Chapter 14

The ages of ten to fifteen are the best time for practicing martial arts to lay a foundation and temper the body.

After the age of fifteen, the muscles and bones of most people have grown and set, and the ordinary person's martial veins are closed and consolidated. It will be extremely difficult to open the meridians and channel the qi, and cultivating the true qi in the dantian will be even more challenging.

The white-faced, fat local tycoon wasn't entirely wrong. For someone like Wei Changfeng, who comes to the martial academy at his age, unless he has extraordinary talent or a strong background, it's almost impossible to receive the academy's meticulous cultivation, and his future in martial arts will be bleak.

Just by looking at Wei Changfeng's attire, no one would think he comes from a wealthy and powerful family. If he truly had exceptional talent, why would he only come to the martial academy now?

The old man in the simple robe was immediately at a loss for words; he didn't understand so much.

As for Wei Changfeng, he didn't take the other person's words to heart and didn't bother to pay attention to such a person.

He knew his own situation best!

Seeing that he had the upper hand, the white-faced fat man became even more pleased. He patted his fat son beside him and praised, "My boy is twelve years old this year and is already a martial artist at the first level of Body Tempering!"

"With his talent, he will advance to the Upper Academy in the martial academy in at most three years and will become a先天stronger in the future!"

The little fat boy puffed out his chest, his nose pointing to the sky, and his chin held high, as if he were already a先天stronger.

Creak!

At this moment, the gates of Jingyun Martial Academy slowly opened inward, and the time for the academy to open had arrived!

The people who had been waiting outside the gate immediately rushed in, afraid of being late and missing out.

The Lower Academy of Jingyun Martial Academy opens for recruitment for three days each month. Although there are no restrictions on the disciples' qualifications and age, the number of recruits each day is limited.

If one fails to register today, they will have to wait another month, so it's inevitable to be anxious.

The Jingyun Martial Academy was well-prepared for this. In the spacious courtyard, three wooden tables were neatly arranged, with writing materials laid out in a row. Three martial instructors from the academy sat behind the tables.

One of the martial instructors stood up and shouted, "Don't crowd! Form a queue. Whoever pushes and runs around, I won't be polite and will throw them out!"

His voice, infused with true qi, made everyone's eardrums buzz. The originally chaotic scene immediately calmed down, and many people showed looks of awe.

Everyone lined up orderly in front of the wooden tables and began to register.

Wei Changfeng chose a queue.

This wasn't his first time at the martial academy, so he was familiar with the registration process. After paying fifty taels of silver as tuition to the martial instructor, he spent another thirty taels to book a room in the Yi-numbered dormitory.

The tuition for the martial academy is paid annually. As long as it is paid on time, one can stay in the Lower Academy for ten to eight years without any problem.

However, the tuition is only a small part of the expenses in the martial academy.

In addition to daily food and drink, learning martial techniques and heart methods, purchasing weapons and equipment, and hiring martial artists for private guidance, all require personal expenses. Even if one gets injured during practice, the medical expenses must be paid out of pocket!

The martial academy also provides dormitories, divided into four grades: Jia, Yi, Bing, and Ding. Jia and Yi-numbered rooms are for single occupancy, with Jia being the most luxurious and expensive. Bing-numbered rooms are for four people, and Ding-numbered rooms are the cheapest, with a large dormitory.

Although Wei Changfeng could afford a Jia-numbered room, he didn't want to waste money recklessly because there would be many more expenses in the future. The Yi-numbered room was sufficient for his needs.

After all, when he was in the martial academy, he only stayed in a Bing-numbered room.

After completing the registration, Wei Changfeng also received a wooden waist tag that proved his identity as a Lower Academy disciple.

The Lower Academy of Jingyun Martial Academy has thousands of disciples, and this identity is not particularly impressive, even less so than the Lower Academy disciples of Jingyun Alchemy Academy.

Only by standing out among thousands of peers and advancing to the Upper Academy would one be looked upon with respect.

The weakest Upper Academy disciples have at least the cultivation of the seventh level of Body Tempering!

With Wei Changfeng's talent, his former self might have already advanced to the Upper Academy if he had continued practicing in the martial academy until now. Unfortunately, he missed this opportunity.

"Sniff, sniff~"

When Wei Changfeng turned to leave, he heard a low sobbing sound.

He saw a little girl named Nie Xiaoling wiping her tears outside the queue, crying with tears streaming down her face.

Her grandfather stood beside her, sighing and looking extremely distressed.

Wei Changfeng hesitated for a moment but still walked over and asked, "Old man, what's wrong?"

The old man in the simple robe said with a bitter face, "It's all my fault. I lost my money bag, and all seventy taels of silver are gone. This is the hard-earned money that her father saved for three years!"

He raised his hand and hit his head hard, saying painfully, "You old fool, how could you be so careless? You really deserve to die, deserve to die!"

Nie Xiaoling held his arm and said with red eyes, "Grandpa, don't blame yourself. Let's go back and look for it on the road. Maybe we can find it!"

Everyone knew that the money was already lost and couldn't be found anywhere.

It was most likely stolen on the way. After all, most people came from the open market, where there were many thieves.

"The old man, I'll pay your granddaughter's tuition!"

The white-faced fat man walked over with his son, smiling and said, "I'll give you another fifty taels of silver, but you have to sign a contract, making your granddaughter serve as a servant for my son for ten years."

Rich families' children often have servants from a young age, mostly raised to be concubines, with very low status and identity. Even if they are beaten to death by the master, the most the authorities would do is compensate with some silver.

The old man in the simple robe was stunned for a moment and then firmly shook his head, "No!"

He knew what being a servant meant for his granddaughter and wouldn't push her into a fire pit.

The white-faced fat man confidently said, "Then I'll add another fifty taels, making it one hundred! You can buy a servant in Jingyun City with that. I'm only willing to pay this price because I feel sorry for your girl."

The old man in the simple robe was not swayed, but Nie Xiaoling clung to his arm and looked up pitifully, saying, "Grandpa, Father needs money to buy medicine. Please agree!"

Hearing the little girl's words, the white-faced fat man, who was taking advantage of the situation, immediately smiled.

He had a discerning eye and could see that Nie Xiaoling would grow up to be a beautiful woman, so he was willing to invest.

His fat son stared at Nie Xiaoling, drooling, with a look of wanting to devour her alive.

The old man in the simple robe closed his eyes, his face tightly wrinkled, clearly in extreme pain and conflict.

"One hundred taels? I'll pay it!"

Wei Changfeng, who had been observing coldly, suddenly said, "I don't need a contract. You can pay me back when you have the money."

He took out a hundred-tael silver note and handed it to the old man in the simple robe, smiling at Nie Xiaoling.

Wei Changfeng didn't really want to get involved in this matter. There were many pitiful people in the world, but he found the white-faced fat man very repulsive and decided to use money to slap his face.

Additionally, the little girl left a good impression on him. She was young, sensible, and filial, and he felt it was worth helping her once.

The old man in the simple robe didn't expect such a turn of events. He was both shocked and deeply grateful to Wei Changfeng, tears streaming down his face as he held the silver note, "Thank you, thank you, Master Wei!"

Wei Changfeng smiled and said, "I'm not a master or a young master. Quickly take Xiaoling to register, so you don't miss it."

"Okay, okay!"

The old man in the simple robe was so excited that he was almost incoherent, urging his granddaughter, "Xiaoling, quickly thank your Senior Brother Wei!"

Nie Xiaoling bit her lip and suddenly knelt down in front of Wei Changfeng, bowing respectfully, "Thank you, Senior Brother Wei!"

Wei Changfeng reached out to help her up and said, "This money isn't free. You'll have to pay it back in the future."

Nie Xiaoling stood up and nodded, saying softly, "I know, Senior Brother Wei, you are a good person!"

You are a good person?

Wei Changfeng felt deeply moved.

In his past and present life, this was the first time someone had called him a good person.

The Wei Changfeng of the past was wild and arrogant, acting on impulse without considering the consequences. Although he had saved many lives through alchemy, he had never heard anyone call him a good person.

He didn't care back then, but now, after being reborn, his mindset and thoughts had truly changed.

As the saying goes, what goes around comes around. If he hadn't offended so many people, he wouldn't have ended up dead and his alchemy destroyed.

Of course, some people he had offended didn't matter to him now, like the white-faced fat local tycoon and his fat-headed, big-eared son.

"Boy, don't be too arrogant!"

The fat local tycoon glared with his fish-like eyes and said hatefully, "You'll regret it in the future!"

Being interrupted by Wei Changfeng, the fat man was extremely displeased. If it weren't for being in the martial academy and not having any attendants, he would have given Wei Changfeng a good beating.

Wei Changfeng glanced at him indifferently, treating him like a barking stray dog.

This dismissive attitude infuriated the fat local tycoon, but he couldn't do anything about it and could only turn to his son, "Let's go!"

The little fat boy howled and refused to leave, "No! I want a servant, I want Xiaoling!"

The fat local tycoon, both angry and anxious, slapped him hard, "Want, want, want! If you have the ability, go and take her yourself. Don't embarrass yourself here!"

The hard slap finally made the little fat boy behave. He glared at Wei Changfeng with hatred and reluctantly followed his father out of the martial academy.

After watching the old man in the simple robe complete the registration for Nie Xiaoling, Wei Changfeng quietly left.

According to the rules of Jingyun Martial Academy, new disciples officially enter the academy the next day, so he still had enough time to prepare and complete other necessary tasks.

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