
"Get lost."
Chen Mo was not offended. He smiled and walked away.
He could actually understand Zhou Ye.
Did he not want to catch up as well?
During the last Monthly Assessment, he had felt it all too clearly.
If his strength was insufficient, then even if he could see through his opponent's movements, it would still be difficult to gain a real advantage.
He did not want to experience that feeling of being pinned down and beaten again.
So during this period, Chen Mo had not slacked off either.
He simply was not as desperate as Zhou Ye.
He preferred to take a movement apart and study it.
How should the fist be thrown?
How should the foot land?
When should the body turn?
How should the force be withdrawn after it was unleashed?
Sometimes, halfway through training, he would even stop to think for a while.
Zhao Chuan had never understood this.
"Why do you practice boxing like you're doing carpentry?"
"What carpentry?"
"A bit here, a bit there."
Zhao Chuan made a few gestures.
"Other people finish an entire set, and you're still studying the first punch."
Chen Mo curled his lip.
"That means I'm serious."
"I think you're just slow."
"You're fast? Then beat me."
Zhao Chuan immediately fell silent.
After a while, he finally snorted.
"Just wait until I learn a powerful fist technique. You'll have plenty to cry about then."
Chen Mo smiled and patted him on the shoulder.
"Fine. I'll wait."
Neither of them had expected it after those words.
Not long afterward, a craze for advanced fist manuals truly swept through Blue Martial Arts Hall.
The cause was that the Book Repository Pavilion reopened access to several advanced fist manuals.
One afternoon, after Chen Mo finished practicing and left the Training Ground, he saw a huge crowd gathered outside the Book Repository Pavilion from afar.
"Why are there so many people?"
He found it strange.
Zhao Chuan squeezed out from the crowd, sweat nearly breaking out across his forehead.
"They're fighting over fist manuals, of course."
"Fist manuals?"
"Advanced ones."
Zhao Chuan pulled Chen Mo closer.
"I heard they released several sets this time. They're all things only official apprentices could access before."
Chen Mo's interest was immediately piqued.
The two of them walked to the side of the corridor.
A long line had formed outside the Book Repository Pavilion.
The disciple responsible for managing the Book Repository Pavilion stood by the door, registering names one by one.
Every time a manual was borrowed, the borrower's name and return date had to be recorded.
But there were clearly not enough advanced fist manuals.
Whenever someone in front borrowed one, there was one fewer for those behind.
Anxious looks had already appeared on many faces.
"What place are you in line?"
Chen Mo asked Zhao Chuan.
"Me?"
Zhao Chuan gave an awkward laugh.
"I only found out about this just now."
"So you're at the back?"
"Yeah."
Chen Mo patted him on the shoulder.
"Then take your time lining up."
Zhao Chuan glared at him.
"Why aren't you going?"
Chen Mo did not answer.
His gaze settled on those fist manuals.
Actually, he wanted one too.
At that moment, he did not pretend to be indifferent.
If advanced fist manuals were truly as they said—capable of making the exertion of force more refined and the moves more fierce—then learning one would certainly improve his Quarterly Assessment results.
Top ten...
The moment the thought surfaced, Chen Mo's heart began to itch.
If he could make the top ten, he could obtain Advanced Body-Strengthening Medicinal Powder.
His body would recover faster, and naturally, he would be able to practice boxing faster as well.
Moreover, if he became stronger, life at home could become a little easier too.
He thought of his father's leg.
Whenever it rained or the weather turned overcast, his father's leg would ache.
In the past, there had been nothing the family could do except endure it.
Then he thought of his younger sister.
Chen Huan had recently been talking about the school in town again.
She was still young, and her eyes always shone when she spoke, clearly wanting to go and see it for herself.
But studying required silver.
The family's life was not so hard that they could not survive, yet they were absolutely not well-off enough to spend money freely.
To others, Advanced Body-Strengthening Medicinal Powder was merely a cultivation resource.
To Chen Mo, it carried another layer of meaning.
He truly wanted it.
And not just a little.
"Chen Mo."
Zhao Chuan suddenly nudged him.
"What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing."
Chen Mo came back to himself.
Zhao Chuan looked inside.
"If we managed to borrow one, do you think we'd have a chance to charge ahead in the Quarterly Assessment?"
"Probably."
"Then why aren't you going to fight for one?"
Chen Mo shook his head.
"It's too late to go in now."
"Then what do we do?"
"Wait."
"You really can keep your composure."
Chen Mo smiled.
"There's no use getting anxious."
The line slowly moved forward.
Zhou Ye stood near the front.
When his turn came, he quickly chose a fist manual.
The instant it landed in his hands, the expression on his face visibly changed.
That excitement was not feigned.
He was genuinely delighted.
"Finally."
He flipped through it twice and did not even hear the people beside him calling out to him.
Zhao Chuan clicked his tongue enviously.
"This guy is really lucky."
Chen Mo glanced over as well.
"Let's go."
"Where to?"
"To practice."
"You're not waiting anymore?"
Chen Mo shook his head.
"They're gone."
The last few fist manuals were quickly borrowed away.
The people behind could only leave in disappointment.
Some complained that they had come too late, while others began asking when the manuals would be returned next.
Chen Mo stood beneath the corridor for a while, watching.
Over at the Training Ground, people had already begun practicing with their new fist manuals.
Compared to the Seventy-Three Forms, those movements truly were more impressive.
Some fist routines changed at lightning speed, while others struck from tricky angles. When they turned, they even stirred up the sound of wind.
Zhao Chuan's eyes went wide.
"Did you see that move?"
"I saw it."
"That was incredible."
"Mm."
Chen Mo nodded.
He did not make any bitter remarks.
Since those sets of manuals had been hidden away by the Blue Martial Arts Hall, they naturally were not ordinary things.
If mastered properly, they would definitely be useful.
It simply was not his turn yet.
The sky gradually darkened.
Chen Mo and Zhao Chuan headed toward the Training Ground together.
After taking a few steps, he looked back once more.
Those who had obtained the manuals were still practicing.
The high scores, rankings, and Advanced Body-Strengthening Medicinal Powder represented by the Advanced Fist Manuals all seemed to be laid out right before them.
Chen Mo rubbed the calluses on his palm.
He truly felt a little envious.
But at that moment, the figures of those disciples from the Paulownia River Martial Arts Hall surfaced from his memory again, entirely out of place.
Their weary faces.
Their battered cart frames.
And that sentence that left an unpleasant feeling in the ear.
Someone had already met with trouble in the mountains.
Chen Mo frowned.
"What are you thinking about?"
Zhao Chuan called to him from ahead.
Chen Mo hurried after him.
"I'm coming."
He did not continue thinking about it.
It was still far from him.
The Quarterly Assessment was what lay before him now.
As for the western mountains...
Chen Mo raised his head and glanced into the distance.
Then he quickly withdrew his gaze.
"Walk faster. If we're late, Instructor Li will scold us again."
The moment Zhao Chuan heard that, he immediately quickened his pace.
The two figures soon vanished beside the Training Ground.
Over by the Book Repository Pavilion, the lamps had just been lit.
And on that night, the fist manuals that had just been borrowed truly entered the apprentices' sight.
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