The afternoon he broke through to Manifest Force became a turning point in Chen Yuan’s martial arts journey.
When someone from the Gu Family came to summon him, Chen Yuan was completely clueless.
Upon arriving at the wing room, he found Huang Yan looking somewhat grave, alongside the ever-unsmiling Gu Ye.
Chen Yuan cupped his hands in greeting. "Steward Gu, Senior Brother Huang."
Gu Ye waved his hand, gesturing for him to sit, before speaking slowly.
"Chen Yuan, your performance over the past two months has been quite good. We originally intended to continue nurturing you.
"However, due to funding issues within the Gu Family, I regret to inform you that our sponsorship ends here. Starting next month, you’re on your own."
Chen Yuan’s heart skipped a beat. He was being dropped?
This was entirely out of his expectations. His performance was second only to Yu Yan’s. Just half a month ago, he had defeated Cao Yan and Gao Mingchang in succession, and his sponsorship had even been increased to seven taels.
Did the massive Gu Family really lack seven taels of silver?
Besides, shouldn’t Cao Yan and Gao Mingchang be the ones getting dropped? It was impossible for them to be idiotic enough to judge solely based on Root Bone and completely ignore actual performance, right?
For a moment, his mind raced with a myriad of thoughts. He realized that this definitely wasn’t as simple as the Gu Family being short on money. Someone was absolutely pulling strings behind the scenes! But who could it be? It was hard to guess.
After a moment of silence, Chen Yuan spoke slowly, "Is the decision final?"
Gu Ye nodded, his expression turning serious. "Although it’s a bit sudden, this is the Patriarch’s decision. It cannot be changed."
"Then, do I need to pay anything back?" Chen Yuan asked.
His immediate concern was whether the Gu Family would demand back the silver they had sponsored him with over the past few months. That would put him in a very difficult spot.
Gu Ye chuckled. "Don’t worry. Sponsoring you all came with inherent risks. If we demanded our money back every time things didn’t work out, who would ever be willing to work for the Gu Family? Just consider it as us building some goodwill."
Relieved, Chen Yuan cupped his hands. "Thank you for your guidance, Steward Gu. I will keep it in my heart. If there is ever anything within my power to do for you in the future, I absolutely will not decline."
One thing was separate from another. Even though the Gu Family abruptly cutting off his sponsorship was an underhanded move, they were still the ones who had provided his initial funding. Without the Gu Family, it would have been difficult for him to reach this stage in such a short time. Chen Yuan remained grateful for that.
At those words, Gu Ye fell silent. He looked at Chen Yuan with a hint of regret in his eyes. He hadn’t expected Chen Yuan to remain unaffected by his emotions. Instead of cursing the Gu Family for their perfidy, he had actually spoken words of repaying a debt of gratitude.
He was reasonable and understood honor and disgrace—a rare trait. It was truly a pity to lose such a talent.
Gu Ye slowly spoke again, "The one you should be thanking is Master Huang. It was because of his mediation that you get to keep the remainder of this month’s sponsorship, so your funding isn’t cut off immediately."
Chen Yuan nodded and cupped his hands toward Huang Yan. "Thank you, Senior Brother, for mediating on my behalf. I will remember this."
Huang Yan waved his hand dismissively and said evenly, "I just said what needed to be said. That Yu Yan was certainly dreaming big, wanting me to go to Master and ask for the money back? I can’t afford to lose that much face, and neither can the Gu Family."
Chen Yuan’s gaze sharpened. It really was related to Yu Yan.
Then he heard Huang Yan’s reminder: "Chen Yuan, you now have a half-month buffer period. If you want to continue practicing martial arts, you must break through the Skin Barrier within these two weeks. Only then can you find a faction to affiliate with, allowing you to earn money while continuing your training.
"If you can’t find a suitable faction, you can come looking for me then. I have a few close friends here in Qingyuan County, and I can give you a recommendation or two."
Chen Yuan nodded firmly. "Thank you, Senior Brother! I will definitely train hard and strive to break through the Skin Barrier as soon as possible."
This coincided perfectly with his own plans. Since he had been abandoned by the Gu Family, he had no choice but to find another backer. And the most basic requirement for finding a backer was to be an entry-level Martial Artist.
For Huang Yan to be willing to recommend him to a faction once he broke the Skin Barrier was already going above and beyond. He was truly supporting his junior fellow disciple.
Huang Yan gave a grunt of acknowledgment and added, "This matter wasn’t your fault, so don’t belittle yourself.
"Whether it was through hard work or Comprehension that you defeated Gao Mingchang and Cao Yan, both are part of your talent.
"Calm your mind and don’t let this incident affect you. I believe breaking through the Skin Barrier won’t be difficult for you. I will wait for the day you come looking for me."
Deeply moved, Chen Yuan said solemnly, "I definitely won’t disappoint your high expectations, Senior Brother." This senior brother was genuinely looking out for him.
After a few more words of conversation, the matter concluded, and Chen Yuan took his leave.
Inside the wing room, Gu Ye looked at the unusually "enthusiastic" Huang Yan and teased, "Master Huang, you really think highly of this junior brother of yours. You’re even willing to use your personal connections to find a way out for him."
Huang Yan took a sip of tea and said impassively, "We handled this matter poorly from the start. Dropping the person who ranked second while keeping a bunch of trash—it’s completely unheard of." He then fired back, "Besides, if I don’t favor a junior brother with excellent character and talent, am I supposed to favor a sleazy, scheming opportunist like Yu Yan?"
Gu Ye’s expression changed, and he warned in a low voice, "Master Huang, you’d better not say that outside. It will affect our unity."
Huang Yan gave a cold snort and got up to leave.
Gu Ye took a sip of tea and suddenly smiled. Well, the man wasn’t wrong.
Chen Yuan didn’t leave in a hurry; instead, he sought out people within the Gu Family to gather information.
Sure enough, he discovered the truth. Yu Yan had actually become a live-in son-in-law for the Gu Family. His match was none other than the Patriarch’s youngest daughter, Gu Wantong—the very Miss that Yu had mentioned.
No wonder he was able to get the Gu Family to drop him. Chen Yuan almost admired Yu Yan; the guy was quite capable.
However, he wasn’t sure whether being abandoned by the Gu Family was a good or bad thing. The downside was obvious: he needed to find a new backer as soon as possible, or else he’d be going hungry by next month. The upside was that he was no longer bound to the Gu Family, granting him the freedom that the Zhou Brothers had spoken of.
Whether this turned out to be a blessing or a curse depended entirely on Chen Yuan himself. If he had the ability to find a better backer than the Gu Family, then it would absolutely be a good thing.
Taking a deep breath, Chen Yuan headed in the direction of the Huo Courtyard. Tomorrow, he would exchange for a Blood Qi Pill and a Skin Strengthening Pill. Breaking through the Skin Barrier was absolutely imperative.
By the time he returned to the Huo Courtyard, it was already dinner time. When Sun Chengjie asked what Chen Yuan had gone to the Gu Family for, he just brushed it off vaguely, saying it was a trivial matter.
And it truly was a trivial matter. Though Chen Yuan felt that in the eyes of others, it would most likely be considered a massive deal. It was always better to avoid unnecessary trouble.
That night, after finishing his martial arts practice, Chen Yuan walked the dark roads back to his Aunt’s home, only to find his cousin, Cheng Xiaoyu, waiting for him at the door.
Spotting him approaching, she pulled him toward the small grove outside the house. Under the moonlight, a look of worry was visible on her small face.
"Why all the secrecy? Is there something shameful we need to hide?" Chen Yuan asked with a smile.
"Brother Yuan, how can you still smile!" Cheng Xiaoyu exclaimed in surprise before lowering her voice. "Brother, I know everything. The Gu Family cancelled your sponsorship! What exactly is the reason? Weren’t you ranked first in the assessment last month?"
Chen Yuan patted her head and said with a relaxed expression, "It’s just a minor issue. Don’t worry. Remember, don’t tell your parents about this yet, so Aunt won’t worry."
"Brother Yuan, don’t pretend to be relaxed. Besides, this can’t be hidden. If I hadn’t wanted to check in with you first, I would have already told my mother." Cheng Xiaoyu clearly felt this was a matter of monumental importance.
She wasn’t stupid; she knew that practicing martial arts consumed a massive amount of silver. Without the Gu Family’s sponsorship, whether he could even stay at the Huo Courtyard would become a serious problem.
Chen Yuan smiled and replied evenly, "The best time to kill a fierce tiger is when it’s still a crying cub, before it has fully grown. The same goes for me. If my sponsorship had been cut off a month ago, it might have been very troublesome. But now, I’ve come into my own. I can hunt for myself."
Cheng Xiaoyu listened in utter confusion. What was he babbling about? Wasn’t Brother Yuan a person? How did he turn into a tiger? And what was this about hunting for food?
Laughing, Chen Yuan patted her on the shoulder. "Don’t overthink it, silly girl. Give me three days, and I’ll naturally resolve the issue with my martial arts. Hurry up and get inside; the wind is strong out here." He then pulled Cheng Xiaoyu along as they walked into the house.
"Yu, where were you dragging your Brother Yuan off to?" Aunt’s voice called out.
"N-nothing," Cheng Xiaoyu replied evasively.
"Yuan, is your martial arts practice going smoothly? Are you tired?" Aunt turned to look at Chen Yuan, her face full of concern.
Chen Yuan smiled. "It’s fine. I’m used to it."
Aunt nodded and lowered her head again, doing her needlework by the faint light of a candle. Chen Yuan knew she was sewing autumn clothes for him.
He said softly, "Aunt, it’s getting late. You don’t need to make clothes for me. I practice martial arts every day, so my body is always burning warm."
Aunt continued to carefully thread her needle, replying gently, "It’s no bother. Wearing some thick, sturdy clothes is always a good thing."
Chen Yuan smiled and didn’t bring the matter up again, sitting with his Aunt and chatting casually. They talked about trivial things—a bit of endless rambling—yet it was exactly this that brought his heart the greatest sense of peace.