Chapter 7

The hammer broke the wind, circling around the body.

Qin Xiong slightly narrowed his eyes.

The thin boy was performing the first three moves of the Cloak Hammer, his techniques not very standard, and his strength weak, but his hammer dance was more fluid and smooth compared to the other apprentices beside him.

Although it was still pitifully immature and unfamiliar for him, for an apprentice who had just learned the hammer techniques, it showed his talent.

This kid...

"He, he..."

On the vast open ground, the apprentices were dancing with their hammers, but Lu Zhong stood there somewhat dazed, not even noticing when the hammer in his hand fell.

The other apprentices couldn't see the difference, but how could he not?

This thin apprentice from the Middle Courtyard, on his first attempt at hammer dancing, was actually much more fluid than when he himself had first learned?

"Haha, quite a good hand at forging!"

Qin Xiong's expression was subtle. After staring for a few moments, he glanced at the other apprentices and then turned to leave.

Lu Zhong felt a chill down his back. Turning around, he saw his master, and his heart sank. He immediately lost the desire to give pointers and hurriedly followed.

Bang!

The large hammer hit the ground, raising dust.

"Phew!"

Li Yuan panted heavily, drenched in sweat despite the cool night air, but he didn't feel tired; instead, he felt a sense of unfinished business.

With the advanced hammer techniques, he had a strong urge to dance with the hammer, but he had to restrain himself.

The place and time were not right.

"Indeed, the advanced hammer techniques provide more benefits in hammer dancing, and even a small test has already surpassed the other apprentices!"

Glancing at Lu Zhong's departing back, Li Yuan felt he had a good grasp, better than the other apprentices, but not by much.

"Still, I must be cautious!"

Regulating his breathing, Li Yuan released the hammer. The apprentices on the training ground also dispersed, with only a few still gritting their teeth and persisting.

Niu Gui was among them.

"Too much is as bad as too little. Although I am mentally excited, my body is still weak. I overdid it last night, and it's not suitable to practice more today."

Li Yuan returned to the Middle Courtyard, first doing some stretching exercises, then fetching a basin of water to wash his body. The sky had already turned dark.

At this moment, Niu Gui returned to the Middle Courtyard but was still standing in a horse stance, occasionally dancing with the hammer, which made a few apprentices who had already lain down grit their teeth and get up again.

"Too intense..."

Li Yuan had no experience in martial arts but had experience in fitness. Overtraining can harm the body, and muscle dissolution is no joke.

He wanted to give some advice but thought better of it.

It wasn't that they were not close enough to speak, but these apprentices were fighting for a chance to change their fate, and no one could make them give up.

"Really want a glass of watermelon juice!"

Putting on his clothes and lying down, Li Yuan reminisced about his past life, falling asleep with nostalgia.

The next day, he woke up to the groans of his fellow apprentices, feeling sore all over. In the Middle Courtyard, few had worse physical conditions than him.

This had nothing to do with his constitution but was purely due to long-term malnutrition.

"Want to eat meat!"

Li Yuan heard his stomach growling.

At fifteen or sixteen, it was the age when one's appetite was the largest, and with the increased physical activity, it would be strange not to feel hungry.

Despite the hunger, Li Yuan and a few other apprentices were already busy, lighting fires, transporting coal, cleaning the courtyard...

"Liu Qing, I'll chop the wood."

Li Yuan spoke, swapping tasks with Liu Qing, who was naturally happy to do so.

"Blind spot, I actually forgot about this old axe!"

Grasping the heavily worn axe, Li Yuan saw a gray platform appear before his eyes, but the light was much weaker than that of the training hammer.

[Chipped Axe (Unranked)]

[Requirement: None]

[Effect: Basic Axe Techniques]

"... A low-quality item among the unranked!"

Li Yuan shook his head but didn't intend to swap tasks back with Liu Qing. With a single chop, the vertical logs were split in two.

"Although it's not a hammer, the force application technique is the same!"

Familiarizing himself with the force application technique, Li Yuan chopped quickly, finishing the day's supply of wood in no time. He didn't stop there and continued with other tasks.

In the past month, he would feel a dark haze at this time, but now, despite the many odd jobs, he found joy in them, constantly familiarizing himself with the force application technique.

At the same time, his gaze turned to the kitchen.

That was Sun Fat's territory, and anyone who messed around or looked around would be beaten. Although Li Yuan was curious about the effects of the kitchen knives, he wouldn't seek trouble.

Busy with work, the sun soon reached its zenith.

The noon meal at the forge was decent, and the apprentices in the Middle Courtyard had three steamed buns, two bowls of thin porridge, and half a plate of pickled radish to eat.

"No fat in the food!"

The taste of the steamed buns was irrelevant; Li Yuan finished them quickly. Although his stomach was about three-quarters full, he still felt hungry.

"The food in the Middle Courtyard is just enough to fill one's stomach. To practice martial arts, one needs additional nourishment; otherwise, it will eventually lead to death!"

The hunger even overshadowed Li Yuan's desire to explore the Palm Soldier Register. With the silver pieces given by his second brother, Li Yuan headed straight to the cooked meat shop, bought half a pound of the cheapest pork offal, and only then felt his stomach was full.

"Sir, can I take a look at your meat cleaver?"

Squatting in a corner and finishing the offal, Li Yuan returned to the cooked meat shop. The shop assistant greeted him with a smile, glanced back at the busy shop owner, and then extended his hand:

"Take a look."

[Butcher's Meat Cleaver (Unranked)]

[The cleaver used by Hu Butcher for years, heavily worn...]

[Effect: Basic Knife Techniques]

[Requirement: None]

"Basic Knife Techniques!"

Li Yuan felt a slight joy, looked at the heavily worn cleaver, and called over the shop owner, who had a face full of scars.

After some haggling, he bought the cleaver for one tael of silver.

"Palm!"

Finding a deserted alley corner, Li Yuan half-closed his eyes. On the small gray platform, the butcher's cleaver was clearly visible.

However, the Palm Soldier Register could not control it.

"Although this platform is small, it can accommodate a few weapons, but to control more weapons, the Palm Soldier Register needs to be upgraded..."

Just thinking about the harsh conditions made Li Yuan feel a headache.

The Great Yun Dynasty collected taxes in silver every autumn, and silver was expensive, with 1,200 copper coins exchanging for one tael of silver. As for gold...

It simply wasn't in circulation...

Li Yuan's thoughts raced, constantly trying other uses of the Palm Soldier Register. He tried to change the weapon he controlled.

Buzz~

When the butcher's cleaver replaced the training hammer in the Palm Soldier Register, Li Yuan felt somewhat uncomfortable, as if someone had taken off one of his clothes.

"The桩功 and hammer techniques I memorized are still there, but the familiar feeling of decades of hammer practice is gone after the advanced hammer techniques are removed..."

Leaning against the wall, Li Yuan felt:

"But there is a sense of having chopped meat for many years... It seems that changing the controlled weapon has little impact on me, but it can't be changed at any time..."

"Can it only be changed every two days?"

Li Yuan understood.

...

...

In the following days, Li Yuan switched back to the controlled weapon, and with the advanced hammer techniques, his桩功 gradually improved, but his appetite also increased, and he almost had to buy half a pound of offal every day.

The silver pieces given by his second brother were almost gone, and Li Yuan firmly believed that the best place for money was to spend it on oneself.

Qin Xiong didn't come to teach the Cloak Hammer again, seemingly having a delivery mission. Lu Zhong took over and taught the eighteen hammer techniques in a few days.

Li Yuan didn't show more, just a bit faster than the other apprentices, attracting attention without standing out too much.

...

"Li Yuan, come over and clean up!"

One day, just after finishing the horse stance, Li Yuan hadn't had time to wipe his body when he heard Sun Fat's voice from afar.

A few apprentices who hadn't entered the house immediately quickened their actions and returned to their rooms. Li Yuan rubbed his wrists, responded, and went to Sun Fat's small courtyard.

As the head chef in charge of most of the forge's meals, Sun Fat's treatment was self-evident: a private courtyard, meat at every meal, and hot baths.

At that moment, the well-fed Sun Fat was soaking in the bath, not avoiding Li Yuan, leaning in the bathtub, and smoking a pipe.

"I heard you're quite good with the hammer?"

Looking at Li Yuan cleaning up the leftovers, Sun Fat blew a smoke ring from the inner room:

"Pity, pity."

This fat man...

Li Dao's heart stirred, slowed his cleaning, and raised his head in confusion:

"What's a pity, Chef?"

"There's something I just found out."

Sun Fat casually knocked the pipe on the edge of the bathtub, lowered his voice, and smiled:

"Qin Xiong is good at martial arts and enjoys meat and wine, but what he likes best is women!"

"Ah?"

Li Yuan's heart stirred.

"Apparently, he keeps one in the Chaiyu Workshop, surnamed Niu, slender and quite attractive..."

Sun Fat said with a teasing tone:

"Her surname is Niu?"

"Surname Niu?"

Li Yuan's thoughts raced, and he remembered someone:

"Niu Gui?!"

After a brief surprise, Li Yuan regained his composure.

He was somewhat disappointed that the spot was pre-arranged, but he didn't take it too seriously. A two-hundred-year-old forge wouldn't last if there were no promotion paths.

If not this time, then the next.

At the very least, he had learned martial arts a year or two earlier, which wasn't a loss...

"Our forge, a two-hundred-year-old establishment, has a standard process for training apprentices, but it's not supposed to be Qin Xiong teaching you martial arts..."

Putting down the pipe, Sun Fat stood up from the bathtub with a large belly, wiped himself off, and put on his clothes.

"Is that so..."

Li Yuan was somewhat lost.

He was curious about what Sun Fat wanted to do.

Was it a coincidence that he caught the fat man's eye?

Or...

"The spot for joining the Inner Courtyard, each courtyard only has one, so, a month ago, Niu Gui joined the Middle Courtyard. Do you understand?"

Sun Fat smiled, wanting to see the boy's disappointed expression.

Li Yuan lowered his head: "Thank you, Chef Sun, for your guidance."

"Aren't you disappointed?"

Sun Fat was slightly disappointed: "You were the best performer, but you can't join the Inner Courtyard. Don't you feel resentful?"

"Disappointment, a little, but not much. As for resentment..."

Li Yuan's heart tightened, and he honestly answered:

"This opportunity wasn't mine to begin with, so why should I feel resentful? At least I learned martial arts..."

Sun Fat's smile faded, stared at Li Yuan for a while, and then smiled: "You're quite interesting..."

"This fat man..."

Li Yuan felt uneasy under the stare. This Sun Fat might not be a weakling?

"Unfortunately, you're still wrong."

Sun Fat knocked the pipe and said lightly:

"The White Ape Cloak Hammer, though not the best in the forge, wouldn't be easily taught to you."

"Not complete?"

Li Yuan realized.

"The techniques are complete, but without the桩功, even the best constitution would take three to five years to master!"

As Sun Fat spoke, his large hand landed on Li Yuan's shoulder.

Li Yuan tried to dodge, but how could he? Pain and coldness surged into his heart almost simultaneously.

"Your constitution is decent, average, but on the lower side. Unfortunately, your body is weak..."

Li Yuan felt a chill down his back, and cold sweat soaked his clothes.

At the moment the large hand pressed on his shoulder, he felt like a lamb in a tiger's mouth, with no control over his life and death.

Now, he was breathing heavily, his heart pounding.

This fat man, who flattered Qin Xiong, was so powerful?

"How, are you surprised that I know martial arts?"

Sun Fat enjoyed the shock and surprise of others:

"Do you think I got this fat position in the Middle Courtyard just because my brother-in-law is the second manager? My martial arts, hmm..."

Not because your brother-in-law is the second manager?

Li Yuan cursed in his heart but could only pretend to listen.

"The White Ape Cloak Hammer has internal and external techniques, three major and minor combinations, and different training methods, combat techniques, and breathing techniques."

Under the moonlight, Sun Fat, without a smile, said:

"Now, I will teach you the 'Six Ape Breathing Techniques'!"

So complicated?

Li Yuan was somewhat stunned:

"Why are you teaching me?!"

"To teach you a lesson, if you want to stand out, either you have talent, or you have a purpose...

With your average constitution, it can't be because of your talent, can it?"

Sun Fat took a few steps, turned around with his hands behind his back, and in the moonlight, his fat face still showed a sneer:

"Obviously, it's because your second brother gave me money!"