Chapter 2 : Chapter 2
Chapter 2. The Martial Dao of This World?
“My aptitude has become 3?”
Xu Yuan was overjoyed.
“So my aptitude isn’t fixed after all, and can actually be improved through skill breakthroughs?”
With that thought, his heart filled with excitement.
If it could truly be used this way, then the potential of this golden finger was anything but ordinary.
“But after my aptitude improves, what kind of changes will it bring?”
Xu Yuan pondered for a moment, then decided to test the true worth of his golden finger.
He immediately spread his stance and began practicing Taiji Fist again at an unhurried pace.
The moment he tried, he instantly felt the difference.
Details that had once remained somewhat vague in his mind suddenly became clear.
His movements also grew more fluid and precise, and he performed the form with far greater ease than before.
“The efficiency this time is equal to practicing it three times before...”
Xu Yuan was inwardly shocked.
This was only the aptitude of an above-average person.
If he were to reach the aptitude of a true genius, just how terrifying would that become?
With a golden finger like this, one that could snowball endlessly, he estimated that if he were given enough time, he could become an unprecedented supreme prodigy.
Tap. Tap.
At that moment, a series of footsteps rang out, jolting Xu Yuan awake from his ecstasy.
Seeing that someone had begun the night patrol, he hurriedly wiped the sweat from his body and slipped back into the communal sleeping room under cover of darkness.
Inside, the snores still rumbled like thunder.
The thick stench of sour sweat, armpit odor, and foot odor clumped together overhead, making the air almost suffocating.
Xu Yuan’s expression did not change.
After sneaking back to his bed, the aftershocks in his heart still had not calmed.
Tonight was destined to be a sleepless night.
...
The next day.
The sharp autumn chill cut across people’s faces until it hurt.
Xu Yuan walked out of the room with dark circles under his eyes.
As usual, he fetched water to scrub the pots, lit the fire, and cooked.
The menial servants always made their own breakfast.
Only at lunch and dinner would Fatty Wang personally take action and wave the ladle a couple of times.
Splash!
A large bucket of clear water was poured into the pot.
Xu Yuan, whose frame had not yet fully grown, practically buried half his body inside it as he cleaned.
After finishing the last rinse, he rubbed his aching waist and hips, then went on to chop firewood and start the fire...
“This is exhausting.”
“When will this life ever end?”
“You already sold yourself to become a menial servant, so what future are you still hoping for?”
“If it weren’t for having no money, I’d really want to learn martial arts and practice boxing like the martial students in the front courtyard.”
“At least then there’d be some kind of future.”
“What nonsense are you spouting?”
“If you had money, who would come do this filthy, backbreaking work?”
As dawn gradually broke, Fatty Wang and the overseer servants still had not gotten out of bed, so the menial servants spoke freely among themselves.
“Wasn’t it said that joining the Shangyang family came with some sort of benefit?”
A sharp-looking young servant glanced around and spoke in a mysteriously lowered voice.
“I heard that if you make good use of this benefit, you can rise to the heavens in a single step.”
“What benefit?”
“Really?”
“Tell us the details...”
While chopping firewood, Xu Yuan listened to the chatter of the menial servants.
Aside from the enormous inner court, the vast Shangyang family estate also had many side courtyards and outer courtyards.
The side courtyards were where the maids and old women lived.
The outer courtyards were divided into the front courtyard and the rear courtyard.
The rear courtyard was where menial servants like them handled logistical chores.
The front courtyard was where the students who had paid tuition followed the martial instructors to learn martial arts.
The food there was likewise prepared by the menial servants.
Although it was far inferior to what the inner court received, they were guaranteed at least one meat dish every three days, which made the menial servants deeply envious.
In addition, there were supposedly other courtyards as well, but Xu Yuan knew nothing about them.
“Wait, what’s that sound?”
As they were talking, they suddenly heard several shouts of exertion from the front courtyard, occasionally mixed with the sound of staffs cutting through the air.
“That person is actually this hardworking?”
“He gets up as early as we menial servants do?”
One skinny young servant looked astonished.
He opened his mouth and muttered a few words, as though the martial students were not as relaxed as he had imagined.
Xu Yuan said nothing and silently continued the work in his hands.
If one were to look down from above the courtyard at this moment, all they would see were dozens of tiny black dots, like ants tilling back and forth in diligent labor.
By the time the sun had climbed high into the sky,
a sudden commotion arose at the entrance to the small courtyard.
“Huh?”
“It’s not mealtime yet, so why has a martial instructor come?”
One of the menial servants stood up and looked over in confusion.
They saw the usually coarse and vicious Fatty Wang now hunching at the front like a quail, leading the way with a smile so wrinkled it looked like an old chrysanthemum.
Behind him appeared a middle-aged man with a powerful build, a broad face, and a prominent nose.
Even in the cold of late autumn, this man still wore only a thin blue training shirt.
The muscles on his arms knotted like coiled roots, and every step he took seemed to carry a gust of force.
His presence was anything but ordinary.
“It’s Instructor Feng!”
Someone could not help but let out a low cry of surprise, startling the others into staring blankly as well.
Within the estate, martial instructors held the highest status aside from the Shangyang family members themselves.
And the reason this man had left such a deep impression on all the menial servants was not only because of his beast-like physique, but also because he could eat an astonishing amount.
Among all the martial instructors, his appetite was almost certainly the greatest.
“What are you all still standing around for?”
“Gather up here and line up properly!”
Fatty Wang turned his head, and the chrysanthemum-like smile on his face vanished at once as he shouted coldly.
At his words, the young menial servants hurriedly assembled in the center of the courtyard.
“Instructor Feng, aside from a few who are on leave, these are all the new menial servants in the rear courtyard.”
Fatty Wang immediately put on an obsequious smile again and addressed the man beside him in a flattering tone.
“Mm.”
Feng Xiao answered indifferently.
The unsmiling look on his face made the hearts of the young servants tighten, as though a stone had been pressed down onto their chests.
His gaze swept over the crowd, yet he remained silent, as though he were still waiting for something.
“That is...”
Xu Yuan narrowed his eyes.
Only then did he clearly see that on the shoulder of the man’s blue shirt were two horizontal stripes embroidered there, which were likely a symbol of a martial instructor’s rank.
Time passed for quite a while.
Then a series of faint panting breaths suddenly drifted over.
Everyone turned toward the sound, and at once their faces filled with surprise.
It was actually several maids jogging over to join the group.
Their usual delicate appearance, with satin vests and padded skirts, was nowhere to be seen.
They had changed into much more agile training clothes.
Xu Yuan’s heart gave a slight jolt.
What a grand occasion.
Even the new maids from the side courtyard, the ones specifically being trained to attend distinguished guests, had come.
“All right.”
“We won’t wait for those who didn’t come.”
Feng Xiao finally spoke, his voice low and resonant.
But in the quiet, solemn courtyard, every word landed with perfect clarity.
“The purpose of my coming here, I imagine some of you already understand.”
Xu Yuan silently glanced at those around him.
Sure enough, he saw several people showing obvious delight, and his own heart stirred as well.
Could that benefit actually be real?
“Our Shangyang family is one of the foremost great clans in the prefectural city, and may even faintly hold the top position.”
“Our foundations are profound, and the number of martial artists in our ranks is beyond counting.”
“At the same time, we possess keen judgment and far-sighted vision.”
“We do not let slip even the slightest possibility of discovering talent.”
At this point, Feng Xiao slowly swept his gaze over the crowd and said in a deep voice,
“Therefore, even mere menial servants, after working in the estate for a period of time, are given one chance to prove their aptitude!”
Xu Yuan’s eyes lit up.
So they could learn martial arts without paying tuition?
No wonder the previous owner of this body had rushed so eagerly to enter the Shangyang family.
The menial servants immediately burst into cheers.
Several of them even could not help clenching their fists, ambition flaring in their eyes.
Among them was Xiao Sheng, the servant who had once been beaten by Fatty Wang.
“All of you menial servants are poor wretches from destitute households, people who cannot even fill their stomachs.”
“If not for joining the Shangyang family, who knows in which alley corner you would have starved to death.”
“Now you have food to eat, and even an opportunity to learn martial arts and change your fate.”
“You must remember the grace of the master’s house and serve with loyalty!”
Feng Xiao looked coldly at the cheering crowd.
His expression remained indifferent, but his voice suddenly rose another notch.
“However, you only have two months.”
“During that time, not only must you train in martial arts, you must still continue doing your work properly.”
“When the time comes, if you cannot make any breakthrough, then rein in your thoughts and honestly remain a menial servant.”
“Keep your head buried in the mud.”
“Otherwise, the iron discipline of the family rules will deal with you!”
When he spoke the last sentence, Feng Xiao seemed to put force into it.
His voice boomed like a bell, and the menial servants present all turned pale.
“No more useless talk.”
“Today, I will teach you a stance-training method.”
As Feng Xiao said this, his expression became solemn, as though he were speaking of some kind of faith.
“In our martial path, the most important thing is for one’s qi and blood to surge like a blazing furnace.”
“This stance-training method is precisely used to temper one’s qi and blood.”
“As the ancients said, man is the essence of heaven and earth.”
“Therefore, every person possesses the Eight Extraordinary Meridians, located throughout the body.”
“They can sharpen the senses, quicken reactions, and increase one’s strength!”
As he spoke, Feng Xiao lifted his foot and flicked up a wooden board.
He weighed it in his hand a couple of times, and without any obvious motion, merely pressed down lightly with his palm, leaving behind a clear handprint.
The menial servants were instantly struck with awe, staring with widened eyes as they tried to see more clearly.
Xu Yuan’s eyes shone brightly, and his heart burned with excitement.
So this was the power of martial arts in this world?