Surviving in the chaos of war begins in the wilderness.

Chapter 34 Wind and Thunder Martial Arts School

For less than half a tael of silver, Zhou Ye gained several more brothers from the woodcutter's gang.

During casual conversation at the dinner table, Zhou Ye had a sudden inspiration. The reason he had made up earlier seemed to work quite well.

They found a private charcoal kiln in the mountains, so they stopped selling firewood and started selling charcoal instead.

With this reason, it would be more reasonable to eat meat from time to time when I have a little more money.

But selling 800 or 1000 catties of charcoal a month would only earn three or four taels of silver at most, which wouldn't make others envious.

Of course, the most likely scenario is that nobody cares about a nobody like Zhou Ye. But that's exactly what they want; a certain cunning king would love to become invisible.

After seeing off the drunken Big Dog and his gang, Zhou Ye headed towards the outer city. After walking for a good half hour, he arrived at the entrance of a martial arts school.

The martial arts school was called Fenglei Martial Arts School. After careful comparison over such a long period of time, Zhou Ye finally decided to learn martial arts here.

Speaking of this Fenglei Martial Arts School, the name sounds quite imposing, but actually... the owner isn't much of a figure, the martial arts skills taught aren't much better, and even its reputation among the common people isn't good. It's considered one of the worst martial arts schools in the county. Its only advantages are that it's easy to learn and very cheap.

In truth, Zhou Ye was also quite helpless. Most of the martial arts schools in the county town were private. They only taught superficial techniques to outsiders; the real core skills and techniques were only taught to the scions of their own aristocratic families. Unless it was an exceptionally talented child, they would sometimes start training them from a young age.

That's absolutely right. Most martial arts schools are controlled by powerful and influential families, which has subtly created a monopoly on martial arts.

Only this Fenglei Martial Arts School will teach anyone. Regardless of background or age, as long as you pay, you're welcome!

Furthermore, the tuition fee at Fenglei Martial Arts School is relatively low, only 3 taels of silver per month. In contrast, the tuition fees at other martial arts schools are generally between 5 and 10 taels.

But no matter what, learning martial arts is the only chance for ordinary people to defy fate. Especially for those at the bottom of society, they have no choice but to fight with all their might.

Therefore, when Zhou Ye entered the martial arts school, he saw that there were 5 or 60 people practicing martial arts in the spacious training ground.

A young man with a square face saw Zhou Ye and walked over: "Young man, is there something you need?"

Zhou Ye quickly bowed and said, "Senior brother, I would like to become your disciple and learn martial arts."

"Learning martial arts isn't easy." The young man sized her up for a few moments. "The tuition is three taels per month, paid every six months. The first month's tuition is reduced by one month, so that's fifteen taels?"

"I know. I've already brought the money."

"That's good. Extend your hands and don't move them. Let's see if you're suited for martial arts."

The young man grabbed Zhou Ye's wrists and took his pulse. He then felt two warm currents enter his body, pleasantly so. The sensation continued until it completed a full cycle.

However, the young man's expression turned serious. He glanced around hesitantly, then walked around behind Zhou Ye and began to move down his spine...

At this moment, the young man's brows were furrowed, as if he were struggling internally. After hesitating for a long time, he said vaguely to Zhou Ye, "Young brother, you... actually have other ways out, you don't have to waste this money. You know, many things are predetermined by fate, and learning martial arts requires talent."

Zhou Ye understood what the young man meant. But he smiled bitterly to himself; it was definitely a matter of innate talent—his aptitude for martial arts was truly terrible. However, this young man was acting out of kindness; did he want to persuade him to give up?

There was no way to persuade him to quit; Zhou Ye had already made up his mind: "Please, senior brother, give me a chance. I just want to learn martial arts!"

"you……!"

The young man was at a loss for words. After thinking for a moment, he whispered a reminder: "Young brother, the tuition fee is non-refundable once paid. However, if you don't experience any Qi sensation within a month, you can get half back. If you can't enter the Qi realm after three months, you can get 20% back. Please remember that!"

Zhou Ye was both amused and slightly touched: "What is your surname, Senior Brother?"

"I am the third senior brother here. My name is Han Guang."

"Senior Brother Han, thank you! But I must learn martial arts."

Seeing that Zhou Ye continued to insist, Han Guang looked at him for a while with mixed feelings and said, "Fine. Come with me and pay your respects to our master! Remember, our master's name is Du Keyuan. You can also respectfully call him Master Du."

Following Han Guang, Zhou Ye arrived at the back of the martial arts school, where he was surprised to find a small training ground. There were more than 20 people practicing martial arts there as well.

Upon entering the main room, one finds a robust but thin old man sitting inside, with only his eyes gleaming with a sharp light.

"Master, a new disciple wishes to join us," Han Guang greeted. Zhou Ye followed suit and bowed as well.

The old man lazily sipped his tea, looking Zhou Ye up and down, seemingly scanning him from head to toe with his eyes: "What's your name? Where do you live? What do your parents do?"

"Master, my name is Zhou Ye, and I live outside the city. My parents died when I was young, and I am just a mountain dweller."

"Hmm. How old are you?"

"She's almost 16."

"You started learning martial arts a little late... but not too late, right? You know the rules, right?"

"I know. Senior Brother Han already gave the instructions."

"Then go pay the money. Go to the room on the right and find Du Juan," Du Keyan said decisively. "Also, come tomorrow morning, and I'll formally teach you martial arts. I'll personally demonstrate for you."

"Thank you, Master."

"Okay, go down now!"

After Zhou Ye left, Han Guang couldn't wait to whisper, "Master, didn't you see that Junior Brother Zhou's aptitude? His aptitude is extremely poor; he can barely even muster any internal energy?"

Du Keyuan waved his hand dismissively: "You're being overly charitable again? Trying to turn away business from outside? I still need to earn money for my retirement and prepare a dowry for Dujuan."

"But...but it's impossible to train like that, isn't that a lie?"

"How could I lie? That kid is well-nourished, at least better than those poor wretches. He's a mountain dweller, maybe he's learned a few basic skills? Even if he can't achieve internal strength, he can still learn a few martial arts techniques at our martial arts school, making him definitely stronger than the average person. Besides, what if he does achieve internal strength? Maybe he can even develop Ming Jin?"

Han Guang was amused: "Absolutely impossible. I've never seen such terrible physical constitution before."

"That's a congenital deficiency that's hard to make up for later. But let's not talk about that. If any new apprentices come to learn martial arts in the future, just bring them here."

"Yes, Master." Han Guang nodded listlessly.

"..."

At that moment, Zhou Ye was unaware that the master and disciple were talking about him behind his back, and they were not optimistic about his future in martial arts.

Upon entering the room, Zhou Ye was taken aback to see a desk. Behind the desk, a girl of about thirteen or fourteen was already waiting, excitedly shaking her head.

"Hey senior, I'm Du Juan. Come on, pay up!"