The two walked along the veranda, taking a tour of the martial arts hall.
The front courtyard was spacious and paved with bluestone, serving as the training ground where outer courtyard disciples practiced martial arts and tempered their blood qi.
Passing through a carved hanging flower gate led to the inner courtyard.
The scenery here was much more elegant.
Rockeries were piled high, and a stream of fresh water wound its way down with a soft, bubbling sound. A bamboo forest was planted in the corner of the wall, with remnants of snow resting on the leaves.
This was where the inner courtyard disciples trained and had their martial skills assessed.
As for the back courtyard, Xu Chuan pointed toward a moon gate and lowered his voice.
“That is where Master and First Senior Sister live and cultivate in peace. Without a summons, you must absolutely never enter.”
“I understand, Senior Brother.”
In addition, the dining hall, side rooms, armory, and bathhouse were all fully equipped.
There were also several dormitories for disciples to rest in, clean and tidy with bright windows.
After walking through the entire place, Xu Chuan stopped, his expression turning serious as he began to lay down the rules.
“Junior Brother Shen, our martial arts hall doesn't have many rules for outer courtyard disciples, but there are two lines that must never be crossed.”
“First, you must not use the name of the martial arts hall to bully others or cause trouble outside.”
“Second, you must respect the Master and honor the Dao. Fellow disciples must not harm one another. Otherwise, Master will personally clean house. Have you committed this to memory?”
Shen Xiuhan listened attentively and cupped his fists. “I will keep this firmly in mind!”
Once the rules were set, Shen Xiuhan waited for a moment before he finally couldn't help but ask,
“Senior Brother, when do I begin training?”
“Look at you, getting impatient already, aren't you?”
Xu Chuan seemed to have been waiting for this exact question. He chuckled, shaking his head.
“The martial path prioritizes the foundation above all else. As the saying goes, a high-rise of ten thousand feet starts from the ground up... Junior Brother Shen, do you know the three major thresholds of the Mingjin Rank, the first stage of the martial path?”
Shen Xiuhan nodded.
“I know a little. Are they the three realms of Blood Tempering, Bone Tempering, and Tendon Tempering?”
“Correct.”
Xu Chuan smiled and recited a martial proverb:
“Six months to knock on the Blood Gate, three years to temper bones and tendons. Do not expect to learn martial arts without suffering; slackers can never become tigers!”
“The beginning is always the hardest, and the foundation is especially critical. For your first few days in the hall, Master will personally supervise and teach you the stance work.”
“Once you have grasped the basics, you will train alongside us. Master will only step in to offer guidance during assessments.”
Realization dawned on Shen Xiuhan, and he said with some embarrassment, “So that's how it is. I was too impatient...”
“Haha, it's fine. We all went through the same thing.”
Shen Xiuhan paused for a moment and then asked,
“By the way, Senior Brother, what did you mean by 'six months to knock on the Blood Gate, three years to temper bones and tendons'?”
Seeing him ask so humbly, Xu Chuan explained patiently,
“That refers to the three thresholds of the Mingjin Rank.”
“For instance, 'six months to knock on the Blood Gate' means that someone with decent martial aptitude who practices stance work hard every day will, at most, take six months to sense the surge of their blood qi and knock open the door to the Blood Tempering realm.”
“Once the blood qi of the entire body is fully tempered and the qi circulation becomes one with the heavens, one can attempt Bone Tempering...”
“However, the Bone Tempering realm is still too far off for you. What you need to do now is sense your blood qi within six months. Only then will you have truly set foot on the path.”
Six months...
Shen Xiuhan fell into deep thought.
No wonder Mei Shuangfeng had said yesterday that half a year was enough to see whether he was a dragon or a worm in the martial path. So that was what she meant!
But for him, six months was far too slow.
Ma Xianyang wouldn't give him that much time.
After pondering for a moment, Shen Xiuhan said,
“Senior Brother, does everyone take six months to sense their blood qi?”
“Of course not.”
Xu Chuan shook his head immediately.
“Sensing blood qi in six months is barely passing. Those with truly exceptional martial talent can sense it in a month or two at most.”
“Oh? Then how long did it take you, Senior Brother?”
“Me?”
Xu Chuan laughed, his tone filled with pride.
“It took me thirty-seven days.”
Thirty-seven days...
No wonder he was the second disciple of the inner courtyard. He was indeed highly gifted.
“Then are you the fastest person in our martial arts hall to sense blood qi, Second Senior Brother?”
“Uh... no. There is someone faster than me, and that's our First Senior Sister.”
First Senior Sister?
She was probably the woman in martial attire who had led him to see Mei Shuangfeng yesterday.
At the mention of First Senior Sister, Xu Chuan visibly perked up, his eyes shining with excitement.
“First Senior Sister only took eighteen days to sense her blood qi. Because of this, she is known alongside Changyun County's Bai Jing, Luo Tangyin, and Zhao Honggang as the 'Four Prodigies of Changyun'.”
Shen Xiuhan didn't notice that when Xu Chuan mentioned the last name, there was a slight pause in his voice.
He was entirely focused on calculating how to sense his blood qi as quickly as possible.
Hearing Xu Chuan's words, Shen Xiuhan gave a bitter smile.
“Senior Brother, you all progress so quickly. It puts a lot of pressure on me. What if my aptitude is too poor and I can't even sense my blood qi in six months...”
“Hey, who told you we all achieved it solely through hard training?”
“Huh?”
Seeing Shen Xiuhan's blank expression, Xu Chuan smiled and explained,
“There's an old saying: 'Scholarship is for the poor, but martial arts is for the rich.' On the martial path, aside from one's own talent, various cultivation resources are absolutely indispensable.”
“For example, the secret medicinal paste brewed by Master. Applying it all over your body allows the medicinal power to be absorbed as you practice stance work, yielding twice the result with half the effort.”
Shen Xiuhan understood instantly. Remembering the Silverback Fish he had sold to Mei Shuangfeng, he asked,
“Senior Brother, what about Precious Fish? I've heard rumors on the streets that eating a single Precious Fish is enough to equal several months of hard training.”
“Eating them?”
Xu Chuan laughed and shook his head.
“Completely wrong. Eating Precious Fish directly is a terrible waste of heaven's gifts.”
Hearing this, Shen Xiuhan felt a bit embarrassed and quickly cupped his fists. “Please enlighten me, Senior Brother.”
“It's no secret. You'll find out eventually anyway, so I'll just explain it to you briefly.”
Xu Chuan's expression turned slightly serious.
“A Precious Fish is entirely a creation of heaven and earth. If you swallow it whole, seventy to eighty percent of its medicinal efficacy will be wasted.”
“Naturally, it must be supplemented with various aged ginseng and precious spiritual herbs, then handed over to an alchemist to be refined into pills. Only then can its essence be locked in.”
“The strange bones and sharp spikes of some ferocious Precious Fish can even be fashioned by master craftsmen into divine weapons that slice through iron like clay...”
Shen Xiuhan couldn't help but recall the bone spike on the snout of that Silverback Fish.
“Therefore, for martial artists, consuming blood qi pills refined from Precious Fish is what truly allows one to make rapid, daily strides.”
“Speaking of Precious Fish...”
Xu Chuan sized Shen Xiuhan up from head to toe.
“I heard you came to our door yesterday carrying a fish basket. I assume you're also a fisherman making a living on the lake?”
“Uh, yes, that's correct.”
“If you happen to catch any Precious Fish in the future, you can sell them directly to Master.”
Seeing the confusion on Shen Xiuhan's face, Xu Chuan smiled and said,
“You might not know this, but refining precious pills requires an alchemist to take action.”
“Most alchemists in Changyun County are retained as guest elders by the great families. If you take a Precious Fish to them, there's no telling how many finished pills they'll greedily embezzle or skim off!”
“But Master is actually a hidden alchemist!”
“Not only that, but Master charges a fair price to inner courtyard disciples, about ten to twenty percent cheaper than pills on the black market.”
“So that's how it is...”
Shen Xiuhan came to a sudden realization.
In his mind, the image of the large cauldron he had glimpsed behind the screen when visiting the main room of the back courtyard yesterday involuntarily surfaced.
Rate on N.U.
