It was not yet the hour of the Hare, and the sky was still dark.
Jiang Fa was jolted awake by a piercing gong.
He rolled over and sat up, finding Li Tie already putting on his shoes with brisk movements. Clearly, he had been awake for some time.
"Hurry up. Don't be late."
Leaving those words behind, Li Tie shook Wang Dahu awake, then pushed the door open and went out first.
Pine-resin torches burned on the training grounds, crackling as their light flickered across the entire field.
Forty or fifty people stood in two sparse groups, some still rubbing their eyes and yawning.
Zhao Zhong stood at the very front, his hands clasped behind his back.
Beside him stood a square-faced man in the Zhao Clan Martial Hall's close-fitting gray training clothes, clearly an inner courtyard disciple.
Jiang Fa swept his gaze over the training grounds and discovered that, besides their group of new disciples who had joined yesterday, there were more than a dozen unfamiliar faces around their age.
These people stood straight and orderly, in stark contrast to the bleary-eyed newcomers.
The two groups stood on opposite sides.
After counting everyone, Zhao Zhong nodded slightly. Looking over the crowd, he declared, "From today onward, you are outer courtyard students of the Zhao Clan Martial Hall, and you may formally learn our Mountain-Breaking Fist."
His voice rang clearly through the crackling of the torches.
"The outer courtyard's rules are simple. Rise and train at the hour of the Hare, eat breakfast at the hour of the Dragon, practice on your own from the hour of the Snake through the hour of the Horse, then gather again at the hour of the Goat for another two hours of drills. Arrange the rest of your time yourselves."
Then his tone shifted. He turned his gaze toward the other line of outer courtyard disciples, his voice carrying a measure of sternness. "As for you, even the most recent among you has been here a month. There is no need for me to repeat the hall's rules or training guidelines. Keep to your duties and train diligently."
Understanding dawned in Jiang Fa's mind.
The other group must have entered the martial hall before them, but had not yet reached three months. Having remained unable to cross the threshold of Ming Jin, they were still in the outer courtyard.
By seniority, they could be considered their senior brothers.
Zhao Zhong glanced at the sky. Seeing that dawn had begun to break, he turned his gaze back to the new disciples. "For today's first lesson, you will all be taught the first level of the Mountain-Breaking Stance. This is a foundational stance method for entering the martial path. It places no importance on flashy moves, only on sinking the body and gathering Qi, tempering blood and Qi, and honing the sinews, bones, skin, and flesh."
"This stance has three levels. Perfect the first, and your blood and Qi will become abundant, your force will penetrate your body, and you will break through to martial Ming Jin. Perfection of the second level means martial An Jin, and perfection of the third takes you straight to martial Transforming Force!"
"What you must do over the next three months is cultivate the first level of the Mountain-Breaking Stance to perfection. Then you will be able to enter the inner courtyard and become formal disciples of our Zhao Clan Martial Hall!"
Then his voice abruptly grew heavier. "The hall does not keep mediocrities. In three months, everyone will be assessed together. Those who successfully break through to Ming Jin will advance to the inner courtyard and study more profound martial arts. Those who fail to meet the standard will pack their belongings and leave the hall."
"Do you understand?"
"Understood!"
Everyone answered in unison.
"Very good."
Zhao Zhong nodded in satisfaction, then turned toward the inner courtyard disciple beside him and instructed, "Wang Shi, you will lead them today. Teach these disciples the first level of the Mountain-Breaking Stance."
Then his gaze swept toward the veteran disciples' ranks. "Continue practicing on your own as usual. Slacking and idling are strictly forbidden!"
Wang Shi strode out of the line. He was in his thirties, with a square face and thick, dark eyebrows.
He was stiff and precise, without the slightest smile on his face, and his entire bearing exuded stern rigidity.
"My name is Wang Shi, an inner courtyard disciple. You may call me Eldest Senior Brother."
Facing the new disciples, Wang Shi briefly introduced himself. Without further pleasantries, he went straight to the point. "Stance training is the foundation of the martial path. If you wish to practice martial arts, you must first learn to hold your stance properly. I will demonstrate once. Watch closely and commit it firmly to memory."
As his words fell, he spread his feet shoulder-width apart, sank slightly with his knees bent, and slowly pushed his arms forward, steady and level.
Every movement carried solid force, without a single flashy or unnecessary motion.
Paired with the visible rhythm of breathing in his chest and abdomen, it held a peculiar cadence that defied description.
Jiang Fa stood at the back of the crowd, his eyes locked firmly on Wang Shi, not daring to look away for an instant.
When Wang Shi finished demonstrating the entire first level of the Mountain-Breaking Stance Art with the flowing ease of clouds and water,
the instant he withdrew his fists and straightened, Jiang Fa's heart jolted. A translucent pale-blue panel appeared in his mind without warning, clear lettering inscribed upon it:
[Mountain-Breaking Stance Art (mid yellow grade) · First level (0/200)]
He drew a deep breath, suppressing the excitement in his heart.
The panel had finally responded.
Mid yellow grade?
Jiang Fa frowned slightly. Could this be the cultivation art's grade?
What he had not expected was that merely watching Wang Shi's full demonstration once would unlock the art at the introductory level.
Every movement detail, force-exertion trick, breathing method, and common pitfall of the Mountain-Breaking Stance's first level was directly branded into his mind, utterly clear, without the slightest ambiguity.
"Have you all memorized it?" Having completed his demonstration, Wang Shi settled into a standing position and swept his gaze over the youths before him.
Not one person answered.
The training grounds fell into a frozen silence, with only the torches still crackling in their ears.
Across the utterly silent grounds, the atmosphere felt somewhat stagnant.
Most of the youths exchanged bewildered looks, their young faces filled with confusion and incomprehension.
Wang Shi's posture had shifted extremely quickly just now, and the subtle intricacies of sinking force, twisting the body, and planting the stance had been extremely difficult to catch.
They had understood only the outward movements and framework, unable to make heads or tails of the underlying rhythm of force or the precise control of breathing.
Many stared blankly at Wang Shi in the field, their minds a muddle. They could not even remember the full sequence of movements, much less grasp the finer details and tricks.
Only a few lowered their heads with furrowed brows, thought showing in their eyes.
Wang Shi took in everyone's reactions without a trace of surprise.
Clearly, it was indeed difficult to memorize this entire stance art after watching it only once.
"Eldest Senior Brother, I've memorized it all."
The voice was quiet, carrying a hint of youthful inexperience, yet it reached every person present clearly.
Wang Shi immediately focused and turned, looking toward the source of the voice.
At the back of the crowd stood a slender youth.
He wore coarse hemp clothes washed pale, their edges slightly frayed. His clothing was plain and simple, making him particularly unremarkable among the youths.
As dozens of gazes suddenly converged on him, the youth's body tensed slightly, and a measure of agitation and nervousness involuntarily showed in his dark eyes.
"You're saying you memorized it all?"
Wang Shi's brows abruptly knitted, his tone carrying obvious disbelief and some surprise.
Everyone present stared at the youth with doubt and astonishment. No one believed he could learn such an abstruse, complicated stance art after seeing it only once.
The veteran disciples on the other side even stopped their stance practice and turned to look, undisguised sneers curling their lips and mockery filling their eyes.
They had all passed through the novice stage and knew better than anyone how difficult the first level of the Mountain-Breaking Stance was.
The complete stance art looked simple, but its details were cumbersome, its force difficult to control.
When first encountering it, newcomers usually needed to observe it repeatedly for days and practice day and night before they could barely assume the correct framework.
Memorize everything after seeing it once?
That was sheer fantasy!
Facing all those questioning gazes, nervous apprehension churned ceaselessly in his chest.
Yet the youth still bit his lower lip, suppressed the panic in his heart, and nodded firmly, his voice resolute. "Yes."
Seeing his certainty, with no sign of joking or deception, Wang Shi pondered briefly, then raised a hand and pointed toward the center of the training grounds. "Since you've memorized it all, step forward and demonstrate it before everyone."
At those words, the atmosphere across the grounds instantly heated up.
Every gaze locked tightly onto the youth, waiting to see him make a fool of himself.
Though the youth was anxious and uneasy, even his hands and feet trembling slightly,
he did not retreat. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the crowd and into the open center of the training grounds.
He adjusted his breathing and settled his mind.
The next instant,
he planted his stance, sank his shoulders, twisted his waist, and set his foot down...
Move by move, neither hurried nor slow, he precisely reproduced the entire first level of the Mountain-Breaking Stance that Wang Shi had just taught.
There was not a single mistake or omission in his movements. Each technique flowed naturally into the next, rising and falling in order.
Not only did he faithfully reproduce the proper framework, but even the smallest degree of sinking force and the rhythm of his breathing differed little from Wang Shi's demonstration, with discrepancies negligible to the naked eye.
The moment the youth steadily completed his final movement and straightened, the entire training grounds fell utterly silent.
Even the crackling of the torches seemed shut out by an invisible barrier. A falling pin could have been heard.
Wang Shi's pupils abruptly contracted. Every trace of calm vanished from his usually rigid, impassive face.
Shock and disbelief surged undisguised in his eyes. He stared fixedly at the thin youth in the field as towering waves rose in his heart.
He had cultivated in the Zhao Clan Martial Hall for over a decade and seen countless new disciples, including many of outstanding talent, yet he had never seen such heaven-defying comprehension!
After watching just once, he could reproduce the entire stance art!
One had to know that when Wang Shi joined the hall in his youth, he had possessed superior aptitude and talent far beyond ordinary people.
Yet when first learning this Mountain-Breaking Stance, he had still needed two or three days of repeated observation and practice before he could barely reproduce the full framework and grasp a few of its intricacies.
But this seemingly frail, ordinary youth in plain clothes had actually learned it in one viewing, achieving nearly seventy or eighty percent resemblance in form!
Stunning!
Utterly stunning!
The disciples across the grounds already had their eyes wide and mouths slightly open, their faces blank with astonishment. Every one of them stared fixedly at Qin Xuan in the field, disbelief filling their eyes.
A full three breaths passed before someone suddenly sucked in a cold breath.
"He... he really memorized it? He learned it after one viewing?"
"I still can't even remember ten movements, and he actually performed the whole set?"
The veteran disciples looked as though they had seen a ghost, their expressions as if they had taken a mouthful of shit.
Jiang Fa's gaze likewise sharpened, a quiet shock stirring in his heart.
Although he too could now fully reproduce the first level of the Mountain-Breaking Stance, that was merely thanks to the panel's effects. If he had relied on himself alone...
At the edge of the training grounds, Zhao Zhong, who had been watching calmly all along, lost every trace of his composure. A glimmer of irrepressible joy and excitement flashed deep in his eyes.
He had devoted decades to the martial path, and as a Transforming Force expert, he possessed a keen eye. He could tell at a glance that this youth's martial aptitude was certain to be extraordinary.
Only after a long silence did Wang Shi suppress the stormy waves in his heart and ask, "What is your name?"
Feeling those astonished and startled gazes upon him, the youth's breathing gradually steadied. He lowered his eyes and cupped his hands. "Eldest Senior Brother, my name is Qin Xuan."
"Qin Xuan..."