In the northern part of Chunsi Town, outside a newly built manor, a huge crowd had gathered. At the front of this crowd, Liang Huang stood with his back straight and a calm and pleased smile on his face.
'This is where it will all start. I'll build up my martial arts hall's reputation in the coming years, becoming the foremost expert in Chunsi town.
'I'll find a good wife and some concubines and sire a son to inherit it all. When I reach the Innate stage in the future, I'll go back to Kuo City and take over the hall there from my master.'
'The future of Kuo County belongs to my Liang family!'
Liang Huang looked at the young men and women lined up to test their aptitude from a few of his junior brothers he had brought with him from the County town.
He tried his best to hide his contempt as he looked at their weak bodies and tattered clothing.
'Oh, well. It's not like I have to accept them. After today, there won't be anyone within dozens of miles who hasn't heard of my martial art hall.'
"Quite an impressive method," An old man with a bent back commented from beside him. This man was the head of the Tiger Claw Hall, Yu Jingli. As one of the few 1st-grade martial arts warriors in Chunsi Town, he had obviously been invited by Liang Huang to witness the opening of his martial arts hall.
"If you only accept one or two of them, there won't be much loss in the end. Exchanging the small loss of silver for reputation is very clever." Yu Jingli continued.
"Just a simple tactic," Liang Huang said modestly, "The most important aspect is to train another 1st-grade warrior, or all of this will become dust in a few decades. Wouldn't you agree?"
Yu Jingli sneered and didn't answer. He didn't have many years left to live, and his Tiger Claw Hall had yet to train another 1st-grade warrior. Liang Huang's words were obviously a slight toward him.
"Training a 1st-grade martial warrior is easier said than done," Tong Chuang said. He, too, was the head of a martial arts hall in Chunsi town, but a lot younger than Yu Jingli. "It's rare to even be able to train a descendant to that level, and that's when they should have inherited some of your own talent, and sparing no effort to train them from a young age. It speaks for itself that it's even harder to find someone able to reach that level from the ordinary population in a destitute place like this."
'Maybe that's the case for you, how could it be the same for me?'
Liang Huang had already seen the wider world in Kuo City, and his own master was an Innate warrior, so he obviously looked down on these martial arts hall heads without any vision.
But he was still young, and the Innate stage was a long way off. For now, he wasn't much stronger than these people, so there was no need to contradict them at every turn and make things awkward.
"Haaah," Yu Jingli sighed in agreement, "That is far too true. I've had seven sons, but none of them has managed to break through the last hurdle so far."
"I heard you have a quite talented grandson?" Tong Chuang asked.
"Yes," Yu Jingli said, straightening his back and smiling, "Who would have thought that I would get to witness such a thing at the end of my life. He is only 10 years old and already a 3rd-grade warrior."
Even Liang Huang reacted to that. Such a young martial warrior was incredibly rare even in Kuo City.
'I'll have to keep an eye on that kid in the future.'
"Unfortunately, I probably won't get the chance to see him reach the 1st-grade stage before my time comes," Yu Jingli said.
"With that kind of talent, he might even reach the Innate stage in the future," Tong Chuang commented, "Even if you're gone, your bloodline will live on, and it might be tempered through the generations and…"
"And my Yu family will become a Martial Family in the future? Haha! There is indeed some hope," Yu Jingli laughed happily at the thought.
'As if becoming a Martial Family is that easy.' Liang Huang thought with disdain.
There wasn't a single Martial Family in the entire Kuo County; only places like Huji City and the Capital have families of that caliber.
These are families that go back at least a hundred years. Their bloodline gives them an immense advantage in practicing martial arts. A 10-year-old 3rd-grade warrior wouldn't be rare there; on the contrary, it would be rare not to have advanced at that age. Even without special resources, it was basically guaranteed for a member of the main family line to reach the Innate stage. And that was just the minimum.
'If everything goes as planned…It won't be impossible for me to become the ancestor of a Martial Family!'
"How lively!" A voice sounded.
Liang Huang turned around to see Chief Li, the Chief of Chunsi Town and an 8th-grade Official, approach their group.
"Chief Li," Linag Huang and the others bowed slightly in greeting. An 8th-grade official wasn't someone he could ignore. Of course, Liang Huang, with his connections in Kuo City, wasn't that much lower in status.
After a few minutes of small talk, Liang Huang couldn't help but ask, "Chief Li, how about the matter I asked you about?"
"Your younger brother, right? Well, let's find somewhere to talk, shall we?" Chief Li suggested.
'Could there be an issue? Unlikely. It's probably just Chief Li being cautious.'
Liang Huang invited Chief Li into the large manor and had a servant prepare some tea for both of them.
After taking a sip of his tea, Chief Li finally got to the matter, "Naturally, having your brother come over to work at the Chunsi Office isn't a problem. But giving him the title of an Official…That's not something I can do. Only a 7th-grade Official has that power."
Liang Huang frowned slightly. He didn't have a very good grasp on the world of Officials. But if he just wanted to have his brother work in the Chunsi Office, he could handle that easily without going through Chief Li.
Obviously, his brother had to become an Official. Even if he didn't consider his own brother, for Liang Huang's own sake, it was essential to have someone close to him with a high position in the local Office.
"I'm afraid I'm not very familiar with the process of Officials," Liang Huang said with a smile, "If Chief Li is familiar with any 7th-grade Officials who could take care of this matter, I would be most grateful."
As Liang Huang spoke, he also retrieved a small chest of gold coins.
Placing the chest in front of Chief Li, Liang Huang felt a lot of pain. This was basically the last of his wealth after spending so much money on building his martial arts hall.
'I'll have to ask father for some more money later. It shouldn't be a problem for him to come up with some money. Having Cong'er in the Chunsi Office will benefit us all.'
Chief Li opened the chest without any ceremony and, seeing the gold, nodded with a pleased smile.
"Alright, I will have to call in a few favors, but it will be done," Chief Li promised.
"Thank you so much, Chief Li," Liang Huang said with a genuine smile.
"I'm happy to help," Chief Li smiled back, "But you should remind your brother to study hard and not be too lax in his duties. I'm assuming he doesn't have a chance of passing the exam; otherwise, you wouldn't need me.
"Going around the rules like this is fine if he does his work well, but if he's incompetent, there will be consequences."
"I'll be sure to remind him," Liang Hang assured, "And if he messes up, I hope Chief Li can give him some advice. I'm sure no one would dare to go over Chief Li's head and report a small matter like this."
"That used to be the case, but with that woman here, I really don't dare do anything out of line," Chief Li said with a serious expression.
'That woman?'
"You're talking about Lady Jiangxi?" Liang Huang asked.
"That's right," Chief Li nodded.
"Would she involve herself in the matters of the Office?" Liang Huang asked doubtfully.
He had heard about the woman with a mysterious origin since he was a young man, but there were only a few rare rumors; he had never heard about any specific events.
"I don't dare take the chance," Chief Li said with a serious expression, "It's fine if she doesn't care, but if you somehow annoy her, and you indeed have skeletons in your closet, it's all over."
Liang Huang paused for a second before nodding heavily, "I'll be sure to remind my brother to be careful."