Nine Palaces Living Stakes

"Three months of compulsory martial training when you turn eighteen!"

"You're still young, so you might think this is a hardship. But later, you'll understand: the Grand Examination three months from now may be your only chance in this life to change your fate."

"Make it, and you become a dragon; fail, and you're a worm. Dragon or worm—it all comes down to this one fight!"

In the narrow, shabby wooden hut, Lu Ming slowly woke. Hearing the "thunk, thunk, thunk" of blows rising and falling outside, he recalled the words the martial instructor had spoken a few days ago and shook his head.

It was barely dawn, yet many people were already up and practicing. Who would think this was a hardship? The competition had gotten out of hand!

Even so, after taking a moment to wake up, Lu Ming forced himself out of bed despite his drowsiness.

He had taken the college entrance exams in his previous life and knew this game well. After awakening his memories from that life a few days ago, he had quickly adapted.

But this world was different from his previous one. Here, martial prowess reigned supreme. The strongest martial artists could reach the heavens and plumb the earth, establish their own lineages, and receive the worship of countless people!

Born a commoner, his only chance to learn martial arts was the compulsory martial service everyone had to complete at eighteen.

The local Military Service Bureau oversaw the martial service, which lasted three months and ended with the Grand Examination.

The first step was to eliminate half the candidates, order them back to their commoner status, and forbid them from practicing martial arts again. Those from farming households had to work the fields; those from artisan households had to return to their crafts. They were not allowed to disobey.

Next, half of those who passed the cutoff were eliminated, leaving them with only the status of martial apprentice. Martial apprentices could enter martial arts schools, escort agencies, and other such lines of work, and continue practicing martial arts.

Only those who made it through the final round were true martial arts prospects, eligible to join a martial sect.

In other words, the martial service examination would likely determine the course of their entire lives!

Once someone entered a martial sect, they could soar to the heavens in a single bound and become one of the elite.

But those who failed and were reduced to commoners would spend the rest of their lives living at the mercy of others.

Lost in thought, he hurriedly washed up, filled his stomach with dry rations, and stepped outside. At a glance, he saw a cramped little courtyard enclosed by earthen walls on either side.

A whole row of courtyards like this surrounded him. All four hundred disciples had their own little yards, making it easier to practice!

In the middle of each courtyard stood a neat formation of three rows and three columns: a set of Nine Palaces Living Stakes. The stakes were about 1.2 meters apart.

It was still too early for full daylight, yet the sound of people stepping through the stakes and striking them already rose and fell all around him.

This was the martial art the Military Service Bureau taught them: Nine Palaces Living Stakes!

At first glance, they looked much like the Nine Palace Stakes from the Bagua Palm of his previous life. The eight directions of the Bagua, plus the center, made nine palaces.

But the Bureau's Nine Palaces Living Stakes were somewhat different. The upper half of each wooden stake was shaped like a puppet, with a chest, belly, two arms, and a head. They were not just straight wooden posts.

While practicing, disciples had to move through the stakes and strike the specific spots marked in red, making them ring. Only then did it count as a success.

And they could not miss a single one. They had to make all nine ring.

But...

After changing into his gray training clothes, Lu Ming walked up to the Nine Palaces Stakes and studied the red marks on different parts of the nine wooden figures, his eyes flickering.

Having been reborn, he was naturally unwilling to become an ordinary man, at the mercy of those powerful martial artists!

He did not have to become a martial arts prospect and enter a sect, but at the very least, he needed to earn the status of martial apprentice three months from now and qualify to keep practicing martial arts.

That meant he had to place in the top two hundred.

In terms of pure talent, he was not lacking in aptitude for martial arts.

Three Breaths Nine Echoes on the Nine Palaces Living Stakes was the entry level. One breath meant one inhale and one exhale, about three seconds.

In just half a month, he had already reached the level of Five Breaths Nine Echoes, only two breaths short of the entry level.

That put his talent in the upper middle among all the disciples!

But martial arts cultivation was about more than talent.

He could practice for at most two hours a day. After that, he had to rest, or he would seriously injure his hands and might even strain the muscles and joints in his legs.

His parents had died when he was young, and he had struggled to get by alone ever since. He had no spare money to buy medicine for injuries.

Even if you set aside the dozens of rich young masters, most of the other disciples came from families better off than his.

Many had a plentiful supply of medicine for injuries. Even with medicine, they could not train nonstop, but each day they could still practice for one or two hours longer than he could—twice as much as him.

Without a decisive gap in talent, his final results did not look promising.

"Not fair!" someone nearby said. "Chen Jinyang, Shen Jue, and those guys have been practicing martial arts since they were little. They're on a completely different level from us, but we're still being tested together."

"The poor have always found it hard to raise a child who can rise above the rest! Even if those people waited until now to start training, their families can supply them with loads of medicine for injuries. We can't compete with that."

"How can three months of hard training compare to decades of what they've built up? The Military Service Bureau says it's selecting geniuses, but it won't even acknowledge this kind of unfairness!"

One person spoke up, and the people around him immediately joined in, their resentment plain to see.

Knock, knock, knock!

Just then, Lu Ming heard someone knocking at his door.

He opened it in confusion, then his eyes lit up. The visitor was broad-shouldered and imposing: Shen Jue, the young master of the Shen Family in the city!

Shen Jue wore white training clothes. Compared to Lu Ming's gray, coarse-cloth outfit, they were made of silk and looked bright and fine. The difference was obvious at a glance.

A hint of fervor rose in Lu Ming's heart. Only disciples who had reached Three Breaths Nine Echoes or higher on the Nine Palaces Living Stakes were awarded these white training clothes.

There were already around two hundred Military Service Bureau disciples wearing white.

In other words, in just half a month, he had fallen behind two hundred people and was on the brink of elimination!

That was why, after awakening his memories, he had looked for ways to earn money to buy medicine for injuries and train a little more each day. Shen Jue was one of his customers.

As soon as Shen Jue saw him open the door, he said:

"Lu Ming, give me one more top-tier luxury item to show my friends. Heh, maybe I can get them to lend me a few martial arts manuals to read."

Shen Jue spoke rather rudely. Lu Ming grumbled to himself, but said nothing. Instead, he used the answer he had prepared earlier.

"Senior Brother Shen, an anthill."

Shen Jue frowned. "An anthill? You mean those nests ants live in? What's so luxurious about that?"

Lu Ming smiled. "An ordinary anthill is nothing special, of course.

"But if you pour liquid gold into one, the result is a golden anthill, which would be incredibly luxurious.

"The glitter of gold paired with all the complex tunnels in an anthill would make it a top-tier luxury item.

"There's only one drawback: gold is expensive, and it's quite heavy, so making an entire anthill would be difficult..."

Before he could finish, Shen Jue was already delighted.

"Not bad! You came up with that idea? You've got a knack for this. I knew I was right about you!

"I'll go get one made right now.

"Lu Ming, you're a talent. If you don't pass the Grand Examination, you can come work for me."

As he spoke, Shen Jue stuffed a jar of ointment into his hand, then turned and hurried away.

Lu Ming watched him go, the corner of his mouth twitching.

With five thousand years of Chinese history behind him in his previous life, he naturally knew of some truly extravagant things, so he used these "ideas" to barter with Shen Jue.

He had thought the golden anthill might be too expensive and that Shen Jue might not be interested. He had not expected him to casually say he would get one made.

An ordinary person could never earn enough gold for something like that in a lifetime. To Shen Jue, it was just a plaything to fiddle with.

Was this what people meant by the gap between worlds?

As for working for Shen Jue? It was just a pretty way of saying he would be a servant. For a rich young master's servant, that was the best prospect for someone who failed the Grand Examination.

Lu Ming merely shook his head and turned back into the courtyard.

Clutching the ointment in his hand, he felt a surge of joy. He did not think the Grand Examination was all that unfair.

Luck and family background were sometimes part of one's strength. He had understood that in his previous life.

And the same went for his Divine Ability Panel!

Thump!

After closing the courtyard gate, Lu Ming's eyes flickered. He opened the jar and smeared some brown ointment over his fingers, thighs, knees, and ankle joints.

The spots he had coated first felt cold, then gradually warmed. The pain from overdoing the stake work the previous day quickly eased considerably.

Without hesitation, he stepped forward and set off, hands leading and body following, beginning to move through the Nine Palaces Living Stakes.

He circled the stakes in an arc, eyes fixed on the red marks on each one. His eyes and hands moved as one, striking the wooden figures.

"Thuk, thuk, thuk..."

After five breaths, the stakes rang nine times. He emerged from the other side of the Nine Palaces Stakes.

[Evolution of Acupoint Divine Ability in progress (99/100)...]