Qin Hu's Surprise

"Movement and stillness must complement each other; let your breathing follow the flow of force. Only then can you train the Blood Nourishing Stance Art into your very bones. Otherwise, you'll merely skim the surface, and never dream of reaching Blood Condensation in your lifetime!"

Inside the Training Ground, the formation assembled once more and began practicing the Blood Nourishing Stance Art.

Within the formation, Qin Hu, dressed in a black martial uniform, walked about with his hands behind his back, watching the movements of the young boys.

"Smack!"

Suddenly, Qin Hu kicked one boy in the calf. His legs gave out, and he dropped to his knees at once.

Qin Hu's gaze sharpened as he shouted in a low voice, "With a center of gravity that unstable, how are you supposed to practice stance training? Have you forgotten even the mantra for standing stances?"

"Reporting to Master Qin, I haven't!" The kneeling boy scrambled back up immediately, resumed his stance, and replied loudly with a flushed face.

"Continue." Qin Hu glanced at the boy before walking elsewhere, speaking as he went:

"To practice martial arts, you must be able to endure hardship. You are not scions of noble families, raised soaking in medicinal baths since childhood. Even before they begin cultivating, their bodies have already reached the Strength Training level. If you want to rise above the rest, you must diligently practice stance training."

"Being able to enter the Martial Academy means you have already won at the starting line compared to those your age. But that is far from enough, because your opponents are Martial Academy disciples from the eighteen prefectures and Three Hundred Cities of Cangzhou. Are you truly willing to admit that you are inferior to others?"

"Smack!"

Without a sound, Qin Hu circled around to the lower-right corner of the formation, behind Gu Yang, and kicked him in the leg.

Gu Yang's leg bent, but his center of gravity sank, allowing him to withstand the kick.

Qin Hu gave a soft sound of surprise, then said in a deep voice, "Not bad."

With that, he moved elsewhere.

After testing several more boys in succession and seeing that they had all begun to take things seriously, Qin Hu walked to the front of the formation. He crossed his arms over his chest and stood facing them.

"Cultivation on the Martial Path—the Qi and Blood Realm is only the beginning. Only those who condense their qi and blood before the age of sixteen are qualified to stand out from the Martial Academy, participate in the Life and Death Trials, and join Canglong Island."

"Little ones, work hard. Sometimes, unless you force yourself, you'll never know just how much potential you possess!"

Qin Hu's words instantly stirred the boys' fighting spirit, and their enthusiasm for training soared.

Yet in the corner of the formation, Gu Yang's attention had been completely drawn to the information Qin Hu had just mentioned.

"Cangzhou, eighteen prefectures, Three Hundred Cities, Canglong Island, Life and Death Trials..."

It was as though this world had lifted a corner of its mysterious veil for him, allowing him to glimpse a thread of truth.

He knew just how vast Wan City and its surrounding subordinate regions were. It was no exaggeration to say they rivaled a prefecture-level city from his previous life.

And all of Cangzhou had three hundred such cities. How immense an area was that? It likely came close to the great nation he had lived in during his previous life.

In such a vast province, the seeds of the Martial Path selected from an ocean of people were ultimately all absorbed by a single power.

What kind of power was that?

A nation within a nation?

A powerful shock and doubt rose in Gu Yang's heart.

Right, what was the name of the country Cangzhou belonged to? Why was there no memory of it in his mind, and why had he never heard anyone mention it?

Suddenly, darkness fell before his eyes.

Only then did he realize that, without his noticing, Qin Hu had once again walked up before him and was staring at him coldly.

"Do you know that after the Mang Mountain earthquake, only you were sent to the Martial Academy? Not a single one of the others sent their children. Did you come to the Martial Academy just to daydream?"

Gu Yang did not argue. He simply lowered his head and admitted his mistake. "Sorry, Master Qin."

"Hmph. Train."

Qin Hu turned and left. Gu Yang also gathered his thoughts and began practicing the Blood Nourishing Stance Art with full focus.

"Breathe in, breathe out..."

As he slowly emptied his mind, he performed each stance movement in time with his breathing rhythm, immediately drawing Qin Hu's attention.

"It has only been one afternoon. How has this boy improved so much? Even if he secretly trained extra at noon, he shouldn't have improved this drastically."

With Qin Hu's sharp eye, he could see at a glance that Gu Yang's progress was nothing short of a complete rebirth.

"Unbelievable! Could he be a genius?"

At that moment, Qin Hu remembered this newly arrived "overage" disciple. Yet he did not reveal his thoughts, intending instead to observe him for a while longer.

Although Gu Yang's current performance had somewhat exceeded his expectations, it was not yet enough to earn his full attention.

Gu Yang had no idea that his performance had already caught Qin Hu's eye. He merely continued practicing his stances with wholehearted concentration.

After completing one set of stance movements, he swayed unsteadily to a stop and began panting heavily.

"Haah, haah~"

Compared with the other boys, who had never lacked food or clothing and had been well nourished since childhood, his physical condition lagged behind by an unknown distance.

Although the Exercise skill had transformed into proficiency in the Blood Nourishing Stance, helping him quickly become familiar with the Blood Nourishing Stance Art, there remained an unbridgeable gap between him and the other disciples.

His "good-for-nothing" display immediately drew the attention of quite a few disciples nearby.

When the disciples saw him, they could not help curling their lips in disdain.

Gu Yang did not care about what others thought. Whenever he was tired, he simply sat on the ground to rest. Once he felt his stamina recover, he rose and continued practicing the stance art.

In this manner, resting and training by turns, the entire afternoon passed. Gu Yang practiced the stance art four more times. Feeling that he had reached his limit, he decisively ended his cultivation for the day.

As the Martial Academy's bell rang once more, the formation dispersed, and Qin Hu turned and left with his hands behind his back.

The Martial Academy only provided one free lunch. It provided neither dinner nor lodging, so all Martial Academy disciples had to return home in the evening to eat and rest.

Gu Yang followed the crowd out of the Martial Academy and immediately spotted Gu Dashan squatting not far from the academy gates.

Gu Dashan's face was covered in dust. Over his thin clothes, he wore the old tattered garments Gu Yang had changed out of earlier. With his hands tucked across his chest, he shivered from the cold.

Yet his eyes never left the Martial Academy gates for even a moment, afraid that if he let his guard down, he might miss Gu Yang.

"Dad."

Their eyes met, and Gu Yang, who had just stepped out of the Martial Academy gates, immediately smiled.

He did not despise his family. He only felt that having the love of family was wonderful.

Gu Yang strode forward. Gu Dashan also rose with his arms wrapped around himself, stomping his feet hard.

"Dad, how long have you been waiting here?" Gu Yang touched the back of Gu Dashan's exposed hand. It was ice-cold, and he asked with concern.

"Not long. I just got here too." Gu Dashan clearly did not want to say more. He turned and headed toward the city gates. "Walk faster. It'll soon be time for the government to hand out porridge."

"Coming, coming." Gu Yang clenched his fists and quickly followed. "Dad, tomorrow night I'll go back on my own. You don't need to come pick me up specially."

"What are you talking about? I just got off work, and it happens to be on the way." Gu Dashan muttered, "You think I'd make a special trip all the way here to pick you up? Keep dreaming."