The Liu Family

A day passed quickly, and Xu Yang gained some understanding of cultivation in the qi gathering realm. It was hard!

He had cultivated for most of the day, yet neither his Turtle-Snake Great Stance nor his Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist had gained any progress.

He estimated that he would need at least another day of cultivation before the progress of either technique changed.

In other words, with his current bone root and comprehension, advancing the Turtle-Snake Great Stance to the next realm would probably take over two years, while the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist would take over three.

His bone root was inferior to Lu Ren's, so it was not entirely unreasonable for so many people to look down on him.

Progress was this slow even with his bone root now at B-Grade Lower. If it were still C-Grade Lower, he would probably struggle to reach mastery in qi gathering, let alone marrow cleansing.

Fortunately, I can improve both my bone root and comprehension. They aren't set in stone. I have the Martial Longevity Panel, and all the time I need.

At that thought, Xu Yang cheered up again. He had achieved longevity in his own unconventional way and had plenty of time to grind away slowly.

The next day, Xu Yang resumed his usual routine, arriving at the Mighty Far Hall early to practice his fist technique.

"Junior Brother Lu, that move was nicely done. It already carries a hint of Explosive Bear Force."

"Junior Brother Lu, let me spar with you. Explosive Bear Force is the core of the Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist. The sooner you comprehend it, the better."

"You have an excellent bone root. You should grasp it completely within two or three months at most."

Not far away, several senior brothers who had entered the Inner Court earlier surrounded Lu Ren, taking turns sparring with him to help him practice.

The Mountain-Shaking Bear Fist was a technique for killing and self-defense. To comprehend the mysteries of force and true qi, actual combat remained the best method of training.

Lu Ren had a good bone root and had become an Attendant of the Huang Family. With such boundless prospects, there was naturally no shortage of people willing to befriend him and lend him a hand.

Xu Yang, on the other hand, had been judged to have exhausted his potential. Naturally, no one wanted to waste effort on him.

"Junior Brother Xu, how about we spar?"

Xu Yang was not the only one being given the cold shoulder. The senior brother before him, Wu Yongfeng, was another.

He was the senior brother from the Outer Court who had successfully gathered qi before Xu Yang and Lu Ren. However, he had taken nearly three months to succeed and had no background to speak of, so no one in the Inner Court wanted to bother with him either.

Since neither of them was welcome, banding together became only natural.

Xu Yang cupped his hands. "Please instruct me, Senior Brother Wu."

"We'll just help each other improve."

Wu Yongfeng smiled, and the two soon began exchanging blows in a flurry of cracks and thuds.

A quarter of an hour later, both were panting.

Xu Yang finally understood why these Inner Court senior brothers rarely cultivated and spent most of their time resting.

One fight was more exhausting than practicing his fist technique for two straight hours. Although both had held back, some injuries were inevitable.

Of course, the results were good too. It was indeed much better than burying himself in solitary practice.

"You two should ask those senior brothers for guidance more often. Don't let pride get in the way. The Inner Court senior brothers are decent people. You've both only just gathered qi and haven't comprehended force yet. You should seek advice from senior brothers who have." Sun Tao walked over.

"Greetings, Senior Brother Sun!" The two stood and cupped their hands.

They knew all that, of course. But given the older disciples' attitude toward them, even if they thickened their skins and asked, those disciples might not be willing to offer guidance.

Xu Yang had plenty of time to grind away slowly. He had no desire to press a warm face against a cold backside.

Sun Tao nodded, then looked at Xu Yang. "Junior Brother Xu, the Liu Family in the city asked me to pass along a message. They want to hire you as a family Attendant."

Xu Yang showed no surprise. Having successfully gathered qi, he would naturally attract attention, and the Mighty Far Hall also had channels through which it recommended disciples to the city's wealthy households.

He did not know what sort of background the Liu Family had, but he wanted to hear their terms.

Sun Tao said, "Marry into the Liu Family, and they promise to provide you with at least fifteen taels' worth of resources every month. You'll also be allowed to practice their inherited martial arts."

Envy appeared on Wu Yongfeng's face. Fifteen taels of silver a month already matched what Lu Ren received from the Huang Family. With the inherited martial arts included, the terms could even be considered better than Lu Ren's.

Unfortunately, Xu Yang had no intention of marrying into another family. He refused without a second thought. "Senior Brother, I have no plans to marry into a family."

To secure their relationship with an Attendant martial artist, a lineage would generally arrange a marriage alliance.

A small minority required the man to marry into their family, while most married a daughter off to him. However, Xu Yang wanted neither.

Precisely because he did not want to be bound too tightly, he had deliberately delayed his breakthrough by a few days, advancing after Lu Ren.

Sun Tao froze. Xu Yang had actually turned down such a good opportunity.

For a mud-legged peasant of Xu Yang's background to marry a young lady of the Liu Family, his ancestral graves would practically have to be sending up blue smoke.

Had he not successfully gathered qi, he would not even have had a chance to meet a young lady of the Liu Family.

"Junior Brother Xu, you're being foolish!"

Sun Tao shook his head. "When wealthy households hire Attendants, they generally arrange a marriage alliance even if they don't require you to marry into the family. After all, once you're one of their own, they won't begrudge the money spent nurturing you."

The great lineages' abacuses clattered loudly. Once they made you one of their own, the money they spent could be counted as coming back to them.

He continued, "Take your senior brother's advice. The Liu Family is very powerful in Qingyuan, far beyond anything the Huang Family can compare to. Although they're only offering you fifteen taels a month, once you marry in and become one of their own, things like resources will be open to negotiation.

"Your bone root is inferior to Lu Ren's. Without a powerful faction nurturing you, you may have no hope of reaching marrow cleansing.

"If the Liu Family hadn't seen that you broke through only a few days after Lu Ren and decided to take a gamble on you, you wouldn't even have this chance to marry in."

His meaning was clear. The Liu Family was gambling too, wagering that Xu Yang's breakthrough had not been a fluke and that his talent truly matched Lu Ren's. He wanted Xu Yang to face reality.

"There's no shame in marrying into a family. If you achieve success in martial arts someday, won't establishing your own household be a matter of a single word from you?"

Xu Yang shook his head. "Thank you for your kindness, Senior Brother, but I still don't want to marry into a family. For now, I don't want to marry at all."

Seeing this, Sun Tao stopped trying to persuade him. "If you're unwilling to enter a marriage alliance, the Liu Family will only offer five taels of silver a month to hire you as an ordinary Attendant. The same goes for you, Junior Brother Wu.

"Only the Liu Family needs people right now. If you're unwilling, you'll have to keep waiting."

Although martial artists were scarce, there was not work for them everywhere. Otherwise, men like Li Sanhe would not go outside the city to squeeze money out of impoverished commoners.

Wu Yongfeng had gathered qi nearly half a month before Xu Yang, yet he still had not found work.

Wu Yongfeng agreed immediately. If he missed this opportunity with the Liu Family, who knew how long he would have to wait?

Five taels it was. That was better than sitting idle and eating through his savings.

Although ordinary Attendants generally received ten taels, that was also contingent on a marriage alliance.

Xu Yang was unwilling to enter a marriage alliance. Wu Yongfeng, meanwhile, had such poor talent that no lineage thought him worth having, so he did not even have the opportunity.

Xu Yang hesitated. "Senior Brother Sun, the Liu Family won't hold this against me, will they?"

Sun Tao looked amused. "Don't overthink it. To the Liu Family, this is like a business deal that didn't go through. When recruiting people, they first try to arrange a marriage alliance with anyone whose talent is a little better. You're not an exception."

Hearing that, Xu Yang also agreed to become an Attendant of the Liu Family.

"I'll write a letter. The two of you can head to the Liu Family shortly to report for duty."

Sun Tao left and soon returned with a letter, which he handed to them.

The two took the letter and quickly departed.

"What a fool. Having the Liu Family take an interest in him already means blue smoke is rising from his ancestral graves, yet he still refused."

When Jiang Ping heard that Xu Yang had actually refused to marry into the Liu Family, he could not help finding it laughable.

So many people wanted to become a son-in-law of the Liu Family but were not even qualified.

"Everyone has their own aspirations. There's no need to force the matter."

Sun Tao smiled at Lu Ren. "The Huang Family probably made the same request of you, didn't they, Junior Brother Lu?"

Lu Ren nodded. "I'm willing to enter a marriage alliance, nothing more. If they want me to marry into their family, the Huang Family falls a little short."