Chaos begins when one joins a martial arts school

Chapter 49 Registration
"Please sit down, please sit down. Try this tiger meat. I just boiled it simply, so the taste isn't as good as the dishes in the restaurant, but it's much more nutritious." Yang Jing served the tiger meat and also set out some side dishes from the restaurant, with steaming hot rice.

At first, Yang Laosan and his son were reserved, but Yang Jing was unpretentious, and the two of them relaxed a lot.

The two tasted a piece of tiger meat, and the rich, fresh flavor went straight to their heads. They ate several large bites in a row.

But tiger meat is, after all, the meat of a wild beast. Compared to the meat of ordinary livestock, it is far more nutritious and nourishing. After only a few bites, sweat beaded on their foreheads and their faces turned red. They could no longer swallow and could only eat some vegetables to alleviate the discomfort.

Yang An was more composed than the other two. Although it was clear that this was his first time eating tiger meat, he ate it steadily, perhaps because he felt he was not an outsider and was not so reserved.

He picked up a few pieces of meat and ate half a bowl of rice, saying in a low voice, "It's much tastier than the brown rice at home."

Yang Jing laughed and said, "Brother An, you'll have plenty to eat from now on. First, get yourself strong so you can practice your kung fu."

After the meal, Yang Jing gave Yang Laosan and his son some leftover braised pork hock and saw them to the door.

Old Yang left with profuse thanks, telling him not to worry before he left that the village was doing well, and although there were some refugees, nothing bad had happened.

Back in the courtyard, Yang Jing saw that Yang An had already started clearing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen.

Yang Jing stopped Yang An, told him to take his luggage, and led him to the side room. "Brother An, this room is all cleaned up, and the bedding is all freshly aired. You can stay here for now. Rest for a while this afternoon, and when I come back tonight I'll take you out for a walk, and then I'll teach you martial arts."

Yang An grinned憨厚ly, looked at the clean bed in the side room, then at the old locust tree with its lush branches in the courtyard, and nodded vigorously, "Yes, I'll listen to you."

After putting down his luggage and making the bed, Yang An continued to tidy up the kitchen and clean the yard.

Yang Jing lay on the bed for a nap. The afternoon sun shone through the window and cast dappled shadows on the floor.

The room was quiet, with only the occasional chirping of cicadas and the sound of Yang An packing his things coming from outside the window, exuding a sense of peaceful warmth.

These past few days, Yang Jing has been living a much more comfortable life.

Many household chores were handled by Yang An, saving him a lot of time.

In the evenings, while Yang Jing practiced martial arts himself, he would also take time to instruct Yang An in the "Surging Waves Leg" technique.

The "Crushing Mountain Fist" is the core of the Sun Family Martial Arts School. It is forbidden to teach it to anyone except the school's master, Sun Yong. This is a major taboo in the school.

However, Yang Jing is now quite accomplished in the Surging Wave Leg technique, and with his Mountain Collapse Fist already at the Dark Force level, he can easily guide Yang An, who has just begun practicing the Surging Wave Leg technique, with his superior understanding and insightful guidance.

While instructing Yang An in martial arts, Yang Jing discovered that his cousin not only had the aptitude for martial arts, but his aptitude seemed to be even higher than his own. Although it was still of lower aptitude, he had the hope of breaking through to the Ming Jin level.

This gave Yang Jing some hope for Yang An. He knew he wouldn't stay in Yuhe County forever and would leave one day. When that happened, his family would be taken care of.

In the blink of an eye, another three days have passed.

That morning, in Chengpingfang, at the Sun Family Martial Arts School.

Yang Jing had just finished practicing a round of Mountain-Crushing Fist, his forehead covered with a thin layer of sweat, and was about to switch to the Surging Wave Leg when he saw Sun Ningxiang walk out from the inner courtyard.

She was dressed in a moon-white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), holding a booklet and paper and pen in her hands. She stood in front of the moon gate, and her clear voice rang out: "Brothers and sisters who want to participate in the training ground test, if you don't have time to go to the county government to register, you can come here to register your information. I will collect it and report it to the county government."

To participate in the military examination, one naturally needs to register. Only by breaking through the Ming Jin level and passing the official examination of the imperial court can one be considered to have successfully registered.

However, that's how independent martial artists register for the training ground test.

The major martial arts schools in the city have been established for many years and have a deep-rooted and close relationship with the government. Therefore, with the endorsement of a martial arts school, one can bypass the imperial court's inspection and directly register for the exam.

In reality, the majority of martial artists in the training grounds came from various martial arts schools, followed by scions of large families, and finally, independent martial artists.

These days, without the support of powerful backgrounds and the guidance of renowned masters, the path of a lone martial artist is the most difficult, and the number of those who break through to the Ming Jin level is the smallest.

Upon hearing Sun Ningxiang's voice, the Mingjin disciples in the front courtyard gathered around and began registering.

The disciples with internal strength were not in a hurry and continued to practice their martial arts diligently.

The Ming Jin disciples only wanted to perform well in the training ground test; they never thought they could make it onto the training ground test list.

But these disciples with hidden strength were different; they all had a strong desire to make a breakthrough.

In terms of sheer tenacity alone, Zhao Wenzheng, Qi Yun, and the others have performed no worse than Yang Jing in the past few days.

Lin Yue was also practicing his Mountain-Crushing Fist, only occasionally glancing at Sun Ningxiang in front of the Moon Gate.

Sun Ningxiang lowered her head, holding her pen, and carefully recorded the information of her disciples.

Sunlight fell on the ends of her dark hair, giving it a soft sheen.

Soon, the Mingjin disciples finished registering.

Yang Jing noticed that the other disciples with internal strength remained silent, as if whoever registered first was inferior to the others.

Yang Jing didn't argue with that. He walked up to Sun Ningxiang, sat down at the small square table that had been set up temporarily, picked up the pen on the table, and wrote his name, place of origin Yangjia Village, Wazi Township, and age in the booklet.

“Junior Brother Yang should practice his calligraphy when he has time,” Sun Ningxiang said, taking the booklet and looking up at him. Suddenly, her eyes crinkled into two shallow dimples. “Good luck in the training ground test! Do your best, I have high hopes for you!”

Her smile was pure and bright, like a gentle breeze in summer. Yang Jing's heart stirred for no reason, as if something had gently bumped into him.

Although he had broken through to the Dark Force realm and was preparing to participate in the training ground test, no one was optimistic about him. This included his close fourth senior brother Liu Maolin, as well as many fellow disciples and his master, who all felt that he had no chance of breaking through in the training ground test.

But at this moment, someone suddenly said they had faith in themselves.

It was probably just a polite remark. Yang Jing paused for a moment before finding his voice, then chuckled and nodded slightly, saying, "Thank you, Senior Sister."

After saying that, he turned around and went back to the wooden stake where he often practiced his boxing. He took a deep breath and suppressed the strange fluctuation in his heart.

When the wind of the fist rose again, he deliberately calmed his mind and focused his attention back on the coordination between the fist technique and internal strength.

With the military examination imminent, he did not allow any distractions to affect his performance.

Sun Ningxiang watched his back as he refocused on practicing his boxing, her smile undiminished, and continued to greet Xu Hong, who had just walked over.
Lin Yue was the last disciple to register.

Now that no one else was bothering him, he could talk to Sun Ningxiang a little longer.

At noon, under the blazing sun, Yang Jing finished his boxing practice, wiped the sweat from his neck with a cloth, picked up his cloth bag from the corner of the wall, and left the martial arts school.

He didn't go home immediately. His brother An was there and should have already prepared a meal for him. But before going home, he needed to fetch some medicinal herbs.

Yang Jing went straight to Liu's Medical Clinic.

Simply feeding him with the meat of wild beasts is no longer enough to meet his needs for martial arts training, unless there is a sufficient supply of spirit fish for him to eat. However, the price of spirit fish is too high. Even the Liu Family Medical Hall only provides him with five spirit fish per month, which is simply not enough.

In this situation, in order to prevent his martial arts progress from slowing down, Yang Jing had no choice but to use all sorts of methods to replenish his strength, and medicinal supplementation was a very important one. Yang Jing currently had an old ginseng that was several decades old, but the nourishing effect of old ginseng was too strong, so Yang Jing only used a few slices each time, along with other various nourishing medicinal herbs, to boil it.

As Yang Jing traveled, a panel appeared before his eyes, clearly displaying the progress details of the two martial arts techniques, Mountain-Crushing Fist and Surging Wave Leg.

【Bengshan Quan Dacheng (61/1000)】

【Surging Waves Legs (93/500)】

Compared to the Mountain-Crushing Fist, the Flooding Kick allows for much faster progress in martial arts.

As for the reasons, one is that Yang Jing has been taking good care of himself with food and medicine during this period. The other, more important reason is that he has already broken through to the Dark Force level in the Mountain Collapse Fist. When he goes back to practice the Surging Wave Leg, his progress is naturally very fast.

Yang Jing also considered that if he obtained other martial arts techniques in the future, he could cultivate them in the same way.

With these thoughts in mind, Yang Jing soon arrived at Liu's Medical Clinic.

The clinic was bustling with people, and the air was filled with the aroma of medicine.

He greeted the pharmacist and the doctor with practiced ease, and without stopping, went into the medicine storeroom in the backyard.

According to the previously agreed terms, Yang Jing can select medicinal herbs at cost price each month, with a total amount not exceeding fifty taels of silver.

He never takes too much or all at once. He always takes only what he needs, taking some this time and a few different kinds next time. This is to prevent the herbs from spoiling due to improper storage and to test which herbs are more effective.

All the medicinal herbs taken, in total, were kept within the limit of fifty taels.

Moreover, he is not short of money at the moment, and if he comes across any valuable medicinal herbs he wants, he can buy them with his own money, and the price offered by the clinic is the cost price.

The warehouse was filled with shelves, and various medicinal herbs were neatly arranged and categorized.

Yang Jing walked to the area where nourishing medicinal herbs were stored and began to carefully select them.

He plans to add a few more medicinal herbs and use them together with ginseng slices to make the nourishing effect even more potent.

He selected angelica and he shou wu, and added some wolfberry and polygonatum. Considering that the total cost of these medicinal materials was just over ten taels, he went to the accountant in the clinic to calculate the cost, and then carefully wrapped them in oiled paper and tied them into a bundle.

Just as Yang Jing was about to leave the storeroom with the medicinal herbs, he heard voices coming from the courtyard. One of the voices was very familiar; it was none other than his fourth senior brother, Liu Maolin.

Yang Jing paused, thinking it was a good opportunity to say hello before leaving, so he lifted the curtain and stepped into the courtyard.

He had barely poked half his body out when he saw two people standing in the yard.

Liu Maolin had his back to him and was talking to the person opposite him, his tone somewhat familiar.

When the person turned around, she was a beautiful woman with a lovely face. She was dressed in an elegant lake-blue dress, her hair was neatly styled, and her eyes and brows revealed a calm temperament. Although she was not wearing any makeup, she had a gentle and graceful charm.

Yang Jing paused slightly, somewhat surprised.

He had visited Liu's clinic many times, but had never seen this woman before.

"Could it be my senior brother's new concubine? I've seen that concubine before, and she doesn't look like this," Yang Jing thought to himself.

"Junior brother? You're here." Liu Maolin heard the noise, turned around, and saw Yang Jing. He immediately smiled and waved, saying, "Come and get acquainted. This is Miss Jinlian."

The woman followed Liu Maolin's gaze and looked at Yang Jing with a polite scrutiny. She nodded slightly in acknowledgment, her expression calm.

Seeing this, Yang Jing had originally planned to leave quietly, but now that the two had discovered him, he could no longer leave.

He smiled slightly, stepped forward, looked at the two of them, and politely bowed, saying, "Greetings, Miss Pan."

The woman was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, then said gently, "My surname is Jin, not Pan."

Her voice was soft, and she didn't seem to mind at all.

“Hey, it’s Jin as in golden light and Lian as in lotus flower,” Liu Maolin explained from the side, then laughed and said, “Isn’t the name Miss Jin very nice?”

Yang Jing then realized his mistake and said with a hint of apology, "I was being presumptuous. Greetings, Miss Jin."

When Liu Maolin mentioned that the woman was called "Girl Jinlian," he instinctively associated her with that familiar name and overlooked the fact that Liu Maolin had mentioned her earlier.

Liu Maolin patted Yang Jing on the shoulder with a smile and said to Jinlian, "This is my junior brother from the same school, a master of internal strength in the martial arts school. I've mentioned him to you before. He's a steady and reliable person."

Upon hearing this, Jinlian suddenly realized, and her gaze towards Yang Jing became more serious. The previous aloofness in her eyes had disappeared considerably, and a polite smile appeared on her face. She slightly curtsied and said, "So it is Young Hero Yang. My apologies for my rudeness."

Yang Jing nodded politely.

Indeed, when you're out and about, you have to earn your own respect.

The woman only smiled after Liu Maolin mentioned that he was a martial artist with internal strength.

Jinlian paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Young Master Yang, if you ever have some free time, please come and visit the Lu family. I will certainly treat you well."

Yang Jing was slightly taken aback, feeling somewhat surprised.

Since this woman's surname is Jin, why did she invite me to the Lu family?

Suddenly, he remembered that the woman referred to herself as "this concubine," and looking at her womanly hairstyle, he understood that the Lu family might be the woman's husband's family.

Yang Jing was deep in thought, but his hands moved quickly. He immediately cupped his hands politely and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Miss Jin. I will definitely take the opportunity to bother you if I have the chance."

Jinlian smiled and nodded, then exchanged a few words with Liu Maolin, gave them a slight bow, and prepared to leave.

"We'll deliver it to you."

Liu Maolin said with a smile.

Yang Jing nodded as well.

Jinlian smiled and did not object.

The three of them talked as they left the clinic courtyard, passed through the main hall, and arrived at the gate.

"Young Master Liu, Young Hero Yang, I will be staying in Yuhe County for the time being. When you have time, you can come to the Lu residence or the Beast Pavilion to have tea with me."

After Jinlian finished speaking, she boarded the carriage by the roadside. The curtain fell, and her graceful figure was no longer visible.

(End of this chapter)