Late autumn; the weather was gradually turning colder!
A cold wind swept across the Martial Arts Arena, stirring up dust and withered leaves.
Inside the Azure Dragon Gang's Martial Arts Arena, a thick wooden post had been driven deep into the ground!
The post stood taller than a man and was about three feet, three inches, and three fractions wide!
It was made of locust wood. Even an ordinary person wielding a blade or axe would struggle to split the hard timber.
But now, more than a dozen fist marks had dented its surface!
The marks varied in depth and size, each made by a different person!
This was the Azure Dragon Gang's month-end test: strike the wooden post with all your strength!
A martial artist who had entered the Body Tempering Realm could leave a three-inch-deep fist mark in the locust wood with a full-force blow.
The gang's test required that, every month after a member's first month, the fist mark he left be at least one fraction deeper than the previous month's!
If he couldn't manage that, it meant either he'd been slacking off in his training or his aptitude was too poor.
There was no need to wait for the test six months later. He wouldn't even remain a low-level gang member; he'd be sent straight to the servant ranks.
Thus, the tests in just the first six months divided the gang members into three tiers.
Those who failed the month-end test became servants! Their monthly pay was one tael!
Those who failed the six-month test became low-level gang members! Their slave registration was erased, and they earned three taels a month!
Those who successfully entered the Body Tempering Realm within six months had their slave registration erased and became full-fledged gang members, with a starting monthly salary of ten taels!
A surging crowd filled the arena. More than a hundred gang members gathered around the wooden post, packed together in a dark mass.
After the test, every gang member who passed the month-end assessment was allowed one day off to go home.
But whether they had yet to take their turn or had already been tested, each wanted to see how his companions had done.
After all, the entire test took less than half an hour.
They also wanted to see where they stood among those around them that month!
At the arena, a young man in a black martial outfit with red trim drew a sharp breath. He gathered strength from the ground, then used his waist and back to drive his arm.
"Ha!!!"
With a booming shout, his cloud-patterned boots pressed faint footprints into the dirt.
The boy swung his right arm and struck the wooden post before him with all his might!
"Thump—"
A dull boom rang out from the post, drowning out the murmurs around the arena!
Wood chips flew!
A fresh fist mark had appeared on the post.
He relaxed his hand and looked at the shallow crater that had just burst open. A smug glint appeared in his eyes.
Beside him, a gang servant tasked with recording everyone's results called out loudly:
"Li Xi, 34 days in the gang, three fractions deep!"
Before the words had even faded, suppressed gasps and chatter erupted around them:
"Gasp... three fractions! And he's only been here a month!"
"Three fractions deep after just one month. He'll probably enter the Body Tempering Realm soon!"
"Ah, but he came from the Li Family. His talent is beyond anything we can match!"
"Bullshit! Have you seen the medicine he takes? One pill is worth three days of hard training. Talent, my ass—he's just relying on that!"
The people around him buzzed with comments, some amazed, others scornful.
The voices poured into Li Xi's ears like a tide, but they were nothing more than the barking of the weak.
So what if I have backing? You need someone to back you in the first place. You lot crawled up from the bottom, a bunch of dirt-legged peasants. Nearly half a year in, and you still haven't entered the Body Tempering Realm. You're not on my level.
Thinking this, Li Xi wasn't angry at the criticism at all. He could hardly hide his pride.
Everyone here was weak, and weaklings' words were worthless. Their curses were nothing but praise for his strength!
He listened to the chatter around him with a cold sneer, but the next moment, his expression turned solemn.
The crowd suddenly fell quiet. He and the other gang members bowed with their hands clasped and said, "Greetings, Instructor Feng!"
At some point, the burly Feng Yue had appeared before him. He studied the fist marks on the post and nodded in satisfaction.
"Not bad. With results like these in your first month, you should make the top three on the Newcomer Ranking!"
The so-called Newcomer Ranking was created by the gang to motivate its members!
After the month-end test, every member's results were ranked from top to bottom according to how much they had improved over the previous month!
As Feng Yue had said, the first-place winner would naturally receive a Body Tempering Pill!
The top three? I'm aiming for first place in the monthly test! Who among these gang members can match me and leave a three-fraction-deep mark after just one month?
Li Xi looked respectful, but inwardly he dismissed Feng Yue's words.
For the upcoming competition among the younger generation six months from now, he was determined to get that Body-Tempering Pill!
The boy showed nothing of his thoughts. Instead, he smiled and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Instructor!"
With that, Li Xi folded his arms and walked to the side, ready to enjoy the others' performances and savor the thrill of crushing his peers!
"Next, Wang Xian!"
"Coming, coming!" The servant's call caught Li Xi's attention.
He saw Wang Xian, who shared his dormitory, emerge from the crowd. Like the previous boy, Wang Xian gathered his strength and drove his right fist forward!
"Bang!"
With a dull thud, a fist mark about half an inch deep appeared in the post!
"Wang Xian, three months in the gang, six fractions deep! Improved by three fractions!"
As the servant called out his result, the crowd remained indifferent, without a trace of the commotion Li Xi had stirred up.
They had both improved by three fractions compared with the previous month, but the farther along one's training went, the more brittle the locust wood became in comparison to a martial artist's body!
So when scores were recorded, the corresponding number of months in the gang was deducted.
An improvement of three fractions minus three months in the gang equaled zero points—an average result!
Wang Xian paid no mind to the crowd's indifference. He grinned and turned back into the mass of people!
"Zhao Yan, two months in the gang, three fractions deep! Improved by two fractions!"
"Sun Dai..."
"Shao Zhuo..."
One gang member after another soon took their turn, streaming up one by one like carriages on a busy road and leaving dense clusters of fist marks on the post.
Some of the marks were a full inch deep; others barely reached half a fraction. In Li Xi's eyes, they were nothing but fodder for his mockery.
"Even last month's first-place winner improved a little less than I did. That Body-Tempering Pill is mine!"
As time passed, the commotion gradually gave way to quiet murmuring.
The gang members stayed in the arena, but they started chatting and gossiping among themselves.
"Hey, speaking of which, have any of you seen that genius from last month?"
"A genius? Which one?"
"The one called Ye Li. I don't think I've seen him in the Martial Arts Arena for about half a month."
"Didn't I hear his trait was [Exceptional Agility]? He mastered Azure Dragon Force after seeing it once, and even the instructor couldn't help but give him extra lessons?"
"Who knows? Maybe his constitution was too poor, and he just gave up."
"Tsk, what a waste of that comprehension. Looks like a good trait can't make up for a weak foundation after all..."
Hearing the chatter around him, Zhao Yan and Wang Xian frowned.
Wang Xian called out, "Hey, you lot, stop spreading rumors. Brother Ye hasn't stopped practicing; he just isn't training at the Martial Arts Arena!"
"Not training at the Martial Arts Arena?" The people around them turned to look.
Zhao Yan chimed in:
"With so many people watching him every day, and people constantly going up to ask him for advice, wouldn't you get annoyed? He's just found a quiet place to train!"
"Then why hasn't he come back? Could it be he's scared and doesn't dare show up?"
As they argued, Li Xi watched from the side and his thoughts stirred. Ye Li? I almost forgot about that guy!
That dirt-legged peasant gets up earlier than a chicken and goes to bed later than a dog. Born to toil, that one. I wonder how he did.
Could it be just like the others said? His constitution's too poor, so he's afraid to come?
Li Xi found himself wondering how Ye Li had done!
But as time passed, Ye Li still didn't appear, while fewer and fewer gang members remained to take the test.
"Tang Jian, 31 days in the gang, two fractions deep!"
At the servant's call, Tang Jian let out a breath and looked at the fist mark before him, a trace of delight on his face.
His daily hard work since joining the gang hadn't been for nothing. At this rate, he had a chance of entering the Body Tempering Realm within six months!
"All right, time's up!"
After Tang Jian's result had been recorded, Feng Yue said, "Don't crowd around here. Go home and rest for a day, and be back at the gang before midnight tomorrow!"
"Wait—"