Bai Changyue was just an ordinary member of the Bai family.
Of course, strictly speaking, he wasn't really that ordinary since he could also practice martial arts.
But what good did that do him?
With thousands of members in the Bai family, there were all kinds of people among them. He was just one of them, nothing special.
As for the status of a Bai family member?
It wasn't worth much.
In a small place like Fengcheng County, a young master from a prestigious family might still be worth something, able to intimidate others.
But in Shangyuan County, you could probably bump into a member of a prestigious family just by walking a few steps on the street.
It was a dime a dozen.
There was no hope for him to stand out on his own, and Bai Changyue's talent was not outstanding either. Eventually, he took a different path.
That was also why he came to approach him right away.
While others might be concerned about their reputation, he had no such worries. When he saw a big shot, he immediately went over to make a connection.
What was the value of face? What did it matter?
With the intention of pleasing and making connections, Bai Changyue actively chatted with Chen An, even taking the initiative to show him around, appreciate the scenery of the Bai family's territory, and help him get familiar with it.
Chen An didn't refuse.
Having just arrived here, he wasn't really familiar with the surroundings.
Now that someone was willing to show him around, it was just right.
With Bai Changyue leading the way, Chen An took a stroll around.
The scale of the Bai family's territory was quite impressive.
Although called a family territory, it was more like a small city.
In this small city, there were at least tens of thousands of people living.
These tens of thousands of people were not just members of the Bai family; there were also a large number of servants and other personnel.
After all, the Bai family also needed food to eat, people to serve them, and all of these required manpower.
Over time, this place slowly developed.
As they wandered around, Chen An felt like he had entered a bustling city, just on a smaller scale.
Furthermore, the proportion of martial practitioners here was higher.
Saying that everyone practiced martial arts was a bit of an exaggeration, but probably eight or nine out of ten did.
Even the servants mostly had traces of martial arts on them, although they probably didn't have much to show for it.
This was a society where everyone practiced martial arts.
There were many benefits to this.
In such an environment where everyone practiced martial arts, those with talent were more likely to stand out and become martial practitioners, not having their talents suppressed by various circumstances.
Born in Fengcheng County, unless you were exceptionally talented or born into the family of a gang leader or even the leader of the gang, there was no way you could receive true martial arts teachings.
Unless you were at the level of a gang leader, you would only be a low-level thug as an ordinary gang member, and the only martial arts you could learn would be body-refining techniques like the Five Tiger Knife Method.
Anything beyond that, forget about it, the path would be cut off for you.
It was much easier in the Bai family.
According to Bai Changyue, even an ordinary Bai family member could start practicing martial arts at around the age of eight, trying to cultivate their skills.
Then those with good talent would be selected for special training, while those with lesser talent would fend for themselves, doing random chores.
Although it still looked difficult, compared to Fengcheng County, the environment here was already much better.
"Miss Qing's side has always been short of people, and now with Brother An coming to help, it won't be long before he's given important tasks."
Walking on the road, Bai Changyue looked at Chen An with some envy. "At least he can manage a market area, and then money will come rolling in."
Chen An responded in a friendly manner and didn't hide any irrelevant information.
Bai Changyue wasn't surprised when he learned about Chen An's cultivation level, after all, this was the Bai family's territory, and there were quite a few martial practitioners.
Unless one had achieved the Grand Master level, that would be worth a moment of surprise.
Of course, if he knew that Chen An had only been practicing martial arts for less than a year, things would have been different.
At this moment, he just felt envious.
It was well known in the various branches of the Bai family that Bai Qing's followers were always short of manpower.
A young man like Chen An with the cultivation level of Internal Qi would likely be favored and trusted in the future.
It might not be daring to say, but managing a bustling market area and collecting taxes would be too easy.
It was a plum job.
"I don't care about money rolling in, as long as I can help Miss Qing," Chen An said with a smile, showing his loyalty even when Miss Qing wasn't present.
To this, Bai Changyue just smiled and didn't say much.
After a while, they arrived at a bustling market area, where Chen An bought some things.
Chen An paid attention to the prices.
Although there were some differences, the prices of various goods were not much different from those in Fengcheng County, and in some cases, they were even much cheaper.
Especially, the price of food was even lower.
He wondered if this was normal.
After taking a stroll, Chen An bowed to Bai Changyue and prepared to leave.
Before leaving, Bai Changyue gave Chen An the address of his residence, so that he could find him if needed.
Chen An smiled and agreed.
After a while, Chen An returned to his residence.
Time passed bit by bit.
In the blink of an eye, more than two months had passed.
During these two months, there were not many changes in the Bai family's territory.
However, some people noticed that Bai Qing's side seemed to have a new follower.
This follower was not very old, probably around sixteen or seventeen years old, but he was already at the Internal Qi level, reportedly a talented individual brought from the neighboring Chi Yuan County.
This news sparked some curiosity, and some people even visited him, but that was about it.
After a while, the curiosity caused by Chen An's arrival faded away.
This was the Bai family's territory, and there were quite a few young talents at the Internal Qi completion level.
Compared to these talents, Chen An's news was just a passing novelty, nothing special.
In the early morning, the sunlight illuminated the earth, bringing warmth to the land.
On a grassland, an arrow shot through the air, heading towards the front and finally pinning a rabbit to the ground, thoroughly dead.
"Brother Chen has really good archery skills."
Cheers echoed from all directions.
Standing by a stream, Chen An smiled, calmly put away his longbow, and said, "You guys are too kind."
"This rabbit looks quite big, it'll make for an extra meal for us."
Someone picked up the rabbit and threw it aside.
Not far away, a few servants quickly picked up the game and went to skin and process it.
Only the few people gathered in the center continued to chat.
"I heard that Miss Qing recently bestowed a few Body Tempering Pills on you once again, truly enviable."
A tall youth looked at Chen An with obvious envy.
"I heard that some fresh Body Tempering Pills were on the shelves in the county city some time ago. I went to see, but each pill costs five hundred silver taels, which I simply cannot afford."
The youth said with a long sigh, a hint of bitterness on his face.
"It's not just that it costs five hundred silver taels, the key is that you can't even buy it."
A voice came from the side.
A young girl with a delicate appearance, dressed in a tight-fitting robe that accentuated her curves, caught the attention of those around her.
In front of the others, she shook her head and said, "I heard the news and rushed over immediately, but I was just a step too late. They were all out of stock; it's really..."
"Miss Qing is really generous. Giving out Pill for five hundred silver taels each." The youth spoke with clear envy.
Chen An kept his smile, saying, "Why not join my family, Miss Qing will surely be overjoyed. By then, a few pills will be a small matter."
"That's still a pass."
Bai Changren smiled bitterly, not daring to continue this topic.
"Even if he has the intention, he probably wouldn't dare to go. Otherwise, his dad would break both his legs."
The girl on the side couldn't help but chuckle, letting out a clear laughter.
Bai Changyue was just an ordinary member of the Bai family.
Of course, strictly speaking, he wasn't really that ordinary since he could also practice martial arts.
But what good did that do him?
With thousands of members in the Bai family, there were all kinds of people among them. He was just one of them, nothing special.
As for the status of a Bai family member?
It wasn't worth much.
In a small place like Fengcheng County, a young master from a prestigious family might still be worth something, able to intimidate others.
But in Shangyuan County, you could probably bump into a member of a prestigious family just by walking a few steps on the street.
It was a dime a dozen.
There was no hope for him to stand out on his own, and Bai Changyue's talent was not outstanding either. Eventually, he took a different path.
That was also why he came to approach him right away.
While others might be concerned about their reputation, he had no such worries. When he saw a big shot, he immediately went over to make a connection.
What was the value of face? What did it matter?
With the intention of pleasing and making connections, Bai Changyue actively chatted with Chen An, even taking the initiative to show him around, appreciate the scenery of the Bai family's territory, and help him get familiar with it.
Chen An didn't refuse.
Having just arrived here, he wasn't really familiar with the surroundings.
Now that someone was willing to show him around, it was just right.
With Bai Changyue leading the way, Chen An took a stroll around.
The scale of the Bai family's territory was quite impressive.
Although called a family territory, it was more like a small city.
In this small city, there were at least tens of thousands of people living.
These tens of thousands of people were not just members of the Bai family; there were also a large number of servants and other personnel.
After all, the Bai family also needed food to eat, people to serve them, and all of these required manpower.
Over time, this place slowly developed.
As they wandered around, Chen An felt like he had entered a bustling city, just on a smaller scale.
Furthermore, the proportion of martial practitioners here was higher.
Saying that everyone practiced martial arts was a bit of an exaggeration, but probably eight or nine out of ten did.
Even the servants mostly had traces of martial arts on them, although they probably didn't have much to show for it.
This was a society where everyone practiced martial arts.
There were many benefits to this.
In such an environment where everyone practiced martial arts, those with talent were more likely to stand out and become martial practitioners, not having their talents suppressed by various circumstances.
Born in Fengcheng County, unless you were exceptionally talented or born into the family of a gang leader or even the leader of the gang, there was no way you could receive true martial arts teachings.
Unless you were at the level of a gang leader, you would only be a low-level thug as an ordinary gang member, and the only martial arts you could learn would be body-refining techniques like the Five Tiger Knife Method.
Anything beyond that, forget about it, the path would be cut off for you.
It was much easier in the Bai family.
According to Bai Changyue, even an ordinary Bai family member could start practicing martial arts at around the age of eight, trying to cultivate their skills.
Then those with good talent would be selected for special training, while those with lesser talent would fend for themselves, doing random chores.
Although it still looked difficult, compared to Fengcheng County, the environment here was already much better.
"Miss Qing's side has always been short of people, and now with Brother An coming to help, it won't be long before he's given important tasks."
Walking on the road, Bai Changyue looked at Chen An with some envy. "At least he can manage a market area, and then money will come rolling in."
Chen An responded in a friendly manner and didn't hide any irrelevant information.
Bai Changyue wasn't surprised when he learned about Chen An's cultivation level, after all, this was the Bai family's territory, and there were quite a few martial practitioners.
Unless one had achieved the Grand Master level, that would be worth a moment of surprise.
Of course, if he knew that Chen An had only been practicing martial arts for less than a year, things would have been different.
At this moment, he just felt envious.
It was well known in the various branches of the Bai family that Bai Qing's followers were always short of manpower.
A young man like Chen An with the cultivation level of Internal Qi would likely be favored and trusted in the future.
It might not be daring to say, but managing a bustling market area and collecting taxes would be too easy.
It was a plum job.
"I don't care about money rolling in, as long as I can help Miss Qing," Chen An said with a smile, showing his loyalty even when Miss Qing wasn't present.
To this, Bai Changyue just smiled and didn't say much.
After a while, they arrived at a bustling market area, where Chen An bought some things.
Chen An paid attention to the prices.
Although there were some differences, the prices of various goods were not much different from those in Fengcheng County, and in some cases, they were even much cheaper.
Especially, the price of food was even lower.
He wondered if this was normal.
After taking a stroll, Chen An bowed to Bai Changyue and prepared to leave.
Before leaving, Bai Changyue gave Chen An the address of his residence, so that he could find him if needed.
Chen An smiled and agreed.
After a while, Chen An returned to his residence.
Time passed bit by bit.
In the blink of an eye, more than two months had passed.
During these two months, there were not many changes in the Bai family's territory.
However, some people noticed that Bai Qing's side seemed to have a new follower.
This follower was not very old, probably around sixteen or seventeen years old, but he was already at the Internal Qi level, reportedly a talented individual brought from the neighboring Chi Yuan County.
This news sparked some curiosity, and some people even visited him, but that was about it.
After a while, the curiosity caused by Chen An's arrival faded away.
This was the Bai family's territory, and there were quite a few young talents at the Internal Qi completion level.
Compared to these talents, Chen An's news was just a passing novelty, nothing special.
In the early morning, the sunlight illuminated the earth, bringing warmth to the land.
On a grassland, an arrow shot through the air, heading towards the front and finally pinning a rabbit to the ground, thoroughly dead.
"Brother Chen has really good archery skills."
Cheers echoed from all directions.
Standing by a stream, Chen An smiled, calmly put away his longbow, and said, "You guys are too kind."
"This rabbit looks quite big, it'll make for an extra meal for us."
Someone picked up the rabbit and threw it aside.
Not far away, a few servants quickly picked up the game and went to skin and process it.
Only the few people gathered in the center continued to chat.
"I heard that Miss Qing recently bestowed a few Body Tempering Pills on you once again, truly enviable."
A tall youth looked at Chen An with obvious envy.
"I heard that some fresh Body Tempering Pills were on the shelves in the county city some time ago. I went to see, but each pill costs five hundred silver taels, which I simply cannot afford."
The youth said with a long sigh, a hint of bitterness on his face.
"It's not just that it costs five hundred silver taels, the key is that you can't even buy it."
A voice came from the side.
A young girl with a delicate appearance, dressed in a tight-fitting robe that accentuated her curves, caught the attention of those around her.
In front of the others, she shook her head and said, "I heard the news and rushed over immediately, but I was just a step too late. They were all out of stock; it's really..."
"Miss Qing is really generous. Giving out Pill for five hundred silver taels each." The youth spoke with clear envy.
Chen An kept his smile, saying, "Why not join my family, Miss Qing will surely be overjoyed. By then, a few pills will be a small matter."
"That's still a pass."
Bai Changren smiled bitterly, not daring to continue this topic.
"Even if he has the intention, he probably wouldn't dare to go. Otherwise, his dad would break both his legs."
The girl on the side couldn't help but chuckle, letting out a clear laughter.
