"This..." Village Head Zhang Yu glanced at Zhao Cheng, who was grinning in the crowd, then sighed awkwardly and stepped forward to accept the order.
In the open space before the ancestral hall, muffled sighs could be heard. They truly wanted to distinguish themselves and build a career, but everyone knew that war could cost you your life. On the battlefield, death could come in an instant, and no one knew whether they would ever make it back.
But the conscription order had arrived. Even Zhang Yu couldn't conceal anything.
The rest was simple. The Village Head took a census and entered every villager aged fifteen or older into the Census Register.
His aunt wiped her reddened eyes and prepared a whole table of meat dishes for Zhao Cheng, letting him truly eat his fill. After the village sent off the dozen or so youths with strong liquor, they set out for the County Court.
Among the dozen or so youths were quite a few sixteen- and seventeen-year-olds, but Zhao Cheng still stood out like a crane among chickens, a full head taller than his companions and a whole circle more muscular.
On the way, Niu Ergui was exceptionally nervous. He chattered away with Zhao Cheng, hoping to ease his unease.
Zhao Cheng gave him perfunctory replies as he sank his attention into the system.
[Host: Zhao Cheng] [Current lifespan: 111 years, 4 months, 18 days (lifespan can be invested to simulate cultivation of techniques and martial arts)] [Current martial art: Basic Body Refining Technique (Flesh Refining, minor mastery)]
Now that we're going to the County Court, getting entered into the military rolls is all but certain. As long as I'm stronger than the average man, why worry about going hungry?
Thinking this, he made an excuse to relieve himself in the woods by the roadside. Once deep in the trees, he activated the system.
"System, invest eighty years of my lifespan in cultivating the Basic Body Refining Technique!"
[Beginning lifespan investment to cultivate the Basic Body Refining Technique...] [First year: You cultivate the Basic Body Refining Technique. You have now reached minor mastery in Flesh Refining, and you have practiced the Basic Body Refining Technique tens of thousands of times. Whether standing or moving, the forms come easily to you. Yet when you coordinate them with your breathing, some things still feel off...] [Fifth year: You gradually feel that your cultivation is inefficient. You think the Basic Body Refining Technique is too low-grade, making your progress in body refinement extremely slow...] [Tenth year: You calm your mind and practice the Basic Body Refining Technique again and again. Your body grows ever stronger, and your energy more abundant. Your muscles seem cast from iron, and every casual punch sends a fierce wind rushing forth...] [Twentieth year: Your strength grows ever greater. Every muscle in your body holds immense power, as though boundless strength lies within you. You reach great mastery in Flesh Refining...] [Thirtieth year: Your strength keeps growing, but you discover that your control over it is weak. Every punch releases your power like floodwaters bursting through a dam, and your movements are clumsy. The strength of this body feels difficult to control...] [Fortieth year: After countless repetitions of body refinement, you begin to gain insight. You feel that every muscle in your body follows some hidden principle of movement. With a single thought, you can call upon the strength of any muscle or relax it. Between motion and stillness, you grasp the mysteries of how the muscles work...] [Fiftieth year: You gain some insight...] [Seventieth year: At last, you fully comprehend the principles behind the flow of strength. Your control over every muscle in your body reaches its peak, and you can wield your strength as easily as you please. When sitting still, you are as immovable as a mountain, reducing your energy expenditure to the bare minimum. When you strike, you are like thunder, instantly unleashing all the strength in your body and concentrating it into a single point. You reach perfection in Flesh Refining...] [Eightieth year: You break through the Flesh Refining barrier and enter the Tendon Refining stage. After years of training your physique, the major tendons throughout your body are far from untrained; they possess the strength to match your physical power. Yet you faintly sense that training the tendons and bones is the key to unlocking even greater strength...] [Remaining lifespan: 31 years, 4 months, 18 days (lifespan can be invested to simulate cultivation of techniques and martial arts)]
Deep in the woods, Zhao Cheng opened his eyes. His muscles bunched and bulged, their density greatly increased, and an unparalleled sense of strength filled every corner of his body.
That solid sense of power coursed through his muscles. He seemed able to feel the place and unit of every trace of strength. His body obeyed him like an arm obeyed its hand, and even he was left marveling at the feeling.
He could instantly rein in all his strength and collapse as though paralyzed. Or, just as he was about to hit the ground, he could unleash his full strength at a single point on his fingertip and send his whole body soaring sideways.
He looked down at his chest and arms. He hadn't grown much bigger, just a little more solidly built. His muscles looked more clearly defined and fluid, and every line seemed to follow some hidden rhythm, giving him an unusually natural, pleasing appearance.
As Zhao Cheng walked out, a powerful sense of control settled over him. He was the lord of this mighty body, holding supreme authority over every ounce of its strength!
And that power could reach beyond himself. With it, he could control the fate of many people and things around him.
For instance, he could casually snap a sapling in half.
Or kill every frail youth around him in a few breaths.
In his eyes, Niu Ergui, who was thin as a bamboo pole, looked like a slender stalk that would snap in his grasp.
The feeling was wonderful. Just thinking of taking this body onto the battlefield one day, wielding a spear to slay the enemy and sweeping through a thousand troops, filled him with irrepressible excitement.
When Niu Ergui saw Zhao Cheng emerge from the woods with an entirely different air about him, an inexplicable terror rose within him. A sense of danger, as though he were facing a tiger, swiftly engulfed him. He shivered and, for once, fell silent, shrinking off to the side without another word.
They continued in silence.
The group entered the County Court with the clerks and went into the Martial Field. The magistrate and the County Commandant conducted a second round of checks on the eligible men, measuring their height, eyesight, and strength before entering them into the military register.
The county hadn't gathered many recruits, only a little over fifty. The two officials swept their gazes across the group and at once spotted the tall, powerfully built youth standing among them. He stood there like a sharp spear pointed straight at the heavens!
"Hm?"
The burly, armored County Commandant brought the Census Register over to the youth. "What's your name?"
"Zhao Cheng."
The County Commandant looked down at the register and couldn't help but show surprise. "You're only fifteen?"
"Yes."
At fifteen, he was already so tall and muscular, with such fine vitality and spirit. With a little training, he would surely make an Elite Soldier or Talent Officer!
The County Commandant nodded repeatedly, satisfaction in his eyes. "A promising lad. Come, check him!"
A clerk immediately stepped forward and began the examination.
"Seven feet eight inches!"
"Test his strength!"
In front of Zhao Cheng stood seven or eight stone weights, weighing one stone (sixty pounds), three stones, five stones, seven stones, nine stones, and twelve stones.
Zhao Cheng's striking appearance had caught the attention of the magistrate and County Commandant, and the youths being tested alongside him in the Martial Field were watching too. They wanted to see how this unusually tall and strong boy, their own age, would fare.
In truth, Zhao Cheng was curious about how strong he was himself. Although he had invested eighty years of his lifespan in cultivation and broken through the Flesh Refining barrier, he hadn't yet tested his strength. Looking at the millstone-sized weights, he unexpectedly felt his hands itching to try.
To be on the safe side, he chose the five-stone weight first. He was fairly confident he could manage around three hundred pounds.
Everyone's eyes followed him.
"Good lad! Going straight for the five-stone weight!"
"With a build like his, he might really lift it!"
"Anyone who can lift five stones can become a candidate for Talent Officer!"
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