The dojo was built in the lower residential area where middle-class families lived. The city had other five areas: the slums, the upper residential area, the business district, the inner zone - where the big families lived - and the outposts in its outer ring.
As a famous dojo, the Flying Snow Dojo had a humongous structure as its headquarters, and it was made of high-quality wood that had been engraved by great masters. However, what left a truly remarkable impression was the echoing roars of the disciples, which were enough to make anyone shudder in excitement.
Yueshi stopped by the entrance and closed his eyes, immersing himself in the thrilling atmosphere. Somehow, it as if something was calling him.
The guards at the entrance stared at him with curiosity for a moment, before exchanging glances and smiling. It was not the first time they saw something similar, but every time it happened, they felt proud of working here and being senior students of the dojo.
After Yueshi opened his eyes, one of the guards approached and spoke to him. "So, how is it, boy? Do you want to go in there and experience the training for yourself?" Although Yueshi was surprised by the amiability in the older man's voice, he nodded a second later.
Seeing his serious attitude, the man's smile grew bigger as he led Yueshi inside. He sent a signal to his partner to take care of things over here and then told Yueshi he'd give him a tour of the dojo and explain how it worked.
Yueshi smiled and thanked the man, thinking that he seemed like a good person.
After going inside, Yueshi looked around and saw many people training intensely. Most people were sweating profusely as they gave their all, and only a few took things a bit easier ad at a slower pace.
'Well, that is understandable. You can't expect that everyone here is pursuing great achievements, most just wish to learn how to protect themselves.'
Following that, the older man taught him everything he had to know about the dojo, and Yueshi really appreciated that. After all, he had merely heard a tiny bit from strangers while asking around.
Different from the other two famous dojos, the Flying Snow Dojo had no specialization. That did not mean, however, they were weak or worse than specialized dojos.
Instead, they had great martial artists of almost every style teaching their students, and even if they could not compare to the Spear Arts and Sword Arts of the other two, they were leagues above in other arts.
"Here, we offer both intensive training for those aiming to become guards of big families, or with even higher goals, and a lighter training for those wanting to learn how to protect themselves." The man pointed to the two distinct types of people Yueshi had seen before as he explained.
He then talked about the dojo's rules, which per se were very appealing. For one, disciples could not fight if not under the watch of a teacher; moreover, even if the teacher gave permission, both parts had to be interested, or else the duel was prohibited.
"The members of famous families have no privilege here, and even those belonging to the Ling Family must strictly follow the rules." That was hard to believe, but Yueshi did not mingle on it. "Still, if you can be accepted as a personal disciple by one of the martial masters, then you will naturally enjoy certain benefits."
'So, that's how it is.' It stands to reason that a few masters would be more than willing to favor certain individuals over others, for the right motive and compensation.
"So… what about the price." Finally, Yueshi asked the most important question. In the end, he and Xuehua were so poor they could not even repair their old house and only had enough for living expenses.
"For the light training, five hundred bronze coins a week. Intensive training is a bit pricier at two silver coins." Yueshi immediately paled when he heard the price.
Then, because of the shock, he used his fingers to do the math. Unfortunately, no matter how many times he counted, it would not change the result: he did not have that much money!
Xuehua's wages were around one hundred and fifty bronze coins a month and his wages were even lower at one hundred coins. Even if he managed to convince Xuehua to use the little they had saved up until now, he was not sure he would have enough.
Moreover, she'd never give him the money. Apparently, she was saving up money so that he could marry well and not be looked down upon in the future.
"However, if you have already reached the Body Refinement Stage, you are allowed to train for free as long as you sign a contract." The man seemed unaware of the changes in Yueshi's expression, or the bright glow in his eyes as his words echoed.
"Hm, thank you, senior." He indeed felt grateful for the explanations. "Then, I'd like to bother senior to help me prove I am already at the Body Refinement Realm." The man was going to keep moving, but, hearing Yueshi's words, his steps came to a halt.
He only said that last part because it was a part of his job, so he'd never imagined the boy he brought in would answer like that.
Turning around, he asked. "Are you from some big family?" He took a better glance at Yueshi but, almost immediately, shook his head. With such low-quality clothes, how could he be? Yueshi also confirmed his assumption with a shake of his head.
The older man was really surprised. The last time a commoner at the Body Refinement Realm had appeared out of nowhere in the dojo was… three or so years in the past. Moreover, he was a bulky middle-aged man. Not a young man not even in his twenties.
For a moment, he doubted Yueshi's words, thinking he was just joking around. However, just as he was going to ask something, someone interrupted him.
"Little Xi, I will check it, so you can return to the entrance for now." A calm and friendly voice sounded from behind Yueshi. The guard immediately nodded and, after a respectful greeting, left Yueshi with the newcomer.
Turning around, Yueshi saw a man at least a foot taller than him, if not more. His hair was red and a bit messy, a rare sight in this country, and he gave people the impression of being a straightforward and honest man.
"Nice to meet you, young man. I am the current Head Instructor of the dojo; you can call me Uncle Yuanqi for now." Yueshi had expected him to be someone of influence, but as it turned out, he was the head instructor in charge of the whole dojo!
"My name is Yueshi. Senior can call me, huh… Yueshi?" It took Yueshi a few instants to process everything, and when he managed to do it, his answer was so awkward that the man laughed.
Putting a hand on Yueshi's shoulder, he spoke. "You don't need to call me senior. Instead, tell me why you are here at the dojo?" As if standing true to his forthright aura, the man beckoned him, indicating for them to move toward the second floor.
"I am planning to join the outer disciple examination of the Star Sea Sect, and for that, I must train as much as I can." Hearing his words, the man sent him a sidelong glance in surprise.
"If you are going there then you should be confident in your own cultivation." He thought for a moment, before continuing. "Most people at the first layer will fail, and only those with great combat techniques will be able to join despite their low cultivation base."
Yueshi grinned in appreciation. The meaning of his words was fairly clear. What he wanted to say was that, even if Yueshi started to train right now, it would be hard to join the sect with his current combat standards and cultivation.
"Uncle Yuanqi… the truth is that I am currently in the third stage." Still a bit awkward, Yueshi decided to reveal it to the man. Just as he expected, his answer made the man look at him in astonishment.
Seeing how serious Yueshi was, Yuanqi smiled and decided to believe in him. After all, he had always been good at getting a hang of people's character, and he felt Yueshi would not joke like that.
That didn't go to say that his choice did not decrease his surprise, because, from Yueshi's clothes and bearing, he knew he did not belong to any noble family.
"Haha, good, good! It seems that our Flying Snow City will attract many eyes during this year's examination." He laughed, his opinion of Yueshi becoming even better.
This year, the city was bubbling with far more talented geniuses, and their results in the examination would be great for sure. "You don't know this, but, every city is allocated a certain amount of resources based on their results in the examination, so the more geniuses there are, the merrier it is."
"Okay… so, I don't need to pay, right?" However, it was not as if Yueshi cared about that, instead, he was only worried about the training fee.
Seeing Yuanqi nod in confirmation and chuckle, Yueshi sighed in relief.
Time relentlessly flowed.
While the first floor of the dojo was meant to be used by regular disciples and they were trained in groups. Meanwhile, the second floor had many small and medium-sized rooms meant to be used by martial masters to train themselves and their students.
Right now, Yueshi was occupying one of those rooms.
Opposite to him stood an average-looking man with a spear in hand.
After he had signed a contract where he agreed to never divulge any arts he learned without permission and to help the dojo in the future if he had the chance, a master had immediately accepted him. Moreover, thanks to his 'talent', he had the opportunity to choose his own master, as many were interested in taking him under their wings.
In the end, Yueshi chose the one that caught his attention the most – the average-looking man. For one, he felt an unknown attraction to the spear as a weapon; moreover, he also could faintly feel the man was far stronger than the others were and, in certain aspects, even stronger than Yuanqi.
"I don't know why you have chosen the spear," the man's voice was low as he spoke, "but as long as you are determined to learn and put your entire self into learning, then I will pass you everything I have."
Hearing his low and steady tone, Yueshi nodded sincerely. He would not have come here if he had not been serious about learning. However, that thought swayed a bit when he saw a grin spread across the man's face.
"Then, let's see how tough your determination truly is." He spoke as if having read his thoughts. At the same time, he firmly pushed against the ground with his left feet, immediately flashing a few steps forward.
Yueshi had little to no time to react before the spear came striking at him. Despite his cultivation of the third layer and his increased reaction speed… thump, the training spear made of bamboo struck him right in the forehead, sending him tumbling back, only stopping when he crashed against the wooden wall.
"This shall be your first lesson." Seeing Yueshi glare at him, the man's smile widened a bit. "Use your body to remember what a spear's attack feels like!" Saying so, he made another step forward.
Yueshi was forced to roll to the side to dodge, and immediately get up after that. Next, the instructor continued to strike as he, unarmed, was forced to dodge or block.
However, to his surprise, no matter if he moved left or right, forward or backward, the spear of his mentor would always reach him. Even if he tried to defend, it would strike him with so much power that he'd be sent flying.
Yet, even when he felt that his bones were almost breaking under the relentless onslaught, he was not willing to accept the beating while doing nothing.
Since his actions up to now were not working, he focused on properly observing the spear and its movements. From time to time, it would lash like a whip, striking at him from the sides, and at others, it would thrust forward, moving with impressive speed and power as it sent him flying.
'Fuck it.' The distance the spear could reach was plainly annoying, and his mentor moved with such skillfulness that he never got close enough to turn the weapon less effective. Even when he tried to put on distance, the instructor would grab at the lower end of the spear, increasing his range.
"Don't try to calculate the spear's path, feel it and it will come to you naturally. Think like a spearman, not as a man fighting against a spear." The man continued to instruct him patiently.
Yueshi could only shake his head and grimace; after all, with him being from a technological society, it was hard to adapt to such a vague concept.
'How can I feel the spear? It's an inanimate object…' He truly wanted to ask, but the continuous rains of attacks did not even allow him to open his mouth.
Like that, the beating continued for an amount of time that could neither be considered short nor long.