Chapter 22: A Once-in-Ten-Thousand Martial Arts Prodigy

"Minor mastery?!"

"Impossible!"

On the wooden platform, Qin Xiong's eyes went wide, and he instinctively stepped forward twice.

Before Li Yuan entered the shop, he had personally felt his bones — middling at best, slightly below average — and he had also seen this fellow's talent with the hammer technique, but…

But it had only been a little over four months.

Even with superior, no, top-tier bone structure, it would be impossible to train the White Ape Cloak Hammer to minor mastery in such a short span of time!

*Slap! *

Qin Xiong's body jolted; Cao Yan raised a hand and pushed him aside:

"Don't block the view!"

Qin Xiong stumbled, blood rushing to his face in a flash, stinging hot, as though he'd been slapped across the cheek.

"Huh?"

On the left side of the wooden platform, Wang Gong, Zhao Zhao Xiaoming, and a few others who didn't need to take the assessment had been somewhat bored stiff, but now they too were startled, exchanging glances, somewhat dumbfounded.

"Good!"

Only Fatty Sun, after a brief stunned pause, flushed red and let out a great shout.

*Boom! *

As the third hammer fell, Li Yuan felt only a sweltering heat in his chest, his blood and qi fully roused.

Since receiving the Soldier-Rearing Register, this was the first time he had unleashed his full strength before outsiders.

The Soldier-Riding Training Hammer, combined with the White Ape Cloak Hammer technique he had already mastered — with this explosive display, he felt as though his entire body was filled with hot air.

Mastery plus mastery equals minor mastery?

Li Yuan had no such thought in his mind at all; he simply drove force from his feet, muscles taut, swung the great hammer in a full arc, and after the rebound of the heavy strike, controlled the great hammer to crash down once more!

"Force rises from the ground, feet like roots, must sink deep; both arms like willows, must be nimble…"

The essence of the White Ape Cloak Hammer kept surfacing in Li Yuan's mind, and he seemed to grasp what Qin Xiong had spoken of that day — the 'Three External Unions.'

Hands unite with feet, elbows with knees, shoulders with hips!

*Boom! *

*Boom! *

*Boom! *

Li Yuan held nothing back, every hammer strike delivered with full force; sparks flew from the iron ingot under his blows, and the compacted yellow clay beneath it caved in.

But he himself was utterly unaffected by the rebound; the returning force of each hammer strike, channeled through his waist, hips, hands, and feet, was added onto the second hammer.

Meanwhile, fellow entry-level apprentices like Niu Gui, Lu Zhong, and Du Yun had long had their rhythm shattered by the hammer sounds; they stood holding their hammers, staring dumbly at the place where the hammer rang out through the air.

"It's not minor mastery — his blood and qi are insufficient — but his hammer technique has undoubtedly reached minor mastery, and what's more, he's grasped the Three External Unions!"

On the wooden platform, Tang Tong couldn't help but slap the desk again, looking toward where the hammer shadows fell, a look of considerable satisfaction in his eyes; even the glance he cast toward his disappointing brother-in-law softened somewhat.

"No wonder it's called the Cloak Hammer!"

This was Li Yuan's first time striking a real object, and the sensation was incomparably intense.

The rebound force of every hammer he brought crashing down was entirely added to the second hammer, which caused his hammer to grow heavier and heavier, faster and faster,

and after ten strikes, he felt as though he were swept up in a gale, his feet barely able to keep their grip; when he forced out thirteen strikes, that tremendous rebound force finally became impossible to dissipate.

"Not good!"

Li Yuan felt a sharp pain at Hukou, and the great hammer flew from his hand, shooting out like a cannonball.

*Whoosh! *

Niu Gui fell on his backside onto the ground, his face deathly pale at having nearly been struck.

In a single leap covering more than ten meters, Qin Xiong caught the flying great hammer with one hand; his expression at this moment was far uglier than Niu Gui's.

Several meters apart, Li Yuan calmly raised his head, flashed a grin, feeling as though a pent-up breath had been expelled — a sense of utter exhilaration.

Stunned now, huh? This grandpa's got a cheat!

*Creak—*

The iron hammer in his grip even groaned, Qin Xiong's chest heaved once, but he said nothing, merely watching coldly.

"Good!"

On the wooden platform, Tang Tong applauded with a sigh of admiration:

"Good lad! Studying martial arts for just over four months, and not only has he grasped the Three External Unions, he can train his hammer technique to such a level — good, very good!"

Dropping the hammer, Qin Xiong walked indifferently to one side.

"Lad, what's your name?"

Tang Tong was extremely pleased.

"Li Yuan, his name is Li Yuan!"

An excited voice rang out; Fatty Sun's face flushed red, as though it were he being praised:

"His breathing method — I taught him!"

"Li Yuan!"

Tang Tong looked toward Cao Yan:

"Head Shopkeeper, this lad can train his hammer technique to such a level in such a short time — clearly his talent is extraordinary. Even if his bone structure is somewhat lacking, he should rank first in this assessment!"

"Mm…"

Cao Yan nodded slightly, looking toward Wang Ding:

"What does the Third Shopkeeper think?"

"With such talent, how his bone structure fares is no longer of great importance, but…"

Wang Ding stroked his long beard, then gave a slight shake of his head:

"There are dozens of apprentices in the Inner Courtyard; the Second Shopkeeper can't possibly attend to them all. I believe one person should be chosen to teach exclusively—

Qin the Guard is very suitable!"

Qin Xiong, who had been scowling moments before, now turned around and bowed: "As the Shopkeepers command…"

"... That old bastard isn't a good man."

Li Yuan sucked the blood from his Hukou, his heart growing cold—he had seen Qin Xiong whispering to that old bastard.

On the wooden platform, the two old rivals faced off; Cao Yan's expression remained unchanged, then after a moment he said:

"Li, Li Yuan? What about you? Will you take Qin the Guard as your master, or enter the Inner Courtyard?"

"I'll enter the Inner Courtyard!"

Li Yuan didn't hesitate a single beat, utterly ignoring Qin Xiong's furious face.

"Good!"

Tang Tong sat down, thoroughly satisfied.

Next, the assessment continued.

But whether on the platform or among the apprentices below, all were distracted; after rushing through the rest, they quickly finalized the new recruits.

One from each courtyard—Li Yuan was not among them; Niu Gui was.

As for the other apprentices taken for bone-reading…

When the Forge Shop recruits apprentices, the first step is bone-reading: the best enter the Inner Courtyard, the middling stay in the Outer City, and the worse must pay to get in.

Yet, on the surface, the nine who entered the Inner Courtyard, along with Wang Gong, Zhao Xiaoming, and others exempt from assessment, all went for bone-reading too.

The one who performed the bone-reading was the burly old man from before.

The old man's name was Zhang Ben, a veteran of the Forge Shop—not a Guard, but retired from the forging chamber; he looked amiable, but his hands were very heavy.

Several young masters and young ladies screamed in pain as he squeezed them, losing all their earlier pretense of composure.

Li Yuan was the last to step forward; before his turn, did he still harbor the thought—that perhaps, like before, he was a rare martial genius, one in ten thousand?

Alas…

"Not bad. Slightly below average."

Zhang Ben released his grip; he wasn't surprised, nor were the apprentices—everyone in the room knew their own bone quality.

Slightly below average.

Niu Gui exhaled in relief.

"Old Master, how exactly do you judge this bone quality? What counts as good, what as bad?"

Rubbing his shoulders and arms, Li Yuan grimaced—this old man's grip was too strong.

"This bone-reading method is like horse connoisseurship."

Zhang Ben smiled and replied:

"Who originally knew what made a good horse or a bad one? Only when the Laozu Sect noticed that horses with certain traits grew larger, ran faster, and had steadier temperaments—

generation after generation passed this down, until it became horse connoisseurship."

The apprentices who had been read gradually dispersed; only Niu Gui and a few others waited until Li Yuan finished, then left—now only Wang Gong, clad in a greatcloak, remained.

"I see."

Li Yuan's mind cleared.

"Bone-reading works the same way. Why exactly? The old man doesn't know—but he knows that those with similar traits learn martial arts faster…"

Having answered his question, Zhang Ben did not leave; he looked at Li Yuan:

"Would you like to join our forging chamber? The Bai Yuan Cloak Hammer only advances quickly through forging…"

"This…"

Li Yuan scratched his palm; the Palm Soldier Scroll reacted strongly.

Inside the room behind Old Zhang, there were at least one or more entry-grade weapons—and the forging chamber folk had easy access to raw iron and such…

"This…"

(End of Chapter)