I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 16 Martial Academy
Following Wu Qu, they toured the entire branch hall.

Wu Ming also memorized the situation of each courtyard of this branch of the Seven Martial Alliance.

Although it is only a branch of the outer hall, the interior area is still extremely spacious. In fact, apart from the initial courtyard, the outer hall area is connected to several other courtyards, separated only by a wall and a small door.

Each region has its own division of labor.

Some areas are for meals, some courtyards are filled with sandbags and sandpits for practicing martial arts, some courtyards are open for sparring, and some courtyards have notices recruiting people for various jobs, such as patrolling mountains, patrolling rivers, guarding fields, etc. In addition, there are some vacant courtyards that can be used for living.

All these numerous and complex regions are connected to one single core element: money.

For members of the outer hall, meals in the Seven Martial Alliance branch halls naturally require money, with food and meat calculated by portion. If they want to stay here, they also need to pay for lodging. Even some special training grounds require payment to use.

"How does it feel?"

After leading Wu Ming around, Wu Qu asked Wu Ming a question.

Wu Ming glanced around the courtyard, looking at the scattered martial artists coming and going, and shook his head, saying, "Here, as long as you have money, you will lack nothing and everything will be convenient."

"good."

After hearing Wu Ming's answer, Wu Qu nodded slightly and said, "With money in hand, you can accomplish anything. Without money, you can't move an inch. It's the same everywhere in the world... We people come from humble backgrounds, but we have cultivated our martial arts skills and have ways to earn money. Once we earn money, we also have the ability to keep it."

Speaking of which,

Wu Qu paused for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand and tossed a wooden plaque to Wu Ming, while smiling at him.

“It is not easy for our Wu Village to produce a martial artist. This ‘Outer Hall Martial Token’ from the Seven Martial Alliance Martial Academy is a small congratulatory gift from me, the clan leader, for your mastery of martial arts.”

Wu Ming caught it and saw that the wooden plaque seemed to be made of hard ironwood. The front was engraved with the three large characters "Seven Martial Alliance", and the back had "Outer Hall Martial Plaque" and "Three-month deadline" in smaller characters.

"Thank you, patriarch."

Wu Ming glanced at it and immediately thanked Wu Qu.

The martial arts token given by Wu Qu is quite valuable.

He knew the purpose of this martial arts token. Holding this token not only allowed him to freely cultivate in the 'Martial Academy' of the Seven Martial Alliance's outer hall, but also allowed him to choose the sword, fist, and foot techniques he needed within the academy.

In the outer hall of the Seven Martial Alliance, all resources need to be purchased with silver. Since the various training methods and equipment and weapons used for training collected in the Martial Academy are also considered resources, this martial token naturally has its price. A martial token can be used for three months, and the price is a full 'ten taels' of silver!
Ten taels of silver is enough for an ordinary family of three to live on for a year, which is a huge sum of money. The money Wu Ming brought from home was pieced together from various sources, and it was only fifteen taels of silver.

His father, Wu Qi, worked as a carpenter and house repairman. Even in a good year, he could only earn a little over twenty taels of silver. After deducting taxes for the spring, summer, and autumn seasons, he often had little left over.

of course,

Wu Ming was well aware that this was because he had condensed his blood energy and become a martial artist. In addition, his aptitude had reached the 'lower-middle' level, and the possibility of condensing his blood energy a second time in the future was very high. Therefore, Wu Qu treated him very differently than before.

The resources presented to him were exactly what he needed, so Wu Ming naturally wouldn't refuse. As for the favor he owed, he could repay it when he had the chance in the future.

"Alright, I have some other things to take care of. You should go to the Martial Academy first. I guess you're getting impatient. I'll come find you there later." Wu Qu smiled at Wu Ming, patted him on the shoulder, and then turned and walked towards other courtyards.

This trip he took Wu Ming to Jingye City was not only to give Wu Ming some pointers, but also to handle many trivial matters, including taking on another job along the way and purchasing some meat to nourish his blood and qi.

Although the resources in the outer hall of the Seven Martial Alliance all require money to purchase, they are slightly more affordable than those outside.

I watched as the Wu opera faded into the distance.

Wu Ming quickly gathered his thoughts and turned to walk towards the Martial Academy.

The Seven Martial Alliance's Martial Academy is located on the southwest side of the outer hall, and it is one of the largest areas in the entire outer academy. Wu Qu had previously shown Wu Ming the way briefly, and Wu Ming had already memorized it, so he arrived there easily.

Upon entering the martial arts academy, a blazing storm immediately greeted them.

The martial arts academy is divided into many small courtyards. Some courtyards are very spacious, where many martial artists, shirtless, wield knives, spears, and swords, wielding them with great force. In other courtyards, some martial artists are practicing their fist and foot techniques around sandbags.

A large number of martial artists gathered together, their qi and blood circulating. Even ordinary people could feel a burning sensation. It was almost impossible for evil spirits or ghosts to invade such a place. Even a few feet away, it would be difficult to withstand such a vigorous gathering of blood and qi.

Wu Ming walked deeper into the center of the martial arts academy and soon arrived at a courtyard located at the deepest part of the academy. The previous courtyards were bustling with activity, filled with martial artists practicing and honing their skills, but here, the environment immediately became much quieter.

This courtyard is the core of the Seven Martial Alliance's outer martial arts academy.

Here is a warehouse, filled with various weapons and equipment used for training. It is also a place where many martial arts manuals are collected. Only here can one enter by holding the 'Martial Token' of the Seven Martial Alliance's outer hall.

At the entrance of the courtyard, there was a grand chair. An elderly man with graying temples, wearing a black mandarin jacket, was reclining leisurely on the chair. He did not get up when Wu Ming approached, but continued to lean back in his chair.

"senior."

Wu Ming dared not delay, stepped forward, clasped his hands in a salute, and handed over the martial arts token.

The old man in the black jacket opened one eye, casually glanced at the martial arts token in Wu Ming's hand, then looked Wu Ming over again before closing his eyes again and saying calmly:

"My surname is Hong, and I am the manager of this martial arts academy... Go in. Remember that the martial arts manuals inside are for reading only, not copying or taking out. All rough weapons used for training must be registered before they can be taken out, and must be returned before sunset."

At this point, the old man in the black jacket paused for a moment, then casually added, "Of course, if you have money, you can buy them too. The rough drafts of the weapons inside are all only five taels."

"Yes, I understand."

Upon hearing the old man in the black jacket's reminder, Wu Ming lowered his head and responded, then stepped into the courtyard.

The courtyard was quiet, seemingly a world apart from the hustle and bustle outside. Wu Ming carefully examined the ring of rooms in front of him. The room directly in front should be where various martial arts manuals were stored, while the rooms on the left and right sides should be where weapons and equipment were placed.

Without lingering, Wu Ming went straight ahead and entered the main hall where the classics were collected.

(End of this chapter)