Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng, Li Chong, and Duan Rong, who was standing next to Li Chong, seemed to have their feet rooted to the ground. The four stood in the courtyard like wooden posts for a full hour, all drenched in sweat with steam rising from their heads.
Meanwhile, the four servant disciples standing behind them dispersed their energy after only half a stick of incense and couldn't muster the strength, so they each left.
When it was time for dinner, Duan Rong's stomach began to rumble.
Duan Rong pressed both hands down in the air in front of his chest, exhaled a breath of white air, and walked out of the courtyard.
Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng, and Li Chong each dispersed their skill.
Kong Bin looked at Duan Rong's back, saw his sweat-soaked shirt cling tightly to his back, and narrowed his eyes expressionlessly.
"That kid is somewhat strange," Zhang Zheng stood beside Kong Bin and said.
"Did you notice him before?" Kong Bin turned his head to glance at Zhang Zheng.
Zhang Zheng shook his head and said, "A guy who doesn't like to talk, not particularly talented in martial arts practice either."
Kong Bin fell silent upon hearing this. Duan Rong indeed didn't have much presence before, but now...
While Kong Bin was deep in thought, Li Chong came over and said, "It's just that today he performed that move a bit better, just like a blind cat bumping into a dead rat. Didn't you see that during the stance exercise, Escort Master Zhao Mu didn't adjust his posture at all. Only with a correct stance can you generate energy; without energy, no matter how good the move is, it's just for show."
Upon hearing Li Chong say this, Zhang Zheng also nodded inwardly, as he felt it made sense.
Yet Kong Bin remained expressionless; he had seen the steam rising from Duan Rong's head and his sweat-drenched shirt.
The more standard the stance posture, the greater the consumption; the greater the consumption, the better you can nurture energy.
But by the same token, the greater the consumption also indicates how standard the stance posture is, from this angle, Duan Rong's round standing posture had no issues.
"This kid needs to be watched," Kong Bin silently muttered to himself.
Duan Rong left the courtyard where firewood was stacked, first going to the cafeteria to get his dinner, then exiting the Escort Agency to eat two donkey meat sandwiches and drink a big bowl of sheep organs soup by the street.
Duan Rong ate until his belly was round and rubbed the red oil from the corner of his mouth, returning to the Escort Agency.
Upon arriving at the Escort Agency, Duan Rong found an empty corner and started standing in a stance again.
Having digested the Entry Level experience of the Five Tigers and Sheep Saber, the movements were no problem for him at all.
But nurturing energy by standing in a stance had to be done gradually; with the evaluation day approaching, he couldn't be careless.
Duan Rong roughly understood the limits of his body through exploration.
He had just stood for more than an hour with all his might, plus another hour in the morning, making it two hours.
Yet he could still exchange the center of weight between his left and right legs, standing for another two hours or so.
This way, he could basically exhaust himself completely, in layman's terms, practice thoroughly.
Only by practicing thoroughly can he build energy.
But practicing thoroughly without injuring oneself, this is a hard balance to achieve for beginners.
If not for the experience of the Entry Level Five Tigers and Sheep Saber in his mind, Duan Rong wouldn't be able to grasp this balance.
Duan Rong practiced until he was drenched in sweat before dispersing his energy and collecting his strength, heading to the dormitory.
At this moment, he felt weak all over, struggled to move, but with each step, he seemed to feel a warm stream rising from the soles of his feet, circulating around his body, and finally converging at the Dantian.
Although Duan Rong hadn't figured out the method of Inner Breath these days, he clearly understood this warm stream was merely the energy risen by the muscles, not the Inner Breath trained by the Inner Power Heart Method.
Duan Rong went back to the courtyard of the servant disciple dormitory, washed his body at the well, then burrowed into the blanket on the bunk bed, sleeping deeply.
The next day, six quarters past 3 p.m.
After working all day, Duan Rong, smelling like horse manure, came to the practice courtyard again.
Duan Rong hesitated slightly upon entering the side door.
In the courtyard, only Kong Bin, Zhang Zheng, and Li Chong were left; the four servant disciples who stood in the second row yesterday hadn't returned.
In fact, these four servant disciples knew they had no chance of being selected as apprentices, but the opportunity to practice martial arts was rare, so they thought of learning as much as possible.
Yet yesterday, Zhao Mu said that the Leopard Drilling Forest move was the last to be taught before the evaluation.
Since all the moves that could be learned were learned, coming back would be meaningless; Zhao Mu wouldn't guide them like those seedlings. It'd be better to take a rest in that time.
Duan Rong seemed to understand the servant disciples' mindset; he sighed and stood beside Li Chong.
"You stink, don't you know? Can't you stand further away?" Li Chong saw Duan Rong stand next to him again and became irritated, his face flushed as he shouted.
Duan Rong simply gazed at his nose, then heart, as if he hadn't heard anything, continuing to stand by himself.
Li Chong was about to lose his temper when Kong Bin suddenly coughed, causing Li Chong to grit his teeth, turn around, and see Zhao Mu's broad figure already at the courtyard entrance.
Zhao Mu walked in, glanced over the four people, seemingly considering it normal for only four people to be present during the servant disciples' practice hours, then calmly said, "The six movements have been taught to you. Although these six moves are just a small part of the Five Tigers and Sheep Saber, they form a small system. There are defensive moves, offense-defense combinations, and killing strikes."
Zhao Mu paused here, suddenly taking the sheathed Cow Tail Saber from his coat and looked at Li Chong, "You come over and maintain my saber."
"Me?" Li Chong was momentarily stunned.
"Stop staring blankly, wipe it carefully with the cloth soaked in castor oil." Zhao Mu was a bit impatient.
Li Chong looked at Zhao Mu's gaze directed at him, his face extremely unsightly, feeling like a lost soul, he walked over and took Zhao Mu's saber.
Having Li Chong maintain the saber seemed like a minor directive, yet revealed a clear message.
That is, in Zhao Mu's view, of these four, Li Chong practiced the worst, being least likely to be selected as an apprentice.
This undoubtedly was a huge blow to Li Chong's confidence.
Of course, Li Chong knew he wasn't as good as Kong Bin, but he felt he had some advantage over Zhang Zheng, and as for Duan Rong, he didn't even consider him.
But that's not the main point; if he truly was the worst among them, then there's no way he'd be selected as an apprentice.
Because among those who might be selected as apprentices, at most one or two are chosen, never three, and certainly never four.
If not selected as an apprentice, he'd have to be a servant his entire life...
"No, Escort Master Zhao must be mistaken! How could that kid Duan Rong be better than me?"
Li Chong bit his lip, unable to accept the harsh reality of being a servant his whole life. His eyes showed a streak of madness, and his lips bled, yet he was oblivious; Zhao Mu's speech was ignored completely.