Livelihood at Stake

Deng Qing quickly figured it out: cultivation methods were factories, while meat and medicine were raw materials.

Without raw materials to sustain it, one could not conjure qi and blood from thin air, and naturally could not break through a realm.

Now that the Violet Palace Method had reached minor mastery, it would be a good thing for refining meat and medicine in the future.

He had heard Fan Sheng say that, according to past experience, breaking through from Skin Tempering First Layer to Skin Refining Second Layer required no less than the equivalent of over two hundred taels of silver in supplements—whether ginseng pills, medicinal wine, medicinal baths, or meat.

Though individual constitutions and absorption varied, causing some fluctuations, the figure would not differ by much.

Deng Qing had once questioned this. The medicinal effects of ginseng pills were far stronger than meat, so how could they simply be converted into silver?

Fan Sheng's explanation was that ginseng pills were suited for rapid replenishment and rapid refinement. But when all was said and done, one ginseng pill cost five taels of silver, enough to buy over a hundred catties of meat. Someone had calculated that the total nourishment provided by the two was roughly the same, but ginseng pills won out in faster progress and more potent medicinal strength.

Therefore, consuming supplements worth over two hundred taels of silver was a rigid requirement for challenging Skin Refining Second Layer.

At present, Deng Qing cleared his mind and continued circulating the Violet Palace Method, drawing the medicinal power from the pool into his body bit by bit.

Another half hour later, the medicinal bath ended. Deng Qing rose from the pool, feeling the skin over his entire body burn while his chest and belly swelled full.

Deng Qing stepped out of the medicinal pool. Elder Wu nodded. "Not bad. Few can endure until the medicinal power is fully spent."

Deng Qing clasped his hands in thanks to Elder Wu, changed into fresh clothes, and left the stone chamber.

That night, he went to Five Blessings Butcher Shop, bought ten catties of meat, brought it home to stew, and ate it all in one meal.

In the past, eating seven or eight catties of offal would leave his stomach somewhat bloated and sluggish.

But after eating ten catties of meat now, he only felt a faint warmth in his stomach and abdomen.

He guessed this was the benefit brought by the Violet Palace Method's breakthrough.

Deng Qing sat cross-legged and circulated the Violet Palace Method once. The heat transformed from the meat quickly sank into his body, turning into fine threads of qi and blood.

Over the next few days, Deng Qing did nothing else.

Eating meat, practicing his fist technique, circulating qi, and sleeping became his daily cycle.

It was worth mentioning that after the Tiger-Subduing Fist reached great mastery, its progress had clearly slowed.

Several days of bitter training only raised it by a single point.

Deng Qing guessed that, at this stage, advancing the Tiger-Subduing Fist through repeated practice alone had become exceedingly difficult.

In other words, the return on investment had become very low.

Thinking of the two hundred taels of silver's worth of qi and blood Fan Sheng had mentioned, Deng Qing decided to settle the accounts carefully.

The sixty-two taels of silver he had earned from the North Warehouse mission had gradually been exchanged for meat.

Wu Yun had also supplied him with roughly twenty taels of silver's worth of meat.

Adding the meals he had eaten at Celebration Hall for so long, they were worth no less than ten taels of silver.

This medicinal bath was equivalent to thirty or forty taels of silver.

Adding it all together, Deng Qing estimated that the qi and blood he had refined into his body was worth at least one hundred thirty or forty taels of silver.

If he counted the remaining medicinal-bath allocation in his hands, that would be another thirty or forty taels.

Deng Qing scribbled on paper with a charcoal pencil. "I'm still short twenty or thirty taels before I can break through to Skin Refining Second Layer. But where am I supposed to get that money?"

After months of eating meat, the little money he had saved was already exhausted.

All he had left now was a little over two taels in silver bits, saved for emergencies.

As he was calculating how to make money, Fan Sheng sent someone to find him and told him to attend the disciple-taking ceremony tomorrow.

The three-month period had arrived, and the assessment for the apprentices who had entered alongside Deng Qing had ended.

Besides Deng Qing, Li Cheng, Wang Wei, and Zhou Tie, another seven had broken through to Skin Tempering First Layer and officially entered the register of nominal disciples.

The next day, Deng Qing changed into a white robe and entered the main hall with the other nominal disciples.

Li Dashan sat at the head. Deng Qing and the other newly registered nominal disciples stepped forward in turn, knelt to offer tea, and kowtowed in salute.

Li Dashan drank the tea, offered a few words of encouragement, then rose and left.

Deng Qing could see that Li Dashan's face was written all over with exhaustion.

After Li Dashan left, Fan Sheng walked to the front of the hall and said in a deep voice, "There is one more matter I must tell you all in advance.

"The meal provisions for all nominal disciples at Skin Tempering First Layer will end at the close of this year."

The moment those words fell, the hall erupted in an uproar.

"Senior Brother Fan, haven't we already passed the assessment, offered tea, and acknowledged Master? Why are meal provisions being cut off just when it comes to us?"

"This is unfair!"

"We want to see Master..."

Fan Sheng raised a hand to press them down. "The times are chaotic now, and resources are scarce everywhere.

"This is not directed at you alone. Meal provisions are being discontinued for all nominal disciples at Skin Tempering First Layer.

"Of course, the door has not been shut completely. There are still fourteen Attendant positions, and they will be announced on the sixteenth day of the first lunar month after the new year.

"Whether you junior brothers understand or not, I am notifying you on behalf of Celebration Hall.

"Still, there is no need for you to be too disappointed. The hall will continue to provide cultivation methods, white robes, and letters of recommendation."

Even so, no one looked pleased.

Yet however dissatisfied they were, no one dared make a scene in the hall.

Deng Qing remained silent. Fan Sheng had warned him long ago that the hall's resources were tight and told him to cultivate as quickly as possible.

But when he truly heard this news, he still felt deeply frustrated.

For others, meal provisions might merely be icing on the cake.

For him, they were the foundation of survival.

Only, the joys and sorrows of human beings were never shared.

For example, Li Cheng was hardly affected by this bad news. Smiling, he called out to Deng Qing and said that in a couple of days, he would organize a gathering and Deng Qing absolutely must not miss it. Afterward, he went to invite Zhou Tie and Wang Wei as well.

After exchanging a few words with Li Cheng, Deng Qing saw Fan Sheng signal to him with his eyes, so he followed Fan Sheng beneath the corridor.

Once they stopped, Fan Sheng said quietly, "Junior Brother Deng, look for more avenues. Find a way to earn some silver to get by. If any suitable assignments come up on my end, I'll keep an eye out for you."

Deng Qing was taken aback. "What do you mean, Senior Brother? Don't tell me I have no hope of competing for those fourteen spots?"

Fan Sheng froze, then nodded.

Deng Qing frowned. "In the battle at Blackwind Ravine, I won back medicine for the hall. Even that isn't enough?"

Fan Sheng looked embarrassed. "In terms of merit and combat strength, you are among the best at Skin Tempering First Layer.

"But many times, it is not only merit that matters. Connections matter too.

"Those fourteen positions are almost all reserved for people the hall cannot refuse in one way or another.

"They do not lack meals. What they want is face.

"For instance, Li Cheng, Wang Wei, and Zhou Tie are all on the list.

"Celebration Hall is rooted in this local land, after all. It cannot possibly ignore all the relationships involved.

"They say the announcement will come after the new year, but when the time comes, it will only be going through the motions."

Deng Qing was silent for several breaths before asking, "If I break through to Skin Refining Second Layer, can I receive Attendant provisions?"

Fan Sheng shook his head. "This time, it should be a clean cut. Over the next three to five years, the hall likely will not add any more Attendant positions.

"After all, there are plenty of Skin Refining Second Layer martial artists in the hall as well."

Deng Qing lowered his head to look at the blue bricks beneath his feet, then asked, "What if I break through before the list of fourteen is announced?"

Fan Sheng was startled. "Then it would be different. No matter how much the hall values connections, once it makes a public announcement, it must convince the masses.

"You have merit, but others can also speak of their own merits. That sort of thing is hollow.

"But martial cultivation realms are solid, and martial cultivation realms carry more weight than merit."

Deng Qing's eyes gradually brightened.

Catching the look in Deng Qing's eyes, Fan Sheng advised him, "Junior Brother Deng, don't blame me for talking too much.

"When it comes to breaking through, the greatest fear is impatience. If your qi and blood are insufficient and you force your way upward, at best you will injure your body; at worst, you will damage your foundation."

Deng Qing clasped his hands. "Thank you for the reminder, Senior Brother. I understand."

After that, they spoke a few more words, and Deng Qing took his leave.

Once outside Celebration Hall, the cold wind from the street blew straight into his face, and Deng Qing's heart turned to ice.

He clenched his fist and thought, Since merit cannot crush connections, then I'll crush them with my realm. No one is taking my livelihood from me.