19: Chapter 19 Becoming a Martial Artist

Lin Tian returned to the Qingfeng Martial Arts Hall and trained even harder.

Every day, he woke up before dawn to practice the Five Elements Stance first.

Diamond Stance, Green Wood Stance, Flowing Water Stance, Raging Fire Stance, Thick Earth Stance—he cycled through all five movements, practicing for a full hour each time.

With the Five Elements Stance at the Minor Achievement Realm, the speed of his Qi circulation far exceeded the introductory level.

With every breath, a rumbling sound like muffled thunder rolled within his body, and the Qi throughout his body felt like mercury and paste, scouring his muscles and bones.

After breakfast, he went to the pharmacy to collect the body strengthening soup.

After drinking the soup, he continued practicing the stances.

After a short rest following lunch, he practiced the Metal Element Fist and Wood Element Fist in the afternoon.

Both sets of fist techniques were at the introductory level, but he was still three hundred repetitions away from Minor Achievement.

Lin Tian was not in a hurry, polishing his technique one repetition at a time, striving for perfection in every punch.

Returning to his quarters at night, he continued practicing the Five Elements Stance until late.

Day after day, he never stopped.

[Five Elements Stance proficiency + 1]

[Five Elements Stance proficiency + 1]

The System's notification sound became the most familiar sound in his life.

Half a month later, the proficiency of the Five Elements Stance reached 150/300.

A month later, it was 295/300.

Late that night, Lin Tian was practicing the stances in the courtyard as usual.

Diamond Stance rose, his Qi heavy like a mountain; Green Wood Stance turned, his vitality enduring like a forest; Flowing Water Stance was soft, his Qi flowing like a stream; Raging Fire Stance was explosive, his Qi burning like fire; Thick Earth Stance closed, his Qi solidifying like the earth.

The one-hundredth repetition.

The moment he finished the stance, Lin Tian felt a massive tremor inside his body.

[Five Elements Stance proficiency + 1]

[Proficiency has reached 300/300]

[Five Elements Stance Breakthrough: [Next stage: Mastery, (0/500)]]

A warm current surged from his Dantian, more intense than any previous Breakthrough.

This warm current was as hot as magma, rushing wildly along his Meridians, and wherever it passed, his muscles, bones, and fascia trembled violently.

Lin Tian gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, and sweat poured down like rain.

He could feel that his body was undergoing some fundamental change.

The warm current scoured him for a full quarter of an hour before gradually subsiding.

Lin Tian opened his eyes and exhaled a long, turbid breath.

This breath condensed into a white arrow of air, shooting out over a zhang away and hitting the courtyard wall, actually leaving a shallow dent.

He clenched his fist.

It was different.

There was now a power within his body that he could command at will—that was Qi.

When practicing martial arts before, his Qi was scattered, existing within his muscles and bones, unable to be actively mobilized.

But now, he could clearly sense the Qi flowing through his Meridians, and with a single thought, the Qi could instantly gather in any part of his body.

He walked over to the five-hundred-catty boulder in the corner of the courtyard.

He clenched his right fist, focused his intent, and the Qi within his body surged out, following the Meridians in his arm, and instantly gathered at the tip of his fist.

He threw a punch.

"Bang!"

The boulder shattered upon impact, and gravel splattered everywhere.

Lin Tian looked at his fist, his eyes full of shock.

The power of this punch was more than double what it had been before.

He walked over to another thousand-catty boulder.

This was a stone specifically used by the martial arts hall to test the strength of First-Rank Martial Artists; it weighed a thousand catties, and ordinary people couldn't budge it at all.

Lin Tian took a deep breath, hooked his hands around the bottom of the stone, exerted force with his waist and back, and channeled his Qi to the fullest.

"Up—!"

The thousand-catty boulder left the ground in response, and he slowly lifted it over his head.

Although he only held it for three breaths before he had to put it down, Lin Tian had already confirmed it.

A thousand catties of strength.

First-Rank Martial Artist.

He had finally stepped onto the true path of the Dao of martial arts.

The end-of-month assessment arrived on schedule.

On the Training Ground, more than twenty new Disciples gathered.

Liu Yunfeng and other wealthy heirs were all there; after a month of hard training, a few more had broken through to the introductory Realm, but most were still stagnant.

Huang Yuanshan stood in front of the field, expressionless, his gaze sweeping over the crowd.

"A month has passed. Today's assessment is to check your cultivation progress."

Everyone became nervous.

Failing the monthly exam meant punishment, and failing twice in a row meant being expelled from the martial arts hall.

No one dared to be careless.

"First, Liu Yunfeng."

Liu Yunfeng took a deep breath, walked into the field, and performed the Five Elements Stance.

He practiced well; his movements were standard, and his Qi circulation was smooth, clearly showing much more progress than last month.

"Middle Stage of the introductory level, acceptable." Huang Yuanshan nodded.

Liu Yunfeng breathed a sigh of relief and stepped aside.

Next, the other Disciples took the field one after another.

Some performed well, while others performed poorly.

Those who finished were either happy or sad.

Finally, it was the last person's turn.

"Lin Tian."

Lin Tian walked out of the crowd.

Lin Tian walked into the field and cupped his hands in a salute to Huang Yuanshan.

Huang Yuanshan nodded, about to say "Begin," when he suddenly froze.

Something was wrong.

The aura on this kid...

Lin Tian did not give him time to think, directly setting up the Five Elements Stance.

Diamond Stance rose, his Qi heavy like a mountain.

The rumbling sound within his body was like muffled thunder, and people within a radius of three zhang could hear it clearly.

Green Wood Stance turned, his vitality enduring like a forest.

There was a faint scent of vegetation in the air, the outward manifestation of Qi concentrated to the extreme.

Flowing Water Stance was soft, his Qi flowing like a stream.

Beneath the skin all over his body, the traces of Qi flow were clearly visible, winding like a stream.

Raging Fire Stance was explosive, his Qi burning like fire.

The temperature of the surrounding air seemed to have risen by several degrees, and the few Disciples standing nearby subconsciously backed away.

Thick Earth Stance closed, his Qi solidifying like the earth.

An invisible pressure permeated, pressing down until people couldn't catch their breath.

After finishing the five movements, he withdrew his energy and stood still.

The whole place was deathly silent.

Huang Yuanshan stood up with a "thump," his eyes wide open, staring fixedly at Lin Tian, his lips trembling, but he couldn't make a sound.

Liu Yunfeng had his mouth agape, his eyes almost popping out.

The other Disciples were all dumbfounded, their minds blank.

After a long while, Huang Yuanshan squeezed a sentence out of his throat:

"A... A First-Rank Martial Artist?"

He rushed to Lin Tian, grabbed his wrist, and probed with his Qi to sense carefully.

Three breaths later, he let go of his hand and laughed up at the sky:

"Good! Very good! The Qi is solid like mercury and flows at will; it is exactly that of a First-Rank Martial Artist! Lin Tian, you kid... in one month, you broke through to the First Rank!"

This sounded like a thunderclap.

"First Rank?"

"How is that possible! How long has he even been practicing?"

Liu Yunfeng's legs went soft, and he almost sat on the ground.

Forty-five taels of silver—it was worth it.

It was so worth it!

The news quickly reached the upper management of the martial arts hall.

Huang Yuanshan went to the residence of the Hall Master himself and reported the matter in detail.

After listening, Hall Master Li Qingfeng was silent for a long time before slowly saying:

"A few months, from scratch to the First Rank. This person's talent... is not below mine."

He stood up, walked to the window, and looked at the scenery in the courtyard:

"Pass down the order: from today on, Lin Tian is an official Disciple of the martial arts hall and will enjoy the treatment of an official Disciple. Also—"

He paused:

"Arrange a good job for him. Such a Genius must not be buried."

Huang Yuanshan cupped his hands: "Hall Master, the Sifang Pavilion happens to need someone to hold down the fort, what do you think..."

Li Qingfeng nodded: "That will do."

The so-called good job was a "posted position."

After becoming a First-Rank Martial Artist, one possesses a thousand catties of strength and greatly increased power, counting as an expert in one's own right.

Such people can work as bailiffs at the yamen, guards at escort agencies, or bodyguards for wealthy families.

They receive a monthly salary and don't delay their Cultivation.

But jobs also have their differences.

Some are dangerous, some are hard, while others are both leisurely and well-paid.

The Sifang Pavilion was just such a good job.

It was an industry under the Qingfeng Martial Arts Hall, located in a prosperous area of Heishan City, dealing in medicinal herbs, weapons, and martial arts classics.

Usually, there were shopkeepers and clerks in the pavilion to manage things, and Lin Tian's role was to "hold down the fort"—he would step in to resolve trouble if someone caused it, and drink tea and Cultivate when there was nothing to do.

The monthly salary was eight taels of silver, and he could collect an extra portion of body strengthening soup.

More importantly, it was leisurely, with plenty of time for Cultivation.

Many people had their eyes on this job.

Elder Sun's son, Sun Hao, had long wanted to go to the Sifang Pavilion.

For this, Elder Sun had been active, pulling strings, and it was almost a done deal.

As a result, Lin Tian appeared out of nowhere and snatched the position away.

When Lin Tian heard the news, he was practicing boxing in the courtyard.

"Sifang Pavilion? Eight taels of silver a month, plus extra body strengthening soup?"

He was stunned.

Eight taels of silver!

A family in Lin Family Village couldn't save that much in a year!

Not to mention the body strengthening soup, and the ample time for Cultivation.

This was simply a dream job!

"Master Huang, is... is this true?" Lin Tian couldn't believe it.

Master Huang patted his shoulder with a smile: "The Hall Master decided it personally, how could it be fake? Kid, your talent is unparalleled, and the Hall Master thinks highly of you. Cultivate well; the path you will walk in the future is much farther than ours."

Lin Tian took a deep breath and bowed deeply with cupped hands:

"Thank you, Master Huang! Thank you, Hall Master!"

Master Huang waved his hand: "Pack your things, go report to the Sifang Pavilion in two days."

Meanwhile, at Elder Sun's home.

"Bang!"

A teacup was ruthlessly thrown to the ground, and fragments scattered everywhere.

Sun Hao was full of rage, his eyes red: "Dad! The job at the Sifang Pavilion was snatched by someone! Didn't you say it was for me? How did you give it to someone else in the blink of an eye?"

Elder Sun sat in the grand armchair, his face so gloomy it could drip water.

"That Lin Tian, what kind of thing is he? I know all the geniuses in the martial arts hall, I've never heard of this person!" Sun Hao gritted his teeth.

"A newcomer." Elder Sun said coldly, "He hasn't been in the martial arts hall for more than a few months."

"What? A newcomer?" Sun Hao's voice changed pitch, "A newcomer snatched my job? Are you kidding me!"

He stood up abruptly:

"I don't accept this!"

"Whether you accept it or not, you have to." Elder Sun said in a deep voice, "This was decided by several Elders together, and the Hall Master also nodded."

"So what?" Sun Hao said angrily, "The martial arts hall has rules, official Disciples can challenge! I want to challenge him!"

A gleam of light flashed in Elder Sun's eyes.

A challenge?

That was a way.

If Sun Hao won, he could not only get the job back, but also slap those old guys in the face.

Even if he lost, there was no loss—a kid who had just entered the First Rank, how much ability could he have?

He pondered for a moment and slowly nodded:

"Fine. You challenge him. It will save others from thinking that my Sun family is easy to bully."