Promise!

Chapter 66, Two Months (Two in One)

Zhuang Jin didn't know that, under Guo Jun's urging, Zhuang Yutang and Zhuang Yuyong were already preparing to give him a big gift after his four-month novice period, and at this time he was fully focused on practicing martial arts.

Because he felt that the accumulation of the three classics was long and time was tight, he worked even harder this month than last month. He got up before the rooster crowed in the morning, ate as quickly as possible, left as soon as the basic teaching tasks were completed, and stopped practicing martial arts at night, not to mention focusing on cultivation... In short, he would practice whenever he had free time.

To be specific, I have been practicing for more than six hours every day. It is simply that, apart from necessary things, I have devoted all my energy to improving my cultivation level.

Such hard work was naturally seen by other warriors. No one knew when or from whom it was first spread, but Zhuang Jin's nickname of "Martial Madman" gradually spread in the outer courtyard of the Shen family.

When Guo Jun heard this, he was shocked. With such talent, self-discipline and hard work, Zhuang Jin will surely realize his potential very quickly!

He could only hope in his heart that Zhuang Yutang and Zhuang Yuyong would deal with Zhuang Jin as soon as possible, otherwise, the consequences would be unimaginable!
Even in this situation, Guo Jun felt a little regretful, but it was too late to turn back.

Zhuang Jin knew a thing or two about the rumors outside, but he continued to do his own thing. Chang He and his colleagues were very pleased to see this and praised him a lot. After all, Zhuang Jin realized his potential faster, so he could receive rewards earlier.

Ping Yongfeng was different. He would advise Zhuang Jinxian not to be too tense. Zhuang Jin agreed verbally but did not change his mind. He had no choice but to send him a good meal every now and then, and occasionally bring him exotic animal meat - he got it at a high price through his own connections, to improve Zhuang Jin's diet and ease his mood.

He is more like the kind of person who "does things without saying anything". He brought Zhuang Jin to eat together, but rarely said any caring words during the meal. He left after eating and did not delay Zhuang Jin's martial arts practice.

Zhuang Jin felt quite emotional about this and kept this friendship in his heart.

In fact, he himself felt that it was not as "hard" as others thought. On the contrary, he enjoyed it. Because every time he refined his standing meditation and concentrated his stillness meditation, he could feel the accumulation and progress bit by bit. He also knew that he had no bottleneck and that he could break through after completing the accumulation. He had hope and expectation, and naturally he had a vigorous vitality.

……

January passed quickly and it was the end of March.

After seven or eight days of breaking through the three classics last month, and this month's hard training, Zhuang Jin's accumulation of the three classics realm has been completed by a little more than 50%. This is the result of focusing wholeheartedly on the realm of cultivation, as well as the benefits brought by medicinal food, and various factors combined.

He secretly estimated: "Before the end of the next month, the last month of the optional mission, there is still hope of breaking through the four classics. Even if it doesn't work, it will only delay it by one or two days at most."

The progress is encouraging, but what is the cost?

Last month, Zhuang Jin received the Three Sutras gift, and was once over 20 taels rich. He thought he was a rich man, but he didn't expect that after breaking through the Three Sutras last month until today, he had been practicing for more than six hours every day, consuming the Black Yuan Powder like water, as well as the medicinal food, and now he only had three taels and seven cents of silver left!

Fortunately, this month's mission was a good one, and three of the six formal warriors were masters of the Black Evil Palm - well, Zhou Chao was not among these three.

Tomorrow, April 1st, you can receive the new monthly salary, as well as this month's errand money and errand rewards. You can get ten taels of silver, which can help you recover a little.

"But it still shouldn't be enough..." Zhuang Jin smiled bitterly, thinking that he would have to borrow money next month.

That evening, just like the end of last month, there was still a small gathering of five people including Lin Hong, Bi Kai, Qian Wende, Wu Hao, and Zhuang Jin as the core.

As early as the month before, Zhuang Jin revealed the news: "Those martial artists recruited from outside will be thrown out to the south of the city if they fail to break through the second level within three months." The deadline has arrived at the end of this month.

Needless to say, Lin Hong broke through the second meridian as early as last month; Bi Kai also broke through the second meridian at the beginning of this month; Qian Wende sold everything he had for the past two months and worked hard to finally break through the second meridian a few days ago.

Only Wu Hao, even though he knew the news in advance, is still a little short of the mark due to his family situation and his own martial arts talent. Next month, he will probably be assigned to the south of the city, near the Medicine King Gang.

Wu Hao had also heard a lot of news from the south of the city and was quite worried. Zhuang Jin and others naturally tried to comfort him, but they seemed powerless.

Also, starting from next month, Bi Kai and Lin Hong will not have the opportunity to choose a mission, so only Zhuang Jin has one last month left.

Fortunately, these two people broke through the second level of the realm, so at least they won’t be thrown to the south of the city.

In addition, according to news from the other three of the eight people in the dormitory, Xiang Qichen was injured last month, and after being hit by Zhuang Jin and Lin Hong in succession, it was said that he has been much more low-key this month.

As for Xiong Lei, he is one of the best martial arts talents among the eight people in the dormitory. I heard that he also broke through to the second level this month, but he was half a month later than Bi Kai and just a few days earlier than Qian Wende.

By the way, Qian Wende also mentioned that Xiong Lei has changed a lot in the past two months in the north of the city. When he saw him a few days ago, he took the initiative to say hello.

Jiao Kun was assigned to a street in the north of the city last month, which is adjacent to the street occupied by the Medicine King Gang. He was lucky last month and nothing happened, but this month he was not so lucky. He suffered some minor injuries. Also, because of laziness, he fished for three days and dried the net for two days. I heard that he has not yet broken through the second meridian. Next month, he will probably be sent to the south of the city.

……

The next day was April 1st.

Zhuang Jin went to collect this month's basic salary, as well as last month's work wages and rewards, a total of ten taels of silver, and then went to register for the job of teaching martial arts to a martial arts master, and came out.

Coincidentally, when he came out, he saw Xiang Qichen. The other party also saw him, but avoided him from a distance. Maybe he had a psychological trauma from the blow last month?

Seeing this, Zhuang Jin naturally did not chase after them. He waited at the door of the mission office, preparing to send Lin Hong, Bi Kai and others off later.

At this time, Xiong Lei came out of the mission office and was talking to a strange warrior next to him. He was a member of the other party's team in the north city street.

Seeing Zhuang Jin, he was slightly startled, then walked up to him with a smile on his face: "Brother Zhuang, I heard that you broke through the three classics last month. Congratulations!"

As he spoke, he put his arm around Zhuang Jin's shoulders and said to his teammates beside him, "This is my brother Zhuang. When we were martial arts students, we slept next to each other, on the left and right bunks. When we became official martial artists, we also lived in the same dormitory. That month, when he was learning martial arts, brother Zhuang broke through the second level and now he has reached the third level."

Zhuang Jin was the first to act, calmly dodging Xiong Lei's arm and glancing at Xiong Lei.

Today, the 'Brother Zhuang' mentioned by the other party did not stumble at all, nor did he show the impulsiveness he had when he saw Chen Yun talking to him that day. Instead, he vaguely had a shadow of Qian Wende, but he was much more immature in comparison.

The strange warrior, Xiong Lei's teammate, looked at Zhuang Jin in shock after hearing Xiong Lei's introduction. The Three Sutras Realm was at the level of a team leader. He didn't expect Xiong Lei to have such connections. He couldn't help but look up to Xiong Lei in his heart.

When Xiong Lei saw Zhuang Jin avoiding his hand, his face stiffened slightly, and he didn't move closer to Zhuang Jin anymore. He said as if to make amends: "Brother Zhuang, my dad keeps saying that he wants to treat you to dinner. Come over when you have time!" When the teammate heard this, he believed even more that Zhuang Jin and Xiong Lei had a good relationship. How could there be any difference if they could even come to each other's house for dinner?
Speaking of Xiong Dadan, because of what happened on the day of registration, although the favor had long been repaid with Xiong Lei, Zhuang Jin still had a good attitude when talking about him: "Thank Uncle Xiong for me, but I may not have time. Maybe there will be a chance!"

He watched Xiong Lei leave with a look of joy on his face and his teammates with expressions of shock and questioning as they left. Thinking of what Qian Wende said last night about Xiong Lei having changed a lot, he thought to himself that he was indeed different.

In fact, Xiong Lei has indeed changed a lot. The Shen family headquarters is somewhat like an ivory tower, and some things are not so obvious. In the environment of the north city, the extremely realistic and real side of society is revealed, with flattery and fawning on the strong, bullying and oppression of the weak, strict and clear hierarchy, and sitting on the wrong chair will lead to serious consequences, not to mention the occasional sight of dead people... These most primitive things are exposed nakedly.

In such a big melting pot, it would be strange not to change.

The incident with Xiong Lei was just a minor episode, and soon Lin Hong, Bi Kai and Wu Hao came out.

This month, Lin Hong was assigned to the North City Street; Bi Kai was lucky, probably because of the familiarity, the fact that he had spent the past three months in the medicinal fields outside the city without making any mistakes, and the fact that he was at the Second Sutra Realm and did not occupy an important position as a team leader, so he was still assigned to the medicinal fields outside the city this month.

Needless to say, Qian Wende broke through the second sutra and was able to stay in the north of the city.

Wu Hao was indeed assigned to the south of the city. He had a bitter look on his face. “Brother Lin, Brother Zhuang, Brother Qian, Brother Bi, if I really… I heard there are subsidies, please help me keep an eye on it and don’t let anything happen to my family.”

He is honest, but not stupid, and he knows that some people are evil.

These words had a certain connotation of life and death, making Zhuang Jin and others taste the feeling of grief in advance.

Lin Hong was silent for a moment, then said to Wu Hao, "If that day really comes, I will, but as the saying goes, those who work hard will be rewarded, so it probably won't come to that."

Bi Kai also said: "Haozi, be careful, don't force yourself, it's okay."

"Yes, Kaizi is right. The Medicine King Gang's bastards are very ruthless. Don't try to get ahead of them."

Qian Wende also said this. This was the true impression left on him by the Medicine King Gang warriors: "Be cruel to others, and be cruel to yourself too!"

——The size, power and background of the Yaowang Gang cannot compare to the Shen family. The resources are relatively scarce, and the most direct killing rewards are far inferior. The warriors inside are extremely competitive, and the warriors who survived are really cruel, because without cruelty, they cannot stand firm.

"If it really comes to that, I can agree to what you said... And Kaizi and Dezi are also right. Our Shen family has been investing continuously, and now the number of warriors exceeds that of the Medicine King Gang by a lot. If we go there, we can use the majority to defeat the minority, so we should try our best to do so."

Seeing Wu Hao's expression soften a bit, Zhuang Jin elaborated, "Our Shen family's resources are incomparable to the Medicine King Gang's. We have invested more and have more warriors. Even if the Medicine King Gang's warriors are ruthless, so what? Just follow your teammates. Martial artists at higher levels should avoid them if possible, and when you're at the same level, try to outnumber them."

Just like his understanding of warriors, they bully the weak with the strong, defeat the weak with the strong, and crush others with their higher realm and hard power. They never have any image baggage of warriors. Therefore, they do not have any psychological burden when they say such unethical words as defeating the few with the many.

When Wu Hao heard these words, he felt quite eye-opening. He knew that Zhuang Jin and others were doing this for his own good. He nodded and took notes carefully.

Afterwards, Zhuang Jin sent them out the door and watched the four of them leave. He felt a stronger determination in his heart to improve his strength and control his destiny, so he turned around and strode away.

……

Just like last month, this month's task was also to teach martial arts, so there was nothing much to say. Zhuang Jin was already familiar with the task and completed the minimum required teaching time, while devoting the rest of the time to improving his cultivation level.

Time flies. Just as Zhuang Jin worked hard to be self-disciplined, and the nickname "Martial Madman" became deeply rooted in people's hearts, and just as Zhuang Yutang and Zhuang Yuyong were anxious and spent every day like a year, another month passed.

It was April 30th.

In the evening, Lin Hong and others came over for a small gathering. Seeing that Zhuang Jin was in a hurry to practice, they just had a quick meal together, which lasted only about an incense stick, and then they all said goodbye. Zhuang Jin continued to practice at night.

Until the martial arts training ground closed, Zhuang Jin wiped the sweat from his forehead and returned to his room.

"The accumulation of the three sutra realms is indeed incomparable to the two sutra realms. I have been practicing hard for the past two months, but I am still a little short of it today. I have not been able to break through to the fourth sutra realm within the four-month novice protection period of the self-selected tasks."

However, it was just a slight improvement. Zhuang Jin had a feeling that he would be able to make a breakthrough tomorrow at the earliest and the day after tomorrow at the latest.

"I've already learned from Mr. Chang that I'll be assigned to the north of the city next month."

Zhuang Jin wanted to continue staying in the Shen family headquarters or the medicine fields outside the city, but he was now at the third level of the realm, and it was not easy to get a position at this level. In addition, the north of the city was in urgent need of manpower as the Shen family and the Medicine King Gang were rapidly seizing territory and annexing the original small gangs.

In the end, they could only be sent to the north of the city, but with the help of Chang Hetong, they chose a street that did not border the territory occupied by the Medicine King Gang. There was also an old friend of Chang Hetong there, who was at the level of a third-level team leader and could take care of them.

"I went to the Chengbei Subdistrict and was also a squad leader. I had long known from Qian Wende that, in addition to receiving the largest share of benefits, squad leaders also had a very leisurely life, only having to lead the team on night duty every three days."

"If I'm assigned to be on night duty on the first and second days, then I'll spend some money and ask my good friend Chang Bo to take over for me. Anyway, I won't be able to leave before the fourth shift."

'Speaking of silver,'

The corners of Zhuang Jin's mouth twitched slightly again. It turned out that this month's money was not enough. He borrowed 10 taels from Ping Yongfeng. Adding this month's basic monthly allowance, last month's tasks, and rewards, after this month's consumption, he only had two taels and seven cents of silver left.

He finally understood that the basic monthly allowance and the low-paying jobs were not enough for daily training, let alone any enjoyment. The Shen family did not encourage warriors to live in seclusion.

"But tomorrow, I'll get my monthly basic salary, plus my errand pay. I'll be rewarded with one tael of silver for teaching two beginner martial arts this month... That means I'll get nine taels of silver tomorrow, and by then my savings will be over ten taels, which will be enough to cover my expenses for now."

Once you break through the fourth classic, you can easily harvest heads, gain military merits, recover blood, and alleviate the embarrassment of money.

The friction between Chengbei and Yaowang Gang is not very intense. The masters at the level of fourth classics and street guards basically keep watch and do not take action. In this case, when Zhuang Jin breaks through the fourth classics, he, who looks like a team leader at the level of third classics but is actually a master of fourth classics, will be slaughtered when facing the people of Yaowang Gang!

……

(End of this chapter)