The martial arts school was called Jinniu Martial Arts School. In Lin County, it was considered a significant force, occupying a solid position within the community.
The school's owner, Xu Jun, was a martial artist who had reached the level of skin refinement mastery. He led a team of mid- to high-level instructors, all skilled in skin refinement techniques.
Although Gu Qingfeng's strength wasn't extraordinary, he had advanced to the middle stage of skin refinement, meeting the requirements to join Jinniu Martial Arts School as an instructor.
After demonstrating his abilities, it wasn't long before he was offered the role.
"The usual salary for an instructor is five taels of silver per month. That shouldn't be a problem for Instructor Gu, right?" Xu Jun said with a smile.
"No problem at all!" Gu Qingfeng replied confidently.
Five taels of silver was a substantial amount. In Lin County, it was enough to comfortably support a small family, assuming they lived frugally. This demonstrated the stark contrast between the life of warriors and ordinary people. Even someone at a modest level of martial prowess like Gu Qingfeng earned far more than the average person.
Soon, the terms were agreed upon, and both parties signed the contract.
Gu Qingfeng officially became an instructor at Jinniu Martial Arts School, with a monthly salary of five taels of silver. He was required to train disciples for twenty days each month, at least four hours a day. If this minimum wasn't met, Jinniu Martial Arts School had the right to deduct his salary.
Gu Qingfeng had no objections to these terms. Five taels of silver would more than cover the costs of raising his child, including hiring a wet nurse if necessary.
Given his current financial situation, Gu Qingfeng requested an advance on his first month's pay, and Xu Jun agreed without hesitation.
With the silver in hand, Gu Qingfeng immediately found a wet nurse. For the price of one tael of silver per month, he hired a young woman in her thirties, still attractive but a little malnourished. Her face brightened considerably when she heard how much she would be paid.
Once everything was arranged, Gu Qingfeng's life returned to its usual rhythm. He focused on his daily training while caring for his son, Gu Yang. All he could do now was wait for his child to grow up and see if another opportunity would arise to trigger a reward from his mysterious panel.
Initially, Gu Qingfeng had thought about getting married again and having more children to increase his chances of triggering more rewards. But marriage wasn't cheap, and raising more children would be an even greater burden on his finances. Besides, Gu Qingfeng wanted to marry someone he genuinely liked. The idea of marrying solely for reproduction didn't sit well with him.
At least for now, the thought of expanding his family remained on hold.
Time passed quickly.
Seven years later, Gu Qingfeng had matured considerably. He was now 29 years old, only a year away from turning 30.
Two years earlier, he had mastered the Collapsing Mountain Fist and advanced to the late stage of skin refinement. His talent hadn't suddenly improved—rather, it was the result of refining the Qi and Blood Pills and investing his salary in cultivation resources, which allowed him to make significant progress.
After reaching the late stage of skin refinement, his status at Jinniu Martial Arts School rose, and he was promoted from a regular instructor to a senior instructor.
His monthly salary also increased, doubling from five taels to ten taels of silver.
With this salary, Gu Qingfeng could have easily saved enough to enjoy a comfortable retirement in just a few years. However, as a warrior, he spent money as quickly as he earned it.
Over the years, he hadn't saved much, but he had managed to purchase the courtyard he had once rented, making it his permanent home in Lin County.
After finishing his morning training routine, Gu Qingfeng saw his son, Gu Yang, returning from school. The boy was growing into a handsome young man, with bright, intelligent eyes and a resemblance to his father in his features.
"Father!" Gu Yang called out, "Class ended early today!"
"The teacher had something to attend to, so we were dismissed early," Gu Yang explained with a grin.
Gu Qingfeng nodded. Then, looking at his son, he said, "You're already seven years old, the right age to start building a foundation. Today, I'll teach you some martial arts to see if you have a talent for it."
"Really?" Gu Yang's eyes lit up with excitement. Since childhood, he had watched his father practice martial arts and knew that his father was a respected senior instructor at Jinniu Martial Arts School. Gu Yang had asked to learn martial arts before but was told he was too young.
Now that his father had brought it up himself, Gu Yang was overjoyed.
Teaching Gu Yang wasn't difficult for Gu Qingfeng. After years of teaching disciples at the martial arts school and mastering the Collapsing Mountain Fist, instructing his own son was straightforward.
Gu Qingfeng expected that Gu Yang, like most young children, would struggle to endure the rigors of training. He was ready to push him with tough love if necessary.
But to his surprise, Gu Yang showed remarkable perseverance. No matter how challenging the training was, the boy never gave up.
Not only that, Gu Qingfeng noticed that Gu Yang's talent for martial arts far exceeded his own. Gu Qingfeng had spent years practicing the Collapsing Mountain Fist before making any real progress, but Gu Yang managed to reach the entry level in just three months. His cultivation also advanced to the initial stage of skin refinement.
When Gu Yang broke through, Gu Qingfeng's long-dormant attribute panel finally updated.
"Your descendant, Gu Yang, has broken through to the initial stage of skin refinement!"
"Reward: 1 improvement point!"
"Reward: 20 Qi and Blood Pills!"
"Reward: Lower-grade martial art, Iron Body Technique!"
This time, the rewards were much greater than before. Not only had the number of Qi and Blood Pills doubled, but Gu Qingfeng had also received a lower-grade martial art as a reward—the Iron Body Technique.
While the Collapsing Mountain Fist was already a low-grade martial art, acquiring another one was still a valuable opportunity. Lower-grade martial arts were not easy to come by and were highly prized by many. Typically, one had to join a martial arts school and pay a significant sum to learn them.
Gu Qingfeng was thrilled with his new reward.
Now, Gu Qingfeng fully understood the mechanism of his attribute panel: whenever his descendants made breakthroughs in their cultivation, he would receive corresponding rewards.
With Gu Yang already at the initial stage of skin refinement, the future held exciting possibilities. If his son continued to improve, the rewards were sure to become even more substantial.