Beiling Academy

  Military country.

  Beishan Mountain Range, Beishan Academy

  The academy was built on the mountain, covering an area of thousands of acres, with layers of courtyards and pavilions. As the largest academy in Wu State, Beifeng Academy has a strong atmosphere of martial arts, cultivating many literary and military ministers for Wu State. The young men of Wu State regard Beifeng Academy as a place to flock to.

  The Beitang Shuyuan is divided into Lower Academy and Upper Academy.

  The Lower House has over a thousand young students, mostly over ten years old, with actual strength at the Body Tempering stage of one to three layers.

  There were over two hundred students in the Upper Academy, slightly older, fifteen or sixteen years old and above, with actual strength at the fourth to sixth layer of the Body Refining stage.

  The sky was just bright, and in the martial arts training ground of the academy, more than a thousand young men wearing green robes were practicing martial arts. Around the training ground, there were over ten instructors standing with solemn expressions, urging the young men to diligently practice their martial skills.

  Bang! Bang! Bang! ......

  Over a thousand young men stood in formation on the martial arts training grounds, each with a thick wooden stake in front of them. The youths kicked and punched at the stakes, practicing their footwork and fist techniques. The sound of their synchronized punches and kicks filled the air, along with the rustling of their clothes, echoing throughout the entire training grounds.

  Fifteen-year-old Ye Chen practices boxing in this thousand-strong army of students.

  "I've been stuck at the third layer of body refinement for several years, I don't know when I'll be able to break through!"

  Ye Chen thought to himself, his fists and feet striking the hardwood stake with a loud thud. However, his strength was still not enough to break the hardwood stake.

  "Martial artists cultivate themselves, with tempering their physical constitution as the foundation, also known as the Body Tempering Stage."

  The head of the Lower House, an old man in a grey robe, stood with his hands clasped behind his back, his waist straight and his face sternly scanning the young men of the Lower House, shouting harshly.

  The young men stopped as soon as they saw the old man in grey robes begin to speak.

  "The Refining Body period is divided into nine layers. The initial stage of Refining Body, from the first to third layer, refines the physical body, including skin, flesh, tendons and bone marrow. As cultivation progresses, internal energy gradually increases, with the arms becoming strongest, capable of exerting a force of 300 catties, enough to draw open a three-stone heavy bow."

  "Practicing punching and kicking on a wooden stake is the basic training in the early stages of body refinement. Before breaking through the three layers of body refinement with internal force, one must continue to practice. Don't think that practicing on a wooden stake is dull and uninteresting. Many of the top martial artists and high-ranking officials in the Wuguo have practiced punching wooden stakes for many years at Beifeng Academy, putting in their hard work!"

  "Once you break through the initial stage of Lian Ti, you can shatter a hardwood stake with just your fists and feet. As you enter the middle stage of Lian Ti, from the 4th to 6th layer, your bone marrow solidifies, your blood and Qi become increasingly vigorous, until your entire skeletal system is filled with Qi and blood, and your strength reaches its peak at around 600 jin, enough to subdue a fierce tiger. After entering the middle stage of Lian Ti, you can cultivate various martial techniques, such as knife skills, swordsmanship, and spear techniques, greatly enhancing your combat power."

  "You young whippersnappers from the Lower House, take a good look at me! Now I'll let you see the power of someone who has cultivated to the sixth layer of the Refining Body stage!"

  The old man in grey robes came to a stone monument inside the school grounds, stood like a pine tree, and took a deep breath.

  The students of the Lower House all held their breath in rapt attention.

  Suddenly, a faint red glow flashed across the old man's face in grey robes, and his blue veins bulged.

  "No shadow legs!"

  The old man in grey robes let out a loud shout and his right foot flew through the air, sweeping and kicking! Fast, almost invisible leg shadow! Leg split like lightning, swift as thunder.

  "Boom!"

  That thick stone monument was kicked in half by the old man in grey robes with one foot.

  The shattered stone monument flew out ten zhangs away, dust and broken stones filling the air.

  "Refined Body Six Layers, No Shadow Legs!"

  Ye Chen was shocked speechless by this scene. He was still in the third layer of the Refining Body stage, and every day he used a hardwood stake to pound his fists and feet to temper his physique. His strength couldn't even break an arm-thick hardwood stake, let alone break a stone tablet that was as thick as a ruler.

  The power of this kick from the leader of the Lower House was so great that it directly kicked the stone monument to pieces, and its power was several times stronger than his fists.

  "Shi Gang's 'Invisible Foot' is so powerful that even heavy armored cavalry may not be able to withstand it!" "We don't know when we can cultivate to Shi Zongjiao's level of power! With this kind of power, one can become a high-ranking military general in the Martial Nation."

  The young men in the lower house burst into an exclamation, discussing and speculating. They had always looked down on this unimpressive old man in grey robes, but now their gaze at him was filled with a few more shades of reverence.

  In another empty space within the martial arts school, more than 200 young students from the upper courtyard watched Shi Ke show off his leg techniques with a look of disdain. Among the students in the upper courtyard, there were many whose martial skills surpassed those of the older generation.

  The old man in grey robes kicked the stone tablet, took a deep breath and withdrew his energy, extremely satisfied with the power of this kick. He revealed one hand that shocked all the students, and only then slowly said, "I have only cultivated my body to the sixth layer so far. Above this, there are still stronger later stages of body cultivation, from seventh to ninth layers. The internal Qi and blood become even more intense, the energy rises, can reach 900 catties, enough to fight against black bears and rhinoceroses."

  "Reaching the 9th layer of Body Refining, if you were to become a swordsman, you would be qualified to become a National Sword Master of Wuguo. If you were to become an archer, you would be qualified to become a National Divine Archer of Wuguo. A 9th-layer Body Refiner in Wuguo is considered a national-level expert, responsible for safeguarding the safety of the royal city."

  "As for the stage of refining the body, there is an even higher stage of Yuan Shen, where one can wield a flying sword and cast spells with unpredictable divine powers. The first principal of Beimushan Academy was a Sword Immortal who had once served as the State Master of the Wu Kingdom. However, these are not things that ordinary people like us should discuss in detail, so let's just drop it."

  An old man in a grey robe stood with his hands behind his back, exuding an aura as majestic as a mountain. Every gesture he made seemed to convey the air of pointing out the grandeur of the landscape. The old man had every reason to be proud - he had taught at the academy for forty or fifty years, and many high-ranking officials from the Northern Slope Academy would address him as "teacher" with great respect.

  "The Beifeng Academy has been passed down for three hundred years and is the most prestigious school in Wuguo. You young students are still young, mostly over ten years old, and have time to study hard and strive to reach the sixth level of Lian Ti before the age of twenty, through the academy's power assessment and graduation examination!"

  "If you're all twenty years old and still haven't reached the sixth layer of Body Refining, then get out of Northern Spiritual Academy immediately! Don't think you have time to waste! Continue cultivating!"

  The old man in grey robes spoke sternly, waving his hand for the students of the lower courtyard to continue practicing with wooden stakes. He had said these words at least dozens of times before. As for how many people could actually hear them, that was up to their individual fortunes.

  Ye Chen listened carefully to the old man's explanation and heard him mention Wuguo Town's Guo Jianke, Shenshou Shou, and couldn't help but feel a sense of longing.

  The sixth layer of Warrior's Body Tempering was still too far away for him.

  He was just a small commoner, born in an ordinary farming household in the State of Wu. At the age of five, he was sent to this Beishan Academy, where he studied hard for nearly ten years and only managed to reach the third layer of his Tempering Period at the age of fifteen.

  His strength is quite ordinary in the academy, and he can be considered a nobody.

  "This year must break through the third layer of the foundation building period as soon as possible and enter the middle stage of foundation building!"

  Ye Chen's fists heavily smashed onto the hardwood stake, starting his fist practice. He is now fifteen years old and only has five more years to cultivate in the academy.

  One time... Two times.

  Ye Chen's muscles were tense all over, every punch and kick exerting his utmost strength to strike the wooden stake. His fists scraped off skin, revealing bloodstains, and sweat had soaked through his coarse linen shirt. His entire body ached with muscle soreness, his legs and arms severely drained of energy, starting to tremble.

  "Keep going!"

  Ye Chen still gritted his teeth and persisted, enduring the intense fatigue of every inch of muscle in his body.

  In the midst of extreme physical exhaustion and numbness, Ye Chen suddenly felt a thread of new vitality emerging from the deepest part of his spinal vertebrae. The vertebrae are the root of a warrior's energy, and this new vitality came extremely quickly and fiercely, almost instantly flooding his entire body.

  "Ah!"

  Ye Chen exerted all his strength, suddenly shouting and jumping up, one foot flying to kick the hard wooden stake in front of him.

  Bang!

  The hardwood stake burst and blasted out many wooden chips.

  "Breakthrough! I finally broke through the hardwood stake! I've reached the 4th layer of Body Tempering!"

  Ye Chen stared incredulously at the shattered hardwood stake, one knee on the ground, clenching his fists tightly, unable to contain the excitement and ecstasy in his heart.

  In an instant, nearly a thousand young students from the surrounding lower courts heard the sound and almost all of them stopped in silence, their eyes fixed on Ye Qin with a mixture of astonishment and admiration.

  The hardwood stakes on the school field are specially made and can withstand continuous blows of 300 catties. Only when one reaches the fourth level of body refinement, with a force that breaks through 400 catties, can they be broken by a full-force strike.

  Ye Chen had been practicing bitterly for many years and finally made a breakthrough today.

  He can finally enter the upper house of the academy, which also means that his status in the Northern Academy has been greatly improved. From over a thousand young disciples in the lower house to entering the upper house with only over two hundred young disciples.

  "Very good, our academy has another upper house student, you all should learn from him and work hard in your studies."

  The old man in grey robes saw this scene from afar and gave his praise without hesitation. He then called Ye Chen over and asked, "What's your name?"

  "Disciple Ye Chen, has seen Chief Instructor Shi!"

  Ye Chen's emotions surged as he cupped his hands, emerging from the thousand-strong phalanx of students striking wooden stakes in the lower courtyard under the watchful eyes of all. Ye Chen knew that once he became an upper courtyard student, he would no longer strike wooden stakes to cultivate his fists and feet, but could begin cultivating true martial arts.

  More than 200 students of the Upper Academy were practicing on the other side of the empty space in the Wu Xing School, in groups of three or two, practicing various advanced martial arts such as Tongren Zhuang, Plum Blossom Pole, Broadsword, Leg Method, Fist Method, Horse Archery and so on.

  The old man in grey led Ye Chen to the other side of the martial arts training ground, where they watched young students from various academies practicing their martial skills.

  "You can choose to learn a more advanced martial skill, including knife skills, swordplay, spear techniques, archery, and body techniques. Most of them are powerful martial skills. Which one do you want to learn?"

  The old man in grey robes smiled and said.

  Ye Chen's eyes shone brightly as he looked at the senior brothers and sisters of the Upper Court cultivating, but he couldn't see anything special, so he turned his head to ask, "Headmaster, among the senior brothers and sisters of the Upper Court, who has the strongest combat power and what are they practicing?"

  "Everyone in the Upper House is a master, but the strongest one is your Senior Brother Yan Han, who has reached the sixth layer of the Refining Body stage and practices the 'Tiger Leaping Knife Technique'!"

  "Then I'll learn Tiger Leaping Knife too!"

  Ye Chen thought for a moment and said.

  His idea was simple: since Sheng Han's senior brother in the Upper House had the strongest power and learned the "Tiger Leaping Knife Method", he would also learn this knife method.