Minor Success

Half a month has passed in the blink of an eye.

period.

The Masanjia family has not caused any more trouble.

Zhong Xuan was so engrossed in practicing martial arts that he stopped paying attention to it.

in the room.

boom!

With a soft thud, Zhong Xuan's feet landed back on the ground.

Three feet!

Just now, he tried to jump with all his might, and unexpectedly, he touched the roof beam directly, which was no worse than some professional athletes in his previous life.

"His crane-like bones are truly extraordinary."

Zhong Xuan was amazed.

No wonder Pei Yong once said that if he had the potential to advance through the ranks, he wouldn't have lingered for years without making any progress.

The difference between having and not having a root bone can be significant.

Since acquiring the Crane Form, Zhong Xuan's progress in cultivating the Eight Pieces of Brocade has been much faster than before, and he is now even about to reach the threshold of minor success.

According to Pei Yong, the martial arts schools in the city have a requirement for their students: they must master the basic skills within five months to be qualified to continue practicing martial arts at the school. The requirements are even higher for those at the county school.

That's how it's calculated.

His natural talent would qualify him to become a formal disciple even in a martial arts school.

"By next year, I should be able to master it."

Zhong Xuan made his calculations in his mind.

"We should be able to make it."

What he was thinking about was, of course, the imperial examination.

As long as you pass the provincial examination, you can become a scholar, and your life will be much better.

of course.

He had only practiced martial arts for a year, so it was impossible for him to become a martial arts scholar like Zhang Linchun, the second son of the Zhang family. However, his health preservation skills were a good advantage in the civil service examination.

The military examination had two subjects: policy essays and classics, while the civil examination also tested swordsmanship and internal strength.

Zhong Xuan had previously suffered losses in these two areas.

I should be able to get a good ranking in the next provincial examination. With the improvement in these two subjects, my chances of becoming a Xiucai (a successful candidate in the county-level imperial examination) will be much greater.

Zhong Xuan pushed open the door.

As usual, I headed to the Zhang residence in Baisha County.

Copying books wasn't something I did every day.

Generally speaking, it was only when Master Zhang was in a good mood and gave away the books from the library that the steward of the Zhang family would contact the copyist.

Sometimes, I wouldn't even copy a book once in three months.

Otherwise, if Zhong Xuan had been able to copy books at the Zhang residence every day, he would have at least acquired ten acres of land by now.

Since the second young master of the Zhang family returned home, copying books has become much more frequent, and he always receives extra reward money.

Zhong Xuan's life became much more comfortable as a result; otherwise, food alone would have been a major problem.

When Zhong Xuan was led to the library by the Zhang family steward.

I happened to see several young men and women chatting and laughing in the library.

"Mr. Zhong, the second young master is currently exchanging ideas and learning with his classmates from the academy. Let's wait a while. Don't worry, the time we spend waiting will be converted into silver for you."

The Zhang family steward spoke with a smile.

Zhong Xuan's heart stirred slightly.

"It seems that this second young master of the Zhang family is performing quite well at the prefectural school, otherwise the Zhang family patriarch would not have been so generous."

Standing outside the door.

You can faintly hear the voices of young men and women talking inside.

"Brother Li, Brother Sima, Miss Cui, my family's library is certainly not comparable to the academy, but it still has some rare books."

Zhang Linchun, the second son of the Zhang family, said with a smile.

Although he spoke humbly, a hint of pride still showed due to his youthful nature.

"Linchun, you said before that your uncle liked to collect ancient books, but you didn't say that he built a building with them."

A young man exclaimed in amazement.

"It's just one of my father's little hobbies, nothing to mention."

Zhang Linchun waved his hand dismissively: "To be honest, Miss Cui comes from a truly scholarly family."

The only girl among the four smiled faintly when she was mentioned: "Brother Zhang, your tiger bones at the human level are quite extraordinary. If you pass the imperial examination in the future, don't forget about us fellow disciples."

"Human Rank..."

Zhong Xuan heard these words and pondered them in his heart.

According to those students from the prefectural school, one must at least possess the inherent qualities of a human being to have any chance of passing the imperial examination.

The requirements for the civil service examination might be lower.

However, given his current physical condition, he still needs to accumulate some experience.

I waited for half an hour.

Zhang Linchun then led the three young men and women from the academy away.

The Qing Kingdom held imperial examinations to select officials and established academies in various regions.

There were county schools, prefectural schools, and state schools, and in the capital city there was the famous Imperial Academy.

However, the requirements for official schools are extremely high.

Ordinary people can't get in at all.

These four young men and women, who were able to study at the prefectural school, can be said to be geniuses with the potential to become successful candidates in the imperial examinations, one in a hundred.

Zhong Xuan watched the four people leave.

Only then did he enter the library and begin copying books.

He copied a total of three thousand characters, but received a full seventy coins.

Zhong Xuan hoped that the second young master of the Zhang family could stay for a while longer.

Leaving the Zhang residence.

Zhong Xuan did not return to Xiahe Village as usual, but instead went to a shop in the east of the city.

"I need a dose of a health-strengthening powder."

"Okay."

When the young shop assistant saw a customer coming in, he quickly invited Zhong Xuan to sit down in the pharmacy.

A middle-aged man skillfully grabbed handfuls of herbs from the medicine cabinet behind him, and a moment later placed a small medicine packet on the counter.

"Sir, your health-strengthening powder is ready. It will cost you three hundred coins."

Zhong Xuan readily took out three hundred copper coins from his pocket.

Martial arts training requires dietary and medicinal supplements.

This body-strengthening powder is the cheapest tonic for martial artists, but even so, it still costs a full three hundred coins.

"Truly, the poor are scholars, the rich are warriors."

Zhong Xuan clicked his tongue in his mind.

If it weren't for the fact that I've recently earned a lot of money copying books at the Zhang residence, I simply wouldn't be able to afford it.

Thank you.

The money and goods were exchanged.

Zhong Xuan cupped his hands in greeting and then tucked the small medicine packet into his pocket.

They went straight out of Baisha County.

By the time Zhong Xuan returned to the house, it was completely dark.

Just as Zhong Xuan took out the key to open the door...

A middle-aged woman jumped out of the bushes not far away, put her hands on her hips, pointed at Zhong Xuan, and began to curse:

"You old bastard, how dare you hit my son! If you don't pay for his medicine today, I'll tear down this dilapidated house of yours."

at the same time.

A boy with pigtails limped over, making groaning noises from time to time.

Zhong Xuan recognized the middle-aged woman as the boy's mother, Ma Liu.

He glanced at the middle-aged man, his expression turning cold:

"Why are you throwing a tantrum, you woman?"

Ma Liu was known for her fiery temper in the village, and when she saw her master, Zhong Xuan, return, she became even more arrogant: "Old man Zhong, you injured my son, and you must give me an explanation today."

As she spoke, she pointed to the boy with a swollen right leg sitting on the ground next to her.

Seeing his mother backing him up, the boy with the braids immediately pointed at Zhong Xuan and cried out:

"Mom, he's the one who broke my leg. How am I ever going to get married now?"

Seeing this, Ma Liu was about to continue showing off her power.

But the next moment.

I was caught off guard and got slapped across the face; it stung.

I haven't realized it yet.

Zhong Xuan's voice reached her ears:

"This slap of mine is to teach you a lesson on behalf of your father, Liu San."