Bone-Feeling Test, Pass the Assessment?

Demon calamity?

Chen Mu's heart tightened!

The martial academy guards did not dare neglect the matter either. They shouted at the yamen runner, "What are you panicking for? Explain yourself clearly! What's happening at the docks? Who sent you to invite the academy master?"

"There's a Water Ghost at the docks!"

The reporting yamen runner wore a face of utter panic. After hurrying closer, he cried urgently:

"Please report this at once! More than a dozen dock laborers died last night. When they were found this morning, every one of them had swollen from soaking in water."

"The Transport Office specifically sent me to request Academy Master Liu's aid, to suppress and kill the demonic evil."

Upon hearing that so many had died, the guard's expression immediately turned grave. He told the man to wait, then turned and went inside to report it.

Left standing to one side, Chen Mu heard the whole story and could not help feeling lingering fear.

The Rubble Ward where he lived was already a chaotic place crowded with people of low status, only two or three streets away from the docks.

The authorities' patrols simply did not bother with those old lanes and alleys.

When demons killed dock laborers, at least someone discovered it. But if they entered the old lanes and alleys tomorrow, perhaps no one would notice even after Chen Mu and A-Ning's corpses had begun to stink.

Thinking of this, Chen Mu silently clenched his fists, a sense of urgency rising within him.

Looks like I need to cast off my status as soon as possible, then find a way to move to the east side of the city.

No sooner had this thought arisen than the martial academy's ironwood gates burst open, and a group of martial artists rode out on horseback.

Leading them was a middle-aged Martial Master in a blue-cloth martial robe. He had a square face, broad features, temples dusted with frost, and looked to be around forty. Riding a jujube-red horse, he headed straight down the street.

"Mount up! Lead the way!"

Several disciples behind him seized the yamen runner with one hand, flung him onto a horse, and galloped after them toward the docks.

In no more than two or three blinks, the urgent hoofbeats had vanished at the end of the long street.

The passersby all watched with awe, and Chen Mu too felt a measure of yearning.

He had never seen Liu Qingcang, but he guessed that the Martial Master atop the jujube-red horse had been him. He had no idea when Liu Qingcang would return from this demon hunt.

Just as Chen Mu frowned to himself, another burly man with the back of a tiger and waist of a bear strode out of the martial academy.

Spotting an unfamiliar person waiting beneath the steps, his thick brows sank at once. "Are you here to become an apprentice?"

Before Chen Mu could speak, the guard at the side hurriedly saluted. "Senior Brother Qin."

Chen Mu raised his brows. Seeing that this man held no small status, he quickly composed himself and clasped his fists.

"Exactly! I heard that Azure Dragon Martial Academy accepts apprentices far and wide. Any young, strong man who can pass the Hundred-Blood Trial may enter. Is that correct?"

Senior Brother Qin examined Chen Mu seriously for several moments. Seeing his upright stance, vigorous blood and qi, and manner neither servile nor overbearing, he immediately nodded.

"Since you know the rules, follow me."

"Let me test your bones and aptitude first. If you pass, we can discuss entering the academy once the academy master returns."

Chen Mu's spirits stirred slightly at those words. He thanked him at once, then stepped forward to follow.

As he crossed the threshold, the gate guard's expression turned rather ugly. He mocked in a low voice:

"Kid, don't think you can muddle through just because Senior Brother Qin is easy to talk to. Watch out, or you'll get your bones broken and be thrown back out."

Chen Mu paused slightly upon hearing this, but did not get angry. Instead, he clasped his fists and asked, "May I ask this brother's name?"

The guard froze, then grinned coldly. "What? You want to settle accounts with your grandpa? Then remember this well. Your grandpa is Liu Meng, Body Tempering Second Layer."

"Body Tempering Second Layer?"

Chen Mu narrowed his eyes, then put on a smile and flipped his palm, offering him a piece of loose silver.

"Don't misunderstand. This little brother has only just arrived. We may end up under the same roof in the future, so I hope Brother Liu Meng will look after me."

Liu Meng was somewhat dazed as he accepted the silver. Seeing how tactful the kid was, he felt embarrassed to make things difficult any further and immediately changed to a smiling face as he urged:

"All right, hurry and catch up. Senior Brother Qin is the academy master's second personal disciple, so don't delay him!"

With that, he impatiently waved him away.

Chen Mu immediately acknowledged him and stepped through the gate without looking back.

He had seen plenty of such dog-eyed people who looked down on others. He knew well that petty demons were hard to deal with.

He had no desire to stir up trouble over matters that could be settled with money, and he had even gained a useful piece of information by accident. It was not a loss.

Senior Brother Qin paid no attention at all to this small disturbance behind him and simply led the way ahead.

Chen Mu hurried after him. The two passed around the screen wall in the front courtyard and entered the inner courtyard beyond.

This was a plaza paved with bluestone, where many disciples were standing in stances and practicing their fists. An instructor in black was giving pointers in the middle of the grounds.

"Stand properly! In the Body Tempering Realm, stance training comes first. Use the breathing method to circulate your blood and qi; with every cycle, your physique grows a fraction stronger!"

"Whoever dares slack off in stance training can roll up his bedding and get out tomorrow! Better that than die beneath demonic claws one day and stain this martial academy's name!"

This was not the first time Chen Mu had heard such words.

The martial academy bought meat in large quantities. In the past, he had pulled strings to enter through the back gate and deliver meat, secretly overhearing such lessons from afar several times.

But today was the first time he had entered through the main gate and heard them so clearly.

Senior Brother Qin secretly observed Chen Mu from ahead. Seeing that he was curious but did not look around wildly, he nodded inwardly.

This man had a steady temperament. If he truly passed the Hundred-Blood Trial, he would indeed be fine material for fist training.

Having made this assessment in his heart, Senior Brother Qin led Chen Mu to a corner of the second courtyard, away from the bluestone plaza.

The snow here had long been swept away, revealing uneven sandy ground beneath. Several stone locks as large as millstones sat there.

"This will do. My name is Qin Tieya, and I usually assist the academy master with assessments."

After stopping, Senior Brother Qin turned back and briefly introduced himself to Chen Mu. Then he said in a deep voice:

"No need for idle chatter. You said you passed the Hundred-Blood Trial? Come, test hands with me first."

As he spoke, he crooked a finger at Chen Mu. "No need to hold back. Throw a punch at me with all your strength."

Seeing this, Chen Mu knew the assessment had begun and did not dare be careless.

"Then excuse me."

He removed the bundle from his shoulder, stepped forward and lowered his waist. Exhaling sharply, he threw a fierce punch.

There was no particular technique to this punch, but it was powerful and heavy. It stirred up a gust of wind as it smashed toward Qin Tieya's chest.

Seeing such force, a sharp gleam bloomed in Qin Tieya's eyes. He shouted, "Good lad! Your Hundred Blood is indeed brimming."

Before the roar faded, he had already moved.

Chen Mu only saw a blur before his eyes.

This burly man, built like an iron tower, suddenly sank his waist and planted his stance. His arms, thick as young trees, abruptly rose, and his whole body drew like a bow as he sent a backhand punch forward, striking after yet arriving first!

Their fists collided in midair.

Chen Mu's expression changed abruptly. He staggered back several steps, nearly stepping beyond the edge of the sandy pit.

After barely steadying himself, he felt the blood and qi in his chest churn violently. He was secretly shocked by the other man's tremendous strength.

Qin Tieya immediately pressed forward with a thunderous laugh.

"Kid, don't stand there stunned. Keep going!"

"If you can withstand ten breaths under my hands without falling, your bones and aptitude will be considered up to standard."

Chen Mu no longer had the leisure to listen. He instinctively turned aside to dodge.

But Qin Tieya's movements were broad and forceful, his punches carrying the faint momentum of wind and thunder, swift beyond measure.

Chen Mu could not evade in time. He only managed to raise an arm before his chest to block, taking the blow heavily. His body stumbled backward, and he nearly fell.

"With such unstable footing, how can you practice martial arts?!"

Qin Tieya suddenly barked. His broad hand clamped onto Chen Mu's shoulder, giving it a fierce squeeze as he dragged him back.

Then he struck repeatedly, with fists, palms, and joint-locking grips.

Within several breaths, he landed more than ten blows on Chen Mu's body. At the same time, he ran clawed fingers along his bones to test his natural endowments, producing crisp bursts of bone-cracking sounds.

Under this sudden storm of attacks, Chen Mu suffered pain again and again, and anger could not help rising in his eyes.

He grit his teeth and took a clawing strike on the shoulder. Seizing the moment, he suddenly lowered himself and drove a straight punch into Qin Tieya's chest.

This sudden counterattack caught Qin Tieya completely off guard.

He took the blow solidly. The front of his robe billowed violently from the impact, and he retreated three full steps before stopping.

"Not bad. What is your name? How old are you? Where do you live?"

"Your moves have no form, but you have plenty of courage. Since you managed to hit me once, you've passed this trial."

Qin Tieya steadied himself, patted his chest as though nothing had happened, and his eyes gained a little more appreciation.

Hearing that he had passed the bone-and-aptitude test, Chen Mu's tightly wound nerves relaxed somewhat. Ignoring the pain throughout his body, he quickly stood straight and clasped his fists.

"In reply to Senior Brother Qin. This disciple is Chen Mu, twenty years old this year, and lives in the Rubble Ward of the western city."

"Oh? A man from the western city?"

Qin Tieya raised his thick brows.

The moment he heard the words Rubble Ward and looked at Chen Mu's clothes, he immediately guessed his low-status background, and could not help frowning deeply.