Lin Fan clenched his fists, took a deep breath to suppress his unease, and silently prayed that his martial aptitude would be passable.
"Everyone, pick a vat, strip, and soak in it for an hour!" the instructor ordered again.
Rows of vats stood in a corner of the courtyard. Lin Fan picked one at random and saw that it held a murky liquid, with medicinal herbs and animal bodies faintly visible within.
This was a secret cultivation medicine. Beyond manuals, martial training also depended on secret medicines. Even if ordinary people were lucky enough to obtain a martial arts manual, they would be unable to cultivate. Obtaining a manual and then soaring to the heavens in a single bound simply was not realistic in this world.
"Be careful! The secret medicine in each vat is worth a hundred taels. If you break one, even selling you wouldn't cover it!" The instructor's warning made everyone's expressions change, and they became cautious as they looked at the medicine.
Everyone stripped and carefully stepped into the vats to soak. Lin Fan did the same.
A tingling sensation spread across his back, and the pain eased considerably. The secret medicine's effects were impressive indeed.
The instructor left them to soak. An hour later, he returned, clapped his hands, and called them out.
He pointed at the pitch-black clothes hanging on the wall. "Put on the abrasive clothes, then follow me."
Lin Fan felt the clothes and found them rough, like sandpaper used to scour rust off iron. Merely putting them on made the skin they rubbed against sting.
The clothes were also very tight. Every step rubbed against ninety percent of the skin on his body, and the stinging made Lin Fan's scalp prickle.
The instructor walked quickly. Lin Fan and the others could only endure the intense pain and hurry after him, following him all the way to a slope behind the rear courtyard.
The ground on the slope was very firm, as though it had been compacted. Lin Fan's eyelid twitched. He had a rough idea of why they had come here, and sure enough, the instructor's words confirmed his guess.
"Everyone, climb to the top of the slope, then roll down," the instructor ordered.
"Gulp..."
The sound of swallowing rose from the crowd, and quite a few faces turned deathly pale.
Just walking in these abrasive clothes hurt more than they could bear. How would rolling down the slope be any different from torture?
Lin Fan's scalp prickled too. He could already foresee the skin being scraped off his entire body.
For a while, no one dared move. The instructor immediately unleashed a torrent of abuse. "A bunch of cowards! You think the likes of you can practice martial arts? Hurry up and crawl home to suckle!"
Lin Fan gritted his teeth and was the first to step forward. For the martial path, I'll risk it!
The others followed one after another. They, too, had no way back.
Everyone reached the top of the slope. It was about thirty meters high, and merely looking down was frightening, let alone rolling down it. For a moment, they exchanged looks.
"Are we sure rolling down won't kill us?" someone asked, his face full of worry.
"Even if it doesn't, we'll probably be covered in wounds," another answered heavily.
"Fuck it!" a rugged-looking young man cursed. "If I die, I die! If I can't enter the martial path, I'd rather be dead!" With that, he shut his eyes and rolled down.
Lin Fan took a deep breath, suppressed his fear, and rolled down. If he could not enter the martial path, he would rather die.
Every time his body struck the ground, Lin Fan distinctly felt his skin tearing. The suffering was beyond what he could convey to anyone else.
But at that moment, Lin Fan had no attention to spare for the agony, because a voice rang out in his mind-a voice he had waited twenty-two years for.
His cheat had finally arrived.
[The fate bearer has officially begun cultivation. The Heaven Rewards Diligence fate has activated. With unrelenting perseverance, success is assured. No realm barriers exist.]
As the words ended, a panel appeared in Lin Fan's mind.
Fate bearer: Lin Fan Fate: Heaven Rewards Diligence (with unrelenting perseverance, success is assured. No realm barriers exist.) Aptitude: ordinary Cultivation method: Iron Cloth Shirt (beginner 0/100), progress +1 per practice.
Lin Fan's expression filled with excitement. The Heaven Rewards Diligence fate let him see hope of reaching the pinnacle of the martial path. Though it was not the sort of cheat that made him invincible beneath the heavens the moment it activated, he was already more than satisfied.
Even with ordinary aptitude and only +1 progress per cultivation session, as long as he persevered, if a hundred years were not enough, he would take a thousand; if a thousand were not enough, he would take ten thousand. He would eventually reach the pinnacle of the martial path. He was already prepared for a protracted battle.
Lin Fan kept tumbling. Once his excitement faded a little, the agony coursing through his body left him sweating all over and dizzy.
It was only thirty meters, yet to Lin Fan, it felt as long as three kilometers.
When he finally rolled onto level ground, he felt as though a century had passed. Every inch of his skin burned and stung, as though he were being roasted on a rack over a fire.
At the same time, a faint tingling spread throughout his body. He knew that was the secret medicine taking effect again.
Lin Fan still retained one last sliver of lucidity. He looked at the panel, then froze.
Cultivation method: Iron Cloth Shirt (beginner 10/100), progress +1 per practice.
The progress of Iron Cloth Shirt had actually increased by 10, not 1?
"Could rolling down once count as practicing ten times?" Lin Fan was puzzled, but this was an enormous and delightful surprise. It meant that he only had to roll down ten times to reach the beginner stage of Iron Cloth Shirt. Cultivation seemed less difficult than he had imagined.
But he could not roll down again now. He did not even have the strength to lift a finger.
The others lay strewn around him, wails rising on all sides. Those who could still wail were doing comparatively well; some had already fainted.
"You only have two incense sticks' worth of time to rest. After that, anyone who can't get up can get the hell out!" The instructor's emotionless voice echoed in Lin Fan's ears. He did not treat them as human at all.
[Without becoming a martial artist, you are ultimately an ant. No one will treat you as human.]
Lin Fan gained a clearer understanding of this widespread saying, and his determination to establish himself on the martial path grew firmer still.
Those who remained conscious let out waves of wails. With their injuries, never mind two incense sticks' worth of time-being able to get up within two days would already be remarkable.
Lin Fan did not wail. He silently endured the pain that pierced his marrow. Even if he had to stake his life on it, he would stand up within two incense sticks' worth of time.