Chapter 95

In the courtyard, Wei He and another person faced Wan Ling, respectfully clasping their fists in a bow.

"Disciple Wei He. Disciple Sun Yi."

"Greetings, Master."

Wan Ling's willingness to see them indicated that they could formally perform the disciple's ritual.

Wan Ling's gaze swept over the two. Neither Wei He nor Sun Yi were particularly handsome.

But as Third Blood warriors, their demeanor, vitality, and spirit far surpassed ordinary people, so they weren't unattractive.

"Since you've chosen my Wanqing Academy, I assume you've already understood the situation before coming. I will accept you."

She sighed, feeling that she truly had no heart for teaching apprentices at the moment.

"Qingqing, you will teach them the academy's techniques, moves, taboos, and rules."

"Yes, Master." Wan Qingqing still addressed her as Master in front of others.

Wan Qingqing turned halfway, facing Wei He and Sun Yi.

"Listen carefully. I am the chief of Wanqing Academy, Wan Qingqing. Let me first introduce our main martial arts."

She began to explain succinctly.

The main practice of Wanqing Academy is the Rain Cover Seal, one of the Nine Seals of Heaven, representing a torrential rain.

The main technique of the Rain Cover Seal is called the Rain Cover Cloud Gathering Technique, with nine levels in total.

It is rumored that this technique was derived from the Nine Seals of Heaven and has the power to reach the Transformation Realm.

The nine levels of the technique become progressively more difficult. Even the current head of the academy, Wan Ling, has only practiced it to the seventh level.

Among the other disciples of Wanqing Academy, the strongest is Wan Qingqing herself, who has practiced it to the fourth level, the peak of the Internal Strength stage.

This is due to her daily consumption of exotic beast meat from a young age, her mother's daily guidance, and her own superior bone structure.

As for the others, most are stuck at the first or second level, finding it extremely difficult to advance.

However, even the first or second level is a genuine technique. Entering the academy means starting at the Third Blood stage, and achieving the second level naturally reaches the peak of the Third Blood stage.

Each level can be divided into three stages: Entry, Stabilization, and Peak.

After reaching the peak, breaking through the vital points with internal strength allows the entire body to be covered with strength, achieving a flawless state and entering the Internal Strength stage.

After this, even in the state of Taiszhou Prefecture, one can be considered not weak. In some rural and remote cities, one can live quite comfortably.

Just like the initial Zheng Fugui.

Next, the academy rules are quite simple, requiring no intra-academy conflict, respect for teachers, and other basic terms.

After explaining some of the techniques, Wan Qingqing continued with some basic knowledge.

"Speaking of our Tianyin Sect, the nine separate academies each correspond to a true technique. Each technique can reach the Transformation Realm, with great potential. Each academy has produced Transformation Realm experts in the past, though that was a long, long time ago.

Now, what you need to do is to practice diligently, step by step, without aiming too high. Additionally, a crucial point is that after reaching the Third Blood stage, you need to consume corresponding special exotic beasts to make your internal strength more powerful, faster in transformation, and easier to break through.

This is something that cannot be done elsewhere. Many small places lack the strength to capture and collect suitable exotic beasts, which are necessary for building a foundation and creating meat fields to supply the disciples."

Wan Qingqing explained.

"Next, after entering the inner academy, you need to know what you will do and what benefits you will enjoy."

She clearly outlined all the content.

It took more than half an hour to finish.

Then, Wan Qingqing gave each of them a small booklet. The green cover of the booklet had the words "Rain Cover Cloud Gathering Technique" printed on it. The handwriting was a bit slanted and ugly, clearly hand-copied.

Wei He quickly flipped through his booklet, which contained the entire content of the first level.

"Alright, after entering the separate academy, the foundational technique of the first level is free. Subsequent techniques need to be exchanged with wealth or contributions to the sect.

I assume you are prepared for this. Not only the techniques, but the one-line green fish meat, which is the corresponding exotic beast meat, must also be purchased from the Master, and it costs money.

Each month, the separate academy will provide ordinary disciples with a portion of fish meat, but this is not enough for your own consumption, so you need to make efforts on your own."

Wei He listened for a while and understood. The inner academy disciple status was just a nominal qualification.

A qualification to purchase techniques and exotic beast meat with money.

Everything still required money.

After a while, Wan Qingqing finished her explanation. Wan Ling gave a few instructions and then went inside to rest, her mind preoccupied.

Wan Qingqing led the two to the Fire Leader to collect the inner academy's standard items and pay the fees.

The three arrived at the side of the separate academy, where a side room continuously echoed with the sound of abacus beads.

"Alright, follow me." Wan Qingqing smiled and led the two into the room.

"Ordinary inner academy disciples need to pay fifty gold taels per month for the cost of qi and blood consumption. This is used to provide your daily meals and the monthly exotic beast meat.

But our Wanqing Academy is different. We need to pay an additional subsidy for exotic beasts.

Because the feed for the one-line green fish has recently increased in price. So, we need to pay an additional twenty gold taels per month."

Seventy gold taels per month.

This was truly the embodiment of the saying "poor scholars, rich warriors."

After reaching the Third Blood stage, the resource consumption is completely separated from ordinary people's lives.

"Alright, pay the fees." Wan Qingqing said, gesturing for the two to step forward.

Inside the room, two thin men were quickly calculating with abacuses. They stopped when they saw the three enter.

"Hand the money to me. You will come to pay every month." The man on the left, wearing a melon-shaped hat, smiled.

Sun Yi, who came with Wei He, took out seventy gold notes without a word and handed them over.

Wei He searched his body and managed to gather fifty gold taels, but couldn't find the rest.

Embarrassed.

He had inquired about the price before coming and only left this fixed amount. He didn't expect that Wanqing Academy required a bit more than other separate academies.

He felt uneasy.

When he heard Wan Qingqing's introduction, his heart sank. Now, facing the payment, he realized that the money he had was all he had, and it was specifically saved for this purpose.

But it wasn't enough.

Inside the room, the thin man took Sun Yi's money, recorded it, and put it away.

Next, it was Wei He's turn.

He looked up at Wei He.

"Where is your money?"

Wei He was speechless, opening his mouth to request a delay.

"I'll help." Wan Qingqing smiled, took the gold notes from Wei He, and handed them to the thin man.

"Here."

She handed the gold notes to the man.

The man counted the notes, took them without any fuss, and recorded them.

"Alright, Xiao Zhang, give them a set of inner academy supplies each." He said to the other man.

"Sure." The younger man quickly got up and started searching in the corner of the room.

Wei He remained silent, looking at the thin man, who showed no change in expression.

He then looked at Wan Qingqing.

The senior sister smiled, raised her finger, and made a shushing gesture in front of her lips.

She blinked, not saying a word, but her meaning was clear.

She had noticed Wei He reaching into his body to gather money and had a premonition. When she saw him struggling to find enough money, she knew he was in trouble.

So, she took the initiative to contribute and paid the Fire Leader.

Everyone has their difficult times. She often encountered such situations at the Fire Leader's office and always lent a helping hand.

She couldn't bear to see others in distress. Life has its highs and lows, and everyone has their tough times.

If she couldn't help, it would be one thing, but this was a small matter, and it was easy to lend a hand.

After leaving the Fire Leader's office, Sun Yi bid farewell in advance, took the booklet, and quickly returned to start practicing.

When the others had left, Wan Qingqing quietly said to Wei He,

"Consider it a loan. Pay me back when you can." Then she turned and left gracefully.

Wei He watched her leave, his face calm, but he felt a sense of gratitude towards Wan Qingqing.

The money wasn't much, but her kindness was extremely rare.

Of course, the key was that he couldn't pay her back now; he had no money.

Leaving the Wanqing Academy, Wei He headed straight for Tianyin Town.

His second sister, Wei Ying, was temporarily settled there. Wei He had rented a nice quadrangle courtyard for her and arranged it to resemble the layout of their home in Feiye City.

It was a way to give Wei Ying a sense of home.

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"Sweet rice balls, five coins each!"

A vendor with a long drawl carried two large pots of cooked sweet rice balls, slowly walking down the street.

Wei Ying exhaled a puff of white breath, rubbed her hands, feeling slightly warmer, and tightened her collar, stepping out of the courtyard gate.

Her brother was coming today, so she planned to buy some vegetables and prepare a good meal.

Since coming to Tianyin Town, she felt as if she had returned to the times when her parents and elder sister were still alive. Life was tough then, but it was peaceful.

Back then, although her elder sister was often not around during the day, she would occasionally bring things from the gang to share with the family.

Her parents, although often out carving things, always returned with a smile, telling everyone about the interesting things they heard from their coworkers.

Her younger brother would go to the scripture hall every day to listen to the teachings and learn to read, rain or shine.

Back then, everyone was tired but content.

And now...

Wei Ying walked on the uneven hard soil road, which felt rough under her feet.

It reminded her of the small alley in front of their home, which was also rough.

She took a few steps and subconsciously looked back.

The courtyard behind her was empty, cold, and quiet, with no sound of her brother Wei He moving around or the voices of her parents and elder sister, only silence.

Sighing, Wei Ying turned and continued walking.

The quadrangle courtyard she rented was near Tianyin Lake, at the edge of Tianyin Town. There was a small dock nearby, with some small fishing boats moored.

Although there was occasionally a fishy smell, it was convenient to be the first to get the freshest fish from the boats.

Such fish, bought before the market opened, were much cheaper and fresher.

Of course, it wasn't always available, but if she managed to get some, Wei Ying would be happy all day.

Not far from there, as she passed a neighbor's courtyard,

At the neighbor's gate, a half-grown boy was squatting, playing with ants on the ground.

The boy was wearing clothes that were a bit too big, with dirty, muddy hands. He had clearly been playing in the mud.

Hearing footsteps, the boy looked up at Wei Ying and smiled foolishly.