Learning Martial Arts

Following behind Zhang San, Zhou Ping'an felt both nervous and excited. Eighteen years after transmigrating into this world, he was finally about to see the legendary demons!

Zhang San used a pitch-black key to unlock the equally black iron door, and a vile stench mixed with the smell of blood rushed into their faces.

Zhou Ping'an instinctively pinched his nose. The smell was unbearable—thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of times worse than a cesspit.

Zhang San was long accustomed to it. "Everyone is like this the first time. Come a few more times, and you'll get used to it!"

With a loud shout, veins bulged across Zhang San's arms. He actually pushed open the massive iron door with his own strength.

Zhou Ping'an stared in dumbstruck amazement. When he had trained at the martial arts school, he had learned that martial artists were far stronger than ordinary people. Even the instructors there possessed the strength of a thousand jin in both arms.

This iron door weighed at least ten thousand jin. No instructor from those martial arts schools could possibly have pushed it open.

"Uncle Zhang... h-how much does this iron door weigh?"

Zhang San smacked his lips. "I don't remember exactly. Around fifty thousand jin, I suppose?"

"F-fifty thousand?" Zhou Ping'an's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

He had thought that ten thousand jin would already be the absolute limit. Yet it weighed fifty thousand jin!

Pushing a fifty-thousand-jin iron door with both arms—was Zhang San even human?

A martial artist's strength could actually be this terrifying?

Seeing the stunned expression on Zhou Ping'an's face, Zhang San felt rather pleased. His little display had not been wasted on this kid.

"Uncle Zhang, what realm are you in?" Zhou Ping'an could not help asking.

"Eighth level of the Acquired Realm," Zhang San replied casually, as if it were nothing worth mentioning.

Yet to Zhou Ping'an, those four words struck like thunder.

Martial artists were divided into the Acquired and Innate Realms. The Acquired Realm had ten levels, and anyone who stepped into its first level was already above ordinary men. By joining the army, they could easily obtain the post of captain; by joining a martial arts school or escort agency, earning eight hundred or a thousand taels of silver a month would be effortless.

Before this, the strongest martial artist Zhou Ping'an had ever seen was the master of that martial arts school, a third-level Acquired Realm expert. Even in the Capital City, he was a renowned figure and an honored guest of many dignitaries.

Yet here in the Demon-Slaying Bureau, even a mere menial possessed eighth-level Acquired Realm cultivation. The gap could not have been greater.

"What are you standing there like an idiot for? Get in here!" While Zhou Ping'an was lost in thought, Zhang San carried the human-height iron barrel in one hand and walked inside.

"Oh, oh, I'm coming!" Zhou Ping'an struggled to drag the iron barrel behind him.

The two iron barrels were each as tall as a person. To fill them both, who knew how much blood it would take? Could that demon even endure it? Would it not simply die from the blood loss?

But when Zhou Ping'an saw the demon inside this cage, his doubts immediately vanished like smoke.

Before him lay a massive white python, a full hundred zhang long, its snowy scales resembling white bones.

Sss! The instant the giant python opened its eyes, Zhou Ping'an's heart clenched violently. A terrifying pressure seemed intent on crushing him into a pulp.

Zhang San did nothing, merely standing calmly to one side. This was a trial every menial of the Demon-Slaying Bureau had to undergo. If one could not even withstand the pressure emanating from these imprisoned demons, how could one manage them in the future?

Thump!

Thump!

Zhou Ping'an's heartbeat grew increasingly violent, as though his heart might shatter at any moment.

Huff!

Huff!

His eyes turned bloodshot, and his breathing became heavier and heavier.

A voice sounded in his mind: Give up. As long as you leave this cage, you will no longer suffer so much.

Zhou Ping'an's breathing grew more ragged. His right foot lifted, only to slowly lower again.

I will never give up! Zhou Ping'an roared inwardly.

Under that terrifying pressure, Zhou Ping'an endured for a full hour. That hour felt as long as a century.

Then, suddenly, his body felt light. The crushing pressure had vanished.

Zhang San looked at the now-clear-eyed Zhou Ping'an and nodded in satisfaction. "Your talent is somewhat lacking, but your will is firm. You may yet accomplish something in the Demon-Slaying Bureau."

Zhou Ping'an looked toward the snow-white snake demon. His body had already adapted to its pressure. Even when he met its scarlet eyes, he felt no fear.

The snake demon's hundred-zhang body was pierced through by over a hundred enormous steel nails. Massive chains were attached to either side of the nails, each chain as thick as two men embracing. The chains were embedded in the walls; even if the snake demon possessed the strength of ten thousand jin, it could not move an inch.

Directly beneath the snake demon stood a stone tablet.

Scale-Bone Snake Demon, fourth-level Acquired Realm demon beast. In the 363rd year of the Great Zhou Dynasty, it breached Green Mountain Town, and one hundred thousand civilians died in its jaws. Demon Slayer Ling Feng pursued it for a thousand li, fought a bloody battle for half a month, and captured it alive!

So this snow-white snake demon was called the Scale-Bone Snake Demon.

The Scale-Bone Snake Demon twisted its body uneasily. "Lord Zhang, the month isn't up yet, is it? Why are you drawing blood again?"

Zhou Ping'an froze. This snake demon had devoured one hundred thousand Great Zhou civilians in a single night. By all appearances, it was a vicious and monstrous fiend—yet when it spoke, it sounded as though it were wagging its tail and begging for mercy. Like a dog.

Zhang San chuckled. "A new menial has arrived. I'm letting him get some practice. If nothing goes wrong, you'll be under his care from now on."

The Scale-Bone Snake Demon glanced at Zhou Ping'an. "Him? A cripple with blocked meridians and a leaking dantian?"

Zhou Ping'an's pupils shrank. Was this Scale-Bone Snake Demon talking about him?

No wonder he had made no progress despite cultivating for so many years. His meridians were all blocked.

Did that not mean he would never be able to set foot on the martial path in this lifetime?

"Heh! You sure talk a lot!"

A flash of black light passed through Zhang San's hand. The Scale-Bone Snake Demon's snowy scales exploded, and scarlet demon blood gushed forth like a waterfall.

"Argh, argh, argh! I'm dying, I'm dying! Drawing blood twice a month—without eating ten fat pigs, there's no way I can recover it!" the Scale-Bone Snake Demon shrieked.

"Fine, but I also want a drop of your marrow." Zhang San smiled faintly.

"Y-you... you're a devil!" The Scale-Bone Snake Demon wailed without end.

"If you won't give it, I'll take it myself." Zhang San sneered coldly.

"Don't, don't, don't! I'll give it, I'll give it!" The Scale-Bone Snake Demon opened its huge mouth, and a crystal-clear drop of marrow fell into the iron barrel.

Something strange happened. The snake blood in the iron barrel began to boil, and the red bloodwater turned crystal-clear.

That marrow was the essence of the Scale-Bone Snake Demon. After spitting out a single drop, its body visibly shrank by a circle.

After filling the two iron barrels, Zhang San carried one in each hand and left the cage.

"From now on, this Scale-Bone Snake Demon is yours to manage. Draw its blood once a month, two large barrels each time. Feed it once every two days. How much you feed it depends on your mood, as long as you don't starve it to death," Zhang San instructed Zhou Ping'an as he shut the iron cage door.

"Uncle Zhang... can I really not cultivate?" Zhou Ping'an could not help asking.

"Blocked meridians are a minor problem, but your dantian leaks. You cannot store inner force." Zhang San sighed.

Zhou Ping'an gave a bitter smile. Nothing was more painful than being given hope, only to be plunged into despair.

"If you were outside, you would basically have no fate with the martial path. But..." Zhang San abruptly changed his tone.

Zhou Ping'an's eyes lit up at once. "Uncle Zhang, do you have a way?"

"Of course. Your Uncle Zhang isn't one to be trifled with. See these two barrels of demon blood? They were prepared for you." Zhang San patted the two iron barrels.

Most martial artists of the Great Zhou Dynasty cultivated inner force, but there were always those who chose a road less traveled. They used the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to temper their bodies, forging their flesh to the utmost limit. Such martial artists could even battle demons with their bare bodies, their combat strength outrageously formidable.

"Body cultivation?" Zhou Ping'an blurted out.

"Exactly, body cultivation! Body cultivators do not cultivate inner force, so naturally they have no need for meridians or a dantian!" Zhang San nodded.

"However, body cultivation is excruciatingly painful. Those without great perseverance must not attempt it."

"Uncle Zhang had me stare at the Scale-Bone Snake Demon to see whether I could walk the path of body cultivation?" Zhou Ping'an realized.

Zhang San nodded. "If your perseverance had been insufficient, I would naturally have arranged some easy post for you and let you live out your life in peace. But you did not disappoint me."

Zhou Ping'an scratched his head sheepishly. "Uncle Zhang, don't praise me like that. It makes me embarrassed."

"Heh, don't flatter me. Just don't curse me in your heart later!" Zhang San chuckled.

"How could I? How could I possibly—damn it, Uncle Zhang, what are you doing?!"

Before he had even finished speaking, Zhang San had stripped Zhou Ping'an completely naked.

Zhou Ping'an was dumbfounded. Was Uncle Zhang really this understanding? Could he have some strange fetish?

Splash! Before Zhou Ping'an could react, Zhang San tossed him straight into the iron barrel.

Sizzle! The instant he touched the crystal-clear snake blood, Zhou Ping'an felt a searing, stabbing pain.

Glug, glug! The snake blood actually began boiling violently.

"F-fuck!" Zhou Ping'an could not help swearing. The sensation was too painful; his entire body felt as if it were on fire.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Body cultivation—how cruel," Ma Er remarked as he approached, cracking sunflower seeds.

"This is the only path for this child. After all, he's the only son of Brother Zhou. We have to do what we can." Zhang San sighed.

"Using demon blood to open every pore in the body, tempering the flesh, then sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth through those pores—this process is agonizing beyond measure. Even in the Demon-Slaying Bureau, not many are willing to endure such pain." Ma Er shook his head.

"His willpower is good. He should manage it," Zhang San said.

"I bet he lasts no more than an hour." Ma Er grinned.

"I bet two hours..." A voice came from the darkness.

"I bet... an hour and a half!"

One after another, voices drifted from the darkness. So there were so many people in this gloomy Demon-Slaying Bureau prison.

Zhou Ping'an could hear those voices, but he could not spare them any attention. He could only hold his breath, focus his mind, and endure this inhuman agony.

Endure, endure! I want to learn martial arts. I want the power to protect myself! Zhou Ping'an kept encouraging himself.