The Five Animals Martial Hall

The next day, after breakfast, Jiang Tian followed his big brother out the door.

The bluestone road was crowded with ragged, gaunt refugees, squatting or sitting, their eyes vacant.

Panels hovered above every one of them, without exception, all bearing white traits.

Jiang Tian extracted them one by one.

After walking for about half an hour, they neared the city center, and the scenery gradually improved.

Farmers carrying baskets of vegetables were selling their wares along the roadside. Now and then, well-dressed members of wealthy families stepped down from carriages, surrounded by servants.

As he walked, Jiang Tian discreetly scanned the pedestrians coming and going.

System panels appeared above everyone's heads, some bright, some dim.

[Life as Fragile as Grass (White)]

[Nothing Special (White)]

[Ordinary Mortal (White)]

[Accomplishing Nothing (White)]

Just as he'd expected, almost everyone they passed had white traits.

Every so often, there was a green one, and Jiang Tian extracted it without hesitation.

Of course, even more people had nothing above their heads at all.

Every one of those with empty space above their heads was broad-shouldered and walked with steady steps. A keen, formidable air clung to their every movement. Clearly, they had embarked on the martial path and attained a level of cultivation.

Jiang Tian silently tallied things up.

Along the way, he'd accumulated quite a few points.

[Trait Points: 360]

He brought up his panel and glanced over his two traits.

[Traits: Poor Bone Structure (White) (10+/100), Innate Wisdom Root (Blue) (27+/1000)]

His wisdom root still needed 973 points to evolve to purple, while his bone structure needed only 90 to turn green.

"Add points."

Without hesitation, Jiang Tian dumped all his points into his bone structure.

[Trait: Poor Bone Structure (White) → Average Bone Structure (Green) (290+/500)]

"Crack, crack."

A series of tiny pops came from deep within his bones, like someone rubbing a handful of soybeans between their palms. Jiang Tian's stride abruptly faltered, and he froze in place.

It was as if an invisible hand had kneaded every bone in his body into place anew, or as though he'd been shoved into an unseen mold and forcibly stretched and straightened.

His frame quietly grew more than an inch taller, and his formerly thin, narrow shoulders and back visibly broadened.

His old, loose cotton robe now clung to the faint outline of his body.

Jiang Minghai, walking ahead, seemed lost in thought. He didn't stop, and failed to notice the change behind him.

Before long, an imposing storefront came into view.

A signboard with a yellow background and black lettering hung high above the entrance, its four bold characters written with the force of dragons and serpents.

Five Animals Martial Hall.

As Jiang Minghai walked toward the gate, he reminded his brother without looking back, "Don't get nervous in a bit."

"Silver alone won't be enough to get you into the martial hall. They'll test your bone structure, too. You may be frail, but you should be fine."

As he spoke, he turned around.

Then he froze.

"Hm?"

Jiang Minghai rubbed his eyes hard, then looked Jiang Tian up and down in disbelief.

Why did it seem like his little brother had suddenly grown taller? Were his shoulders broader than before, too?

Was he imagining things?

He shook his head, thought no more of it, and raised his hand to knock on the red-lacquered gate of the Five Animals Martial Hall.

"Knock, knock, knock."

After a moment, the door opened a crack.

An old man with a deeply wrinkled face and graying hair poked his head out. His eyes were sunken, his back hunched; he looked as though half his body had already been buried.

But Jiang Tian narrowed his eyes slightly. There was nothing above the old man's head.

As expected, he had martial cultivation to protect himself. He wasn't just some ordinary old gatekeeper.

"What is it?" The old man lifted his eyelids, his voice hoarse.

Jiang Minghai cupped his fists and said solemnly, "I've come to enroll my younger brother in boxing."

The old man glanced at Jiang Tian, expressionless. "Did you bring the silver?"

"I did."

"Come with me."

The gate swung open, and Jiang Minghai and Jiang Tian followed him inside.

The courtyard was much larger than Jiang Tian had imagined. Heavy black stone slabs covered the ground, thudding dully beneath their feet.

On the left stood stone padlocks, stone blocks, wooden posts, sandbags... all sorts of training equipment, lined up in a row.

More than a dozen people were hard at work. Some held horse stances without moving a muscle; others punched and kicked wooden posts, the dull thuds echoing through the courtyard.

Most looked around Jiang Tian's age, about fifteen or sixteen.

A few were younger, no more than twelve or thirteen.

There were also several in their early twenties, composed and steady, with a fair amount of skill in their punches and kicks.

Jiang Tian made a rough estimate. There were around forty people.

His gaze swept over their heads. Only a handful had panels.

That meant the rest, whose heads were empty, had already embarked on the martial path.

As for the few with panels, every one had green traits! Some even had two green traits, or a combination of green and white ones.

[Average Bone Structure (Green) Evil Ghost (White)]

[Common Bone Structure (Green)]

[Average Talent (Green)]

[Mediocre Bone Structure (Green)]

Jiang Tian's eyes glimmered faintly as he silently thought—

"Extract."

[Trait Points: 710]

Good heavens!

Jiang Tian clicked his tongue inwardly. Those few people in the martial hall alone had nearly brought him twice as much as he'd collected along the way!

On the right side of the courtyard, beneath an old locust tree, a middle-aged man reclined in a grand armchair, resting with his eyes closed.

A cup of hot tea sat on the redwood table beside him, white steam curling upward.

The man had gentle features and a touch of gray at his temples. He wore a blue-gray robe and looked less like a martial arts hall master than a schoolteacher.

"Master Yuan."

Jiang Minghai stepped forward, cupped his fists, and greeted him respectfully.

Before they'd come, he'd told Jiang Tian that the master of the Five Animals Martial Hall was named Yuan Long. They'd worked together once in the past. They weren't close, but at least they knew each other, and Jiang Minghai knew what kind of man he was.

"Jiang, old boy."

Yuan Long opened his eyes and looked at Jiang Minghai, giving a slight nod. Then his gaze shifted to Jiang Tian.

His eyes rested on Jiang Tian for only a moment before moving back to Jiang Minghai. He slowly asked, "You want your younger brother to learn boxing?"

"Yes."

Jiang Minghai handed over a pouch of silver and said solemnly, "Master Yuan, I know the rules. Here are twenty taels."

Yuan Long didn't take it. He continued, "If he can't temper his body within three months, he'll have to leave the martial hall of his own accord. You know that rule, too, right?"

"I do," Jiang Minghai replied solemnly.

Standing behind him, Jiang Tian's heart sank.

Twenty taels of silver only bought three months of lessons?

And if he couldn't temper his body, he'd have to get out?

"Good." Yuan Long slowly rose from his chair and stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze calm. "But first, I have to test the boy's bone structure. If it's no good... you can take the money back."

With that, he looked at Jiang Tian and said mildly, "Boy, bear with it. It'll hurt a little."

"All right." Jiang Tian nodded.

The moment he finished speaking, the figure before him blurred.

Yuan Long appeared beside him like a ghost.

"So fast!" Jiang Tian exclaimed inwardly.

He hadn't even seen how the man moved.

A large hand reached toward him, fingers spread like a steel ruler. It traced from his neck bone down to his arm bones, shoulder blades, and ribs... The fingers moved quickly between his bones, and the hand clamped down like an iron vice, making him ache.

In just a few breaths, a fine sheen of cold sweat had appeared on Jiang Tian's forehead.

Yuan Long withdrew his hand and clasped it behind his back. His eyes flickered slightly, then returned to calm.

"Average Bone Structure... Grade C Bone Structure."

He spoke slowly, his tone neither warm nor cold. "If he's willing to work hard, he may yet have a chance to break through the Blood Barrier within three months."

The disciples training nearby didn't stop their movements, but their ears pricked up.

Hearing the words "Grade C Bone Structure," most of them remained unperturbed, merely murmuring, "Oh."

But a few curled their lips, their mockery plain to see.

And when Yuan Long uttered that tired old line, "may yet have a chance," even more of them shook their heads in secret.

Clearly, Yuan Long had told them the same thing when they first joined.

But tempering the body was no easy task.

If they failed, they'd need another year or two to build themselves back up. Grade C Bone Structure... heh.

Everyone in the martial hall who hadn't broken through yet had Grade C Bone Structure. Every last one of them.

Jiang Tian took in everyone's reactions without a word, his expression still calm.

So what if he had Grade C Bone Structure? He had a system!