Chapter 17: Six Months to Knock on Blood's Door, Three Years to Temper Sinew and Bone

The two followed the covered walkway on a full circuit of the hall.

The front courtyard was broad and open, paved with flagstone — the ground where outer-court disciples drilled and tempered their qi and blood.

Through the carved lattice moon gate lay the inner courtyard.

The scenery here was far more refined.

Rockeries rose in artful clusters, a ribbon of flowing water wound downhill with a soft, trickling murmur, and a grove of bamboo grew along the far wall, remnant snow dusting its leaves.

This was where inner-court disciples trained and tested their martial skills.

As for the rear courtyard, Xu Chuan pointed specifically at the moon-shaped doorway and dropped his voice:

"That's where Master and the eldest senior sister live and cultivate in seclusion. Without being summoned, you must never set foot inside."

"Understood, Senior Brother."

Beyond that, the mess hall, side chambers, armory, and bathhouse were all accounted for.

There were also several dormitory rooms for disciples to rest in — bright, clean, and neatly kept.

After the full tour, Xu Chuan stopped and turned serious. Time to lay down the rules.

"Junior Brother Shen, our hall doesn't burden outer-court disciples with many rules. There are only two that must never be crossed."

"First: you may not throw the hall's name around outside to bully others or stir up trouble."

"Second: respect your master and the path. Fellow disciples must never harm one another. Break this rule, and Master will personally clean house. Have you got that?"

Shen Xiuhan listened intently and cupped his fist: "Your junior brother has committed them to heart!"

With the rules established, Shen Xiuhan waited a beat, but finally couldn't hold back:

"Senior Brother, when do I start training?"

"See? Eager already, aren't you?"

Xu Chuan seemed to have been waiting for exactly this question. He grinned, head bobbing:

"The martial path prizes nothing more than a solid foundation. As the saying goes, a tower ten thousand zhang tall rises from level ground... Junior Brother Shen, do you know the three great thresholds of the first gate, the Manifest Strength stage?"

Shen Xiuhan nodded:

"I know a little — Blood Tempering, Bone Tempering, and Sinew Tempering?"

"Correct."

Xu Chuan smiled and recited a martial proverb:

"'Six months to knock on Blood's door, three years to temper sinew and bone — don't say the martial path doesn't demand its pound of flesh, for slackers and cheaters never become tigers!'"

"The hardest part is the beginning, and the foundation is paramount. For your first few days at the hall, Master herself will personally supervise you and teach you the stance arts."

"Once you've found your footing, you'll train alongside the rest of us. Master will only step in during evaluations."

It clicked for Shen Xiuhan, and he said with some embarrassment: "I see — your junior brother was too hasty..."

"Haha, no harm done. We all went through the same thing."

After a pause, Shen Xiuhan asked:

"By the way, Senior Brother — that phrase just now, 'six months to knock on Blood's door, three years to temper sinew and bone' — what does it mean exactly?"

Seeing the earnest desire to learn, Xu Chuan explained patiently:

"It refers to the three gates of Manifest Strength."

"Take 'six months to knock on Blood's door.' It means that for someone with decent martial aptitude, if they drill stance arts every single day, it takes six months at most before they can sense the rush of qi and blood — knocking on the door of Blood Tempering."

"After that, once the qi and blood throughout the body are fully cultivated and the qi-blood circuit achieves unity, you can attempt Bone Tempering..."

"But Bone Tempering is still far off for you. What you need to focus on right now is sensing your qi and blood within six months. That's what counts as finding the path."

Six months...

Shen Xiuhan turned this over in his mind.

No wonder Mei Shuangfeng had said yesterday that half a year was enough to tell whether he was a dragon or a worm — so that was what she'd meant!

But for him, six months was far too slow.

Ma Xianyang wouldn't give him that long.

After a moment's thought, he asked:

"Senior Brother, does everyone need a full six months to sense their qi and blood?"

"Of course not."

Xu Chuan shook his head at once:

"Six months just means you've barely scraped a pass. Those with truly outstanding martial talent can sense their qi and blood in a month or two."

"Oh? How long did it take you, Senior Brother?"

"Me?"

Xu Chuan laughed heartily, a note of unmistakable pride in his voice:

"Thirty-seven days."

Thirty-seven days...

No wonder he was the second inner-court senior brother. Exceptional talent indeed.

"Then is Senior Brother the fastest in our hall to have sensed qi and blood?"

"Ah... no. There's one person faster than me — our eldest senior sister."

The eldest senior sister?

That would be the martial-garbed woman who'd led him to meet Mei Shuangfeng yesterday.

At the mention of the eldest senior sister, Xu Chuan visibly perked up, a spark of admiration lighting his features:

"Eldest Senior Sister sensed her qi and blood in just eighteen days. Because of that, she's ranked alongside Changyun County's Bai Jing, Luo Tangyin, and Zhao Honggang as the 'Four Prodigies of Changyun.'"

Shen Xiuhan didn't notice the slight hitch in Xu Chuan's voice when he spoke the last name.

His mind was entirely consumed with how to sense his qi and blood as quickly as possible.

After hearing Xu Chuan out, Shen Xiuhan let out a rueful laugh:

"Senior Brother, hearing how fast you all progressed puts enormous pressure on your junior brother. What if my aptitude is too poor and I can't produce qi and blood even after six months..."

"Hey, who told you we all got there on hard work alone?"

"Huh?"

Seeing the blank look on Shen Xiuhan's face, Xu Chuan smiled and explained:

"There's an old saying: 'Scholars need poverty, warriors need wealth.' The martial path demands more than natural talent — training resources are equally indispensable."

"Take the medicinal salve Master brews in secret. Rub it over the body while drilling stance arts, and the medicine seeps in, doubling the effect for half the effort."

A light went on in Shen Xiuhan's head. Thinking of the silver-backed fish he'd sold to Mei Shuangfeng, he asked:

"Senior Brother, what about treasure fish? I've heard people say a single treasure fish can replace months of hard training for a martial artist?"

"Eating it?"

Xu Chuan laughed and shook his head:

"Completely wrong. Eating a treasure fish raw is an unconscionable waste."

Shen Xiuhan's expression turned slightly awkward. He cupped his fist: "Please enlighten me, Senior Brother."

"It's no great secret — you'd find out eventually. I'll give you the short version."

Xu Chuan's tone grew more serious:

"A treasure fish is a gift of heaven and earth, head to tail. If you just swallow it whole, seven or eight parts out of ten of its potency are lost."

"The proper method is to combine it with aged ginseng, rare spirit herbs, and have an alchemist refine it into a pill — only then can the essence be sealed in."

"Some of the more ferocious treasure fish even have strange bone spikes on their bodies that can be given to a master smith and forged into weapons sharp enough to cut through iron like mud..."

Shen Xiuhan couldn't help but think of the bone spike on the silver-back's snout.

"So for a martial artist, taking a qi-blood treasure pill refined from a treasure fish — that's what produces results a thousand miles in a single day."

"Speaking of treasure fish..."

Xu Chuan looked Shen Xiuhan up and down:

"I heard you came to the hall yesterday carrying a fish creel. I take it you're a fisherman who makes his living on the lake?"

"That's right."

"Then if you ever get your hands on a treasure fish in the future, bring it straight to Master."

Seeing Shen Xiuhan's puzzled expression, Xu Chuan grinned:

"What you don't know is that refining treasure pills absolutely requires an alchemist."

"Most alchemists in Changyun County have been retained by the noble clans as honored guests. If you took a treasure fish to them, who knows how much of the yield those black-hearted swindlers would skim for themselves!"

"But our Master — she's actually a master alchemist in disguise!"

"What's more, she sells to inner-court disciples at a fair price — a solid ten to twenty percent cheaper than the black-market pills outside."

"I see..."

Understanding dawned on Shen Xiuhan.

In his mind's eye, he saw again the large bronze cauldron he'd glimpsed behind the screen when he'd visited the rear chamber the day before.