[Talents: Heaven Rewards Diligence, Learning Inevitably Bears Fruit] [Realm: early Ming Jin] [Cultivation arts: Mountain-Breaking Stance (mid Yellow Grade) · first layer, perfection (200/200), Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art (Heaven Rank, Upper Grade) · first level (116/1000)] [Martial arts: Mountain-Breaking Fist (mid Yellow Grade) · entry (199/200)]
"I broke through?"
Feeling that wisp of newly born force within him, Jiang Fa's face lit up with delight.
A Ming Jin martial artist,
though only at the elementary stage of martial cultivation,
had at least stepped beyond the bounds of ordinary people.
Not only was his blood and Qi abundant, his strength was also greater than an ordinary person's.
More importantly, a kind of "force" would develop within his body.
By coating his fists with it, he could easily shatter stone tablets and split rocks. It was truly wondrous beyond words.
And his breakthrough in realm had brought a little progress in the Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art along with it.
Over two months of bitter training had finally borne results today.
Breaking through to Ming Jin, entering the inner courtyard, and being able to cultivate the subsequent methods of the Mountain-Breaking Stance-how could he not be happy?
Forcing down his excitement,
Jiang Fa gathered his thoughts.
While some medicinal potency still remained in his body, he spread his feet, assumed the opening posture of the Mountain-Breaking Fist, and slowly began moving through its forms.
His Mountain-Breaking Fist was only a little short of minor achievement.
He would strike while the iron was hot.
Others might remain stuck at hurdles or bottlenecks for ages, but he was different. He had his talents; all he needed to do was practice.
Then he threw a punch.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
During the third repetition, he suddenly felt something loosen within his forms.
The sensation was subtle, like practicing calligraphy hundreds upon thousands of times, then one day discovering that the brush tip could turn wherever he wished.
Or like copying a painting until he grew numb, then suddenly discovering one day that his lines had acquired a trace of the original's spirit.
It was rhythm.
The rhythm of the Mountain-Breaking Fist.
Previously, every move he made had been fitted to the template in his mind.
Every technique was orderly and precise, without the slightest deviation, yet something had always seemed missing.
Now he understood.
What was missing was rhythm.
The Mountain-Breaking Fist revolved around the word "burst."
Bursting did not mean blindly battering and charging. It required both relaxation and tension, both speed and slowness.
Like drawing a bow and shooting an arrow: while gathering power, the bowstring stretched taut into a full moon; when the arrow was released, it snapped forward in an instant, unstoppable.
Before, he had learned only its outward shape. Now, at last, he had gained a trace of its spirit.
He moved through the forms again.
His entire center of gravity slammed forward. Shoulder and elbow moved together, power exploding from the soles of his feet up to his shoulder before crashing out through it.
Bang!
A dull explosion sounded in the air.
It was not the insubstantial swish of his earlier punches, but a genuine blast from smashing the air apart.
It worked!
"So this is minor achievement?"
"Ordinary people need a year or two of bitter practice to reach minor achievement in a fist art. With my talents, I can improve every day."
"Now I've mastered it in just two short months, several times or even a dozen times faster than others! And there wasn't any bottleneck at all when I broke through. It came as naturally as water flowing into a channel!"
A sharp gleam flashed in Jiang Fa's eyes, and the panel quietly appeared in his mind.
Talents: Heaven Rewards Diligence, Learning Inevitably Bears Fruit] [Realm: early Ming Jin] [Cultivation arts: Mountain-Breaking Stance (mid Yellow Grade) · first layer, perfection (200/200), Seven-Colored Glazed Glass Art (Heaven Rank, Upper Grade) · first level (116/1000)] [Martial arts: Mountain-Breaking Fist (mid Yellow Grade) · minor achievement (0/500)]
He opened his eyes and let out a long breath of stale air.
The gloom that had shrouded his heart for days was finally swept away.
Time slipped past unnoticed...
The three-month deadline quietly arrived.
Shortly after the hour of the dragon, people gradually filled the outer courtyard's training grounds.
Today was the three-month assessment for Jiang Fa and the others. All the "veteran disciples" still holding on in the outer courtyard had arrived.
"Ma Ping, can you pass?"
A disciple asked the person beside him.
Ma Ping shook his head. His lips moved, but in the end he only squeezed out, "I don't know."
Jiang Fa glanced at him, then withdrew his gaze.
Zhao Zhong already stood on the raised platform, his hands behind his back.
Wang Shi, the inner courtyard's senior brother, stood to one side with a roster in hand, calling out names one by one.
"Chen Shan."
A dark-faced youth stepped out of the crowd, stopped before the platform, took a deep breath, and assumed the Mountain-Breaking Stance.
His stance was very steady; it was clear he had built a decent foundation.
As he held the stance, the blood and Qi throughout his body began to surge. A sheen of fine sweat soon formed on his forehead. Clearly, he was driving his blood and Qi with all his might.
After roughly the time it took to drink a cup of tea, his face had flushed completely red.
The veins in his arms bulged one after another, yet there was still no sign of that "outward release of force."
Another half a cup of tea's time passed, and his legs began to tremble.
Zhao Zhong glanced at him and shook his head.
"Fail."
Chen Shan's face instantly went pale. His lips trembled several times, but in the end he said nothing and stepped aside with his head lowered.
"Liu Dali."
A broad-shouldered, thick-waisted youth ran out of the crowd.
He had the sturdiest build of all the outer courtyard disciples. Covered in thick flesh, he stood there like a wall.
But stance training was not a contest of strength. The moment he assumed his stance, it went crooked; squatting there, he looked like a toad.
Zhao Zhong frowned after a single glance. "Fail."
Liu Dali's face flushed red. He opened his mouth to say something, but ultimately retreated, crestfallen.
"Ma Ping."
The anxious-looking youth shuddered, drew a deep breath, and walked toward the platform one step at a time.
He assumed his stance.
It was not perfect, but it was reasonably proper: knees slightly bent, waist lowered, elbows sunk. He had all the basic essentials down.
Then he began driving his blood and Qi.
Ma Ping's complexion shifted from normal to flushed red. Veins throbbed on his forehead, and his chest heaved violently.
He gritted his teeth, his jaw clenched tight, the muscles in his cheeks twitching.
After roughly a cup of tea's time, his whole body suddenly jolted, and the blue bricks beneath his feet gave a faint crack.
"Pass."
Ma Ping went limp, nearly collapsing onto the ground on the spot.
He braced his hands against his knees to steady himself. His eyes instantly reddened, tears swirling in them, yet he stubbornly held them back.
He bowed deeply to Zhao Zhong and returned to the crowd, his steps much lighter.
Wang Shi continued calling names.
"Liu Wen!"
Liu Wen stepped out of the crowd, but his expression was far from good.
He slowly settled into his stance. His form was proper enough, but his force floated on the surface and would not sink.
Worse still, his breathing rhythm had fallen into disorder. His chest rose and fell ever more rapidly, and fine sweat appeared on his forehead.
Before long, the blood and Qi throughout his body grew chaotic. His stance distorted, and he stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.
"Blood and Qi alone, with an unstable foundation."
Zhao Zhong's expression was calm. "Fail."
Liu Wen's face flushed red.
"Master Zhao, for my father's sake, could you give this disciple another chance...?"
Zhao Zhong glanced at him and said flatly, "Your foundation is unsound. Even ten more chances would do you no good. Step down."
Liu Wen wanted to say more, but Zhao Zhong cut him off with a sweep of his sleeve. In the end, he could only retreat into the crowd as though mourning his parents.
Two more veteran disciples went up afterward. One passed, and the other failed.
The one who failed burst into tears on the spot. A strapping young man in his twenties stood before the platform bawling, snot and tears smeared across his face.
But no one laughed at him.
"Xu Xiaomeng."
A slender figure stepped forward at the call.
She was about sixteen or seventeen, with delicate features and fine clothing. Her black hair was casually tied behind her head with a cloth ribbon, and her eyes were clear and resolute.
There were few female disciples in the outer courtyard to begin with, and she was the only one who had persisted until the three-month assessment.
Xu Xiaomeng took a deep breath and slowly assumed the Mountain-Breaking Stance.
Her movements were slow, the entire sequence flowing in one unbroken breath, as smoothly as though she had practiced it millions of times.
She closed her eyes, and the blood and Qi throughout her body began circulating slowly.
Unlike the other disciples, her circulating blood and Qi had none of that sense of brute, headlong collision.
Instead, it resembled a stream winding through a mountain ravine, neither hurried nor slow, yet flowing without end.
After half a cup of tea's time, the blue bricks beneath her feet suddenly began to tremble faintly.
Spiderweb cracks appeared across their surfaces, slowly spreading outward from her feet.
"Abundant blood and Qi, strength balanced with softness. Not bad."
Satisfaction appeared on Zhao Zhong's face. "Pass!"
"Jiang Fa."
Wang Shi called loudly.
"It's finally my turn."
With a resolute gaze, Jiang Fa slowly stepped out of the crowd.
Zhao Zhong's expression remained impassive.
Wang Shi, however, gave Jiang Fa a few extra looks.
He was responsible for guiding this group of outer courtyard disciples and knew how diligent each of them was.
He knew full well that Jiang Fa trained from dawn until dark, and how difficult it had been for him to hold on until today's assessment.
Jiang Fa took a deep breath.
He spread his feet shoulder-width apart.
He had performed this sequence of the Mountain-Breaking Stance hundreds, even thousands of times. Every detail was carved into his bones. Without needing to think, his body could find the most suitable position on its own.
Then he drove his blood and Qi.
Blood and Qi rose from his dantian and surged along his meridians like floodwaters released through an opened gate, unstoppable.
Jiang Fa neither deliberately suppressed it nor rushed to release it.
Just as he did during his usual practice, he held his stance steadily, letting that blood and Qi circulate through his body over and over.
With every cycle, his body sank a little farther toward the ground.
A succession of faint cracking sounds came from the blue bricks beneath his feet. Cracks spread outward like spiderwebs, centered on his feet.
Jiang Fa suddenly opened his eyes and clenched both fists. A volley of explosive cracks rang out from his muscles and bones.
The blood and Qi circulating ceaselessly within him burst outward, blasting the blue bricks beneath his feet completely apart!
Stone fragments scattered, and dust flew.
The entire grounds fell deathly silent.
Zhao Zhong's brows lifted slightly.
Wang Shi's eyes lit up.
The watching disciples all stared wide-eyed, their mouths forming circles.
"A stable foundation, robust blood and Qi."
Zhao Zhong looked at Jiang Fa and nodded in satisfaction. "Pass!"
"Excellent!" Wang Shi could not help praising him aloud.
Zhao Zhong looked Jiang Fa up and down several times, his gaze resting on the blue bricks shattered to rubble beneath his feet before shifting to his face.
"What is your name?"
"Jiang Fa."
Zhao Zhong pondered for a moment, then nodded. "Good, very good. Among this batch of disciples who passed, you now rank second."
First, naturally, was Qin Xuan, who had entered the inner court long ago.
Jiang Fa cupped his fist and bowed to Zhao Zhong. "Thank you for the praise, Master."
Zhao Zhong waved a hand. "No need to thank me. You did yourself proud."
The assessment continued,
Of the seven who came after Jiang Fa, two youths named Xu Feng and Zhao Chuan had barely reached Ming Jin; the other five were all eliminated.
In a corner of the assessment grounds, Liu Wen stared blankly at that figure, muttering, "How is that possible? How could he have passed the assessment? He's clearly just a mud-legged peasant who's never seen the world! What gives him the right..."