Short of Money

After being beaten up by Chen Xun, Li Peng did not trouble Chen Xun again. Instead, he trained even harder.

But he had not forgotten the grudge between him and Chen Xun.

His hard training was also so that he could stomp Chen Xun underfoot someday.

"Just you wait. Once I become a Martial Artist first, we'll see how I deal with you."

Li Peng looked at Chen Xun in the distance and thought viciously.

Thus, every day, he drank three bowls of Blood-Strengthening Soup to speed up the condensation of his Blood Qi.

Chen Xun and the others were only allotted one bowl of Blood-Strengthening Soup a day.

If they wanted more, they had to pay extra.

Ten bowls cost one tael of silver, which came to one hundred copper coins per bowl.

In other words, Li Peng had to spend one tael of silver every five days.

Besides Li Peng, the others also gritted their teeth and spent money on several bowls of Blood-Strengthening Soup, all in hopes of condensing Blood Qi within a month.

Among the twelve, only Chen Xun had not bought Blood-Strengthening Soup even once.

"I'm poor."

Chen Xun sighed, then threw himself into training even more intently.

He did not have a single coin in his pocket. Even if he wanted to buy some, he could not.

By the tenth day of Chen Xun and the others practicing their Stake Stance, more and more people had reached the proficient realm.

"I've become proficient! Great! So this is Unified Force? My punches feel stronger now."

"You broke through too? Come, come, come, let's spar. I heard several Martial Artists in the dining hall say that this seems to shake the Blood Qi and speed up its condensation."

"Really? There's such a thing? Then let's hurry and spar."

The two immediately began swinging wild turtle-shell punches at each other, without the slightest form or method.

"Chen Xun, should we spar too?"

Sun An's voice carried an eager itch to try.

"No. I don't think it would be much use."

Chen Xun shook his head and politely declined Sun An's invitation.

With his current strength, unless he deliberately held back, Sun An would not even be able to touch a hair on him. There was no need to spar.

Chen Xun could not help glancing at his current attribute panel.

[Martial Arts: Primordial Stance Technique (Proficient 168/200), Mountain-Splitting Saber Technique (Beginner 48/200), Charging Bull Step (Beginner 68/200)]

As his Stake Stance drew closer and closer to Minor Accomplishment, Chen Xun had finally sensed the existence of Blood Qi within his body.

But it would still take some time before he could condense it out of his flesh and blood.

At present, apart from him, none of the other eleven had managed to sense their Blood Qi.

They were not as low-key as Chen Xun. The moment they made any progress, they were eager to shout about it and show it off, as if afraid others would not know.

Another day of grueling training passed.

That evening, Chen Xun was no longer the last to leave the Small Martial Arena. He was the first.

The others looked at Chen Xun in surprise, wondering to themselves.

"Why did Chen Xun leave so early today? He's always the last one to go."

"Who knows? Maybe he has something to do."

"Hmph, what could he possibly have to do? I think he knows his talent is poor and has given up."

Li Peng no longer provoked Chen Xun openly, but behind his back, he would not miss any chance to speak ill of him.

"It's already been ten days, yet he still hasn't trained his Stake Stance to proficiency. That shows just how poor his talent is."

Li Peng continued.

When the others heard that, it was true—they had never heard Chen Xun mention that his Stake Stance had reached proficiency.

Those whose Stake Stance was already proficient immediately looked down on Chen Xun somewhat, while those who had not yet reached proficiency secretly rejoiced that they were not the last.

Naturally, Chen Xun had no idea that Li Peng was discussing and belittling him behind his back.

After leaving the Small Martial Arena, he immediately ran toward the servants' dining hall, got his food, and quickly finished it.

It could not compare to the Martial Artists' dining hall. There were only three dishes, the portions were small, and there was even less oil in them.

Chen Xun ate a full three or four jin of rice before filling his stomach.

"No wonder they say Martial Artists are such big eaters. I haven't even become a Martial Artist yet, and I can already eat this much."

Wiping his mouth, Chen Xun rose and headed toward the back of Li Estate.

This was his chance to leave Li Estate once every ten days. He had to go back and see his younger sister.

However, on the way to the rear courtyard, he ran into a group of hurried Martial Artists.

There were seven or eight of them, carrying weapons and bows. Every one of them radiated killing intent.

As they passed Chen Xun, he caught a few scattered snippets of their conversation.

"We finally found that beast. Last time, it got so many of our brothers killed or injured. This time, I'll make it pay blood for blood."

"That's right. We can't let that beast go."

"By the way, who's leading the team this time?"

"Fourth Master."

"It's actually Fourth Master. That beast definitely won't escape this time, even if it grows wings."

Their voices gradually faded away, while Chen Xun pondered their conversation.

"Were they talking about that mutant tiger?"

At the Martial Artists' dining hall, Martial Artists often chatted while they ate.

From them, Chen Xun had learned quite a bit of information, including why this batch of martial training slots had been opened.

More than ten days ago, Li Estate had organized a group of Martial Artists to hunt Mutant Beasts in the mountains. Mutant Beasts were powerful wild beasts with flesh and blood brimming with Blood Qi. Martial Artists benefited greatly from eating them, and there was also a certain chance that beast treasures could form within their bodies. Thus, any force with a little strength would organize Martial Artists to hunt them.

Originally, Li Estate's target had been a mutant deer, but a mutant tiger had suddenly leaped out. Not only had it stolen the prey, it had also bitten several Martial Artists to death or seriously injured them.

To replenish the dead and wounded Martial Artists, Li Estate had opened several slots to create new Martial Artists.

But not everyone with talent could become a Martial Artist within the prescribed time, so there were slightly more slots than needed to leave sufficient leeway.

As for the Fourth Master they had mentioned, he was the fourth-ranked direct descendant of the Li Family's previous generation. It was said that his martial arts were even slightly superior to those of the Li Family head.

With these thoughts in mind, Chen Xun did not slow his pace. He soon arrived at the rear gate of the Li Family.

After registering, Chen Xun left the Li Family.

Near the Li Family was a bustling street. Chen Xun walked through it amid a dense stream of people, and it was incredibly lively.

The fragrance of food rushed into Chen Xun's nose one after another. Taking a deep breath, he felt as though all that food had already entered his stomach.

"Alas, a single penny stumps a hero."

He touched his utterly empty pocket, wiped away his drool, and quickly left, even using the Charging Bull Step.

Bamboo-Wood Ward. The moment he stepped into Green Bamboo Alley, Chen Xun heard a burst of arguing.

When he moved closer to look, he discovered that members of the Gale Gang were beating up a middle-aged man.

"You dared to disrespect our boss? You're courting death."

They cursed as they beat him.

Nearby, a woman knelt on the ground with her child and begged, "Sirs, please show mercy. Don't hit him anymore. If you keep beating him, my husband will be beaten to death."

"Hmph, if he dies, he deserves it."

The leader sneered.

With a "wah," the beaten middle-aged man suddenly coughed up blood, making the leader's expression change slightly.

"Enough, enough. No need to keep hitting him."

"Your grandpa here is in a good mood today, so I'll let you off once."

"If there's a next time, just wait for your coffin."

One of the lackeys carried a bag on his back that made clinking sounds.

He shoved aside anyone blocking his way with a single push, arrogant to the extreme.

Chen Xun, standing amid the crowd, stepped aside with the others and watched them pass before him.

"It's him."

A cold glint suddenly flashed through Chen Xun's eyes.

The leader was none other than the burly man who had threatened Chen Xun ten days ago.

By now, Chen Xun had learned from the others why the middle-aged man had been beaten.

It was simple: he had merely failed to offer gift money to the third son of the Gale Gang's boss.

Today, the Gale Gang had come to collect protection money and, while they were at it, demanded double the gift money from the middle-aged man.

The man had only recently arrived in Bamboo-Wood Ward and did not know how formidable the Gale Gang was. He had argued back a couple of times and ended up being beaten into this state.

Seeing the family of four sitting on the ground and clinging to one another as they wept bitterly, the surrounding neighbors could hardly bear to watch and stepped forward to comfort them.

With his sharp eyes, Chen Xun spotted Sister Ye in the crowd holding Chen Qingqing's hand. Chen Qingqing's face was pale and her expression terrified; she had clearly been frightened.

The faint trace of killing intent in Chen Xun's heart suddenly surged.

Then, instead of going to see Chen Qingqing, he turned and left, trailing behind the group of Gale Gang members.

Chen Qingqing suddenly raised her head and saw a familiar figure flash past.

"Was that Brother?"

"By the time, Brother should be coming back to see me, right?"

Night fell. Inside a courtyard in Bamboo-Wood Ward, a group of people drank and gambled.

"Boss, let me toast you."

After drinking, the speaker asked with a hint of drunkenness, "Boss, that bastard actually dared to talk back today. That was simply outrageous."

"I wanted to beat him to death right then."

"By the way, Boss, why didn't you let us keep beating him in the end?"

"Keep beating him? What if you beat him to death?"

The burly man called Boss slapped him and said irritably, "If you beat him to death on the spot, there'll be a lawsuit. You have no idea how corrupt the authorities are. Without ten or twenty taels of silver, you won't be able to settle it."

"Besides, the gang might not even be willing to pay that money."

"By then, you lot will be going to prison, or even paying with your lives. I'm doing this for your own good."

After the burly man spoke, the lackeys immediately shouted unevenly, "Boss, you're so righteous!"

Then came another round of chaotic drinking.

After three rounds of wine, nearly all of them were drunk, some sprawled over the tables and others lying on the floor, in every possible state.

Just then, a black shadow nimbly vaulted over the wall and broke in.