Chaos begins when one joins a martial arts school

Chapter 46 Bandits
Chengpingfang, Sun Family Martial Arts School.

In the front yard, the occasional laughter and chatter that used to be heard have disappeared, leaving only the whooshing sound of fists and feet striking the air, and the thud of wooden stakes being hit.

Each disciple was breathing heavily, their faces tense, and their eyes filled with a fierce determination.

There are less than two weeks left until the annual military examination.

Even though many Ming Jin disciples knew they couldn't make it onto the list of top students in the training ground test, their goal wasn't to pass the test in the first place; that was a spot that only the best of the An Jin masters could hope to secure.

However, once the military examination begins, it will inevitably attract the attention of the entire Yuhe County. The imperial court, major families, and major shops will all be watching. If one can perform well in the military examination and show some talent, one might be valued by someone.

Such precedents occur almost every year. Some people are chosen as sons-in-law by those who passed the imperial examinations, some are valued and cultivated, and some are offered higher terms for temporary positions by certain forces. If one performs exceptionally well, there are many benefits.

As for the masters who can make it onto the list of those who made it onto the training grounds, they are already prominent figures in the county. They will immediately become honored guests of the major families in the county, receiving numerous benefits and resources, and their hopes of breaking through to the Transformation Realm will be greatly enhanced.

As for the ordinary disciples, they are now inspired by the disciples with hidden strength and manifest strength in the martial arts school. They are all putting in their best effort. Most of them do not dare to hope for hidden strength, but they still want to try to reach manifest strength. Once they break through to manifest strength, they will be qualified to participate in the training ground test.

Moreover, there is a living example right here in the martial arts school.

Who doesn't know that Yang Jing only has inferior physical constitution, and is even considered quite mediocre among those with inferior physical constitution? Yet now he has become a master of internal strength.

It can be said that in the hearts of many martial arts school disciples with inferior aptitude, Yang Jing is like an incomparably shining lighthouse, guiding them forward.

In the past, there was always talk about the theory that one's innate talent is the only factor. If one's innate talent is not good, one's path in martial arts will not be long. This inevitably leads to despair and even loss of motivation.

But Yang Jing is a living example right in front of us. As long as you are willing to work hard and practice diligently, there is hope for everything!
Inside the martial arts school, there was a lively and enthusiastic atmosphere of training.

The Ming Jin disciples practiced with exceptional effort, each move and stance executed with a do-or-die attitude. Sweat soaked their clothes, clinging to their backs and outlining taut muscle lines. Even so, few were willing to stop and take a breath.

Several disciples with internal strength stood in the spacious center of the front yard, some exchanging blows with each other, others honing their techniques on sandbags, their brows furrowed with intense energy.

During this period, Qi Yun, Lin Yue, Xu Hong, Zhao Wenzheng and others would form sparring teams every now and then to exchange skills with other martial arts masters.

Sun Ningxiang did come over and ask Yang Jing if he wanted to join the sparring team, since Yang Jing is now a core disciple of the Sun Family Martial Arts School specializing in Dark Force.

She didn't think Yang Jing could make it onto the list of candidates for the military training test. However, Yang Jing was still young and might have a chance in the future. If he made more preparations now and performed better in the military training test, he might be noticed by a certain faction and receive resources to be trained.

Although Yang Jing has received funding from Liu Family Clinic, in Sun Ningxiang's view, Liu Family Clinic can only be considered a second-rate force in the entire Yuhe County, and its strength is not particularly strong. The Zhao family behind Zhao Wenzheng and the Qi family behind Qi Yun are much wealthier and more powerful than Liu Family Clinic.

Although Yang Jing has poor aptitude, he has broken through the Ming Jin and An Jin levels one after another, and both times he succeeded on his first attempt. It is very likely that he has some talent in other areas, and he may have a chance to break through to Hua Jin in the future. If he can be trained by those big families in the county, then his chances of breaking through to Hua Jin will be even greater.

However, Yang Jing declined.

He doesn't lack practical experience; what he lacks is time.

Given time, he is confident that he can reach the highest point in sight.

With the start of the training ground test drawing ever closer, Yang Jing needs to seize the time to improve himself, as both the Mountain-Crushing Fist and the Surging Waves Kick will be of great help to him.

The other disciples with internal strength breathed a sigh of relief when they saw that Yang Jing was still unwilling to join the sparring team, and secretly mocked Yang Jing for being foolish.

Yang Jing rested for a while, drank some water, and then walked back to the wooden stake he often practiced on. Just as he got into the stance of the Mountain-Crushing Fist, he saw his master, Sun Yong, come out from the inner courtyard.

At this time in the past, Master would usually still be resting in the inner courtyard. But now, under the pressure of the training ground test, he came out of the inner courtyard early and stood next to the moon gate, his sharp eyes sweeping across the entire field.

"Li Jiang, the power of your Mountain-Crushing Fist is too scattered. How many times have I told you, sink your shoulders and drop your elbows!"

Sun Yong's voice echoed across the arena. He walked a few steps to a Ming Jin disciple, reached out and pressed his hand on the disciple's shoulder, "Internal strength should be concentrated in the center of the fist, not by swinging the arm."

After instructing a Ming Jin disciple named Li Jiang, Sun Yong turned to another Ming Jin disciple.

With the martial arts school's training ground test approaching, Sun Yong focused most of his energy on instructing the disciples in the hidden and manifest strength categories, especially the manifest strength disciples, who were numerous and whose potential for improvement was high if properly guided. They performed well in the training ground test.

As for the disciples of Dark Force, most of them have already reached a certain level and have their own fighting habits. It is difficult for them to make great progress in a short period of time by relying on guidance. The better method now is actual combat, which is why sparring teams have emerged.

Throughout the morning, Sun Yong barely rested. A far cry from his usual lazy demeanor, he walked from the east side of the front yard to the west side. Whenever a Ming Jin disciple's moves had a flaw, he would immediately step forward to correct them, showing several times more patience and strictness than before.

As Yang Jing practiced his boxing, he could feel the gazes of the disciples around him sweeping over him from time to time.

This is inevitable. As his strength increases, he won't remain unknown forever. This was the case at the Sun Family Martial Arts School, and it may continue to be so in the future.

Unconsciously, Yang Jing recalled a certain sentence that Boss Cao had said in his previous life—

How can you know that someone who is unknown today might become famous tomorrow?

If one day they truly become famous, will you regret your actions today?

Having digressed a bit, Yang Jing took a deep breath, suppressing his somewhat chaotic thoughts.

Even he felt the pressure from the school exam, and his mind became somewhat unsettled.

However, it is precisely at times like these that we need to calm down, keep our composure, remain calm and collected, and not change our expression even if Mount Tai collapses before us.
Not only Yang Jing felt the pressure, but the entire martial arts school was shrouded in this tense and oppressive atmosphere.

The Ming Jin disciples hoped to use this opportunity to leave a deep impression on the high-ranking officials and nobles of Yuhe County, while the An Jin disciples hoped to be listed on the examination list.

Everyone knows that if they can make it onto the list in the martial arts exam, they will not only gain a semi-official position, but the reputation of their martial arts school will also soar. Would their master treat them unfairly then? Moreover, the various forces in Yuhe County will be offering them opportunities to make a fortune.

At this moment, Sun Yong's gaze fell on Yang Jing, and he paused slightly.

Seeing that Yang Jing's fist style was steady and his internal energy was becoming more and more smooth, he nodded in satisfaction and walked to Yang Jing's side to give him some pointers: "Your Mountain-Crushing Fist is already quite well-structured, but you still need to practice your adaptability more, especially in coordination with your body movements. In the training ground test, adaptability in actual combat is the most important thing."

Upon hearing this, Yang Jing quickly nodded in agreement.

Sun Yong hummed in agreement. Overall, he was quite satisfied with his disciple Yang Jing. Although his aptitude was poor, he had managed to succeed in the challenge on his first attempt, which showed that he had some talent in comprehension or other aspects. He might have a chance to break through to the Transformation Realm in the future.

If it weren't for Lin Yue, he would have focused on cultivating Yang Jing. However, with a genius like Lin Yue with exceptional talent in the martial arts school, he was destined to pay less attention to and nurture the other disciples.

Although he had run a martial arts school for many years and had accumulated quite a bit of savings, the resources required to cultivate a master of the Transformation Realm were enormous and could not be distributed among two people.

Sun Yong walked away from Yang Jing and continued pacing around the courtyard.

The atmosphere in the front yard was tense, like a fully drawn bowstring.

Everyone knows that how one performs in the school exam can very well determine the future of many people.

Sun Yong stood beside the moon gate, watching his disciples sweating profusely, and sighed with emotion. Every year at this time, it was the same scene. He just wondered if the Sun Family Martial Arts School could produce a person who made it onto the list this year.

Having disciples who rank highly in the martial arts school's entrance exams is also very beneficial to the school.

Both the headmaster Sun Yong and the Sun Family Martial Arts School will gain great fame, making it easier to recruit disciples, attract talents, and expand their network in the future.

As the sun climbed to its zenith, Yang Jing stopped punching, beads of sweat rolling down his chin and leaving tiny wet streaks on the ground.

He quickly packed his things, picked up his old cloth bag, and hurried towards the courtyard of Tongyifang.

As Yang Jing traveled, he checked the data on the control panel.

【Bengshan Quan Dacheng (39/1000)】

【Surging Waves Legs (53/500)】

In the past few days, he has maintained his usual state of asceticism.

He still focuses his main energy on practicing the "Crushing Mountain Fist" and sets aside some time each day to practice the "Surging Wave Leg".

Both of these martial arts are now steadily improving.

Although Yang Jing had not yet fought against a master at the peak of Dark Force, he thought to himself that when he broke through to the Ming Force level with the "Surging Waves Leg", he should have the strength to fight against an ordinary master at the peak of Dark Force.

When Yang Jing broke through to the Ming Jin level with the Jing Tao Leg technique, he clearly felt some changes in his internal energy. In addition, the Jing Tao Leg technique's advantages in movement and speed had a significant impact on his overall strength.

Back home, after resting for half an hour, the bear meat on the stove was just cooked through.

Yang Jing immediately ate the brown rice and devoured the two pounds of meat in no time. The familiar warmth in his stomach helped him ward off the afternoon drowsiness.

After having lunch and resting, Yang Jing immediately headed to Liu's Medical Clinic.

Yesterday he received a message from Liu Family Medical Clinic that he needed to go on a mission to escort medicinal herbs this afternoon.

This was the first mission he received after breaking through to the Dark Force realm, much later than he had expected.

As far as Yang Jing knew, the area outside the city was now teeming with refugees and rife with bandits, which had impacted the businesses of many shops and security escort agencies.

Liu Family Clinic only assigned itself a task today, which was a bit later than Yang Jing had expected.

As soon as Yang Jing arrived at the entrance of Liu's Medical Clinic, he bumped into Liu Maolin returning with a group of guards.

The guards all looked exhausted, their clothes covered in dust, clearly having just come from a long journey.

Upon seeing Yang Jing, Liu Maolin quickly came forward to greet him, "Junior brother, you've come."

"Senior brother, you just got back?" Yang Jing asked.

Liu Maolin nodded.

The two walked into Liu's Medical Clinic while talking.

"I delivered a batch of goods to Nanxiang this morning," Liu Maolin said, wiping his face. His voice was tired. "It's really chaotic outside the city lately. There are 30% more bandits on the road than last month, especially the 'Flying Horse Bandits' gang at Shilipo. They ride fast horses and are ruthless. A few days ago, they even robbed Zhang's Cloth Shop's caravan. I heard that they also injured two Ming Jin guards."

He led Yang Jing inside, past the medicine cabinets in the front hall, to the storeroom in the back courtyard.

"This time we're taking a small number of medicinal herbs to Jinsha County, but they are all essential. My father is worried and thinks it's necessary for a master of internal strength to personally escort them. I have another escort mission this afternoon and I really can't get away, so I can only trouble you, junior brother, to go. Only if you personally oversee things will my father feel at ease."

As he spoke, Liu Maolin looked a little embarrassed, "I didn't want to disturb your boxing practice, knowing that you've been busy with the training ground trials lately, but I really don't have enough manpower."

"Senior brother, you're being too polite by saying such things."

Yang Jing waved his hand, his gaze sweeping over the neatly stacked medicine boxes in the warehouse. "Having received so much funding from the Liu family, this is something I should do. Besides, I'd like to run into some robbers on this trip; it'll be good practice, haha."

Upon hearing this, Liu Maolin breathed a sigh of relief, patted Yang Jing on the shoulder, and said with a smile, "I'm relieved that you're handling this personally, but it's best if we don't encounter any robbers."

As the two were talking, Liu Maolin's father, the old owner of the shop, came out from the inner room with a map in his hand.

After exchanging greetings, Master Liu pointed to the route on the map and said to Yang Jing, "Yang Jing, you need to be careful. On the way to transport the medicinal herbs, avoid the main road of Shili Slope and take the narrow path on the side. We have traveled this road several times. We used this road to transport medicinal herbs to Jinhe County and the prefectural city. Although it is a detour, the Flying Horse Bandits will not lie in wait there."

Liu Maolin nodded and said, "The Flying Horse Bandits are the most powerful band of bandits outside Yuhe County right now. As long as we avoid the Flying Horse Bandits, with your skills and the help of the rest of the caravan, the other bandits and mountain thieves will not be a problem."

Liu Maolin still remembers how Xu Tai died.

He had just told Yang Jing that Xu Tai was injured when Xu Tai was mysteriously burned to death in a fire that very night.

Although there was no direct evidence to prove that Yang Jing killed Xu Tai, Liu Maolin was already certain of it.

Although his junior brother seemed quiet and reserved on ordinary days, his skills were by no means lacking.

PS:

Starting today, I'll work hard to accumulate manuscripts and strive to update 20,000 words by the time the book is published on the 1st!
(End of this chapter)