I'll write a manual called the Sunflower Manual, and the entire martial arts world will turn in

After dinner, Xie An gave Xie Yu the eight taels of tuition that Zhan Ping had returned, so that she could help with household expenses.

After deducting the eight taels of silver Xie Yu had, there were still six taels left. This was what they had previously swindled from Scarface Liu, and they had spent a lot on food recently.

The ever-increasing amount of incense money each month, coupled with the mounting foreign debt...

This put considerable pressure on Xie An.

He had inquired with the apprentices in the front yard during the day.

The basic medicinal ingredient for skin refining is called Tiger Skin Yuan Soup, and one dose costs three taels of silver. It is poured into a bath tub, and the person sits in for a medicinal bath. Each dose of the medicine can only be used for a two-hour bath.

Even a talented apprentice needs to undergo more than ten medicinal baths to succeed. That's thirty taels.

Apprentices with poor talent might need to undergo twenty or thirty medicinal baths before they could break through the skin-refining barrier, which would cost seventy or eighty taels of silver.

This does not include oral pills.

It's often said that scholars are poor while warriors are rich, and that's absolutely true.

The expense of just breaking through the skin barrier is already so huge; the expenses for training the tendons and bones later on are simply unimaginable.

No wonder Liu He would sell himself to Zhan Ping as a commodity for a bone-strengthening pill.

Thinking of this, Xie An frowned.

"This one-eyed bastard... cannot be allowed to live. The day he finishes his training next month will be the best time to make a move."

"The one-eyed man's martial arts skills are superior to Scarface Liu's. He should be a genuine skin-training martial artist. If I want to kill him with one blow, I still need to make some preparations."

Having made up his mind, Xie An no longer hesitated and went to the courtyard to practice the first move of Bajiquan.

……

Seven days have passed in the blink of an eye.

Xie An lived a simple life, going to the martial arts school with Xie Yu every morning and returning home together at dusk. Occasionally, he would go out to buy groceries and daily necessities, and he even hired a carpenter to repair the gate of the Moxiang Bookstore.

During this period, Zhang Long's progress in mastering the Sunflower Manual increased to 20, while Liu Wei and Chen Lutang's progress did not increase. A total of 0.02 attribute points were awarded, which Xie An added to his Spirit, bringing his Spirit strength to 0.89.

The initial hype surrounding the Sunflower Manual has probably died down. Even in chaotic times, those who truly have the courage to castrate themselves are extremely rare.

This is also because Xie An's influence was not widespread enough.

You used to hear people discussing the Sunflower Manual on the streets, but now you can't hear that anymore.

Fortunately, Xie An's first level of the Sunflower Manual was nearing completion, so he wasn't in a hurry to expand it further. He only needed Chen Lutang to return and practice it briefly, and he could then use the feedback to complete the first level.

At noon that day, Xie An listened to Zhan Ping's instruction in martial arts in the front yard of the martial arts school.

Zhan Ping, dressed in a gray robe, sat under the eaves at the front of the crowd, sipping tea as he spoke: "The talents of you apprentices vary greatly. Some are from the older generation, some are newcomers, and some were temporarily placed in the group. But regardless, only after mastering the first move of Bajiquan, 'Supporting Hammer,' can you begin the skin-training stage. To become a formal disciple of the martial arts school, you must overcome the skin-training hurdle. The path of martial arts training is like rowing against the current; if you don't advance, you fall behind..."

Fifty or sixty apprentices listened intently, their eyes burning with fervor.

Xie An, standing in the crowd, felt rather bored.

He was tired of hearing these motivational quotes when he was in high school in his previous life.

"Xie An, I have some beef jerky here, do you want some?" Suddenly, a handsome young man came over and secretly slipped a piece of beef jerky to Xie An.

His name was Lin Chong, and he was handsome and refined. He did bear a striking resemblance to Lin Chong. However, their personalities were completely opposite. His father owned a pleasure boat at the water lantern dock and was considered moderately wealthy. His father couldn't stand Lin Chong spending his days on the pleasure boat and causing trouble for his daughter, Yao Jie, so he sent him here to learn martial arts, hoping he would become a useful person in the future.

If even my own Yao'er gets ruined by Lin Chong, how can I do business?

Fortunately, Lin Chong was a straightforward person and was always interested in strange and unusual things, while Xie An, having memories of his past life, could always talk about things that Lin Chong had never heard of before.

Therefore, Lin Chong would often bring some snacks and pastries and secretly slip them to Xie An, so that Xie An could tell him all sorts of fantastical tales.

After a while, the two became acquainted.

According to Xie An's understanding, although Lin Chong was very playful, he was also very dedicated to martial arts training and possessed above-average talent. Furthermore, he enjoyed socializing and had a good understanding of the ins and outs of the martial arts school.

After practicing martial arts all morning, Xie An was indeed hungry, so he took the beef jerky and stuffed it into his mouth.

Lin Chong smiled and leaned forward, adopting the air of someone with experience. "You're new to the front yard, you don't understand. Today is a special day. A group of apprentices have reached their deadline; they haven't mastered the first form of Bajiquan, so there's no hope of them ever getting to the skin. They'll be sent away soon. Instructor Zhan is saying goodbye to them."

Xie An munched on a delicious beef jerky. "Most of those who come to the front yard have some talent and their families have some money. Can't we continue paying tuition?"

Lin Chong shook his head: "Of course, it's fine for a regular martial arts school. But Yong Sheng Martial Arts School is one of the top schools in town. They care about their reputation and focus on cultivating promising apprentices. If they can't even master stance training within six months, the school will force them to leave. If they still want to learn martial arts, they can only work as laborers in the backyard. Aren't you from the backyard?"

Xie An nodded. "I see. I remember you've been here for almost two years, haven't you? How come you weren't dismissed?"

Lin Chong blushed. "Cough, you think I don't want to leave? But my dad won't let me. That old geezer is always worried I'll go back and ruin things with the prostitutes in the family. Actually, I've already reformed. I'm not interested in those prostitutes anymore. They're just common women, nothing special. But my dad won't believe me. Every time he hears I'm going home, he beats me with a stick. You don't know, that old geezer of mine keeps two prostitutes. Damn it, he's like that himself, how dare he lecture me?"

Xie An: "..."

Like father, like son...

After a while of not hearing Lin Chong's rambling, Xie An turned around and was shocked to find Lin Chong staring at a girl in front of the crowd, almost drooling.

The girl stood at the front of the crowd, wearing a pink dress. Her slender figure made her stand out from the crowd with her stunning beauty.

Xie An had noticed this woman before, but being new to the area, he hadn't made any special efforts to socialize. Therefore, he didn't know where she came from.

"Lin Chong, who is this woman?"

Lin Chong wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth. "You don't even know this? No wonder you only know how to bury yourself in practice. This is one of the three most outstanding apprentices, Mai Qiuyan. She's the daughter of the town's canal gang leader, and she's already mastered skin-making after just one month of training."

Canal gangs?

My father used to work for the grain transport guild, and he was attacked by a water monster...

Xie An understood.

Lin Chong's so-called reformation was nothing more than a change of target. No wonder he called his own Yao Jie a common, ordinary woman. As for Lin Chong staying at the martial arts school for two years and practicing diligently... the reason is self-evident.

"Who are the other two people?"

Lin Chong stared intently at Mai Qiuyan in front of him. "And the other one is the young man standing to Mai Qiuyan's left, named Liu Jiang. He's the young master of Zhenwei Escort Agency, from an extremely wealthy family. He's been practicing martial arts since childhood, and he started training his skin right from the beginning. But he's not the most powerful. The most powerful one is the burly man standing to Mai Qiuyan's right, named Pang Tong. His father is the town's head constable."

Xie An carefully examined the two men; they indeed possessed extraordinary auras and a somewhat unruly demeanor. Even from a distance of more than ten meters, Xie An could feel a sense of oppression.

According to the rules of the Great Qian Dynasty, imperial power did not extend to the countryside. Most disputes in the countryside were resolved by respected gentry and elders. However, Wuqiao Town was a large town, and it was located near the border of the Great Qian Dynasty. Therefore, Baiyun County set up a small government office in Wuqiao Town, with a head constable and more than ten constables, responsible for managing the town's security disputes.

Due to the fierce infighting among the local gangs, this small government office was practically useless. But since they were still paid by the emperor and backed by the Great Qian Dynasty, ordinary gangs didn't dare to disrespect the people in this small government office.

Xie An suddenly thought of someone, "What about Zhang Long?"

Lin Chong said, "Oh right, I forgot about this guy. Zhang Long used to be unremarkable, just an ordinary guy. I don't know what happened, but in the last half month he suddenly became very powerful. He actually came from behind and is now ranked fourth. It is said that he practiced some kind of evil kung fu, and even his voice has changed. Last time I gave him some money to share his evil kung fu with me. Damn it, that guy is putting on airs and ignoring me."

Xie An revealed a relieved expression, thinking to himself: "Luckily they ignored you, otherwise you might be out of luck..."

Just then, Zhan Ping, who was under the eaves, called out seven names. "I know you've worked hard, but you're really not suited for martial arts. Don't waste money; go find some work outside."

The seven people then stepped out of the crowd, packed their belongings, and left with their heads down. Some of the younger ones were still sobbing. Some of the older people who stayed behind, having some connection with them, went up to embrace them and say goodbye.

In an instant, the entire martial arts school was filled with a mournful sound.

This reminded Xie An of his graduation party in his previous life, where many classmates hugged each other and cried their hearts out.

But that's just how the world is; everyone has their own destiny, like sands of life coming together and drifting apart.

Those who leave this place can only do the hardest manual labor, and have little hope of getting ahead in life.

After seeing off his old apprentices, Zhan Ping stood up. "If you don't want to be among the next to leave, then practice your martial arts diligently. Secure a good future for yourselves and give the martial arts school master face. Alright, today is the first day of the month, and the master has returned. Please ask the master to personally instruct you in your skills."

brush!

Everyone immediately stood up straight, their previous sadness vanished, and they all looked at the second-floor balcony with burning eyes.

Xie An finished the last bite of beef jerky, stood up, and stared intently over there.

He was eager to see what kind of person his top henchman was...