Out of the Running

[Turtle-Snake Great Stance · Uninitiated (0/5)]

After working himself to the bone all day yesterday, his progress in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance was still "0."

That meant he was no peerless prodigy. He could not possibly reach Entry in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance in three to five days. By his estimate, it would take around ten.

The exchange rate between martial Dao longevity points and lifespan is one point for one day. Improving comprehension or Bone Root takes ten points per point of improvement, but improving a skill takes just one point to raise its progress by "1."

The rate for improving cultivation techniques should be more or less the same.

With a thought, Xu Yang invested one point in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

In an instant, insights flooded into his mind, and his progress in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance changed.

[Turtle-Snake Great Stance · Uninitiated (1/5)]

Just as I thought. One point raises progress by one.

A smile curled Xu Yang's lips. If he wanted to, he could reach Entry in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance right now.

But he had no intention of doing so.

Even someone with outstanding talent needed three to five days to reach Entry in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. If word spread that he had reached Entry in a single day, it would run counter to his principle of avoiding needless attention. The disadvantages outweighed the benefits; there was no need to reach Entry all at once.

Bone Root, add points!

Instead of improving the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, he invested his points in his Bone Root. Fifty points brought it straight up to twenty-seven.

What had impressed him most about Lu Ren's upper-Bone Root was how much punishment he could take: excellent stamina, strong recovery, powerful digestion, and good results from stance training.

So he spent all his points on improving his Bone Root, intending to raise it to upper-C or B-Grade Lower before considering anything else.

Comprehension was important, of course, but for him, Bone Root mattered most right now.

Xu Yang felt little as his Bone Root improved. His body merely warmed for a moment, and he felt somewhat more energetic. The change was not dramatic.

It should still be C-Grade Lower Bone Root!

By his estimate, upper-C Bone Root should fall somewhere between thirty and forty.

[Bone Root: 27]

[Martial Dao longevity points: 1]

After glancing at the panel, Xu Yang closed it and assumed his stance in the room.

He sank his qi into his dantian, drew in his chest, and stretched his back. Like a great python rearing upright, his chest and abdomen expanded and contracted rhythmically.

This time, he lasted over a minute longer than yesterday.

By dawn, when Xu Qing woke, the few leftovers he had eaten were already completely digested, and his stomach was growling.

Looks like I'll have to keep some meat at home too.

Though he was confident he would become a martial artist, he had not forgotten Zhou Yang's words yesterday. He could not begrudge spending money.

After saying goodbye to Xu Qing, Xu Yang headed out into the morning sun.

So my impression the day before yesterday wasn't wrong!

Once he left White Stone Ward, he soon spotted He Laosan heading toward the mine.

In the past, He Laosan and Zhang Daniu would always call for him, and the three would head to the mine together.

Now that Zhang Daniu had quit, He Laosan should have come to get him. Yet he had not.

"Laosan!"

Xu Yang quickened his pace and caught up with He Laosan in a few strides.

"Oh... A Yang. I got up late and thought you'd already left, so I didn't call for you." An awkward look flashed across He Laosan's face.

Xu Yang shook his head. "It's fine. I didn't come to get you either. I wanted to ask you to tell my third uncle that I won't be working at the mine anymore."

There was no such thing as formally resigning from the mine. If you quit, you simply stopped going.

But one of the mine's stewards was an uncle from his clan. He had looked after Xu Yang and helped him conceal his earnings all along. Xu Yang needed to let this uncle know so he would not worry.

"All right!"

He Laosan froze, then caught on. "You're not working at the mine anymore? How will you feed yourself?"

"My maternal uncle has connections in the city. He found me work. Sorry for the trouble."

With that, Xu Yang strode away.

He Laosan stood rooted to the spot, his mouth hanging open. Xu Yang and Zhang Daniu had both gone to work in the city, leaving him alone to scrape out a living at the mine. For a moment, he regretted distancing himself from Xu Yang.

Only a few people had arrived when Xu Yang reached the Mighty Far Hall. He ate in the dining hall, then returned to the outer courtyard's Martial Training Ground to practice the Turtle-Snake Great Stance for a while before the veteran disciples began trickling in.

Lu Ren, Zhang Yong, and the others who had arrived a little later joined him to train after eating.

"New disciples really do work hard. They're already training this early."

"They've only just started, so naturally they're full of drive. I was the same back then-sleeping at the third watch, rising at the fifth. Give it a few days. Once they realize all that effort barely gets them anywhere, they'll stop."

"If hard work did any good, we wouldn't all be burning through money."

Nearly every veteran disciple who passed offered a comment or two about Xu Yang and the other newcomers.

Xu Yang remained unmoved, wholly focused on training. Those with less resolve, however, looked increasingly sour.

Apart from him, Lu Ren was probably the only one unaffected by those remarks.

"They really are diligent. Looks like yesterday's words were wasted."

The Zhou Brothers stepped into the Mighty Far Hall. Seeing Xu Yang and the others already training, their expressions darkened.

"These mud-legged peasants still have that fire in them, thinking martial arts will change their fate. Once it burns out, they'll come looking for us. It won't take more than a few days."

Zhou Yang swept an indifferent gaze over Xu Yang, then strode away.

An hour later, Sun Tao came out of the inner courtyard in white training clothes and began instructing the ten newcomers in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

As before, he coached them in turn, stopping after going through it three times with each person.

"This is the last time I'll instruct you in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. Unless you reach Entry in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, I won't give any of you further instruction.

"Master has instructed you once, and I've instructed you twice. If you still haven't memorized the Turtle-Snake Great Stance after all that, I advise you not to waste your time here."

At those words, a man named Liu Guangfa turned ashen. He was one of the five with D-Grade Upper Bone Root, and he reacted that way precisely because he had yet to memorize the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

How brutal!

Xu Yang shook his head inwardly. Liu Guangfa was effectively out of the running-the first to be eliminated.

"Once you reach Entry in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, you can come to the inner courtyard and learn fist techniques from Master. Master will teach you the fist technique himself the first time. After you reach Entry, you can keep coming to me with anything you don't understand."

With that, Sun Tao turned and strode away.

He had seen this sort of thing far too often. It no longer stirred the slightest ripple in his heart.

Three days passed in a flash. Several people

had undergone tremendous changes. Their energy and bearing had been transformed as if heaven and earth had flipped, and their bodies were considerably sturdier than when they first arrived.

"Ha ha... I've reached Entry in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance! Strength rises from the ground—so this is what it means!"

Lu Ren's voice shattered the quiet of the Martial Training Ground. Many turned to look at him. His skin was crimson, rippling strangely over his flesh as bands of solid muscle stood out.

Of the ten, he was the first to reach Entry in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

"As expected of B-Grade Upper Bone Root. He reached Entry in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance in less than five days altogether."

"With B-Grade Upper Bone Root, Lu Ren's comprehension probably isn't bad either. He might even grasp the mysteries of martial force someday and successfully achieve qi gathering and marrow washing."

"It's worth trying to befriend him now!"

The veteran disciples exclaimed in admiration. Someone who reached Entry in the Turtle-Snake Great Stance in under five days might not appear in the Mighty Far Hall even once a year.