Chapter 21: Decision

Translator: Atlas Studios  Editor: Atlas Studios

It was another day at the morning cultivation classes.

The atmosphere was a little strange.

There were originally a total of 14 students, but only 13 were left. Zhang Youde’s underling was absent for some unknown reason.

“Why isn’t that guy, Hu Shixin, here today? Doesn’t he usually follow Zhang Youde wherever he goes?”

“Who knows? He was pretending to be smart and offended someone again. He might have been punished and sent off somewhere else.”

“Sigh! These nobodies are just sad. When something goes wrong, they are abandoned immediately without any compassion.”

…

In the courtyard, the trainees whispered to each other with different expressions on their faces.

Hu Shixin had spoken carelessly and caused Zhang Youde to ruin his relationship with Chen Yiming.

If Chen Yiming was just an ordinary trainee, it wouldn’t have mattered if their relationship had worsened. However, who would have thought that Chen Yiming had the potential to be a core disciple?

Zhang Youde came from a martial arts clan led by a master who had undergone six transformations. There were many ordinary trainees like Hu Shixin who had done everything they could to suck up to him.

Zhang Youde wouldn’t care at all if an insignificant underling like Hu Shixin was taken as a sacrifice and chased away. At the very least, it would ease his relationship with Chen Yiming and prevent their relationship from worsening.

It was time for the class to begin.

Wang Bowen announced to the trainees that Hu Shixin had left the Mantis Snake Sword School.

Wang Bowen did not give any explanation, but everyone knew the reason for his departure. It was clear that Zhang Youde had asked him to leave.

“Why did he chase him away for no reason? I wasn’t even thinking of holding it against him.”

Chen Yiming felt helpless. He wasn’t a child that couldn’t let go of such a small matter. He didn’t even feel the need to ask for an apology from him.

However, Chen Yiming’s silence caused Zhang Youde to be unable to figure out what he was thinking. That night, he decided to inform Hu Shixin not to return to the school any more.

Hu Shixin had learned most of what he needed to learn in the Mantis Snake Sword School anyway. He could only blame it on his bad luck when he was faced with Zhang Youde’s unreasonable request.

…

During lunch break, Wang Bowen and Chen Yiming sat side by side on the steps as they ate.

Both of them had brought their own boxed lunch, and these included cooked mutant beast meat. The difference was that the ingredients in Wang Bowen’s lunch box were much more expensive.

Ever since Wang Bowen had gotten a better understanding of Chen Yiming’s swordsmanship talent from the sparring session, they had grown even closer.

Chen Yiming needed someone knowledgeable to guide him through the martial arts world. Wang Bowen, on the other hand, would be able to improve his swordsmanship through sparring with Chen Yiming.

Chen Yiming suddenly thought of something and asked Wang Bowen, “Why haven’t I seen Senior Brother Zhang lately?”

The Senior Brother Zhang he referred to was the black-clothed youth he often saw when he delivered food to the school in the past. His name was Zhang Xingfeng and he was a core disciple stationed at the Eastern branch, just like Wang Bowen.

However, ever since he entered the sect, it had always been Wang Bowen leading the trainees for their training. He had not seen Zhang Xingfeng again.

At the mention of Zhang Xingfeng, Wang Bowen immediately grumbled, “That guy is trying to achieve his sixth transformation. The Master brought him out for training and threw all the work he was responsible for to me.”

The branch schools usually had two core disciples stationed there, taking turns to guide the trainees. Since Zhang Xingfeng had something to do and left, the other core disciple had to stay. Therefore, Wang Bowen was in charge of the Eastern branch every day.

“Forget it, I don’t want to talk about him. But speaking of which, you’ve had the black pork for several meals. What do you think of the effect? If it’s not suitable, you have to change it quickly. Otherwise, you’ll lose more than you gain if it interferes with your cultivation,” Wang Bowen said with concern.

When it came to food, he had so many experiences to share that it would not even be enough for him to spend a whole night talking about it. After all, he was from a martial arts clan and had tried all kinds of mutant beast meat in all sorts of combinations.

Chen Yiming’s eyes dimmed at the mention of food. “The effect is much better than ordinary pork. It fills me up and makes me feel warm and energized after eating it. It’s just a little expensive.”

He had gone back to the old man’s place to buy black pork a few more times. Each time, he spent a few hundred yuan. If he didn’t earn more money, he would soon become unable to make ends meet.

Wang Bowen agreed. “That’s true. Back then, I could really eat a lot, so I went through the same thing as you. Before becoming a core disciple, it does pose some trouble for a trainee, having to obtain cultivation resources on your own by earning money.”

“Yes, that’s why I’m very troubled now. I don’t know if there’s any job that can allow me to afford the expense of mutant beast meat without affecting my cultivation.”

Chen Yiming took the opportunity to pour out his grievances.

For now , there was still no news from his cousin, Chen Shaojie. And Chen Yiming could not rely solely on him either. After all, even if he completed this job by working with them, he did not know how long their arrangement would last and how much money he could earn.

Wang Bowen said with a smile, “That’s simple. Why didn’t you tell your senior brother earlier if you were troubled? Your body has already undergone the first transformation. I can help to arrange an easy job for you.”

Hearing this, Chen Yiming immediately expressed his gratitude. “Thank you, Senior Brother.”

After going round and round, Senior Brother Wang was still the most reliable. He could easily resolve any difficulties Chen Yiming was facing.

Very quickly, Wang Bowen gave him a few options.

The first was to find a small gang and act as their support. This way, he could earn quite a bit in fees every month. The disadvantage was that it was easy to get caught up in the feud between gangs.

The second was to join a trading company and be a guard. The money was pretty good, but it would take up a lot of time. It was no longer a part-time job, but equivalent to a full-time job.

The third was to go to the martial arts training class and teach the middle and high school students the basic moves. The pay would be lower than the first two choices, but it was a safe and stable job.

“I’ll choose the third option,” Chen Yiming said without hesitation.

At his current stage, he didn’t want to be too high-profile. He didn’t want to risk his life fighting others, nor did he want to spend too much time on his job. which would affect his own cultivation.

Wang Bowen wiggled his eyebrows and joked, “It’s not bad to go to the martial arts training class. Not only is the working environment good, but there are also many young female students.”

Chen Yiming said nothing.

Wang Bowen clearly had experience with this. He continued, “However, you should remember that your cultivation is the most important.”

“The third transformation is the one with a qualitative improvement. After that, you will be impenetrable by blades and bullets from head to toe. There will be more jobs you can do to earn easy money.”

“Next year, there will be a friendly competition at the East Lake Martial Arts Academy. Come with me to attend it then.”

“Friendly competition?”

“It’s mainly for young people to showcase themselves and gain experience,” Wang Bowen explained.

Martial arts was not something that could be done in isolation. One had to fight different types of opponents to accumulate actual combat experience and develop a style suitable for oneself.

“At that time, there will be many professional scouts from various companies observing the competition. If you’re lucky, there will be a sponsor who will favor you. You won’t have to worry about the resources for your cultivation till your third transformation, you just have to sign a contract for official records. You can think about it and make a choice for yourself.”

“Got it,” Chen Yiming said as he nodded.

Senior Brother Wang really was his benefactor in the martial arts world. He didn’t expect Senior Brother Wang to help him solve all his problems through a simple chat.

Having secured a job through which he could earn money, he would be able to purchase a house and afford the mutant beast meat. After all, as long as the job involved martial arts, it would pay much better than ordinary jobs.

As for signing a contract with a sponsor, Chen Yiming planned to take a look at the situation when the time came. He could consider it if there were not too many conditions.