Learning

"Wuwuwu!"

A deep, long horn blast sounded, and everyone's expression turned serious. They quickly looked for their teammates and confirmed their positions.

The academy's formation drills all followed military regulations. Every five people formed a squad, with a temporary squad leader appointed, rotating monthly. Ten people formed a ten-man squad, with a ten-man squad leader. A hundred people formed a small team, with a centurion.

Wang Hong quickly found his position. To his left was a sturdy, honest-looking youth named Zhang Tiemao. His family was a small landlord in the countryside with a few dozen acres of land. The harvest from these acres was just enough to keep the whole family fed.

To his right was a little girl with a round face and a hint of baby fat. When she smiled, she revealed a small canine tooth. Her name was Li Xiaoya, the daughter of a tea merchant in the county town.

To Li Xiaoya's right was a clean-cut, fair-skinned youth named Hua Wenjue. His parents were in the gemstone business. Hua Wenjue had been practicing martial arts since childhood and was the only beginner martial artist among the five.

To Hua Wenjue's right was a fellow as thin as a monkey, with shifty eyes. He looked like a thief even if he wasn't one. This guy's name was Lu Jingou. His family owned a small boat, and he had been running boats with his parents since he was young.

These five were formed into a squad, with Zhang Tiemao currently serving as the temporary squad leader.

"Wuwuwu!"

The horn sounded a second time. Everyone stood in place, looking straight ahead, not daring to move an inch. Hundreds of people on the training ground were so quiet you could hear everyone's breathing.

"Pat pat!"

A sound of hurried footsteps rang out at this inopportune moment. A plump, fair-skinned young man was running towards the training ground, hurriedly adjusting his clothes with both hands.

Everyone felt a bit of schadenfreude but tried their best to keep their eyes straight ahead.

"Wuwuwu!"

As the third horn blast sounded, a tall figure strode forward from a distance. The horn stopped, and the newcomer halted before the crowd, as if perfectly timed.

The man had a broad back and a strong physique, wearing leather armor, a saber at his waist, and a full beard. Especially the scar on his face made him look incredibly fierce.

This person was the military formation instructor, Feng Li, whom the students privately called Old Demon Feng.

"Headcount!"

Soon, the centurions reported the numbers, and everyone was present.

"Jin Dabao, step forward!"

The plump young man who had been late earlier walked out from the formation.

"Do you know your offense?"

"I know, I know. Five lashes for being late."

Someone immediately pinned him down and administered five lashes. The little fatty cried tears and snot, which streamed down his face. Then, he was allowed to rejoin the formation to begin training.

The current training mainly involved each hundred people forming a small square formation, and several hundred-person teams forming a large square formation. The requirement was to advance, retreat, turn left, and turn right without breaking formation.

The formation drills weren't too tiring; as long as one paid attention, they would only be slightly sweaty after an hour.

"Brother! Let's go eat. I'm so hungry. We've all been starving these past few days." As soon as the formation broke, his younger brother ran over.

Wang Hong's teammates had all left. Only Zhang Tiemao was still spacing out, so Wang Hong invited him along. Zhang Tiemao happily agreed.

The three of them each received a portion of free food provided by the academy. The brothers' appetites had greatly increased these past two days, so Wang Hong also spent money to buy two pounds of sliced cooked beef.

The three sat together, eating and chatting. Zhang Tiemao spoke little, mostly listening and only interjecting occasionally.

After the meal, the brothers had literacy class. There were over five hundred people who had entered at the same time, but only a dozen or so needed literacy lessons. After all, it was impossible for the poor, like the brothers, who didn't even know how to read, to afford the ten taels of silver tuition.

The others had already begun practicing internal cultivation. This put them at a significant disadvantage from the start. The brothers felt a sense of urgency. The academy required everyone to reach the beginner martial artist stage within one year of admission.

A beginner martial artist was defined as someone who had achieved basic proficiency in an internal cultivation method, had mastered a martial skill, and possessed a strength of 300 jin.

After literacy class, the brothers hurried to their medicine class. Medicine was also the foundation of martial arts.

The medicine instructor was an old man with a youthful appearance despite his white hair and beard, seated at the head of the class.

"Humans consume grains and cereals, which the spleen and stomach digest and absorb their essence, distributing it throughout the body to nourish all parts. A portion of this essence converts into Qi."

"There are many types of Qi in the human body, such as Zong Qi, Yuan Qi, Wei Qi, and Ying Qi. Each type of Qi has its own function."

"For instance, Ying and Wei Qi are both generated and transformed from the essence of water and grains, but their natures differ. Ying Qi nourishes the entire body. If Ying and blood are insufficient, the skin will be dull, and the body will be gaunt." Hearing this, many female students inadvertently glanced at their chests.

"Wei Qi, on the other hand, is like an army that can defend against external evils. Those with unstable Wei Qi are more prone to colds than ordinary people. Wei Qi circulates through the Yang meridians twenty-five times during the day and through the Yin meridians twenty-five times at night. Therefore, it is easier to be affected by external evils at night. If Wei Qi does not enter the Yin meridians, the eyes will remain open during sleep."

"..."

"The Internal Family True Qi that martial artists cultivate is also just a type of Qi. All strength has its origin. Internal Family True Qi also originates from the essence of water and grains and the natural clear Qi absorbed from the air, generated by refining essence into Qi through internal cultivation methods."

"Therefore, martial artists require more essence from water and grains and have larger appetites. There are even legends of Innate Stage Martial Artists who can eat a whole cow in a day."

Wang Hong finally understood why his appetite had increased so much. It was just starting now, and he expected to eat even more in the future. No wonder people said that literature was for the poor and martial arts for the rich; ordinary people might not even be able to afford to eat enough.

After the medicine class, Wang Hong specifically bought two large pig trotters for dinner. The brothers ate until they were stuffed.

In the evening, Wang Hong entered his spatial dimension. Fortunately, he could fly in there; otherwise, he wouldn't have had anywhere to stand. Besides half a plot of wheat and rice, the remaining half plot was filled with various medicinal herbs and a small raspberry bush.

The most abundant were the ginsengs. He had planted over a hundred plants before, and many more seedlings had grown. There were also several hundred lingzhi mushrooms, and other various medicinal herbs grew densely like weeds.

"It looks like I need to do some serious clearing, or it will affect their growth."

Wang Hong spent five to six hours clearing half of the dense medicinal herbs. The remaining ones were those with the best growth. The cleared herbs were piled up in a small heap within the dimension. He could only take them out in batches to dry in his room. This should bring in another large sum of money.

After finishing his chores, Wang Hong reviewed the day's lessons in the dimension. With over twenty times the normal speed, he could master them thoroughly.

Time passed day by day. In the blink of an eye, half a year had gone by. After half a year of cultivation and study, Wang Hong had finally gained a preliminary grasp of literacy. In medicine, he could at least locate the meridians and acupoints on the body. Finally, he could begin cultivating internal energy.

During these six months, some students had already become beginner martial artists. Every time Wang Hong saw others practicing internal cultivation or martial skills, he felt envious. His younger brother didn't have his spatial dimension cheat, but his learning progress was no slower than Wang Hong's. He often lamented that his brother was much smarter than him.