I am a high-level martial arts master.

East of Guangming City, inside the Chuangyuan Martial Arts School.

The scorching afternoon sun slanted in, carrying the scent of sweat and rust.

The martial arts hall was filled with shouts and cheers as dozens of disciples dressed in matching brown outfits were sweating profusely.

Several strong disciples surrounded the heavy iron stake, their fists and palms flying, the dull impacts resounding like drums.

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Each strike produced a dull thud on the iron stake.

The disciples' bare arms were muscular and veiny, and sweat dripped down their bronze skin, leaving marks on the dusty ground.

Compared to the paid model of gangs recruiting members to manage their territory.

The martial arts school charges a fee for instruction.

In Guangming, only those who have reached the Acquired Realm are qualified to open a school and accept disciples.

Each disciple who joins the martial arts school must first pay a school fee of 30 taels before they can train there for a year.

The training process does not include food and lodging. If one achieves body tempering within a year, one can stay and continue to receive further training.

Therefore, in the entire Guangming region, most of the lower-class people chose to join gangs, sign indentures, and try to gain a better life.

Those in the middle to upper class with some spare money, but whose aptitude is average, choose to spend money to enter a martial arts school for training.

Just like the Chuangyuan Martial Arts School, disciples come and go like flowing water.

Since most people have average aptitude, even if they train hard for a year, it's considered lucky if two or three out of dozens of people can successfully temper their bodies.

Over the past ten years, only thirty or forty people in the entire martial arts school have broken through to the Body Tempering Realm.

Only ten people stayed in the academy for further study, three or four of whom had only broken through to the early stage of body tempering in the last three years.

While the disciples inside the temple were diligently cultivating, the sound waves were abruptly cut off by two loud bangs!

"Boom—"

The heavy, black lacquered door was violently pushed open from the outside in an extremely domineering manner.

The blinding sunlight rushed in like a flood bursting its banks, casting two long, imposing shadows on the footprint-covered bluestone pavement!

The noise suddenly stopped.

The disciples closest to the door were the first to stop what they were doing and turn to look in confusion.

Two young men stood against the light at the entrance of the martial arts school, their disdainful gazes sweeping over the inside.

The most striking feature was the ferocious, fanged dragon embroidered in gold thread on his chest.

"They're from the Azure Dragon Gang!"

"Look at that outfit... a core disciple?"

Someone cried out in surprise, as if a giant mountain had been placed on everyone's hearts.

The Azure Dragon Gang is one of the top three forces in Guangming, with only the government and the Poison Wolf Gang on par with it. These two are probably up to no good.

Deep inside the martial arts school, the school master Zhuang Chuang, who was instructing his personal disciples, had a slight change in expression and quickly stepped out.

Upon seeing the visitor, he suppressed his doubts and asked, "May I ask what brings your esteemed sect's disciple to our door?"

"Three days ago, your martial arts school's disciple, after drinking, made some outrageous remarks that tarnished the reputation of our sect," the leading disciple said coldly.

Although Zhuang Chuang's strength had reached the Acquired Realm, he was not afraid of the junior in front of him at all.

However, the Azure Dragon Gang is powerful, and if the younger members are beaten up, the older ones might come and cause trouble, which would be bad if elders at the Acquired Realm came to cause trouble.

Therefore, he still politely said, "Whether there's a misunderstanding or not, it's just the younger generation playing around..."

Ignoring Zhuang Chuang's explanation, the newcomer interrupted directly:

"No need for nonsense. I didn't come here to talk about that. I have some great news to bring you."

"Good news?"

"Of course! Young Master Ye Li has just broken through to the mid-stage of Body Tempering and is preparing to make friends through martial arts. He invites all the heroes in the mid-stage and late-stage of Body Tempering in Guangming to come and spar."

At the scene, everyone in the martial arts school crowd stared indifferently at the man who had spoken.

What kind of martial arts competition or sparring?

That sounds so nice, but isn't it just about finding a sparring partner?

The young man arrogantly surveyed the entire arena and loudly announced, "Any martial artist in the mid-to-late stages of Body Tempering who is present will receive 1 tael of silver per day, and 5 taels of silver per fight! Medical expenses will also be covered if injured!"

Hearing the young man's words, some people in the audience were immediately moved.

Even the core disciples of the Azure Dragon Gang only receive a subsidy of about 50 taels a month, and such an income is considered wealthy in the entire Guangming.

According to the young man's words, one could earn 1 tael of silver for each sign-in.

You get an extra 5 taels for each fight, enough to earn half a Body Tempering Pill.

For these poor guys at the martial arts school who toil away every day training their bodies naturally, this was practically a money-making opportunity.

Suddenly, the Body Tempering Realm martial artists in the martial arts hall, who had been watching with cold expressions, began to stir with excitement.

Looking coldly at the group of poor people on the scene, the young man said:

"The mid-stage Body Tempering slot is only 20, and the late-stage slot is only 5. First come, first served. If you want to come, go to Yunjin Street in the east of the city to register with our gang."

After saying this, the young man turned and left without lingering, as he had to go to other martial arts schools to inform them, leaving everyone in the martial arts schools looking at each other in bewilderment.

"Master, should we go join the fun?"

A disciple at the Body Tempering Realm looked at the sect leader, Zhuang Chuang, his expression showing eagerness to try.

Faced with his disciple's gaze, Zhuang Chuang pondered to himself that he, a martial artist who had acquired his skills later in life, was not exactly wealthy.

The tuition fees from dozens of disciples each year add up to several thousand taels, which is not even enough to cover the cost of his own training. Occasionally, he has to do side jobs such as escorting goods or assisting in boxing to earn some extra income to support the school.

If the master is so poor, the disciples are naturally no better off.

These disciples' family savings were barely enough to support their martial arts training.

Therefore, looking at his disciples, he said calmly, "The decision is yours. Just be careful in everything you do."

Watching his master's departing figure, a body-tempering disciple from a family that wasn't wealthy had a gleam in his eyes:

"Everyone, I'm a little tempted. Five taels for a fight is enough to buy half a Body Tempering Pill."

"Tempted my foot!" an older, late-stage Body Tempering cultivator coldly retorted.

"The Azure Dragon Gang is trying to humiliate us with money! Did you see that guy's attitude just now? They think they can treat us like actors, sparring partners, for a mere five taels of silver? Bah!"

These words left those around them feeling helpless. The person who spoke was a member of the family, unlike them who were short of money, and naturally cared more about face.

but……

People can't sacrifice money for the sake of saving face, can they?

Among the disciples, Wei Chi silently watched the argument unfold, having already made up his mind.

He was currently short of money to buy elixirs to help him, and since he had stumbled upon this matter, he was determined to get involved.

In less than half a day, thanks to the efforts of the core disciples, the entire Guangming martial arts school knew about Ye Li hiring sparring partners.

Money can move people's hearts. Faced with an invitation of 5 taels of silver a day, the sparring spots were immediately snapped up.

As the person behind all of this, Ye Li practiced martial arts step by step.

Since Zheng Tong said that he would go to challenge other martial arts schools when he reached the mid-stage of Body Tempering, and read through all the entries on Guangming Martial Arts to broaden his knowledge.

Ye Li felt that calling each company one by one was too troublesome, so he decided to just pay them to come and be his sparring partners.

Moreover, there is an advantage to doing this.

That means you can quickly increase your martial arts experience!

Normally, it takes Ye Li 15 minutes to gain 1 experience point after practicing the Nine Chapters Fist Manual once.

But the situation was different when Ye Li fought against Li Xi.

Despite the life-or-death struggle ending in just a few breaths, he still gained 1 point of experience in this martial art.

Obviously, experience points are more likely to be gained in a battle where the forces are evenly matched.

The subsequent battle at the training ground was a crushing defeat. By the time Ye Li fought Lu Xiuyuan and the other seven, they had already mastered all the martial arts techniques, which meant that Ye Li never had the chance to verify this fact.

Now is the perfect opportunity to spar and see if we can improve our "Nine Palaces Shifting Stars" movement technique faster.

After all, if he only cultivates, he will only gain less than 50 points of movement technique experience per day. By the time he improves this movement technique to perfection, he will probably be in the late stage of Body Tempering.

Since the martial arts training was funded through the gang's public account, Ye Li didn't feel any pain at all.

……

In the afternoon, the blazing sun shone unhindered on the wide, bluestone-paved Yunjin Street, sending up wisps of heat.

Under the temporary shelter erected on the sidelines, more than twenty martial artists at the Body Tempering Realm sat, invited guests who had come from various martial arts schools.

Meanwhile, on the weapon racks at the sidelines, swords, spears, and halberds gleamed with a cold, icy light, patiently awaiting the start of the match.

"Young Master has arrived—!!!"

A loud announcement broke the buzzing discussion in the room.

All eyes immediately turned to the entrance.

A young man dressed in a plain white training uniform, surrounded by two core disciples of the Azure Dragon Gang, stepped calmly into the arena.

The sunlight fell on him, as if coating him with a faint halo.

Nourished by the Azure Dragon Force, Ye Li's posture became as upright as a pine tree.

In addition, the practice of "Star Shift Nine Palaces Steps" gives his steps an indescribable sense of lightness and coordination.

He had a handsome face and clear eyes, like a god descended to earth.

Although the Qi and blood in the middle stage of body tempering are already internalized, those with keen perception can still feel the vigorous vitality and condensed power contained within the body.

"It's him!"

Among the martial artists, Wei Chi's pupils constricted as he recognized Ye Li.

A month ago, when I ran into him on the street, he was just an ordinary core disciple. I never expected that he would become Zheng Tong's personal disciple!

This encounter left him with mixed feelings.

Ye Li's gaze was calm as water as he slowly swept over the more than twenty people present.

His gaze didn't linger on any one person for long, as if he were merely counting them. After a few breaths, he finally spoke:

"Thank you all for coming from afar. You must be tired."

He nodded slightly, as if to say hello.

Then, under everyone's gaze, he raised his finger and pointed to the twenty martial artists at the mid-stage of Body Tempering, saying politely:

"I have no prior experience sparring with opponents of the same level, so time is precious. I'll play it safe and start by fighting 10 mid-stage Body Tempering opponents to warm up!"

These words were like a powder keg ignited, instantly igniting public outrage.

"This is outrageous! What do they take us for? Clay chickens and earthen dogs?!"

"Kid! Don't be so arrogant!"

A muscular man with piercing eyes stepped forward from the crowd.

He glared at Ye Li, his chest heaving violently, and shouted sharply:

"The so-called young leader of the Azure Dragon Gang is only at the mid-stage of Body Tempering. Let me test his abilities to see what he's really capable of!"

"No need to trouble others! Let me, Li Yicheng, deal with you first."

As soon as Li Yicheng finished speaking, his blood and energy surged forth.

The aura of a mid-stage Body Tempering cultivator surged forth, its sharp edge aimed directly at the figure in white in the arena!

The atmosphere in the arena instantly became tense!