Swords and blades were always the most common weapons among martial artists.
In the end, fifty percent of the disciples at Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy chose swords, forty percent chose blades, and the remaining ten percent chose spears, as well as staffs and hammers.
There was also a disciple who chose the same weapon as Li Jingzhong, the iron whip.
Many in attendance looked at that disciple as if watching a joke.
They were just apprentices at the martial arts hall, and the techniques they could learn were not Li Jingzhong's true core martial arts.
Li Jingzhong's true core martial arts technique was only one, and that was "White Ape Extended Arm Fist."
However, the White Ape Extended Arm Fist was not something anyone could learn if they wished.
Only the most outstanding disciple from each batch qualified to learn the White Ape Extended Arm Fist.
By that time, they would no longer call Li Jingzhong the head of the academy but would have to address him as "teacher."
Although it wasn't the genuine master-disciple lineage of a master and his disciples, it was much closer than their relationships, as most of them would leave after a year or two of learning.
This fellow chose such a rarely used weapon as the iron whip—did he really think he would stand out in the end?
If he didn't learn the White Ape Extended Arm Fist, he would have chosen that weapon in vain, and his efforts would be wasted.
Although Li Jingzhong's teaching was strict, he was also responsible.
After giving a general explanation of the common details of weapons, he also explained in detail according to the different points of each weapon.
Approaching the disciples who had chosen blades, Li Jingzhong suddenly stopped in front of Han Zheng.
"Han Zheng, have you ever seen someone killed?"
Han Zheng nodded, "I have seen decapitations."
That was the truth; Han Zheng remembered the scene when his father took him to a beheading as a child.
Now that he thought about it, his father in this life was quite a talent.
He even took his son to watch beheadings and was not afraid of leaving psychological scars on the child.
However, in a small place like Black Stone County, there were always quite a few spectators when the County Government executed criminals.
"A blade carries a heavy intention to kill; one needs an unstoppable sharpness and evil Qi.
I can teach that, but you will hardly learn it; only martial artists who have truly experienced combat can comprehend its essence.
Watch carefully!"
Li Jingzhong took up a long blade and suddenly made a fierce slash, its chilling sharpness and astonishing evil Qi hitting everyone in the face instantly, causing many of the disciples to turn pale.
"Now, visualize the full force of my blade strike, one by one."
The martial hall disciples took turns to make their move, but Li Jingzhong just shook his head slightly each time, somewhat dissatisfied.
The disciples who remained within the martial hall had already opened more than fifty acupoints and one meridian, and could already be considered martial artists of the early postnatal stage.
While they did possess some air of might, they lacked real combat experience and, thus, had no way to comprehend that kind of aura.
When it was Han Zheng's turn, he held the Yanling Blade in his hand, his blood surging as he suddenly exerted force from his waist!
The blade glow arrived in an instant, swift and ruthless, with a hint of the aura of killing flowing within.
Li Jingzhong uttered a soft "hmm" and stared intently at Han Zheng.
Although Han Zheng's blade strike didn't manifest ten percent of the full aura, at least it was a blade that could truly be used in life and death struggles.
"Have you fought with other martial artists before?"
Han Zheng shook his head, "No, but I imagined that the person standing in front of me wants to kill me. It's either you die, or I perish, and my blade naturally carries evil Qi."
"Not bad, that's a good method as well.
Remember, the path of martial arts is never static.
Your enemies will not fight you according to the routines of the martial arts you've learned.
Han Zheng has done well; the rest of you should learn from him.
With the level of his current blade strike, he is more than capable of serving as a Protector martial master for those wealthy merchants and nobility families."
Hearing Li Jingzhong praise Han Zheng like that, the other disciples looked at Han Zheng with envy, jealousy, and of course, most were jealousy.
Han Zheng didn't mind; it was his intention to stand out.
There were times when it was fine to hide one's abilities, but one should not hide one's stupidity.
One should be low-key as a person but high-profile in action.
With nearly fifty disciples in the martial hall, how could he acquire more martial arts knowledge without demonstrating extraordinary talent in front of Li Jingzhong?
Moreover, this was still Han Zheng holding back deliberately, not revealing too much of his killing intent.
He wasn't just someone who had fought with others; he was someone who had actually killed.
Sure enough, after Han Zheng displayed his talent with the blade, Li Jingzhong paid him more attention.
He had some memory of Han Zheng from the last time.
The speed at which Han Zheng opened acupoints was very fast, second only to those rich disciples who took Medicine Baths.
And his Vajra Fist was also well-mastered, even suggesting exceptional talent.
Adding today's blade performance, Li Jingzhong could confirm Han Zheng was definitely a promising seedling.
He could even say he was one of the few most outstanding among his current batch of disciples.
This promising seed was definitely worth his extra care.
In the future, once Han Zheng left his martial arts academy and stood out from the rest, it would also reflect glory upon Li Jingzhong.
Today was a day for a major lesson; they would practice the blade in the afternoon after a rest at noon.
Li Sancheng chewed on his black rye bread, squatting beside Han Zheng with a face full of worry.
"Did I make the wrong choice in picking up the blade? I haven't felt anything this morning and was scolded by the headmaster several times."
Han Zheng had finished eating some time ago, and while sipping on his vegetable soup, he said, "It's only the first day, what's the hurry?
During the blade practice in the afternoon, just imagine that the person in front of you is Ma Gui, bullying and trying to steal your money, and tell me if you don't feel like chopping him to pieces."
"I'm so angry I could eat his heart!"
Li Sancheng viciously bit into his black rye bread.
"Right, just cultivate your skills with that state of mind."
Patting Han Zheng's shoulder, Li Sancheng said enviously, "Today, brother, you really made an impression! With those words from the headmaster, even if you leave the martial arts academy now, you won't have to worry about food and drink. Those wealthy families in Black Stone County will definitely compete to hire you as their Protector."
"Oh? Does the headmaster's word carry so much weight?"
"Of course! What do you think makes Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy so renowned? Why is the tuition a steep three hundred taels of silver? It's because the disciples that come out of our martial arts hall are guaranteed to be strong.
Three hundred taels may seem like a lot, but as long as you can stay in the academy for a full year and successfully graduate, you can earn back the silver within a few years after leaving.
Of course, the likes of Ma Gui and those disciples who were previously eliminated don't count as having successfully graduated, and they can't go around claiming they belong to our martial arts hall."
"So what do the successful disciples from our martial arts hall usually do outside?"
Han Zheng was quite curious about this.
In martial arts novels, those heroes seem never to have to worry about silver.
In reality, poverty is for the literary, and wealth for the martial; cultivating martial arts is tremendously expensive, and it's impossible to sustain without some sort of financial backing.
Li Sancheng counted on his fingers, "There are plenty of choices. The most common one is serving as a Protector for wealthy families or working as an Escort Master for courier agencies.
Nowadays, times are chaotic. Even moderately rich families would hire Protectors.
Ordinary Protectors are just tough brutes and hoodlums with some strength, but only those of us who have genuinely cultivated inner strength techniques are considered hospital martial masters.
As for Black Stone County's rates, you'd earn about ten taels of silver per month, and I've heard it's more at the State Mansion— fifteen to twenty taels."
Han Zheng was slightly surprised; that was a really good rate.
His own father, who worked as a Clerk for the County Government, only earned three taels a month.
"Life as a hospital martial master is more leisurely and safer since those wealthy families value their lives and wouldn't recklessly endanger themselves.
Working as an Escort Master pays more, as the fee is based on the value of the shipment. A qualified Escort Master could earn three to five hundred taels in a year without much problem.
However, escorting is also more dangerous with the current state of the world.
Encountering demons could cost your life, and bandits could cost you money.
I've heard from those in the courier agencies that not many people stay in this line of work for long. They make quick money for a few years and then they switch careers."
Squinting his eyes, Han Zheng said, "It's all about risking your life for others. Doesn't anyone want to pursue a longer journey in the martial world?"
"You need the capability to walk further."
Li Sancheng sighed, "Some choose to join the army, but the Court is repressing rebellions everywhere and waging wars on the frontier, so deaths are even more frequent in the military.
Then there are those who venture into the Martial World, hoping to join the major sects, but disciples from those big sects have been nurtured since they were very young, all with excellent talents and constitutions. How could they possibly be interested in us?
Some roam around in the Martial World for many years, ending up down and out. In the end, don't they still come back to become someone's Protector?"
Han Zheng patted Li Sancheng on the shoulder, "Who knows what the future holds? Maybe you'll walk a longer path in the martial arts than the others."
Li Sancheng struggled to swallow the black rye bread in his hand, "I haven't thought that far ahead. Right now, I'm just wondering when I can replace this black rye bread with white wheat bread.
Eating black rye bread in the martial arts hall, and still having black rye bread back home. I'm nearly sick of it."
Although he said this, Li Sancheng's physique didn't look like someone who was about to throw up his food at all.
He had gained quite a bit of weight since coming to the martial arts hall. Of course, his energy was vigorous, and even though he was heavier, it was the strong kind of stoutness.
Han Zheng was also contemplating at this moment, considering finding a way to make money.
Half of the ten taels of silver he'd gotten from Ma Gui had already been spent, mostly on food.
Poor in literary pursuits but rich in martial endeavors— even if one didn't soak in Medicine Baths or take Elixirs, you couldn't starve yourself, right?
With Han Zheng's current food intake nearly several times that of ordinary people, every meal needed to include meat to keep up with the physical expenditure, resulting in much higher expenses.
"Ah, these days it's still most important to be born into the right family. Here we are, agonizing over whether to be Protectors or Escort Masters in the future, and maybe ending up selling our lives for someone else."
Li Sancheng's tone carried a mix of sourness and jealousy as he nodded towards a small group of people in the distance.
That group, less than ten people, wore the finest breathable silk training garments.
During the early lessons, they wouldn't stay to eat in the martial arts hall and would have servants bring them various meals for the major lessons; they stood out starkly from the other disciples in the hall.
From childhood, they had access to resources far beyond those of poorer disciples like Li Sancheng.
Some of them were less than twenty years old but had already opened up three meridians.
These young men came from prominent families; and though they were not martial families by tradition, they recognized the importance of strength during these turbulent times and thus sent their sons to learn martial arts at the academy.
Another reason was that Great Zhou was a country founded on martial virtue, elevating the status of the martial path.
As long as you have strength, power, and wealth are at your fingertips!