An hour passed, but Sun Tao never appeared. Nor did anyone come to remind them it was time to train.
"It looks like Senior Brother Sun Tao isn't coming. We'll have to train on our own."
Someone spoke up, his expression grim. He hadn't fully memorized the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture, and a few others in the same boat reacted similarly.
If Sun Tao wasn't coming to instruct them, how were they supposed to train?
Luo Dehu felt as if he'd been slapped across the face. He secretly regretted mouthing off to Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong. He never imagined that after spending so much money, Weiyuan Hall would be so negligent.
Lin Cheng had only instructed them once before leaving, and Sun Tao had only guided them three times.
"Ten coppers, and you can come ask me for help anytime."
Zhang Hong said with a chuckle, then got up, walked into the Martial Arts Arena, and assumed the stance of the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture.
Having rested enough, Xu Yang walked over to Zhang Hong and began to practice as well. Zhang Yong soon joined them, taking up the stance nearby.
"Boss Lu Ren..." Luo Dehu looked to Lu Ren for help.
"Don't worry, I'll teach you!" Lu Ren declared, getting to his feet.
At his words, the few who hadn't memorized the posture were overjoyed. They shot a defiant look at Zhang Yong and Zhang Hong, their gazes seeming to say, 'See? This is the difference between you and a true genius.'
'Not only is their Root Bone inferior, their character is as well.'
Xu Yang paid them no mind, simply focusing on his training. He was starting to get a real feel for it.
'As I thought, you really have to eat well, and eat a lot, for this to work.'
That morning, he had only eaten a little brown rice and two slices of pork belly. His stomach hadn't even been half-full. With no food in his belly, the effectiveness of his training had naturally been greatly diminished.
But his lunch had been better than a typical New Year's feast, packed with nutrients. The effect was immediate when he resumed his stance practice; he could hold the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture for longer and longer.
"You idiots! I'm done with this. Practice on your own."
Lu Ren's voice suddenly rang out. He had thrown his hands up and quit, running off to the side to train by himself.
Although he had been put on the spot by Luo Dehu and was somewhat tempted by the idea of being their leader, he was, after all, a genius with an Upper Grade B Root Bone, not an idiot. As time went on, he realized this was hindering his own progress.
"And here I thought he was going to keep teaching them forever!" Zhang Yong laughed.
It wasn't so easy to play the hero. Only Lu Ren had failed to see through Luo Dehu's little scheme; Zhang Yong had seen it at a glance.
"He couldn't have taught them anyway!" Xu Yang said, shaking his head.
Even though Lu Ren had memorized the entire Turtle and Snake Grand Posture, he himself only had a superficial understanding of it. How could he possibly teach others? Those people probably wouldn't have even appreciated his kindness and might have accused him of holding back techniques.
"So that's the guy you were talking about, the one with the Upper Grade B Root Bone," a young man said, sidling over.
During a break, some disciples who had joined Weiyuan Hall earlier came over to get acquainted with the newcomers.
His name was Zhou Yuan. He had arrived half a month before Xu Yang and the others and had already reached the Entry Level of the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture.
In the course of their conversation, Zhou Yuan learned that Xu Yang's group was here to practice martial arts under the sponsorship of the Huang Family.
"Yep, that's him," Zhang Hong nodded.
"You guys seem to have your heads on straight. If that Lu Ren doesn't come to his senses soon, I'm afraid he'll have a hard time becoming a Martial Artist. Imagine, wasting his own time to instruct others," Zhou Yuan said, shaking his head.
Zhang Yong asked doubtfully, "Lu Ren has an Upper Grade B Root Bone. Even if he wastes a little time, it shouldn't stop him from becoming a Martial Artist, right? At worst, it'll just take him a bit longer."
Among the ten of them, it was uncertain if the others could become Martial Artists, but with Lu Ren's Root Bone, it should have been a sure thing.
Yet here was Zhou Yuan, saying Lu Ren would have a hard time becoming a Martial Artist.
"Haha... A bit longer? Don't tell me you think the Huang Family will sponsor your training forever. You have three months, at most. If you don't become Martial Artists by then, the Huang Family will cut off your funding. Do you really think you can take your sweet time? Surely someone told you this?"
A burly figure strode over, his muscles bulging and sweat dripping from him like rain. He was guzzling down water.
This was Zhou Yang, who had also interacted with Xu Yang's group before. He was Zhou Yuan's cousin.
The faces of both Zhang Hong and Zhang Yong fell. They knew the Huang Family wouldn't sponsor them indefinitely, but they never expected the support to last for only three months.
'Become a Martial Artist in three months? If it were that easy, Martial Artists wouldn't be so rare.'
"Senior Brother Zhou Yang, is there something more to this?" Xu Yang asked, his brow furrowed.
'I don't think Zhou Yang has access to the Huang Family's high-level decisions,' he thought. 'The only explanation is that there's some aspect of the Martial Dao that we newcomers just don't understand yet.'
Zhou Yang plopped down beside Xu Yang, breathing heavily. "Martial Dao cultivation starts with Pile Skill," he said. "Someone with good talent can reach the Entry Level in three to five days. Even someone with weaker talent can get there in ten days to half a month.
If you can't even reach the Entry Level in that time, you're a blockhead who should just go home and stop wasting food.
Once you reach the Entry Level with your Pile Skill, you begin to accumulate Qi and Blood and temper your Physique. At the same time, you also have to start practicing fist techniques to prepare for breaking through the first major barrier of the Martial Dao.
From the moment you start practicing fist techniques, it takes three months at most to reach that first major barrier.
Once you attempt the breakthrough, success makes you a Martial Artist. Failure means you quietly pack your bags. That's why the Huang Family's sponsorship won't last longer than three months."
"If you fail at Breaking Through, can't you try a second time?"
Zhang Hong looked grim. He finally understood why there were so few Martial Artists. 'To think we only have three months.'
"Do you think Breaking Through in the Martial Dao is like taking the imperial exams? Fail one year, try again the next, and the next, for a dozen times? Your first attempt is when your Essence, Qi, and Spirit are at their absolute peak. If you can't succeed then, you'll never succeed.
Of course, if your family can cough up a few hundred taels of silver to completely rebuild your body's foundation, then you can treat everything I just said as bullshit."
Forget a few hundred taels; their families would be hard-pressed to come up with even a few.
"Senior Brother Zhou, what's the typical success rate for Breaking Through?" Xu Yang asked.
"The typical success rate is around thirty percent!"
Zhou Yang held up one finger. "But for the ten of you... it's only ten percent."
He all but said that only Lu Ren could become a Martial Artist, and the rest of them would fail.
"Why is it only ten percent for us?"
Just then, Luo Dehu and his little group came over to rest. Though panting for breath, he couldn't help but ask.
Zhou Yuan shot him a glance. "For an ordinary person to train for three months, they need to spend, at the very least, several dozen taels of silver coins just to get that thirty percent chance.
Besides Lu Ren, the rest of you have less than ten taels to spend on your training over these three months. What makes you think your success rate would be the same as someone who spends dozens of taels?
As for Root Bone... anyone who can reach the Entry Level of the Turtle and Snake Grand Posture can't have a Root Bone that's *that* bad, can they?"
None of the ten said a word. Even Lu Ren was silent.
'Others are spending dozens of taels at a minimum,' he thought. 'I only have about twenty. That's a bit risky, too.'
This seemed to confirm what Master Lin had said earlier. It all made a lot of sense.
"Speaking of which, the Huang Family is unbelievably stingy. Trying to raise a Martial Artist with just a few taels of silver? It's a fool's dream. They're treating martial arts training like a child's game," Zhou Yuan said, shaking his head.
Zhou Yang's expression was disdainful. "Short-sighted nouveau riche. They're just hoping to strike it rich with a small investment. They want to cultivate their own Martial Artists, but they aren't willing to spend the money and take the risk. Health Soup, Strengthening Soup, Medicated Baths to temper the body... how can you possibly succeed if you're missing any one of these?"
"So, you're saying we're already doomed to fail," Qian Jiaxing said, his voice low.
"If I were you, I'd trade the resources you have for money. That's the only way you'll get anything out of this."
After saying all that, Zhou Yang finally revealed his true purpose.