Martial Dao Stele

The arrival of Fang Han and his group stirred the Inner Hall disciples who were practicing martial arts.

Some stopped what they were doing and sized up Fang Han and the other unfamiliar faces with keen interest.

"Oh? Is it time for new recruits to enter the hall again?"

Others had been so immersed in cultivation that they had lost track of the date. Only now did they suddenly look up and mutter to themselves.

"Tsk, only eight? Looks like this batch is pretty mediocre."

A young man stood with his arms folded, his gaze sweeping over Fang Han and the others. He curled his lip, his voice neither loud nor soft, yet every word reached their ears clearly.

The indifference and faint contempt in his words were like cold water, dampening the excitement they had felt upon entering the Inner Hall.

"Follow me."

Elder Fang Yuan did not stop the discussion. In his eyes, the youth's words might have been sharp, but they were the truth.

In previous years, more than ten people would usually pass the assessment and enter the Inner Hall. This batch had only eight, which truly counted as a poor harvest.

He led the eight of them through a Corridor and into a spacious Courtyard deep within the Inner Hall.

At the center of the Courtyard stood a massive Jade Stele in silent stillness.

The Jade Stele was a warm jade-white throughout, more than ten feet tall and over a meter wide.

Embedded in the ground, its surface was smooth as a mirror, flowing with a restrained, lustrous glow beneath the faint light of dawn.

An indescribable aura seeped faintly from it.

"This is the Martial Dao Stele."

Elder Fang Yuan's voice rang through the silent Courtyard.

"The Martial Dao Stele?"

Fang Han studied the Jade Stele before him.

The immense Jade Stele—its material, its luster, the peculiar aura it exuded—was utterly different from any "stone monument" he had known in either his past or present life.

It resembled more a flawless piece of jade, carrying a strange beauty that transcended the mundane world.

"This stele is indestructible."

Elder Fang Yuan continued, his gaze resting upon its polished surface.

"What is even more miraculous is that it can sense the force of an attack, record its strength, and determine rankings."

"It can record the strength of attacks? Rank them automatically?"

A tempestuous wave rose within Fang Han's heart.

Was this Jade Stele truly something a martial world could possess?

If it was not from this martial world, then where had it come from?

Countless questions instantly flooded his mind. His eyes remained fixed on the smooth, mirror-like jade surface, where mysterious streams of light flowed.

At that moment, fifty-three faintly glowing names were clearly displayed from top to bottom on the upper portion of the stele.

They were likely the rankings left behind by the other Inner Hall disciples.

Before today, the Inner Hall should have had a total of fifty-three disciples.

"Touch the stele with your hand and write your name upon it. Then use the martial skill you are best at to attack with all your strength, and the stele will display your ranking."

Elder Fang Yuan's voice interrupted Fang Han's thoughts.

"Come forward and leave your records. Who will go first?"

"I will!"

Among the eight, a tall and slender disciple named Fang Lin stepped forward first without hesitation.

The reason for his confidence was that he had been the first among the eight to break through into the Flesh Refining Realm. His strength was unquestionably the greatest among them.

Looking at the Jade Stele before him, he pressed a finger against its icy surface.

"Bzzz—"

Something strange happened. What his finger touched did not seem to be hard jade, but an "LCD screen."

As his finger moved, faint ripples spread across the surface of the Jade Stele, and his name, "Fang Lin," clearly appeared upon it.

Then he sank into a horse stance, gave a low shout, and unleashed a punch technique, smashing his fist fiercely against the Jade Stele.

"Thud!"

With a muffled sound, the Jade Stele remained completely unharmed. Only its surface flashed faintly.

The next moment, small characters appeared after the name "Fang Lin."

"Fifty-fourth place."

It meant that the power of his attack ranked fifty-fourth on the Jade Stele.

Fang Lin moved aside, and the other disciples stepped forward to test themselves. The second, the third... the testing proceeded in orderly fashion.

Everyone wrote down their name upon the stele, then attacked with the martial skill they excelled at using all their strength.

Having only just entered the Inner Hall, their foundations were still shallow. Without any suspense, their rankings landed at the bottom of the Jade Stele.

Fang Han was the last.

He steadied himself, suppressing his shock and curiosity toward the mysterious Jade Stele, then stepped forward.

The moment his finger touched the stele's surface, a bone-deep chill spread up his arm.

He focused his mind and held his breath, moving his finger to write his name on the Jade Stele—"Fang Han."

The handwriting could not be called beautiful, but it was neat enough.

The martial skill he practiced was swordsmanship, so he took a Refined Iron Sword from the weapon rack nearby.

Drawing upon the more condensed power he had gained after breaking through into the Flesh Refining Realm, when flesh and skin had fused as one, he performed the Breeze Sword Art.

He twisted all the strength in his body into a single force and slashed his sword at the Jade Stele.

"Clang—!"

The Refined Iron Sword struck the Jade Stele solidly, producing a heavy, condensed muffled ring.

The Jade Stele flashed faintly. The next moment, small characters appeared after the name "Fang Han."

"Fifty-ninth place."

Fang Han's gaze fell upon the ranking, and the look in his eyes paused slightly.

The original fifty-three people, plus the eight of them, made a total of sixty-one names on the Jade Stele.

Unexpectedly, though he had been the last to break through into the Flesh Refining Realm, he was not in last place. Instead, he had surpassed two others and ranked third from the bottom.

The twofold bone aptitude boost actually let me catch up this quickly!

An indescribable delight surged through Fang Han's heart.

The twofold boost to his bone aptitude had improved his cultivation speed even more than he had expected, allowing him to catch up to two of them so quickly.

Not only was Fang Han himself surprised by this result, but the other seven, who had just finished their tests, all turned their astonished gazes toward him in unison.

"Fifty-ninth? He... wasn't he the last to break through?"

One disciple could not help letting out a quiet cry of surprise, his face full of disbelief.

"What... what's going on? Fang Tao and Fang Chen broke through Flesh Refining before him, so how did they end up at the bottom?"

Among the eight, Fang Tao and Fang Chen's faces instantly flushed red.

The way they looked at Fang Han was filled with shock and unwillingness. The rankings of "Sixtieth" and "Sixty-first" stabbed at their eyes like needles.

The gazes of the others upon Fang Han changed as well.

"We misjudged him. This Fang Han... has some skill!"

Only Fang Lin, the undisputed strongest among the eight, remained fairly calm despite being somewhat surprised.

He had already advanced from the Flesh Refining Early-Stage to the Flesh Refining Mid-Stage, and was even not far from breaking through to the Flesh Refining Late-Stage.

The gap between them was so great that he did not believe Fang Han could surpass him.

"Alright. You have all undergone a combat power test on the Martial Dao Stele. Next, follow me to the supply distribution area to collect your rewards and monthly allotments."

Having watched the combat power tests of Fang Han and the other seven, Elder Fang Yuan's expression had remained calm from beginning to end.

Among the eight, only Fang Lin's combat power was barely worthy of catching his eye—and only barely.

In previous years, there had been no shortage of disciples who had already broken through to the Flesh Refining Late-Stage upon entering the Inner Hall.

There had even been disciples who had already reached the Tendon Refining level when they entered the Inner Hall.

With Fang Lin's performance being the best this batch had to offer, Elder Fang Yuan was truly somewhat disappointed in these disciples.