Chapter 25

"Second Brother, news just came in that Xu Yang has also entered the Turtle-Snake Great Stance. How much should his cultivation efforts be increased to?"

Huang family's Fifth Master, Huang Jin, found Second Master Huang Ping and reported the news of Xu Yang entering the Turtle-Snake Great Stance.

"This nephew of Zhou Shunchang has good talent. Increase the cultivation efforts; there's a great chance he can become a martial artist." Huang Ping showed a hint of surprise.

Huang Jin nodded: "Entering in six days is very rare."

Huang Ping said: "Indeed rare, but he cannot be used by my Huang family."

Huang Jin's expression changed slightly: "What does Second Brother mean by this?"

Huang Ping sipped his tea and said unhurriedly: "My Huang family lacks martial artists, but we can't afford to raise so many. A martial artist retainer has a monthly salary of at least ten silver taels. For one more, the Huang family has to spend an extra one hundred and twenty taels every year."

"For the Huang family, having Lu Ren is enough."

Practicing martial arts burns money, and raising martial artists burns even more money.

Ten silver taels is still the minimum; some families pay their retained martial artists fifteen taels a month.

The total monthly profit of the Huang family's business is only two or three hundred taels, and there is a whole family to support. Raising one more martial artist would increase the pressure significantly.

"Xu Yang is Zhou Shunchang's nephew, so he counts as half of our own people. If we cultivate him, we can use him with more peace of mind."

Huang Jin already understood what Huang Ping meant; he wouldn't increase the cultivation efforts for Xu Yang and immediately emphasized Xu Yang's identity again.

Compared to Lu Ren, Xu Yang's relationship with the Huang family was closer.

"He can't be cultivated. With his Grade C-minus innate talent, even if we increase efforts and he luckily breaks into the first barrier of the martial dao, he won't go any further in the future. My Huang family doesn't lack Qi-gathering martial artists."

"Lu Ren has outstanding talent. It's estimated that he can successfully gather Qi in less than two months. In seven or eight months at most, he will be able to break through the second major barrier of the martial dao and achieve the status of a Marrow-Cleansing Martial Master."

"Do you know how much the retainer fee for a Marrow-Cleansing martial artist is? Even the lowest is forty taels a month. A genius like Lu Ren needs at least fifty taels, which is six hundred taels a year."

Once the account was calculated, Huang Jin also felt that Xu Yang wasn't needed. A Marrow-Cleansing expert was enough for the Huang family to sleep soundly; they really didn't lack a Qi-gathering martial artist.

"However, you're right. Xu Yang is ultimately Zhou Shunchang's nephew. Zhou Shunchang followed us before the Huang family rose to power, so we can't show nothing when his nephew has such talent."

"In this way, you go to Weiyuan Hall, take one tael from Zhang Yong's resources and allocate it to Xu Yang, increasing him to four taels."

"If all ten of you become martial artists, the Huang family's annual retainer fee would be one thousand two hundred taels. Where would the Huang family get so much money to raise you?"

"They might have needed two or three martial artists at the beginning, but after the genius Lu Ren appeared, the Huang family only needed Lu Ren."

"If it weren't for the fear of affecting their reputation, after Lu Ren appeared, the Huang family would have already kicked you all out."

Zhou Yang talked eloquently. Zhang Hong, Qian Jiaxing, and others listened in despair, only then realizing that from the moment Lu Ren, with his Grade B-plus innate talent, appeared, everyone had already been abandoned.

It was just out of regard for face that the Huang family fulfilled their promise and sent them all to Weiyuan Hall.

Not long after, Huang Jin appeared at Weiyuan Hall, first talking to Zhang Yong, who returned ashen-faced, and then talking to Xu Yang.

Soon, everyone knew that Zhang Yong's one silver tael of Body-Strengthening Soup had been allocated to Xu Yang.

Just as Zhou Yang had said, the Huang family wasn't willing to pay even one tael more, just reallocating resources among the few of them. ===== CHAPTER 26 =====