Someone Comes to Pledge Allegiance

Chapter 16: Someone Joins

Time flew by in the blink of an eye, and several days had passed.

"Not bad, not bad!"

"Your performance is excellent!"

At three quarters past the hour of Chen in the morning, on one side of the large courtyard, Zhang Xianzhong smiled and rarely praised the dozen or so young people diligently cultivating before him. "Especially you four, Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier, you truly haven't disappointed me."

He looked with satisfaction at the four monstrously talented youths who had received his personal guidance for five days of cultivation. He praised, "Your桩功 (Stance Training) has reached the introductory level, and your Tiger Roar Fist is quite proficient. I estimate that within these next two days, your 桩功 (Stance Training) will propel the qi and blood throughout your bodies, forming Qi and Blood Power within your meridians, and you will step into the Martial Artist realm."

"Especially Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi, the Root Bone and qi and blood that were previously neglected have completely recovered. It's very possible that as soon as you become Martial Artists, you will undergo a qi and blood breakthrough, gaining an opportunity for marrow cleansing and body tempering!"

"Not all Martial Artists can undergo marrow cleansing and body tempering when they break through to the Body Tempering Realm."

"In fact, this probability is extremely small, almost one in a hundred!"

"The difference between so-called geniuses and ordinary Martial Artists lies in whether they can obtain the opportunity for marrow cleansing and body tempering with each realm breakthrough, causing their physical constitution to transform."

"And to achieve marrow cleansing and body tempering, it can only be done during a qi and blood breakthrough. The effect is especially optimal when breaking through every major realm."

"I hope that through your own efforts and talent, you can successfully achieve three qi and blood breakthroughs and marrow cleansing in each major Body Tempering realm, and even have the chance to receive heavenly blessings when breaking through to the Qi Refining realm."

The heavenly blessings he spoke of were actually about activating their own Star Destiny, gaining the power of their 본명성辰 (Destined Star) to empower them and acquire innate divine abilities!

Of course, he wouldn't openly reveal such secrets.

Only monstrous talents with a Star Destiny could personally experience this, and it was a secret trump card kept by these kinds of prodigious Martial Artists, one they wouldn't tell outsiders.

As someone who had been through it, Zhang Xianzhong had experience.

Generally speaking, the main general of any large army must be a master of the Qi Refining realm.

Only then could they, through their own vital energy, command the military formation to gather the Blood Fiend Qi stimulated by the soldiers, and truly unleash the power of the military formation.

Martial Artists in the Body Tempering realm were unable to do this.

To be honest, only Martial Artists in the Qi Refining realm could bring Zhang Xianzhong significant help.

As for soldiers in the Body Tempering realm, without a Qi Refining realm master to command them, they were just a scattered mess. When facing off against another army, they couldn't display their true combat effectiveness.

People with a Star Destiny could not be detected by any means before their Star Destiny was activated.

Therefore, Zhang Xianzhong also wasn't sure if these four monstrously talented youths before him had a Star Destiny.

But it didn't stop him from having considerable expectations.

Once a few super monstrous talents with a Star Destiny appeared among his core subordinate generals, that would be a truly massive gain.

Among these dozen or so talented youths, Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi were the most likely to possess one.

There was no other way; their cultivation progress, as well as the speed at which their Root Bone and qi and blood recovered and increased, not only surpassed Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier, who were also monstrous talents, but also far exceeded the other twelve talented youths.

It should be either tomorrow or the day after tomorrow that Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi successfully form their own Qi and Blood Power and officially become Martial Artists.

At that time, Zhang Xianzhong would impart the top-tier Cultivation Method he had obtained through his fortuitous encounter, and the cultivation of Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi would undoubtedly experience a surge!

If things went smoothly, they could be put to use when the imperial army arrived in about three months.

On the path of martial arts, within the Lower Three Realms of Body Refining, as long as cultivation resources could keep up and one's Root Bone, qi and blood, and talent were outstanding, rapid progress was possible.

The true moment when Martial Artists created a huge gap between each other was when they could break through to the Qi Refining realm.

The difference between the peak of the fourth level of Martial Artist and the peak of the third level of Martial Artist was not just a small gap; it was completely on a different level, a huge difference!

A Qi Refining Realm Martial Artist at the early stage of the fourth level of martial arts was enough to easily defeat ten Martial Artists at the peak of the third level of Body Tempering.

Even a prodigy couldn't challenge someone above their level.

It is estimated that among a hundred Martial Artists at the peak of the third level of Body Tempering, at most only one or two would be able to break through to the fourth level of Qi Refining; the probability is very small.

Due to the increasing scarcity of spiritual energy and cultivation resources in the world today, even within the currently enormous Great Ming Dynasty, there are at least tens of millions of Martial Artists, but the known masters of the Qi Refining realm are estimated to be no more than 100,000 in total!

As for the future, whether the concentration of spiritual energy in this world will change, whether more Qi Refining realm masters will appear, or even whether someone will break through to the Spirit Refining realm?

That is unknown.

Given the current Great Ming Dynasty's massive population base, the scarcity of Qi Refining realm masters makes it clear how difficult it is for Martial Artists to break through to the Qi Refining realm.

But the Liaodong region outside the passes is different.

It's unknown what changes have occurred in the Liaodong region in recent decades, but the spiritual energy has increased instead of decreasing.

Some experts have preliminarily determined that it should be caused by recent anomalies in the world, such as the emergence of large spiritual veins in Liaodong.

Currently, the proportion of Qi Refining realm and Body Tempering realm Martial Artists in the armies of the Later Jin Tartars in Liaodong is significantly higher than in the Great Ming Dynasty.

Just among the Later Jin Tartars in Liaodong, there are thousands of known Qi Refining realm generals, and they are fearless of death.

Compared to the Later Jin Tartars, it is understandable that the Great Ming Dynasty, rampant with corruption, lax in governance, with officials and gentry colluding, and soldiers lacking morale, coupled with increasingly severe internal natural disasters and man-made calamities, has repeatedly suffered defeats on the battlefield in Liaodong.

However, although the Great Ming Dynasty is already on the verge of collapse, it still has enough national destiny to suppress things, a large population, and enormous potential for war, which is why the Tartars outside the passes dare not casually dispatch large armies into the passes.

It was only in the few years since the current new emperor ascended the throne that they encountered a large-scale invasion by the Later Jin Tartars.

It was this invasion to "cut grass and gather grain" that the Later Jin Tartars thoroughly trampled the face of the Great Ming Dynasty!

This also allowed the Later Jin Tartars to completely understand the current weakness of the Great Ming Dynasty, like a paper tiger, no longer an untouchable giant.

There's no need to overthink it; from now on, the Later Jin Tartars are likely to frequently invade the passes.

Receiving praise from the Eight Great Kings, Ai Nengqi was clearly very excited, his small face flushed with enthusiasm.

Li Dingguo didn't dare to be different. Although he felt indifferent inside, he secretly put in effort. When practicing Tiger Roar Fist, he increased his strength, his face turning red from the exertion, trying his best to match Ai Nengqi's performance.

The dozen or so companions nearby, including Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier, couldn't help but feel a bit jealous and envious.

But this was the gap in talent; you couldn't refuse to accept it.

At this moment, a Flood Dragon Scale Horse carrying a rider galloped from the entrance of the large courtyard.

Just as Zhang Xianzhong turned his head to look, the rider had already arrived before him. He skillfully dismounted and cupped his fist in greeting towards Zhang Xianzhong, reporting, "Great King, a powerful Martial Artist came to join the army today!"

"Ma Yuanli, who was in charge of the test, wasn't even a match for him in a single exchange!"

"Without a doubt, he must be a master of the Qi Refining Realm!"

"And it seems this Martial Artist master is also a veteran who served in the official army!"

His expression was very excited, and he was even a little breathless, showing how hurried and excited he was upon arriving.

Their Rebel Army was currently just a disorganized mob that had just risen up. It was precisely the time when they most lacked talent, especially Qi Refining Realm generals who could lead an army independently.

"Oh?"

"Then I must go and see right away!"

Zhang Xianzhong was overjoyed to hear this and responded with some surprise, "If he is truly sincere about joining our Rebel Army, then this is a great stroke of luck!"

"Old Eighth, these youths are practicing Tiger Roar Fist. You have enough experience cultivating this set of fist techniques, so stay here and continue to guide them. I will go back to the military camp and see."

He instructed his trusted subordinate, then leaped onto his warhorse, turned the horse's head, and quickly left the large courtyard, galloping towards the military camp