Capítulo 28: The Grand Stride Society
Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The test wasn't very complicated.
The Wrestler Plane's test focused on one's visible strength, the Warrior Plane on one's hidden power, and the Knight Plane on one's transformed strength.
The differences between these three strengths were apparent, and no single person could cheat the test. Since it wasn't a test of one's rank in a particular plane, a mock battle was also not required.
"The Wrestler Plane is the entrance into the path of martial arts. Congratulations, Mr. Chi." The staff at the National Testing Agency congratulated him as she handed Chi Qiaosong a card.
"Thank you." The young boy took the hard plastic-like card with a huge fist drawing on its back that signified the Wrestler Plane.
On the front was a two-inch photo of him and his brief information containing his name, gender, ethnicity, birth date, address, and Wrestler Plane ID number.
"220804-46620316-17527." He read his ID out.
The 22 represented the Jiangyou Province, while the 08 was the code for Fuliang City. The 04 was the Ink Ridge County, and 4662-03-16 was Chi Qiaosong's birth date, the 16th of March, Year 4662 of the Yellow Emperor Era.
As for the 17527, it meant that among all the martial artists from Ink Ridge County, he was the 17527th person to reach the Wrestler Plane.
Daxia Republic was established 112 years ago, excluding those who had reached the plane before that and those who had only registered after reaching the Warrior Plane. Around 150 martial artists would reach the Wrestler Plane every year.
As a small county that only had around 300 thousand people, being able to produce 150 Warrior Plane martial artists every year was pretty impressive.
Most were from the local clans that had been martial arts practitioners for generations.
Some were from martial art gyms, but these places were expensive, and the success rate was low. Most successful martial artists would not start a gym of their own. Those who did were either those who couldn't become officials or abjected martial artists.
A few years back, the Central Government tried to promote the establishment of martial arts academies to teach both literature and martial arts. However, that idea ended up in failure.
The respective clans and warlords monopolized most skills. They would never teach an outsider without any reason.
For Commander Zhu to set up military academies in the Grand Striding Region and even teach the city martial arts institute the Kuido Spear Technique that was passed down in his family was a bold move to make.
However, that was how Chi Qiaosong was able to benefit from it.
"Mr. Qiao, congratulations." A man stopped the young boy before the latter could even leave the center.
"You are?"
"I'm a guide for the Grand Stride Society assigned to the National Testing Agency. My name is Tao Yonghua. Here is my name card."
Chi Qiaosong accepted the name card with a confused expression and asked, "Do you need something from me?" He had never heard of the Grand Stride Society and had no idea what kind of an organization it was.
"The Grand Stride Society is an organization consisting of the local businesses, and we are registered with the government. We are now recruiting martial artists, and we pay them very well. Would you be interested in hearing the detail?"
Daxia Republic allowed a group of people to form organizations.
For example, after taking over Fuliang, Guangxin, and Geyang Cities, Commander Zhu formed his own organization, the New Right Society.
The New Right Society was a political organization. It was an organization with the highest level of confidentiality and security and could participate in any political activity held in the Daxia Republic.
On the other hand, the Grand Stride Society was a business organization. It was built on a loose structure with the main focus on gathering the different businesses together. Other organizations in the county focused on various aspects such as literature, martial arts, and even logistics.
According to an unwritten rule, a person could only join one political organization but was allowed to be affiliated with countless organizations of other aspects.
"I'm sorry, but I don't have the time now. Can we talk about this when I'm free?" Chi Qiaosong refused as he wasn't doing business yet.
"If you are interested, feel free to call or send me a fax on the number on my name card. The Grand Stride Society will welcome you anytime."
When Chi Qiaosong returned, everyone stared at his card with admiration.
"This is so cool!" Li Weiwei exclaimed.
Although the material used to make the card was low-quality, the card's meaning wasn't. A considerable difference existed between a mere civilian and a martial artist.
It was similar to comparing a university student to someone who didn't know how to read and write.
Just like an illiterate person might not be able to lead a comfortable life, an ordinary civilian has a lesser chance of achieving great success. However, just like getting a university degree, a martial artist had a higher chance to shine.
"Don't give up. You guys will have yours soon." Chi Qiaosong put the card back into his pocket.
The group then headed to the Great Bridge Restaurant to celebrate. As Chi Qiaosong was in a great mood, he had more alcohol than he usually would.
However, he was still awake enough to refuse any event after that and returned to the dorm to rest.
Not long after waking up the next day, Kong Hongcai summoned him.
"Originally, I planned to teach you my 6 Joints Mantis Hand and the White Rainbow Sword since these are compatible for you," he sighed.
The instructor was probably disappointed at himself for thinking that Chi Qiaosong had no talent in martial arts in the past.
Because of that, he rambled more than usual. "Being able to learn from Chief He is a form of good luck. He's a Knight Plane martial artist, after all. However, you know he's a busy person, and he might be unable to teach you all the time. Since I'm considered someone who helped set you on the right path, you can continue to learn from me during your free time if you want. Your comprehensive ability is better than most people, so it's a good thing if you learn a few extra skills to protect yourself."
"Don't worry, Mr. Kong. I'll still have to trouble you a lot in the future."
"I can handle that."
"That's right, Mr. Kong. Are you familiar with the Fierce Tiger Heavy Fist?"
Kong Hongcai laughed awkwardly and said, "I practiced it a little when I was younger."
What he meant was that he wasn't familiar with the skill.
"Then, can you tell me which instructor is skilled with the Fierce Tiger Heavy Fist? The chief instructor is planning to teach me that, so I'm thinking of learning about the skill concept first."
After a moment of silence, the instructor replied, "Xu Jingyang."
"Thank you, Mr. Kong."
"Although the Fierce Tiger Heavy Fist is an advanced version of the Crazed Bull Heavy Fist, the training method and punching style are completely different. You'll have to pay more attention to that."
"I will."
"Also, you'll need to prepare more gifts. Xu Jingyang is a greedy person." Kong Hongcai added.
Chi Qiaosong nodded in agreement.
The young boy had already witnessed how greedy Xu Jingyang was when he learned the Yu Sword Skill from the instructor. He had given two bottles of Hazy Wus and three packets of Gold Saints, which were worth more than a few hundred dollars in total.
Even his tuition fee only amounted to 1500 dollars annually.
After leaving Kong Hongcai's office, Chi Qiaosong headed to visit Liu Chun. However, the instructor wasn't in his office. The young boy checked the temporary dormitory, and the instructor wasn't there either. After asking around, he learned that Liu Chun had gone to a Taoist temple.
There were three Taoist temples in Ink Ridge County, two in the mountains and one in the city.
The one in the city was known as the Star Temple. This temple had received a lot of donations as wealthy families would send their children to the temple to learn about internal strength. Such a thing would require a hefty amount of assistance.
The city directly managed the Star Temple.
Most of the priests and householders of the temple were governmental officials. They were paid as they continued to enlighten themselves.
Taoism in the new world was different from Earth's. The religious aspect of it mainly disappeared and was more like a martial arts clan. Their jobs primarily consisted of capturing demons and ghosts.
Another of the temple's responsibilities was handling all of the strange phenomena inside the county.
Since there was nothing for Chi Qiaosong to do at the academy, he decided to head to the Star Temple in the name of needing assistance from Liu Chun. The first thing he did when he arrived at the temple was to pray, as he was still a Serenity Cultivator in the Novice Plane after all.
-- Presente
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