The moment Li Liang finished speaking, the apprentices surrounded Deng Qing.
Li Cheng, Zhou Tie, and Wang Wei had broken through. Everyone could understand that.
They had family money, supplements, meat, and Medicinal Wine.
But Deng Qing?
Everyone knew he was so poor he could not even scrape together his service fee.
Yet someone like him had broken through the Skin Tempering First Layer? Where was the justice in that? Where was the law?
Someone could not help asking, "Senior Brother Deng, how did you break through?"
"Practicing my fist technique."
"Just that?"
"Practicing hard."
Silence fell over the crowd.
Someone else asked, "But how did you replenish your qi and blood? You had neither supplements nor Medicinal Wine."
Deng Qing told the truth. "I ate Pig Offal."
"Pig... offal?"
"Large intestines, small intestines, pig lungs."
Several people immediately covered their mouths. The whole place erupted in an uproar.
Li Liang said, "It's true. I've been to Junior Brother Deng's courtyard. Half of it was filled with intestines and lungs frozen stiff as boards."
At that, no one doubted him anymore.
Fan Sheng rapped on a corridor pillar. "Spread out. Even knowing how he did it, you might not be able to endure the hardship."
With that, he patted Deng Qing on the shoulder. "Come with me."
Deng Qing followed him into the accounts room.
Fan Sheng took Deng Qing's apprentice badge and brought out a new wooden one.
The front still read "Celebration," but the back was carved with the character for "Named."
Fan Sheng carved "Deng Qing" onto the badge and handed it to him. "Keep it safe. From today on, you're a Named Disciple of the Celebration Hall."
Beside them, the accountant opened the register and wrote: "Everjoy County, the Celebration Hall. Named Disciple: Deng Qing. Realm: Skin Tempering First Layer."
Deng Qing stared hard at the register and thought, From now on, I'm in the army records too—twelve scrolls, and my name on every one.
Fan Sheng added, "The formal ceremony to become a disciple will have to wait another two months.
"Once this batch of apprentices finishes its assessment, those who stay will join you and the others in kowtowing and serving tea to Master."
"Understood."
The next day, at the Celebration Hall.
Deng Qing had just entered the front courtyard when two laborers hurried in from outside, carrying a door panel between them.
Someone lay on it, his chest wrapped in thick layers of white cloth. Blood had soaked through, staining a broad patch dark red.
Behind them, another man was being helped along. His left arm hung limp at his side, swollen high beneath the sleeve.
The last door panel was covered with a white sheet from head to foot.
Wind swept through the courtyard and lifted one corner of the sheet, revealing half a bluish chin.
The sight made Deng Qing's head ache. He had thought becoming a Named Disciple meant entering a safe harbor. Thinking back, he had been far too naive.
"See that?"
Fan Sheng's voice came from behind him.
Deng Qing turned and cupped his hands. "Senior Brother Fan."
Fan Sheng said, "They're all Named Disciples who left the Celebration Hall.
"Some guarded wealthy households, some escorted goods with merchant caravans, and some worked for the county office.
"Those who did well earned silver and respectability.
"Those who didn't lost hands or feet."
As he spoke, he glanced at the door panel covered by the white sheet. "And if things went worse than that, they ended up like him. Their lives were finished."
Deng Qing had no words.
"Now that your name's in the Named Disciple register, there are rules you ought to know."
"Please enlighten me, Senior Brother."
"A newly registered Named Disciple who breaks through to the Skin Refining Second Layer within six months will continue to receive the hall's support.
"If he fails, the hall will give him a Recommendation Letter and send him out to make his own living."
"Make my own living?"
"That's right."
Fan Sheng said, "With a Recommendation Letter, it's easier than it is for most people to find work guarding a wealthy household, escorting goods for a caravan, or running errands for the county office.
"But once you walk out of the Celebration Hall, whoever feeds you gives the orders.
"After that, whether you lose a hand or a foot, or end up under a white sheet, the hall won't be responsible."
Deng Qing quietly steeled himself. He had to break through to the Skin Refining Second Layer within six months.
Deng Qing asked, "Senior Brother Fan, if the hall intends to support Named Disciples, what resources will it give us?"
Fan Sheng spread his hands. "One set of white clothes, meals in the inner courtyard, and a cultivation method. That's all."
Deng Qing froze. What kind of treatment was that?
Fan Sheng said, "It's enough to keep you from going hungry. But if you want to climb higher, it's nowhere near enough.
"To get from the Skin Tempering First Layer to the Skin Refining Second Layer, the things you'll need to replenish your qi and blood will cost close to two hundred taels of silver at the very least."
Deng Qing wanted to pound his chest and stamp his feet. In the year since he had crossed over, he had saved three taels of silver, and even that had taken everything he had.
Now he needed two hundred taels. It sounded like a damned mountain crashing down on him.
Seeing his silence, Fan Sheng smiled. "Scared?"
Deng Qing shook his head. "Not scared. It just seems too hard."
Fan Sheng said, "Good. You should know it's hard. The farther you go down the path of martial arts, the more money you burn. 'Scholarship for the poor, martial arts for the rich' isn't just idle talk."
Deng Qing drew a quiet breath. "Then what would it take to stay at the hall like you, Senior Brother?"
Fan Sheng waved a hand. "Like me? Don't make me your example.
"I'm only a Named Disciple who scraped together a job here, overseeing a few apprentices and running odd errands to earn my keep.
"If you truly want to climb higher, aim to become an Initiate Disciple or a Personal Disciple.
"Only then will you have truly entered the Celebration Hall."
Deng Qing's eyes lit up. "How do I become an Initiate Disciple?"
"That can wait. You haven't even reached the Skin Refining Second Layer. First figure out how to stay here after six months."
With that, Fan Sheng led him into a side room.
Several wooden shelves stood inside, lined with manuals of cultivation methods.
A stone weight rested on many of the manuals. Looking over the shelves, Deng Qing found only one without a weight.
Fan Sheng picked up that manual. Deng Qing saw its title: the Violet Palace Method.
Deng Qing asked, "Senior Brother Fan, I haven't finished learning the Tiger-Subduing Fist. Why can't I keep practicing it?"
Fan Sheng frowned. "Who said you haven't finished? You broke through to the Skin Tempering First Layer with the Tiger-Subduing Fist. If that doesn't count as finishing it, what does?"
Something clicked for Deng Qing. What Senior Brother Fan considered finishing it was different from what Juan'er did.
According to Tang Juan'er, I've only reached Minor Mastery.
Deng Qing quickly made up his mind. He would learn the new method, but he would not give up the Tiger-Subduing Fist.
Fan Sheng said, "The Celebration Hall offers Named Disciples two kinds of cultivation methods.
"One kind is an External Cultivation Method. They're all moves for killing and fighting.
"They produce results quickly and hit hard, which suits fellows like you who are in a hurry to earn money.
"The other kind is an Internal Cultivation Method."
Fan Sheng patted the Violet Palace Method in his hand. "Internal Cultivation Methods take longer to show results and are weaker in a real fight. In the short term, they're nowhere near as appealing as External Cultivation Methods, so few people choose them.
"But they build a solid foundation, help regulate the organs, and let you efficiently refine food and medicine.
"Precisely because they work slowly and the benefits aren't obvious, few people are willing to choose them.
"At the hall, senior Named Disciples have always guided the new ones.
"Senior Brother Tu Wei is the only one who isn't guiding anyone at the moment. The method he practices is an Internal Cultivation Method: the Violet Palace Method."
Deng Qing had wanted to choose an External Cultivation Method too. After all, in chaotic times, fighting strength came first.
But since he had no choice, what was there to say?
Fan Sheng led him toward the Back Courtyard. A little over a hundred breaths later, they arrived at a Quiet Chamber.
The door stood half-open. A tall man sat inside.
He wore a White Robe and had broad shoulders and a broad back. His head was lowered as he wiped a copper kettle.
Fan Sheng stepped through the door. "Senior Brother Tu."
Tu Wei looked up.
Fan Sheng gestured toward Deng Qing. "Deng Qing, a newly registered Named Disciple. He chose the Violet Palace Method."
Tu Wei glanced at Deng Qing and pointed to the manual in his hands. "Memorize it first. Then come find me."
Deng Qing opened the booklet. After reading only a few lines, he could not help frowning.
It held more than words. There were several diagrams showing the flow of qi through a human figure.
The little figures sat cross-legged, with fine lines drawn across their chests and abdomens. Beside them were labels such as Purple Residence, Scarlet Palace, Sea of Qi, and the rising and falling of the organs.
At a glance, it was mystery upon mystery.
He recognized every character, but strung together, they left Deng Qing lost in a fog-shrouded maze of mountains.