"Su Yan, from Cloud-Front Village. I wasn't practicing in the front courtyard recently due to some personal matters."
Su Yan replied simply. The young man suddenly looked disappointed: "Ah, so you're from the mountain-folk. I thought you were from White Reed Lake." The boy's lack of filter allowed Su Yan to see his genuine reaction.
"Is there a difference between the mountain-folk and the lake-dwellers?"
Su Yan's question caused a moment of awkwardness among the young men in the room. After a moment, Hu Qing, the slightly older youth on the opposite bunk, said: "No, not really. The academy treats everyone equally, but we tend to stick to our own groups."
Where there are people, there is contention. This was even truer for students gathered from various places at the Golden Ape Martial Academy.
Su Yan's eyes narrowed: "Mountain-folk and lake-dwellers?"
"More than that. Mountain-folk, lake-dwellers, small city households, and those young masters from the city who have some family wealth." Four groups, four different social strata, all forming their own cliques.
"Has the outer-door of this martial academy reached the point where people need to gather for warmth?"
Su Yan's question made Hu Qing and the others even more embarrassed.
"Well... not exactly. But if you don't join a group, they look down on us. The mountain-folk and lake-dwellers are fine; they rely on the mountains and the water and don't have much conflict. But those destitute city dwellers dare to look down on us and call us 'hicks.' And the wealthy ones? They look down on everyone, noses in the air." Zhou Yong grumbled, giving a rough overview of the outer-door dynamics.
Because they came from different places, there were natural disagreements, and those who were marginalized formed their own circles. Since Su Yan wasn't from White Reed Lake, the few young men only made simple introductions and didn't say much more.
The next morning, Su Yan got up early and left his room. Before he even reached the courtyard, he saw someone practicing the Golden Ape Stance Skill.
'Exhaling into mist, a form like an ape—what skillful stance works.'
The man had dark skin and a strong, robust build, wearing only a training shirt. Although he noticed Su Yan passing by, he didn't say anything.
Su Yan found a quiet corner. He mentally absorbed the Bug Essence from the Dark Water Centipede and adopted the Golden Ape Stance, exhaling like an ape.
The thread of Bug Essence, unlike the scorching heat of the medicinal soup, was like a warm current entering his body. It quickly differentiated and became mild and gentle. As his stance rose and fell, it integrated into his blood energy with each movement. The blood energy flowed along his tendons, accurately reaching his skin and muscles, continuously tempering and strengthening them. With every breath and muscle tremor, Su Yan could feel his improvement. It felt like a continuous source of energy was replenishing his body. After half an hour, he exhaled a plume of white mist and broke the stance.
Five days quickly passed. When the second batch of medicinal soup was distributed, he ingested it and performed the stance training, combining it with the Bug Essence. Surging blood energy poured into his body, pushing his Skin Refining to the next level. His body felt like a barrier had been opened, his skin tightening like tough cowhide. Su Yan exhaled like a sword, his eyes flashing with light.
'Golden Ape Stance Skill has reached Minor Accomplishment.'
[Body Forging Realm: Skin Refining 80/100 (Initiate)][Golden Ape Stance Skill: 1/200 (Minor Accomplishment)][Ape Fist: 50/100 (Initiate)]
Over these few days, training rigorously from morning until night, he had become the most dedicated practitioner among the outer-door disciples. He alternated between stance training and practicing his fist forms.
He paid no mind to the cliques that Hu Qing and the others had mentioned. He merely introduced himself briefly to those from the mountain-folk who approached him. The so-called cliques were just self-deception and wasted energy that interfered with serious training. Su Yan didn't look down on those who formed groups, knowing some of them had given up hope of advancement and simply sought comfort. But he was different.
Among the outer-door disciples, only about three or four in ten managed to initiate Skin Refining. Among those who did, very few ever reached the Minor or Great Accomplishment stages.
'Senior Brother Gao was rotated out. Zhou Hui, the inner-door senior brother who's been guiding us this past week, is the son of a city tavern owner. Though he's only from a small wealthy family, he looks down on those of us from outside the city even more. He's barely given me any pointers, so I might as well practice on my own.'
His progress in Stance Skills was significant, thanks to his dedicated training, but also partly to Gao Zheng's guidance. When someone points out a flaw, adjusting it leads to rapid skill accumulation. However, as his movements became more standardized, the feedback on his proficiency gradually decreased. Now that Zhou Hui wasn't keen on guiding the outer-door disciples from the mountain-folk and lake-dwellers, and with his silver rapidly diminishing, it made more sense to return home to practice and only come back to the academy for the medicinal soup. This choice was also the typical way poor students practiced martial arts—minimizing expenses as much as possible.
He informed the laborer that he was moving out, settled the cost for the past few days' meals and lodging, and packed his belongings, ready to leave the middle courtyard.
"Junior Brother Su, hold on. Why are you leaving after only a few days? Could it be you're rushing back to burrow into the mountains?"
A tall, thin man, with a mocking and slightly frivolous tone, blocked his path. The man's face was lean and pale, his eyes shifty and cunning. He wore a light green shirt and a black cloth belt, standing like a door god in the courtyard.
"Can I help you?"
Su Yan simply looked up, his eyes focusing with a sharp gleam. He didn't know the man's name, but he looked like he belonged to the small city household clique.
"Heh heh. I saw you training diligently every morning and evening, Junior Brother. You're the most hardworking person in this courtyard. I, your senior brother, feel ashamed of my own laziness and want to spar a bit with you to see where I fall short."
Wei Kang spoke with feigned goodwill, but everyone could see his intention: he was here to assert dominance. Su Yan didn't join any cliques, making him an easy target. Furthermore, his rigorous training methods had not gone unnoticed.
"Wei Kang, what's your game? Are you looking for another fight?"
A deep voice, like a drum, roared as a tall, muscular man strode between the two, confronting Wei Kang.
"Dian Jing, he clearly has no intention of mingling with you mountain-folk." Wei Kang took half a step back, but his tone was still mocking. He was naturally wary of Dian Jing, who was a mountain hunter by origin with excellent Root Bone. Though he had only been an outer-door disciple for three or four months, he had already achieved Great Accomplishment in Skin Refining and was the de facto leader of the mountain-folk clique, a strong contender to catch Master Bai's eye at the end-of-month assessment.
"None of your business." Dian Jing glared at him. A few young men quickly gathered behind Wei Kang, all members of his clique.
One of them shouted: "The academy doesn't forbid sparring! How can you decide for him?"
Zhou Hui had already noticed the commotion but stood watching from the inner-courtyard corridor, showing no sign of moving. The academy allowed sparring as long as it didn't cause serious trouble, so he wouldn't be punished for letting it happen. If it had been Gao Zheng, he would have already rushed over to stop it, but Zhou Hui was different. It was just petty antics among low-ranking disciples—why should he care?
Dian Jing was in a difficult position. Su Yan reached out and patted his shoulder: "I'll handle it." Dian Jing was poor with words. Though he was a good person, mountain-raised children were no match for city-raised children when it came to quick wit.
Wei Kang's eyes darted slyly; his scheme was working.
"Let's go."
As Su Yan's voice fell, Wei Kang gave a perfunctory salute, then rushed forward with the Ape Leap Step, closing the distance. At the same time, he clenched his fist and struck at Su Yan's solar plexus with a "Golden Ape Seizing the Heart" punch—a truly treacherous move.
However, despite the sneak attack, Su Yan was infinitely more agile. He stepped left, avoiding Wei Kang's piercing attack, then gathered his strength, formed a fist, and struck down fiercely.
"Old Ape Striking the Crown".
The heavy punch landed on the back of Wei Kang's neck with a dull thud. Wei Kang's eyes rolled back, and his body staggered, about to collapse. Su Yan sneered. He wouldn't let him off so easily. If this weren't the academy, he might have broken his bones as a minor lesson. Just as Wei Kang was about to fall, Su Yan used a variation of the "White Ape Offering the Peach" move, pushing out horizontally and striking Wei Kang's body. The tall, thin body flew two or three meters and landed with a dull thump. The man was unconscious. Even when he woke up, he wouldn't be able to get out of bed for at least a couple of days.
"Fists and feet have no eyes. My apologies, everyone."
The fight was over in just two or three moves. Everyone had expected Su Yan to take a beating, but they were shocked to see Wei Kang lying so miserably. The crowd fell silent. Only the few who were close to Wei Kang rushed forward to help him. The doorway was now clear; no one dared to block him again.
Su Yan strode out the door, ignoring the reactions of the people behind him.
After a long silence, Zhou Yong in the crowd murmured, "He only arrived five or six days ago. How could he beat Wei Kang? Did he reach Minor Accomplishment?" Among the outer-door disciples, reaching Minor Accomplishment was rare, but achieving that level in just a few days meant his foundation was incredible. Not even Dian Jing could have done that back then.
"This is going to be troublesome. If he keeps this progress by the end of the month..."
In a corner of the crowd, another man, Ma Xiaodong, watched Su Yan leave with a gloomy look. He had been an outer-door disciple for almost a year and was counting on catching Master Bai's eye at the end-of-month assessment to enter the inner door. If someone ruined his chance, he wouldn't forgive them. Many in the city's wealthy youth clique who had reached Minor or Great Accomplishment in Skin Refining had similar thoughts, all eyeing the same opportunity.