Carrot and stick

"What's your name?" Tang Yan asked.

"I'm Chang Tie!" the burly man answered in a rumbling voice.

"What's your current strength?"

"Origin Tier Ninth Grade!"

"When did you join the Tang Family?"

"Three years ago!"

"What was your strength three years ago?" Tang Yan asked again.

"Still Origin Tier Ninth Grade."

"So you've spent three years in my Tang Family, training hard on the Drill Grounds, without making the slightest progress?" Tang Yan pressed him relentlessly, every word sharp as a blade.

"Well..." Chang Tie thought it over carefully. That really was the case. He had never thought much of it before, but having Tang Yan point it out so bluntly left him feeling ashamed. As if trying to salvage some dignity, he argued, "Martial cultivation is difficult to begin with. It's normal not to advance."

"How do you train each day?" Tang Yan asked again.

"I start training at dawn every day, carrying three hundred jin and running five laps around the grounds. Then I practice saber techniques for four hours and spar for two!" Speaking of his training, Chang Tie proudly puffed out his chest. He certainly trained no less than the other guards.

"You've trained like that every day for three years?"

"That's right."

"When you sparred with the others, did you hold back instead of using your full strength?" Tang Yan asked again.

"We're all brothers. We stop short of hurting each other. If someone got injured..."

"Bullshit!" Tang Yan sprang up. "You go easy on him now, but who'll go easy on him when he's on the battlefield? If you don't use your full strength to help him improve, are you helping him or harming him? Here in my Tang Family, you receive regular pill supplies and generous wages, yet your strength never advances! That's why I call you useless! Every fucking one of you is useless! And not just useless, but stupid!"

"Of course, you must resent hearing that. What right does a wastrel young master like me have to criticize you? Well, let me tell you what right I have-I'm the eldest young master of the Tang Family. Even if I do absolutely nothing, my grandfather will support me and protect me!"

"But what about you? Most of you come from ordinary households and have families to feed. If you don't work hard, you'll only earn the most basic wages each month. Your wives and children will only live ordinary lives! You won't have more resources to nurture your descendants. If your children turn out to be wastrels like me, Tang Yan, they'll be utterly finished!"

At this, the Tang Family guards' hearts sank. Tang Yan's words were harsh, but they were also undeniable facts.

Although they were Tang Family Guards and earned more than ordinary people, they could only ensure that their families lived somewhat better lives. They clearly lacked the means to give their children the same resources enjoyed by the children of great lineages.

Taking in everyone's reactions, Tang Yan was secretly relieved that they had not grown numb and indifferent. He raised his voice and roared angrily, "I'm sure many of you are just like Chang Tie, with training routines that never change. You carried three hundred jin three years ago, and you're still carrying three hundred jin now. Even if I gave you another hundred years, you'd remain in the Origin Tier, never stepping through the gates of the Yellow Tier!"

"I'm so certain because you've grown too comfortable. You've even lost the courage to reach for the pinnacle of martial arts! Chang Tie, tell me, how much weight did you carry when you first started training?"

Chang Tie regretted it so bitterly that his guts almost turned green. Why had he impulsively provoked this tyrant just now? Couldn't he have stayed below with everyone else and quietly taken the scolding? He only had to endure it for a while. Why had he been so foolish as to come forward and humiliate himself?

"Ten jin." There was none of his initial defiance left in Chang Tie's voice.

"You cultivated from an ordinary person to Origin Tier Ninth Grade, and increased your load from ten jin to three hundred. So why aren't you continuing to raise the difficulty now, carrying three hundred and fifty jin each day? Once you're used to three hundred and fifty, increase your daily training load to four hundred. If you kept increasing it like that, tell me, would you have reached the Yellow Tier in these three years?" Tang Yan demanded.

Hearing this question, not only the other guards but even Mo Yanjun began reflecting on themselves.

"I... I probably would have!" Chang Tie said shamefully.

"You still know how to reflect, and you still know shame. That means there's hope for you yet! Undercurrents are surging through Cloud City now. All it would take is a spark, and the great lineages could start slaughtering each other. If you want to survive the battles to come, you can only train as though your lives depend on it. Make yourselves strong enough to crush everyone else. Only then can you ensure your safety! Only then will your families stop fearing for your lives! Only then will a wastrel like me stop calling you useless!"

Tang Yan swept his gaze around and fixed it on a wooden log.

"How heavy is that log?" This time, Tang Yan asked Mo Yanjun.

"One hundred and twenty jin."

"How far do you think I can carry it?" Tang Yan asked.

"About..." Mo Yanjun frowned as he calculated. "Less than a hundred meters, I suppose."

Everyone silently grumbled that even a hundred meters was giving him too much credit. Whether this pampered young master could even lift it was another question.

"Up!" Tang Yan walked over, exerted himself, and bodily heaved the log into his arms before walking forward.

One meter, two meters, three meters...

Everyone silently speculated whether Young Master Tang would fail within ten meters or give up within twenty.

Ten meters... twenty meters... fifty meters... eighty meters...

Tang Yan did not use even a trace of true qi, relying entirely on his physical strength. Fortunately, the tempering he had undergone in the Heaven-Earth Creation Cauldron had made his body sufficiently powerful.

Even so, Tang Yan still felt as though his strength had been drained away. His entire body trembled with every step, and bean-sized beads of sweat fell like raindrops.

Initially, everyone had wanted to watch Young Master Tang make a fool of himself. But as Tang Yan advanced step by step, the mockery in their eyes had long since vanished, replaced by shock, astonishment, and respect.

By the time Tang Yan had walked a hundred meters, his body was swaying violently, yet he still persisted in moving forward!

One hundred and one meters, one hundred and two meters, one hundred and three meters... finally, at one hundred and thirty meters, Tang Yan set the log down.

Dragging his exhausted body back to the front of the ranks, Tang Yan swept his gaze across everyone and panted, "When I reached a hundred meters, I was just like you are now. I thought I'd reached my limit.

"But when I took another step beyond those hundred meters, I surpassed the person I was!"

"Whoosh-" After a brief silence, all the guards applauded and cheered at once, their applause rolling like thunder.

"Perhaps you think three hundred jin is your limit. But let me tell you, human potential is boundless. Only by constantly digging deeper into that potential can you keep advancing!"

His own weakness, coupled with the Tang Family's position as the weakest of the four great lineages, left Tang Yan without the slightest sense of security. At this moment, he finally decided to build up the Tang Family's forces and make it a truly great lineage in Cloud City-the greatest of them all!

After saying so much, Tang Yan finally offered them tangible benefits. "In this world, we can only gain more by constantly growing stronger. Don't complain about your humble origins. If your life isn't good enough, blame yourself for not working hard enough! As the eldest young master of the Tang Family, I promise everyone here-anyone who breaks through to the Yellow Tier will have his current wages tripled!"

"Starting from the Yellow Tier, every grade you advance will increase your monthly wages by a hundred taels of silver! First-grade pills will be supplied each month as circumstances allow! Anyone who reaches fifth grade of the Yellow Tier may have his children enter the Tang Family to be nurtured from childhood!"

The moment these words left his mouth, the atmosphere erupted, and everyone's spirits soared.

Their current monthly wages amounted to only a few dozen taels of silver. Upon reaching the Yellow Tier, those wages would instantly triple?

If they worked hard enough, wouldn't their families be able to live better lives and their children have brighter futures?

"Wise indeed, Young Master!" At that moment, everyone shouted from the bottom of their hearts.

No one rose early without something to gain. Having lived two lives, Tang Yan understood this principle well. Only after seeing that he had truly stirred everyone's enthusiasm did he shout, "I'll say it again: my Tang Family doesn't keep useless men. This plan comes with certain requirements. Your training from now on will be hard! Extremely hard! Prepare yourselves for a living hell. Anyone who wants to quit, stay where you are. Anyone who wants to become strong and is willing to accept the training, take one step forward! I'll count to..."

"Boom!" Before Tang Yan could say "three," a thunderous sound rang out. Every warrior stepped forward in perfect unison, making the entire Drill Grounds tremble.

Seeing the fervor in everyone's eyes, Tang Yan knew he had achieved his goal. He asked again, "I'll ask you one last time. Are you ready for hell?"

"We're ready!" all one hundred and twenty men answered in unison, their voices soaring into the clouds.

"A nation has its laws, and an army has its rules! From now on, assemble at dawn every morning. Anyone who arrives late is out!"

"From now on, I'll have full authority over you. Anyone who disobeys orders is out!"

"Anyone who still hasn't reached the Yellow Tier after six months is out!"

"..."

Tang Yan's expression was stern. By the time he finished speaking, these guards almost felt as though they had joined the army.

"Now, everyone, obey my command! Pick up a three-hundred-and-fifty-jin log and run ten laps around the Drill Grounds in formation. If even one man fails to finish, nobody gets lunch! If you haven't started running within ten breaths, nobody gets lunch! Begin!"

At Tang Yan's command, everyone sprang into nervous action, quickly finding their logs, forming ranks, and running around the Drill Grounds.

On a distant tower.

Two old men stared at the Drill Grounds in shock.

After a long while, Old Master Tang finally asked, "Old Mo, take a good look. Is that boy in white really my grandson?"

Hearing Old Master Tang's question, Uncle Mo did not know whether to laugh or cry. "Master, that is indeed the eldest young master."

With Uncle Mo's confirmation, Old Master Tang's gaze sharpened. He asked gravely, "Tell me, after that little rascal's rousing speech, what will become of our Tang Family guards' strength?"