Chapter 9: The Cruel Reality

Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng, Li Chong, and Duan Rong, who was standing next to Li Chong, stood like they had roots growing from their feet, performing Standing Stake in the courtyard for a full hour; all four were drenched in sweat, with heat rising from the tops of their heads.

As for the four Miscellaneous Disciples standing behind them, they had only stood for half a stick of incense's time before their strength dissipated and they could no longer hold their breath, so they had no choice but to disperse.

It was not until it was time for the meal that Duan Rong's stomach began to growl.

Only then did Duan Rong press his hands down into the void before his chest, exhale a puff of white air, lift his feet, and walk out of the courtyard.

Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng, and Li Chong also each dispersed their cultivation.

Kong Bin looked at Duan Rong's back, seeing the shirt soaked through with sweat clinging tightly to Duan Rong's back; Kong Bin narrowed his pupils, his face expressionless.

"This kid is a bit strange," Zhang Zheng said, standing at Kong Bin's side.

"Had you noticed him before?" Kong Bin turned his head to glance at Zhang Zheng.

Zhang Zheng shook his head and said, "A guy who doesn't like to talk, and his talent for martial arts isn't outstanding either."

Kong Bin fell silent upon hearing this; Duan Rong indeed had no presence before, but now...

While Kong Bin was deep in thought, Li Chong walked over and said, "Isn't it just that he performed that routine well today? It's just a blind cat bumping into a dead mouse. Didn't you see that when we were doing Standing Stake, Escort Zhao Mu didn't even adjust his posture? Only when the stake is stood well can one generate strength; without strength, even the best routine is just a showy display."

Hearing Li Chong say this, Zhang Zheng nodded secretly; he also felt this was the truth.

But Kong Bin remained expressionless; he had, after all, seen the heat rising from Duan Rong's head and his shirt soaked through with sweat.

The more standard the Standing Stake posture, the greater the consumption; the greater the consumption, the better one can cultivate strength.

But by the same logic, the greater the consumption, the more it indicated that the Standing Stake posture was standard; working backward from this angle, Duan Rong's Hunyuan Stance had no issues at all.

"This kid, I need to pay attention to him," Kong Bin muttered silently to himself.

Duan Rong left the courtyard where firewood and charcoal were piled, went to the canteen first to collect his dinner, then left the Escort Agency and ate two donkey meat sandwiches on the street, drinking a large bowl of lamb offal soup.

With his stomach rounded from eating, Duan Rong wiped the red oil from his mouth and returned to the Escort Agency.

As soon as Duan Rong arrived at the Escort Agency, he found a secluded corner and began Standing Stake again.

After digesting the experience of the Entry Level Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber, the routine was no problem for him at all.

But Standing Stake to cultivate strength had to be done bit by bit; seeing that the assessment day was approaching, he could not be careless.

Through exploration, Duan Rong had basically understood the limits of his body.

He had just stood firmly for over an hour, and adding the hour from the morning, that made two hours.

But he could still stand for about another two hours by shifting the center of gravity between his left and right legs.

In this way, he could basically exhaust himself completely; in common terms, this was training thoroughly.

Only by training thoroughly could one increase strength.

But to train oneself thoroughly without causing injury—the balance in between is actually extremely difficult for a novice to grasp.

If not for the Entry Level experience of the Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber in his mind, Duan Rong would never have been able to manage this balance.

Duan Rong trained until his whole body was drenched in sweat before he dispersed his cultivation and withdrew his strength, walking toward the dormitory.

At this moment, he felt completely exhausted and found it difficult to take a step, but with every step he took, a warm current seemed to rise from the soles of his feet, circulate through his body, and flow into his dantian.

Although Duan Rong still hadn't grasped the knack for Internal Breath these days, he knew that this warm current was just the strength rising from his muscles, not the Internal Breath cultivated by an Internal Cultivation Method.

Duan Rong walked back to the Miscellaneous Disciple dormitory courtyard, washed his body by the well, then crawled into the blanket on the communal bed and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, at the fourth quarter of the Shen hour.

After working for a day, Duan Rong arrived at the training courtyard again, smelling of horse manure.

As soon as Duan Rong stepped into the side gate, he was slightly startled.

In the courtyard, there were only Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng, and Li Chong left; the four Miscellaneous Disciples who stood in the second row yesterday had actually not come again.

In fact, those four Miscellaneous Disciples knew in their hearts that they had no chance of being selected as Apprentices, but since the opportunity to practice martial arts was rare, they thought they would learn as much as they could.

And yesterday, Zhao Mu said that the move Leopard Drills the Forest was the last routine to be taught before the assessment.

Since they had learned all the routines they could, there was no point in coming again; Zhao Mu wouldn't guide them like he did those three seedlings, so if they had this time, they might as well rest for a while.

Duan Rong seemed to understand the thoughts of those Miscellaneous Disciples; he sighed and stood next to Li Chong.

"You stink, don't you know it? Can't you stand further away?" Seeing Duan Rong standing next to him again, Li Chong was suddenly furious; his face turned red, and he shouted angrily.

Duan Rong kept his eyes on his nose and his nose on his heart, acting as if he hadn't heard, and continued to stand on his own.

Just as Li Chong was about to erupt, Kong Bin suddenly coughed; Li Chong gritted his teeth and turned his head, seeing Zhao Mu's broad figure already appearing at the courtyard entrance.

Zhao Mu walked in, his gaze sweeping over the four of them; he seemed to think it was normal that only four Miscellaneous Disciples were present during the training time, and said in a calm tone: "The six-style routine has all been taught to you. Although these six styles are only a small part of the Five Tigers Flock of Sheep Saber, they are actually a small system. There are defensive ones, ones that are both offensive and defensive, and also killing moves."

When Zhao Mu reached this point, he suddenly paused, took the sheathed Ox-Tail Saber from his waist into his hand, looked at Li Chong, and said: "You come over and maintain my saber."

"Me?" Li Chong was stunned for a moment.

"What are you still standing there for? Take the cloth soaked in castor oil and wipe it carefully," Zhao Mu said with some impatience.

Li Chong looked at the gaze Zhao Mu was directing at him; his expression was extremely ugly. He walked over in a daze and took the saber from Zhao Mu's hand.

Zhao Mu letting Li Chong maintain the saber seemed like a very small instruction, but it revealed a clear message.

That is, in Zhao Mu's view, among these four people, Li Chong was the one who practiced the worst and had the least hope of being selected as an Apprentice.

This was undoubtedly a huge blow to Li Chong's confidence.

Li Chong certainly understood that he was not as good as Kong Bin, but he felt that compared to Zhang Zheng, he had a slight advantage; as for Duan Rong, he hadn't even considered him at all.

And this was not the main point, because if he really was the worst among these four, then he would absolutely not be selected as an Apprentice.

Because, for a batch of Apprentices to be selected, at most one or two would be chosen; three had never happened, and four was even more impossible.

If he couldn't be selected as an Apprentice, he could only be a Miscellaneous Servant for the rest of his life...

"No, Escort Zhao must have seen it wrong! How could that kid Duan Rong possibly practice better than me?"

Li Chong bit his lip; he truly found it hard to accept the cruel reality of being a Miscellaneous Servant for life. A look of madness appeared in his eyes, to the point that he bit his lip until it bled, yet he was completely unaware; as for what Zhao Mu was saying, he didn't hear a single word.

(End of chapter)