Surviving in the chaos of battle, I'm grinding for proficiency.

"The distribution of rewards this time will mainly depend on your contributions to this medicine delivery trip. For example, those who were at the forefront when resisting the White-browed Apes will receive more rewards. Does anyone have any objections?" Luo Houping said in a deep voice.

Everyone nodded.

This method of distribution is the most convincing.

As for who made the contributions, everyone can see for themselves.

Luo Houping coughed:

"Zhang Haitao, you have taken good care of the horses, keeping them very calm and undisturbed. You are hereby rewarded with one tael of silver."

Hearing this number, everyone was somewhat taken aback.

Zhang Haitao was only in charge of logistics, not a Ming Jin martial artist at the forefront. Normally, a trip would cost at most two or three hundred coins.

Now it has reached one or two taels, which is quite a reward for delivering such a precious medicine!

"Du Chun, you hid at the back and waited for a chance to escape when facing the White-browed Ape. I won't pursue this because it's your first offense. If it happens again, you don't need to come back!" Luo Houping said this with a cold glint in his eyes.

Those who desert in the face of battle deal the biggest blow to the morale of the team.

The disappearance of even one point could lead to the collapse of the entire convoy.

They must be severely punished!

Everyone nodded in agreement upon hearing this.

Clear rewards and punishments are essential to winning people's hearts and minds.

Although Du Chun is a martial arts expert, he has not made any contributions, so this is to be expected.

Du Chun blushed and responded softly.

Further back, there were Ming Jin martial artists at the forefront.

Anyone who put in the effort received at least seven ounces.

The one who shot the white-browed ape in the eye with an arrow, and the one who was the first to raise a shield to defend against the white-browed ape's attack, both received a reward of ten taels of silver.

After reading everyone else's words, Luo Houping suddenly paused.

Everyone knew who was still waiting to be read, and they were all very curious about how much reward Li Chuan, who had made the greatest contribution, would receive.

Twelve taels or thirteen taels?

That's already a lot.

A single shipment of tiger heart grass is only worth four hundred taels of silver.

Not to mention that the Luo family also has to cover the costs and pay monthly salaries.

"Li Chuan saved Wang Youfang from being breached and then organized a counterattack against the White-browed Ape. He made great contributions from beginning to end."

Luo Houping paused for a moment:

"A reward of fifteen taels of silver!"

Everyone gasped in surprise upon hearing this.

That's fifteen taels!

Their monthly salary was only two taels of silver.

This trip alone is worth seven and a half months' worth of salary?!

This is already extremely exaggerated.

But upon closer reflection, it seems perfectly reasonable.

If Li Chuan hadn't saved Wang Youfang, and instead the white-browed ape had rushed into the wooden house...

The entire batch of herbs that came back will definitely be wasted.

As for the people who delivered the medicine, who knows how many will die or be injured!

Therefore, everyone agrees with this amount.

The Luo family paid quickly and settled the matter immediately.

The group left happily, carrying the money they had earned from risking their lives.

Li Chuan stepped forward:

"Uncle Luo, I plan to attempt a second round of trials over the next two months, so I'd like to suspend my temporary post for two months. In that case, you don't need to pay me my monthly salary."

This decision was one that Li Chuan had carefully considered.

This battle made him realize that his Ming Jin (a type of internal energy cultivation technique) was not strong enough.

When venturing out into the world, one needs at least internal strength to have enough power to protect oneself.

He's not far from reaching the second stage of the challenge.

With another fifteen taels of silver, there was no need to take any more risks.

Although it's only enough to last a month or two... I'll make do with it for now.

Luo Houping nodded.

When Li Chuan wanted to turn around and leave.

"A-Chuan, wait a moment." Luo Houping called out to Li Chuan, "A-Zheng knows that you are preparing for your second attempt at the breakthrough and need money to replenish your energy. He asked me to give you these five taels of silver as a donation."

Luo Houping took out a purse and put it in Li Chuan's palm.

Li Chuan hesitated for a moment.

Luo Houping laughed:

"Take it. You know Zheng's personality. He won't be able to sleep well if you don't accept it."

Li Chuan felt a warmth in his heart and clasped his hands in greeting:

"Please thank Senior Brother Luo for me."

"By the way, why didn't I see him at the shop today?"

Luo Houping sighed softly, "It's nothing serious, you can go back now."

Seeing this, Li Chuan knew that this was their family matter.

Since they are unwilling to talk about it, it's not appropriate for me to ask further.

After bidding farewell to Luo Houping, Li Chuan calmly walked into the market with twenty taels of silver.

Twenty taels of silver is not a heavy sum for a martial arts master.

But Li Chuan felt a heavy weight in his hand.

This really does count as "risking one's life for money".

If you're not careful, you could really die at the hands of that beast!

"I won't leave the house again until I break through to the Dark Force level this time!" Li Chuan thought to himself.

Twenty taels of silver is enough to last two months, even if you eat venison every day!

That's enough for him to break through to the Dark Force level.

The death of Benlei Shou made him realize that Ming Jin was actually nothing special.

He died just like that.

Before reaching the level of internal strength, one's life is as fragile as wild grass.

Li Chuan shook his head, trying to shake the negative emotions out of his mind.

"Brother Zhang, cut me ten catties of venison."

……

Carrying ten pounds of venison, Li Chuan returned to his dormitory.

"We've been eating dry rations for days, with hardly any meat, and we're really starving!"

Without meat to supplement the diet, eating only staple foods won't fill you up.

"No wonder those who worked on construction sites in their past lives could eat such large bowls of rice; it turns out there wasn't much oil or meat, so it wasn't very filling!"

Li Chuan quickly started a pot of water and threw in two pounds of venison to cook.

After taking it out, he hurriedly sprinkled some salt on it and ate it in big bites.

There's no other reason than I was just too hungry!

"There's some truth to the saying 'When you're well-fed and warm, you start thinking about sex.' Being hungry is more effective than any calming spell!" Li Chuan sighed.

When you're hungry, there's only one thought in your mind.

eat!

As the venison was consumed, the abundant energy and blood in the body dissipated, and the feeling of hunger subsided.

"A long-lost feeling..."

Why didn't I feel this happy when I ate venison before?

It wasn't until I ate even worse donkey meat and then went back to eating venison that this feeling became more real.

Indeed, it is only what is lost and then regained that is truly cherished.

Li Chuan tried standing in the stance for a while, and nodded in satisfaction as he watched his proficiency increase.

At this rate, the Baoshan Zhuang (抱山桩) technique can be mastered in less than a month.

That will be the day I try to break through the barrier a second time!

……

"Bang!"

In the training ground, two shirtless figures crisscrossed each other.

Fist against fist, palm against palm, back and forth, it was quite a lively scene!

After a while, the two stopped.

Yu Sinian was panting heavily:

"Junior Brother Li, you must have been training extra hard during the New Year! Before the New Year, I could easily defeat you, but now we're evenly matched, and I'm even slightly at a disadvantage!"

Li Chuan said helplessly:

"Senior Brother Yu, how dare you say that to me? Have you practiced less than me?"

Yu Sinian laughed and scolded:

"Compared to me, I've been at the Ming Jin level for a year, and I've been in the academy for almost a year and a half. I've even tried the second stage of the challenge once. I'm already a seasoned veteran."

Li Chuan's heart skipped a beat:

"Senior Brother Yu, it must be almost time for you to try again soon."

Yu Sinian smiled:

"I'm still a bit short. I plan to ask my master for some tips when he comes to the outer courtyard, and see if I can make it to the top in one go!"

Li Chuan nodded.

Master Liang Xingzhou, as one of the few masters of the Transformation Realm in Anning County, is no idle person.

On ordinary days, besides competing with various martial arts schools, he also makes connections with various forces.

The remaining time was all used to train the inner court disciples.

Almost none of it was allocated to the outer courtyard.

"Senior Brother Qin, Senior Brother Tang, Senior Brother Lin, Master wants you to come into the inner courtyard!" a disciple shouted from the entrance of the inner courtyard.

Upon hearing this, Qin Feng, Tang Xiang, and Lin Zhe all stopped what they were doing and walked towards the inner courtyard.

A hint of envy flashed in Yu Sinian's eyes:

"This is a special treatment for disciples who are undergoing the second stage of cultivation. Every three days, the master will take time to guide their cultivation, providing them with comprehensive training and combat techniques."

"Junior Brother Li, haven't you noticed? The outer court disciples come and go, changing every few months, but the inner court always seems to have the same few people."

"Only disciples who pass the second round of training are the core members of the martial arts school. To put it bluntly, we're just filling in the numbers."

Yu Sinian's face showed some anticipation and longing:

"Ming Jin, Ming Jin, it sounds impressive, but it's just something to fool ordinary people. It's nothing special."

"Among the four great families in the inner city, people like us can only serve as guards, watching over people's gates."

"But if one possesses internal strength, one will be an honored guest wherever one goes in the outer city, and even if one goes to one of the four great families, one can become a respected retainer."

Yu Sinian was somewhat lost in thought, and murmured softly:

"The difference between 'light' and 'dark' strength is only one word, yet it's like an insurmountable chasm, an insurmountable chasm indeed..."