Physical immortality begins with Bajiquan

"Junior Brother Qin, congratulations!"

"Congratulations, Senior Brother, on breaking through to the Ming Jin level!"

Guo Man and Hou Xiaomei, who were closest, were the first to step forward to offer their congratulations. Seeing this, the other diligent disciples also gathered around, their faces filled with genuine excitement: "Congratulations, Senior Brother Qin Heng, on breaking through to the Ming Jin realm!"

Qin Heng responded with a smile, finding it amusing that everyone who had called him "Junior Brother" that morning was now addressing him as "Senior Brother."

Some disciples who had not yet broken through to the Ming Jin level looked over, their eyes filled with a mixture of envy, resentment, and anger.

In their eyes, the hard-working group led by Guo Man were all a bunch of stupid people with inferior aptitude who dreamed of getting ahead by burying themselves in hard work. Now that Qin Heng had taken the lead and succeeded in the first attempt, they naturally felt resentful.

Soon, several strange, sarcastic voices came from not far away, without any attempt to conceal them.

"What's with the arrogance? He's only doing this because of the three packets of Blood-Regenerating Powder that Senior Brother Tianbao gave him. Otherwise, how could he have broken through?"

"No, it was just pure luck."

"How envious! Does Senior Brother Tianbao need a cousin? Let's go and find a relative!"

These words drifted into the training ground without being missed, and the hot-tempered Li Shoutian and the others immediately darkened their faces and were about to step forward to refute them.

They all knew that Qin Heng hadn't touched the Blood-Generating Powder at all; his achievement of Ming Jin today was entirely due to his own hard work and diligent practice.

Qin Heng raised his hand to stop them, his expression calm, and shook his head.

Why argue with a fool?

......

After a while, Mo Guangren learned that a disciple had successfully passed the test on his first attempt, and he also came out of the inner courtyard.

He walked over to Qin Heng, checked him over, and then patted Qin Heng on the shoulder:

"Excellent, solid foundation, and no hidden dangers within the body. You should continue your efforts!"

Qin Heng quickly bowed and clasped his hands in greeting: "Yes, Master."

Mo Guangren gave Qin Heng a few more instructions on how to consolidate his Ming Jin realm, and encouraged him several more times before turning to leave.

In his view, Qin Heng spent more than two months to barely break through to the Ming Jin level, his physical constitution was only mediocre, and his future potential was really limited.

However, this young man is calm and has good comprehension. Even if he stops at the Ming Jin level in the future, he is expected to learn Bajiquan to a high level, which would be enough for Heyang County. He must not become lazy in his martial arts practice because of his natural talent and aptitude.

After Mo Guangren left, Senior Brother Zhang Mingyuan came to Qin Heng with a smile: "Congratulations, Junior Brother Qin Heng."

"Thank you, Senior Brother." Qin Heng clasped his hands in thanks.

"Alright, then I will now record Junior Brother's name in the register." Zhang Mingyuan took out a thin book and wrote down Qin Heng's name and aptitude one by one, his movements swift and efficient.

After finishing writing, he closed the booklet, looked at Qin Heng again, and instructed him:

"Normally, starting tomorrow, employers who need temporary positions will come to discuss the matter with you, Junior Brother Qin Heng. Just ask for a higher price then. This is all about bargaining. If you ask for a higher price, the other party will naturally lower it. But if you ask for a lower price, it will be difficult to get a raise later."

After carefully noting it down, Qin Heng stepped forward and softly asked:

"May I ask, Senior Brother, what exactly is this temporary posting? Is there anything I should be aware of? If you're not busy right now, could you tell me about it?"

Upon hearing this, Zhang Mingyuan looked at Qin Heng and smiled kindly.

He knew in his heart that although this junior brother had poor aptitude, he worked very hard in his training. He probably hadn't had time to learn about things like his temporary post.

"The so-called temporary posting is not that complicated. It is simply divided into 'full posting' and 'part-time posting'. Full posting is equivalent to serving the master family. Generally, only larger families or chambers of commerce will recruit full posting members. The salary and benefits are much better than part-time posting. Part-time posting means that you do not have to work at the master family all day. You can go when needed. However, the specific time and treatment will vary depending on the location of the posting."

Qin Heng understood immediately. It sounded similar to the full-time or part-time jobs he had worked out in his previous life, and he already had a plan in mind.

"Complete martial arts training is clearly not suitable for me. Right now, making money is secondary; becoming stronger through martial arts training is the priority. Once I have strength, money will naturally come easily. Only a combination of martial arts training is suitable for me."

Seeing that Qin Heng already understood, Zhang Mingyuan added:

"Besides holding official positions, many wealthy families and powerful clans in the city also sponsor talented martial artists, providing them with funds to improve their skills and participate in martial arts examinations. To put it bluntly, it's all about investing in future martial arts masters, building good relationships, and ensuring that the recipients will repay the favor in the short term if needed."

He turned around and looked towards the inner courtyard:

"But when it comes to the most generous sponsorship, the five major families in the inner city of Heyang are the best. These five families have deep roots and abundant wealth, but their threshold is also frighteningly high. They only recognize disciples with outstanding aptitude. In our martial arts school, recently only Junior Brother Tianbao, who has excellent aptitude, has been sponsored by the Xu family, where Junior Brother Xu Feng is located. My Zhang family previously chose Junior Brother Wu, whose aptitude is slightly inferior. As for Junior Sister Huang Hanyan's Huang family, I heard that they also intend to sponsor Junior Brother Tianbao."

Qin Heng also looked up at the inner courtyard. The not-so-high courtyard wall seemed to separate two worlds.

The circumstances of those inside are naturally beyond the comprehension of outsiders. In fact, many things that they consider commonplace are things that the disciples of the outer court have never even heard of.

"I won't ask anymore."

He shook his head. With his limited talent and aptitude, he shouldn't even think about getting financial assistance. He should be more pragmatic and choose a place to take up a temporary post.

Seeing that Qin Heng had no further questions, Zhang Mingyuan offered him a few more words of encouragement before turning and leaving.

Qin Heng, standing behind him, bowed respectfully, clasped his hands in thanks, and sincerely expressed his gratitude.

Among all the disciples in the academy who had already reached the Dark Force level, only the eldest and fifth senior brothers were kind and generous, and were willing to genuinely help those disciples with average aptitude.

Third Senior Brother only liked to guide disciples with good aptitude, while Fourth Senior Sister was even more arrogant and never spoke a word to the outer disciples.

......

That day, Qin Heng didn't practice until so late. He practiced Bajiquan for a while longer before heading home.

It wasn't dark yet when I pushed open the shop door.

Qin Ting, who was sitting behind the counter, looked up when she heard the sound and saw Qin Heng walking in with a smile on his face.

"Xiao Heng, why are you back so early today? What's wrong? Is there some good news?"

Seeing her brother so happy made Qin Ting's mood improve as well. She immediately put down her needlework and hurried over to greet him.

"Sister, I did it." Qin Heng said to Qin Ting.

"It's done? What's done?" Qin Ting was confused, but she noticed that her younger brother looked to be in excellent health.

She couldn't help but reach out and pinch Qin Heng's cheek. His skin was fair and rosy, smooth and radiant, making even a young woman like her a little envious.

Qin Heng let his sister pinch his cheeks, and then said with a smile:

"Sister, I successfully passed the first challenge and am now a Ming Jin martial artist."

"What?! A Ming Jin martial artist!" Qin Ting's hand froze abruptly, her eyes widening in disbelief as she looked at him. "Xiao Heng, say it again! You've really become a Ming Jin martial artist? Just like Brother Zhou?"

Qin Heng smiled and nodded vigorously.

"You really mastered it! You really mastered it!" Qin Ting's voice suddenly became tearful, and her eyes instantly reddened.

She reached out and hugged Qin Heng's arm tightly, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably, laughing and crying at the same time.

"Xiao Heng, I knew you could do it! My little brother is a martial artist now! No one will bully us anymore..."

Qin Heng looked at his sister's reddened eyes, and a tear quietly slid down his cheek.

He patted Qin Ting's back gently and affirmed:

"Sis, no one will dare to bully us anymore."

He paused, then continued to soothe her softly:

"Now that I've become a Ming Jin martial artist, I can start my official duties tomorrow. Sister, you don't need to worry about Brother Zhou's three taels of silver anymore; I'll pay it back soon."

After crying for a while, Qin Ting raised her hand to wipe away the tears on her face, looked at her tall and determined younger brother, and her eyes were full of relief.

"Okay, I'll do whatever you say. My little Heng has grown up and is doing well."