From Igniting Talent to Becoming a Demon God Section 8

Several green trees stood in neat rows, each as thick as a bowl at the trunk and five or six meters tall. Flowers and grass dotted the spare sandy soil, swaying now and then in the breeze.

Lu Chao swept his gaze over them briefly without lingering, then let his eyes move toward the edge of the flower bed.

Three young men were waiting nearby, standing under the shade of the trees.

He had caught a distant glimpse of them earlier when Zheng Wu brought him in, but he had not asked about them.

Now that their eyes met, one kept a cold face and said nothing, while another paused, then gave a slight nod.

"My name is Zhou Cheng. I'm from Zhengyang Street in the Iron Ring District."

The young man in the middle, with slightly long, choppy hair, spoke softly. He looked eighteen or nineteen, dressed in a brand-new black tracksuit, his shoes scrubbed very clean.

"This is Zhang Ping. He's from the same place as me. And this is Xu Linfeng, from Xiaoshi Street."

"What about you? Here to sign up for martial arts too?"

After introducing them, he led the other two over and asked with his chin raised, his gaze carrying a faintly appraising edge.

"Yeah. I'm Lu Chao."

Lu Chao nodded and briefly made their acquaintance.

Through some casual chatter, he learned that the three of them were also here to sign up for martial arts. Their situation was similar to his, and they had been arranged to wait here as well.

"I heard Master Luo is extremely strict with his disciples. Before he teaches martial arts, there's another round of testing."

"If you don't pass, hehe..."

The young man named Zhou Cheng lifted his brows slightly and chuckled, looking Lu Chao up and down as he folded his arms, deliberately leaving him hanging.

It looked as if he wanted Lu Chao to take the initiative and ask.

"Oh?"

Lu Chao's heart stirred, and he looked toward the dozens of ordinary students on the cement training ground.

It seemed Senior Brother Zheng had said that these people had also tried practicing combat arts?

With a vague guess forming, he stood where he was and said nothing.

When the expected request for more information did not come, the young man named Zhou Cheng raised his eyebrows.

Rustle, rustle!

Before he could speak again, steady footsteps sounded, and a pair of black cloth shoes entered everyone's view.

The atmosphere abruptly went still. All four of them looked up and saw that the gym master, Luo Qianshan, was already standing on the cement steps before them with his hands behind his back. Zheng Wu, the burly man, followed behind him.

"Master Luo."

The young man named Zhou Cheng was the first to come back to himself. He quickly cupped his fists and spoke respectfully.

Lu Chao and the other two reacted and followed suit.

"Mm. Since you've come, you understand the rules."

"After you pay the tuition, I'll teach you the Gold-Stone Combat Arts, and over the next three months, I'll guide your training and develop your vitality."

The three young men's faces lit up.

"However."

His tone changed. Luo Qianshan walked down the cement steps and out of the building, his gaze deep as it swept over Lu Chao and the other three.

"As the old saying goes, one must first examine the bones before teaching martial arts; only after knowing the roots can one pass on the craft."

"I don't have those machines here for testing talent and nerve response. If you want to train in combat arts, you'll have to suffer a little first."

Lu Chao nodded inwardly, not surprised.

Rumor had it that people in large martial arts gyms mostly used specialized machines to test physical qualities before practicing combat arts, determining one's level of talent and differences in constitution in order to create a dedicated training plan.

Small boxing gyms lacked equipment and apparatuses due to funding issues, so they leaned more toward old methods—in other words, bone examination.

"Master Luo, please!"

Zhou Cheng's expression turned solemn, and he was the first to respond with a nod, wanting to leave the best possible impression.

Paying no attention to the other party's little thoughts, Luo Qianshan extended his hand.

"Hiss!!"

The sound of a sharp intake of breath came from Zhou Cheng's mouth. His face visibly turned pale, as if he had suffered some kind of pain.

Those five fingers, withered and thin as dry twigs, moved across his body, from his shoulder blades to his spine, touching every key tendon and muscle, making his body tremble and drawing repeated hisses from him.

The scene made the expressions of the other two young men shift slightly, and Lu Chao also clicked his tongue inwardly.

Although he had heard that bone examination involved a certain amount of pain, this was still his first time seeing such a scene.

"Lower grade."

After several dozen seconds, Luo Qianshan withdrew his hand, his calm voice seeming to announce some kind of result.

Clutching his shoulder, waist, and abdomen, Zhou Cheng's face was pale. His eyes widened, and he nearly suspected that he had heard wrong.

"Master Luo, I..."

"Step aside."

Luo Qianshan spoke calmly, cutting off his reluctance.

After that, he felt the bones of the other two in turn.

"Ah, ow, ow, ow."

"Hiss!!"

Zhang Ping, who came from the same place as Zhou Cheng, was somewhat chubby. The pain made him bare his teeth and grimace, miserable beyond words.

The young man named Xu Linfeng fared a little better, but he still let out a muffled groan.

"Inferior. Lower-middle."

Shaking his head, Luo Qianshan finally walked up to Lu Chao.

His aged face was wrinkled, but his complexion was ruddy.

When those five fingers reached toward him, Lu Chao finally understood the pain Zhou Cheng and the others had suffered earlier.

First came the cervical vertebrae, then the shoulder blades.

The humerus, thoracic vertebrae, ribs, waist and abdomen...

Those five fingers, like iron talons, sank into his flesh, pinching and shifting his sinews and bones, sending waves of pain through him.

Lu Chao's face paled slightly, and he gritted his teeth as he endured it.

He did not know if it was his imagination, but although the pain was far from light, compared to the agony when [Primary Resilience] had awakened, it seemed much weaker.

"Oh?"

As if surprised, Master Luo's gaze shifted slightly.

Zheng Wu, who stood behind him, was also somewhat astonished, because Lu Chao's current performance was clearly a cut above the other three.

"Commendable endurance."

The seeming praise made Zhou Cheng and the other two's expressions change slightly.

"But."

"Barely passable. Lower-middle martial foundation."

Luo Qianshan withdrew his hand, and all the pain receded like the tide.

Hearing this, Lu Chao secretly shook his head.

He had heard people mention that from bottom to top, there were nine grades of martial foundation.

Although [Primary Resilience] had strengthened his recovery ability, his martial foundation was still mediocre.

"Martial foundation is the starting point of martial arts. It determines cultivation efficiency and how quickly one can develop vitality."

"In ancient times, you would already have had no chance to practice martial arts."

Luo Qianshan spoke evenly. Though he was shorter by a head, an indescribable aura radiated from him, like a mountain suppressing the earth.

The expressions of Lu Chao and the other three shifted slightly, but then they heard his tone change.

"However... you were born in a good era."

Luo Qianshan looked at the four of them, his gaze sweeping around. "I'll give you three days."

"If you can bear this hardship, stay. If you can't, leave on your own."

Once those words fell, and after Zheng Wu gave a further explanation, Lu Chao finally understood what this so-called assessment meant.

In essence, it was equivalent to giving them one chance to regret their choice.

Practicing martial arts required talent, but perseverance and patience were equally important.

After paying ten thousand yuan in tuition, they had three days to adapt to the life of practicing martial arts.

If they felt they could not bear this hardship and exhaustion, and could not persist, then after the necessary expenses were deducted, they could get a refund and leave.

After three days, there would be no way back.