Having only reached the eighth rank of the martial path in middle age, Instructor Xu's comprehension and bone structure were indeed ordinary, and he had seen and envied many geniuses who progressed much faster.
Yet before the Huang Tian of today, those geniuses seemed to pale in comparison. Mastering the Spirit Tiger Demon Crane Stance in a mere breath and developing force could no longer be described by the mere word "genius"!
Instructor Xu was stunned, and the martial students below the platform were plunged into a semi-dazed stupor. At this moment, they didn't even have room for jealousy—all they felt was doubt about life itself. Why was such a genius practicing martial arts alongside them? Wasn't this far too demoralizing?
Only when Huang Tian concluded his form did Instructor Xu barely manage to calm himself, speaking with exceptional sincerity:
"You... I can no longer find words to describe your comprehension. In all my life, I have never seen anyone with comprehension as high as yours. However, the greater one's innate talent and comprehension, the more diligently and bitterly one must train.
"Above the martial path, one does not see geniuses; one only sees the strong. If you do not become a powerhouse, no matter how great your talent, no one will revere you. You must keep this firmly in mind."
Huang Tian nodded.
"Since you have cultivated force, I will tell you how to nourish your vitality and blood with it."
Instructor Xu said slowly, "When force is newly born, it is relatively weak. But the longer you practice the stance work, the more abundant and potent that force becomes.
"Under your guidance, it can clear the meridians and temper the skin, tendons, and bones, thereby turning your body into a crucible that brings your vitality and blood to a boil. Within that crucible, your vitality and blood will gradually become more condensed, until at a certain point it naturally propels you through a breakthrough in realm.
"However, if you want your vitality and blood to grow and condense, you cannot do without proper nutritional nourishment, or else the more you train, the more depleted you will become, eventually breaking down your body.
"Still, you need not worry about resources. Once you martial students produce force, you can receive medicinal soup provided by the Guard Academy at the dining hall for all three daily meals. This medicinal soup can sustain your daily stance training."
Speaking to this point, he paused and asked, "Do you have your wooden identity token on you?"
"I do."
Huang Tian produced the wooden token he had received yesterday, inscribed with "Huang Tian, Yi-32." Taking it, Instructor Xu used his finger like a blade, channeling his force to carve a small character "Xu" onto its surface.
"Starting today, you can present this wooden token to claim your share of the medicinal soup. Remember, however: take only what you need to drink. Drinking a few extra bowls is fine, but you must never secretly stash it away to sell. If caught, you will face severe punishment."
"Thank you, Instructor. I understand."
"Alright. Since you have already developed force, go to the side to temper your vitality and blood. There is no need to keep following me in practicing the Spirit Tiger Stance."
Instructor Xu sent Huang Tian aside to practice on his own, then looked down at the martial students muttering below the earthen platform, shouting, "What are you clamoring about? Silence, all of you!"
The scene immediately went quiet.
"Huang Tian developed force in an instant because his comprehension is extraordinary. Since you do not possess comprehension like his, listen attentively to my instruction!" Instructor Xu said. "Next, I will demonstrate the Demon Crane Stance. You will choose between the Spirit Tiger Stance and the Demon Crane Stance whichever suits you best to practice. Understood?"
"Understood!"
"Good. Watch closely!"
Instructor Xu nodded slightly, then began to perform the Demon Crane Stance. Spurred on by Huang Tian's display, the martial students below watched him with utmost focus as he assumed the stance, breathed, and channeled his force.
Meanwhile, Huang Tian walked off to the side on his own, slowly practicing the Spirit Tiger Demon Crane Stance. As he moved through the form, he pondered.
'This Tiger Crane Jin... could it be practiced together with my thunderous body tempering secret technique? Let's give it a try!'
With a shift in thought, his body continued the stance while faint, nearly imperceptible rumbles of thunder suddenly sounded within him.
Invisible sonic waves continuously vibrated between his chest and abdomen, finely forging his skin, flesh, tendons, and bones, working in concert with the Tiger Crane Jin circulating through his frame.
The moment the thunderous sound made contact with the force—
Boom—!
The vitality and blood throughout his entire body surged like oil poured onto a fire, erupting and boiling like an ignited volcano!
If someone were to press an ear against his chest, they could even hear the bubbling, scalding sound of boiling blood!
'Paired with the thunderous body tempering, the speed of nourishing vitality and blood is astonishing!
'It's as if a violent chemical reaction took place—nearly five to six times faster than practicing the stance work alone!'
He made a rough calculation. At this current rate of nourishing vitality and blood, he would only need ten days to successfully enter the ranks!
For most martial novices, this was nothing short of a miracle. Unless one had spirit pills and precious medicines to aid cultivation, most people took at least two to three months—some even several years—to bridge the gap from generating force to entering the ranks. That was precisely why the Guard Academy gave a six-month deadline.
Breaking through within six months was considered decent and worthy of continued nurturing. Taking longer than six months to a year indicated ordinary aptitude, lacking much value for cultivation, in which case one could only be assigned to become a guardsman.
'Entering the ranks in just a few days might be showing too sharp an edge. Should I conceal it a bit?'
The thought flickered through his mind, but Huang Tian discarded it an instant later.
Conceal? Conceal my ass!
Did he really have to play the pig and pretend to be mediocre?
Completely pointless!
His only goal was to speedrun this world and witness the view from the pinnacle of creation!
Therefore, not only would he not hide it, but he would also break through quickly, displaying his talent without reservation. Only then could he catch the attention of higher-ups and receive better resources and training!
Having made up his mind, Huang Tian focused even more intensely on working through the stance, tempering his vitality and blood internally.
Time passed quickly until midday. The martial students were dismissed, and Huang Tian paused his training, preparing to head to the dining hall for lunch and to claim his medicinal soup. Wherever he went, however, the gazes of everyone around followed him.
Especially while eating in the dining hall, the news that he had cultivated Tiger Crane Jin in an instant had spread to nearly all the newly admitted martial students of the Guard Academy. Everyone cast glances of amazement and envy his way.
Huang Tian paid no heed to those gazes. After drinking the medicinal soup, he returned to his quarters.
In the afternoon, there was no need to go to the drill ground to train. The instructors only taught stance work in the morning, leaving the students free to do as they pleased in the afternoon.
Exhausted after half a day of stance training, some lazily lounged in their rooms to rest, while others returned to the drill ground to keep practicing. Huang Tian couldn't be bothered to go to the drill ground to be gawked at by a crowd, so he remained in his room to temper his vitality and blood in solitude.
When Jiang Hou and He Xu returned to the room after lunch, they saw Huang Tian already practicing the stance with practiced ease. Filled with envy, they wanted to strike up a conversation to get closer, but felt a bit embarrassed. Still, they were roommates and would be living together for some time to come, so there would be plenty of chances to deepen their friendship.
Unless one entered the ranks, one wouldn't be reassigned to the Upper Quarters, Room Jia, to live in a single private room.
Seeing that even someone with Huang Tian's exceptional talent and comprehension worked so diligently, Jiang Hou and He Xu gritted their teeth despite their aching bodies and began practicing the stance as well. The two stood in the open space outside the room, clumsily assuming the stance postures as beads of sweat dripped down.
Wave after wave of soreness washed over them, making them secretly groan in agony. Yet every time they wanted to give up, they looked over at Huang Tian still diligently drilling his stance, and their hearts hardened with resolve: 'We can't compete in talent, but can't we even match him in enduring hardship?'
However...
Come nightfall.
"We can't compete! We really can't compete!"
Watching Huang Tian still bitterly practicing and tempering his vitality and blood under the moonlight, the two collapsed hopelessly on the ground in utter exhaustion, their eyes hollow, feeling as if life had lost all meaning...
Chapter 52