Chapter 9: What Is a Bane to Others Is Medicine to Me

The ninth month of martial training at the Martial Hall ended.

At dawn, all three instructors appeared simultaneously on the training ground.

The students practicing punches immediately stopped and turned their gazes toward the three instructors.

Except for their first month in the Martial Hall, when all three instructors would appear together, their appearances in the following months had been irregular and staggered.

Now that all three appeared at once, was there some important announcement to make?

The instructor in the center, Liu, scanned the entire crowd and announced loudly: “The Wuzhengsuo has issued a notice: to motivate your martial training, any student whose strength reaches four hundred jin who gains an additional fifty jin within the next month will receive three taels of silver; if you gain a hundred jin, the reward is ten taels.”

Liu’s words instantly sparked murmurs among the students.

Not excitement—complaints.

“What joke is this? Gaining a hundred jin in a month?”

“After I hit three hundred jin, I spent nearly two taels every month and barely gained thirty jin—how much silver would it take to maintain a fifty-jin increase past four hundred?”

“Fifty jin at least requires daily nourishing herbal broth plus beef—ten taels won’t cover it. A hundred jin? That’s unthinkable.”

After nine months of martial training, these students had deeply internalized the truth: the faster you seek progress, the higher the cost.

Before entering the Martial Hall, some had heard stories from village youths who had trained here, but hearing was not experiencing—they remained skeptical.

Or more accurately, they clung to luck, believing they were different.

Youth was confident, brimming with lofty ambition!

But nine months in the Martial Hall had given them sober self-awareness—they had abandoned all thoughts of quick advancement.

“This reward is clearly meant for Senior Brother Lu and others like him—only they can earn it.”

“Even Senior Brother Lu can’t get it—he’s already past five hundred jin. Maybe someone in the next cohort will.”

The students’ lack of enthusiasm didn’t surprise the three instructors; they had already anticipated this reaction upon reading the notice.

This wasn’t motivation—it was merely icing on the cake.

Students of average means couldn’t afford it, while those like Lu Yongfeng, with wealthy backgrounds, didn’t care about such a small reward.

…

…

“Who is this noble patron, so wise and brilliant? This reward was made for me!”

Among the crowd, Lin Chen’s eyes gleamed—a fifty-jin increase in a month meant three taels of silver. This was money handed to him.

His strength had reached four hundred jin yesterday.

“Panel.”

Lin Chen whispered silently in his mind, and the panel appeared.

【Name: Lin Chen】

【Occupation: Martial Artist】

【Blood Qi: 2003/3000】

【Destiny: [Water Finds Its Channel]: In the First Stage of Martial Path, persistence, gradual progress, and steady momentum break through barriers without stagnation.】

At his current rate of ten points of blood qi per day, thirty days would yield three hundred points—sixty jin of strength. He would definitely claim the three-tael reward.

Even the ten-tael reward wasn’t out of reach.

“Students whose strength has reached four hundred jin, step forward for testing and registration.”

As Lin Chen pondered, Liu spoke again.

Liu didn’t care what the students thought—this was a Wuzhengsuo directive, and the Martial Hall must comply.

They needed to first tally how many students had reached four hundred jin and report the list to the Wuzhengsuo.

Moments later, a student stepped from the ranks toward the four-hundred-forty-jin stone weight and lifted it with relative ease.

“Yang Lin, 440 jin.”

Chen, the instructor beside him, recorded the number after glancing at Yang Lin’s condition.

Next, another student stepped forward and lifted a 420-jin stone weight.

“Li Dong, 420 jin.”

“Chu Dong, 410 jin.”

“Zheng Kai, 440 jin.”

Lin Chen watched the numbers Chen announced and observed how Yang Lin and the others lifted the weights—he realized the instructors were letting them slide.

Take Yang Lin—he lifted 440 jin without much strain; his strength was clearly near 450 jin. The instructors had simply rounded down.

The instructors were good people.

But they only rounded down—they didn’t falsify.

Earlier, Zheng Kai had tried to hide his strength by lifting a 420-jin weight and pretending to struggle—he’d even fooled Lin Chen.

But Liu ordered him to try another weight, and when Zheng Kai finally lifted the 440-jin stone, Lin Chen realized Zheng Kai had been hiding his true strength.

So the three instructors would bend the rules—but not lie.

For them, rounding down had a plausible excuse: the Martial Hall’s stone weights were calibrated in tens, so registration naturally rounded to the nearest ten—the Wuzhengsuo wouldn’t care.

“Yan Dexing, why are you coming up? Your strength has already surpassed five hundred jin—go back.”

Liu glared at the approaching boy with annoyance.

Yan Dexing sulked back—he hadn’t come for the reward, only to show off.

“Lu Yongfeng, Cheng Ying, Zhao Jingchuan, Xu Botao—you don’t need to test either.”

At Liu’s words, every student turned to look at the five—eyes filled with envy. All five had surpassed five hundred jin.

“Any other students?”

Liu asked out of routine—he didn’t expect anyone else to step forward. Students reaching four hundred jin were rare, second only to Lu Yongfeng’s group; as instructors, they already knew exactly how many there were.

Lin Chen hesitated, then stepped out of the ranks.

“Chenzi, what are you doing?”

Gu Fei, seeing Lin Chen walk forward, froze—by the time he reacted and reached out to stop him, Lin Chen was already beyond the crowd.

As Lin Chen approached the stone weight, every student’s gaze fixed on him.

“What’s he doing?”

“Don’t tell me his strength reached four hundred jin?”

“If Lin Chen has four hundred jin, I’ve already cultivated essence by now.”

The students expressed doubt, mockery—but none believed Lin Chen had reached four hundred jin.

Lu Yongfeng and the others, who had been stripped of testing eligibility, had been chatting among themselves, ignoring this side entirely—until the murmurs reached them, and they all turned to look.

“What’s Lin Chen up to? Trying to claim he gained two hundred jin in three months?” Cheng Ying asked, puzzled.

“He can’t even afford beef—survives by working in the mess hall to waive his meals. If he gained two hundred jin, what are we?”

Yan Dexing sneered. From two hundred to four hundred jin, they’d all taken over three months. Only Lu Yongfeng had achieved a two-hundred-jin increase in three months.

Each of them had spent nearly twenty taels in those three months—Lu Yongfeng had spent more than that.

If Lin Chen could catch up, then their silver had been wasted.

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(End of Chapter)