Nine Transformations of the True Spirit

Chen Yuan was practicing boxing in the courtyard. He stopped when he was almost hungry at noon.

Practicing martial arts requires strengthening the internal qi, which consumes the spirit and energy. More energy must be replenished, which is one of the reasons why the poor are good at literature and the rich are good at martial arts.

Chen Yuan washed off the sweat stains, changed into a yellow cloth short coat, took the lunch box, and prepared to go to the kitchen to get food.

Just as he was about to go out, Zhao Shan came back and the two of them happened to go together.

Chen Yuan's appetite was much larger than yesterday. He asked Xiaoliu for ten white flour cakes, two large bowls of stewed meat and a bowl of green vegetables.

Today, Manager Sun was not in the kitchen, so he didn't have to deal with him anymore. Zhao Shan was obviously more casual. He had a good chat with a group of gray-clothed apprentices and introduced Chen Yuan to them.

On the surface, Chen Yuan still had a silly smile on his face, but privately he was calmly observing everyone and their attitude towards Zhao Shan.

From the time the two entered the kitchen to the time they left with food boxes full of food, in less than half an hour, more than 30 gray-clothed apprentices came to the kitchen to get food, and there were also several yellow-clothed apprentices, all of whom knew Zhao Shan and respected him.

Chen Yuan saw that Zhao Shan was so popular, so he was less wary of him.

When he first entered the Baibing Hall, he met the ill-intentioned Li Guanshi, and he did not dare to trust Zhao Shan, who seemed warm and kind.

But now it seems that Zhao Shan has a very good relationship with people, and he must be kind to others on weekdays.

Combined with the two days of getting along, Chen Yuan was sure that Zhao Shan was indeed not a bad person.

Of course, you can't know a person's heart by knowing his face, so Chen Yuan will not take off his disguise, let alone expose his progress in martial arts training in front of Zhao Shan.

But if Zhao Shan really regards him as a junior brother, if he succeeds in martial arts in the future, he will never treat Zhao Shan, his senior brother, unfairly.

...

After lunch, Zhao Shan took Chen Yuan to Li Guanshi's house.

The Li Mansion is a large mansion with three entrances, not far from the Baibing Hall.

Chen Yuan learned from Zhao Shan that the area where the Baibing Hall is located is called Xingyefang, and the courtyards and houses in the square are all the property of the Baibing Hall.

The small courtyard where the two lived and the house of Li Guanshi were all owned by the hall.

The doorman of the Li Mansion was very familiar with Zhao Shan, and he let the two enter the mansion without notifying them.

The two came to the main hall, and Zhao Shan saluted respectfully:

"Zhao Shan greets the master."

Chen Yuan followed suit:

"Erniu greets the master."

Li Guanshi sat on the armchair, and Wang Cong stood beside him, respectful.

Manager Li stroked his beard and chuckled:

"You are here, Erniu, practice the Fuhu Fist for me to see."

"Yes, Master."

Chen Yuan responded respectfully, and then practiced the Fuhu Fist, but slowed down a lot.

After Chen Yuan finished practicing, Manager Li nodded with satisfaction and said:

"You can practice the Fuhu Fist to this level in your first martial arts training. Not bad, not bad."

Chen Yuan smiled innocently:

"This is all because of Senior Brother Zhao's good teaching..."

"Junior Brother Chen, be careful with your words!"

Before Chen Yuan finished speaking, Wang Cong suddenly shouted:

"You are Master's disciple. Brother, Junior Brother Zhao is just passing on the skills on behalf of the master. It is the master who taught well! "

Chen Yuan was stunned and quickly changed his words:

"I was wrong. It is the master who taught well!"

Manager Li nodded slightly, seeming to be very pleased, and looked at Zhao Shan:

"You have also worked hard. Go to the account to collect one or two silvers tomorrow."

Zhao Shan said gratefully:

"Thank you for the reward, Master!"

Manager Li looked at Chen Yuan again:

"Erniu, after returning, concentrate on practicing martial arts and enter the leather refining realm as soon as possible. The master still has important things for you... Wang Cong, send Erniu back."

"Yes, Master!"

Chen Yuan responded respectfully and followed Wang Cong out.

Behind him, Manager Li said to Zhao Shan:

"Is there any movement from the guard team today?"

"Report to Master..."

Wang Cong sent Chen Yuan to the gate of the courtyard and suddenly said:

"Brother Chen, have you remembered Master's instructions?"

Chen Yuan smiled innocently:

"I remember, Master asked me to practice martial arts well and enter the Leather Refining Realm as soon as possible."

Wang Cong nodded:

"Just remember it, Master is kind-hearted, accepting you as a disciple and teaching you martial arts, but not letting you eat for free. Within a year, you must enter the Leather Refining Realm, otherwise I will persuade Master to demote you to a chores!"

Chen Yuan was shocked and said in panic:

"Yes, Brother, I will practice martial arts well1"

Wang Cong kept staring at Chen Yuan's Seeing that his expression was not fake, he smiled and said:

"Very good, once a teacher, a father for life, we have to repay the master when we are accepted as apprentices by the master. Think about the days you spent in the countryside, and then think about the days you have spent in the past two days. It is the master who allows you to eat and drink enough. Don't let the master down."

Chen Yuan's eyes were red, and he nodded heavily:

"It is the master who allows me to eat meat every day. Brother, don't worry, Erniu is not an ungrateful person!"

Wang Cong nodded with satisfaction:

"Go, come to the mansion to see the master at noon every day in the future, and concentrate on practicing martial arts during the rest of the time. When you enter the skin refining realm, I will arrange a job for you."

"Yes, brother!"

Wang Cong waved his hand and turned to walk into the Li Mansion.

Chen Yuan looked at Wang Cong's back, the fear on his face disappeared, and the red eyes returned to normal. A hint of sarcasm flashed in his eyes, and he turned and left.

Playing the red and white cop again, really took him for a stupid country boy.

However, within this year, he can concentrate on martial arts training, which is good news.

After a round of boxing skills, Chen Yuan had no doubt that he could enter the skin refining realm.

And judging from the time limit given by Wang Cong, Manager Li also believes that he can enter the Skin Refining Realm in one year, which should not be a problem.

But just the Skin Refining Realm was not enough. Chen Yuan didn't know how fierce the fight between Manager Li and Zhang Jinkui was, what errands they would arrange for him, and how risky they were.

You must make good use of this year and try to improve your strength as much as possible.

…

In the afternoon, Chen Yuan continued to practice Fuhu Fist, and the true energy in his body grew rapidly.

At dusk, Zhao Shan did not come back. He went to the kitchen to prepare food alone, and met Manager Sun again, so they inevitably exchanged pleasantries.

Manager Sun saw Chen Yuan's increased appetite and said clearly:

"Brother Chen, is he starting to learn martial arts?"

Chen Yuan said embarrassedly:

"Did I eat too much?"

Manager Sun was startled and said with a smile:

"The duty of the chef is to provide food for the apprentices in the hall. No matter how much Brother Chen eats, it is what he should do."

Chen Yuan smiled and said:

"I'm afraid that if I eat too much now, I won't be able to eat meat in the future."

Manager Sun was dumbfounded:

"Haha, Brother Chen is worrying too much. No one who practices martial arts has enough to eat!"

Chen Yuan's eyes flashed and he said with a naive smile:

"I can rest assured that……"

…

After Chen Yuan finished eating, he practiced Fuhu Fist for another hour before Zhao Shan returned to the small courtyard.

He saw that Chen Yuan was covered in sweat, his face was red, and his breathing was rapid, he frowned and said:

"Junior brother, have you been practicing from afternoon to evening?"

Chen Yuan nodded, Zhao Shan frowned even more tightly and said sternly:

"Nonsense! If you practice martial arts for the first time, you will be exhausted after practicing for up to three hours. How can you drag your exhausted body and practice forcefully until now? This will damage the meridians and the body!"

After saying that, he took two steps forward, stretched out three fingers, pinched Chen Yuan's wrist, and inspected it carefully.

Chen Yuan said in astonishment:

"But I don't feel exhausted..."

Zhao Shan raised his head and said in surprise:

"It's strange, you've been practicing for so long, how come your pulse is still so strong?"

Chen Yuan scratched his head:

"I don't know either. After meeting Master at noon, Senior Brother Wang asked me to practice martial arts well and repay Master. I didn't dare to slack off. I started practicing Fuhu Fist when I came back. Until now..."

Zhao Shan nodded slowly and said thoughtfully:

"Ordinary people practicing martial arts like you will definitely not be able to bear it. It should be that your physical strength is different from ordinary people, so that you can bear the burden of martial arts training on your body."

Chen Yuan nodded as if he understood something:

"Then can I continue to practice Fuhu Fist?"

Zhao Shan smiled and said:

"It should be no problem. It seems that you, junior brother, are also a prodigy in martial arts. Although you are not a one-day master, your martial arts training time is much longer than that of ordinary people. If you keep going like this, you may not be able to achieve some achievements."

Chen Yuan smiled bitterly and said:

"Senior Brother Wang said that I have to break through the Skin Refining Realm within a year, otherwise I will be demoted to a handyman. I don't want to be a handyman, so I can only practice martial arts hard."

Zhao Shan's expression changed:

"How dare Wang Cong say that? I will report it to Master right now!"

Chen Yuan quickly stopped:

"I think Senior Brother Wang is right. Master has done me a great favor by accepting me as his disciple. Of course I have to practice martial arts hard and repay Master in the future."

Zhao Shan's expression softened:

"That's true, but Wang Cong relies on his master's favor to bully his apprentices on weekdays, and today he bullies you again. It's really too much. I have to go to him and ask for an explanation!"

A look of fear flashed across Chen Yuan's face:

"Master didn't say anything. Senior brother, go find him. Is it useful?"

Zhao Shan sighed:

"Master is just too kind-hearted. It's really abominable to be kept in the dark by a treacherous villain like Wang Cong!"

He was still aggrieved, but he no longer mentioned going to Wang Cong to ask for an explanation.

Chen Yuan had a wry smile on his face, but secretly shook his head in his heart.

He had already said this, but Zhao Shan still firmly believed that Manager Li was kind-hearted, but Wang Cong was cunning.

Zhao Shan changed the subject:

"Junior brother, since your body can bear the burden, don't waste time and practice martial arts well. Although Wang Cong is cunning, he is very favored in front of the master. If you cannot break through the skin refining realm within a year, he may really I persuade the master to demote you to a handyman."

"Yes, senior brother, I will definitely not slack off!"

Chen Yuan solemnly agreed, but then he stroked his belly and said humbly:

"I've been practicing for an hour and I'm hungry again..."

Zhao Shan laughed:

"This matter is easy to handle. Tomorrow I will go to Manager Sun and ask him to prepare an extra food box. You can put an extra portion of rice in it and eat it in the evening."

Chen Yuan was overjoyed:

"Thank you, senior brother!"

"It's a small matter, let's go and get something to eat so that you don't go to bed hungry."

Chen Yuan stood up:

"Senior brother, wait a moment, I'll get the money."

Zhao Shan waved his hand:

"No, if it weren't for you, Master wouldn't reward me with a tael of silver today. I'm treating you today."

"This... costs senior brother a lot of money."

"Haha, you and my fellow apprentices, why are you so polite? Come on, come on, you haven't been to a restaurant yet, right? There is a Zhangji restaurant nearby. The twice-cooked pork there is very good. I'll take you to try it..."