Chapter 13 Military Soldier, Array Soldier

"This basic skill book, take a good look at it when you get back, and it's best if you can memorize it beforehand, it will help with the assessment," Xu Bin emphasized, then, ready to leave, he rested his hand on the knife at his waist.

Old Man Xu chuckled, "Bin, why not teach little Shi a thing or two in advance, so he's better prepared?"

Xu Bin's brow furrowed slightly, glanced at Chen Sansi, and said coldly, "I still have matters to attend to."

"You boy, we are all from the same village, what's wrong with helping out?"

Old Man Xu pointed at his son, ready to scold him.

"Uncle Xu, Brother Bin surely has military duties to tend to, there's no need to trouble him,"

Chen Sansi knew well.

He and Xu Bin weren't close at all, getting a few tips was already quite generous, how could he dare ask for more?

"Humph!"

On the donkey cart back to Po Yang County, Old Man Xu said grumpily, "Little Shi, don't be like my foolish son, thinking himself a big shot just because he's a small flag, always looking down on people!

"If he won't talk, I will!

"The first three realms of Martial Arts are Blood Refining, Bone Training, and Refining Internal.

"Minor success in Blood Refining qualifies one as small flag, great success as flag leader, Bone Training qualifies one for Hundreds Commander, and Refining Internal for Households Commander.

"Of course, these are just the rough correspondences of realms to military ranks, the actual situation may be more complicated."

As the rickety donkey cart traveled, Chen Sansi asked earnestly, "What did Brother Bin mean by military soldier and array soldier earlier?"

Old Man Xu explained patiently,

"Be it sects or Martial Arts Halls, there are qualifications required for disciples, and the army is no exception.

"Generally, there is an assessment after you join the military.

"If you pass the assessment, you can become a 'military soldier,' if not, you will only be an 'array soldier.'

"A military soldier can further practice Martial Arts, receive resources, and retains the qualification for military promotion.

"An array soldier, due to limited talent, cannot cultivate Martial Arts, they train collectively in battle formations, and lack the qualifications for promotion.

"Archers, cavalry, they are all types of array soldiers, but with slightly better treatment."

"Heh, I myself have poor root bone, I'm just an array soldier!"

Chen Sansi nodded thoughtfully, understanding the implication.

The status of a military soldier was akin to that of a university graduate from a military academy in his past life, with potential for upward mobility, whereas a big head soldier, could only ever be a big soldier.

"I've told you everything I know,"

Old Man Xu said somewhat awkwardly, "As for the Cultivation Techniques, I never quite grasped them in my youth, better not mislead the younger generation; you should study it carefully when you get back."

Outside Po Yang County town, the two parted ways.

Chen Sansi quietly contemplated.

I definitely must become a military soldier, otherwise wouldn't my enlistment be in vain?

And I wonder about my talent for Martial Arts!

Back home, the meal had already been prepared.

With the household's improved circumstances, they basically had white rice, salted duck eggs, and often meat with every meal.

Gu Xinlan no longer went out to work as a female worker, now she was a full-time housewife at home.

At the dinner table, she brought up Qin Xiong with surprise, "Brother Shi, did you know that Mister Qin has disappeared?

"His brother has been frantically searching for him lately, nearly out of his mind.

"Zhao San, who used to have conflicts with him, had an arm chopped off in the street, they say the blood was everywhere, it was terrifying."

Zhao San was also a notorious thug, but he didn't operate in their area.

"Luckily, people in the village know that we've reconciled with the Qin Family, otherwise they'd definitely come knocking."

An arm chopped off in public?

Martial Arts Academy Disciples, truly arrogant.

Luckily, Chen Sansi now had the identity of a military household, even if Qin Xiong's brother suspected him, he wouldn't dare to act violently in public, at most he would strike covertly.

However, he also needed to quickly enhance his own strengths.

After dinner, Chen Sansi couldn't wait to arrive at the empty space behind the house, and started reviewing "Basic Spear Technique of Array Soldier" under the moonlight.

Though called a spear technique, the content inside was actually about Pile Work, without any relation to weapons.

Each page of the book depicted lifelike images, representing a Pile Work posture, with several lines of small text below that detailed precautions and cultivation experiences.

His photographic memory finally came in handy, as, spending only around fifteen minutes, he firmly remembered thirty-six Pile Work postures and began to practice.

Chen Sansi followed the drawings in the booklet, naturally pointing his toes forward, chest recessed and back pulled up, shoulders sunk and elbows drooping freely, top of his head pressing up as if supporting something, ensuring he did not let it fall, maintaining the standard of the posture.

The movements seemed simple, but when he actually began practicing, he realized they were not as they appeared on the surface.

Following the movements depicted, just after a few breaths, Chen Sansi felt his body changing.

Starting from the soles of his feet, to his calves, and then to his torso and arms, his whole body began to heat up, as if the Pile Work was some kind of activator, opening up some mechanism in the human body.

In this state, Chen Sansi's physical and mental energy rapidly depleted, and he was drenched in sweat within just half an hour.

Having mastered archery and significantly enhanced his physical condition, he was definitely among the best of those who had never practiced Martial Arts. Even so, he began to feel exhausted after training in the fifth Pile Work.

He clenched his teeth and persisted until he had mastered exactly ten Pile Works, then finally couldn't hold on any longer and sat down on the ground, his face turning pale.

"Thanks to the improvement in my physique from mastering archery, otherwise I definitely couldn't have lasted till the tenth Pile Work!"

"Just don't know if compared to others, is my speed considered fast or slow?"

After finishing the training, Chen Sansi's first feeling was hunger, the kind that made him dizzy.

"Brother Shi, I've made some food, would you like to eat something?"

A gentle female voice reached his ears.

Chen Sansi then realized Gu Xinlan had not rested and had been waiting for him all this time, and even prepared supper.

Without a second word, he rushed into the house and devoured the food wolfishly, swallowing five rolls of white bread and a bowl of rice mixed with pork fat, yet he still felt somewhat unsatisfied.

Indeed, practicing Martial Arts consumes a lot of energy!

After eating, Chen Sansi watching Sister Lan tidying up the dishes, didn't even feel the slightest romantic inclination anymore, just pure exhaustion!

Felt like eating meat was necessary.

Even though his family's conditions had improved, they weren't lavish enough to eat meat at every meal.

Looks like I need to be more generous to myself, can't just focus on saving silver.

Exhausted, Chen Sansi lay in bed while Sister Lan massaged and relaxed his body, and soon he fell into a deep sleep.

The next morning, they hadn't even gotten out of bed when they heard Qin Feng had come to the village early in the morning to find his brother, clearly in worse temperament than before, obviously quite anxious.

Chen Sansi paid no heed and went to report at the military camp after breakfast.

...

"Where is my elder brother?!"

Qin Feng gathered all the local bullies who had previously worked under his brother's command and questioned them one by one.

"Brother, we really don't know!"

A sharp-faced bully said, "We last saw our boss seven nights ago.

"After dinner, he said he was going to the county town to have some fun and didn't take us with him, and then we never saw him again…"

Another bully cautiously mentioned, "Brother, that night was exactly when the County Magistrate was assassinated, do you think it could be the barbarians…"

"Impossible!"

Qin Feng stated with certainty: "Those barbarians on this trip, would definitely not kill civilians indiscriminately!"

He seemed to realize he misspoke, paused, then corrected himself, "I mean, murdering people would only expose more traces!"

"Brother."

The bullies looked helpless: "We even asked Zhao San, but beyond him, we really can't think of anyone else daring enough to harm our boss."

Qin Xiong had many enemies.

But mostly they were vulnerable individuals like widows and orphans, who would dare to provoke him?

"I do know one person!"

The skinny bully spoke up: "That scholar from the Chen Family had some disputes with the boss before."

"The Chen Family?"

"Yes, the guy from Yanbian Village who is the best at hunting!"