"Li Dingguo, let's begin too."
Ai Nengqi was briefly stunned, then spoke to Li Dingguo.
For no reason at all, a sense of urgency had risen in his heart.
There was no helping it. Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier had also broken through to the Martial Artist realm yesterday.
Eight Great Kings Zhang Xianzhong had said that although the two of them had not received the Qi and Blood Limit Break or Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation from this major realm breakthrough,
if they broke through to the middle stage of Martial Artist Level One before he did, there was a ninety-percent chance they would receive another Marrow Cleansing and Tendon Transformation, immediately leveling the gap between them and him!
Unless he too broke through to the middle stage of Martial Artist Level One at the same time, he could only maintain his lead.
When all was said and done, a Martial Artist's cultivation still depended on realm, especially the gap between major realms.
How could Ai Nengqi, with his forthright and competitive nature, possibly accept that?
Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier could redouble their efforts in cultivation. Couldn't he?
"Good! Together."
Li Dingguo nodded. He and Ai Nengqi walked to the place where they usually trained, exchanged a glance, then simultaneously assumed their stances and began earnestly practicing the Tiger Roar Fist.
The Tiger Roar Fist was a moving exercise. Through continual physical training, it could steadily improve one's physical constitution.
This foundational body-tempering fist art, distributed throughout the imperial court, was actually rated as a mid-grade cultivation method. It had reached the level of an "art" and was quite valuable.
Yet this fist art was easy to learn but difficult to master.
In other words, as long as one's talent met the standard and one had sufficient cultivation resources to provide the energy their body required, getting started was easy.
Even the next two realms, Proficient and Minor Success, were not particularly difficult.
But the two realms after that, Major Success and Perfection, were exceedingly difficult.
Not to mention the final two realms: Divine Mastery and Returning to Simplicity.
Through sheer effort and grueling cultivation, ordinary Martial Artists could not attain those two realms even if they gave it everything they had.
Only Martial Artists blessed with extraordinary talent had a chance of achieving them, eventually forming an Impenetrable Golden Body.
Therefore, among the Rebel Army, all three hundred soldiers and officers of the Veteran Camp—even the three chief officers Ma Yuanli, Bai Wenxuan, and Feng Shuangli—had at most cultivated the Tiger Roar Fist to Major Success.
It was precisely because the Tiger Roar Fist had such a low floor and such a lofty ceiling that the Grand Ancestor of the current dynasty had selected it, granting it free of charge to all soldiers in the Nine Border Garrisons and spreading it throughout the army.
The moment he began practicing this fist art, which he had already entered the gate of, Li Dingguo immediately felt that after cultivating through the entire night and gaining entry into the Circumstellar True Scripture, his progress in practicing the Tiger Roar Fist had not merely become somewhat easier—it was soaring!
The rate at which his Qi and Blood Power increased was at least twice that of yesterday's practice!
The Circumstellar True Scripture truly deserves to be called a top-tier Divine Technique and Marvelous Method. After entering its gate, it greatly helps me cultivate other techniques and skills. Comprehending this mid-grade Tiger Roar Fist is almost laughably easy!
If my cultivation resources can keep up, I'll probably reach the Proficient realm in the Tiger Roar Fist in less than ten days!
Thinking this, Li Dingguo hurriedly took the chance to look at Ai Nengqi. Sure enough, Ai Nengqi was also looking back at him with delight written all over his face. He had presumably sensed how different today's Tiger Roar Fist training was as well.
Although the Big Dipper Heavenly Gang Star Scripture cultivated by Ai Nengqi was of a lower grade than Li Dingguo's Circumstellar True Scripture, its profundity was still far beyond comparison with a mid-grade method like the Tiger Roar Fist.
It was like laying the foundation for a hundred-zhang-tall tower, only to use it to build a structure several zhang high. So long as no corners were cut afterward, how could it possibly fail to be sturdy?
"Heh heh!"
While practicing the Tiger Roar Fist with gusting force, Li Dingguo secretly rejoiced. Sure enough, one step ahead means every step ahead! Good thing I decided yesterday to stop holding back my qi and blood and break through in time. Otherwise, I would have suffered a huge loss!
Liu Wenxiu and Zhang Huier still want to catch up with Ai Nengqi and me in martial cultivation? They're thinking a little too highly of themselves.
He was deeply grateful that he had made a prompt decision yesterday, no longer suppressing his cultivation and breaking through to become a Martial Artist in time.
Otherwise, it would have greatly delayed his martial progress. The loss would have outweighed the gain.
Before long, the other twelve talented youths living in the large residence of the inner courtyard also arrived one after another.
Each of them was somewhat dumbfounded. Looking at the four monstrous young geniuses practicing the Tiger Roar Fist in the yard, they quickly caught on, then eagerly joined in and began practicing seriously on their own, every movement precise and proper.
If others were more talented than you, so be it. That was an innate gap in aptitude, and there was nothing to be done about it.
But if others were far more talented than you and worked even harder, then that was your own problem.
The twelve talented youths all wore taut expressions on their little faces, unwilling to fall behind. Each of them resolved that beginning tomorrow, they absolutely had to rise early!
Otherwise, the gap between them and Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, and the others would only grow wider and wider, until in the end they could only watch the dust from afar—not even able to eat their ashes!
That would be true misery!
"Good! Very good!"
"Not bad. Every one of you is doing well! Hahaha..."
Just a quarter hour into the Hour of the Dragon, Zhang Xianzhong arrived a little earlier than usual today. Seeing the relentless efforts of these sixteen talented youths, each of them training so diligently, he immediately burst into hearty laughter!
This kind of healthy competition was undoubtedly what he most wanted to see.
He had not ridden over empty-handed today. Instead, he had brought four additional Spirit Beast Warhorses, as well as several large horse-drawn carts.
The carts were loaded with all manner of equipment, including sabers, spears, bows, and arrows.
Clearly, those four Spirit Beast Warhorses had been prepared for the four monstrous geniuses who had already become Martial Artists: Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier.
In truth, Zhang Xianzhong was even more anxious than Li Dingguo and the others!
These four exceedingly rare monstrous young geniuses had only just become Martial Artists and possessed no combat skills whatsoever.
Not only were they currently no match for the government's Martial Soldiers, but even if he picked any one soldier from his own Veteran Camp, that person could easily defeat all four little ones.
Therefore, the most important thing was to have them quickly gain entry into the various essential cultivation methods and combat skills used by border army soldiers.
This would also bring their extraordinary talent into play. Even if they encountered elite government troops in the future, they would have the strength to strike back instead of being left to the butcher's knife.
Otherwise, if he lost even one of them in the battles to come before long, Zhang Xianzhong would truly suffer a devastating loss. He would probably ache over it for a long time afterward.
Zhang Xianzhong did not make the sixteen talented youths stop practicing the Tiger Roar Fist. Instead, he enthusiastically went over to guide them one by one, correcting every mistake they made.
It was not until halfway through the Hour of the Dragon, when more than a dozen cooks arrived and the one hundred sixty-four ordinary orphan youths living in the large warehouse beside this courtyard had also entered the yard, that Zhang Xianzhong called Li Dingguo and the others to stop.
"Alright, everyone, eat first!"
"Once you've eaten your fill and rested for a while, then return to practice. That way, you won't injure your bodies!"
"Too much is as bad as too little! You must keep this principle firmly in mind! This is especially true for Martial Artist cultivation—you must never rush it!"
He reminded the youths of this, particularly Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier.
Since he had discovered this competitive dynamic among them, he would make these principles clear to them today.
Then Zhang Xianzhong swept out a hand, signaling the one hundred eighty youths present to line up and collect their portions of Spirit Rice Meal and Vitality and Blood Soup.
However, the food allotted to the four monstrous prodigies—Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier—was separated from that of the others this morning.
Since these four monstrous geniuses had already entered the Martial Artist realm and possessed extraordinary talent, they could fully withstand higher-grade Spirit Food to nourish their bodies.
This would further accelerate their growth, so that when the government troops attacked, the four of them would possess at least some ability to protect themselves.
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