Chapter 8

"Master, this young man wants to learn martial arts."

Jiang Ye led the siblings through the outer court to the edge of the inner-court martial arts field.

Liu Qingshi was facing away from them, correcting the force-generating posture of a disciple's Mountain-Crushing Fist, and turned around slowly upon hearing the sound.

The disciples practicing boxing in the courtyard just glanced over casually and retracted their gazes.

Similar scenes, they had long since become accustomed to.

"What are your names?"

Liu Qingshi's gaze swept over the siblings, his tone flat, unable to hear joy or anger, but it carried a majesty that made people afraid to be slow.

"I... I..."

The younger brother was seeing a martial artist with such momentum as Liu Qingshi for the first time.

Swept by the gaze as steady as a mountain, he instantly turned pale, his throat seemed to be blocked by something, and he stammered, unable to say a complete sentence.

It was the sister who stabilized her mind, took half a step forward, bowed slightly, her voice trembling but clearly answering: "Master, my name is Hu Li, and he is my younger brother, Hu Tian."

"Surname Hu..."

Liu Qingshi thought thoughtfully, "Are you from Hu Village outside the city?"

Hu Li's eyes lit up, and she nodded repeatedly: "Yes, Master, we are indeed from Hu Village."

Confirming the origin, Liu Qingshi nodded slightly, his gaze falling back on the panicked Hu Tian, and he said in a deep voice:

"If you want to learn martial arts, the first thing is to touch the bones to see if you have this foundation and qualification."

His voice was not high, but every word was clear, carrying unquestionable rules.

"If the bone structure is truly unbearable, I won't take your money and waste your future in vain."

He didn't show impatience because of Hu Tian's fear, but stepped forward two steps, extending his hands with thick joints and covered in thick calluses.

"Relax, don't tense up."

Liu Qingshi's voice was low, carrying a steady sense that made people believe him involuntarily.

He first pressed and kneaded quickly on several key bones of Hu Tian's shoulders, spine, and arms, his movements crisp and neat.

Hu Tian's body was stiff, cold sweat seeping from his forehead, almost screaming in pain.

However, seeing Hu Li shake her head at him, he could only grit his teeth and endure, not daring to move.

Hu Li, on the side, clenched her fists tightly, her nails almost pinching into her palms, her eyes staring at Liu Qingshi's expression without blinking.

Jiang Ye stood quietly a little further away, his gaze lowered, as if he were just responsibly leading the way, indifferent to what was happening before him.

But his peripheral vision took in every subtle movement of Liu Qingshi and the instinctive reaction of Hu Tian's body under the pressure.

"This kid... could his bone structure be good?"

Jiang Ye's heart moved slightly.

He saw a trace of hidden surprise on Liu Qingshi's firm face.

After a while, Liu Qingshi let go, but a rare hesitation appeared between his brows.

He didn't pronounce judgment immediately, but squatted down, his hands steadily supporting Hu Tian's knees and ankles, and felt them carefully again, the force sometimes light and sometimes heavy, as if confirming something.

For a long time, he stood up straight, remained silent, and his gaze swept back and forth over the panicked siblings.

Hu Li's heart almost jumped out of her chest, her voice trembling uncontrollably: "Master... my brother... he..."

Liu Qingshi looked at her, then looked at Hu Tian, who was pale and had fear and expectation in his eyes, and a smile appeared on his face:

"Superior bone structure."

The four words fell like thunder.

Hu Li instantly widened her eyes, almost unable to believe her ears.

Hu Tian raised his head suddenly, the paleness replaced by a flush of wild joy, his lips trembling, unable to say a word for a moment.

"Mas... Master... do you mean, my brother can... can learn martial arts? Is that right?"

Hu Li suppressed the excitement that was about to burst out of her chest, her voice still trembling, carefully confirming again.

"Hmm." Liu Qingshi nodded, a satisfied look in his eyes, "His qualification is indeed very good."

"Sister, I... I can learn martial arts! I can really learn martial arts!!!"

Hu Tian finally reacted, the suppressed excitement erupting like a volcano; he grabbed his sister's arm, his eyes instantly turning red.

"Superior bone structure? This kid is actually superior bone structure!"

"In our academy, besides Senior Sister Yiyi, there is also Senior Brother Zhang Xu."

"Doesn't this mean that as long as this kid starts learning martial arts, he will definitely be a Hidden Force expert in the future."

"Is our academy going to produce another genius?"

The inner-court disciples' gazes were instantly attracted, envy, surprise, jealousy, curiosity, all kinds of emotions intertwined.

On the martial path, the most important things are bone structure and comprehension.

Comprehension determines the upper limit of a martial artist, while bone structure is almost a guarantee of the lower limit.

Those with superior bone structure, as long as they have sufficient resources and guidance along the way and don't encounter disasters, are almost guaranteed to step into Hidden Force, and even have great hope of impacting the higher realm of Transformation of Force.

For a time, even the gazes of several core inner-court disciples were cast over.

"Superior bone structure, huh."

Su Yan's beautiful eyes turned slightly, and she quickly calculated in her heart: "Observe for a while to see if this kid is worth investing in."

For a wealthy young lady like her, networking potential talents for the family while learning martial arts at the academy is also her duty.

"Hmph, a kid from the countryside actually has such luck."

Zhang Xu looked at the excited Hu Tian with gloomy eyes, a flash of hidden haze in his eyes, and he thought to himself: "Superior bone structure... it's a good material. Give him some sweetness, and it's not impossible to recruit him for my own use and have an extra obedient dog."

Coming from a wealthy family like him, his thoughts were similar to Su Yan's, but more naked.

"This academy has another genius; I just don't know how far he can go."

Zhao Gang's expression remained honest and steady, with no ripples in his heart.

As a senior member of the academy, he had seen many geniuses.

It's just that not many truly grew up.

Liu Yiyi's reaction was the coldest; her eyes, as cold as snow lotuses, only swept over once and then retracted.

"On the martial path, bone structure is indeed a stepping stone."

Liu Qingshi looked at the excited Hu Tian, his voice returning to his usual steadiness, pouring a bucket of cold water at the right time, and said in a deep voice:

"But what truly determines how far one can go is personal character and perseverance. If one is lazy in practice and cannot endure hardship, even if one possesses superior bone structure, it is just a waste of natural resources and difficult to achieve great things."

These words were like a morning bell, knocking on Hu Tian's ears.

The excitement on his face paused slightly, then turned into a more determined expression, and he nodded vigorously: "Master's teaching, the disciple will keep it in mind!"

Hu Li also quickly suppressed the excitement in her heart, took a deep breath, and solemnly offered the washed-white old money bag with both hands.

"Master, this is the tuition we prepared."

Liu Qingshi took the light but seemingly heavy money bag, didn't weigh it, only opened it to see the few pieces of silver inside.

He took a little from it and handed the money bag back, saying in a deep voice:

"I will first collect one month's tuition from you; if you can master the boxing technique and break through to Bright Force within a month, then the subsequent tuition will be waived."

For disciples with superior bone structure, the academy has its own rules for cherishing talent and encouragement.

"Yes! Master! The disciple will definitely practice diligently and will never fail the Master's high expectations!"

Hu Tian took a deep breath, pressing the full excitement into a heavy determination, and bowed vigorously.

"Let's go." Liu Qingshi nodded slightly and turned to walk toward the outer court, "Before you master the boxing technique, you need to temper your foundation in the outer court. Today, I will first teach you the introductory essentials of the Mountain-Crushing Fist."

This is the convention for the first day of new disciples, personally pointed out by him to show importance.

Hu Li hurriedly pulled her brother to follow, her face filled with excitement and expectation.

Jiang Ye followed the few people unhurriedly, his gaze sweeping calmly over Hu Tian's back, which was trembling slightly from excitement, but there were no ripples in his eyes.

Superior bone structure.

It is indeed an unexpected joy; for the martial arts academy, it is considered a good seedling picked up.

But for him, Jiang Ye...

No matter how good the bone structure is, in front of his superb comprehension, it is nothing more than a firefly compared to the bright moon, dim and colorless.

Hu Tian's arrival was like a giant rock thrown into the outer court, suddenly stirring up layers of ripples and undercurrents.

I don't know how many gazes, either bright or dark, were stuck to Hu Tian like substance—envy, jealousy, unwillingness, resentment, sourness... all kinds of emotions intertwined on young faces.

After all, more than seventy percent of the disciples in this outer court would leave in disappointment when the two-month period arrived because they couldn't "master the boxing technique," and their martial arts dreams would be cut off from then on.

And Hu Tian, who possessed superior bone structure, seemed to have opened an invisible gap with them from the moment he started practicing martial arts.

Under the same roof, breathing the same air, enduring the same sun and wind, yet destined to head toward a future of clouds and mud.

With such a contrast, how many people can truly be calm?

Some sighed, some hated, some gritted their teeth, and some directly started licking...

Among them, the one who moved the fastest and performed the most eye-catchingly was none other than Lin Xiaohe.

After Liu Qingshi pointed out the introductory essentials of the Mountain-Crushing Fist for Hu Tian several times, he left.

Lin Xiaohe was like a nimble bird, lightly "flying" to Hu Tian's side.

"Junior Brother Hu, you are so amazing!"

Her voice was crisp, carrying undisguised admiration, her eyebrows curved, looking up at Hu Tian, who was still at a loss.

"Master only taught it two or three times, and your boxing stance is already quite decent; you are truly worthy of being superior bone structure!"

Her voice was neither high nor low, but just enough for many people nearby to hear clearly, and even Jiang Ye, who was near the gate corridor, took every word into his ears.