Another Cultivation Model

Chapter 32: A Different Training Mode

"Li Dingguo, this continuous selection and elimination process is indeed a bit cruel."

"However, you can't blame the King for this. Who told those orphaned youths that even with cultivation resources and Cultivation Methods provided, most of them still couldn't become Martial Artists?"

After a while, everyone arrived at the front courtyard. Seeing that dozens of young Martial Artists were already waiting there, Ai Nengqi looked around with a somewhat complex expression and said to Li Dingguo beside him with emotion.

The half-month deadline had long since passed.

Including the talented youths like Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi, out of the remaining 180 orphaned youths, only sixty-four were ultimately able to stay.

Excluding the four monstrous geniuses, Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier, only sixty youths were ultimately able to break through and become Martial Artists.

One must know that the orphaned beggar youths previously ordered by Zhang Xianzhong to be gathered numbered nearly six hundred!

After a series of selections, only about ten percent of the orphaned youths successfully remained.

This was still the result of the Eight Great Kings, Zhang Xianzhong, providing everyone with Cultivation Methods and sufficient cultivation resources for vigorous training.

From this, one can see how low the probability is for ordinary people to become Martial Artists.

In the Great Ming Dynasty, the vast majority of the common people at the bottom didn't even have the chance to attempt becoming Martial Artists.

Compared to them, the orphaned youths who became Martial Artists, like Li Dingguo and Ai Nengqi, were already very lucky to have everything they have now.

"Sigh!"

Li Dingguo sighed, also feeling somewhat emotional, "There's nothing we can do, this is fate!"

"Unable to become a Martial Artist and fight the enemy is simply walking to your death! The King also considered this point, which is why he won't let the incompetent fill the ranks. This is very normal."

He wasn't a bleeding heart, and he didn't have enough ability right now to dwell on these troublesome matters.

"Alright, let's not talk about this."

He waved his hand, changing his tone towards Ai Nengqi, and brought up another matter, "The King said yesterday evening, after we finished practicing Tiger Roar Fist, that he had something to announce today."

"I think our period of stable, focused cultivation for nearly a month is about to end."

He had the predetermined historical trajectory of his previous life as a reference, so his foresight was not something ordinary people could compare to. Combining it with the current situation, a brief thought gave him some guesses.

Thump thump…

Before Ai Nengqi could even ask, a series of hoofbeats came from the direction of the main gate of the large courtyard.

After a moment, as the large copper-clad wooden gate in front of the courtyard opened, three riders slowly and steadily rode in on their warhorses.

The person leading them had a yellow face and a long beard, with a pair of eagle eyes flashing with divine light in his slightly sunken eye sockets. It was precisely the Eight Great Kings, Zhang Xianzhong.

He brought two trusted subordinates, riding in on warhorses, and arrived below the high platform on one side of the courtyard before dismounting.

Then, he leaped up, soaring into the air, and in the next moment, he was already on the high platform, looking down at the sixty-four young Martial Artists who had already lined up below.

These freshly trained young Martial Artists, including Li Dingguo, lined up in four neat squads, led by Li Dingguo, Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier, standing tall.

Each squad, besides Li Dingguo and the other three serving as captains, had fifteen members.

In the past few days, when the half-month deadline arrived and those orphaned youths who couldn't break through and become Martial Artists were kicked out, the remaining young Martial Artists, under Zhang Xianzhong's command, officially formed teams for joint training during the day.

The number of people in each squad was evenly distributed. They could form their own teams first, and then adjust and fill in the squads with insufficient numbers.

It was a great coincidence that the fifteen orphaned young Martial Artists under Li Dingguo were all his younger brothers from his former little beggar group!

Among them, there were even two talented youths who lived in a side room in the inner courtyard mansion, belonging to the twelve talented individuals Zhang Xianzhong was focusing on training.

Not only Li Dingguo, but also Ai Nengqi, Liu Wenxiu, and Zhang Huier, these three monstrously talented youths, were all leaders of different small beggar groups in Dingbian City before.

They each had a group of orphaned beggars as their subordinates.

Therefore, when they were allowed to form their own squads, their former acquaintances naturally chose to join their respective squads.

This method of forming teams was actually very beneficial for enhancing the cohesion of each squad.

These four young Martial Artist squads now had a natural advantage in terms of obedience and unity because most of the members were familiar with each other and were following their former leaders.

In this regard, those adult Rebel Army soldiers could not compare to these four young Martial Artist squads.

"Listen up, you little rascals!"

Zhang Xianzhong's gaze was stern. Seeing that these orphaned youths he had painstakingly trained were now useful, he couldn't help but nod and shouted, "I've gathered you little rascals here today to tell you that cultivating the martial path by closing yourselves off is not advisable!"

"Without continuous life-and-death battles, it's impossible to become a martial arts expert!"

"The core essence of a Martial Artist is combat!"

"Only through constant combat training can you truly integrate and master the various Cultivation Methods and skills you've learned and become a qualified Martial Artist."

"Especially in this chaotic world, if you only have cultivation realm but not enough combat experience, once you encounter a life-and-death crisis, you're no different from a lamb waiting to be slaughtered!"

"Each of you little rascals has your own different tragic past. When you were beggars, you lived a miserable life. I'm sure you all know this in your hearts!"

He shouted sternly, "In this world, whether it's those officials, gentry, aristocratic families, or those Demons and Monsters, they are constantly threatening your lives. It's not easy to survive and live better than you do now!"

"This is a cruel world!"

"If you don't want to be killed or eaten by enemies or Demons and Monsters, you must use the blades and spears in your hands to cut off their heads without hesitation!"

"I announce that starting tomorrow, your four young Martial Artist squads will begin real combat training!"

"A sapling in a greenhouse will never grow into a towering tree!"

"Starting tomorrow, every few days, I will issue training missions that you absolutely must complete. Any team that fails to finish on time will have their supply of cultivation resources immediately cut off, and it will only be restored after you complete double the tasks!"

"The path of martial arts has its priorities and requires a balance of work and rest. Blindly burying yourselves in hard training is not advisable!"

"Therefore, I announce that today you all have a day off!"

"You young soldiers haven't had a chance to relax and play for a long time. Today is an exception; you can go out into the streets and enjoy yourselves to your heart's content, but you are not allowed to leave the city without permission!"

"Dingbian City has been thoroughly cleared by our Rebel Army soldiers several times now. There is basically no danger within the city. You can walk around and explore, relax your minds, but do not actively stir up trouble!"

"Tomorrow morning, at Chen Shi Yi Ke (around 7:15 AM), all teams will assemble here on time. No one is allowed to be late!"

With that, Zhang Xianzhong waved his hand at everyone, announcing their dismissal.

The young Martial Artists present were stunned for a moment, but after Zhang Xianzhong rode away, they immediately erupted into a cacophony of noise and cheers.

A moment later, they gathered in groups of three or five, chattering away incessantly, mostly discussing where on the streets they wanted to go and play, taking advantage of this rare day off.

It had been a full twenty-odd days since they were taken in by the Eight Great Kings, Zhang Xianzhong.

To be honest, these orphaned beggar boys had been feeling very tense inside during this time; most of them were stifled.