Chapter 24: Extra Lessons

On the training ground, several young men in their early twenties stood beside Xu Jiaotou; one of them yawned lazily: "Master, why make us come here so early?"

"Need you ask? He's found another apprentice he fancies!"

"Isn't today about us taking a look at those two personal attendants of the Seventh Young Master?"

These young men were all guards of the Zhao Manor, but they were closer to Xu Jiaotou than the other guards were.

Although all the Zhao Manor guards were trained by Xu Jiaotou and were nominally his disciples.

But these few had formally served tea to accept him as their master and called him Master; one of them was even Xu Jiaotou's own nephew.

With Xu Jiaotou's protection, they had developed quite quickly, holding their own in the various enterprises of the Zhao family, and were all very busy. If not for Xu Jiaotou summoning them today, it would not have been so easy to gather them all together.

At this moment, these few were somewhat curious about Xu Jiaotou's purpose in calling them.

"One of the little fellows today has excellent talent. If nothing unexpected happens, he will be your junior brother in the future."

"Wait." The young man who had just yawned realized: "The Seventh Young Master's personal attendant? Is he willing to be a guard like us?"

It wasn't that he belittled himself, but no matter how much Xu Jiaotou could shield them, he didn't have the Seventh Young Master as a powerful backer.

That attendant was doing just fine in his role; he might even be aiming for the position of steward. Who would want to be a hardworking guard, rising early and sleeping late, braving wind and rain every day?

"Is being my disciple such a shameful thing? Besides, he must be able to hold onto the position of personal attendant first!" Hearing this, Xu Jiaotou snorted: "When I wait for him to be driven away by the Seventh Young Master, I will go beg the Lady for mercy."

The young men exchanged glances, all feeling that what their master said made some sense.

The Seventh Young Master's dog-like temper; who in the entire Zhao family didn't know it?

None of his personal attendants lasted long.

"Then why did Master call us here?"

"First, get to know him so that if something comes up later, you can look out for him."

"Master, you truly value this kid." The young man who had spoken first muttered with a pout.

"Second, that little fellow has good talent and will likely learn martial arts quickly. I fear he might develop an arrogant heart..."

"Got it! A warning shot!"

The young men looked at each other, rubbing their fists in anticipation.

"Who told you to start fighting! You'll just use your mouths, offer some commentary from the sidelines to let them know there are always people better than you."

Now these few were truly certain that their master truly valued this junior brother who hadn't even entered the sect yet, and was afraid of beating him up too badly.

When Zheng Fa and Gao Yuan arrived at the training ground, they felt a bit uncomfortable under several gazes filled with scrutiny.

He didn't hear these people's whispers:

"Which one, which one?"

"The taller, darker one."

"Can't the other one do?"

"His aptitude is a bit worse, and his father is the high steward of the Second Branch, so he has his own path. I come from a small household; he probably wouldn't look at me anyway."

"This future junior brother doesn't seem to show anything special."

Seeing Zheng Fa and the other approaching, Xu Jiaotou couldn't help but explain: "Not only does he have top-tier bone structure, but his mind is also steady; he is excellent material. Stop talking!"

When Zheng Fa walked up to them, he saw Xu Jiaotou with a stern face, frowning at him as if quite dissatisfied.

The few young men behind him also had serious expressions.

Today was originally an assessment for the two of them, and with this group being so serious, the two naturally became even more nervous.

They didn't even dare to breathe too loudly.

"You two are late!"

Xu Jiaotou's opening words were a reprimand; the two dared not contradict and obediently lowered their heads.

"You two are just beginning to learn martial arts, a time for diligent practice. Why are you late?"

"It was me... I overslept and delayed the time," Gao Yuan stammered.

These past few nights, he hadn't given up and kept studying those few diagrams, staying up late. Being at an age when one can sleep well, by the time Zheng Fa called him, it was already too late.

"You? Since you slept so well, you must have practiced the Pine-Crane Stance quite well too? Show it to me!"

Gao Yuan's face fell, but his body obediently assumed the posture of the Pine-Crane Stance.

Zheng Fa watched from the side, seeing him stand upright on the ground, his shoulders rising and falling with his hips.

From Zheng Fa's current perspective as a beginner, Gao Yuan was actually close to entering the realm too!

This surprised him quite a bit; if not for the seven days in the modern world, he might not have reached Gao Yuan's level yet.

Moreover, Xu Jiaotou had clearly stated that his own bone structure was superior to Gao Yuan's.

Xu Jiaotou's eyes also showed some surprise. He walked two circles around Gao Yuan, frowned for a long time, and then suddenly spoke: "Did your father give you extra lessons?"

"... Yes," Gao Yuan stammered, feeling a bit embarrassed.

"Your posture has the same flaw as your father's; your left shoulder is an inch higher! He had an injury to his shoulder, and you learned from him?" Xu Jiaotou sneered: "Relax!"

He patted Gao Yuan on the left shoulder blade.

Gao Yuan unconsciously adjusted his posture; clearly, his breathing became smoother, and his stance captured the essence of the Pine-Crane Stance even more.

"That's enough!" Xu Jiaotou nodded: "Not bad, progress is fast! Just tell your father to give you fewer medicinal tonics in the future. Practicing too much hurts the body, and even tonics cannot make up for it!"

Zheng Fa suddenly understood from the side.

He had been wondering why this guy Gao Yuan had to go out for a while every day at lunchtime and always brought food back for himself.

Now thinking about it, Gao Yuan was probably secretly practicing martial arts with his father every day.

Normally, like Zheng Fa, practicing the Pine-Crane Stance for one hour each day was the limit; one couldn't practice more.

But from what Xu Jiaotou meant, Gao Yuan also drank medicinal tonics every day and could practice a bit longer than him.

Having more money than us and working harder than us; that's a bit dog-like.

Gao Yuan seemed embarrassed, as if he thought Zheng Fa had discovered his secret efforts; when he stood back up, he kept his head down, too shy to look at Zheng Fa.

"You come!"

Xu Jiaotou, his face stern, spoke to Zheng Fa, though a hint of amusement lingered in his eyes: "Gao Yuan's aptitude is inferior to yours, yet he is nearly at the threshold of mastery. Let me see what you can do!"

He was indeed quite satisfied in his heart.

On one hand, Gao Yuan's progress had exceeded his expectations.

This child not only came from a good family but was also diligent.

Even knowing the boy would not become his disciple, teaching a good student still brought joy to his heart.

On the other hand, he felt that having someone like Gao Yuan as a benchmark would better spur Zheng Fa's motivation.

Someone with inferior aptitude to yours is training better than you.

Are you anxious?

In fact, calling over a few direct disciples today was somewhat superfluous.

Gao Yuan alone was enough to make this young man dare not look down on everyone in the world!

He had already decided how he would admonish Zheng Fa once Zheng Fa performed worse than Gao Yuan.

"Hmm?" Xu Jiaotou looked at Zheng Fa, who had assumed the Pine-Crane Stance and fallen into a state of forgetting both self and object, then turned to look at his own disciples again, a hint of uncertainty on his face.

The faces of those disciples also showed some surprise.

They could all see that Zheng Fa had already reached the threshold of mastery in the Pine-Crane Stance.

Xu Jiaotou extended his fingers, counting them one by one, and asked Gao Yuan beside him: "One day, two days, three days. I taught you both the complete Pine-Crane Stance in just three days, correct?"

Gao Yuan nodded.

"Then he has reached the threshold?" Xu Jiaotou pointed at Zheng Fa and continued to ask Gao Yuan with some doubt: "Your father is so generous; did he give him private tutoring as well?"

Gao Yuan:... I am an only child!