Dragon-Tiger Visage

There were plenty of martial arts schools in Shangyi County, but the only one with the qualifications to recommend candidates for the military examinations was the Martial Academy affiliated with the county office.

Because his experience training at the town's martial arts school in his previous, previous life had gone nowhere, Li Ji'an hadn't chosen a school in his previous life. Instead, he'd paid a hefty sum to get into the Martial Academy.

The Martial Academy was run by the government. Even its instructors and gatekeepers were officially employed.

Aside from apprentices sent over by martial arts schools after passing the academy's assessment, it also recruited apprentices directly, with rather high requirements.

Root Bone, temperament, and age were all assessed.

In his previous life, Li Ji'an had gone to great lengths to get in, and faced plenty of criticism for it.

"Are you a Daoist from Purple Heaven Temple?" This time, as soon as they stepped down from the carriage, a Young Servant guarding the academy gate came forward to greet them.

The middle-aged Daoist smiled and exchanged a few words with him, then watched as Li Ji'an led Qingyun into the Martial Academy.

"Two young Daoists, follow me to the Academy Administration Office to register and have your Root Bones tested. Then you'll take the temperament assessment, after which you can head to the training grounds and choose an instructor you like..." The Young Servant didn't slight them just because they were a couple of teenage boys. That alone showed how thoroughly the temple had greased the wheels, and spoke to Purple Heaven Temple's standing in the county seat.

Walking a path he'd traveled for ten years in his previous life, Li Ji'an's mind wasn't on the Young Servant. He was searching for a familiar face.

Only after leaving the front courtyard did he finally ask, "Wasn't there an old gatekeeper here before?"

The Young Servant's steps faltered slightly. He thought for a moment before replying, "Do you mean... Old Huang? If so, he passed away three years ago."

"Oh." Li Ji'an nodded and said no more, his expression and emotions unchanged.

If it had been three years ago, Old Huang must have been over sixty.

In this era, that counted as a ripe old age—a life well lived.

Besides, ever since his master passed away in his previous life, he'd grown accustomed to taking death and parting in stride.

He had to.

With "Returning to Youth," as long as he was sufficiently cautious and careful, and wasn't murdered or killed in an accident, he could theoretically live as long as Heaven itself, for ten thousand lifetimes.

Time was a blade that would kill everyone—everyone but him.

Fifteen years ago, when he'd tried to get into the Martial Academy, he'd spent a lot of time matching wits with Old Huang. He'd even wondered if Grandpa Huang, the gatekeeper, might be some hidden master.

That was exactly why he'd brought Grandpa Huang plenty of meat and wine.

Eventually, he'd confirmed the old man was just an ordinary old man.

Even so, after all that time, they'd built a genuine bond.

They passed through the covered corridor and reached the familiar Academy Administration Office.

There, he saw the familiar bone-assessment master and Temperament Assessment Master.

Bone assessment had at least some theoretical basis. The masters looked back at the Root Bones of people before they began training, comparing them with the martial achievements they ultimately attained. By reasoning backward from the results, they developed a body of collective experience.

If someone with a particular Root Bone could temper their body faster and reach a higher ceiling, then that Root Bone was considered good.

Otherwise, it was worthless.

Of course, this experience was all based on reasoning backward from results, so there were bound to be special cases. A never-before-seen prodigy's Root Bone could easily be dismissed as ordinary, or even inferior.

As for the temperament assessment... As Master Zhao put it, "A person's temperament for martial arts comes down to how determined they are to succeed, and how much they're willing to sacrifice for it."

The more they were willing to give, the stronger their resolve—and the less likely they were to give up halfway.

Put simply, it came down to how much silver they offered.

In his previous life, Li Ji'an had impressed the Martial Academy with his unyielding resolve.

"Are you here as an Aspiring Immortal Seedling, or just for Martial Arts for Body Strengthening?" The bone-assessment master automatically asked as soon as they entered.

The Martial Academy offered two paths. The first was for Aspiring Immortal Seedlings. The entry requirements and fees were high, because the academy provided a whole range of resources, from instructors to medicinal food to assessments.

Only those with at least above-average Root Bones and excellent temperament could qualify, and they couldn't be older than fifteen!

The other path was simply for Martial Arts for Body Strengthening. In his previous life, Li Ji'an had taken this one.

"My lord, these two are from Purple Heaven Temple..." The Young Servant promptly reminded him.

"Oh? Then you're Aspiring Immortal Seedlings. Come, let this old man examine your bones." The bone-assessment master understood and beckoned Li Ji'an and the other boy forward.

"Ow! That hurts! Easy, easy!" Qingyun, a chubby boy with rolls of fat, became the bone-assessment master's first target. The moment the master laid hands on him, he let out a slaughtered-pig squeal.

Li Ji'an had expected it. He sidestepped in advance, then parted his lips at just the right moment to counter the sonic attack.

The bone-assessment master was used to this. Not only wasn't he annoyed by Qingyun's yelling, he even looked faintly pleased.

"Good. You're fat, but solid—not an ounce of flab. Thick bones and long tendons. You're a fine candidate for martial arts." He felt along Qingyun's limbs and spine, nodding repeatedly.

"Looks like the Nourishing Tendons and Strengthening Bones formula from Purple Heaven Temple really is something."

"Superior Root Bone!"

"Superior Root Bone?" Li Ji'an's brows lifted slightly. He hadn't expected Qingyun to have such an excellent Root Bone.

In the ten years he'd spent at the Martial Academy in his previous life, he'd seen only a handful of people whom this bone-assessment master had rated as having superior Root Bones. All of them had passed the county's military examinations and made it into the Prefectural City Immortal Seeking Academy.

As for himself, the master had examined him at thirty and judged his Root Bone inferior.

"That's right. Root Bone is affected by nourishment during childhood, and not by a small amount.

"But the fundamentals lie in inherited nature and how the fetus is shaped in the womb.

"Senior Brother's family was well-off when he was young. By the time Qingyun came along, they were positively wealthy. During the pregnancy, his mother must have had plenty of nourishing supplements, so his natural foundation was good.

"Though he didn't undergo Marrow Cleansing and Bone Strengthening before the age of eight, he never lacked food or oil, and developed well.

"Then he started Marrow Cleansing and Bone Strengthening with me at eight. It's only natural he'd turn out like this!" Coming back to himself, Li Ji'an smiled knowingly and gave Qingyun an approving glance.

"Oh, sir, do me a favor. Just tell my master I have an inferior Root Bone and shouldn't train in martial arts, all right? Please!" Qingyun, however, couldn't care less about the superior Root Bone everyone else envied and dreamed of. If anything, he shied away from it like the plague.

"..." The bone-assessment master's eyes bulged as his mustache bristled. In all his years, he'd never seen anything like this.

"Qingyun! Don't fool around." Li Ji'an scolded him in a stern voice at just the right moment.

"Junior Brother, I..." Qingyun immediately lowered his head, his face full of regret.

This was his last hope, and now it had finally been dashed.

"Master, examine me." Li Ji'an changed the subject and stepped forward.

The bone-assessment master began examining him, casting Qingyun a sidelong glance as he worked.

He couldn't understand Qingyun's behavior. It was a waste of such a fine Root Bone.

"Hmm..." Just as he was lamenting that Qingyun had such a fine Root Bone but no desire to practice martial arts, the sensation beneath his hands made him abruptly shift his gaze from Qingyun to Li Ji'an. He hadn't even had time to hide his look of regret.

Li Ji'an clenched his teeth, enduring the sharp pain coming from between his bones.

Seeing the bone-assessment master's look of regret made his heart tighten too.

Surely his Root Bone was still no good?

"If this body really was congenitally weak from the womb, and even Marrow Cleansing and Bone Strengthening afterward couldn't make up for it, then things will get harder. I'll have to find a way to get my hands on one of those legendary divine pills or Immortal Treasures that can change one's innate Root Bone!"

After all, "Returning to Youth" only took him back to the age of eight. He had complete control over what happened after that, but he couldn't change anything before eight.

The possibility left him somewhat dejected, but he wasn't about to lose hope completely. After all, he had "Returning to Youth," and there were divine pills and Immortal Treasures that could change one's Root Bone. If one lifetime wasn't enough, he'd try two. If need be, ten lifetimes, a hundred—one of them was bound to work.

But every time he used "Returning to Youth," it brought another childhood's worth of hardship and risk. He'd have to be even more cautious, and carefully prepare a foolproof plan for the next time.

Just then,

"Could it be... a Dragon-Tiger Visage?" The bone-assessment master cried out in disbelief.