Chapter 688: Entering the Ranks
Chapter 688: Entering the Ranks
Months later.
On the training ground.
Two figures were colliding fiercely, exchanging blows with wild abandon, each punch and kick landing with bone-crushing force.
Bang! Bang!
They only defended, allowing the other’s strikes to land on their faces, chests, arms, and thighs, while relentlessly attacking.
Half an incense stick later.
“Pant, pant... No more...”
Yefengchun slumped to the ground, breathing heavily, drenched in sweat, and too exhausted to move.
Across from him, Xun Heihu was in a similar state, silently inspecting the bruised areas on his body, which were now a deep red.
As the swelling subsided, a layer of ancient bronze-colored skin emerged.
“Pant, pant...”
Xun Heihu got up, assumed a stance, and started punching. The bronze hue on his skin deepened.
Sweat beads formed on his face, and he eventually collapsed, unable to continue.
“I’ve been wanting to ask, are you some kind of beast?”
Yefengchun, feeling the soreness in his limbs, grumbled, “I clearly had a better grasp of qi and blood, but when it comes to digesting the Copper-Lead Pill, you’re way ahead of me.”
He was at a loss for words.
Swallowing the ‘Copper-Lead Pill’ could lead to heavy metal poisoning, causing muscles and blood vessels to stiffen. Therefore, after absorbing the pill’s power, one needed to ‘purge’ the toxins.
This involved brutally striking each other, using the force of the punches to disperse the heavy metal toxins within the body.
This also promoted the absorption of the pill’s effects, helping one break through the Copper Gate, similar to the concept of striking and conditioning in hard qigong.
However, Xun Heihu’s progress was becoming increasingly astounding.
By now, he had nearly completed the conditioning of his torso and limbs.
Once he could condition the most vulnerable areas—such as the six yang points and the nine yin points—he would truly ‘enter the ranks’ and become a Ninth Rank Warrior!
“What about me? Weichi Gang has already broken through to the Ninth Rank, hasn’t he?”
Xun Heihu said, “Not to mention the geniuses who joined the Five Avians Sect right after the test!”
Mentioning those martial bone geniuses, Yefengchun fell silent.
He had a bit of talent, but only a little.
After all, while he had managed to grasp qi and blood, he wasn’t as close to the threshold as Xun Heihu and Jiang Dayan.
Moreover, he didn’t have the rapid improvement that the latter two had.
Perhaps, for him, the Seventh Rank Gold Silk Realm would be the pinnacle of his life!
“My ambitions aren’t that high... Breaking through to the Ninth Rank would be great. Even if I can’t join the Five Avians Sect, I can still join the Five Beasts Army, which offers excellent benefits.”
Yefengchun muttered.
Xun Heihu nodded silently.
In truth, even among those who had passed the qi and blood test, only a tiny fraction would be able to join the Five Avians Sect.
“Five Beasts Army?”
This military unit belonged to the Five Avians Sect and was responsible for external campaigns. The entry requirements were much lower than those of the sect.
A Ninth Rank Warrior would certainly be accepted.
After all, Lower Three Ranks Warriors were experts in hard qigong, with immense strength. Once they donned iron armor and wielded heavy weapons, they were virtually unstoppable on the battlefield.
Moreover, the military offered generous rewards. If one accumulated a significant amount of merit, they could be recommended to join the Five Avians Sect!
Even if they didn’t join, they could use their military merit to exchange for elixirs, techniques, and guidance from powerful martial artists!
In fact, this was the path many martial artists with mediocre talent took to join major sects.
Since they lacked talent, they could only fight with their lives!
The most talented were sent to the nine major sects during their youth, enjoying various resources and instruction from renowned masters without much hardship.
Those with slightly less talent, like Xun Heihu, had a chance to join major sects if they could reach the Sixth Rank in their youth.
Otherwise, they could only join the sect’s army and use military merit to acquire everything they needed.
Such martial artists, even if they eventually joined a sect, would often be assigned menial tasks and military duties.
Many would be left with injuries and hindered cultivation.
But if they could break through, they could become world-class experts!
“No more talk... Let’s get up and keep training!”
Xun Heihu stood up, “Come... hit me!”
“No way...”
Yefengchun’s face was filled with horror, “Are you some kind of beast? You’re already rested, but my legs are still sore...”
Xun Heihu ignored Yefengchun and resumed his stance.
‘I have an opportunity, but I can’t slack off. I must train, train hard!’
‘Sorry... Fengchun, I’ve been secretly working hard.’
The Qilin blood had endowed Xun Heihu with better physical attributes and stronger qi and blood.
He had not given up on the ‘oldest martial art in the world’ and continued to practice ancient martial techniques.
Finally, despite the ridicule from the spirit, he had activated the ‘Taotie Stomach’ among the Twelve Body Variations!
After awakening, Xun Heihu realized that the ‘Twelve Body Variations’ of ancient martial techniques were undoubtedly top-tier auxiliary powers!
Even activating one or two could turn a mediocre talent into a genius!
And once several were activated, one would become a true world-class genius!
‘My goal has never been Fengchun, or even Weichi Gang. They aren’t worthy opponents...’
‘My true opponent is someone who can enter the Five Avians Sect in their first selection, a born martial bone expert!’
...
Night fell.
True Martial Talisman.
In the spatial realm.
Fang Xing casually flicked his finger.
Finger strikes, carrying powerful gusts of wind, landed on Xun Heihu, each one eliciting a scream of pain from the young man.
Thud! Thud!
At some point, the finger strikes Fang Xing sent out began to strike Xun Heihu's flesh, producing a strange metallic clanging sound.
This stance didn’t seem like the usual cross-body strikes for toughening the body; it was more like striking a massive bronze bell!
Clang! Clang!
Xun Heihu gritted his teeth, allowing the ancient bronze hue to spread from his skin to his cheeks, the top of his head, behind his ears, and finally to his crown!
Finally...
After an unknown amount of time, he collapsed on the ground, seemingly paralyzed: "Hahaha... Ninth Rank... Copper Gate... I made it!"
"I’ve finally reached the rank!"
"It’s only been five months since I joined the White Deer Academy!"
For the first three months, he had been struggling to control his qi and blood, worried about being eliminated.
But by the fifth month, he had directly reached the rank!
This was the power of the True Martial Talisman!
Even an ordinary talent could be transformed into a martial genius.
Even if the emperors of the Great Xia were all mediocre, they could each suppress the world for centuries.
How much more so for Xun Heihu, who had awakened a unique bodily trait through ancient martial arts, making his potential far from poor!
"Five months to reach the Ninth Rank."
Fang Xing, however, shook his head with disdain: "At this lower three ranks level, you’re still too reliant on the power of pills... otherwise, your breakthrough could have been faster!"
While the True Martial Talisman can assist in breakthroughs, the prerequisite is to first reach the peak of this rank!
Whether it’s Copper Gate, Silver Network, or Gold Silk, all require the body to absorb external pill energies to ‘lay the foundation’ within.
Thus, Xun Heihu’s breakthrough speed was still hindered.
"Hehe..."
After resting, Xun Heihu got up, looking at his ancient bronze skin and the significantly increased strength, he couldn’t help but grin foolishly: "I’m at the Ninth Rank now... from now on, I’ll be a noble martial artist. As long as our family’s fields don’t exceed a hundred acres, we can be exempt from taxes... the key is, I’ve earned back the five hundred taels of tuition. Tomorrow, I’ll go to Jade Instructor to apply for switching to the Gold-Mercury Pill..."
The Gold-Mercury Pill is an advanced version of the Copper-Lead Pill. During its refinement, ‘gold essence’ and ‘mercury’ must be added, causing the price to skyrocket. One pill costs about ten taels of silver, and that’s just the cost price!
The White Deer Academy has a strict rule: any student caught selling Gold-Mercury Pills will be executed without mercy!
"You have already cultivated the Taotie Stomach. The Gold-Mercury Pill will aid in the formation of the Silver Network and Gold Silk in your body... ideally, you should take one pill a day, or even two to three."
Fang Xing advised: "From my observations, although the lower three ranks seem to focus on external hard techniques, they are actually laying the foundation for the internal energy cultivation of the middle three ranks! The human body originally lacks the meridians necessary for internal energy to flow, so it requires the use of gold and silver to create these pathways... or to transform the rugged paths into grand thoroughfares!"
This method was somewhat familiar to Fang Xing, as in the Blue Star Warrior Path, the cultivation of outer scenery, the Golden Core, and the construction of energy pathways... ultimately transforming into a semi-energy being, shared some similarities.
'After all, this world is one I created...'
'Even guiding Xun Heihu in martial arts is like guiding a cell within my body to practice...'
'If someone can achieve a breakthrough through wisdom, it would be equivalent to my own breakthrough?'
A thought flashed through Fang Xing’s mind: 'But... the me of yesterday is not me. Only the me within the True Martial Talisman is the most authentic me.'
"One pill a day? That’s impossible!" Xun Heihu immediately complained: "I’ve heard that even geniuses among Ninth Rank martial artists can only receive one Gold-Mercury Pill every five days. They say that although this pill has stronger effects, it is also more toxic... after swallowing one, you must spend several days gradually digesting and expelling the pill’s toxicity."
The Copper-Lead Pill, when taken to the extreme, could even rot the internal organs.
The toxicity of the Gold-Mercury Pill would be even more severe!
Of course, with the Taotie Stomach, even raw copper and iron might be digestible.
But...
"If you want more than your quota, you’ll have to buy them with silver..." Xun Heihu said with a worried frown: "But I don’t have any money... the bag of silver Zhao Daniu gave me isn’t enough to even add extra meals in the cafeteria every day..."
Awakening the Taotie Stomach greatly increased his digestive capacity, and he ate much more each day.
Xun Heihu’s money pouch was feeling the strain.
"Humph... tomorrow, you can announce your breakthrough to the Ninth Rank and then find a master... why do instructors take on disciples? Naturally, it’s for mutual benefit... as long as you show enough talent, you can attract investment!"
Fang Xing advised: "If you find out which instructor is wealthy and has a daughter of marriageable age, you might as well sell yourself for a good price... take my advice, you can’t handle Jiang Yuyan."
"What are you talking about?"
Xun Heihu was fine with the first few sentences, but the last one made him furious.
Well, Jiang Dayan, who was also a late bloomer, had actually passed Jade Instructor’s test and joined his school.
Now, his martial arts progress had even surpassed Ye Fengchun, much to his friend’s dismay.
(End of Chapter)
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