Chapter 9 The Wind Where the Young Gallop is More Precious Than Gold

Under this eerie atmosphere, the assessment continued.

Ultimately, out of the 36 students, only 14 were able to lift the 500-catty stone pier and thus remained at the academy.

The 22 students who were eliminated had to pack up their belongings in the dormitory and leave with their buckets in hand.

Chen, the instructor, left after the assessment ended, while Chu Ning and the other successful students remained at the martial arts field.

"Fellow classmates, starting from today, we will spend two and a half years at the school. I've reserved a table for a banquet in the dining hall. I hope my fellow classmates will honor us with their presence, so that we may also get to know each other better," Jin Le said with a smile. He was a student of room Yi One, and had already been able to lift the 500-catty stone pier seven days ago, so he started to prepare this banquet early.

There was a particular characteristic of the prices at the school – they would decrease after the assessment, and though still more expensive than outside, they were not considered much by the students.

Otherwise, if the prices remained as high for the next two and a half years, even the wealthiest family in Daning County would not be able to bear the costs.

It had become an old tradition for the remaining students to hold a banquet together every three months after the assessments.

In the hearts of these remaining students, those who had been eliminated were no longer considered their classmates, for their potential and levels were now different.

It was cruel, but it was also reality.

Jin Le had assumed that everyone would accept his invitation, but to his surprise, it was rejected.

"I need to practice martial arts. I don't have time," Ji Yang was the first to leave.

"I don't have time either."

"You guys enjoy the gathering; I need to go back for a medicinal bath."

One after another, the students from room Jia left, and even the students from room Yi found reasons to decline.

Jin Le's face was full of confusion. What was going on?

Chu Ning, seeing Jin Le's puzzled expression, couldn't help but find it amusing. Though Jin Le didn't understand the situation, Chu Ning did, as clear as day, knowing why these people left.

They were unwilling to sit at the same table with him.

In their eyes, he was nothing but a servant. Now that he had turned the tables, the thought of having to dine at the same table with him made them uncomfortable.

Tang Ruowei was initially indifferent, but seeing the others leaving, she offered her congratulations to Chu Ning and then departed as well.

"Brother Jin, shall we go eat?" Chu Ning, now left alone, suggested to Jin Le.

Jin Le's mouth twitched slightly. He wasn't a fool and hadn't realized at first, but now he understood why everyone refused to come.

However, he had already paid for the banquet in the dining hall, so it wouldn't be right to directly refuse Chu Ning.

Though everyone was uncomfortable with Chu Ning, since he had managed to lift 500 catties, it wasn't necessary to make him an enemy.

But if he were to go eat with Chu Ning, what would the others think of him?

"I have a bit of a stomachache, so... the money is already paid, Chu Ning. If you want to eat, go ahead and enjoy it yourself."

"What a pity. Don't worry, I won't let Brother Jin's money go to waste," Chu Ning replied.

Chu Ning watched Jin Le's retreating figure and muttered softly, "Brother Jin truly is a kind man."

...

...

The next day, the sky was clear.

The sun shone brightly as Chu Ning and the others stood at the martial arts field, their eyes excited as they looked towards Liu Junshan.

"After three months of martial arts training, your strength has surpassed that of ordinary people. But having sheer brute force is not enough. A true Martial Artist must learn to control their strength and unleash it to its fullest potential," Liu Junshan said.

Chu Ning agreed with Liu Junshan's words internally. At the moment, their strength was essentially that used in weight lifting. In his previous life, the average punch of a regular person was at most twice the force of their weight lifting strength.

Yet, a professional boxer could, through power generation, speed, and training of muscle coordination throughout the body, unleash triple the power of their weight lifting strength.

"Starting today, I will teach you 'Bull Demon Strength'. Take a look first," Liu Junshan announced.

As his words settled, Liu Junshan stood tall and straight, and his aura changed at that moment. With his right foot stepping forward, Chu Ning and the others felt as if they saw a gigantic mad bull lifting its hooves and charging towards them.

Two students instinctively took a few steps back. Liu Junshan twisted his waist and turned his body to the side, then swung his long arm out. The arm made a whirring sound that captured everyone's souls.

Bang!

Everyone failed to notice when Liu Junshan had already moved five meters away. His fist landed on the thousand pound stone podium next to the martial arts training field.

Stone chips flew in all directions, hitting many of the students, but at that moment, they didn't care about the pain. Their eyes were fixed on the shattered podium, and their breathing became rapid.

The podium broke into more than a dozen pieces!

"Holy shit!"

Chu Ning couldn't help but blurt out in astonishment, his eyes wide open. Although the original owner's father was also a martial master, he had never demonstrated his martial arts in front of him.

"No wonder the Liang Dynasty only values martial artists. If the instructor of a school possesses such strength, who needs scholars? What's the use of reasoning? Using 'martial virtue' to command respect is more than enough."

The other students, following Chu Ning's exclamation, turned their gazes towards him, including Liu Junshan.

Although they didn't know what "holy shit" meant, they did understand the implication of "shit" and that it was not a compliment.

Seeing their reaction, Chu Ning hurriedly added another line, "To pull mountains with strength, to cover the world with spirit. Instructor, the student was too excited and spoke out of turn."

"Pull mountains with strength, to cover the world with spirit?"

Liu Junshan repeated Chu Ning's words. He found them pleasing to hear but said, "Stop talking nonsense. Only the Great Ancestor who founded our dynasty could achieve such a feat."

"Yes, this student acknowledges his mistake and won't speak nonsense again."

Liu Junshan swept a look over the emotionally charged crowd, knowing all too well what was going through the students' minds since he had experienced the same thing. Without wasting any time, he stated, "The Bull Demon Fist, when cultivated to the extreme, can make one's punching force ten times that of their strength. Even with a Minor Achievement, one can reach five times their strength."

"Starting from today, besides cultivating the last three layers of the 'Bull Demon Strength', you must also practice the 'Bull Demon Fist'."

In the following half hour, Liu Junshan passed on the last three layers of the Bull Demon Strength and the complete moves of the Bull Demon Fist to Chu Ning and the other students.

The true transmission of a technique could be contained in a single sentence, unlike the false teachings that filled books.

The mnemonics and mental methods of the latter three layers of the Bull Demon Fist weren't voluminous, and everyone quickly memorized them. As for the fist technique itself, it wasn't something that could be mastered overnight—it was a long-term process.

After Liu Junshan left, the other students also returned to their dormitories. Having eliminated some students, the remaining fourteen could now each have a single room.

Before Chu Ning went back to his dormitory, he stopped by the gatehouse to write two letters.

One to his old aunt and the other to Director Huang.

He gave the gatekeeper 100 coins to help send five taels of silver home.

This was all the silver he had left.

Chu Ning knew very well that the students would not let him fetch water anymore. Without money, even if the medicinal herbs and meat were cheap, he couldn't afford them.

For the next three months, he planned to follow the path of a low-key life.

Living low-key did not mean he wouldn't practice martial arts or the fist technique; it simply meant he wouldn't set any particular goals for himself.

He had already achieved his goal. Now, he just had to wait six months to enter the government office and feed at the public's expense.

It wasn't that he didn't want to stay in the school for good, but the objective conditions didn't permit it.

The old aunt was the only one at home; he needed to earn money to support the family, and there was no way to make money in the school.

Furthermore, his martial arts aptitude was not particularly high, and he couldn't make an astonishing breakthrough. The energy from the Longevity Fruit simply allowed him to progress gradually.

Leaving the school after six months and having the connection with Director Huang would secure him a comfortable position. Progressing step by step was the safest approach.

Being a youth is more valuable than gold.

It's because one can never return to their youth, and a person's lifespan is limited.

Now, he was holding the wind in his left hand and gold in his right hand.

With a royal flush in hand, starting with such a magnificent hand, as long as he remained steady, he wouldn't lose.

PS: I have changed my roommate's name. I give up, I'm clearly a true fan, and yet they call me a hater.