Chapter 14: The Bathhouse

  "Tomorrow I'll start cultivating! Every time I upgrade a level, Xiao Lao will reward me with ten taels of gold! Ten taels of gold, Father, Mother, younger brother and sister, they can eat well and dress warmly... Hehe..." Thinking of this, Chen Huan couldn't help but laugh out loud.

  "Xiao Ling and the others have been practicing for a day, taking advantage of the fact that they are still practicing now, I'll go take a look, so I can know what they learned today, tomorrow I can catch up...” Chen Hao listened to the sound of martial arts coming from the performance arena, unable to hold back his excited mood, step by step he walked towards the performance arena.

  On the huge martial arts arena, there were as many as 200 people, divided into various camps. Some practiced boxing, some danced with knives and swords, while others engaged in pair fights. The sounds of fists and swords flying through the air, the shouting, and the fluctuations of Yuan energy waves of different colors symbolizing the different levels of martial artists made Chen Huan's blood boil with excitement.

  Chen Hao's eyes immediately fell on the three classes of Xiangzi generation disciples, who were standing in three square arrays. Everyone was squatting in a horse stance, motionless, and drenched in sweat. The three instructors patrolled back and forth within each array, and anyone whose posture changed even slightly would be met with an instructor's ruthless whip.

  With a "thud", a girl fell to the ground.

  Chen Hao was shocked at once, and the girl who fell down was actually the slender little Ling'er.

  "Get up!" shouted Instructor Xiao Qianrui, "Today you must hold on for an hour, now there are only ten minutes left. Don't fall behind, give me your all! Xiao Xiangling, get up! Slap..."

  A black whip, like a cowhide whip, was directly lashed onto Xiaoling's body.

  The little spirit, already drenched in sweat, trembled all over, clenched his teeth, and stood up unsteadily without making a sound.

  "This..." Chen Hao also didn't expect that the Xiang family's cultivation would be so cruel.

  Chen Hao clearly saw that these young men, each and every one of them, were gritting their teeth, persisting with great effort. Sweat as big as beans was pouring down like rain, each and every one of them trembling all over, seemingly on the verge of collapse at any moment. Except for a very small number of people, almost everyone had lash marks on their bodies, Xiao Lingzi having the most...

  But what made Chen Huan strange was that in the entire martial arts arena, except for the three classes of Xiangzi generation, others seemed to have not followed the character generation. Some were Jizibei, some were Shizibei, and their ages were also different. Moreover, among the crowd, Chen Huan did not see Xiao Jiyuan and Xiao Jihan.

  Chen Hao didn't know that the Xia family's martial arts arena wasn't just one. This martial arts arena was specifically for newly recruited disciples and disciples under the martial artists. Disciples of the Xia family who were at the level of martial artist to martial master used a different martial arts arena. They could also find their own place to practice, strive to reach the peak of the 9th rank martial master, and work hard to become an inner disciple of the Xia family!

  ……

  More than ten minutes later, the three instructors of the Xiangzi generation announced the end of training at the same time.

  In an instant, except for a few young men, everyone sat down on the ground with a thud.

  "Don't forget to practice 'Turtle Breathing Skill' tonight!" The three instructors said to their respective disciples, and after finishing speaking, the three of them turned around and left.

  Xiao Ling'er lay on the ground, her whole body aching abnormally, as if she had lost all her strength. It wasn't until now that she finally understood why the disciples of the Xiao family were so exceptional - it was simply because they were treated like livestock...

  At dawn, all the disciples of the Xiang family only learned a few simple basic skills. In the morning, they were reading books in the school hall, which was relatively easy. In the afternoon, it started off easily as well, with the instructor teaching them the internal skill "Turtle Breathing Skill", which wasn't difficult to learn. However, the last hour of standing still was the most painful, and if not for wanting to prove herself against her father, Xiaoling didn't know if she could have persisted.

  After a few minutes, some of the young men got up one after another and slowly left the martial arts arena. However, Xiaoling still didn't have any strength. Turning her head to look around, she found that most of the girls who were still lying on the ground motionless were actually the last few sisters she knew.

  Several people looked at each other and burst out laughing.

  Women are indeed born slightly weaker than men. However, with further training, this disadvantage will soon become negligible. For a martial artist, the true deciding factor is yuanli (internal energy).

  After a while, the entire martial arts arena was left with only Xiaoling and her friends. Except for Xiaoling, they all sat up, whispering and laughing softly.

  Chen Hao, who was hiding in a secluded corner of the martial arts arena, walked towards Xiaoling and the others at this time.

  "Huh, Xianghao is here!" A girl was the first to see Chenhao and said with a slight surprise. After a day of interaction, they also knew about Chenhao's situation through Xiaoling'er's mouth. However, they didn't know that it was Xiao Jihans' conspiracy against Chenhao, but thought it was the "special treatment" enjoyed by the last place.

  "Hello!" Chen Hao was in a good mood, with a smile on his face. After greeting the girls, he walked straight towards Xiaoling, who was staring at him in surprise.

  "Xiao Ling, are you okay?" Chen Hao said with concern.

  "It's nothing... how did you get here?"

  "I arrived early and saw you fall down and get whipped by the instructor. Are you tired? Let me help you up," said Chen Hao.

  "Uh, I'm really tired, not just a little tired, super tired......" Xiaoling saw the brilliant smile on Chenhao's face and seemed to be in a good mood. She immediately regained her energy and sat up with Chenhao's support, saying: "You haven't answered me yet, how did you get here?"

  "Hehe... Tomorrow, I can finally cultivate with all of you. So, let me take a look first!" Chen Hao said with a smile, his excitement evident in his eyes.

  He, who was not yet twelve years old, was wearing the uniform attire of the Xiao family at this moment and looked exceptionally handsome. Especially with a smile on his face at this moment, he made several girls' eyes go straight.

  Twelve- or thirteen-year-old boys and girls have already formed their own views on men and women, and it is the age when they first fall in love.

  "Ah...... Really? Didn't you say......"

  Simple Chen Hao, without any ulterior motives, his emotions were written all over his face. Whatever was on his mind, he would say it out loud. When he told Xiaoling and the other girls about his experiences for the day, they were all delighted for him. Of course, regarding the mysterious painting, Qingfeng fruit, and the "Longevity Secret" that Old Xiao had entrusted to him not to reveal, Chen Hao didn't mention a single word.

  After resting for a while, Chen Huan and the girls returned to their dormitory together.

  The girls all took another set of clothes and toiletries, going to the public bathhouse for a bath. After a day of training, they were covered in sweat, and their white clothes had almost turned black, which was absolutely unbearable for the girls who loved cleanliness.

  Chen Hao had never seen a bathhouse before, and he didn't think it was necessary to go there to take a bath. He could just use a basin of water and a towel to clean himself up at home. Besides, he hadn't practiced his martial arts today, so he felt refreshed and clean anyway.

  However, at the invitation of all the girls, he still took his clothes and toiletries and followed them to take a look at what the bathroom was like and get familiar with it.

  The bathhouse specially built by the Xiao family for their outer disciples was located in the middle of the dormitory area for several generations of outer disciples. At this time, the vast majority of disciples had just finished their cultivation and were at the peak of bathing. However, the Xiao family's bathhouse was very large and could accommodate hundreds of people to bathe together at the same time, so there was basically no need to worry about not having enough space.

  Chen Hao followed Xiaoling and the others to the entrance of the bathhouse.

  "Xiang Huang, you don't have to wait for us after washing up, see you at the dormitory, we'll go eat together then." Little Ling'er and the other girls said to Chen Huang as they walked towards the smaller female bathhouse on the right side.

  "Okay." Chen Hao responded and followed those laughing boys towards the left side of the boys' bathroom.

  ……

  "Huh? Isn't that the poor kid?"

  When Chen Huan just entered the entrance of the boys' bathroom, five or six disciples of the Ji character generation appeared behind him, one of whom said in a low voice.

  These five or six people were precisely the followers who had been with Xiao Jihan at noon.

  "What a coincidence... I was just thinking of finding him to have some fun, didn't expect to see him so soon. Hmph, today, in front of so many people, he actually dared not to give our boss face, what a death wish! Let's go, brothers!" Another one with a sinister gaze looked at Chen Hao's back and said.

  Chen Hao's figure hesitated for a moment, others couldn't hear it, but he did. A bright light flashed in his clear eyes, and after a slight pause, he walked firmly into the bathroom again.

  Afraid?

  Chen Hao never knew what fear was.

  Ever since he got into a fight with the son of a local tyrant when he was young and brought disaster to his family, Chen Hao had never fought with anyone again. It wasn't that he was afraid of getting beaten up, but rather that he was afraid of bringing harm to his family once more. When people bullied him or hit him, all he could do was silently endure it.

  But he knew his body was different from other kids because he wasn't afraid of being beaten!

  The same stick that hit him and Erdogans would leave Erdogans in pain for several days, but he himself would not be uncomfortable for long.

  The same wound that might take others ten days or half a month to heal would disappear from his body in just a few hours, without leaving any scars.

  Now he is a disciple of Xiao's family, no need to worry about his own family being harmed, what else can he be afraid of?

  Even if their martial artist level is high, what of it?

  A good man is easily deceived, a good horse is easily ridden. Xiao Lao had said before that without his consent, no one could drive him out of the Xiao family. With this backing, what was he afraid of?

  Time and time again, he was treated unfairly, his heart had long been suppressing his own anger. What if he couldn't fight back?

  Since it can't be avoided, then bite, and also bite off a piece of their flesh!

  One-sided tolerance will only make them more overbearing!

  Chen Hao, although young, could also understand this principle. In Xiao's family, he didn't believe they would dare to beat him to death!

  (PS: The first update is here. Thank you to Chun Cun Er, Ye Se LCC, Daniel's Father, Wu Yan De Shi Huo and Mie Jue Shi Tai for their support with rewards! Also, I'm really hurt, can my brothers and sisters give Wu Shan some encouragement?)