Beginning With Max Enlightenment: I Confront The Immortals With Martial Arts - Chapter 10

Chapter 10: Apothecary Apprentice

Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations

The Green Snake Gang quickly fell into chaos and became history after Zhuo Ling’s death.

Zhou You did not go looking for trouble with Yellow Dog.

A few days later, Yellow Dog died in a gang conflict.

After returning to the dojo with the spoils of war, Zhou You suddenly felt that he should change his residence.

The dojo basically did not care about the residences of the outer disciples.

However, if anyone suddenly did a ward round one day, many of his secrets would be exposed.

Moreover, as he became stronger, he could foresee that his secrets would increase.

It was time to think of a way to build a private base outside to make things easier.

Putting it aside for the time being, Zhou You began to count his gains from tonight.

350 taels of silver.

It was a huge sum of money that Zhou You had never seen before. If he drank a bowl of bacon soup every day, it could last for a year.

Unfortunately, after becoming a martial artist, the effect of the bacon soup was greatly reduced.

A portion of bacon soup could only allow Zhou You to complete one more practice session.

Moreover, he could only take one every five days.

Medicine was 30% poisonous.

If he took the medicine too frequently and his body could not completely metabolize it, it would accumulate poison in his body and damage his foundation.

As for the other Blood Strengthening Pill commonly used by apprentices, its effect was also greatly reduced. It was just that there was an unlimited number of pills available, as long as the digestive system could keep up.

Zhou You asked around and found out that there were two types of supplements for cultivation.

One type was to strengthen the foundation and repair hidden injuries, such as bacon soup.

The other type was used to replenish energy, such as the Blood Strengthening Pill.

The Blood Strengthening Pill was actually refined from the flesh and blood of powerful ferocious beasts through special methods. It was not much different from ordinary food, but the energy density was greater and it was easier to digest and absorb.

It could heal hidden injuries and replenish energy. It was called a medicinal pill.

Other than money, the most valuable items in his loot were two martial arts manuals.

The first was the Green Snake Fist.

The second was the Iron Skin Technique.

Both of them were basic martial arts. When cultivated to the extreme, one would be able to develop inner force.

The difference was that the Green Snake Fist did not have any subsequent internal force development techniques.

However, Iron Skin Technique came with it.

Sadly, it was not included in this booklet. One had to join the Iron Skin Dojo to obtain it.

He flipped through it carefully and recorded the two martial arts on the interface.

Green Snake Fist (Uninitiated)

Iron Skin Technique (Uninitiated)

The cultivation of the Iron Skin Technique was to use strong external stimulation to temper the skin membrane. A special potion would be used to speed up the repair of the skin membrane. It would be constantly destroyed and repaired. Finally, it would achieve the effect of the skin membrane being incomparably hard and invulnerable.

Zhao Qing was rather disdainful when he talked about the Iron Skin Technique.

According to him, the Iron Skin Technique would refine the skin into dead skin. He could not even feel anything when touching women, and he could not cultivate more exquisite martial arts techniques. His attacks were as direct as a barbarian’s.

If he could develop internal force through cultivation techniques, he would be able to shed his skin and return to being a normal person.

Since he did not have the manual to develop internal force for the Iron Skin Technique, Zhou You temporarily suppressed his thoughts to practice this. Instead, he turned his eyes to the Green Snake Fist.

There were only five moves in the Green Snake Fist, and it was far less exquisite than the Ferocious Tiger Fist.

However, there is something to be said for the technique when it came to the development of the flexibility of the wrist and the training of the fingers.

Following the instructions in the manual, Zhou You began to practice the Green Snake Fist.

With Zhou You’s current martial artist abilities, he no longer needed to go all out to practice the basic techniques. As long as he got into the rhythm, he could increase his proficiency.

After one round, Zhou You was surprised to discover that he had already mastered the Green Snake Fist.

Martial Arts: Green Snake Fist (Master) (0/5)

Green Snake Fist also appeared in the Aptitude column.

Aptitude: Green Snake Fist (55%)

The compatibility of the Green Snake Fist was actually as high as 55%!

This was something Zhou You had not expected.

No wonder he was able to learn the basics after just one session.

Was he that well-suited for practicing the Green Snake Fist?

Certainly not!

It probably only had this effect now that he was a martial artist!

It was naturally easy for junior high school students to solve elementary school questions!

That was right.

That must be it!

The Green Snake Fist focused on training his hands. Coupled with the fact that he did not have to use much strength, he did not feel much after practicing it. He continued to cultivate.

After repeating it five times, he saw the words behind the Green Snake Fist change on the interface. Only then did Zhou You drag his slightly heavy hands and fell asleep.

Green Snake Fist (Greater Mastery) (0/50)

…

Five days later.

After the morning class ended, Zhou You found Zhao Qing, who was leaning against the back of the chair and dozing off at the main entrance.

Zhao Qing opened his eyes and glanced at him. He said directly, “Your package ends today, right? If you want to continue learning boxing, you should pay your tuition fees. If you don’t want to continue doing it, you can move out in the afternoon.”

Just as Zhou You was about to take out the money to continue learning martial arts at the dojo, Zhao Qing straightened his back and looked at him. “I have a proposal for you, but I’m not sure if you’re interested.”

Hmmm?

Was he trying to recommend him for a job?

Zhou You’s interest was piqued. He raised his hands at his waist and cupped his hands. “Thank you for looking out for me, Ninth Senior Brother. What do you mean?”

“Master Cheng wants to recruit an apprentice from our dojo. You’re still a member of our dojo today, so you can naturally give it a try. It depends on whether you’re interested or not.”

“…”

Zhou You went speechless.

So that was the reason.

More than two months had passed and Cheng Yiqing still hadn’t recruited any apprentices. Was it that difficult?

Apprentices in the martial arts school paid money to learn martial arts. Nominal masters did not have many restrictions on apprentices.

On the other hand, apprentices in most other industries were recruited as untrained labor. Furthermore, they had to sign a long-term contract. They had to do odd jobs for at least three years before they could come into contact with real trade-related work.

As an apprentice, being beaten and scolded was a common occurrence.

Therefore, Zhou You had rejected Cheng Yiqing the last time.

Just as Zhou You was about to refuse, he heard Zhao Qing say, “Master Cheng doesn’t have many rules. He doesn’t sign an apprenticeship contract. Instead, he just signs a relatively long labor contract. If you perform well, you have a chance to become his disciple.”

Hmmm?

Was it not an apprenticeship and just a working contract?

Although they were both labor contracts, there was a huge difference between the two.

Apprentice contracts were equivalent to indenture contracts. During the duration of the contract, one could expect little or no payment at all. If one broke the contract, the contract owner could directly capture you.

On the other hand, the labor contract was an agreement to work for income. It would specify the specific work scope, time remuneration, and so on. If one breached the contract, one would only have to pay the agreed compensation.

If Cheng Yiqing had directly said that it was a labor contract, Zhou You might have had a good talk with him. If things went well, he might have joined the apothecary.

“Thank you, Ninth Senior Brother. If I can pass smoothly, I will definitely thank you for this.”

After some thought, Zhou You decided to take a look.

“Go on. Do your best.”

…

In the apothecary, Cheng Yiqing and Zhou You stared at each other.

After a few rounds of tests, such as identifying herbs, distribution of medicine, technique, pharmacology, shorthand, and mental arithmetic, they entered the final signing process. That was when the two of them ended up this way.

After a long while, Cheng Yiqing angrily flicked his sleeves, picked up the paper on the table, crushed it, and threw it away. Then, he took out another piece of blank paper and started writing

A moment later, Cheng Yiqing pushed the paper over and spoke in a choked voice.

“Alright! Sign it!”

Zhou You took the piece of paper with a smile and browsed through it. Then, he took the brush and signed his name before pressing his thumbprint.

From this moment on, Zhou You officially became an apprentice in the apothecary.

The time limit was fifteen years.

Zhou You did not care about the duration at all.

Whether Cheng Yiqing could live for fifteen years was a question in itself.

The salary aside, the penalty fee was only 150 taels. Was he looking down on him?

He could leave whenever he wanted.

The other terms were not too harsh under Zhou You’s persuasion.

Eight-hour working hours.

Initially, Zhou You wanted to strive for five working days a week. When he saw that the old man was really about to fall out with him, he quickly changed his words.

He changed it to an annual leave system.

“You can leave now. Remember to come to work on time tomorrow!”

Cheng Yiqing picked up the contract, blew it dry, and put it away.

“The outer court accepts so many apprentices every year, but they’re all blockheads! There’s not a single smart one!”