Chapter 687: Black Tiger

The tide of the world: after unity, division; after division, unity.

Since the fall of the ancient Xia dynasty, the world plunged into a prolonged era of darkness and chaos...

During this dark age, even the calendar grew vague.

In this era, martial artists waged endless civil wars; countless died in internal strife, while ferocious beasts multiplied and rampaged through human cities.

Only when the Great Kang’s founding emperor raised his three-foot sword and pacified the land did the Nine Provinces reunify once more.

This marks the dividing line between ancient and modern times.

The Great Kang founding emperor comprehended the Dao of Heaven and Humanity, established a new martial system, instituted the “Nine Ranks,” organized all sects under heaven, and single-handedly suppressed the world for five hundred years!

Unfortunately, once five hundred years passed, it all turned to ash.

Moreover, his descendants produced too few outstanding talents; over countless years, not a single one reached the Great Kang founding emperor’s realm.

Thus, after the Great Kang founding emperor’s death, the world immediately plunged into chaos for sixty years.

After sixty years, the Great Yuan founding emperor rose, likewise reaching the Great Kang founding emperor’s realm and suppressing the world for five hundred years; the Great Yuan founding emperor was luckier, for among his descendants, someone broke through to the pinnacle of martial cultivation and continued ruling for another five hundred years.

Yet history’s rise and fall never rests in human hands; after this emperor’s passing, the Great Yuan swiftly declined as regional warlords rose, each carving out their own domain.

Martial cultivation flourished increasingly, with powerful cultivators continuously breaking through the martial pinnacle—no one could ever again unify the world.

As time passed, the last descendants of the Great Yuan perished, and each martial pinnacle master founded their own sect, passing down their lineage...

The Nine Provinces sank fully into the “Era Without Emperors,” with the “One Temple, Two Sects, Six Major Schools” nine supreme sects each dominating a region.

Amid the gaps between these great powers lay countless second-tier factions and numerous aristocratic clans.

This was the age of martial flourishing.

Nearly every major sect harbored the ambition to unify the world!

They recruited disciples widely, hoping martial cultivation would continue advancing until a being emerged who could break through the martial pinnacle and reunify the world once more!

To bring the world to a single order!

The Five Animals Sect was one of the “Six Major Schools” among the “One Temple, Two Sects, Six Major Schools,” controlling most of Chuzhou.

On this day.

In the courtyard of the White Deer Academy.

One by one, children stood solemnly, watching a burly man with a tiger’s back and bear’s waist respectfully insert three green incense sticks, as thick as a thumb, into a bronze censer before him.

The man turned, his face thick with muscle, devoid of any smile: “After paying homage to our ancestral master, you are now disciples of the White Deer Lower Academy of the Five Animals Sect... We have five lower academies: Tiger, Deer, Bear, Monkey, Crane! We recruit widely each year—you pay, you enter. But whether you can enter the ranks, successfully refine internal energy, and ascend to sixth rank to become a true disciple of the Five Animals Sect depends entirely on your destiny...”

The man’s voice boomed like thunder, making the children’s eardrums ache.

Below, a twelve-year-old boy in training attire listened solemnly.

Around his neck hung a stone talisman—the True Martial Talisman!

This boy was Gou San—no, Xun Lao Liu’s child, whose real name was Xun Heihu!

After the New Year, his father Xun Lao Liu spent five hundred taels of silver to enroll him in the White Deer Academy as a proud outer disciple of the Five Animals Sect.

Still, the kind who could be expelled at any moment...

Inside the True Martial Talisman.

Fang Xing sat on a stone chair, one hand propping his chin, the other idly tapping the chairback.

The True Martial Talisman concealed its divine nature; Xun Lao Liu pondered it for ages but discerned nothing. Later, he consulted a master of jade and stone appraisal, who deemed it worthless, so he tossed it aside.

Later, Xun Heihu saw it; the child liked it, and Xun Lao Liu, unbothered by any ill omen, gave it to him as a trinket.

Until now, it had been brought along to the White Deer Lower Academy.

Outside, the burly man’s words continued:

“Martial cultivation has nine ranks, each step a pinnacle. The lower three ranks are foundational—strengthening the body. Once you enter the ranks and achieve Ninth Rank Bronze Gate, you become ‘body like bronze, strength like an ox,’ utterly distinct from ordinary people; you may freely join a sect’s army and enter as a squad leader or corporal!”

“But this is merely laying the foundation. The lower three ranks are all about thickening your roots, preparing for the breakthrough to the middle three ranks...”

“If you reach Sixth Rank—Internal Energy—hah, even wandering the martial world, you’ll be considered a capable hand.”

“Middle-rank martial artists live two hundred years! With rare treasures and proper care, living three hundred years is easy!”

“As for upper-rank masters, they are the elite worthy of competing for positions on the Dragon-Tiger List. Those near the top of the Dragon-Tiger List, in ancient times, were figures like the Great Kang founding emperor or the Great Yuan founding emperor—capable of easily unifying the world and quelling chaos... with lifespans reaching five hundred years!”

Fang Xing listened carefully, realizing that as the world’s primordial essence evolved, martial cultivation here was indeed progressing.

The burly man mentioned these things in martial enlightenment merely to give these youths a goal.

In reality... even a few promising candidates for Sixth Rank Internal Energy would be cause for celebration.

“Enough. What you must now consider is how to enter the ranks!”

The burly man gave the youths no chance to ask questions, continuing: “Your families paid five hundred taels to send you here! Is that much? Not at all! I’ll tell you—even the ‘Bronze-Lead Pills’ used merely to prepare for Ninth Rank require rare herbs, mixed with copper, iron, and lead to refine... one pill costs one tael of silver!”

“Martial cultivation is about money—mountains of silver. If you succeed in entering the ranks, you’ve already earned back your five hundred taels. If you break through Eighth Rank, the sect will start paying you!”

At these words, youths from poorer families, like Xun Heihu, brightened.

“Master Xiong, when do we start taking the pills?”

A boy in brocade robes asked from the front.

“Take pills? Take your own egg!” Master Xiong cursed. “Why do you only begin training after age ten? Because pill-taking severely damages the body—ordinary people who swallow even one ‘Bronze-Lead Pill’ burn out their intestines!”

“Thus, the first step in martial cultivation is: train, nourish, eat!”

“Practice stances, nourish blood and qi, consume tonic herbs!”

“Only when your body is sturdy and your blood and qi robust do you attempt pills—using your blood and qi to digest their power, repeatedly damaging and healing your body to forge the ‘Bronze Gate’!”

“What I now teach you is the White Deer Academy’s secret technique: the White Deer Stance. The verse goes: ‘White Deer wanders forest, standing like pine; step turns Seven Stars, momentum like rainbow; qi sinks to dantian, embracing sun and moon; yin-yang Four Symbols guard the cosmos...’”

Master Xiong assumed a stance; though burly, he somehow radiated lightness: “The White Deer Stance first requires rooted feet, second, sharp eyes. If you can’t be agile, start with sharp eyes—use your gaze’s force...”

He had the youths stand in formation, then walked among them, slapping those who performed poorly.

Slap!

The slapped youths gritted their teeth, bowed to thank the instructor, then rose and resumed training.

“From today, you stand the White Deer Stance for one hour daily, followed by physical training, reading, and writing... all three meals are medicinal porridge, meant to nourish blood and qi.”

Master Xiong smiled suddenly: “An ancient saying goes: ‘A hundred days build the martial foundation!’ Therefore, after three months, we will hold the first assessment. If you still cannot enter trance, move your blood and qi... you will be expelled immediately from the White Deer Academy. Such a waste doesn’t even have the qualification to take pills—meaning your families’ five hundred taels are lost.”

At these words, Fang Xing clearly felt Xun Heihu tremble, clenching his fists tightly.

!

He could almost hear the boy’s inner voice—‘I must move blood and qi! I cannot be eliminated!’

Two months later.

On the training ground.

Xun Heihu moved like a white deer, beads of sweat the size of beans dripping from his forehead.

Splash!

Sweat droplets fell, shattering into eight pieces on the blue stone slabs.

“Huff... huff...”

He panted: “Blood and qi... still just a little short. Ten days left until assessment.”

“Heihu...”

A boy with thick eyebrows and large eyes glanced over: “How’s it going?”

This was Xun Heihu’s friend—Zhao Daniu.

He shook his head: “Still no luck...”

“Sigh.”

Zhao Daniu sat on the ground with no dignity: “I heard the geniuses from martial clans, like Wei Chi Gang and the others, mastered blood and qi in their first month and applied for ‘Bronze-Lead Pills’... Yesterday, Ye Fengchun broke through too.”

Xun Heihu fell silent.

Those aristocratic martial prodigies had consumed countless tonics since childhood, guided by elders—he knew he couldn’t compete, and didn’t even try.

But Ye Fengchun?

He was a childhood friend from the same town, his family weavers.

Being surpassed by this friend filled him with bitter resentment.

‘No... I can’t be expelled in three months. I must enter the ranks. I must reach Sixth Rank and truly join the Five Animals Sect!’

Xun Heihu’s heart burned with anxiety.

His gaze swept over to the girls’ side, where a girl with an excellent figure stood.

Girls always developed earlier; she seemed to glance his way.

He quickly lowered his head, hiding his gaze.

Night fell.

In a daze, Xun Heihu arrived at a stone hall.

“This... where is this? Wasn’t I in my dormitory?”

Xun Heihu widened his eyes, staring at the hazy gray mist and towering stone pillars.

Up ahead, on many steps, stood a hazy human silhouette.

“This is inside the True Martial Talisman.”

Fang Xing spoke calmly; after observing so long, he finally began to act.

The so-called "action" means I find this kid likable and plan to nurture him.

"True Martial Talisman?"

Xun Heihu widened his eyes: "What is this?"

"The True Martial Talisman is a supreme treasure of martial cultivation. Since you have affinity with it, it will aid you... Aren't you troubled by your qi and blood bottleneck? Within the True Martial Talisman, breaking through barriers is its greatest strength—whether it's mastering qi and blood, entering the ranks in the future, or surging past the thresholds from seventh rank to sixth, or from fourth to third..."

Fang Xing smiled: "Don't believe me? You can try."

(End of Chapter)