After the Monthly Exam

After the Monthly Assessment, the atmosphere in the outer courtyard did not immediately relax.

Some, pleased with their rankings, moved noticeably more lightly than usual when practicing their punches; some were dissatisfied with their results and had practically been living in the training ground these past few days; others had already begun pondering the next Quarterly Assessment, thinking about how to snatch back the places they had lost this time.

Chen Mo had also been training more diligently than usual.

But these past few days, there was always something weighing on his mind.

What exactly was the "threshold" those two senior disciples had mentioned?

After the Monthly Assessment, he had heard no further news. When he asked Zhao Chuan, Zhao Chuan was full of hearsay himself; when he asked others, most merely shook their heads. No one could explain the matter clearly.

Until one morning, Instructor Li summoned all the newcomers who had taken the Monthly Assessment back to the training ground.

The moment Chen Mo joined the line, Zhao Chuan sidled over.

"Do you think they're going to talk about the Monthly Assessment results today?"

"Weren't the results already posted?"

"Then I think maybe they'll talk about how we should train next month."

Chen Mo glanced at him.

"Have you started regretting not making the top ten already?"

Zhao Chuan's eyes widened at once.

"That was just a temporary slip-up."

"Mm."

"What's with that 'mm'?"

"Nothing."

"I think you're doing it on purpose."

Before the two could exchange a few more words, Instructor Li had already walked to the front.

"Quiet."

The training ground quickly fell silent.

Instructor Li did not take out the Monthly Assessment roster, nor did he begin by commenting on who ranked high and who ranked low. Instead, he turned to look toward the edge of the field.

"One person, come out."

A senior disciple stepped out from the crowd.

Chen Mo recognized him.

He saw him around the outer courtyard from time to time, though they had little interaction. That man had trained for several years already, and his bearing was clearly different from that of the newcomers.

Zhao Chuan whispered, "What's he here for?"

Chen Mo shook his head.

"No idea."

The senior disciple walked to the center of the training ground. Instructor Li pointed to a training wooden post beside him.

"Throw a punch."

The man nodded.

He stood before the wooden post. He did not assume any especially exaggerated stance, merely spreading his feet slightly apart and relaxing his shoulders.

Chen Mo fixed his gaze on his movements.

For some reason, he felt this scene looked familiar.

The next moment, the man threw his punch.

There was no shout, no deliberate gathering of strength.

His fist shot out evenly.

Bang!

A dull impact exploded across the training ground.

Everyone instinctively hunched their shoulders.

The wooden post first lurched violently, then a clear crack spread downward from where the fist had landed.

Crack.

The wooden post split down the middle.

The field instantly became terrifyingly quiet.

Zhao Chuan's mouth hung slightly open.

"This..."

Someone beside them could not help saying, "The wooden post cracked?"

No one answered.

Chen Mo also stared at the fissure.

He had struck this wooden post before.

To practice his punches, he had left quite a few fist marks on it. Yet even when he had used every ounce of strength he had, all he could do was make the post sway a few times. It had been impossible for him to leave a crack like that.

That punch just now had not even seemed to carry much force.

Yet just like that, the wood had split.

Chen Mo could not help looking down at his own fist.

Instructor Li's voice sounded then.

"Did you see clearly?"

Only then did everyone slowly come back to their senses.

Someone swallowed.

"Instructor, what was that?"

Instructor Li did not answer immediately. Instead, he looked at the split wooden post.

"This is what you have yet to encounter."

"You asked me before what a true martial artist was."

"This is the difference."

Low murmurs immediately rose across the field.

Zhao Chuan could not help asking, "Just with one punch?"

Instructor Li glanced at him.

"You can try it yourself later."

Zhao Chuan immediately shut his mouth.

Instructor Li walked over to the wooden post and raised a hand to pat the split wood.

"What have you been training these days when you practice your punches?"

Someone answered, "Strength."

"Forms."

"Speed."

Instructor Li nodded.

"All of those are correct."

"But what you are training now, when all is said and done, is still flesh, sinew, and bone."

"Standing stances temper the body."

"Practicing punches makes the body increasingly coordinated."

"Weight training lets your sinews and bones bear greater force."

"But all of that is only the foundation."

He raised a hand and pointed at the senior disciple.

"Once you truly cross the first threshold, your body will change."

"Your strength will not merely become somewhat greater than it is now."

"Your sinews, bones, and blood vitality will all change."

"At that time, the same punch will no longer be the same as the one you throw now."

Someone in the crowd asked, "Then what realm are we in right now?"

"You have not truly entered the gate yet."

As those words fell, many expressions changed.

They had been in the martial academy for some time now. Every day, they practiced stances, punches, and weight training, and each of them felt they had already become far stronger than ordinary people.

But now Instructor Li was telling them that all of this was still only the foundation.

Zhao Chuan muttered softly, "So after all this fussing around, we haven't even entered the gate?"

Chen Mo shot him a glance.

"Weren't you quite confident just now?"

"Being confident has nothing to do with this."

Instructor Li ignored the murmurs below.

"True martial cultivation is not simply about seeing who has the greater strength."

"But neither does being willing to endure hardship guarantee that you can reach the end."

Those words made Chen Mo raise his head.

Instructor Li continued:

"One's natural constitution affects the body."

"Medicinal herbs can aid cultivation."

"Fortuitous opportunities can also be important at times."

"Some spend years without even touching the threshold; others have a good foundation and suitable resources, and may progress much faster."

The training ground fell quiet.

Those words sounded ordinary enough, yet in Chen Mo's ears, they were clearer than that earlier punch.

He suddenly thought of the red ranking list.

Eleventh place.

He thought of the Advanced Body-Strengthening Medicinal Powder in Wang Lie's hand.

He also thought of how, in the weight test, he had exhausted all his strength yet still failed to lift the heavier stone weight.

So those gaps could not be explained merely by "being born stronger."

Some had talent.

Some were willing to put in grueling effort.

Some had families with the means to support them.

And he...

Chen Mo lowered his head and looked at his palm.

These hands could weave baskets, split firewood, and seize wild beasts in the mountains, yet they still could not compare to those who had had the means to temper their bodies since childhood.

All at once, he felt that the gloom he had felt these past few days over eleventh place seemed rather laughable.

That medicinal powder was indeed important.

But however important it was, it only helped them travel a little faster along this road.

The true gate was still far beyond their reach.

"Instructor."

Someone in the crowd asked again.

"Then how can we cross it?"

Instructor Li fell silent for a moment.

"First, do what you ought to do."

"Without a solid foundation, do not even think about anything else."

"As for when you can truly cross over, that differs from person to person."

"If you know too much now, you will only become impatient."

At that, he paused.

"Especially after just taking the Monthly Assessment—do not think that because you have looked at a ranking, you already know what martial cultivation is."

Those words made Chen Mo freeze slightly.

For some reason, he felt as though they were directed at him.

A few days ago, because of one sparring match, he had thought he had finally understood something.

Later, he had realized that understanding did not mean being able to do it.

And now, because of one ranking, he had begun thinking about resources.

But even if he understood all those things, he would still be far from true martial cultivation.

Chen Mo could not help looking once more at the split wooden post.

"So far away still..."

His voice was very soft. Only Zhao Chuan beside him heard it.

Zhao Chuan looked at him.

"You were really scared by that?"

Chen Mo shook his head.

"Not scared."

"I just feel like I used to think too simply."

Zhao Chuan scratched his head.

"I think it's pretty good."

"What's good about it?"

"At least now we know what we need to train ourselves into."

He spoke in earnest.

"Better than knowing nothing at all."

Chen Mo thought for a moment.

"That's true."

After saying that, he chuckled to himself.

"Though just now we were still arguing over what rank we'd get, and now we haven't even made it through the door."

Zhao Chuan sighed.

"What else can we do?"

"Keep training."

After that, neither of them said anything more.

Instructor Li briefly went over some matters concerning basic training, then reminded everyone that the next Quarterly Assessment would also come with resource rewards.

"Whether you can get them will still depend on your own abilities."

After hearing this, the newcomers were fired up again.

Some had already begun asking what the next examination would test.

Others discussed how to add extra training.

Zhao Chuan patted Chen Mo on the shoulder as well.

"Did you hear that?"

"What?"

"There'll be another chance next time."

Chen Mo glanced at him.

"I know."

"This time, I'll definitely make the top ten."

Chen Mo smiled.

"First figure out the defense from your last sparring match."

Zhao Chuan's smile immediately collapsed.

"Can we not bring that up?"

"No."

Laughing and chatting, the two of them walked out of the crowd.

Chen Mo, however, did not leave right away.

He turned back and looked once more at the cracked wooden stake.

The crack was deep.

If he stuck a finger inside, he could even feel the rough grain of the wood.

He stood there watching it for a long time. Finally, he raised his fist and lightly tapped the side of the stake.

The wood did not react at all.

Chen Mo withdrew his hand.

When he had practiced boxing before, all he had wanted was to make his fists heavier.

Now, for the first time, he understood that true martial arts were far more than simply making one's fists heavier.

But understanding was one thing.

How to walk that path was still something very distant.

He turned and left the training grounds.

By the time he reached the end of the long corridor, the sky had gradually darkened.

Chen Mo subconsciously looked toward the west.

That was where the mountains lay.

It was also where he had grown up.

The wolf's shadow flashed through his mind once again.

Who had left those old wounds on its body?

Why had it fled from the depths of the mountains?

And were the recent abnormalities among the beasts at the outskirts related to it?

Chen Mo stood there for a moment, but in the end, he did not keep thinking about it.

He did not yet have the ability to get to the bottom of those matters.

And here at the martial arts hall, he still had a whole heap of problems left unresolved.

Eleventh place.

Insufficient strength.

Not enough resources.

And that threshold whose name he had only just understood.

Chen Mo let out a soft breath and turned toward his quarters.

The road ahead was still long.

But at least now, he finally knew where he should be looking.