Contempt, the Martial Examination Comes Early

"Senior Sister, could it be the breathing technique?"

Shi Wen asked curiously.

It wasn't just the set of Baji Fist Li Qianqian had performed earlier.

When he'd watched Wei Shan's techniques, the man's breathing as he moved had sounded like a roaring beast, as though thunder rumbled in his chest. Every time he unleashed a killing move, it was like he was expelling the sounds of Ha and He—terrifying to behold!

"That's right. It has to do with breathing."

Li Qianqian nodded. "The core of Baji Fist lies not only in the flow of its moves and the greater number of areas it tempers, but also in its breathing technique."

"The human body holds endless mysteries. Special breathing techniques can make killing moves fiercer and temper the body more thoroughly. They can regulate the breath and nourish the spirit, ward off illness and promote health, prolong life, and strengthen the body!"

She went over to a specially made wooden dummy and demonstrated.

The same Prop Punch, delivered with ordinary breathing or with a special breathing technique, produced drastically different levels of destructive force!

"Every superior martial art comes with a special breathing technique. That's how it unleashes power beyond what you'd expect. The moves alone can't produce the corresponding destructive force, nor can they properly temper the body."

"You could say that without the Internal Breath Method, even if you learned every move in a martial art, you'd get half the results for twice the effort. You might even injure yourself..."

She briefly explained the importance of the Internal Breath Method.

Shi Wen nodded from time to time.

Indeed, a superior martial art was practically useless without the Internal Breath Method.

For example, in the Taibao Hard Qigong he'd learned, the Internal Breath Method was crucial.

If he didn't coordinate his breathing with his training while tempering his entire body, he'd get injured, fail to make any progress, and be unable to perform the so-called killing moves.

"Junior Brother Shi, I'll teach you the Internal Breath Method. Listen to the steps I'm about to explain, then give them a try."

"Exhale and walk three steps, inhale and walk three steps. Keep repeating the cycle, and all the while, feel as if streams of air are surging toward you from every direction..."

Li Qianqian began teaching Shi Wen the Internal Breath Method.

Shi Wen quickly grasped the principles and learned Baji Fist's Internal Breath Method. He then demonstrated the Six Harmonies Eight Desolations Baji Fist for Li Qianqian.

Li Qianqian offered a few pointers along the way. Seeing that Shi Wen had gotten the hang of it, she nodded with a smile. "Junior Brother Shi, you're very perceptive. You've only practiced it twice, and you're already getting the hang of it."

"Keep at it like this. Once you're familiar with coordinating the Internal Breath Method with your training, your Blood Tempering should advance significantly within two or three months. Then you can try to enter Blood Coagulation. But you'll need to be careful when you reach that stage."

"Blood Coagulation is different from Blood Tempering. Condensed blood energy has properties like penetration and explosion, and can inflict tremendous damage on external objects."

"So condensing your qi and blood into blood energy is somewhat dangerous. If the condensation fails, your qi and blood can easily turn against you."

"But you're still a long way from that stage..."

Shi Wen listened quietly as Li Qianqian explained the essentials.

After she finished, he pretended to ask out of curiosity, "Senior Sister Li, I heard that breathing techniques can strengthen tendons and bones, improve the body, and change one's constitution. Is that true? What exactly is a breathing technique?"

"Breathing techniques can strengthen tendons and bones, improve the body, and change one's constitution?"

Li Qianqian looked surprised that Shi Wen had heard such a thing.

Still, she patiently explained, "Junior Brother Shi, a breathing technique is a special secret art one level above the Internal Breath Method. It uses special breathing rhythms to speed up the tempering of the blood and create a certain harmony with the martial art."

"Usually, one only begins learning a breathing technique when nearing the Origin Blood Realm."

"Breathing techniques can accelerate the tempering and circulation of the blood throughout the body, allowing blood energy to be tempered rapidly in a special way until it forms a Blood Membrane."

"But ordinary breathing techniques are almost impossible to find on the market. They're already considered a core part of a martial art."

"Even at our Fist Academy, you can only learn a breathing technique if you become Master Li's direct disciple or are on the verge of reaching the Origin Blood Realm."

Li Qianqian spoke earnestly. "Aside from our eldest senior brother, none of the disciples at our Fist Academy have reached the Origin Blood Realm yet. Martial arts can't be mastered overnight. It takes years of practice to enter the Origin Blood Realm."

"As for your claim that breathing techniques can strengthen tendons and bones or change one's constitution... I'm afraid I've never heard of that."

"I see."

Shi Wen nodded quietly, but in his heart, he was very interested in the incomplete breathing technique he'd seen on the Extreme Seal.

He'd seen it perfectly clearly.

It could not only strengthen tendons and bones and temper the body, but even alter one's innate constitution and grant him a baptism of Earth Qi each month!

None of its listed benefits seemed earth-shattering, but every one of them was real and tangible. It was far more powerful than the breathing technique Senior Sister Li had described!

Unfortunately, it would take too long to derive the breathing technique.

A full ten years!

Otherwise, he truly wanted to experience the breathing technique derived by the Extreme Seal and see what made it different!

"If only I could find something to shorten the Extreme Seal's derivation time."

Shi Wen sighed.

He swallowed Treasure Blood.

He spent the entire afternoon practicing the Six Harmonies Eight Desolations Baji Fist, quietly familiarizing himself with the moves.

Baji Fist had many formal moves, and every one was a killing move.

Moreover, each movement had to be coordinated with its corresponding Internal Breath Method. Only when the moves and breathing were properly synchronized did the practice count, so Shi Wen's early progress was slow.

This martial art wasn't like Taibao Hard Qigong, where he could get results just by training hard.

In the entire afternoon, he only managed to complete five proper sets.

Several Inner Courtyard disciples secretly watched the newly promoted disciple, but soon shook their heads and looked away.

They'd thought this fellow named Shi Wen might have such exceptional comprehension that he could break free of the limits of his innate constitution. Who would've thought that when he learned the Inner Courtyard's core martial art, there'd be nothing special about him at all?

His Six Harmonies Eight Desolations Baji Fist was all over the place.

And the moves didn't flow together.

Wasn't that just below average?

The Fist Academy's core martial arts were nothing like the basic exercises.

Once he had the moves down, he'd still need to master how to coordinate the Internal Breath Method with them.

Heh. At this rate, he'd be lucky to reach the entry level after a few months!

Looks like luck played a big part in this fellow managing to temper his blood at all!

"Junior Brother Li, come over for a moment. The Inner Courtyard's holding a meeting."

An Inner Courtyard disciple named Xi Ying came over and called to him. She gave him a curious look, then hurried off to find Zhou Heling.

Soon, beneath the trees in the Inner Courtyard,

more than twenty people watched Li Qianqian speak.

Shi Wen stood at the back of the crowd, unremarkable as ever. He curiously looked over the group and spotted a few Inner Courtyard disciples he'd never seen before.

After hearing Li Qianqian's explanation, Shi Wen understood why so many disciples had gathered today.

The rebels in neighboring Tiannan Prefecture had carved out territory, and the situation had grown serious.

To boost morale throughout the land and select martial arts talents, the imperial court had decided to hold the Martial Examination ahead of schedule. It was held once every three years.

The Martial Examination in Black Cloud County would select candidates from among young people of the proper age.

Anyone who took first place could earn an official title, exempt their whole family from labor service and taxes, and receive various rewards from the imperial court, including precious medicines, elixirs, advanced martial arts, and divine weapons!

As soon as she said this,

many Inner Courtyard disciples eagerly rushed to sign up with Li Qianqian.

Even Zhou Heling, whose hand was injured, hurried over and excitedly registered.

After all, once they passed the Martial Child Examination, they could become Martial Scholars. They would then be exempt from taxes and labor service, and receive an extra annual stipend from the local government.

Besides, this Martial Examination had been specially arranged by the imperial court to pacify the region. The rewards were sure to be generous.

Who wouldn't want to sign up?

As for the Martial Examination itself...

Just passing the preliminary trials to become a Martial Graduate in Black Cloud County would eliminate a huge number of people!

Anyone below the Origin Blood Realm couldn't draw a thousand-jin hard bow or lift a stone lock without using their qi and blood!

And that was only the most basic requirement.

"If no one has any objections, I'll register everyone," Li Qianqian said. "The Martial Examination is being held early this year, so consider this a chance to broaden your horizons. There'll be another one in two years, and you can participate then as well."

At that,

many Inner Courtyard disciples agreed.

The Martial Examination was a major event held in Black Cloud County, and countless people would take part.

They'd get to witness the martial arts of various families and see talented young people from all over.

It was also a lively event that martial artists like them loved!

"Junior Brother Qin, sign up this time and try for the title of Martial Scholar. Treat it as a chance to broaden your horizons. In two years, you can take the Martial Examination itself. Winning the title of Martial Graduate should be no problem for you."

Wei Shan chuckled. "After all, Junior Brother Qin is a genius with an eighth-grade innate constitution. He should have no trouble winning the title of Martial Graduate in two years. Unlike certain people who get lucky and manage to temper a little qi and blood, only to stay stuck in the same place for their whole lives."

"Senior Brother, you flatter me. I've only just brought the Six Harmonies Eight Desolations Baji Fist to the entry level. I still have a long way to go before I reach minor mastery."

Qin Huan said that, but his face was practically beaming with pride.

"Impressive, Junior Brother! You really are our Fist Academy's genius."

Wei Shan joined in with the praise, his challenging gaze drifting toward Shi Wen now and then.

Unfortunately, Shi Wen didn't even react to him, so Wei Shan could only look away in disappointment.

After the registration for the Martial Examination was over,

Sun Mingting spoke up. "Senior Sister Li, aren't we going to deal with the matter of the Flying Cloud Pavilion?"

"The Martial Examination is about to begin. The Martial Child Examination is only seven days away, and Master Li is away on business. He won't be at the Fist Academy during this period. We'll go to the Flying Cloud Pavilion and demand justice after the Martial Examination!"

"That's all. Meeting adjourned!"

When Li Qianqian finished speaking, no one present dared to say anything.

Everyone dispersed.

When the evening school gong rang,

Shi Wen didn't leave at once. He went over some of the moves he'd learned.

He'd just left the Fist Academy wearing the Inner Courtyard disciples' uniform.

But to his surprise, quite a few Outer Courtyard disciples were still practicing, even though they usually left as soon as classes ended.

When those Outer Courtyard disciples saw him come out,

they all pretended to be busy. Yet after Shi Wen left, the jealousy and conflicted feelings on their faces lingered for a long time.