"I owe you big time for not getting beat up today, you're seriously like my own brother! Come on, come on, forget this stuff, I'm treating you to a meaty lunch."
Just as Han Zheng had grabbed a plate to get some rye bread, Li Sancheng pulled him back.
"Did your dad give you some silver?"
Li Sancheng's dad had practically emptied his savings sending him to the Martial Arts Hall, so he hardly ever gave him any pocket money.
"Hehe, I had some savings stashed away and won a bit from a small gamble the other day."
Gamblers don't deserve sympathy.
To avoid Li Sancheng losing all his private money, it was better to indulge in a good meal and satisfy the appetite.
Before leaving, Han Zheng still took two eggs from the Martial Arts Hall.
These were good stuff – he might go without the rye bread, but he certainly wouldn't pass on the eggs.
The small restaurant Li Sancheng took Han Zheng to was quite modest, with only three tables.
"Don't let the size fool you, the boss here used to be a cook for a big family over in Jingzhou Prefecture, and the cooking is genuinely authentic."
Li Sancheng ordered several dishes proficiently; not long after, the boss brought the food over.
Han Zheng noticed that the boss was missing a hand, and where his wrist should be, a shovel was tied in its place with a sharpened edge that served as a kitchen knife.
After the boss left, Li Sancheng whispered, "The boss is pretty unlucky. Heard he was cooking for the family and was just a bit late once, leaving the young master hungry. Got his hand chopped off, got beat up, and was thrown out to fend for himself.
Actually, it was because the servant responsible for procurement didn't deliver the ingredients on time, so he was just a victim of a misfortune."
Han Zheng had heard his fair share of such stories.
But once these big families hired people like cooks, common folks would still flock to them.
In these chaotic times, joining a big family as a servant at least meant not worrying about starving to death or losing one's life unexpectedly.
Han Zheng tasted a few dishes, and the flavor was indeed much better than any random tavern or eatery he had stumbled upon before.
"Brother, you're really going places this time, getting special training from the Hall Master. You can at least expect to reach Innate!"
Envy was evident in Li Sancheng's voice, but there was no jealousy.
He had seen how hard Han Zheng worked.
In the Martial Arts Hall, he was meticulous, and at home, even more diligent, practically spending every day practicing except when eating.
Li Sancheng couldn't match Han Zheng's diligence, so what was there to be jealous of?
Han Zheng shook his head, "It's too early to say. I need to learn the White Ape Extended Arm Fist first, and the other members of the group are no less strong. The more crucial the moment, the less you can afford to slack off."
"True that. I heard the servants in the Martial Arts Hall say that the Hall Master mentioned privately that our group of disciples is the most outstanding he has seen in recent years."
Li Sancheng looked around, then spoke in a low voice. "If you want to surpass those guys and learn the White Ape Extended Arm Fist, you'll really have to step it up. Those four are not to be underestimated.
Among them, Lin Qing is the son of the County Government Chief Clerk, from a well-off family, definitely not lacking in silver. Heard the Chief Clerk plans to send him for cultivation in a Sect in Jingzhou Prefecture.
Guo Mingyuan is the only child of a grain store owner, and with grain prices skyrocketing, the Guo Family's nearly going mad with profits. Heard Guo Mingyuan takes Medicine Baths daily, his cultivation purely built on money.
The guy with the Iron Whip is called Chen Zhao. His family isn't rich, but he's got real talent, even praised by the Hall Master when he joined.
And there's Song Tianqing, the one I fought with, damn his hits are brutal!
But that guy is really something else. He's the son of the East City Song Family Head!"
Li Sancheng was a classic information broker, having dug up pretty much everything about the disciples in the Martial Arts Hall.
However, upon hearing about Song Tianqing's identity, Han Zheng was momentarily stunned.
"East City Song Family? They are a branch of the 'Heavenly Blade' Song Family from Southern Mountain and even though just a branch, they're a bona fide Martial Arts Family. Why would he come to the Martial Arts Hall to learn martial arts?"
"Because his birth was less than favorable, he can't even be counted as a legitimate son of the Song Family, he's a bastard.
Heard his mother was just a servant in the Song Family, and it was after a drunken bout that the Family Head, Song Kangyuan, sired him.
His mother wasn't much in looks, and afterwards, Song Kangyuan saw the whole thing as a disgrace, gave her a bit of silver and chased her out to survive on her own.
After Song Tianqing was born, his mother really struggled and eventually took him back to the Song Family.
Though confirmed as Song Kangyuan's son, such a matter was too shameful.
Song Kangyuan's legitimate wife was so furious she beat his mother to death, and she wasn't even granted a concubine's status on her deathbed.
Thus, Song Tianqing grew up with next to no status in the Song Family, bullied and derided everywhere, his position not even as good as a favored servant, and no one taught him the Song Family Martial Arts.
Every disciple of the Song Family gets a shop after turning 16. Song Tianqing got one too, but it was a failing shop no one wanted.
But the kid, with only a seventy-something old shopkeeper, turned the failing shop around and made a decent profit, far exceeding the other Song Family disciples.
However, the Song Family is a Martial Arts Family, and showing talent in business didn't count for much.
The Song Family disciples despised him, gave him the cold shoulder so he couldn't learn the Song Family Martial Skill.
In a fit of rage, he simply stopped trying, took his silver and joined the Zhenwei Martial Arts Academy.
Honestly, although he's ruthless, I admire his grit.
If I were in his shoes, I'd probably be dead by now!"
Han Zheng stroked his chin.
After listening to Li Sancheng, he felt Song Tianqing was indeed quite a character.
Definitely the protagonist of the "do not despise the young for being poor" template.
He might have a cheat, but this world was full of countless prodigies.
Even in a small county, there were many remarkable people.
If he were to become complacent with the Taotie Furnace, thinking the future was guaranteed, that would truly be asking for death.
After a satisfying meal, the two headed home separately.
Over the next half month, Li Jingzhong indeed gave special attention to the five, including Han Zheng, giving targeted guidance based on their individual strengths.
"Han Zheng, your greatest advantage lies in the extremely solid and profound understanding of martial arts.
Even when I was young and began learning the Vajra Fist, I wasn't as proficient as you are now.
So what you need to do now is to exploit this advantage to the utmost!
The core of any martial skill is actually one and the same, that is, to convert the strength of your body into the maximum offensive power.
When you strike, sense the power of the energy points within your body, sense the power regulated by your meridians.
Incorporate this strength into your fist techniques, into your combat and fighting.
I can't systematically teach you this aspect; it's something you must practice by repeatedly channeling the energy on your own or adapt to it during combat and fighting.
Some people can only exert eighty percent of their full power, while others can bring out a hundred and twenty percent.
For martial artists of the same rank in a fight, such a difference can be enough to determine life and death, victory or defeat."
Li Jingzhong stood in front of Han Zheng and spoke with a heavy tone.
He was already very pleased with Han Zheng's performance.
His cultivation hadn't fallen behind those like Guo Mingyuan, who soak in medicinal baths every day, whose disciple's strength is piled up with cultivation.
His ability in actual combat was formidable, and his understanding of martial skills like Vajra Fist was far beyond the other disciples.
If it weren't for the fact that students like Song Tianqing were also very exceptional, Li Jingzhong would have decided to teach Han Zheng the White Ape Extended Arm Fist by now.
"Yes, thank you for your guidance, Master,"
Han Zheng answered respectfully.
Li Jingzhong nodded with satisfaction and turned to give pointers to the others.
At this moment, the door of the martial arts hall was knocked open, and a middle-aged man in his fifties, dressed in a green silk robe and with a scholarly appearance, stepped into the martial arts academy.
"Manager Chen, what brings you to my place today?"
Li Jingzhong greeted him with a smile.
"To be honest, I'm here to ask for help from Master Li."
"Come come come, let's talk inside."
Li Jingzhong seemed to have a good relationship with the other party, smiling as he pulled him into the inner hall.
Watching Li Jingzhong walk away, several disciples began to slack off and sat down on the ground to rest.
Li Sancheng approached Han Zheng with a hint of curiosity, "That's Manager Chen Baiqing of Shenghe Hall. What's he doing here at the martial arts hall?"
"Shenghe Hall? The medicine shop?"
Han Zheng thought for a moment, recalling that Shenghe Hall was a medicine shop.
"It's the largest medicine shop in all of Black Stone County!
Other medicine shops only sell regular medications, the most they offer is golden sore medicine.
But Shenghe Hall is the only one that sells spiritual medicines, which can be used for martial artist's medicine baths."
Han Zheng nodded in understanding.
Martial artists use medicinal baths to enhance their vitality and inner strength; these aren't ordinary substances like Isatis root.
They are specially cultivated spiritual medicines, potent and abundant, that only martial artists can assimilate.
If an ordinary person were to soak in such a medicinal bath, they'd probably start bleeding from the nose within minutes, overwhelmed by the potency.
Meanwhile, inside the inner hall of the martial arts academy.
After serving a cup of tea for Chen Baiqing, Li Jingzhong asked, "Manager Chen, please, speak your mind. There's no need for formalities between us old friends."
When Li Jingzhong was establishing a foothold in Black Stone County, he also needed various spiritual medicines for his medicinal baths to enhance his strength.
At that time, Chen Baiqing hadn't taken over Shenghe Hall yet and was only responsible for dispensing medicine and consulting.
The two became acquainted back then when Chen Baiqing formulated several medicinal bath recipes for Li Jingzhong, all with excellent results.
Li Jingzhong had always been purchasing spiritual medicines from Shenghe Hall, maintaining a relationship for over a decade.
Chen Baiqing sighed and said, "Our Southern Mountain is barren; not only do we import grain from Huainan Road, but nearly all the spiritual medicine in Shenghe Hall comes from there too.
But now, the Smell Fragrance Sect is causing quite a stir in Huainan, I heard they've even seized several cities from the state mansion, and the streets are full of their incense offerings.
The sects that used to cultivate spiritual medicine and were collaborating with me are now unreachable; Shenghe Hall is practically running out of stock.
And yet, I've just made major deals with the Shen Family, the Song Family, even with the Black Tiger Gang, Sky Eagle Gang, and Sanhe Gang. I've signed contracts to supply them with spiritual medicine on a schedule, and the silver has already been taken.
Now with the spiritual medicine out of stock, it wouldn't just be an issue if all these families come knocking at once; even if just one does, I can't cover the loss."
Li Jingzhong 'hissed' in response.
"Manager Chen, this is quite a big predicament.
If it were just one family, I could try to mediate on your behalf with my status.
But with all five families involved, how could they possibly give me, a martial arts hall master, any face?"
Chen Baiqing quickly shook his head: "How could I ask you to mediate such a big matter? Actually, I've already thought of a solution.
Supplying five families with spiritual medicines is indeed a risk, and I was also afraid of some mishaps in Huainan.
Thus, after signing the contracts, I found a piece of land in Jingzhou Prefecture to cultivate spiritual medicines, as a contingency plan.
But the place is somewhat distant, over five hundred li from Black Stone County, located between Huainan Road and Southern Mountain.
There's an estate there; I've already sent people to guard it for half a year. According to the timing, some of it should already be mature, which should be enough to handle the emergency.
You know how unsafe the world is nowadays; not just five hundred li out, even fifty li from the city can't be guaranteed as safe.
The major escort agencies within Black Stone County are out on jobs, and I don't trust the people from the clans.
So I had no choice but to seek help here."