Xie Baolin's martial arts talent naturally couldn't compare to Zhang Qian of the Black Eagle Sect. But within Guande Martial Arts School, Xie Baolin's talent and bone structure were undoubtedly exceptional.
"Mm, I only broke through recently."
Xie Baolin was thrilled as he spoke about his breakthrough. When he reached the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm, many senior fellow disciples at the school had come to see him. Some had even offered to provide him with more cultivation resources.
"Su Mo, Baolin's talent and bone structure are outstanding—better than mine and Sha Pengxiao's. Not only are some of the school's higher-ups paying special attention to him, but people outside the school have started offering to support him, too. They all think Baolin will achieve a great deal in martial arts. He's a genius of our school."
Ye Zongsheng, standing nearby, chimed in at the right moment. He and Sha Pengxiao were also astonished by Xie Baolin's incredible pace of cultivation. In barely a month, he had gone from an ordinary person to a Martial Artist in the middle stage of the Body Tempering Realm.
Such a pace of cultivation was no slower than that of the disciples of the great sects in Anyuan County Town—and might even be faster.
Su Mo understood. Though surprised, he was happy for Xie Baolin. After all, Baolin came from the same background as him: a remote mountain village near Qingshan Town. He had once been a cowherd.
To send Xie Baolin to Guande Martial Arts School to learn martial arts, his family had practically sold everything they owned. They had even taken on a great deal of debt to pay his tuition. Seeing Baolin achieve such astonishing results, Su Mo offered him his heartfelt congratulations.
After chatting for a while, Su Mo went to the school's medicine hall. He drank a large bowl of Body Strengthening Soup, then headed to the spacious training ground in the front courtyard to continue cultivating.
Xie Baolin's performance had given Su Mo a sense of urgency, however slight, so he naturally trained even harder.
Time passed, and the school had been abuzz lately, with one gifted talent after another shining through. Not only had Xie Baolin risen above the rest, but martial arts prodigies like Zhong Wanyu, Jin Guangqing, Qin Shuqin, Qi Yaxue, and Zheng Mengyang had also appeared.
Every one of them had extraordinary bone structure.
It was said that when these people had joined the school, their master, Yu Guande, whose face was usually stern, had actually smiled—a rare sight.
He had even said, "These are the rising suns of our Guande Martial Arts School!"
That day, on the training ground,
Senior Sister Lin Yutong was explaining the martial arts techniques available at the school.
"Our Guande Martial Arts School has the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art, as well as the Thunderous Body Refining Fist, Bone Forging Black Dragon Leg, and Waves Thunderbolt Palm. These three Body Tempering techniques are different from the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art. Since the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art is incomplete, it can only be cultivated to the peak of the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm. It doesn't even have the follow-up technique for the Meridian Opening Realm."
"But all three of these techniques—the Thunderous Body Refining Fist, the Bone Forging Black Dragon Leg, and the Waves Thunderbolt Palm—can be cultivated to the Meridian Opening Realm. Because they're complete, they can even be cultivated all the way to the Tendon Changing Realm. What's more, each comes with its own set of offensive moves, and their power is formidable."
"These three Body Tempering techniques wouldn't be considered weak even in Anyuan County Town."
That day, after demonstrating and explaining the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art on the training ground, Senior Sister Lin Yutong began talking about the school's other Body Tempering techniques.
Some children from wealthy families at the school felt that although the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art had a low entry threshold and could turn ordinary people into Martial Artists, its ceiling wasn't high. Not only could it be cultivated only to the peak of the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm, but because of its unique nature, cultivation speed slowed dramatically after reaching the Body Tempering Realm, becoming agonizingly slow.
Only those with exceptional talent and bone structure could maintain the same cultivation speed without being affected by the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art. Xie Baolin, Ye Zongsheng, and Sha Pengxiao were examples.
Of course, Guande Martial Arts School had many disciples, and besides Xie Baolin, it had several other highly gifted students. Zhong Wanyu, Jin Guangqing, Qin Shuqin, Qi Yaxue, and Zheng Mengyang were all even more gifted than Xie Baolin, with better bone structure and aptitude.
They cultivated even faster than Xie Baolin and the others.
But the children of wealthy families in Qingshan Town couldn't endure the torment of the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art. It was hard even to reach the Entry Level, and after that, cultivation moved slower than a snail. Even Su Mo, despite his strength, had been told by some of the school's higher-ups that it would take him at least five to ten years to break through to the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm.
That was the greatest drawback of the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art.
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In truth, this wasn't really a drawback. Those with poor talent and bone structure found any Body Tempering technique difficult to cultivate. The Azure Origin Body Tempering Art was simply special: it had an exceptionally high floor, giving older people and those with poor bone structure a chance to become Martial Artists.
As for the other Body Tempering techniques, those without suitable bone structure weren't even qualified to cultivate them. They would simply be eliminated.
"Senior Sister, what does it take to cultivate these three powerful Body Tempering techniques?"
A disciple asked, his heart burning with anticipation.
"The Thunderous Body Refining Fist, Bone Forging Black Dragon Leg, and Waves Thunderbolt Palm are all exceedingly precious at Guande Martial Arts School. It's not impossible for you to cultivate them. You must either reach the peak of the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm before you turn nineteen, thereby reaching the limit of the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art,"
"or have an astonishing gift and outstanding aptitude. Those people can also earn the chance to cultivate these three powerful Body Tempering techniques."
Lin Yutong's gaze swept across the entire training ground as she spoke slowly, her voice cool and clear.
Lin Yutong's graceful, tall figure and refined, otherworldly bearing had won her the admiration of many disciples. But they shouldn't forget that she was a genuine Martial Artist in the Meridian Opening Realm and one of the school's higher-ups.
She was responsible not only for teaching the techniques, but also for selecting gifted disciples.
The Thunderous Body Refining Fist, Bone Forging Black Dragon Leg, and Waves Thunderbolt Palm were among the most powerful techniques at Guande Martial Arts School. They could be cultivated all the way to the Tendon Changing Realm, and each came with a matching set of offensive moves that unleashed devastating power.
But cultivating these three Body Tempering techniques was nothing like learning the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art, which anyone could study if they had money. These techniques demanded talent; only those with exceptional aptitude were qualified.
Alternatively, those who reached the peak of the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm before turning nineteen would also earn the chance to cultivate these three Body Tempering techniques.
But as soon as she said this, many of the school's disciples on the training ground grew restless.
"What? To cultivate the Thunderous Body Refining Fist and the other two techniques, you either need extraordinary talent or have to reach the peak of the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm before you turn nineteen. How could anyone manage that?"
"Exactly. I'm already twenty, and I'm only in the early stage of the Body Tempering Realm. Reaching the middle stage is still a distant dream. How could I ever qualify to cultivate these three techniques?"
"Are you all fools? These powerful Body Tempering techniques weren't meant for ordinary people like us. They're for the geniuses at the school!"
"For the school's geniuses? You mean Zhong Wanyu, Qi Yaxue, Qin Shuqin, Jin Guangqing, and Zheng Mengyang?"
"Of course. They're all the cream of the crop at Guande Martial Arts School, with extraordinary talent and bone structure far beyond you ordinary people. They're only sixteen or seventeen, and the school's higher-ups value them enormously."
"No wonder. I was overthinking it. If you want to go far on the martial arts path, but your talent and bone structure are poor, you're doomed to be like a frog at the bottom of a well. Even if you become a Martial Artist, can you only ever look up at the backs of these martial arts prodigies?"
At that moment, many people at the school were talking among themselves.
They hadn't expected that only the school's geniuses could cultivate its other Body Tempering techniques. As for them, even if they managed to learn the Azure Origin Body Tempering Art, it would still take them many years to reach the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm.
In other words, they had virtually no chance of cultivating the Thunderous Body Refining Fist, Bone Forging Black Dragon Leg, or Waves Thunderbolt Palm—the school's three most powerful Body Tempering techniques.
"Can I cultivate them if I reach the peak of the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm before I turn nineteen?"
In the crowd, Su Mo listened to Senior Sister Lin Yutong and his eyes flickered. He had started cultivating martial arts at eighteen, so he had no choice. His bone structure was fixed and blocked; he couldn't change it.
But perhaps he could try to reach the peak of the late stage of the Body Tempering Realm before turning nineteen.
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