A Martial Saint in Chaotic Times: Starting with Grinding Proficiency

Outside the door, Granny Wang was dazed and confused after being thrown around. After getting up, she pointed at the tightly closed wooden door and started cursing loudly, her foul language attracting many people in the alley to peek in.

Zhou Yuan ignored her and turned to support his sister, whose body was still trembling slightly.

"Yuanzi..." Zhou Ting looked up at him. Just a moment ago, the murderous aura that her brother had unleashed made her feel extremely unfamiliar, yet inexplicably at ease.

"Sister, don't be afraid, I'm here." Zhou Yuan's voice wasn't loud, but it was unusually calm.

Wang Po continued cursing for a while, but seeing that there was still no movement inside the house, she had no choice but to leave dejectedly.

The alley returned to calm, but the atmosphere inside the Zhou family's old house became heavy again because of the man named Gao Qiang.

Wang Laizi was just a street thug; his death is no big deal.

But Gao Qiang is different. He is the leader of the Jinshi Gang, with dozens of desperate men under his command. He is the undisputed leader in these alleys, and his influence is far greater than that of Wang Laizi.

Zhou Ting sorted out her chaotic thoughts, quietly wiped away the tears from the corners of her eyes, and forced a smile: "Yuanzi, you must be starving after practicing martial arts all day, right? I'll go make you some food right away."

Zhou Yuan stopped her.

"Sister, don't worry, I'll find a way to handle this."

Looking at her younger brother's resolute profile, Zhou Ting felt a strange sense of trust growing deep within her heart, even though reason told her that a boy who had only been learning martial arts for a little over half a month could not possibly fight against a gang.

Perhaps, Motoko has really grown up.

Dinner was a delicious beef dish, but the siblings had little appetite.

The shadow of "Gao Qiang" weighed heavily on my heart.

After finishing his meal, Zhou Yuan didn't chat with his sister as usual, but went straight into his room.

He knew that Gao Qiang's revenge could come at any time.

He must become stronger as quickly as possible!

In the stillness of the night, Zhou Yuan moved about in the cramped room, practicing the Mountain-Shaking Fist over and over again.

Sweat quickly soaked through his clothes, and the soreness spread from his arms to his whole body, but he seemed oblivious, mechanically repeating the punching and retracting motion.

He brought up the panel and watched the numbers on it slowly jump around.

Each jump meant he was one step closer to self-preservation.

He finally fell into a deep sleep late at night when his body was exhausted to the limit.

He slept very restlessly that night.

The next day, before dawn, Zhou Yuan got up and hurried to the martial arts school.

The only way to improve one's martial arts progress is to increase the duration of training.

He stepped into the courtyard of the martial arts school, where the morning light shone on the open space.

He instinctively looked towards that familiar corner, only to find it empty.

Senior Brother Li Dazhuang... is he even later than me today?

A hint of doubt flashed through Zhou Yuan's mind, but he didn't think much of it and simply assumed the stance for the Six Harmonies Stance.

After a while, the wooden door to the changing room next door creaked open.

Li Dazhuang came out from inside.

Unlike usual, he had changed out of his long-worn martial arts school shirt into a gray casual outfit and was carrying a small bundle in his hand.

Zhou Yuan stopped practicing his stance.

Li Dazhuang saw Zhou Yuan, walked over, and forced a bitter smile.

"Junior Brother Zhou, I...I have to go."

Zhou Yuan remained silent; he knew, of course, what this meant.

"In this world, talent really does matter," Li Dazhuang sighed bitterly. "Effort sometimes really doesn't do any good."

His gaze passed over Zhou Yuan and landed on the other side of the courtyard.

There, the newly arrived Wang Tengfei had already begun practicing stance training. Although it was only his second day, his posture was steady and his breathing was long and even, making him appear even more proficient than many of the veteran disciples who had been practicing for a month.

The difference in talent is obvious.

"Senior Brother Li, what are your plans for the future?" Zhou Yuan asked.

"The Zhang family outside the city is hiring guards. I'll go try my luck." Li Dazhuang patted Zhou Yuan on the shoulder. "Junior brother, although your aptitude isn't good either, it's better than mine, and you have more perseverance. Don't follow my example. Keep going, and maybe you'll still have a chance."

Zhou Yuan nodded silently.

He knew that for disciples like Li Dazhuang who were expelled from the martial arts school, the best way out was to work as a guard for wealthy families or join a gang as a thug, thus losing all chance to pursue true martial arts.

Watching Li Dazhuang's desolate figure disappear into the martial arts hall, Zhou Yuan felt a mix of emotions.

He composed himself and straightened his back.

Talent is nothing.

He only believed in his own fists, and only believed in the hard-earned reward system!

[Exercise: Six Harmonies Stance Exercise (Beginner Level)]

[Progress: 100/300]

Martial Arts Skill: Mountain-Shaking Fist (First Level) (Not Yet Mastered)

[Progress: 105/300]

Not far away, inside the pavilion.

Several well-dressed disciples were chatting together; they were clearly core disciples from wealthy families.

"Another one's gone. Li Dazhuang is really stubborn. He knew there was no hope, but he still held on for three months."

The speaker was a young man dressed in a blue silk shirt, Han Ming, the fourth senior brother of Qingyang Martial Arts School.

Beside him, a woman with a beautiful face but a very aloof temperament picked up her teacup and took a small sip.

"The most useless thing in this world is the effort of the weak."

She was none other than Jiang Qian, the second senior sister of the martial arts school.

"Talent and background are everything. Without these two things, no matter how much you struggle, you're just mud in a pond, never making a ripple." She looked in the direction Li Dazhuang had left and sneered.

Han Ming immediately chimed in, "Second Senior Sister is right. I think that kid who's close to Li Dazhuang, what's his name, Zhou Yuan, is the same kind of person. I heard his aptitude is only average to below average, and he'll probably be dismissed in the end too."

A soft laugh rang out from inside the pavilion.

In the corner, Chen Shaoshang, who had been silent all along, paused slightly in the hand that was waving his folding fan.

He looked at the figure in the courtyard who had once again assumed a stance, slender yet exceptionally determined.

The image of that afternoon, with the boy wolfing down his food while attentively listening to his stories about martial arts, flashed through his mind again.

For some reason, he always felt that this junior brother named Zhou Yuan was somewhat different.

……

In a private room of a restaurant called "Drunken Spring Breeze" in the outer city.

The air was thick with the aroma of alcohol and the meat was incredibly fragrant.

A dozen or so fierce-looking men were clinking glasses and exchanging toasts, each with a flamboyant courtesan by their side.

Sitting in the main seat was a burly man.

He had a large blue birthmark on his face, which stretched from the corner of his eye to his chin, making him look ferocious and terrifying.

He was none other than Gao Qiang, the leader of the Jinshi Gang.

"Congratulations, Leader! Congratulations, Leader!"

"We've taken over three more alleys today! The prestige of our Jinshi Gang is growing louder and louder in this outer city!"

The surrounding gang members raised their glasses in flattery, showering him with praise.

Gao Qiang picked up his wine glass, drank it all in one gulp, and his face was full of smugness.

"What's so special about this?" He slammed his glass down on the table. "My brother, Gao Sheng, is a Bone Forging Realm expert. With him in charge, the power of our Golden Stone Gang can double again!"

Upon hearing the words "Bone Forging Realm," all the gang members' breathing quickened, and their gazes toward Gao Qiang became even more awe-inspiring.

A weasel-faced leader poured Gao Qiang a full glass of wine and said with a fawning smile, "Boss, there's something I don't understand. With your current status, what kind of woman can't you have? Why are you so interested in that lame little wench from the Zhou family?"

Gao Qiang picked up his wine glass, but his movement faltered.

His thoughts seemed to drift back to many years ago.

At that time, he was a servant in the Zhou family. Because of the birthmark on his face, everyone bullied him and called him a monster.

There was only one girl who would stand up for him when he was bullied, and who would secretly give him steamed buns.

That girl was Zhou Ting.

From that moment on, the name was etched in his heart.

"You know nothing!" Gao Qiang snapped out of his daze and kicked the leader. "I do what I want!"

The leader scrambled to his feet, not daring to utter a single complaint.

Another leader, his eyes darting around, leaned in and said, "Boss, those Zhou siblings are pretty tough. I heard that when Granny Wang came to propose marriage, that kid threw her out."

"Oh?"

"Moreover, it seems that the kid has also joined some martial arts school and wants to learn martial arts."

"Learn martial arts?" Gao Qiang sneered disdainfully.

His younger brother, Gao Sheng, was a disciple of the martial arts school, so he naturally knew how difficult the path of martial arts was.

What can a poor boy with mediocre talent use to train?

"That arrogant brat." A ruthless glint flashed in Gao Qiang's eyes. "Tomorrow, you take a few brothers and go meet that kid."

He paused, then added.

"Let him know that toads should stay in the mud and not always try to jump out."