Chen Yuan’s guess was spot on.
As soon as Xue Anping approached him, he spoke frankly: "Brother Chen, as you know, the Gu Family’s four-month deadline is approaching. I can’t compare to you; I only have a forty percent chance of success. So, I was hoping to borrow some silver from you on a ’take nine, repay thirteen’ basis. How about it?"
Chen Yuan pondered for a moment before saying, "Then I will lend you enough silver to buy a Blood Qi Pill. If you successfully break through, you’ll repay me on a ’take nine, repay thirteen’ basis. If you fail, I won’t charge you any interest."
Xue Anping let out a breath and smiled. "Thank you for your generosity, Brother Chen. Xue will definitely do his utmost to break through the gate."
Chen Yuan gave a slight nod. "Do your best. I’m rooting for your success as well."
A ’take nine, repay thirteen’ rate would yield over one mace of silver in interest. Every little bit counted, after all.
Xue Anping murmured in agreement. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, he said, "Brother Chen, earlier today, someone came to the Huo Courtyard to become an apprentice. He said he was a friend of yours."
Chen Yuan paused, slightly raising his eyebrows. "What was his name? What happened?"
Xue Anping shook his head. "Master Huo examined his bones and found he didn’t have the Root Bone for martial arts, so he was turned away. His name... I think it was Zhang Tieniu."
Chen Yuan realized who it was, a wave of melancholy washing over him.
He recalled the days a few months ago when he had sweated profusely as a dockworker at Hengjiang Port. In his rare moments of free time, he would sit on the wooden docks, staring blankly at the sparkling river surface dyed red by the setting sun. Zhang Tieniu would sit beside him, his eyes shining brightly as he talked about how he would definitely practice martial arts once he saved up enough money.
Chen Yuan had harbored the same expectation, silently saving his money. For them, martial arts was the only path to change their destinies. Back then, he never would have imagined that in just four or five months, their life trajectories would diverge so drastically.
He was now an initiate Martial Artist with Minor Achievement in skin-refining, earning over a dozen taels of silver a month—dozens of times what he made hauling cargo at the docks. Meanwhile, Zhang Tieniu, who had finally saved enough money, didn’t even have the qualifications to practice martial arts.
But it was normal. After all, even Sun Shun, who had been eliminated in the very first month, was the cream of the crop selected from over a dozen youths.
Nearby, Sun Chengjie let out a sigh. Comparing himself to Chen Yuan’s friend, he realized he was already quite lucky. Being able to stand here and practice his fist arts, and even having the chance to touch the Skin Gate, meant he had already surpassed many of his peers. He wanted to continue standing here.
Chen Yuan sighed softly. "He is indeed my friend. What a pity."
Since leaving the Chen Family at Lotus Lane, he had never seen Zhang Tieniu or Liu Dachun again. Even within the same city, the chances of running into each other without deliberately looking were minuscule. But even if they did cross paths now, Chen Yuan wouldn’t know what to say. "A pot of cheap wine for a joyous reunion?" There was an invisible barrier between them now.
After their break, Chen Yuan resumed practicing his stance training. Xue Anping and Sun Chengjie didn’t dare slack off either.
The sun rose and the moon set. Time was like a surging river rolling eastward, never to return.
Chen Yuan’s daily routine underwent some slight changes. He no longer needed to wake up early, as he now had a reason to stay up late. His efficiency in cultivating Blood Qi had improved, and he no longer had to waste time on trivial chores like patrolling. He usually spent his days practicing martial arts in the clearing next to the Medicinal Garden. His days were quite leisurely.
He did occasionally encounter attacks from wild beasts—tigers and leopards—which were quite ferocious. However, Chen Yuan and Zhang Hong simply hid behind the iron fences. Chen Yuan thrust his spear while Zhang Hong shot his arrows. Since both the spearhead and the arrowheads were coated with paralyzing toxins, they ensured the beasts went on a one-way trip.
Then came the feast. They would light a campfire under the jungle sunset and enjoy a delicious barbecue—a rather pleasant affair. Tiger pelts, tiger bones, tiger penises, and any leftover meat could all be sold for silver, serving as extra income. But such occurrences were rare. Generally, tigers were highly vigilant and incredibly agile, making them difficult to kill.
Overall, his guard duty proceeded in an orderly manner.
Back at the Huo Courtyard, both Sun Chengjie and Xue Anping attempted to break through the gate right at the deadline.
The final results were cruel but realistic.
Xue Anping successfully broke through, becoming a Skin Gate Martial Artist. Given his Comprehension, there was a high probability he would grasp Manifest Force. Becoming an initiate Martial Artist was just around the corner. The interest had been secured.
Sun Chengjie, on the other hand, failed. He was inferior in both resources and Comprehension, so it was to be expected. Fortunately, he had consumed a Blood Qi Pill, which helped him withstand the backlash of Blood Qi and prevented any damage to his Root Bone. If he could continue throwing money at his martial arts training, he might still have a chance to break through. But in his situation, having lost the Gu Family’s sponsorship, he could only bow out quietly.
Such was reality. For the same endeavor, some people had countless opportunities; if they failed, they could simply try again. Others had to consider whether this was the only opportunity they would ever get in their entire lives. Sun Chengjie was clearly the latter.
Just as he had done for Zhang Shi, Chen Yuan saw Sun Chengjie off.
Before parting ways, Sun Chengjie forced a smile. "Brother Chen, you must keep walking this path. I will repay those three maces of silver as soon as I can."
Chen Yuan patted him on the shoulder and smiled gently. "No rush. There’s plenty of time. Take care of yourself."
His figure gradually disappeared around the street corner.
With that, the first phase of the Gu Family’s sponsorship for the eight martial arts apprentices came to a close. Two had been eliminated, one had died, and one had been expelled. Yu Yan, Gao Mingchang, Cao Yan, and Xue Anping successfully passed the assessment and could stay on to work for the Gu Family.
Chen Yuan shook his head, pushing away his stray thoughts, and returned to the Huo Courtyard to continue his training.
As for Xue Anping’s successful breakthrough, it didn’t cause much of a stir. After some simple congratulations, only Tao Ping gifted him a Blood Qi Pill, as per tradition. It wasn’t as stunning as Xu Heng breaking through the Skin Gate in one and a half months, nor was it as shocking as Chen Yuan consecutively achieving Manifest Force and breaking the Skin Gate in two and a half months, despite his Upper-Ding aptitude.
A few days later, another major event occurred at the Huo Courtyard.
Xu Heng, who had been cultivating in seclusion in the Inner Courtyard for two months, silently broke through and became a Bone-refining Martial Artist! It had only been four months since he first entered the Huo Courtyard to practice martial arts.
When Xu Heng appeared in the Outer Courtyard, all his fellow apprentices surrounded him, their voices ringing with endless congratulations. The gifts brought out by the higher-stage senior brothers and sisters were at least on the level of Bone Strengthening Pills. Initiate Martial Artists couldn’t afford to offer decent gifts.
Chen Yuan wasn’t worried about giving a gift, simply because he didn’t plan to offer one at all. Xu Heng was his senior brother. Since when did junior brothers have to give gifts when a senior brother broke through? It was already good enough that he didn’t demand a red envelope from him.
However, he was secretly astonished by Xu Heng’s progress. His own Root Bone was at the Upper-Bing tier, yet he had only achieved Minor Achievement in skin-refining a few days ago, whereas Xu Heng had already broken through the Bone Gate. He had most likely broken through from the absolute limit of skin-refining—the Copper Skin stage.
An Upper-Yi Root Bone was truly terrifying!
"Junior Brother Chen, what are your thoughts?" Fang Minghai said with a beaming smile.
Chen Yuan offered a bitter smile. "Senior Brother Xu possesses peerless talent. To break through the Bone Gate in four months... I’m deeply ashamed of my inferiority."
Recently, due to the sponsorship matter, he had become quite familiar with Fang Minghai. They often sparred together to hone their mastery of the Xin Yi Liu He Fist. This Senior Brother Fang had a rather tragic situation. Even though his physical body had reached Minor Achievement in muscle-refining, he had been stuck at Great Success in Manifest Force for years, unable to comprehend Hidden Force.
As Fang Minghai put it, Comprehension was profoundly mysterious. Some people had decent Root Bones but would never comprehend Hidden Force in their entire lives; some even struggled with Manifest Force. Not to mention the far more difficult Projected Force. Master Huo’s prized pupil from his earlier years, Huang Yan, had been stuck at Hidden Force for over a decade.
Fang Minghai chuckled. "An Upper-Yi Root Bone truly makes him the cream of the crop for this generation. But compared to a Jia-tier Root Bone, he still falls quite short."
Chen Yuan knitted his brows slightly and asked, "Senior Brother Fang, does our generation have someone with a Jia-tier Root Bone?"
Fang Minghai gave a slight shake of his head. "Not quite. The strongest Root Bone in your class of martial arts apprentices is Upper-Yi. However, in the previous class, there was someone with a Jia-tier Root Bone.
"At the time, he broke through the Bone Gate in less than three months and comprehended Hidden Force in four, causing a massive sensation. Ultimately, he outshone everyone in the martial arts exams, snatching first place in one fell swoop. His unmatched glory was far more stunning than Xu Heng’s.
"He’s now in his early twenties and is already a prominent expert in Qingyuan County. Since you work as a guard for the Li Family, you should know who I’m talking about, right?"
Chen Yuan had naturally heard of him. "The Li Family’s Young Master, Li Qingshan. I’ve heard people talk about him, but I’ve never had the chance to meet him."
This Li Qingshan was absolutely a prodigy. His talent was more than enough for him to leave Qingyuan County and head to the far more prosperous Prefecture City.
Chen Yuan wasn’t in a hurry. He wasn’t even eighteen yet. Once he laid low and grew steadily until he was twenty-five...
He scoffed inwardly. "A Jia-tier Root Bone? What kind of inferior Spirit Root is that? You can all kiss my ass!"