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"The eldest young master has been truly generous to us!"

Carpenter Wang squatted beneath the wall of the Xu Household's newly built schoolhouse, tapping his pipe bowl as he laughed. "Now that he's opened this Primary School, my Gousheng will learn to read and write. Even if he can't become a scholar, working as a bookkeeper would beat planing wood all his life."

Li San, the water carrier, straightened at that. The shoulder pole creaked as it shifted. "And that's not all! I hear the talented ones can learn carpentry, tailoring, or even brewing at the Xu Household's distillery. Every one of those is a trade worth its weight in gold!"

He looked toward the banner fluttering outside the distant distillery and swallowed without realizing it. "I saw the distillery manager take on an apprentice a few days ago. What a spectacle! It was grander than a wealthy family marrying off a daughter!"

The old basket weaver stroked his beard and joined in, his bamboo knife making a faint rasp against a green strip. "That depends on whom you learn from."

"The Xu Household keeps all its trades secret. Learn even one, and your family could live securely for generations. No wonder everyone flocks to them."

Just then, the young pupils of the Xu Household's school came pouring through the gates, horn-shaped braids bobbing above bookbags made of mulberry paper. They recited lines about the calling ospreys as they went.

Carpenter Wang watched them go and knocked his pipe bowl against the sole of his shoe with a resounding clack. "Once Gousheng can read, I'm sending him to the Xu Household Dyehouse as an apprentice. They say it uses sappanwood from the Western Regions, and its dyed silk sells for ten taels of silver a bolt!"

Ever since the Xu Household announced policies benefiting its servants and martial guards, everyone from senior housekeepers to water carriers and odd-job workers had supported it wholeheartedly.

Two more days passed.

In the Xu Household's rear kitchen.

"I heard the eldest young master is picking sturdy boys from the different courtyards to send to the Dragon Elephant Martial Hall. Is that true?"

A porter had just filled a vat with water. He wiped his sweat and brought it up.

Sister Zhang, who helped in the kitchen, turned toward him with a broad smile. "Heh, my Ah Da is strong as an ox. I asked the steward to put his name down yesterday."

Old Madam Li, who was washing vegetables, looked up in surprise. "Really?! My grandson Ah Shui is clever and quick to learn. He's made for martial arts! I'll go put his name forward in a moment."

"Why wait? I'll finish picking those vegetables for you. Hurry to the front courtyard and sign him up! This could change your grandson's life. How can you wait?!"

For all the excitement, every servant, maid, and guard remained diligent in their duties, not daring to neglect the work at hand.

They were even more careful and hardworking than usual.

Nor did they seem tired. Smiles lit their faces, and longing and hope shone in their eyes.

Three months passed in a blink.

Since the Dragon Elephant Sect's secret medicinal meals had entered the Xu residence, the Xu brothers had all made great strides in the Martial Way.

Even though Xu Mingyuan and Xu Mingxuan did not practice the Little Dragon Elephant Art, they opened their Apertures seventy or eighty percent faster than before.

It was all thanks to the medicinal meals.

The major martial halls and Aristocratic Clans never divulged their true secret medicinal meal recipes.

Those recipes were the foundations of their power.

The meals they gave their martial hall disciples were merely ordinary ones.

At its height, the Dragon Elephant Sect had been led by a top martial expert at the peak of the Grandmaster realm. It had rivaled a fifth-rank Aristocratic Clan and would have counted as a major power even in the Commandery Seat.

Aristocratic Clans and sects of the upper three ranks were generally found only in the imperial capital.

"Big Brother, these Dragon Elephant Sect medicinal meals really are remarkable."

Xu Mingxuan grinned at Xu Mingwei. "Even I have a thirty to forty percent chance of reaching the Houtian Peak before I turn twenty."

"Opening Apertures is important, but you mustn't neglect martial techniques either," Xu Mingwei said. "Our family had collected few of them before, so we had little choice. Now that we have part of the Dragon Elephant Sect's martial legacy, we must put it to good use."

"I know, Big Brother."

After answering, Xu Mingxuan's face took on a wistful look. "I wonder what the Dragon Elephant Sect's legacy was like at its height. I doubt what our family has obtained amounts to even a fifth of it."

"Perhaps." Xu Mingwei smiled faintly.

Just then, Xu Mingyuan walked into the hall.

"Second Brother, I haven't seen you in ages," Xu Mingxuan said with a smile.

"I don't have your leisure. I manage the Lineage's businesses, and lately I've barely had time to practice the Martial Way."

"Heh, well, I've made plenty of progress."

At that, Xu Mingwei thought of the Xiantian Five Elements Creation Art.

Of all the siblings, only fifth-born Yunnu had the aptitude for immortal cultivation.

The Xu Household had received the tremendous fortune of entering the immortal path through martial arts. Everyone now had a chance to cultivate immortality, and Xu Mingwei hoped Xu Mingyuan would join them.

But Xu Chuan had ordered him to reveal nothing until Xu Mingyuan reached Xiantian.

He dared not disobey.

After a moment's thought, Xu Mingwei looked up at Xu Mingyuan. "A Yuan, the Lineage's businesses matter, but you absolutely must not abandon your own martial practice.

"Otherwise, Father will be angry. He tests us every six months, you know."

"Give me a little more time. Once the new businesses are running smoothly, I'll be able to step away."

"Mm." Xu Mingwei nodded.

"Actually, I don't understand why Father insists that we follow the Martial Way," Xu Mingxuan said. "Even if we reach Xiantian, what then? After a hundred years, we'll still be dust."

"Father has his reasons. If you disobey and he punishes you, don't blame me for not pleading on your behalf."

"Big Brother, I was joking!"

Xu Mingwei was the Xu Household's future head and currently its strongest member. His words carried great weight among the siblings.

"Make more time to practice when you can. I hear Xueji and Yunnu have improved considerably over these three months. You two older brothers had better not let them overtake you."

"I'd be glad if they did! It would mean our family is brimming with talent!" Xu Mingyuan laughed. "If the Xu Household had two more martial geniuses like you, Big Brother, it would be on firm ground."

"Mm? Have you heard something?"

Xu Mingwei knew Xu Mingyuan would not speak without reason. Xu Mingxuan's smile also vanished.

"Only rumors."

"County Magistrate's Deputy Yang has only just left, and his Tiger Might still lingers. Our Xu Household is no weakling now, either.

"But I think it would be best to have one of our own in officialdom. If one of us brothers could become county magistrate, county magistrate's deputy, or county commandant, that would be ideal."

"That depends on opportunity. You can't take such a post just because you want it. We'll discuss it another time."

As Xu Mingwei spoke, his pupils contracted, and a cold gleam flashed in his eyes. "As for other Lineages and Aristocratic Clans, if they dare encroach on us, the Xu Household will show no mercy."

Xu Mingyuan's words made him feel it was time to find an opportunity to display his strength.

An Aristocratic Clan with a Xiantian Martial Artist commanded far more respect than an ordinary one.

As far as he knew, only five clans in all of Qingjiang County possessed such a foundation: Wu, Fang, Wang, He, and Cao.

The three major martial halls were backed by the Wu, Fang, and Wang clans.

Had Yang Zhao not been appointed from outside, the post of county magistrate's deputy might have gone to a Xiantian Martial Artist from one of the Wang, He, or Cao clans.

Of course, those important posts generally went to martial artists who had reached Xiantian before turning fifty.

No one was likely to appoint a man already past sixty.

Most appointees were influential, capable locals. Others, like Yang Zhao, were posted in from elsewhere to burnish their reputations, build a record of achievements, and then leave.

"How is the martial hall coming along?"

Xu Mingwei thought the opening of the Dragon Elephant Martial Hall might be a good opportunity.

"Construction will be finished in another half month. We've also selected a dozen or so children of our servants, guards, and maids with decent Root Bones as the first group to train."

"Besides that, we've hired five First-Class Martial Artists as instructors."

"It's just..."

Xu Mingyuan paused, then hesitated a while before continuing. "Hardly any children or youths from wealthy families and Aristocratic Clans have been drawn to it."

"There's no rush. You're always saying that good wares need no help finding buyers. The opening should draw a crowd, and afterward, people will come because of its reputation."

Xu Mingyuan considered this, then looked up with a rueful smile. "That's true."