Chapter 7 The Training Ground

The morning sun beat down on the packed dirt of the outer sect training ground. The air smelled of sweat and raised dust. Over two hundred disciples filled the massive courtyard. They moved through synchronized katas and sparred with wooden weapons in small groups.

These were the formal outer sect members. They all wore clean blue robes that designated their status as official students under the tutelage of various elders. They had regular access to pills and proper guidance while the servants in Copper Row starved. Three years ago Ye Chen had stood at the center of this exact courtyard. He had been their lead instructor.

Ye Chen walked through the main archway and stepped onto the training ground. He wore his standard gray servant rags. The contrast between his dirty clothes and the pristine blue robes of the disciples was stark.

A disciple practicing a sword thrust near the entrance paused his movement. The young man lowered his wooden blade and stared at the newcomer.

"Is that the stable boy?" the swordsman asked his sparring partner.

The partner turned and squinted through the morning glare. Recognition dawned on his face and a cruel smirk twisted his lips.

"It is," the partner replied loudly. He pointed his wooden sword directly at Ye Chen. "Hey everyone! The former number one genius is taking a break from shoveling dung!"

The shout carried across the courtyard. The rhythmic sounds of practice slowly ground to a halt. Heads turned from every direction. The sparring matches stopped midway. Disciples lowered their weapons and gathered near the center of the training ground. A large crowd formed a loose circle around Ye Chen.

A tall disciple named Wang Lei pushed his way to the front of the crowd. He was a fourth stage Body Tempering student who had always been jealous of Ye Chen's former talent. Wang Lei rested his wooden staff on his shoulder and looked Ye Chen up and down with open disgust.

"Are you lost, trash?" Wang Lei asked. His voice dripped with condescension. "The stables are on the other side of the sect. This area is for martial artists not livestock cleaners."

Laughter rippled through the gathered crowd.

Ye Chen stood perfectly still with his hands resting casually at his sides. He looked at the faces surrounding him. He recognized many of them. He had corrected Wang Lei's terrible footwork countless times. He had personally taught the swordsman near the entrance how to properly grip a hilt. Now they looked at him like he was a disease.

"I am in the right place," Ye Chen said calmly. "I came here to practice."

Wang Lei let out a bark of harsh laughter. He turned to the crowd and threw his hands up in the air.

"He came to practice!" Wang Lei shouted to the disciples. "The cripple without a dantian wants to practice! Are you going to practice sweeping the dirt for us Ye Chen? I can drop some coins on the ground for you to fetch."

A female disciple named Lin Xue stepped forward from the crowd. She had once brought Ye Chen daily meals just to sit near him during his peak. She now looked at him with pity and embarrassment.

"Ye Chen please leave," Lin Xue said softly. She kept her distance as if his gray robes were contagious. "You are embarrassing yourself. Lady Su Rou ascends to the inner sect soon. If her supporters see you here causing a scene they will break your legs just to curry favor with her."

"Let them try," Ye Chen replied. He did not break eye contact with Lin Xue. "I am not here to sweep floors and I am not here to hide from Su Rou's dogs."

Wang Lei slammed the butt of his wooden staff against the dirt. The loud thud silenced the murmuring crowd. The tall disciple stepped closer to Ye Chen and invaded his personal space.

"You really do not know your place anymore," Wang Lei sneered. He poked the end of his staff hard into Ye Chen's chest. "You used to stand up there on the stone podium acting like a god. You looked down on all of us because you had that fancy spiritual bone. Now you are nothing but a broken vessel leaking dirt. You are a joke, Ye Chen. A pathetic walking joke."

Wang Lei poked Ye Chen again harder this time. The wood dug into the fabric of his gray robes.

"Do you want me to show you some real martial arts?" Wang Lei taunted. "I can teach you the basic stances again. Or maybe I should just beat you like a stray dog until you remember how to beg."

The crowd cheered in agreement. They hurled insults and spat at Ye Chen's feet. They fed off the humiliation of the fallen genius. It made their own mediocre progress feel significant.

Ye Chen took their abuse in silence. He let the insults wash over him while his eyes scanned the crowd. The system interface hovered faintly in the corner of his vision. He watched the experience points calculating in his mind. He needed targets to fuel his wind attribute skill.

He looked at Wang Lei's smug face and then looked past him at the hundreds of arrogant disciples forming the circle.

"You all talk a lot for people who still hold their weapons like terrified children," Ye Chen finally spoke. His voice was calm but it carried a chilling resonance that cut through the noise of the courtyard.

The laughter died in the throats of the disciples. The sudden shift in Ye Chen's tone unsettled them.

"Wang Lei, your stance is still too wide," Ye Chen continued. He pointed at the tall disciple's feet. "Lin Xue you still hesitate before your strikes because you are afraid of pain. None of you have improved a single step in three years."

Wang Lei's face flushed crimson with rage. He tightened his grip on his wooden staff until his knuckles turned white.

"You dare lecture us, you crippled piece of trash?" Wang Lei roared.

Ye Chen took a slow measured step forward. He did not assume a combat stance. He simply let his arms hang loose and leveled a cold dead stare at the entire crowd.

"I am not lecturing you," Ye Chen said. The chaos energy surged silently through his repaired meridians. "I am challenging you. All of you. Come at me together right now and I will gladly remind you why I was your senior."