A thousand enlightenments in one night, starting from being a menial apprentice.

Chapter 9 The cruel reality

Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng, Li Chong, and Duan Rong who was standing next to Li Chong, the four of them stood in the yard as if they had taken root there. They stood there for a full hour. All four of them were sweating profusely, with heat rising from their heads.

The four errand disciples standing behind them only stood for half an incense stick of time before they lost their energy and could no longer catch their breath, so they had to disperse.

When it was time for dinner, Duan Rong's stomach began to growl.

Duan Rongcai pressed his hands into the air in front of his chest, a breath of white air came out of him, and he walked out of the yard.

Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng and Li Chong also dispersed their skills.

Kong Bin looked at Duan Rong's back, and saw that his shirt, soaked with sweat, was sticking to his back. Kong Bin shrank his pupils expressionlessly.

"This kid is a little weird." Zhang Zheng said, standing beside Kong Bin.

"Have you noticed him before?" Kong Bin turned his head and glanced at Zhang Zheng.

Zhang Zheng shook his head and said, "He is a quiet guy with no outstanding talent in martial arts."

Kong Bin fell silent after hearing this. Duan Rong did not have much presence before, but now...

Kong Bin was deep in thought when Li Chong came over and said, "It's just that the move he performed today was a little better, it's just a blind cat catching a dead mouse. When he was standing still, Master Zhao Mu didn't even adjust his posture. Only when the posture is well-standing can it be powerful. Without power, no matter how good the routine is, it will be just a show."

After hearing what Li Chong said, Zhang Zheng nodded secretly. He also felt that this was true.

But Kong Bin still had no expression on his face. He saw the hot air coming out of Duan Rong's head and his shirt soaked with sweat.

The more standard your standing posture is, the more energy you will consume, and the more energy you consume, the better you can build up your strength.

But, by the same logic, the greater the consumption, the more standard the standing posture. Working backwards from this perspective, there is no problem at all in Duan Rong's standing of the Hunyuan Posture.

"I need to pay attention to this kid." Kong Bin said to himself silently.

Duan Rong left the courtyard where the firewood was stored and went to the canteen to get his dinner. Then he left the escort agency and ate two donkey meat hot pots and drank a large bowl of mutton soup on the street.

Duan Rong ate until his belly was full. He wiped the red oil from the corner of his mouth and returned to the escort agency.

As soon as Duan Rong arrived at the escort agency, he found an empty corner and started standing still again.

After digesting the experience of the entry-level Five Tigers and Sheep Knife, routines were no problem for him at all.

But standing still to build up strength has to be done step by step, and seeing that the assessment day is approaching, he cannot be careless.

After some trial and error, Duan Rong basically understood the limits of his body.

He had just been standing there for more than an hour, plus an hour in the morning, so it had been two hours already.

But he was still able to stand for about two more hours by switching the center of gravity of his left and right legs.

In this way, you can basically exhaust yourself completely. In layman's terms, you have practiced thoroughly.

Only by practicing thoroughly can you gain strength.

However, it is actually very difficult for a novice to grasp the balance between training yourself thoroughly and not getting hurt.

If Duan Rong didn't have the experience of the entry-level Five Tigers and Sheep Knife in his mind, he would not be able to grasp this measure at all.

Duan Rong practiced until he was sweating all over, then he dispersed and walked towards the dormitory.

He felt exhausted and had difficulty walking, but with every step he took, there seemed to be a heat current rising from the soles of his feet, flowing around his body, and then flowing into his dantian. Although Duan Rong still hadn't figured out the secret of internal energy these days, he knew that this heat current was just the strength rising from the muscles, not the internal energy cultivated by the internal energy method.

Duan Rong walked back to the courtyard of the menial disciples' dormitory, washed himself by the well, then crawled under the blanket on the large bunk bed and fell into a deep sleep.

The next day, at 6:30 p.m.

After working for a day, Duan Rong once again came to the courtyard where he practiced martial arts, smelling of horse manure.

As soon as Duan Rong stepped into the corner door, he was slightly startled.

In the yard, only Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng and Li Chong were left. The four errand disciples who had stood in the second row yesterday did not come back.

In fact, the four menial disciples knew in their hearts that they had no chance of being selected as apprentices, but the opportunity to practice martial arts was rare, so they wanted to learn as much as possible.

And Zhao Mu said yesterday that the Leopard Diving into the Forest move was the last move taught before the test.

Since I have learned all the tricks that can be learned, there is no point in learning more. Zhao Mu will not guide me like he did those three young talents. I might as well take a rest instead of this.

Duan Rong seemed to know what those errand disciples were thinking. He sighed and stood beside Li Chong.

"You stink, don't you know that? Can't you stand further away?" Li Chong was so angry when he saw Duan Rong standing next to him again that his face flushed.

Duan Rong looked at his nose with his eyes and at his heart with his nose, as if he didn't hear anything and continued to stand there.

Li Chong was about to have an attack when Kong Bin suddenly coughed. Li Chong gritted his teeth and turned around, and saw Zhao Mu's large figure already appeared at the gate of the courtyard.

Zhao Mu walked in and glanced at the four people. He seemed to think that it was normal for only four people to be present during the training time of the menial disciples. He said calmly: "The six moves have been handed over to you. Although these six moves are only a small part of the Five Tigers and Sheep Sabre, it is actually a small system. There are defensive moves, offensive and defensive moves, and killer moves."

Zhao Mu paused for a moment, took out the scabbarded oxtail knife in his arms, looked at Li Chong, and said, "Come here and take care of my knife."

"Me?" Li Chong was stunned.

"What are you still standing there for? Wipe it carefully with the linen cloth soaked in castor oil." Zhao Mu was a little impatient.

Li Chong looked at the gaze Zhao Mu was giving him with an extremely ugly expression. He walked over in a daze and took the knife from Zhao Mu's hand.

Zhao Mu asked Li Chong to maintain the knife. It seemed to be just a small instruction, but it revealed a clear message.

That is, in Zhao Mu's opinion, among the four of them, Li Chong was the worst trained and had the least hope of being selected as an apprentice.

This was undoubtedly a huge blow to Li Chong's confidence.

Li Chong certainly understood that he was not as good as Kong Bin, but he felt that he had a slight advantage over Zhang Zheng. As for Duan Rong, he did not even take him seriously.

And this is not the point, because if he is really the worst among the four, then he would never be chosen as an apprentice.

This was because, out of a group, only one or two people could be selected as apprentices at most. Not even three, let alone four.

If I don't get chosen as an apprentice, I'll just be a handyman for the rest of my life...

"No, Master Zhao must have seen it wrong! How could Duan Rong be better than me?"

Li Chong bit his lip. He really couldn't accept the cruel reality of being a menial servant for the rest of his life. There was a mad look in his eyes, so much so that his lips bled without him realizing it. He also didn't hear a word Zhao Mu said.

(End of this chapter)