Learning

"Wooo! Wooo! Wooo!"

A deep, drawn-out horn sounded. Everyone's expressions tightened as they hurried to find their teammates and confirm their positions.

The academy's battle formation drills followed military regulations. Every five people formed a squad, with one temporary Squad Leader rotated monthly. Ten people formed a ten-man squad, led by a Ten-man Squad Leader. A hundred people formed a small unit, led by a centurion.

Wang Hong quickly found his position. To his left stood a broad-shouldered, honest-looking youth named Zhang Tiemao. His family were small rural landlords with several dozen mu of land, but the harvest from those few dozen mu could only barely keep the whole Household fed.

To his right stood a round-faced little girl with a touch of baby fat. When she smiled, a small canine tooth showed. Her name was Li Xiaoya, the daughter of a tea merchant from the county town.

To Li Xiaoya's right stood a handsome, fair-skinned youth named Hua Wenjue, whose parents dealt in gemstones. Hua Wenjue had practiced martial arts since childhood and was the only Beginner Martial Artist among the five.

To Hua Wenjue's right stood a fellow as skinny as a monkey, his eyes darting about shiftily. With that appearance, even if he did not steal, he looked like a thief. His name was Lu Jingou. His family owned a small boat, and he had followed his parents in transporting goods by water since childhood.

The five of them were grouped into one squad, with Zhang Tiemao currently serving as the temporary Squad Leader.

"Wooo! Wooo! Wooo!"

The horn sounded a second time. Everyone stood in place, staring straight ahead, not daring to move a muscle. Several hundred people filled the parade ground, yet it was so quiet that each person's breathing could be heard.

Patter! Patter!

A burst of hurried footsteps sounded at this most inappropriate moment. A fair, fat boy was seen running toward the parade ground while hastily straightening his clothes with both hands.

Everyone took a little pleasure in his misfortune, though outwardly they did their best to keep their eyes straight ahead.

"Wooo! Wooo! Wooo!"

As the third horn sounded, a tall figure strode over from afar. The horn stopped, and the newcomer halted before everyone, as though every step had been carefully calculated.

The man had the back of a tiger and the waist of a bear. He wore leather armor, carried a precious saber at his waist, and sported a ring of beard around his face. A saber scar across his face made him look all the more fierce.

This man was Feng Li, the military formation instructor, privately known among the students as Old Demon Feng.

"Count off!"

Before long, each centurion reported the numbers. Everyone was present.

"Jin Dabao, step out!"

The fair, fat boy who had arrived late stepped out from the ranks.

"Do you know your crime?"

"I know my crime, I know my crime. Five lashes for lateness."

Someone immediately pressed him down and gave him five lashes. The little fatty was beaten until tears and snot streamed all over the ground, after which he was allowed to return to his ranks and begin drilling.

The current drills mainly consisted of each hundred people forming a small square formation, with several hundred-man units forming a large square formation. They were required to advance, retreat, turn left, and turn right without disrupting their formation.

Battle formation drills were not especially exhausting. As long as one paid attention, after one shichen they would only be lightly sweating.

"Big brother! Let's go eat, I'm so hungry. I've been hungry every day these past few days." The moment the formation dispersed, his little brother ran over.

Wang Hong's teammates had all left, leaving only Zhang Tiemao standing there in a daze. Wang Hong invited him along, and Zhang Tiemao gladly agreed.

The three each collected a serving of free food provided by the academy. The brothers' appetites had increased sharply over the past two days, so Wang Hong spent money to buy two jin of sliced cooked beef.

The three sat together and ate while chatting. Zhang Tiemao was a man of few words, spending most of the time listening and only occasionally saying something.

After the meal, the brothers had to attend literacy class. More than five hundred people had entered during the same period, yet only a dozen or so needed literacy lessons. After all, people as poor as the brothers, too poor even to recognize characters, could not possibly produce ten taels of silver for tuition.

The others had already begun learning internal cultivation. From the very start, the brothers had fallen far behind them, and they both felt a sense of urgency. The academy required students to reach Beginner Martial Artist level within one year of enrollment.

A Beginner Martial Artist was someone who had brought one internal cultivation method to the introductory level, proficiently mastered one Martial Skill, and possessed a strength of three hundred jin.

After literacy class, the brothers hurried off to medical class. Medicine was also a foundation of martial arts.

The medical instructor was an elderly man with white hair and a youthful face, seated upright at the head of the room.

"People eat the five grains and assorted foods. Their spleen and stomach digest and absorb the essence, sending it throughout the body to nourish every part. A portion of this essence is then generated and transformed into qi."

"The qi within the human body comes in many forms: Zong Qi, Yuan Qi, Wei Qi, Ying Qi, and so on. Each kind of qi has its own effects."

"For example, Ying Qi and Wei Qi are both generated and transformed from the essence of food and grain, yet their natures differ. Ying Qi nourishes the entire body. If Ying blood is insufficient, the skin becomes dull and the body withered." At this point, quite a few female students unconsciously glanced at their chests.

"Wei Qi, meanwhile, is like an army, able to defend against the invasion of external evils. Those with weak Wei Qi catch colds more easily than ordinary people. Wei Qi circulates through the yang twenty-five times by day and through the yin twenty-five times by night. Thus, one is more likely to be afflicted by external evils at night. If Wei Qi does not enter the yin, one sleeps with one's eyes open."

"..."

"The Internal Family True Qi cultivated by martial artists is merely one kind of qi as well. All power has its source. Internal Family True Qi likewise comes from the essence of food and grain and the natural pure qi one breathes in, generated by Internal Family Cultivation Techniques that refine essence into qi."

"Therefore, martial artists require more essence from food and grain, and their appetites are greater. It is even said that an Innate Stage Martial Artist can eat an entire cow in a single day."

Wang Hong finally understood why his appetite had grown so much. This was only the beginning; he would probably become able to eat even more later. No wonder people said poor scholars, rich martial artists. Ordinary people might not even be able to afford the food alone.

After medical class, Wang Hong deliberately bought two large pork knuckles for dinner. The brothers ate until their bellies were round.

That night, Wang Hong entered the space. Fortunately, he could fly inside it, or there truly would not have been anywhere to set foot. Aside from half a mu of wheat and rice, the remaining half-mu was covered in all kinds of Medicinal Herbs, along with a small raspberry tree.

Ginseng grew in the greatest quantity. He had planted more than a hundred before, and many seedlings had grown afterward. There were also several hundred lingzhi plants, while all the other herbs grew as densely as weeds.

"Looks like I need to clear this out properly, or it'll all affect their growth."

Wang Hong spent five or six shichen clearing away half of the densely packed herbs. The ones remaining had the best growth. The cleared herbs formed a small pile in the space and could only be moved into his room in batches to dry. They should sell for another large sum of money.

After finishing his chores, Wang Hong reviewed what he had learned during the day in the space. More than twenty times the time was enough for him to master it until he knew it by heart.

Days passed one after another, and 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 basic grasp of writing. In medicine, he could at least now locate the body's meridians and acupoints. At last, he could cultivate internal arts.

Over the past half year, some students had already become Beginner Martial Artists. Whenever Wang Hong saw others cultivating internal arts and practicing Martial Skills, he envied them greatly. His little brother did not have a space to cheat with like him, yet his learning progress was not the least bit slower than Wang Hong's. Wang Hong often sighed to himself that his little brother was far more intelligent than he was.