Chapter 689: Dilemma
Chapter 689: Dilemma
The next day.
"Black Tiger… come on, let’s spar!"
Though Ye Fengchun had been exhausted like a dead dog the previous day, the kind of young men who could reach this point had a tenacity within them. He woke up early and eagerly invited Black Tiger to spar.
His eyes were filled with anticipation, as if saying, ‘Come on… let’s have some fun… let’s hurt each other…’
Xun Heihu glanced at him, shook his head, and silently apologized. He then found Coach Yu. "Coach Yu… I’ve reached the Ninth Rank."
"What?"
Though his voice was soft, the martial artists on the square all had sharp hearing.
Coach Yu’s eyes lit up, and she quickly examined Xun Heihu’s body with swift, precise movements.
Xun Heihu's skin tightened as if in response, his bronze complexion deepening, and a latent strength coiled within him, ready to burst forth.
"Excellent, excellent… a body as tough as bronze, strength like an ox… this is indeed the sign of reaching the Ninth Rank."
Coach Yu praised him. "It’s a pity you’re not a girl; otherwise, I would have considered taking you as my disciple."
"That’s… Xun Heihu? He broke through?"
"He’s only been here a few months?"
The young men and women began to chatter, some silently practicing their strikes.
"He… he broke through?"
Ye Fengchun’s mouth hung open, a mix of bitterness and helplessness on his face…
Jiang Yuyan, seeing this, remained expressionless as she approached a nearby wooden post.
Bang! Bang!
Each strike seemed more powerful than the last, and soon her arms began to swell and turn red. But the young woman seemed unfazed, letting the post grind her skin, allowing the medicinal effects to work more effectively…
…
"Follow me."
Coach Yu didn’t pay much attention to the commotion, believing that a bit of extra stimulation was good for the martial students.
She led Xun Heihu to the back of the White Deer Academy.
'This Coach Yu… she’s definitely an Inner Strength expert!'
Xun Heihu followed Coach Yu, his eyes lingering on her graceful figure and shapely hips, his thoughts wandering: 'If it weren’t for the scar on her face, she’d be a beauty… Wait, what am I thinking? Despite martial artists having vigorous blood and qi, we must still have our limits…'
He forced himself to look at the buildings around them, noticing the elegant Jiangnan-style houses with red bricks, green tiles, and horse-head walls, a unique and charming sight.
Some of the villas even had small bridges and streams flowing past lotus ponds, with stone slabs paving the paths. The bridges were adorned with cute lion statues, which he found quite impressive.
Coming from a poor family, Xun Heihu had only moved between the training grounds, dormitories, and cafeteria since joining the White Deer Academy. He had no idea that such a wealthy and picturesque area existed within the academy.
"Do you like it here?"
"If you can reach the Seventh Rank within two years… even if you don’t join the Five Beasts Sect, joining our lower academy shouldn’t be a problem. Then, you can permanently own a residence here."
Coach Yu led Xun Heihu through a series of winding paths to a courtyard. "I’ll take you to meet our principal next…"
Xun Heihu looked over and saw a fat man lying on a rattan chair.
The man was relaxed, wearing an open-fronted hemp robe, and holding a palm-leaf fan.
"Ah, it’s Little Yu… you’ve found another promising student?"
The principal was short and fat, like a ball of meat, speaking with a strong northern accent.
"Indeed, his name is Xun Heihu, and he has already reached the Ninth Rank!"
Coach Yu bowed in response.
"Nice to meet you, Principal!"
Xun Heihu hurriedly bowed.
"Excellent, excellent. In your batch, we already have Wei Chigang and Situ Yanyan who have reached the Ninth Rank. With you, that makes three. Perhaps you’ll be recommended to join the sect in the future, which will be a great achievement for us."
The fat man continued to lie on the rattan chair, fanning himself. "I am Zhang Kaitai. In my youth, I roamed the northern lands, and thanks to the kindness of my fellow martial artists, I earned the nickname ‘Grand Yin Hand’…"
Xun Heihu was immediately filled with respect.
In today’s martial world, it wasn’t easy to earn a nickname and gain fame.
Zhang Kaitai continued, "Now that you’ve reached the Ninth Rank, you can move into a private room with a small courtyard. You won’t have to eat in the cafeteria anymore; we have specialized medicinal meals here. You will also receive one ‘Golden Mercury Pill’ every five days. You should know the rules, so I won’t repeat them. Additionally, after reaching the Ninth Rank, you can learn martial techniques. You can choose a coach to study under, provided they agree."
Martial cultivation is the Way!
Martial techniques are the Method!
Without the Way, one is just a brute, a fat pig…
And without the Method, one’s cultivation is like a mirage.
The White Deer Academy didn’t teach martial techniques before reaching the Ninth Rank because, without the proper foundation, learning them would be pointless.
Now that he had reached the Ninth Rank, it was time to start learning.
"Understood."
Xun Heihu nodded eagerly.
In fact, he had already learned several martial techniques, all from ancient martial arts schools!
Ancient martial arts were the most skilled in combat, techniques passed down through generations of ancestors who had fought fierce beasts.
Thus, the strikes were incredibly brutal, either resulting in death or severe injury!
Even though Xun Heihu had trained, he had never dared to use such techniques.
'I don’t need to find a master to learn from... but the lack of money is a big problem.'
Ninth-rank martial artists actually had many ways to earn money, such as working as bodyguards or joining a security company.
But each of these options required a significant amount of time and effort, which was not suitable for Xun Heihu at the moment.
He had no choice but to take things one step at a time.
...
After visiting Zhang Kaitai, Xun Heihu followed Coach Yu to register and choose an empty villa to live in.
'I don’t need to find a master since I already know the martial techniques... but the money issue... I can’t really be as shameless as the spirit artifact suggested, can I?'
Xun Heihu was anxious and was about to speak when Coach Yu said, "Alright, everything is settled... but I have some bad news for you. No coach seems to have taken a liking to you. Otherwise, you would have received hints by now."
"Why?"
Xun Heihu felt a sense of relief in his heart but his expression showed some dissatisfaction. "In this batch of martial disciples, I’m clearly ranked third..."
"Because you’re not from a noble family. The two ahead of you, Wei Chigang and Situ Yanyan, both come from martial lineages. What is a martial lineage? It’s a family where every generation has inner strength experts, and some even have ancestors who were upper three-rank grandmasters."
Coach Yu continued, "You’ve managed to catch up to those two geniuses, which shows that you have decent martial talent, but it’s only decent. It’s not enough to make us want to invest a lot of resources in you."
"Investment?"
Xun Heihu seemed to understand something.
"Lower three-rank martial arts are hard-core cultivation, and resources are the most important. For example, Wei Chigang takes a Jade Dust Pill every day. This pill neutralizes the toxicity of the Golden Mercury Pill, allowing him to take one every two days... of course, the extra quota has to be bought with your own money, but he can afford it. The value of the Jade Dust Pill is even higher than that of the Golden Mercury Pill..."
"Advancing in the lower three ranks is closely tied to resources, so martial arts are like a gold-consuming beast! And cultivating inner strength is better when started at a younger age... do you understand?"
Coach Yu looked at Xun Heihu with a hint of pity in her eyes. "Those martial disciples outside can’t see the shadow of the noble families, so their lives will be like this. For geniuses like you, seeing but not being able to reach it is the true despair..."
"But... didn’t you take Jiang Yuyan as your disciple?" Xun Heihu seemed to have an idea. "It seems you also disapprove of this..."
"Exactly, you’re very smart. If someone had supported me back then, how could I have been stuck at the sixth rank for life?"
Coach Yu advised, "I suggest you accumulate as much as you can over the next few years, then immediately join the Five Beasts Army. Perhaps you still have a chance..."
"Thank you, Coach Yu, for your guidance."
Xun Heihu thanked her and went to his small courtyard.
Bang!
He closed the door and let out a long breath, silently thinking to himself, 'If it were someone else, they might be despairing... but not me.'
'I have the True Martial Talisman, an opportunity beyond imagination. Even if I just practice ten times more than others every day, I won’t fall behind the noble families!'
...
A few days later.
At the gate of the White Deer Academy.
"Father?"
Xun Heihu looked at the dusty Xun Lao Liu, his eyes slightly red. "I... I’m a ninth-rank martial artist now..."
"Ha ha, good boy, worthy of my blood. You’ve achieved this in just a few months."
Xun Lao Liu patted Xun Heihu’s shoulder, feeling equally incredulous.
He knew his son’s character better than anyone.
He hadn’t expected to be wrong about him?
Was it because he had been too busy traveling in recent years and hadn’t observed him closely enough?
He thought for a moment and handed over a package. "This is the clothes and shoes your mother made for you... training is tough, so eat more."
Xun Lao Liu stepped forward and lowered his voice. "There’s a thousand silver taels sewn into the clothes. All are five-tael bills from Baoyuan House, which can be exchanged immediately... don’t hesitate to spend it."
"Father, where did you get so much money?"
Xun Heihu was stunned.
He had been secretly worried and was almost ready to sell himself...
He hadn’t expected his father to be such a wealthy man.
"A friend lent it to me..."
Xun Lao Liu casually lied, hesitated for a moment, and then added, "And remember, never sell the Golden Mercury Pills privately! If you really need to, I have ways!"
...
Watching Xun Lao Liu’s departing figure, Xun Heihu fell silent.
He returned to his small courtyard, closed the door and windows, and tore open the clothes to reveal the gleaming silver bills.
"Baoyuan House is the dominant bank in Chu Prefecture, backed by the Five Beasts Sect..."
"A thousand taels, solid and real, will last a long time if I’m careful."
"My father’s movements just now... he clearly knows martial arts and is quite strong!"
Xun Heihu clutched the True Martial Talisman around his neck, eager to ask his father about this treasure.
But remembering the oath he had made, not to tell anyone about the True Martial Talisman, he fell into a dilemma...
(End of Chapter)
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