Two taels of silver!
Wang Yuan's heart tightened.
This was almost the last of the money he had borrowed from Interest Upon Interest Bank.
Yet he did not hesitate in the slightest. When a Fist Academy disciple in charge of registration looked his way, he silently took the remaining two taels of loose silver from his robes and handed them over.
The disciple weighed it in his hand and recorded his name.
"Wang Yuan of Bluestone Alley."
The richly dressed youths nearby paid it no mind. To them, two taels of silver was no more than pocket change.
But a suppressed stir and sharp intakes of breath rose from the commoners' side.
Clearly, this sum was a crushing burden for many families.
Zheng Shan's voice rang out again:
"Now that you have paid, line up for your bone structure assessment."
"Bone structure is the foundation of martial arts. The strength of one's sinews and bones, the potential for bearing Vital Blood—all of it lies here."
"Comprehension is intangible; bone structure has substance."
"Our Panshi Fist Academy only keeps those worth forging."
"Within three months, anyone who still cannot reach the Entry Stage of Panshi Fist will leave on their own. Even if they possess a fortune, they will not be admitted again."
Those words fell like a heavy hammer upon many hearts.
Three months was the first threshold for testing one's aptitude.
The method of assessing bone structure did not rely on any external object. Instead, Zheng Shan's personal disciples would examine them by hand.
Shi Long, the senior disciple, handled the men, while the women were assessed by Zheng Shan's own daughter—Second Senior Sister Zheng Ying, a clear-featured beauty with a capable, crisp air about her.
By feeling the skeletal joints, gripping the major sinews, and sensing their resilience, strength, and the faint potential of Vital Blood within, they determined the grade of one's bone structure.
The lines began to inch forward. The wealthy youths were tested first.
Shi Long's large hand was like an iron vise as he pinched and pressed a brocade-clad youth's shoulders, arms, spine, and other areas.
The youth bared his teeth in pain but did not dare resist.
After a moment, Shi Long said in a muffled voice:
"Resilient sinews, sturdy bones, decent Vital Blood. Low-End Medium Grade Bone Structure. Passed."
The brocade-clad youth sighed in relief and stepped smugly aside.
The surrounding crowd looked at him with envy.
That was a Medium Grade Bone Structure.
Then came another. After examining him, Shi Long frowned slightly.
"Soft sinews and bones, floating Vital Blood. Low Grade Bone Structure. Barely passed."
At that moment, among the wealthy youths training in the courtyard—
A somewhat pale young man with a lively glint in his eyes nudged the pretty, cool-tempered girl beside him with his elbow.
Then he glanced toward a broad, muscular, arrogant young man standing nearby with his arms folded and chuckled softly:
"Junior Sister Jiang, Liu Senior Brother, how many Medium Grade Bone Structures do you think these newly arrived mud-legged peasants can produce?"
The girl addressed as Junior Sister Jiang glanced at the commoners' line, her gaze indifferent, and softly uttered two words:
"Hard to say."
Liu Senior Brother gave a scornful laugh, his voice booming like a great bell:
"Junior Brother Liu, you think too highly of them.
"Poor scholars, rich martial artists. They may not even have enough to eat. Their Vital Blood is deficient; having a Low Grade Bone Structure barely good enough for martial arts would already be decent. Medium Grade Bone Structure?"
"I'd say that's a long shot! If they get one or two, they should count themselves lucky enough to be burning incense to the high heavens."
They made no effort to lower their voices, and every word carried clearly to the commoners' line.
Quite a few people showed anger on their faces, but though they dared be furious, they did not dare speak.
These were martial artists who had already reached the Entry Stage. How could newcomers like them dare provoke them?
Wang Yuan stood toward the back of the commoners' line, his expression calm, as though he had not heard the discussion.
His gaze rested on the wealthy youths being tested.
Soon, it was the commoners' turn.
Sure enough, just as Shi Long had said, most of the results were far from satisfactory.
"Weak sinews, brittle bones. Below Low Grade. Under observation."
"Sinews and bones are passable, but Vital Blood is too deficient. Low Grade Bone Structure. Passed."
After seven or eight people in a row, the best result was only among the better Low Grade Bone Structures. Not a single clear Medium Grade Bone Structure had appeared.
Shi Long's voice grew increasingly impatient, while low snickers occasionally drifted over from the wealthy youths' side.
At last, it was Wang Yuan's turn.
He walked up to Shi Long.
Shi Long glanced at him, still wearing that careless expression. His large hand pressed directly onto Wang Yuan's shoulder, then traveled down his spine before pinching the bones in his arms.
"Hmm?"
The instant he laid hands on him, Shi Long gave a soft cry of surprise, and some of the casualness faded from his face.
He increased his strength, his fingers like iron hooks as he carefully felt the sinews and bones beneath Wang Yuan's skin.
Yet the more he felt, the tighter his brow furrowed.
The sinews beneath his fingers were exceptionally tough and long, like oxhide bands, containing astonishing elasticity.
As for the bones, they were incomparably hard to the touch, far surpassing ordinary people—even compared to Shi Long himself, who had cultivated external martial arts for years, they were no less impressive.
Even more strangely, he could faintly sense that beneath that lean body lay a vast, blazing surge of Vital Blood, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.
Yet it remained drawn but unspent, making it difficult for him to accurately judge the grade of Wang Yuan's bone structure.
He had examined no fewer than eighty or a hundred youths.
Those with Low Grade Bone Structure had frail sinews and bones. Those with Medium Grade Bone Structure had strong sinews and bones and abundant Vital Blood. Those with High Grade Bone Structure even had ringing sinews and bones, with Vital Blood stirring on its own—there were always signs to follow.
But this boy before him seemed to possess an exceptionally high "quality" of sinews and bones, yet it also lay somewhat beyond the scope of his experience.
Shi Long withdrew his hand, scratched his head, and turned to report in a muffled voice to Zheng Shan, who sat in a grand armchair:
"Teacher, this boy... is a little unusual."
"His sinews and bones are extraordinary. Their resilience and strength are both immense. This disciple... this disciple cannot quite make sense of it. I cannot tell what grade of bone structure he has."
The moment those words came out, the somewhat noisy clearing instantly fell much quieter.
Everyone's eyes turned in unison toward the seemingly ordinary Wang Yuan.
How extensive was Senior Disciple Brother Shi Long's experience in assessing bone structure?
Even he could not determine it?
The Young Man surnamed Liu, who had been chatting and laughing moments ago, had his smile freeze as he studied Wang Yuan curiously.
The Woman surnamed Jiang and Liu Senior Brother were interested as well.
Even the cool and aloof Zheng Ying paused her movements, her beautiful eyes turning toward him with a trace of surprise.
Zheng Shan, who had been seated upright, suddenly opened his half-lidded eyes. A sharp gleam burst forth.
His body leaned forward slightly, his gaze falling upon Wang Yuan as though it had substance.
A bone structure that Shi Long could not assess?
With Shi Long's experience, unless the characteristics of Wang Yuan's sinews and bones surpassed even ordinary High Grade Bone Structure by far and contained potential beyond his understanding, it was absolutely impossible!
"Boy, come forward."
There was an almost imperceptible tremor in Zheng Shan's voice.
Wang Yuan complied and calmly walked before Zheng Shan.
Zheng Shan slowly rose to his feet and extended a withered hand, laying it lightly upon Wang Yuan's shoulder.
Then a gentle yet extraordinarily penetrating Force Power, like mercury spilling across the ground, instantly flowed through Wang Yuan's every sinew and bone.
In that instant, Zheng Shan's hand trembled slightly!
He clearly "saw" it.
Hidden beneath that lean body were massive sinews, thick and tough as horned dragons, as though they contained boundless force.
They were bones as dense and hard as Hundred-Refined Steel, resonating with Tiger-Leopard Thunder Resonance.
And there was an immense, pure tide of Vital Blood, scorching like molten lava, surging and circulating through those Dragon Tendon Tiger Bones. It remained drawn but unspent, yet its world-shocking potential had already revealed itself.
"This... this is..."
Even with Zheng Shan's composure and experience, he could not stop himself from sucking in a cold breath.
His face filled with shock and wild delight, and even his voice trembled as he muttered, "Sinews like horned dragons, bones like refined steel, Vital Blood like a furnace..."
"No mistake! There can be no mistake."
"This is Dragon Tendon Tiger Bone, seen only once in a hundred years!"
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