Chapter 11: Initiation

"So fast!" Zhang Yong looked at Lu Ren in shock.

His root bone ranked second, and for the past few days, his motivation for diligent practice was to be the first to initiate the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

But he felt that he would still need three or four more days to initiate the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, yet Lu Ren had already done it.

"Congratulations, Brother Lu! Brother Lu is amazing!"

The lackey Luo Dehu ran to Lu Ren's side with a flattering face, saying sycophantic words. In just a few days, he had completely become Lu Ren's lackey.

Even if training was exhausting, he would drag his tired body to help Lu Ren fetch meals.

Although everyone looked down on him and secretly despised him, Xu Yang understood that if only Lu Ren could become a martial artist, he would likely be the one who fared best among this group in the future.

Once Lu Ren succeeded, he would be the earliest follower.

"A mere initiation, how could it stop me?" Lu Ren laughed.

In just a few days, his changes were the most dramatic. His every gesture revealed the spirit of a youth, and he gradually became confident, with a heroic air between his brows.

"Wait for me, I'm going to find Master to learn fist techniques and see the mysteries of the fist techniques."

Once he initiated the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, he was already somewhat impatient and turned to run toward the inner courtyard.

"I'm almost there too!"

Lu Ren had already initiated it, so if he initiated it now, it wouldn't seem abrupt.

Xu Yang looked at the panel!

【Turtle-Snake Great Stance: 4/5】

【Martial Dao Longevity Points: 9】

Except for the very first time, he had only used the panel to increase the progress of the Turtle-Snake Great Stance once in the past few days, and he already felt that even without the panel, he could initiate the Turtle-Snake Great Stance by tomorrow at the latest. ===== CHAPTER 21 =====

In other words, if he didn't use the panel, he could initiate the Turtle-Snake Great Stance in about eight days. Although this speed couldn't compare to Lu Ren's, it definitely surpassed many people.

Martial Dao Longevity Points were settled at three points every day these past few days. If he kept a low profile, his talent would sooner or later surpass Lu Ren's.

"When Brother Lu comes back in a while, I'll have him guide me on how to initiate it. You all thought that asking everyone to unite was a waste of time, but now you regret it, right?"

Luo Dehu looked triumphant, wanting to see the regretful looks on Xu Yang, Zhang Hong, and Zhang Yong.

The ten people had now actually split into small groups. Luo Dehu and the five people with Grade D-Upper root bone were all on Lu Ren's side.

The three of Xu Yang hadn't talked about forming an alliance, but they were vaguely gathered together to resist Luo Dehu and the others.

"He just initiated it, and he can guide you to initiate it? If it were really that simple, wouldn't those senior brothers who initiated it earlier teach even better?" Zhang Yong retorted bluntly.

Luo Dehu laughed: "Just keep being stubborn. When Brother Lu becomes a martial artist and you are forced to leave in disgrace, I hope you can still say that."

Zhang Yong fell silent and set up his stance to practice again. This point was something he truly couldn't refute.

He was more diligent than ever, risking his life, and wouldn't stop until he was limp on the ground.

Half an hour later, Lu Ren returned in high spirits, carrying some things in his hands.

"Brother Lu, how was the learning?" Luo Dehu hurriedly went up to meet him and took the initiative to help Lu Ren take the things in his hands.

But Lu Ren tilted away and didn't give them to him: "The fist techniques are indeed profound, much more difficult than the Turtle-Snake Great Stance."

"What are those things in your hands? Did Master Lin give them to you?" Luo Dehu was curious; why would he bring things back after learning fist techniques?

Lu Ren shook his head: "No, these were given to me by a senior brother and a senior sister from the inner courtyard—a five-year-old wild ginseng and a packet of medicine for refining the body."

Luo Dehu was greatly surprised: "Are the senior brothers and sisters in the inner courtyard that kind?"

He didn't know how much the medicine packet for bathing the body was worth, but a five-year-old wild ginseng was worth at least two or three silver taels. If he initiated the Turtle-Snake Great Stance in the future, wouldn't he be able to get one too?

"Kind? It's not like everyone who initiates the Turtle-Snake Great Stance and enters the inner courtyard gets gifts from Senior Sister Gu Fang and Senior Brother Jiang Ping. They only give gifts to true geniuses."

The Zhou brothers and several old disciples came together and bowed to Lu Ren: "Congratulations, Junior Brother Lu, on initiating the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. In the future, we can all practice fist techniques together and exchange pointers."

"Naturally!"

By the afternoon, unexpectedly, the news of Lu Ren initiating the Turtle-Snake Great Stance had even alarmed the Huang family. Huang Jin rushed over, not only encouraging Lu Ren but also increasing his cultivation investment from eight taels to ten taels, drawing envy from everyone.

……

A day passed quickly. Today was the fifth day since Xu Yang and the others entered the Mighty Far Hall. He had added one silver tael to buy Body-Strengthening Soup, so today was the day to take it again.

After eating, the ten people who were at odds with each other went to the medicine hall as usual. Unexpectedly, besides Luo Dehu, Zhang Hong's family had also given him one silver tael to buy Body-Strengthening Soup, so the five of them, like last time, all had Body-Strengthening Soup to take.

Of course, Lu Ren was different from them; Lu Ren's Body-Strengthening Soup was one bowl every two days, fifteen bowls a month.

After drinking the Body-Strengthening Soup, everyone walked out.

"Brother Lu's initiation is a joyous occasion. Why don't we all pool some money to celebrate?" Luo Dehu suddenly looked at everyone.

"Can you still eat?"

"How many coins do you have in your pocket?"

Zhang Hong and Zhang Yong spoke almost at the same time, and Luo Dehu was choked up instantly.

These people, before this, could be said to not even have enough to eat, and being youths, their pockets were cleaner than their faces.

"Forget it, let's talk about it later."

Lu Ren sighed. Such a big event should be celebrated, but he didn't have a single copper on him either. The ten of them probably couldn't even pool together one hundred coppers, not enough for a pot of wine.

……

The next day, afternoon!

Under the scorching sun, Xu Yang's skin took on a bronze color; he, who was originally fair, had become dark.

Sweat soaked his trouser legs and dampened his hair. Bean-sized beads of sweat kept sliding down his cheeks and dripping onto the ground.

He was focused, his chest and abdomen rising and falling, exhaling puffs of hot air.

"It's about to happen!"

Suddenly, a look of joy appeared on his face. In the previous round, he had already linked the Turtle-Snake Great Stance together without any mishaps like before.

This meant his Turtle-Snake Great Stance was initiated; he was just a little bit away from feeling what it meant for power to rise from the ground.

Xu Yang didn't continue practicing but ran to a cool place to sit down, carefully recalling everything from before, remembering that state, and adjusting his body to prepare for the initiation of the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

"What is Xu Yang doing? Has he given up and started to slack off?"

Zhang Yong's gaze swept over Xu Yang.

He wanted to be the second to initiate the Turtle-Snake Great Stance, and his only competitors were Xu Yang and Zhang Hong. As for that lackey Luo Dehu, he had never taken him to heart.

When tired, one usually rests for no more than a quarter of an hour, but this time Xu Yang had been resting for more than a quarter of an hour and had even closed his eyes, as if he were sleeping.

This situation had never happened before. The only thing he could think of was that Xu Yang had seen the difficulty of the Martial Dao and started to give up.

"Giving up is better than ending up with a broken head and bleeding."

……

Two quarters of an hour later, Xu Yang felt his body state had been adjusted and returned to the training ground to set up his stance.

This time it was indeed different from the past. As soon as the Turtle-Snake Great Stance began to operate, he felt his whole body's muscles and bones moving along with the rhythm of his breathing, and his blood became hotter and hotter.

At a certain moment, he felt a weak current of air coming from the ground, climbing up along his feet, crossing his shoulders, rushing straight to the top of his head, and then slowly sinking into his dantian.

Power rises from the ground!

"Boom!"

In an instant, it was as if something had been detonated. A surging wave spread from his dantian, sweeping through his whole body. Xu Yang felt his blood boiling like boiling water, his whole body feeling as if it were being inflated, his muscles expanding.

It was as if all his old ailments were gone, and he had been reborn. Under the scouring of his boiling blood and Qi, his muscles and bones felt like bowstrings, becoming tighter and tighter, repeatedly tempered and strengthened.

"Turtle-Snake Great Stance initiated!"

Xu Yang was full of joy. He finally understood why Lu Ren was so excited when he broke through that day. It wasn't because he wanted to show off, but because this feeling of being reborn was truly wonderful.

This state of being able to clearly feel his blood flowing and his muscles and bones becoming stronger was truly indescribable, like a young seedling breaking through the soil and feeling the warm spring breeze.

"You... you've initiated the Turtle-Snake Great Stance?"

"Not bad!"

As soon as he opened his eyes, what Xu Yang saw was Zhang Yong, who was lying on the ground exhausted, with a look of disbelief on his face. ===== CHAPTER 22 =====