The Martial Guard Office stood in the eastern part of the city and covered thousands of acres. It was divided into two sections: one housed the official offices, while the other was the Guard Academy.
Their carriages passed through bustling streets, the sounds of vendors hawking all kinds of goods ringing in their ears. After about half an hour, they stopped outside the Martial Guard Office.
Everyone climbed down from the carriages and looked up. The official compound was vast, its main gate standing open. The gate was painted vermilion, and a plaque hung high above it, bearing the three characters "Martial Guard" in strokes sharp as blades, piercing the eye. A pair of stone lions bared their teeth and glared furiously, their faces grotesque.
The two rows of strongmen guarding the entrance saw Xia Hong and immediately bowed respectfully. Xia Hong waved them off, then pointed at Huang Rui, Huang Jian, and Huang Tian. "Take these three to the Guard Academy."
"Yes, sir!"
One strongman answered at once, then gestured for the three to follow him.
As for Huang Qian, he naturally went with Xia Hong to take up his post at the Merit Registry.
Following the strongman, they entered a broad avenue beside the official compound. After walking several hundred paces and turning a corner, they came upon a vast complex of buildings rolling across the landscape. Its walls were made of bluestone, its glazed tiles gleamed, and its upturned eaves spread like the wings of fierce birds. The place looked imposing.
"This is the Guard Academy."
A trace of regret and nostalgia showed in the strongman's eyes, but vanished in an instant. He strode through the gate, and the three followed.
Inside was a vast square paved with bluestone, with flowers and trees planted along both sides. Farther in, they came to a building bearing a sign that read "Records Room." A clerk in black sat inside.
"These three are joining the Guard Academy." The strongman pointed at Huang Tian and the others, adding, "They were sent by Xia the Thousand-Household."
The clerk had seemed rather nonchalant, but at the mention of Xia Hong, he immediately forced a smile. "Of course, of course."
"Come over here and write down your names, places of origin, and cultivation levels. I'll assign you rooms."
The three stepped forward one by one and filled in a register.
Looking at the names, the clerk in black said, "Hmm. Huang Rui, ninth rank—you can stay in the Upper Dormitory, Room A-6.
"Huang Jian, trained in force—you can stay in the Lower Dormitory, Room B-15.
"Huang Tian, none—you can stay in the Lower Dormitory, Room B-32."
When he finished, he took three wooden tokens from a drawer and handed them to the trio.
Huang Tian lowered his head and glanced at the small wooden token in his hand. A few tiny characters on it read, "Huang Tian, B-32."
"Take the token to the Supply Bureau to collect bedding, clothes, socks, and other necessities," the clerk in black explained. "Once you've collected everything, you can go to your lodgings."
Under the strongman's guidance, the three went to the Supply Bureau to collect their things. After they finished, he cupped his hands. "You three young masters can go straight to your lodgings. I'll take my leave."
The three returned his salute. Once he had left, Huang Rui and Huang Jian snorted and carried their bedding off to their rooms. Huang Tian remained unruffled and used his token to find his own quarters.
It was a room two zhang long and one and a half zhang wide, with three beds. A burly, tall young man sat on the bed nearest the door. On the bed by the window, a lanky boy with several pimples on his face was half reclining.
When the lanky boy saw Huang Tian enter, he sprang to his feet and introduced himself with easy familiarity. "I'm Jiang Hou, sixteen years old. I know everyone around here, so they call me the walking encyclopedia. He's He Xu, seventeen, and strong as an ox! What about you?"
Huang Tian made his bed. "Huang Tian, sixteen. There's nothing in particular I'm good at."
Jiang Hou could tell his new roommate was a man of few words, but didn't mind. He turned to He Xu and said, "Tomorrow we officially start learning martial arts. I wonder if I can develop force within two months. Once I do, even if I don't make the ranks, I can still become a strongman and get a government paycheck!"
He Xu looked a little disdainful. "I don't want to be just a strongman, getting ordered around every day. At the very least, I've got to make the ranks and become a junior flag officer. When you go out, a dozen people should be clustered around you—that's what it means to be somebody!"
Jiang Hou shook his head vigorously. "I wouldn't dare dream of something that good. We have too little time. We'll have to break into the ranks within half a year of developing force. Who could pull that off if they weren't a prodigy?"
"Maybe we're prodigies..."
"..."
The two chatted enthusiastically for more than half an hour, only stopping as dusk fell. They took Huang Tian to eat at the dining hall in the Guard Academy. After their meal, they fetched water and washed up, and the sky grew completely dark.
Lying in bed, Jiang Hou wasn't very sleepy. His face full of anticipation, he said, "Tomorrow we finally get to see the Martial Path..."
He Xu couldn't sleep either. His huge, bell-like eyes shone in the darkness. Huang Tian, meanwhile, was curious about what the cultivation methods in this world were like...
The next day.
A whistle sounded from outside the room, signaling that lessons were about to begin.
The students streamed out of their quarters. Huang Tian and the others, already washed and dressed, followed the crowd. Standing beside Huang Tian, Jiang Hou spoke in a low voice:
"Our Guard Academy took in nearly three hundred students this time: about twenty ninth-rank martial students, sixty or seventy who've trained in force, and around two hundred who've never practiced martial arts, like us.
"The two hundred of us share four small training grounds, about fifty people to each one. But I heard there's only one instructor teaching us. I wonder if he'll be able to handle it."
As they talked, they arrived at Xuan-3 Training Ground.
Stone locks, wooden posts, weapons, and other equipment were laid out across the training ground. Dozens of young men were buzzing with excitement. Huang Tian stood among them and looked toward a broad-shouldered, burly, middle-aged man standing on a small earthen platform before him.
"My surname is Xu. You can call me Instructor Xu. For the next few months, I'll teach you how to develop force and how to use it to temper your skin, tendons, and bones, and strengthen your blood and qi."
Blood and qi had three transformations, corresponding to the ninth, eighth, and seventh ranks of the Martial Path.
Instructor Xu stood with his hands behind his back. "Force isn't strength, nor is it the qi that only middle-ranked martial artists can cultivate. It's something unleashed when your tendons, bones, skin, and flesh work as one. It's alive, it flows through you, and it never ceases."
"I know you probably don't understand what I mean. So first, I'll teach you the Spirit Tiger Stance, and use the stance to guide your force."
"Watch closely!"
With that, he stripped off his upper garments, baring a chest of solid, bulging muscles.
Then he sank slightly at the hips and planted his feet firmly. His hands curled into tiger claws at his sides, fingers hooked like iron, wrists bent downward. He lowered his head a little and tucked in his chin, but angled his gaze upward. He looked like a fierce tiger hidden in the grass, watching its prey. Killing Intent spread from him.
"This is the stance. Next come the breathing and the intent!"
Instructor Xu inhaled three times for every exhale. Scalding air poured from his mouth as his body trembled almost imperceptibly. With each breath, the force of his hands' grasp grew stronger, as if he had truly become a fierce tiger, ready to tear apart its prey.
After dozens of breaths, he gradually bent forward. Everyone could see horrifying Angry Pythons moving and intertwining beneath the skin of his back, a truly terrifying sight.
"This is force!"
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