"How do we trade?" someone asked.
Zhou Yang was all smiles. "You all get three bowls of meat with your three daily meals. Sell them to us, and we'll give you ten copper coins a day. If you sell for all three months at once, we'll give you one tael of silver outright.
For the Strengthening Soup, worth one tael of silver, I'll pay 600 copper coins. Sell me your supply for three months all at once, and I'll give you two taels."
Some people looked tempted, swayed by Zhou Yang's words.
'Since I'm doomed to fail anyway, why not trade these things for some money?'
"What do you say, Junior Brother Xu?" Zhou Yang asked, looking at Xu Yang beside him.
Xu Yang was unmoved. "Sorry, I still want to practice martial arts."
'So after all that talk, he just wants to buy our things on the cheap,' Xu Yang thought. 'Of course, what Zhou Yang said is probably true.'
'But I'm different. I have the Martial Arts Longevity Panel.'
"Don't think I'm trying to trick you," Zhou Yang said. "If you don't believe me, wait for Senior Brother Sun Tao to arrive tomorrow and ask him, or go ask Master Lin. Besides Lu Ren, none of you can possibly succeed. Trading your resources for money is the smart thing to do."
He did indeed want to buy the meat and Strengthening Soup from Xu Yang and the others at a low price, but everything he had said was the truth, without a single lie.
In his eyes, aside from Lu Ren, none of them—not Xu Yang, not even Zhang Yong with his C-class Root Bone—could possibly become a Martial Artist.
"You should ask someone else, Senior Brother Zhou. I'm not interested at the moment."
Having rested enough, Xu Yang got up and left.
Seeing that Xu Yang wasn't taking the bait, Zhou Yuan's expression darkened, but he still called out, "If you change your mind, Junior Brother Xu, feel free to find us brothers anytime."
He hadn't expected Xu Yang to agree right away. After all, it was only the first day of training, and the kid was still dreaming of becoming a Martial Artist. Once reality had beaten him down for a few days, he would naturally change his tune.
In the blink of an eye, the afternoon flew by. Caught in an endless cycle of training and resting, Xu Yang had no idea how much he had sweat.
He only remembered downing at least a dozen pounds of water, and his whole body was now slick with sweat.
Of course, the results were gratifying. He had gone from being able to hold the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture for only two or three minutes to now lasting about five minutes at a time, and he could link many of the movements together smoothly.
Right now, his legs were trembling as if he'd been gang-banged a dozen times. He barely managed to drag his exhausted body to the bathhouse to wash off the stench of sweat, just in time for dinner.
This meal was even more delicious than lunch, and he ate even more.
A gentle warmth spread from his stomach, radiating throughout his body, and Xu Yang felt his exhaustion slowly melt away.
No one sitting together spoke a word. Everyone was dead tired. Even Lu Ren showed signs of fatigue. Luo Dehu, who was usually bouncing off the walls, now looked like a wilted vegetable and didn't want to talk either.
To his surprise, despite the Zhou brothers' grand-sounding offer, he noticed during dinner that no one had actually sold their meal.
'Perhaps they're afraid the Huang Family will hold them accountable,' he mused.
The price the Zhou brothers offered wasn't low. The only reason everyone could resist the temptation was likely because of the Huang Family.
After resting a while longer, everyone had regained some strength, and they rose together to leave the dining hall.
Despite the unpleasantness at noon, they still moved as a single group, entering and leaving together.
Even the five who didn't have a share of the Strengthening Soup accompanied Xu Yang and the other four to the Medicine Hall. They waited for them to drink their soup before everyone left Weiyuan Hall together.
By the time they stepped out of Weiyuan Hall, the sky had already begun to darken.
'As expected of Strengthening Soup that costs one tael of silver for three bowls. The effects are truly astounding,' he thought.
Just then, the effects of the Strengthening Soup began to kick in. Xu Yang felt his body heat up as sweat beaded on his skin, which was turning a shade of crimson.
The group thinned out along the way. By the time they left the city gates, he realized that only he and a youth named Qian Jiaxing lived outside the city; everyone else lived within the walls.
The two of them walked together for a while longer before Qian Jiaxing headed off in another direction, and they parted ways.
By the time Xu Yang returned to Bai Shi Workshop, there was little light left between heaven and earth. The fields were silent, without so much as a dog's bark.
After all, most people couldn't even feed themselves, so how could they afford to keep a dog?
He pushed open the door, and Xu Qing shot over in an instant. "How did it go, big brother?" she asked urgently. "Were you chosen?"
As she spoke, her voice trembled slightly.
Only she knew how much Xu Yang had suffered over the last six months for the sake of martial arts. Because of his work Mining, his hands were never free from blood blisters.
If he hadn't been chosen, she couldn't imagine how devastated Xu Yang would be.
Xu Yang ruffled the little girl's hair and nodded emphatically. "I was chosen. My Root Bone was ranked in the third tier, and I've already spent a day training at Weiyuan Hall."
"Ah... You were chosen! That's wonderful!"
Xu Qing shrieked with excitement, her cry piercing the night air.
"Keep your voice down!" Xu Yang said, startled. He ruffled her hair again.
The little girl quieted down a bit, though she was still giddy with excitement. "When you become a Martial Artist, you'll put that annoying Yang Jun in his place! And you'll make Xu the Second sick with regret! We'll just ignore him..."
"Mhm!"
Xu Yang nodded emphatically. "Go on and eat. You don't have to wait for me anymore. From now on, I'll be eating all three of my meals at Weiyuan Hall."
Xu Qing nodded, picked up her bowl, and began to eat.
Xu Yang sat down beside her. After a moment's thought, he said, "Don't tell anyone I've started practicing martial arts yet. If anyone asks, just say I've gone to work in the city."
If word got out that he had begun training, two things could happen. First, it might deter Li Hu, making him stop preying on Xu Qing.
But there was another possibility: Li Hu, fearing Xu Yang might become a Martial Artist and seek revenge, could decide to nip the problem in the bud.
Despite any previous friendly chatter, the truth was that everyone in the Bai Shi Workshop area would kill a member of the Sanhe Gang if they had the chance.
The Sanhe Gang was always shitting on their heads, scraping away a fifth of their yearly earnings. Everyone hated the gang's guts.
So, the best strategy was to keep a low profile until his martial arts training had shown some results.
"Mhm!"
Xu Qing didn't understand all this, but she would never disobey her brother.
...
At the fifth watch of the morning, Xu Yang woke up.
He didn't have the usual muscle soreness that came the day after overworking himself in the mines. Instead, he felt comfortable all over, brimming with energy, and it even felt like his strength had increased.
The first thing he did was look at the Martial Arts Longevity Panel.
[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 52]
'So many points!'
Between participating in the Huang Family's selection, learning the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture at Weiyuan Hall, and training desperately all day, the points he had been awarded exceeded his wildest imagination. He had actually netted fifty points.
In the past, it would have taken him nearly two months to earn that many points.
His earlier guess had been correct: only through practicing martial arts could he truly make use of the panel.
Of course, he had done a lot yesterday, all of which were beneficial to his Martial Arts Longevity, which was why he got so many points at once. He probably wouldn't receive such a large amount again unless he acquired a new Cultivation Technique or did something else that was equally beneficial to his Martial Arts Longevity.
'Others might have a one-in-ten chance of becoming a Martial Artist, but for me, it's a certainty.'
Such a large point reward filled Xu Yang with immense confidence.
He climbed out of bed and ate the leftovers from Xu Qing's dinner to quiet his rumbling stomach. Then, he sat on a stool and summoned the panel again:
[Comprehension: 21]
[Root Bone: 22]
[Cultivation: None]
[Cultivation Technique: Turtle and Snake Grand Posture · Uninitiated (0/5)]
[Skills: Mining Level 3 (283/400)]
[Remaining Lifespan: 57]
[Martial Arts Longevity Points: 52]