My family was poor. I entered the Martial Hall and began learning martial arts.
All the students ate meat to their fill; I alone did not eat any.
Zhang Tao laughed at me and said, "Stingy."
I smiled and forgot about it.
Five months passed. I feared my strength would be insufficient and that I would be eliminated.
Gritting my teeth, I bought it. The freshness of its flavor, and the bitterness in my heart, were things not worth speaking of to outsiders.
…
…
Eating his first proper bite of beef in the Martial Hall, Lin Chen couldn't quite describe the taste. At that moment, his emotions overwhelmed his sense of taste.
Even having lived two lives, even after growing indifferent to vanity and dignity, how could one truly let everything go?
In the future, he would definitely write an essay about his schooling. A few hundred years later, language teachers of later generations would set reading comprehension questions:
In the article, the author says he forgot about being mocked by his classmates, so why does he later write the name Zhang Tao again?
What kind of feelings does the appearance of the name Zhang Tao reflect in the author?
…
…
The first day of eating beef, early morning.
The first thing Lin Chen did upon waking was check his panel.
[Name: Lin Chen]
[Profession: Martial Artist]
[Qi and Blood: 812/3000]
[Fate Pattern: [Things Falling into Place]: In the first realm of the martial path, persevere steadily, advance step by step, break through with unstoppable force, with no bottleneck hindrance.]
10 points!
Seeing that his qi and blood had increased by 10 points in a single day, Lin Chen's heart skipped a beat.
This growth was far higher than he had estimated.
"Is it because it's my first day eating it, so the absorption is better, and it'll weaken later?"
Lin Chen took out the booklet written with Arabic numerals and recorded today's value. Whether that was the case would be clear in a few days.
The booklet was filled densely with Arabic numerals, all records of the strength increases of Gu Fei and the other students after eating meat.
The written language of this world was not much different from the traditional characters of his previous life, but Arabic numerals did not exist. Thus, this booklet—called a "heavenly script" by Gu Fei—was something only Lin Chen himself could understand.
In the following days, Lin Chen bought a jin of beef every day, and there was no longer the shock of the first day.
Buying a jin of beef was nothing special for Martial Hall students. The earlier commotion had only been caused by the contrast with Lin Chen's former stingy image.
Now that contrast was gone, naturally no one paid attention anymore.
For five consecutive days, his qi and blood increased by 10 points each day. Lin Chen was now certain it wasn't because he had just started eating beef.
So his strategy was correct—the later he delayed, the less money he spent.
…
…
A month passed in the blink of an eye.
End of the month.
The training grounds.
Three instructors stood together, with a two-hundred-jin stone pedestal placed in front of them.
The Martial Hall's semiannual assessment was stipulated by the Martial Administration Office.
Was it cruel?
In Yu Yongnian's view, this was instead a form of protection by the Martial Administration Office for the common people.
At the early stage of learning martial arts, what was compared was financial strength. If one couldn't even meet the requirement of two hundred jin after half a year, then with such a family background, there was truly no need to continue.
"When your name is called, step forward," Instructor Liu said, beginning to call out names. Those called stepped forward to lift the stone pedestal.
In reality, most students in the Martial Hall had already passed this hurdle last month. Across the three classes, only around ten students had failed to reach the mark last month. These ten were the ones under close scrutiny.
"Cheng Ying!"
Instructor Liu called the name. A tall youth stepped forward. Looking at the stone pedestal on the ground, there was disdain on his face as he lifted it with one hand straight up to his abdomen.
"Not bad."
A smile appeared on Instructor Liu's face. Cheng Ying was his student. Though he couldn't compare to Lu Yongfeng, he followed closely behind and was also someone who could attempt to condense essence within a year.
"Lifting a two-hundred-jin stone pedestal easily with one hand—using both hands, that's probably over four hundred jin of strength."
Gu Fei wore an envious expression. "Can't compare, not at all. As expected of the young master of the Cheng Family Cloth Shop."
The Cheng Family Cloth Shop was the only shop in town selling ready-made clothes and fabric. The clothes Lin Chen wore were made from hemp cloth his mother bought from the Cheng Family Cloth Shop and cut at home herself.
"Birth really is a kind of learning," Lin Chen sighed.
As Cheng Ying lifted the stone pedestal with one hand, the remaining students also began to show their strength.
Though the stone pedestal was still two hundred jin, some lifted it to chest height, others even above their heads. In the end, what caused the greatest stir was Lu Yongfeng lifting the stone pedestal above his head with one hand.
The atmosphere instantly exploded.
"Next, Qiu Yuan."
Instructor Liu announced the next name. Lin Chen watched intently.
Last month, Qiu Yuan had strength of one hundred eighty jin. He had started eating beef in his third month, buying it every few days, but for some reason he hadn't bought any in the last month.
"Instructor, I give up."
Qiu Yuan stepped out of the crowd but did not go to lift the stone pedestal. In an instant, all eyes turned to him.
"My… my younger sister fell ill last month. All the family's money went to treating her. There's no money left."
Qiu Yuan's face flushed red. Saying the words "no money" in front of so many peers required tremendous courage.
Yu Yongnian and the other two instructors showed no change in expression. This situation was far too common in the Martial Hall. Every year, several students gave up due to family reasons.
And the further one went, the more who gave up.
"Later, go to the canteen. If there's any uneaten grain, have them refund it to you."
"Thank you, Instructor."
Qiu Yuan did not stay at the training grounds. He turned and walked toward the dormitories. At the moment he turned away, his right hand moved to wipe the corner of his eye.
Another youth's dream of martial arts shattered.
"Next, Lin Ze."
Seeing Lin Ze step up, Lin Chen knew it wouldn't be long before his turn.
From how the students around him went up one by one, he could tell the instructors had put this batch of bottom-ranked students at the end.
At the end of last month's test, Lin Ze had lifted a one-hundred-eighty-jin stone pedestal.
Though he failed once, on the second attempt Lin Ze managed to lift it.
After setting the stone pedestal down, Lin Ze looked nervously at Instructor Liu.
"Pass. Next, Lin Chen."
Hearing the word "pass," Lin Ze let out a breath of relief and walked back lightly to his place.
"Chen, don't be nervous. You'll be fine," Gu Fei encouraged him in a low voice, without much worry in his eyes.
There were many stone pedestals placed around the training grounds, and students could test themselves privately. He had known since yesterday that Lin Chen could lift a two-hundred-jin stone pedestal.
Lin Chen nodded, then took one last look at his panel.
[Name: Lin Chen]
[Profession: Martial Artist]
[Qi and Blood: 1102/3000]
[Fate Pattern: [Things Falling into Place]: In the first realm of the martial path, persevere steadily, advance step by step, break through with unstoppable force, with no bottleneck hindrance.]
Ten days ago, his qi and blood had reached one thousand points, allowing him to lift a two-hundred-jin stone pedestal. Now, he had reached two hundred twenty jin of strength.
As Lin Chen stepped onto the field, discussion broke out once more.
"He's here—the stingiest guy in Martial Hall history. Wonder if he can pass."
"That was last month. This month he's been eating beef every day. He's not the stingiest anymore."
"So what? He only started spending money in the last month. It's already too late. I think Lin Chen won't pass."
"I think he might. Lin Chen is so stingy—if he wasn't confident, he probably wouldn't be willing to spend the money."
Instructor Liu naturally noticed the pointing and whispering. He looked at Lin Chen and said, "Begin."
Two hundred jin had always been the minimum requirement and normally wouldn't attract much attention—except for this student.
With permission given, Lin Chen grasped the handles of the stone pedestal with both hands. Slowly, the stone pedestal began to rise from the ground, and at that moment, everyone's gaze focused on Lin Chen's hands.
"I'm convinced. Lin Chen lifting a two-hundred-jin stone pedestal draws more attention than when we lift four hundred jin," Cheng Ying said, feeling the atmosphere and finding it somewhat speechless.
What was there to watch about two hundred jin?
"I think it's normal. Compared to us lifting four hundred jin—which is expected—Lin Chen lifting two hundred jin counts as a comeback. Of course he'd get attention," Zhao Jingchuan said with interest, also curious whether Lin Chen would pass.
"Lifting two hundred jin counts as a comeback?" Xu Botao snorted.
After the assessment, students didn't need to stand in place. Cheng Ying and the others with the strongest strength stood together, and the other students, knowing their limits, didn't come close.
Lin Chen didn't drag things out or slow down. Lifting a two-hundred-jin stone pedestal in six months wasn't anything glorious to begin with.
What he didn't expect was that when he lifted the stone pedestal, a cheer actually erupted from the crowd.
"Boring," Lu Yongfeng withdrew his gaze and muttered softly.
"Those who don't know would think he lifted a five-hundred-jin stone pedestal," Xu Botao said with displeasure on his face.
"Pass. Next, Wang Hao."
Instructor Liu called the next name, and Lin Chen quickly stepped down.
"Chen, I knew you could do it! Hahaha!" Gu Fei excitedly wrapped an arm around Lin Chen.
Lin Chen rolled his eyes. "I remember half a month ago, someone was still comforting me, saying that even without learning martial arts, I could do other things and still have a way out."
"Hehe, I was just… just preparing for the worst, you know."
Gu Fei let go. He was genuinely happy for Lin Chen. The two had been close since the village, the kind of friends who grew up fooling around together.
"Now that you've passed the assessment, your grandfather should give you money."
"Mm. I'll go home today and tell the family the good news."
There was joy on Lin Chen's face as well. He had finally passed the first hurdle on the path of martial arts.
Even though the goal he had exhausted his mind to achieve was something students from well-off families could reach with ease.
After the time of one cup of tea, the assessment ended. In total, three students were eliminated. Aside from Qiu Yuan, the other two had not spent less money than Lin Chen, but they spent it too early and couldn't keep up later, causing their qi and blood to stagnate.
This month, he had spent four hundred fifty wen. There wasn't much money left on him. Since he needed at least one jin of beef for every meal going forward, he would have to make a trip home.