Protection Notice

Another seven days passed in the blink of an eye.

Lu Li finished the Eight Trigrams Moving Stake and, with a thought, entered his Sea of Consciousness.

"Eight Trigrams Saber Technique" Mastery (235/1200)

"Eight Trigrams Fist Technique" Perfection (500/800)

"Eight Trigrams Moving Stake" Perfection (800/800)

"Eight Trigrams Embracing-Circle Stake Art" Perfection (500/500)

[Realm]: None (Ring Force Peak)

Relying on the perfected Eight Trigrams Moving Stake, in just seven short days, Lu Li had broken through from the initial stage of Branch Force, through the middle, late, and peak stages, all the way to the peak of Ring Force.

His comprehension of Internal Force had deepened further.

Force was born from qi and blood, transmitted through the sinews and bones, with the waist and spine as its pivot. No longer did he need to rely on brute strength to charge headlong; he could wield force with his entire body!

Branch Force was limited to the limbs, relying on muscles to exert power. Its force was scattered, like branches straining outward.

Ring Force, on the other hand, was different. It meant Lu Li had opened up the waist-and-spine pivot, allowing force to circulate throughout his body in a continuous flow, forming a closed loop of rounded force.

Branch Force, Ring Force, Fusion Force, Sinking Force.

In another seven days, he would reach the peak of Sinking Force. That would also mean he could attempt Gate-Breaking.

Lu Li had a feeling that even if he encountered a Skin Tempering Martial Artist who had broken through the First Gate, he could trade blows with them without falling behind.

If he used a saber, life and death would be another matter entirely.

The feeling was incomparably clear, leaving him fired up.

Just then, Zhao Kuo walked over to Lu Li from the inner courtyard.

"Junior Brother Lu, how is your stake training going? There are seven days left until the month is up. How far has your Internal Force progressed?"

Lu Li smiled and replied, "Fourth Senior Brother, I've already reached the initial stage of Branch Force."

"Really!?"

Zhao Kuo was slightly surprised. Then delight flickered in his eyes. "Congratulations, Junior Brother. To temper your qi and blood to its peak and cultivate Internal Force within one month—there's hope for Gate-Breaking."

"Fourth Senior Brother, I was merely lucky."

"What luck? Clearly, you were willing to put in the hard work. Everyone inside and outside this martial academy knows how desperately you train..."

Zhao Kuo paused, then said, "The reason I came to find you is that the proprietor has been urging us. It's the end of the month. Have you gathered this month's medicinal food expenses?"

Hearing this, Lu Li decisively took five taels of silver from his robes and handed them to Zhao Kuo.

Zhao Kuo accepted the silver and weighed it in his hand. Then he said, "Junior Brother, next month's food supplements must be paid in advance. I mentioned it before—this will be the rule every month from now on.

"You also know that new disciples are only allowed to pay at the end of the month during their first month."

Lu Li nodded, indicating that he had no problem with it.

Zhao Kuo suddenly recalled something else and looked at Lu Li. "Right, Junior Brother Lu, I heard from the outer courtyard disciples that you've started collecting Protection Notices?"

"Protection Notices?" Lu Li's eyes were full of confusion.

"Perhaps they got it wrong, Fourth Senior Brother?"

Zhao Kuo clicked his tongue and reminded him, "Hometown Inn."

Collecting silver counted as Protection Notices?

Lu Li understood. Then he began considering who had spread word of it to the martial academy.

"I heard it from Lei Zhengming."

Zhao Kuo explained, "It's actually nothing."

"Protection Notices are sponsorship fees. Collecting them won't cause any trouble; it's a longstanding practice at our Golden Gate Martial Academy.

"Once disciples cultivate Internal Force, they may collect sponsorship. Most of the outer courtyard disciples in our academy come from poor families. This is something Master himself has permitted."

How did Lei Zhengming know?

Could he have secretly investigated me?

Lu Li looked up at Zhao Kuo and asked, "Fourth Senior Brother, could you tell me about Protection Fees?"

"Merchants or wealthy households that pay the fee will post your name on their front gates. That way, they can avoid harassment from gangs."

"And the gangs would simply leave them alone?"

"Of course not. Behind our martial academy stands Heji's Liansheng Escort Agency. If they object, they will issue a challenge letter—a Deathmatch Arena challenge."

"Once you accept the challenge and step onto the arena, life and death are left to fate."

It was actually this dangerous?

Stepping onto the arena meant putting himself in the open and exposing his strength. That was not what he wanted.

What was more, since it was a Deathmatch Arena, it would inevitably come with risks...

"But don't worry. Before you attempt Gate-Breaking, those who challenge you generally won't be First-Gate Martial Artists."

"Fourth Senior Brother, what if a First-Gate Martial Artist issues a challenge?"

Zhao Kuo smiled. "If they truly bully the weak with their strength, it's not as if our martial academy has no one."

"When the time comes, your senior brother will fight in your place."

Lu Li hurriedly clasped his fists. "Thank you, Fourth Senior Brother, for looking after me."

"Why be so polite? We're fellow disciples. Keep training hard. I'll wait for you to enter the inner sect in the rear courtyard."

Lu Li had always thought Zhao Kuo merely helped Master manage the front courtyard. He had not expected his Fourth Senior Brother to be such a man of honor.

That truly surprised Lu Li.

As if he had seen through Lu Li's doubts, Zhao Kuo said, "I know you came from Hometown Inn. It is only right that you protect that place. On the contrary, if you learned martial arts yet disregarded the lives of your fellow townsfolk, I would think less of you."

So that was it.

At this point, Lu Li understood. He did not believe there was kindness without cause, and he preferred to view all things with a scrutinizing eye.

"Senior Brother, thank you. If you ever have need of me in the future, I will not shrink from my duty."

Whether such polite words were sincere or not, they still had to be said.

The blazing sun hung high overhead.

While everyone was eating, Xu Ergou lowered his head and entered the front courtyard with his luggage on his back.

"Ergou, have you really decided to give up?" Hou Sanwa asked.

There was relief in Xu Ergou's eyes, but also helplessness. "It's been a month. My qi and blood from static stake practice has only reached Blood Like Scarlet Clouds. I'm still quite a distance from Qi Through the Hundred Bones."

He paused before continuing, "Whether I can temper my qi and blood until it is full to the peak in two months, I don't know either. I truly can't afford the five taels for medicinal food every month, and there's nothing my family can do..."

"Good brother, don't forget to keep practicing after you return to the village. Sigh... I feel like I'll be heading back soon myself."

Hou Sanwa let out a deep sigh, his eyes brimming with bitterness.

Standing stake to temper qi and blood was a grinding task.

It was a contest against the body, but equally a contest of will. Sometimes the mind knew exactly what to do, yet the body simply could not carry it out.

A classic case of the mind having learned it while the body had not.

Lu Li stood to one side in silence.

This was already the sixth person this month.

They were all people born to hardship. For children like them, with neither backing nor money, the costs of learning martial arts were truly as hard as climbing to the heavens.

After Xu Ergou left, everyone sighed with emotion.

After finishing lunch, Lu Li silently returned to the corner to practice his stake art.

Night draped across the fields. Apricot Blossom Alley.

Today was another day of hard work. Without mishap, he smoothly broke through to the initial stage of Fusion Force.

At this point, his qi and blood, sinews, and bones had fused into one. Every move naturally carried force, and he no longer needed to deliberately exert himself.

He improved every day. Life was full of promise.

Walking home, he imagined all the way that after becoming a martial artist, he could earn great sums of money, buy a grand estate, and keep beautiful maidservants...

As he neared the small courtyard.

Lu Li had just raised his hand to open the courtyard gate when he suddenly heard his young aunt's voice from inside. He halted.

"Who hit you? What happened to your face?" Ma Xiaoling's tone carried both heartache and anger.

"Keep your voice down. A-Li will be back any moment now. I only took two punches. It's nothing." Chen Hai kept his voice low, and his words were somewhat slurred.

"Who was it, exactly?"

"Sigh... Old Sun next to my stall—three months ago, didn't he send his son to learn martial arts and borrow three taels of silver from Baldy Jiao? With interest rolling upon interest, he can't repay it now. Since it's the end of the month, Baldy Jiao came to collect the debt. With no other choice, Old Sun was pinned to the ground and beaten by Baldy Jiao."

"His son, Sun Jianong, has practiced martial arts for three months, yet he was completely no match for Baldy Jiao. One of his legs was even broken."

Hearing this, Ma Xiaoling asked, "What does that have to do with you? Why did he beat you too?"

"I truly couldn't stand watching it, so I said a few words... Ow, easy, easy."

"That gutter-rat Baldy Jiao truly isn't human, hitting people so viciously. In this world, tell me, how can one live with dignity without learning martial arts?"

Ma Xiaoling said instead, "Don't tell A-Li about this. Say you fell and got hurt. For the next couple of days, it would be best if you didn't show your face in front of him."

"I know that. He's our family's hope now. I wonder how his training is going. Ow, it hurts, it hurts..."

"I didn't hold much hope for him before, but now I hope more and more that he can succeed. Only then will our lives truly have something to look forward to, and we can live in peace."

Without making a sound, Lu Li left the small courtyard.

Over these seven days.

Every night, he had secretly followed Baldy Jiao, but he had suffered from never finding a suitable opportunity.

He had indirectly asked Zhao Kuo about Baldy Jiao's strength. Zhao Kuo said Baldy Jiao had failed at Gate-Breaking eight years ago, and would never have any hope of breaking through in this lifetime.