Chapter 9

If Wei He could truly enter the stone skin, the tuition fee at Old Man Zheng's place would be significantly reduced, and only by entering the stone skin could he truly be considered a member of Huishan Fist.

Now, they, who had not yet entered the door, were constantly replaced in batches. In Old Man Zheng's eyes, they were merely tools for making money, with no real value.

"This hurdle, once crossed, will lead to a whole new world." Wei He watched as the medicine broth slowly heated up.

He no longer let his mind wander, focusing on carefully simmering the broth. After cooling it down a bit, he began to drink it bit by bit.

The Blood Nourishing Powder was a formula for nurturing qi and blood, and it was very effective.

The next morning, when Wei He started grinding the skin again, he could clearly feel the difference.

When he hit the sand, the pain in his fists was less, and during breaks, his recovery was slightly faster.

Although the changes were subtle, he could clearly feel them, which was quite remarkable.

However, to his disappointment, he still did not break through after a whole day.

Among those who started grinding the skin with him, one person finally succeeded, and another chose to give up, packing his bags and leaving dejectedly.

"Do you know what they will do after they leave?" Cheng Shaojiu stood beside Wei He and said in a low voice.

"I don't know," Wei He replied.

"Some join various small gangs, some spend all their money on martial arts training and probably end up doing hard labor. Those from better-off families go back to help, and some are hired to guard others' homes."

Cheng Shaojiu had a blank expression.

"The guards at my house come from such backgrounds. Many batches have already been replaced."

"… Why the replacement?"

"Because the previous guards either became disabled or died." Cheng Shaojiu patted Wei He's shoulder hard and left without saying anything more.

They were friends, and recently, Wei He's continuous hard training but lack of breakthrough had been noticed by everyone around him.

Originally, many people had slightly higher regard for him due to his diligence and effort, but now, their attitudes were gradually changing.

Wei He saw this.

He stood in place, waiting for his turn to grind the skin. During the waiting time, he couldn't help but look in Xiao Ran's direction.

Xiao Ran, the genius highly regarded by Old Man Zheng, successfully entered the stone skin on the fifth day, easily completing the shedding of the outer skin on his hands.

As for Wei He, it had been one month and twenty-six days, and he still hadn't entered the stone skin.

Although the probability of passing the skin grinding was only a few percent.

In the courtyard of Huishan Fist, over the years, only a few people had managed to stay, for this very reason.

Because most people couldn't pass and stay, only a dozen or so had truly entered the stone skin.

Wei He had somewhat anticipated this. He guessed that his talent was at best average, not the worst, but not particularly good.

But guessing is one thing, and people always have a侥幸心理 (侥幸心理 means侥幸 psychology, which can be translated as a侥幸 mentality or a侥幸 mindset, but in this context, it means a侥幸 attitude or a侥幸 mindset, which is a sense of侥幸 or a侥幸 attitude).

What if he passed by himself?

Unfortunately, when the facts were laid out before him, he truly saw the harshness of reality.

In the last two days.

Wei He saw two more people pack their things and leave.

He saw his second sister's worried gaze and the gradually changing looks from those around him.

Early in the morning, Wei He was the first to start grinding the skin.

He stood alone in front of the wooden basin, staring at the black sand.

Not far away, Xiao Ran was surrounded by people, walking into the courtyard with a cold and proud expression, greeting Jiang Su, a junior sister from the women's courtyard.

Xiao Ran, Jiang Su, and a senior brother named Jiang Yan had formed a small, independent circle.

Xiao Ran had exceptional talent, Jiang Su came from a well-off family and had good talent and appearance. Jiang Yan's family was wealthy, being the richest household in Shiqiao Town where Huishan Fist was located.

The three kept their distance from the others and had no intention of interacting with them.

Wei He收回视线 (收回视线 means收回 his gaze), and saw Senior Brother Cheng Shaojiu watching him from the side.

Cheng Shaojiu gave him a distant thumbs-up gesture, showing no change in attitude despite his failure to enter the stone skin.

A junior brother beside him couldn't help but ask, "Senior Brother, since Wei He hasn't entered the stone skin and probably won't, why are you still...?"

"Are you saying that since he will eventually leave, why do I still treat him the same as before?" Cheng Shaojiu countered.

"Most people who come here are from families with little money. They all have the same idea: to come here and work hard to learn skills and then find a better path. Many spend all their money here but still can't enter the stone skin, and after such a long time, they probably have no future," the junior brother said, shaking his head.

"That's true, but do you think I, Cheng Shaojiu, make friends for their future prospects?" Cheng Shaojiu smiled. "If I only befriended people because they had a bright future, that wouldn't be friendship, it would be opportunism."

The junior brother was speechless.

Upon reflection, Senior Brother Cheng Shaojiu was indeed like that. His friends came from all walks of life, from those of low status to those from wealthy families.

Wei He didn't know about this conversation; he was focused on his skin grinding practice.

His fists repeatedly plunged into the sand.

He wanted to use the medicine's effect to break through the barrier and enter a new level.

Time passed.

Unfortunately, until it was time to switch, the redness on his fists quickly faded.

Only if this redness remained and stabilized could he enter the stone skin level.

Standing on the side, Wei He took deep breaths. Unlike the others who hadn't entered the stone skin, he had no special expression.

No disappointment, no frustration. He just stood there.

After a while, he looked up and saw Wei Ying watching from the side of the woodshed, her eyes full of hope.

Wei He sighed inwardly.

He finally decided to use the breakthrough bead.

No matter what, this step, it seemed, could not be crossed by himself alone.

So...

When it was Wei He's turn to go up.

He looked at his second sister again, then rolled up his sleeves, walked forward, and stood in front of a wooden basin.

He clenched and unclenched his fists several times.

Wei He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

Thud.

He forcefully plunged both hands into the wooden basin. The cold, rough sand stung his fists.

At that moment, he focused his mind, and the air bubble formed by the breakthrough bead in his chest burst with a pop.

An invisible current flowed rapidly through his entire body from his chest.

Wei He had never felt this way before.

His senses seemed to brighten. He heard the bustling sounds around him.

He smelled the strange odor of the sand in the wooden basin and the strong herbal scent from the medicine basin nearby.

His hands began to heat up, becoming warm, hot, and scalding.

But Wei He kept his eyes closed, continuing his routine step by step.

Time slowly passed, and finally, his time was up.

"Next one." He heard a senior brother calling from the side.

He opened his eyes and looked at his fists.

His fists were bright red. Although the specific effects were not yet confirmed, he could feel his hands as if they were wearing thick leather gloves.

Tough and heavy.

"Success."

Old Man Zheng, not far away, squinted and nodded slightly. His gaze had been scanning the disciples grinding their skin in the courtyard, and he immediately noticed the change in Wei He.

Although the fists were still red from the practice, Old Man Zheng's experience was unparalleled, and he could instantly tell that Wei He had succeeded.

"Success!?"

The senior brother who had just been discussing Wei He with Cheng Shaojiu was slightly stunned, looked at Wei He, and was surprised.

"Really, he made it in the last few days." He couldn't help but sigh.

Cheng Shaojiu lightly clapped, but it was just a gesture, making no sound.

Wei He looked at his second sister. Wei Ying was covering her mouth, her face beaming with joy.

He took a deep breath, feeling the pressure in his chest suddenly released.

Looking at Senior Brother Cheng Shaojiu, who was silently clapping, Wei He couldn't help but wave his fist at him.

Having passed this hurdle, he was now a true disciple of Huishan Fist. Before, he was just a regular disciple who paid the fee.

Such disciples were not valued by Old Man Zheng, and there were many of them, with a significant turnover each month.

But a true disciple of Huishan Fist was different.

Wei He stepped down from the wooden basin, his fists still red. The surrounding men who hadn't yet succeeded and those still grinding their skin looked at him with envy.

"How does it feel? Is your qi and blood at a new level? Everything feels different, right?" Cheng Shaojiu walked over and patted his shoulder.

"Yes. I didn't expect the difference between success and failure to be so great," Wei He said softly.

"Exactly. Don't look at the levels of Huishan Fist as being mundane. Each level is not determined by the hardness of the fists. That's just the surface."

Cheng Shaojiu explained.

"The fists are just a special effect that naturally occurs from training our body's qi and blood. The truly powerful aspect is the qi and blood corresponding to each level."

"I understand," Wei He nodded.

"Do you want to try it out?" Cheng Shaojiu invited. "Come to my house; we have a dedicated martial arts training ground."

"Is it appropriate?" Wei He hesitated.

"There's nothing inappropriate about it. You and I are brothers, why say such things!" Cheng Shaojiu patted his back hard. "Don't run off after we're dismissed, come back with me, just like visiting a friend's house!"

"… Okay." Wei He knew that inviting him to his home was a form of recognition.

After all, although Cheng Shaojiu had been a good friend, he had never invited Wei He to his home before.

This time, as soon as he broke through, Cheng Shaojiu invited him, showing the significant difference between success and failure.

After talking with Cheng Shaojiu for a while, Wei He went to his second sister.

"Good job, Xiao He." Wei Ying smiled at him, her eyes full of happiness.

With the eldest sister gone and their parents missing, her only support was this younger brother.

Now that her brother was doing well, she felt even more secure.

In these chaotic times, what could bring more peace of mind than strength?

"Not hard," Wei He shook his head. He was telling the truth; he liked this feeling, the feeling of gradually getting stronger.

In his heart, he knew that he hadn't reached the level of qi and blood needed to break through. Without the breakthrough bead, he might have ended up like the other disciples who failed, leaving dejectedly, not knowing where to go to make a living, living a precarious life.