A Martial Saint Among Men: From Joining a Martial Arts School

14. Difficult, difficult, difficult!

In the following days, everyone else also began to exert themselves, arriving at the martial arts school before dawn to practice their stances, and leaving later than Chu Xuan.

Clearly, Xu Yuan's breakthrough had a significant impact on them.

Chu Xuan, however, continued at his own pace.

However, he also increased his meat intake. Every night after his cultivation session, he would bring meat home for an extra meal!

That day, Chu Xuan came to the martial arts school from the dye shop. Just as he was about to continue practicing his stance, he suddenly noticed that the people present seemed to be acting strangely, as if they had been hit hard.

Chu Xuan looked around and found that the number of people was also incorrect.

"And what about a promotion?"

Chu Xuan looked at Zhao Yuzhu and asked in surprise.

Gao Sheng is also one of the eight people sponsored by the Bai family. He used to be in a small circle with Xu Yuan, and his innate talent was at the lower level. Recently, Gao Sheng has been very high-profile, and he and Zhao Yuzhu are among the most promising candidates to break through to the level of martial artist after Xu Yuan.

"They've left!"

Zhao Yuzhu said dejectedly, his face showing no schadenfreude, but rather a sense of shared sorrow.

"This morning, Gao Sheng failed in his attempt to break through, damaging his foundation and making further progress impossible. He had already packed his things and left before you arrived."

Chu Xuan suddenly understood.

No wonder they all look like wilted eggplants.

Gao Sheng's physical attributes ranked third among them, yet he still failed!

The difficulty of passing the test is therefore quite evident.

Zhao Yuzhu retorted indignantly, "That Xu Yuan is a real scoundrel! Gao Sheng used to be his closest friend. But when Gao Sheng left, Xu Yuan didn't even bother to come and see him!"

Chu Xuan remained silent.

Martial artists and ordinary people are two different circles.

Once he successfully passes through the gates, it means he has completely escaped the lower class. Xu Yuan's actions are certainly realistic, but we cannot criticize him for anything.

Because Gao Sheng failed to pass the test, he is destined to no longer be a person from the same world as Xu Yuan in the future.

Gao Sheng's departure was a significant blow to everyone's enthusiasm and also made them realize the perilous nature of the challenge ahead.

If you don't pass the test, you won't become a martial artist, but you'll still be considered strong among ordinary people. After leaving the martial arts school, you can work as a bodyguard for a wealthy family or as a bodyguard.

However, if someone like Gao Sheng fails to pass the test, their foundation is damaged, leaving lasting health problems, and their physical condition is even worse than that of an average person. They will have to take medication continuously in the future.

Not to mention those from impoverished backgrounds, even wealthy families in the inner city often fall back into poverty due to illness.

Over the next two months, someone finally couldn't withstand the pressure, packed their things overnight, and never showed up again.

Those who left this time were two people with above-grade and below-grade aptitude. They were two of the three people in the small circle of people with average aptitude.

The two men didn't even try to knock on the door before packing up and leaving.

Because the cost of failing to break through the barrier is simply too high for them to bear.

At this point, only four of the eight people who received funding from the Bai family remain. Apart from Xu Yuan entering the inner courtyard, the other three are all eliminated!

Time slowly came to the last month.

That day, Chu Xuan came to the martial arts school from the dye house and saw Zhao Yuzhu sitting on a stone stool, his eyes were lifeless and his face was deathly pale.

Chu Xuan was startled and quickly stepped forward to ask, "Brother Zhu, what's wrong?"

Zhao Yuzhu turned his head stiffly, and when he saw Chu Xuan, a sliver of focus returned to his empty eyes. His trembling, chapped lips betrayed his unshed tears as he stammered, "Ah... Ah Xuan, I... I failed to break through!"

"What?"

Chu Xuan was shocked. He never expected that even Zhao Yuzhu, whose talent was second only to Xu Yuan, would fail.

"How are you? Are you hurt?" Chu Xuan asked.

"No...no..."

Zhao Yuzhu shook his head.

He was a bit luckier than Gao Sheng. It was also thanks to the fact that he usually helped his father with blacksmithing at home, so he had a better foundation than Gao Sheng.

"It's good that you're not injured!" Chu Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, patted Zhao Yuzhu on the shoulder, and said, "Brother Zhu, it's okay to fail. There's still time. Take it slow, there's still a chance..."

Zhao Yuzhu shook his head blankly: "A-Xuan, I've decided to give up! It's already incredibly lucky for me that I didn't get injured after failing this challenge!"

"If I try again, I'm afraid I won't be so lucky! I've decided that I'll learn blacksmithing from my father tomorrow. Being a blacksmith isn't so bad, actually..."

Zhao Yuzhu patted his bottom and stood up, grinning, "Ah Xuan, I can't practice martial arts with you anymore. Don't let me affect you! I've accepted my fate and become a deserter!"

"You are the hardest working among us! If even you can't become a martial artist, then this damned God is truly blind!"

"I'm waiting for the day you become a martial arts graduate, so I can brag to everyone. I, Zhao Yuzhu, was once on friendly terms with a martial arts graduate..."

Chu Xuan's heart sank to the bottom.

His throat bobbed several times, but in the end he swallowed his words of advice.

He understood that Zhao Yuzhu's anger had dissipated!

Even if they try again, they are unlikely to succeed. In fact, like Gao Sheng, they might damage their foundation instead.

"Alright, I have to go! I stayed until now just to say goodbye, so you won't be affected by me. If you ever need anything in the future, you can find me at Zhao's Blacksmith Shop in the west of the city..."

Zhao Yuzhu picked up his things and walked out without turning his head.

"Brother Zhu..."

Chu Xuan called out.

Zhao Yuzhu waved his hand without turning his head, his once robust body now showing signs of hunching, and his figure gradually disappeared from Chu Xuan's sight...

On this day, Chu Xuan cultivated tirelessly like a madman until he exhausted his last bit of strength and his body crashed heavily to the ground.

He lay there on the ground, gazing at the starry night sky, yet felt an unprecedented sense of gloom!

The next day, Zhao Yuzhu indeed did not appear again.

Along with him, a young man named Sun Ming also disappeared. He was the last of the three in the small circle with average talent.

After seeing that Zhao Yuzhu's attempt to gain entry failed, he quietly packed his things last night and never came back.

As always, Lu's Martial Arts School sees new people joining every month, and naturally, there are also those who fail to pass the entrance exam, or those like Sun Ming who, knowing they have no hope of passing, choose to leave secretly.

The departure of the two was nothing to the Ruo Lu Clan Martial Arts School.

For Lu Tong, the master of the academy, only those who break through the Ming Jin level and enter the inner courtyard are his disciples.

These people from the outer courtyard are just consumables, merely tools for him to make money.

Of the eight people sponsored by the Bai family, only Xu Yuan entered the inner courtyard, leaving only Chu Xuan and Zhang Tieniu. These two, both considered poor students with only the lowest aptitude, were the last to be retained.

This result was truly unexpected.

Since Zhao Yuzhu left, Chu Xuan has become increasingly silent and hardworking, squeezing out almost all his rest and meal times to the extreme.

"Brother Xuan!"

That day, Chu Xuan was practicing his stance training. A chubby little boy ran over, holding a steaming hot flatbread in his hand. "This is a donkey meat flatbread my mom makes, it smells amazing. Do you want to try some?"

The chubby boy's name is Ren Yan, and he's a recent disciple of the martial arts school. He lives in the inner city, and his father seems to run a small business. Otherwise, he wouldn't have gotten so fat and still be able to get into the martial arts school to learn martial arts.

Ren Yan had been struggling to get the hang of Zhan Zhuang (standing meditation), so he mustered up his courage and asked Chu Xuan, who was resting at the time, for help. To his surprise, Chu Xuan didn't tell him to get lost like the other senior disciples did, but instead answered his questions seriously.

Over time, they became familiar with each other.

Ren Yan would often ask Chu Xuan for advice and would also bring some meat from home to share with Chu Xuan.

Fortunately, the kid was also perceptive and didn't disturb Chu Xuan while he was practicing.

Ren Yan, munching on a donkey meat sandwich, said to himself, "Brother Xuan, my dad said that the Bajiquan we practice is inherently more difficult to master than other martial arts. Many people with better aptitude than you are stuck at this stage, and it's normal for them to never break through it in their entire lives."

"Don't be impatient and force your way in!"