Ranking

An incense stick's worth of time passed quickly.

Jiang Ping followed the crowd as a hundred sturdy young men marched in a vast procession toward the Outer Courtyard.

They soon arrived at the Training Ground. A large sign ahead bore the character "Martial," while weapon racks stood on either side, displaying all kinds of weapons.

The dining hall was to the left of the Training Ground, connected to it and very close by.

At this moment, Head Escort Liang was already standing at the entrance to the dining hall, with another escort holding a Yellow Booklet beside him.

Only then did Jiang Ping realize that from recruiting and selecting people to training them now, it was likely all handled by this head escort.

"Silence! Line up properly!"

The escort holding the Yellow Booklet stepped forward and gave a stern shout. Only after everyone had quieted down and stood in line did he point at Head Escort Liang and introduce him. "This is Head Escort Liang of our Four Seas Escort Agency, an Eighth Rank Skin Refining Martial Artist. For the next half year, he will be responsible for teaching all of you."

"Hiss! Eighth Rank!"

"I heard that once someone becomes a Ninth Grade Blood Cultivation Martial Artist, many Gentry and Wealthy Clans scramble to invite him into their estates as a retainer, showering him with silver every month. If I become Eighth Rank, never mind riches and glory—I'll at least be able to live happily for the rest of my life."

"What are you dreaming about? Eighth Rank? Let's get through the Nourishing Life Technique assessment first. Do you think becoming a Martial Artist is that easy?"

"..."

"Silence!"

Seeing the whispers about to turn into a noisy commotion, the escort suddenly shouted again, and everyone immediately fell silent.

The escort turned to Head Escort Liang.

"Chief, shall we begin right away?"

"Mm." Liang Sheng nodded.

Then the escort opened the roster and said to the crowd, "Come forward when your name is called."

"Zhang San."

As soon as the words fell, a dark-skinned young man stepped out from the crowd.

"Come here. Stand in front of me," Head Escort Liang said. Zhang San immediately approached, only stopping when he was called to a halt at a distance of one chi.

"Punch my chest with all your strength. Remember, you only have one chance."

Liang Sheng pointed at the right side of his chest.

"What is this for?"

All the young men were full of confusion.

"Hurry up. The people behind you are waiting. Just use all your strength; don't worry about anything else." Seeing Zhang San hesitate, the escort could not help urging him.

Hearing this, Zhang San could only take a deep breath. He clenched his right hand into a fist, veins bulging.

The next moment, his fist swung toward the head escort's chest, accompanied by a dull bang.

Yet Liang Sheng did not move an inch. With an indifferent expression, he said, "142 jin."

The escort beside him hurriedly wrote it down, then called out the second name.

A muscular young man immediately stepped forward.

By then, everyone understood that the head escort was testing their Fist Force.

"We haven't even come into contact with the Nourishing Life Technique yet. What is the point of this test? I heard that Martial Artists who have just begun Blood Cultivation can throw punches with over a thousand jin of force," someone whispered.

"Of course it has a purpose. The head escort is recording our initial Fist Force. Once we begin practicing the Nourishing Life Technique, it will be easier to understand our growth trajectory."

"So that's how it is."

"Li Si, 145 jin!"

At this moment, the second person's Fist Force test result came out.

"Wang Wu, 150 jin."

"Zhao Liu, 140 jin."

"..."

As time passed, one sturdy young man after another had their initial Fist Force tested.

Standing amid the crowd, Jiang Ping also came to a small conclusion.

Everyone's Fist Force generally fluctuated between 140 and 150 jin.

But that conclusion was quickly shattered. A seven-chi-tall young man threw a punch with 183 jin of force, making everyone raise their brows.

That level could not be called anything but formidable.

"Sun Qi—that's from our dormitory. We're quite close," a rather skinny young man said proudly.

"Jiang Ping!"

A young man with considerable heroic spirit stepped out from the crowd.

Jiang Ping had not expected it to be his turn so soon.

He walked before Liang Sheng, drew a slight breath, then threw a punch with all his strength.

Jiang Ping was also curious about how much Fist Force he possessed.

"155 jin."

As the head escort spoke, the crowd's reaction was relatively subdued. This counted as above average among those tested earlier; several had come close to it. But compared to that young man who had punched with more than 180 jin of force, it was like a small witch before a great witch.

"Still, this person's looks are the most top-notch among us." A sharp-faced young man stared at Jiang Ping's face, envy in his eyes.

The crowd instantly fell silent. The scene seemed to become quiet all at once, and no one responded to the young man's words. Only after Jiang Ping slipped back into the crowd did that oppressive atmosphere of deathly silence dissipate.

"Luo Tiegen, 150 jin."

After Jiang Ping came Luo Tiegen from the same dormitory, along with the fellow townsmen who had come with him. Their Fist Force was also around 150 jin.

"Qian Dele, 170!"

"This is the second person far above the average. This person looks only six chi tall, about the same as us. How is his Fist Force so high?"

Someone looked at the smug Qian Dele in disbelief.

"Maybe this is what it means to be gifted beyond measure," Qian Dele's old friend said, proud of his friend.

"***, 180 jin."

Before long, the second person with Fist Force exceeding 180 jin appeared. This person was also extremely burly, standing seven chi tall.

But once the testing ended, no third person appeared.

Even fifth place had only 158 jin of Fist Force.

"All right, testing is over. Go into the dining hall and eat."

The escort in charge of recording closed the booklet and spoke to the crowd.

"Hm?"

Everyone looked puzzled.

That was it? They were not practicing the Nourishing Life Technique?

"You need to eat your fill before you have the strength to train. The real training should begin after the meal," someone guessed.

"Whatever. We'll listen to the escort. Time to eat, time to eat!"

Hearing that they could eat, some people could no longer wait to head into the dining hall. Jiang Ping was one of them.

He had only eaten a bowl of noodles last night, and his stomach had long been growling.

Upon entering the dining hall, Jiang Ping easily found the staff meal designated for newcomers like them.

Because the serving window bore four large words: "Newcomer exclusive."

"There's meat—a huge bowl of meat!"

As the first person received his food, everyone's eyes went wide, and they could not help crying out in delight.

They normally did hard labor and lived frugally. They would only bear to eat meat once every seven or eight days, while some were willing to eat it only once every month or two.

Yet at their very first "staff" meal at the escort agency, they had meat—and a huge bowl of it at that. In ordinary times, this would have been as much meat as they ate in an entire year.

The dining hall instantly erupted. The previously scattered crowd began lining up, and some who could not wait even tried to cut in.

"Brother, we're from the same dormitory. Let us have two spots, will you?"

Someone approached Jiang Ping.

After all, he was among the first batch to enter the dining hall and stood near the front of the line.

Jiang Ping glanced at this person, speechless inside.

Why would someone even cut in line for a meal? Are they in that much of a hurry? Are they rushing to take the graduate school entrance exam?

And getting food would not take much time. Was there really any need to be so anxious?

But before Jiang Ping could respond, a familiar stern shout rang out.

"Follow the rules and line up properly!"

It was Escort Huang, the one responsible for recording. He entered and saw several people arguing over cutting in line, causing him to frown.

"Why are you acting like starving ghosts reincarnated? Wait a little longer. It won't kill you."

Qian Dele and his old friend, who had wanted Jiang Ping to give up his spots, looked regretful and could only leave dejectedly.

A moment later.

After getting his meal, Jiang Ping found an empty table and began using his chopsticks.

He first tasted a piece of meat and found that it was beef—and quite delicious at that. He immediately wolfed it down with white rice.

Not long after he began eating, Luo Tiegen from the same dormitory and his two fellow townsmen came over carrying their bowls and joined Jiang Ping at the table.

After exchanging a few polite greetings and introductions, the four lowered their heads and focused on eating.

With such a huge bowl of meat to eat, who had the mood for chatting?

The noisy dining hall was filled with the aroma of beef.

Everyone ate the delicious food, feeling immensely satisfied.

Quite a few people even made up their minds to remain at the escort agency.

But just as they were halfway through their meals, a capable and sharp middle-aged man entered through the doorway.

The somewhat noisy dining hall instantly fell silent.

The newcomer was naturally Liang Sheng, Head Escort Liang, who was responsible for teaching them.

"You all eat. Don't mind me," Liang Sheng said.

Hearing this, everyone continued eating. But they discovered that this head escort was not, as they had expected, here to eat as well.

Instead, he walked around the dining hall once before speaking in a loud voice.

"You came to our Four Seas Escort Agency, so you should all understand to some extent that what our agency needs are powerful escorts, not laborers for odd jobs."

"Therefore, before you become escorts, the agency will do its utmost to cultivate you into powerful people capable of meeting the requirements for Escort Missions."

"And if you wish to become strong, Martial Dao is the road—a wide avenue."

"But since our escort agency has chosen to cultivate you for free, naturally we cannot be like martial arts halls and teach you their renowned Stance Techniques. Thus, what you can rely on to become stronger is our agency's exclusive Nourishing Life Technique."

Everyone nodded. Of course they knew the Nourishing Life Technique could not compare with a Stance Technique.

But practicing a Stance Technique required silver, and they were all poor. Where could they find so much money to enter a martial arts hall and train?

They had naturally come to the escort agency because they valued its free training. Many only wanted to become escorts and improve their lives.

"However, you need not belittle yourselves. If the Nourishing Life Technique is practiced to Great Accomplishment, one can still become a Martial Artist."

"Moreover, the cultivation of the Nourishing Life Technique and Stance Techniques shares one crucial point in common. Do you know what it is?"

"Talent?"

"Maintaining pure yang?"

"Before the age of thirty."

"..."

The crowd spoke up one after another according to their own understanding.

Liang Sheng shook his head slightly. "None of those are quite right."

"It's very simple: eat!"

"Eat?"

Jiang Ping immediately lowered his head and looked at the food he was eating, a faint guess rising in his heart.

But most people looked toward the head escort, confusion in their eyes.

Liang Sheng explained.

"That's right. Eating. You all know that the Initial Realm is Blood Cultivation: internally cultivating one's own Blood Qi, digging this strength out bit by bit from within oneself."

"But we are constantly consuming ourselves. If you train without eating, not only will you fail to cultivate anything, you will also harm your body, because the human body's Blood Qi is limited."

"At such times, you need to borrow the aid of external things to replenish your own Blood Qi. That is what I mean by eating."

"However, eating also requires great care. As everyone knows, the human body has the ability to recover on its own. Combined with eating and sleeping every day, that also counts as a means of replenishing Blood Qi."

"For example, most of you feel exhausted after a day of hard labor, but after eating a meal and sleeping, you will still feel quite energetic when you wake the next day."

"But that method is only suitable for labor. Once you begin martial training, simply eating rice and noodles with whatever meat and vegetables happen to be available will no longer suffice."

"You need to pair your training with specific foods in order to practice well and achieve twice the result with half the effort."

"Can you guess what kind of food that would be?"

"Beef?" Qian Dele ventured. When he received a nod from the head escort, he looked rather pleased.

"That's right. Beef. It is a food highly suitable for martial practitioners. Even the martial arts halls of Yang City use beef as food to complement their disciples' training."

Liang Sheng spoke slowly, then continued.

"Therefore, the meal you are eating today is specially provided for martial practitioners."

"Once you finish eating, I will teach you the Nourishing Life Technique and let you formally come into contact with Martial Dao."

At these words, everyone grew expectant.

Whether they were mules or horses would depend on the Nourishing Life Technique.

"However!"

Head Escort Liang suddenly changed the subject and added, "There is something rather important that I must explain in advance."

"Our escort agency cherishes those who are exceptionally outstanding. You may even have the chance to gain the Chief's favor and be accepted as his disciple."

"The Chief!"

The young men's hearts surged. The Chief of the Four Seas Escort Agency was rumored to be a Sixth Grade Martial Artist, someone who had nearly become a Martial Graduate. In all of Yang City, his strength could rank within the Top Five.

If one could gain his favor and become his disciple, it would practically mean ascending to heaven in a single step.

"Silence!" Seeing the dining hall become restless again, Escort Huang could not help shouting.

Once the noise had settled, Head Escort Liang continued, "Just as I said, the outstanding will receive special attention. From now on, the Top Five in every Fist Force test will receive greater care."

"Sun Qi!"

"Qian Dele!"

"Liu Wensheng!"

"Zhao Lusi!"

As the five people whose names had been called stepped forward, Head Escort Liang nodded and said, "You are the Top Five this time. By custom, your beef portions will be doubled at every meal for three days."

With that, Escort Huang brought out the five bowls of beef already prepared at the serving window and handed them to the five one by one.

"Do not underestimate this extra bowl of meat. Once you begin practicing martial arts, you will understand how much this meat helps on the road of Martial Dao."

Escort Huang swept his gaze around the room and gave a light laugh.

"It smells amazing!" Qian Dele exclaimed after taking a bite of his extra reward.

Though he seemed to be praising the beef, quite a few people felt that this person was showing off his ranking.

Most, however, were filled with envy.

The escorts had already said that food was an important part of martial training. If those five were allowed to keep eating extra meat, the gap between them would likely be widened in the future.

Jiang Ping felt somewhat regretful as well. His Fist Force had been only three jin below fifth place, putting him seemingly in eighth place.

"You need not be nervous either. The Fist Force test is held once every three days. If anyone can rise above the rest through the Nourishing Life Technique three days from now, they will receive the same treatment."

Seeing the yearning in everyone's eyes, Head Escort Liang smiled as he spoke.

"A test every three days! This is both a reward for cultivating the outstanding and the beginning of our competition."

Jiang Ping felt a sense of urgency.

"Enough, I have said all I needed to say. Continue eating. Gather at the Training Ground outside in twenty minutes."

After saying that, Head Escort Liang left the dining hall, with Escort Huang respectfully following behind him.