Gu Ye’s intentions were obvious. The extra five maces of silver was both an investment in him and a means to spur their competitive drive.
Chen Yuan’s mind remained as calm as a placid lake, completely undisturbed. Though he didn’t want to become a target for everyone’s envy, he wasn’t afraid of healthy competition either. In fact, he felt a surge of motivation and resolved to secure the five maces for the best monthly performance. After all, how could one practice martial arts without money?
"If none of you have pressing matters, we will have lunch here. Afterward, Master Huang and I will take you to formally acknowledge your masters," Gu Ye said. He scanned the crowd, and seeing no one step forward to object, he turned and headed toward the Dining Hall.
The food was indeed excellent, featuring several meat dishes. Chen Yuan kept his head down and ate heartily, only setting his chopsticks aside when his stomach felt slightly bloated. He didn’t dare overeat since he would be training soon.
After a brief rest following the meal, Gu Ye and Master Huang returned. They split the group into two, leading one batch to the Changhong Martial Arts Hall and the other to the Huo Courtyard.
The burly man who had previously checked their bone structures—Master Huang—led Chen Yuan’s group of five. His full name was Huang Yan, and he was the head of the Gu family’s Nursing Home. If they successfully broke through the martial threshold, they would eventually work under him, so none of them dared to act out of line.
They stepped into the Huo Courtyard without any hindrance. A spacious Martial Arts Arena immediately greeted their eyes, dotted with Plum Blossom Stakes, stone locks, and weapon racks lined with Swords, Spears, and Halberds. Though not as systematically laid out as a formal Martial Arts Hall, it was fully equipped despite its modest size.
Perhaps because the disciples of the Huo Courtyard had also just finished lunch, only a sparse few were practicing their routines in the arena. Instead, a good number of people were gathered under the awning, drinking tea.
"Familiarize yourselves with the environment first. I’m going to discuss some matters with Master Huo," Huang Yan tossed back casually as he made his way toward the Inner Courtyard like he owned the place.
"Take care, Senior Brother Huang," the senior disciple who had guided them into the courtyard said politely. He then turned to face Chen Yuan’s group of five with a faint smile. "Junior brothers, my name is Tao Ping. Follow me to tour the courtyard, and I’ll explain the rules of the Huo Courtyard to you."
"Greetings, Senior Brother Tao," the five youths said, clasping their hands in respect.
Following Tao Ping’s lead around the relatively small compound, Chen Yuan quickly memorized the layout. It had everything they needed—a storehouse, a Dining Hall, and a bathhouse. Each of them was also issued a set of training clothes.
As for the rules, there weren’t many. They were forbidden from causing trouble outside in the name of the Huo Courtyard. For formal sparring or arena fights, they had to declare their names and styles. Harming fellow disciples was strictly prohibited, and no one was allowed to enter the Inner Courtyard without permission. That was essentially it.
They also learned from Tao Ping that Huang Yan was one of the first disciples Master Huo took in when he established the Martial Arts Academy, and he was among the most successful. Chen Yuan wasn’t surprised by this. If the Gu family chose the Huo Courtyard, they naturally had their reasons; it was now clear that Huang Yan’s connection played a major role.
After they finished their tour, Huang Yan emerged from the Inner Courtyard alongside a middle-aged man whose back was as straight as a pine tree.
"Master Huo," Tao Ping greeted him first.
Chen Yuan and the others followed suit, bowing while quietly sizing the master up. He didn’t look particularly robust. In fact, he appeared somewhat lean. Yet, his gaze was sharp and brimming with vigor. The invisible aura he radiated just standing there was even stronger than Huang Yan’s.
Huang Yan glanced at the five boys and spoke in a deep voice, "From today onward, the five of you will study martial arts under Master Huo. You are not to slack off. Given your bone structures, as long as you aren’t completely stupid, you all have a chance to successfully break through." He then whispered a few words to Master Huo and took his leave.
Master Huo stood with his hands behind his back, seemingly in no rush to impart any skills. Instead, his gaze swept over each of the five youths as he spoke evenly. "Practicing martial arts is a process of tempering the physique and nourishing vital blood. Your bone structure is the foundation, and hard training is the focus, but the real key lies in dietary supplementation. Without ample vital blood for nourishment, blind training will only damage your bodies. There are quite a few whose vital blood actually deteriorates the more they train. Do you understand what I mean?"
Chen Yuan thought, "I understand perfectly." He had long heard the saying that martial arts was thirty percent training and seventy percent eating. The adage that scholars were poor while martial artists were rich didn’t come from nowhere. The so-called apprenticeship fee was merely a stepping stone.
Sun Chengjie swallowed hard and asked, "Master Huo, is one tael of silver a month for food not enough?"
"If you only want to strengthen your bodies and stay fit, it’s naturally enough," Master Huo replied mildly. "However, if you want to break through the threshold, you need to accumulate as much vital blood as possible. Should you fail, at best, all your efforts will be wasted. At worst, you will suffer a backlash and permanently damage your vitality."
Noticing their varying expressions, Master Huo added, "That is all I will say on the matter. You must weigh it according to your own circumstances. Now, I will teach you the most fundamental stance work. Watch carefully and follow along."
With that, he spread his feet apart and slightly bent his knees. His lower stance was as solid as a mountain, while his arms moved with the fluid yet explosive grace of a dragon and snake, spontaneously exuding an aura of robust power. He explained as he moved, "Our courtyard is not like other Martial Arts Halls with a wide variety of stances to choose from. I only have this Rocky Pile Skill. But there is no need to belittle it. If you can train diligently and grasp its essence, it is more than enough to handle any changing situation with constancy."
Chen Yuan focused entirely on observing Master Huo’s movements, clumsily imitating the slow-motion demonstration and instructions. Glancing around from the corner of his eye, he noticed the other four were also crooked and wobbly. They were clearly struggling to execute many of the moves.
After completing one full demonstration, Master Huo began correcting their mistakes one by one.
"Hollow your chest and straighten your back! Tuck your abdomen and lift your hips! Drop your shoulders and sink your elbows! The Rocky Pile Skill primarily relies on an upright posture—steady as a boulder, explosive as a landslide!
"Bend your legs! Don’t be so slack! Hold your stances properly!"
Chen Yuan gritted his teeth as beads of sweat the size of soybeans continuously rolled down his face. His muscles gradually grew sore, and he felt it was even more exhausting than moving cargo at the docks.
Fortunately, Master Huo didn’t force them to master everything in a single afternoon. Seeing they had had enough, he waved his hand dismissively. "That will be all for today. Keep familiarizing yourselves with these stances. If you have any questions, go ask your senior brothers."
As soon as Master Huo left, the freckled youth named Liu Jin instantly collapsed, plopping down onto the ground. "So tiring! I feel like my body is going to fall apart," he complained.
Sun Chengjie also stopped to rest, panting heavily. Watching Chen Yuan, who was still holding his stance, he couldn’t help but ask, "Brother Chen, aren’t you tired? Master Huo said martial arts training must be done step by step. We can’t overtax our bodies."
"I’m fine. I’ll rest after one more repetition." Since Master Huo had just given them pointers, Chen Yuan decided to strike while the iron was hot and thoroughly digest the few stances he had learned.
[Rocky Pile Skill (Not Yet Initiated): 0/10]
After completing another round, the Cultivation Technique section on his panel was finally no longer empty. Chen Yuan let out a long breath and walked over to the awning to stretch his limbs.
Seeing this, Sun Chengjie gave him a thumbs-up and sighed. "Brother Chen, you’re amazing! You have better bone structure than us and you work this hard. It seems it will be quite difficult for us to surpass you and get the reward this month."
As soon as he said this, the other three youths, including Liu Jin, looked over with subtle expressions.
Chen Yuan smiled. "Not at all. I just know that my comprehension is lacking, so I want to make up for my clumsiness with diligence. None of you were learning any slower than I was just now." Ten points of comprehension was indeed somewhat low.
"Brother Chen, you’re too modest," Sun Chengjie laughed, though he did feel a bit better inside. He then looked at Liu Jin and the other two, adding with a smile, "Brothers, let’s not hurt our harmony over those five maces of silver. Since we all come from the Gu family, we ought to help each other out here in the Huo Courtyard. What do you say?"
Thanks to Sun Chengjie’s ice-breaking, Chen Yuan managed to learn more about Liu Jin and the other two. The taller youth was named He Qing. His father was a hunter who had lost an arm to a wild beast while hunting in the mountains a few years ago, causing their family to gradually fall into poverty. Given the current state of the world, just surviving a severed arm could only be described as a stroke of immense luck.
The other youth was rather quiet. They only learned that his name was Xue Anping. When they were learning the stances earlier, Chen Yuan noticed that he picked them up quite quickly, suggesting he had decent comprehension.
Chen Yuan also revealed a few of his own family’s misfortunes—wealth should never be flaunted, but bad news could always be shared. After all, everyone standing here had their own share of misery. Even if it didn’t foster deep empathy to bridge the gap between them, it could at least lower their guard.
Once their rest was over, they went right back to sweating buckets in training.