#47 - Chapter 47 Factions

After the New Year, the disciples of the Iron Mountain Martial Arts School also returned one after another.

Those who should practice martial arts practiced, and those who should be sent out were sent out.

Cheng Feng was self-aware, knowing that his foundation lay in his stats panel, his talent, and his women.

But others didn't think so.

The gangs and wealthy families in the city colluded with the government, controlling their respective businesses.

The martial arts schools didn't have much goodwill towards the government, forming their own factions.

There were a total of six martial arts schools in the city.

Reflecting Moon Martial Arts School was the preferred choice for the young ladies of wealthy families.

Two schools were related to gangs: Black Tiger Martial Arts School and Red Snake Martial Arts School.

The remaining three schools were:

Hong Stone Martial Arts School taught boxing, Shadowless Martial Arts School taught leg techniques, and Iron Mountain Martial Arts School taught swordsmanship, each with its own specialization and industry.

The government, backed by the Great Zhou Dynasty, considered itself the orthodox authority, but it generally didn't interfere much.

The county magistrate changed like flowing water, but the clerks remained steadfast.

The internal affairs were not particularly stable either.

The wealthy families supported the clerks, and the clerks were the eyes and ears of the wealthy families.

And the gangs, to put it bluntly, were the lackeys of the wealthy families and the government.

They specialized in doing some shady and despicable businesses.

They were united by common interests.

The masters of the martial arts schools had all built their own businesses through their own abilities.

But they didn't belong to the government or the gangs.

So they had to band together and form their own faction.

The government and gangs were in charge of local affairs both overtly and covertly.

They were the so-called black and white forces.

Martial arts schools were indeed in the gray area.

They could connect with the government when necessary and also befriend the gangs.

The martial world wasn't just about fighting and killing; it was mostly about relationships and worldly wisdom.

After all, in terms of martial strength,

the martial arts schools were indeed stronger than the gangs,

but they couldn't compare to the orthodox status of the government.

The government relied on its background.

The gangs relied on relationships and numbers.

Martial arts schools only looked at individual strength.

They were relatively versatile.

To make a living in the Qingxi County market,

one had to pay attention to relationships and worldly wisdom.

Various martial arts schools could also teach disciples from various families,

improving their strength.

Martial arts schools also relied on the relationships of their disciples with various families to develop their own ways of making money.

Iron Mountain Martial Arts School had a good relationship with the Zhang family. Zhang Zhuo was a disciple of the Zhang family, who came to the martial arts school to learn martial arts because of his extraordinary talent.

At the age of nineteen, he had already reached the perfection of Skin Training.

With a little effort, he could start Blood Training.

But the fact was that Zhang Zhuo had been at the perfection of Skin Training for more than a year.

The disciples of large families basically didn't lack money or food.

For the basic Strength Training and Skin Training realms, as long as they had some talent, their families provided enough resources, and they could endure hardship, breaking through to Strength Training was normal.

Because the requirements for the Strength Training realm were not high.

As for breaking through to the Skin Training realm, they had to have some talent, at least the aptitude of an average person. Even then, perseverance and hard work were essential conditions, and the subsequent medicinal soup expenses had to be kept up.

Entering the Skin Training realm meant that their talent was indeed good.

But to break through to the Blood Training realm,

they either had to rely on old medicine to forcibly gather Qi and blood,

or they had to rely on their basic skills, which were already considered instinctive, to obtain that trace of Qi and blood perception in countless磨砺.

In the circulation of breathing, find that trace of blood Qi mixed in the Qi strength under the skin.

Skilled control of blood Qi to travel through oneself, then you can enter the Blood Training realm.

Zhang Zhuo was stuck at this step.

Without the resources of old medicine,

relying entirely on hard training, he still couldn't grasp that trace of blood Qi circulating under the skin.

If he couldn't perceive it, then his martial arts career might be over.

Cheng Feng's talent was really poor,

but he had a stats panel!

He mainly maintained his physical health,

making sure his kidneys were healthy and not depleted.

He really had the possibility of adding points to become a god.

Of course,

if there was no way or information to become a god,

staying in his own information cocoon,

it was still unknown how far he could go in his lifetime.

But at least Cheng Feng felt that he should first finish the road ahead of him.

Being too weak, in front of the Blood Training senior brothers and sisters,

saying anything was useless.

Not to mention Wang Tieshan, whose strength was unknown and powerful to Cheng Feng.

That's why he wanted to learn medical skills, but couldn't find anyone to inquire about, and couldn't find reliable people to collect information.

This made Cheng Feng discover this blind spot.

It also made Cheng Feng realize his future survival path.

Cheng Feng was confused before.

Even now, he was still confused.

But at least he had a general direction.

Cheng Feng had no ambition to become a king or dominate the world,

but Cheng Feng needed trusted people to help him do things.

This was bound to touch the interests of others.

And Cheng Feng only wanted to improve his strength first.

At least before all the women in his family were pregnant,

he could still improve his strength a bit, and by the way, get some silver.

Cheng Feng had already asked the master of the martial arts school.

Inner disciples could also work part-time.

Working as a bodyguard or watching a courtyard,

was all possible.

But all of this required strength as a backing.

Those who could find a guard were basically looking for someone to protect their courtyard because they had trouble.

Earning money by escorting goods was also a lot, but the large and small mountain villages on the road, the heroes of the green forest, and the petty thieves,

without strength? That was sending themselves to their deaths.

It was true that high strength could earn more,

but no one would cover for you!

You only had one life, so think carefully before choosing.

Cheng Feng was a little scared by what Qian Wang Tieshan said.

Looking at his Skin Training strength,

he did feel a little dangerous.

He still had to stay in this novice village for a while longer.

What Wang Tieshan said was not an exaggeration.

It was still easy to talk about when it was peaceful before.

In the past two years, the tide of rebellion in the east had begun to sweep across the north and south.

Even if the imperial court expedited things, winter was not a good time to counterattack.

Instead, the rebels could openly recuperate,

in preparation for the battle after the New Year.

They had already rebelled, and the longer the time given, the greater the possibility of successful rebellion.

If it really didn't work, they would cede land and become kings.

That would also make the Great Zhou Emperor uncomfortable.

The rebels would definitely not lose out.

Wang Tieshan still had some connections.

The friends who had survived in the martial world in those years were all friends of life and death.

There was also communication between the north and the south.

Snakes have snake paths, and rats have rat paths.

Small people also have their own ways.

Those who didn't have them basically lost their lives.

There was no need to survive.

Wang Tieshan was almost fifty years old.

He had experienced most of his life's journey.

He had walked through high mountains and also fallen into valleys.

He had seen a lot and had become open-minded.

In his opinion, Cheng Feng was eager to make a move with a little strength.

Being accepted as an inner disciple could also be said out loud to make himself proud.

As for silver, as an inner disciple, befriending the children of large families would soon make him not lack silver.

Wang Tieshan didn't expect that Cheng Feng had no time to pay attention to those social interactions.

After practicing his skills at the martial arts school, he hurried back, completely ignoring those outer disciples' social gatherings, eating, drinking, and so on.

No one could disturb him from obtaining Blessing Points.

He might as well come one more time with that time.

No one told Cheng Feng that socializing could also earn silver.

Even if Cheng Feng knew,

he would disdain it.

If he got silver, he would lose his freedom.

No one would be good to you for no reason.

The scams in his previous life, and the anti-corruption advocacy,

which one was not luring everyone?

It's like a bait dropped in front of a fish.

It's better not to eat it, and you can still swim freely in the river.

If you eat it,

you don't know when the fisherman will pick up the fishing rod.

Cheng Feng, who was proficient in fishing skills, knew this very well.

Cheng Feng now only believed in himself.

In this era of natural and man-made disasters, when no one was safe,

entrusting one's own safety to others was the safest thing to do.

Cheng Feng asked himself if he had Wang Tieshan's strength,

he could get along anywhere.

Not giving face?

If a knife is held to your head,

will you give face?

Please give yourself a chance.

Redeem yourself.

Don't make it difficult for me, okay?

Cheng Feng felt so excited when he thought about that scene.

He had to prepare his lines first.

He just had to see when he could use them!