Heaven rewards diligence; he fought his way through chaos to become a saint.

On the way home with Mu Mu, Ye Ci saw this peddler taking a break.

That person had been secretly watching all along.

When I returned home after staying at home for several hours, the person was still there, still scrutinizing me.

The behavior of these people is very similar to that of scouts in the military, who are responsible for gathering intelligence.

But this person is still a bit inexperienced.

If it were me, I would definitely move to another place, and I would never hang out with beggars.

Ye Ci walked past him without making a sound, and the man did not make any extra movements, but instead withdrew his gaze.

Having just mastered the Ming Jin skill, he wouldn't easily assess anyone. Ye Ci simply found it strange that someone hadn't come knocking on his door.

"What is this person's goal...?"

After thinking about it for a long time, he couldn't figure it out, so he simply stopped caring about it.

At worst, I'll just be a traitor.

If the rebels were to attack the county town… Ye Ci thought to himself, the other side didn’t have that capability.

The common people feared rebels, but Ye Ci, with his military background, knew this perfectly well.

Rebels are often a mixed bag, and even if they are numerous, they are no match for regular troops. In addition, most of them are composed of refugees, so they are unlikely to become a force to be reckoned with.

The Songjiang County military camp was no weak force; they were more than capable of dealing with them.

If the rebels were to actually attack the county seat, the Panshi Martial Arts School alone would have dozens of Ming Jin masters. Regardless of An Jin, Yang Huaichuan, though not explicitly stated, should be a Hua Jin master. Looking across the entire Songjiang County, there are numerous masters; they wouldn't be so easy to deal with.

The sky won't fall down.

The next day.

A misty fog hung in the air.

Ye Ci was the first to arrive at the courtyard. After practicing for a while, more disciples began to practice martial arts in the courtyard.

Jiang Ding'an casually threw a knife on the ground with a clatter and shouted:

"Junior Brother Ye, you get up earlier than the rooster every day. How's your boxing practice going? Why don't you come and spar with me?"

Seeing that he looked travel-worn, Ye Ci asked:

"Senior brother, it's been several days since I've seen you. Where have you been? And why are you carrying a knife?"

"Just got back from a delivery mission, I'm exhausted!"

"Senior brother, I took three taels of silver from your family and haven't been able to deliver any goods yet. Why don't you come and help me?"

Jiang Ding'an glanced at him: "We're fellow disciples, and seeing you practicing martial arts so hard, I didn't want to disturb you. If you want to do escort work, I'll arrange a job for you that's nearby."

Ye Ci immediately cupped his hands in thanks: "Thank you, Senior Brother."

"Things haven't been peaceful outside lately. Even a trip to the neighboring county requires bodyguards. So business is booming. If you want to go on a bodyguard mission, there will be plenty of opportunities... Let's try a couple of rounds first and see how your boxing skills have improved."

Ye Ci nodded: "Then let's practice, but you'll have to hold back a bit with your internal energy cultivation."

He knew Jiang Ding'an's abilities; if he hadn't been exceptionally talented and had a good physique, he wouldn't have been accepted as Yang Huaichuan's personal disciple.

After all, Master Yang only accepted five personal disciples.

Logically, the closed-door disciple should be selected from among the direct disciples, but unexpectedly, Master Yang directly accepted Xiao Hua as his closed-door disciple.

The two stood still and clasped their hands in a gesture of greeting.

"Senior brother, please forgive me."

Ye Ci launched the first attack, while Jiang Ding'an remained calm and composed, responding to each move with his own.

They always managed to dodge it, or use skillful techniques to deflect the force.

Ye Ci felt extremely comfortable fighting and used all the skills he had recently practiced to unleash his full power, making his punches even more fierce and powerful.

"Wow! That's a success!"

Jiang Ding'an grinned, still defusing the situation with nonchalance.

After exchanging blows for dozens of rounds, Ye Ci was radiating heat and his breathing became somewhat rapid, but his muscles and bones felt incredibly refreshed.

"Damn! That's incredible progress, only ten days! He's even better than I was back then!"

While cursing, Jiang Ding'an used the force of the attack to gently pat Ye Ci's arm, neutralizing the blow.

This strike was extremely precise, causing Ye Ci's arm to go limp, making him instantly realize his weakness.

"Hahaha... With your skills, you could be my head镖师 (bodyguard/escort)!"

Jiang Ding'an laughed heartily, and his fist suddenly unleashed a burst of force, like a sharp blade, aimed directly at Ye Ci.

He didn't intend to hurt anyone, but rather used the punch to quickly change his move and grab Ye Ci's arm.

Ye Ci felt an immense force strike him, and he was almost pulled to the ground.

"Senior brother is amazing!"

Ye Ci bowed.

Jiang Ding'an had already withdrawn his fist and laughed, "Of course your senior brother is powerful. If he didn't have some skills, would the old bodyguards at home respect me? If you can beat me, you can walk around Songjiang County with your head held high, and the brothels won't even charge you for listening to music."

"If you were a bit more aggressive, the girls would even give you a 50% discount if you stayed overnight. The other day, at Cuihua Brothel..."

Ye Ci solemnly clasped his hands in a fist salute: "I hope my senior brother will give me much guidance in martial arts!"

Jiang Ding'an opened his mouth: "..."

Just now, Ye Ci noticed that after the exchange, his proficiency in boxing had increased by 5 points in one go.

This was partly due to Jiang Ding'an's guidance; his initial moves were all training exercises, while he deliberately held back his strength to counterattack at crucial moments.

This convinced Ye Ci that Jiang Ding'an's Baoshanquan technique had reached its peak.

This person is quite sincere. Not only is he a master of internal strength, but in terms of character, he is someone worth befriending.

But Ye Ci also realized one thing: he really couldn't deal with a master of internal energy.

Their strength is so natural that they are extremely difficult to injure.

It seems that even a debt of three coins won't be easy to get back.

*****

Coming out of the dining hall, you can see the inner courtyard's martial arts training ground.

Xiao Hua, with a steamed bun in his mouth, glanced at the two people in the room with a hint of sarcasm on his lips.

Qi Wang, who happened to be passing by, saw this expression, his gaze narrowed slightly, and then he patted him on the shoulder:

"Junior Brother Xiao, what are you looking at?"

"Senior Brother Qi..."

Xiao Hua turned his head, adopting an honest and simple demeanor, and said in a plain voice:

"I saw Senior Brother Jiang giving Senior Brother Ye some pointers, and the two of them were evenly matched."

"Is that so..."

Qi Wang glanced over there and smiled, "What do you think of their skill level?"

"Senior Brother Jiang's boxing skills are quite good, but Junior Brother Ye's are a bit lacking. I became better than him after only five days of learning Baoshan Fist."

Xiao Hua seemed to sigh and said, "Alas, Master said he had good comprehension, but it seems that's all there is to it."

Qi Wang had only asked casually and was about to leave when he heard this, so he stopped in his tracks:

"You got the hang of it pretty quickly... but you definitely didn't master it as fast as Junior Brother Xiao."

"Did your master really say he has good comprehension?"

"Yes."

Xiao Hua scratched his head and asked in a confused and innocent tone, "Master said he has good comprehension, so he must have good comprehension... I rarely practice martial arts with my senior brothers. I've heard that Junior Brother Ye is famous for his hard work in martial arts. Could it be that he's just putting on a show for Master and isn't actually practicing seriously at all?"

"I practiced... I practiced very seriously."

Jiang Du's voice came from behind. He was not tall, but he was bald and stuttered a bit. He was usually taciturn.

Unexpectedly, he spoke up for Ye Ci, and Xiao Hua immediately fell silent.

This is the third senior brother, the third disciple accepted by the master. The master said that Jiang Du is very powerful and has few rivals among his peers.

As he spoke, Qi Wang glanced at Jiang Du and Xiao Hua, then waved his hand and said:

"Stop looking. It's very difficult for Ye Ci to attempt the breakthrough a second time. That's not something you can achieve just by enduring hardship, but his perseverance is truly remarkable. Junior Brother Xiao, your comprehension and innate talent are both outstanding, so you can't rest either. Hurry up and start cultivating!"

"It's over, it's over."

After saying that, Qi Wang left.

Jiang Du also left without saying a word.

Xiao Hua stared for a moment longer, watching the backs of his two senior brothers, and his lips curled slightly.

Then his gaze fell on Ye Ci in the arena, and he chuckled softly to himself: "I'm about to try again. I'm born to rise to prominence. And you, no matter how hard you try, you'll never even see my back."

"If hard work were enough, what would be the point of having geniuses?"

He stopped looking at Ye Ci, as if that person was destined to be a passerby, so why hold a grudge over a few words?