Yan Guang awoke from his deep sleep 15 minutes before it was time to report outside the dorm hall. Fatigue was visible in his eyes that seemed like they were about to close at any moment.
Wonder if waking up this early counts as willpower training, Yan Guang commented inside his own head.
After washing his face with some water, he finally felt fully awake. Looking over at the other side of his room, he noticed another bed that was still empty.
Yesterday, he had asked the dorm superintendent whether he would have any roommates. The answer was quite surprising. Not only did he have a roommate, it was someone very familiar to him, Lin Sheng, who took 2nd place in the martial exams.
However, it seemed it would take slightly longer for Lin Sheng to depart from Guming town to arrive at the School.
Technically, students were allowed to remain outside for a week after their acceptance although it was better to show up the earliest they could.
Yan Guang was lying if he said he wasn't curious about Lin Sheng. How did clan heirs such as him train to reach the 2nd-rate realm at such a young age? Moreover, did all of them have such mysterious martial arts like Han Jing?
Putting his curiosity aside, Yan Guang wore the White Tiger uniform and left his dorm.
In front of his eyes, there was a huge crowd of students of varying ages and statuses, all lined up for roll call.
It was actually quite a sight to see, as all of the students were at least 3rd-rate martial artists.
Such a huge congregation of martial artists was rare to see anywhere, and would be an intimidating sight for common folk.
Yan Guang quickly found a spot amidst the crowd and waited for all announcements to end.
A few minutes later, roll call was officially declared over and students were to be sent to their classes.
Just as Yan Guang was wondering where his classes were about to start, a hand reached out to him and began dragging him away.
"Who are you?", Yan Guang blurted out.
"Your senior sister, duh.", the voice replied back in a rather unfriendly tone.
Yan Guang's mind filled with questions as to who exactly this was. As far as he knew, he didn't know anyone in the sect, so who was this mysterious 'senior sister'?
Soon, the two of them drifted away from the crowd and arrived at a rather unremarkable courtyard.
Yan Guang's supposed senior sister finally let go of his hand and gestured for him to come in as she walked through the gates.
Stopping for a second, Yan Guang looked around to figure out exactly where he was.
He found the number '7' written on the gates, but nothing else to note.
As Yan Guang entered the courtyard, he saw a middle-aged man resting lazily on the deck of a small house. His unkempt hair and beard made him look like a beggar one would often find on the streets, not quite what Yan Guang was expecting.
"I brought him here like you said. Go get your own disciple next time!", his senior sister shouted before hurrying off into a room of another cottage.
Yan Guang awkwardly listened and stood still. What was going on? Picking up the context clues, he realized this man was most likely going to be his teacher, but if so, he didn't look like a good one.
"Right, well, hello there. My name's Wei Shun, but you... you call me teacher, alright? I need at least one disciple that properly respects me, ain't that right!", he spoke, only yelling the last part.
"Greetings, teacher.", Yan Guang politely addressed. Even if the man looked homeless, he still had to be a strong martial artist to classify as a teacher, right? Yan Guang was really hoping that was the case.
"Tsk, tsk. No need for all the courteous stuff. Just come closer, what are you standing at such a distance for? Afraid I'll smell?", Wei Shun remarked.
Yan Guang did as instructed and approached his teacher who slowly stood up and put on a slightly more serious face.
"Show me your martial arts once.", Wei Shun ordered.
Yan Guang nodded his head and began showcasing his Raging Tiger Fists, the martial art he was most proficient in.
He began with the most basic jab, before shifting to more complicated punches like hooks and uppercuts.
His foot was planted firmly into the ground as he mobilized his internal force and punched with his full force.
Finally, Yan Guang deviated from the forms in the manual and began to showcase his own fluid Raging Tiger Style, incorporating in kicks to the routine.
Wei Shun's brows raised before furrowing.
This kid has some real power, but... his martial arts experience is non-existent!, Wei Shun thought to himself before faceplanting. He finally realized why his master had assigned him to take on this disciple. He would certainly need some 'extra attention'.
Wei Shun finally couldn't take Yan Guang's demonstration continuing and interrupted.
"Stop!", he yelled.
"Everything, from the first stroke to the last, was wrong! Firstly, your center of gravity is too high. If your opponent sweep kicks you, have fun eating the dirt! Secondly, your internal force is lagging. Don't you know that the internal force should be in sync with the moment of impact? Thirdly, you don't utilize your strength properly. When you punch, you punch with only your arm. To bring out maximum strength, rely on your shoulders and the torque generated by your body. Finally, with your mediocre skills, don't even try to practice without the forms!", Wei Shun reprimanded.
In between breaths, Wei Shun pushed out one more sentence, saying "For today, repeat this same exercise until you have fixed all of your mistakes, then report back to me."
Yan Guang, who was initially confident in his skills, had his confidence broken down and disassembled into the tiniest of pieces.
All three of the flaws he pointed out were valid, and serious problems in his martial arts but somehow Yan Guang had failed to notice. Such was the appeal of a teacher.
Realizing the glaring mistakes he had made, he actually became slightly embarrassed, but he vowed to improve. He wouldn't disappoint his teacher like that again.
Resuming his practice, Yan Guang went back to basics, setting aside all of the habits he had developed. His martial arts needed to be built from scratch, without any issues this time.
For the next few hours, punches rang out in the courtyard. At some point in time without Yan Guang even noticing, his master had already retreated to the indoors.
It was only him left in the empty courtyard, practicing the most basic movement of all martial arts, the jab.
At first, he tried only jabbing without even using internal energy. Focusing on his arm and how his muscles generated force, Yan Guang slowly eliminated small inefficiencies, increasing his power.
The more he repeated this seemingly simple maneuver, the more he realized how complex it truly was. Every inch of muscle held unrealized power within it, and Yan Guang was currently in the process of unearthing that power.
The more time passed, the more his body seemed to adjust to the practice of punching as hard as possible. He could feel the joints in his shoulder loosen up and his muscles become more used to exerting a greater burst of power. Slowly, the amount of muscles he utilized also increased.
Next, he began adding internal energy, slowly but surely. Yan Guang started with a small amount, making it easier for him to control and also less wasteful.
Controlling it with the utmost focus he had, Yan Guang managed to get the hang of the minute detail that was required when controlling such a mysterious energy.
All along, he had relied on his gifts and brute strength to beat his opponents, but he was now truly learning how to best make use of his strength.
Morning eventually turned to noon, at which point it was time for Yan Guang to go to the cafeteria.
The past couple of hours had resulted in massive progress in terms of Yan Guang's ability to use his strength, but it had left him quite exhausted.
Right as he was about to exit the gates of this courtyard, a voice called out to him. It was Wei Shun, and he didn't seem too pleased.
"Hey, student, you're not getting out of this courtyard till you get your martial arts in order!", Wei Shun reprimanded.
Yan Guang was conflicted. On one hand, he didn't want to disobey his master, but on the other hand, he had to eat.
"Come inside, we'll eat lunch here.", Wei Shun said in a slightly gentler tone.
The inside of Wei Shun's house was quite dirty, with clothes and scrolls strewn out across the floor.
Carefully avoiding all the dirty laundry, Yan Guang arrived at the table where the dishes were served.
Both of them ate quickly and silently, finishing off the large amount of plates in no time.
The dishes were varied and had all of the nutrients a growing boy as well as a martial artist would need, especially a lot of protein. The meat seemed to be extra energizing, as it gave Yan Guang the stamina to go out there and resume his practice.
"Like it, kid? That's savage beast meat I scavenged and cooked! It's my hobby, you see.", Wei Shun stated.
After their meal was finished, Yan Guang and Wei Shun had a brief discussion.
Even more flaws he didn't know he had were dug out by his teacher, and he was told to correct them.
Time passed in a heartbeat. Before he even knew it, Yan Guang had already finished his first full day at the White Tiger School.
Only when the moon was shining in the sky did Wei Shun finally let Yan Guang return to his dorm. There wasn't exactly a living quarter here for him in the seventh courtyard, after all.
"Kid, one last thing. Remember, you're officially a member of the Seventh Courtyard now! Take this token of mine, it'll help you skirt some rules here and there. Oh, also, you better be back here by 6 tomorrow, or face the consequences.", Wei Shun added.
Taking one last look at the courtyard, Yan Guang turned away and sped off to the dorms.
Perhaps his teacher wasn't as incompetent as he seemed.