Free Web NovelChapter 16: Chapter 15: Traits
"...This!?"
Fatty Fang stared intently at Chen Cheng’s spine, where the afterglow of his Blood Qi had yet to fully subside. The shock in his eyes was so intense it was practically overflowing.
"What the hell... What kind of freakish luck is this?! He succeeded on the first try?! Or... was the Blood Refining Powder they gave out this time a top-grade batch by mistake!?"
His voice wasn’t loud, but it hit the crowd like a boulder.
"He did it? Senior Brother Chen... he really did it!"
"My heavens... How long has it been? A little over a month at most, right?"
"Congratulations, Senior Brother Chen... Truly, congratulations..."
All eyes instantly focused on Chen Cheng, a mixture of congratulations, gasps of amazement, and sharp intakes of breath filling the air.
But beneath the lively clamor, there were still faint, almost inaudible whispers of dissent, soft as the buzzing of gnats.
"Once... Just one try! So many senior brothers who were more talented, worked harder, and had better resources couldn’t succeed... He... could he have used some sort of wicked trick...?"
"With his Root Bone... it would have been a miracle from his ancestors if he’d even reached the threshold in half a year... How could this happen...?"
"The worse one’s Root Bone, the harder it is to break through and condense blood, and the more vicious the backlash from failure... For him to succeed on the first try... I’m afraid he’s used up a lifetime of luck..."
"Heh... heh heh heh..."
From a corner, a strange, low, wheezing laughter erupted, like a broken bellows.
Wang Han was slumped there, his face twisted and his eyes terrifyingly vacant. The hand clawing at the ground had its nails completely torn and broken, scraping raw flesh against the bluestone floor, yet he seemed to feel nothing.
Seeing his state, Ding Qiang and Li He exchanged a look and individually backed away.
These two sycophants, who used to follow him around like loyal servants, eager to please him, now showed only clear fear and a cold indifference, desperate to distance themselves.
"Yes!"
Shi Lei let out a fierce, low roar. All the pent-up frustration, resentment, and bitterness that had been building inside him, peaking today, were finally released, along with the shadow of Ma Zhao’s tragic death.
He instinctively wanted to rush forward and slap Chen Cheng hard on the shoulder, the way men do when they celebrate.
But as he took a step, a scorching hot stream unexpectedly rushed to his eyes.
He hurriedly stopped, spun around, and clamped his hands tightly over his face. His tall, sturdy frame slowly sank into a crouch as his whole body began to tremble silently.
「Meanwhile.」
Qiao Qiao finally relaxed her small, trembling fists, which she had been clenching so tightly her knuckles had turned white. Her palms were ice-cold and slick with sweat.
Her lips, which she’d been biting with her small canine tooth until they had lost their color, curved upwards in a slight, restrained smile.
"Junior Brother Cheng, you really didn’t disappoint me!"
In that brief moment, countless thoughts had already flashed through Fatty Fang’s mind. A smile stretched the plump flesh of his face, squeezing his eyes into thin slits.
"To be honest with you, I knew it from the very beginning. You, my boy, are a piece of uncut jade destined for greatness!"
"Senior Brother, you praise me too much. My success this time was just a lucky break, all thanks to your excellent guidance."
Chen Cheng cupped his fist in a salute, giving the other man plenty of face.
However, deep within his eyes, there was an almost imperceptible flicker of a restless and excited mind.
[Hidden Dragon Fist]: Minor Achievement (0/1000), Traits (Penetrating Armor)
"Penetrating Armor: A Hidden Force martial arts technique that ignores ten percent of an opponent’s defense."
The change in his status panel, on top of successfully condensing his Blood Qi, was an unexpected but welcome surprise.
Penetrating Armor!
The power of the Hidden Dragon Fist has always focused on twisting, spiraling force, designed specifically to break through Hard Skills and penetrate armor.
With the permanent buff from the Penetrating Armor Trait, a punch with the same amount of force would now have a much stronger destructive and lethal effect.
Even though it was only ten percent.
But in a real fight, the smallest difference could often decide victory, defeat, life, and death.
This Trait, derived and solidified by the Vertical Eye Mark, felt even more solid and reliable to him than a simple increase in strength.
’This is awesome... Once my Health Tai Chi reaches Minor Achievement, I can get another Trait...’
Chen Cheng suppressed the urge to immediately start practicing his Health Tai Chi.
He had to keep this ace up his sleeve.
"From this moment on, Chen Cheng is officially a disciple of our Dragon Mountain Martial Arts Hall’s Middle Courtyard! All of you, learn from him. This is the reward for relentless, unyielding hard work!"
Fatty Fang shot a cold glance at the crowd before walking over to pat Chen Cheng on the shoulder, his voice turning warm.
"Junior Brother Cheng, take a few days to solidify your progress. Once your Realm has stabilized, I’ll pass the word up for you. As long as the head master of the Middle Courtyard agrees, you’ll have truly leaped over the dragon gate!"
His words caused another uproar among the onlookers.
The sounds of congratulations and flattery grew even louder and more chaotic than before.
Even the disciples who had been secretly mocking him moments ago now wore their brightest smiles, scrambling to crowd around Chen Cheng.
In the end, it took Fatty Fang putting on a stern face, shouting and shooing, to disperse the crowd and get everyone back to their training.
"Senior Brother Fang."
Chen Cheng collected himself and asked,
"If I successfully enter the Middle Courtyard, what happens to the... Death Oath Contract?"
"According to the hall’s old rules, there are usually two options."
Fatty Fang explained.
"First, you can pay ten taels of silver to terminate the contract on the spot. However, after entering the Middle Courtyard, you will still need to pay a monthly gift of five silver taels..."
"This sum covers martial arts instruction, three meat-based meals a day, lodging, and a monthly portion of Blood Nourishing Powder to strengthen your Blood Qi."
He glanced at Chen Cheng’s expression. Normally, it was impossible for a Lower Courtyard Disciple to suddenly produce fifteen taels of silver at the moment of promotion.
"Second, you can sign a new Death Oath Contract. For three years, your lodging and three daily meat-based meals will be free..."
"The price is that during this period, you must condense at least Nine Pillars of Blood Qi and win a Military Merit title in the Zhao City Martial Selection..."
Fatty Fang took a deep breath, his voice suddenly growing heavy.
"If you fail... you must serve the Dragon Mountain Hall to the death for thirty years!"
"...Zhao City Martial Selection? Military Merit?"
Chen Cheng looked confused, clearly knowing very little about this.
Fatty Fang saw his confusion and continued to explain.
"The so-called Martial Selection is an examination for Martial Artists initiated by the Government Office."
"Once selected, you can obtain Military Merit, and the Government Office will grant you a substantive post according to your ranking..."
"For example, an Imperial Guard Official in the Patrol Guard Bureau, a Military Guard Captain in the City Guard Army, or at the very least, a sinecure as a Martial Arts Instructor in some Government Office, drawing a monthly salary, guaranteed income rain or shine."
"More importantly, with this merit, your direct family for three generations can be exempt from taxes, and also be exempt from military service and corvée labor."
Fatty Fang’s chin lifted slightly, unable to hide the longing in his eyes.
"Our Great Shang Dynasty values military achievements and merit above all. Those sour scholars from the civil examinations don’t have these many privileges. In front of a Military Officer of the same rank, they have to bow their heads."
"...I see."
Chen Cheng quietly processed this information, still weighing the options in his mind.
Should he grit his teeth and scrape together ten taels of silver to buy his freedom, only to bear the huge monthly expense of five taels afterward?
Or should he continue to bet his life and go all-in?
"You don’t have to choose right away. Wait until you get to the Middle Courtyard and meet the Steward."
Fatty Fang raised an eyebrow and lowered his voice to a whisper.
"Anyway, I’ll be straight with you. The most... the absolute most I can lend you is ten taels."
"Thank you."
Chen Cheng grinned, not standing on ceremony with him at all.
But just as the words left his mouth, Chen Cheng pulled a thumb-sized porcelain bottle from his robes.
"Let’s talk about cashing this in first."
"You... just now... you didn’t use the Blood Refining Powder!?"
Fatty Fang’s eyes, which had been smilingly narrowed to slits, suddenly flew wide open. His Adam’s apple bobbed heavily a couple of times, and the fat on his face quivered.
His subconscious cry of alarm reached the ears of the other disciples, once again stirring up waves of commotion.
Chen Cheng nodded but didn’t reply.
Only he knew that the Vertical Eye Mark solidified his Realm and training progress into the form of numerical values on a panel.
This meant that as long as his progress reached (300/300), he could break through directly.
There were no bottlenecks.
Nor would the risk of a failed breakthrough skyrocket because of poor Root Bone, as it would for an ordinary person.
For this very reason, when he was breaking through just now, he had taken the opportunity when Fatty Fang wasn’t looking to hide this bottle of Blood Refining Powder in his clothes.
Blood Refining Powder was only precious for that one moment of breaking through and condensing blood. After his success, it was completely useless to Chen Cheng in the short term.
Fatty Fang understood perfectly. Without beating around the bush, he directly took out five taels of silver and traded it for the bottle of Blood Refining Powder.
Right now, his only thought was to get closer to Chen Cheng, so the price he offered was definitely fair.
Chen Cheng naturally accepted with pleasure.
...
The sun sank in the west, stretching the shadows of things in the courtyard long.
Chen Cheng finished his fist form, his sweat-soaked, coarse, old clothes clinging to his newly defined physique.
An afternoon of practicing the Hidden Dragon Fist had made his One Pillar of Blood Qi even more solid and stable.
「After leaving the Martial Arts Hall.」
He carried a huge sum of money he wouldn’t have even dared to dream of before: five silver taels, a full five thousand coins.
He made a special trip to the cooked food shop and bought five catties of the braised beef he’d always found too expensive, having it wrapped in oil paper.
It was a massive, solid chunk, and its rich, meaty aroma persistently wafted into his nostrils.
His steps on the way home quickened, almost without him noticing.
For the past month, all the meat he’d had was used for his own nourishment. Now that he had finally achieved some success, it was time to let his mother have a feast.
Before long, he reached the narrow alley where his home was located.
From a distance, he could already see several slouching figures blocking his front door—the familiar grunts from the Black Wolf Gang.
The doors of the neighbors on either side were ajar. Behind the cracks, pairs of eyes flickered furtively, like rats in a gutter.
In some farther corners, he could also see heads peeking out and the hems of clothes being quickly pulled back.
Previously, Chen Cheng would never have noticed these details in the dark alley.
But now.
He could clearly hear the suppressed breathing behind the nearby doors, the faint scratching of a wild rat scurrying through a crack, and even the silent, gentle tremor of a rotten felt roof as the breeze passed over it.
Within his line of sight, every crack in the mottled wooden planks, the texture of the slick moss at the base of the wall, and even the way a fly’s wings beat as it flew by were all rendered with perfect clarity.
And these two senses, along with his equally and abnormally sharpened sense of smell, taste, touch, and perception, were all changes brought about by that One Pillar of Blood Qi.
’Did something happen?’
Chen Cheng’s heart tightened. He pushed off with his feet and shot forward in a sudden sprint.
With his newfound muscle and imposing aura, his sudden approach startled the grunts at the door. They grew uneasy and subconsciously parted to the sides, not daring to block his way.
He stepped over the threshold.
It was even darker inside the house than outside, filled with a mixed smell of damp, rotting wood and burning firewood.
His mother, of the Li Family, was pressed against the corner, her frail body trembling uncontrollably.
Scar Bear stood not far from the door, arms crossed, looking at the other side of the room with a strange expression.
Chen Cheng’s gaze instantly swept over.
There, on a stool next to the stove, sat a burly, bearded man—it was Zhao Shan.
