Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

After chatting and laughing for a while, Huang Sheng quickly went back to practice martial arts, as usual.

Upon discovering that Wu Jun hadn't left, Zhou Ye asked curiously, "Jun, you seem to be slacking off? Why didn't you go with Sheng?"

Wu Jun squinted at him: "You still have the nerve to talk back to me? How many days has it been since you last came to the martial arts gym?"

"I have no choice!" Zhou Ye laughed. "I still need to run around the mountains to earn money. I'm thinking of saving up a lot over the next few years so I can focus on practicing martial arts in peace."

"Wouldn't that be a real shame? Master Du and Third Senior Brother both said that these past few years have been the best time to increase our strength."

"Sigh! You always have to make choices; you can't do without money."

"That's true. You'll be getting married someday, and there will be expenses everywhere."

"Huh? Stop talking. The more you talk, the more bleak my future seems."

The two of them burst into laughter.

Wu Jun then sighed, "Actually, we're a little better off than you, at least we have the support of our families. I've figured it out too. Once I've been at the peak of my internal strength for a year, I'll find a place to hold a temporary position and earn a few taels of silver each month. After that, I can just relax and enjoy life. I won't have to work so hard practicing martial arts. I'll just do what I can. It's not that I won't try, it's just that I won't train until I'm spitting blood like before. I'll train more when I'm in good condition and less when I'm not."

"That's good, that's best." Zhou Ye nodded with a smile. "But Ah Jun, I have a question—people like you and me, if we honestly complete a full year, can only wait for the martial arts school to recommend us. But Ah Sheng is different, right? With his talent, shouldn't someone have already sponsored him beforehand?"

"How would I know? Maybe Ah Sheng is waiting for someone to find a son-in-law? Then he can find a delicate young lady and have both a wife and money!"

The two burst into laughter.

Zhou Ye said, "You want Ah Sheng to become a live-in son-in-law? How could he possibly agree to that?"

"Why wouldn't I be willing? I'm always happy to have such a good opportunity." Amidst laughter, Wu Jun said, "Ah Ye, how's your Wind and Thunder Grappling Technique coming along? Want to have a spar?"

"OK!"

Zhou Ye understood. This was because beginners often became incredibly itchy to fight when they first started learning martial arts. They'd want to kick even a big tree. No wonder martial arts schools only taught fist techniques and not weapons—it was to prevent these people from causing trouble.

Ok!

Zhou Ye's Wind and Thunder Grappling Hand technique is only at the beginner level. He hasn't even mastered the basic boxing techniques, which are basically just basic gymnastics.

So, sparring using only the Wind and Thunder Grappling Hand technique without employing other martial arts skills or basic attributes? That would be utterly disastrous. Zhou Ye was quickly defeated.

However, Zhou Ye didn't care about winning or losing at all. He chuckled and complimented Wu Jun several times.

Wu Jun was equally happy. However, he kindly advised, "A-Ye, I know you're busy practicing the Small Wind and Thunder Stance and running around in the mountains, so you don't have much time to practice boxing. But if you don't practice boxing, what will we do when we're on temporary assignments? We need at least one move or two for self-defense, right?"

Zhou Ye was taken aback. He asked curiously, "Didn't you go to learn weaponry?"

Wu Jun smiled wryly, "Where would I get the money to learn? My junior sister charges 50 taels for each lesson. I've already thought about just carrying a knife around; at least it'll scare people. As for martial arts? I can only rely on this fist technique for self-defense."

Zhou Ye was speechless. He hesitated for a few moments, then finally sighed and waved to Huang Sheng in the training ground.

Seeing Zhou Ye beckon, Huang Sheng stopped practicing martial arts and walked over in confusion.

"A-Ye, is something the matter?"

Zhou Ye pulled his two friends aside. He whispered, "Listen carefully, I've bought a martial arts manual—'Ten Forms of Military Swordsmanship.' I'll give you the manual tomorrow, and you can each copy it when you get home."

"Huh?" The two men were taken aback. "Where did you come from?"

Zhou Ye glanced sideways: "Of course it was bought. Where else could it have come from? The cheapest martial arts manual in the shop."

Huang Sheng and Wu Jun were overjoyed. No matter how cheap it was, it was still a martial arts manual! Especially since it was the weapon-related martial arts manual they needed most.

"Ah Ye, how can we accept this? It costs several tens of taels of silver. We definitely can't take it."

"Yes! How much? We'll split it equally among the three of us. Ah Ye, I know you're a loyal friend, but even brothers should keep their accounts clear. Although we can't come up with that much money right now, we'll definitely pay you back..."

"No need, no need," Zhou Ye interrupted with a smile. "I have two more military-grade knives here, which I'll give to you as well. You don't need to look for weapons outside. Have you forgotten? Good brothers for life! Maybe you'll be stronger than me in the future, but do you two think you'd abandon me?"

When it came to this kind of situation, Huang Sheng and Wu Jun were speechless. They exchanged a glance, looking particularly moved: "Alright! Brothers! We'll remember this, no need for thanks."

"hehe."

Ultimately, Zhou Ye still felt a pang of guilt. In this other world, these were his only friends. It was a case of giving roses and having the fragrance linger on your own hands!

Furthermore, if you divide the martial arts manual among the items, plus the waist knife, it's worth at most 10 taels of silver. It's better to exchange it for favors from two friends.

Furthermore, the rebellion that night also resulted in the leakage of a considerable amount of military weapons. As a result, they were not selling well even on the black market, and the government was secretly investigating and confiscating them.

So, with the thick-backed sword, those three discarded waist knives were practically useless. They were unsellable and extremely dangerous, so I simply considered them a favor. As for the leather armor pieces? Forget about them. Too much of a good thing can be bad. I'll deal with them later!

"Ah Ye, we'll copy that martial arts book back to you as soon as possible. We promise it won't be circulated outside, and we won't practice it here at the martial arts school."

"Sure. Hehe."

"Where do you live? It's not very convenient to find you. How am I supposed to return it to you?"

"Um... I'm currently preparing to move, so it's not very convenient for me. I'll let you know the address once I have a new place."

"OK!"

Actually, when she was with Du Juan earlier, she had asked Zhou Ye for his home address.

However, Zhou Ye had never revealed his home outside the city to anyone else, not even the people at the martial arts school. His neighbors, too, were unaware that Zhou Ye was already studying martial arts at the Fenglei Martial Arts School and had become a beginner-level martial artist.

This is a deliberate act of information isolation. It's all for the sake of surviving more easily.

However, now that things have come to this point, it's definitely time to arrange a new, "public" home near the martial arts school. Otherwise, many things will become increasingly complicated...

However, at that moment, several unpleasant sounds suddenly rang out.

"Hey Junior Brother Zhou, your Wind and Thunder Grappling Technique was amazing just now! When are you going to show us again? Let us have some fun too!"

"Exactly. How about we have a spar? I love teaching newbies like you, right? Hahaha!"

"..."

Looking up, he saw Xu Feng and his group. However, his Wind and Thunder Grappling Technique had indeed performed terribly.

Before Zhou Ye could even speak, Huang Sheng and Wu Jun rolled up their sleeves and charged forward: "Damn it, Zhou Ye has to run up the mountain, unlike you bunch of good-for-nothings who still have to beg your parents for milk? If you've got the guts, spar with us and see if we can't beat you to a pulp..."

"Afraid of you? Let's fight!"

"..."