Every soul present, even the imposing Gongyang Qing and the middle-aged man in grey robes, fell utterly quiet. All eyes were fixed on Teng Qingshan, speechless for a long, drawn-out moment!
To lift a ten-thousand-jin boulder was an incredibly, monumentally difficult feat.
It placed an exceedingly high demand on one's instantaneous burst of inner energy. Anyone who could achieve this was generally termed a 'First-Class Warrior,' also known as a Houtian Peak master.
The Dantian, where the human body stores its inner energy, is akin to an ocean, while the meridians are the rivers flowing from it.
The power an individual could unleash from their arms in a single instant was not dictated by the sheer volume of inner energy stored, but by the width and resilience of the meridians. The wider and tougher the meridians, the more inner energy could flow through them instantaneously, resulting in a more potent explosive force. If the meridians were too narrow, it was like the spout of a kettle—no matter how much water was in the pot, very little could pour out quickly!
Meridian toughness and width could only be improved through repeated cultivation, constantly expanding their capacity.
“A First-Class Warrior at sixteen!” The grey-robed man stared at Teng Qingshan in shock. “In our Guiyuan Sect, in a thousand years, talents like this are few and far between. This young man, Teng Qingshan, is truly comparable to our Young Sect Master.”
“Sixteen years old!”
“A First-Class Warrior. When I was sixteen, I could only manage to lift five hundred jin.”
“Where is this Teng Qingshan from? He’s so strong!” The surrounding warriors began to murmur amongst themselves. Compared to this young man, the previously renowned Gongyang Qing was leagues behind. After all, Gongyang Qing was already thirty-six years old. A thirty-six-year-old First-Class Warrior versus a sixteen-year-old First-Class Warrior.
Who possessed greater potential? Everyone present knew the answer in their hearts.
“Teng Qingshan is the foremost expert in our Yicheng!”
“The foremost expert of Yicheng? That Teng Qingshan is the one who ran his spear through the throat of Li Yanshan, the leader of the Yanshan Gang!”
Yicheng was one of the nine major cities in Jiangning Prefecture. Since Teng Qingshan had killed Li Yanshan, his title as the foremost expert of Yicheng was well-established, and many within Jiangning Prefecture knew the name ‘Teng Qingshan.’ Initially, they simply hadn't dared to equate ‘sixteen years old’ with the foremost expert of Yicheng.
That realization was truly terrifying!
“Teng Qingshan of Yicheng?” The grey-robed man laughed heartily. “I had certainly heard the name Teng Qingshan at Guiyuan Sect, but I never imagined Brother Teng here is only sixteen!”
Teng Qingshan accepted the token designating him as a First-Class Warrior and stepped aside.
The gazes of the surrounding warriors towards him were now tinged with reverence; after all, he was a First-Class Warrior.
“Xiao Man, what are you doing here?” The grey-robed man’s reprimand rang out.
Teng Qingshan looked toward the open space in the center, where a slender, yellow-clad girl stepped forward, speaking as she walked. “Martial Uncle, of course, I’m here to join the Black Armored Army! Master himself said that diligent training indoors can’t compare to tempering oneself between life and death, so I’m here to participate in the Black Armored Army trials. I honestly thought I’d be the youngest First-Class Warrior here today, but I never expected a sixteen-year-old First-Class Warrior to show up…”
The yellow-clad girl muttered to herself while walking toward the ten-thousand-jin boulder.
“Rise!” the girl commanded with a soft shout, grasping the massive stone with her delicate, fair hands.
Whoosh!
The ten-thousand-jin boulder seemed like soft clay as it was hoisted high into the air.
A hush fell over the crowd.
This petite girl, who had been muttering under her breath, was also a First-Class Warrior?
“Xiao Man, your master agreed to let you join the Black Armored Army?” The grey-robed man frowned.
“Hmph, he wouldn't let me join last time. Didn’t he say I could join the Black Armored Army the day I achieved First-Class Warrior strength? Now that I have it, does my Master, the dignified head of a sect, go back on his word?” The girl glanced at the Guiyuan Sect disciple recording the results. “Little Linzi, Senior Sister is twenty-three this year, no need to state my name again, right? Hurry up and give me my First-Class Warrior token, hmph hmph. From today forward, I’m no longer an inner disciple of Guiyuan Sect, hehe. I’m heading straight to the Black Armored Army barracks!”
“Senior Sister Wu Man, your token is ready,” the Guiyuan Sect disciple quickly handed over the badge.
Holding the token, the girl walked up to Teng Qingshan, scrutinizing him from head to toe, and frowned. “I thought I was impressive enough—reaching First-Class Warrior at twenty-three. I planned to shock all these big oafs around here, but it looks like you stole all the thunder.”
“You kid… oh, right, Teng Qingshan? Sixteen? As formidable as my monstrous junior martial brother? We only get a monster like that once every few centuries in Guiyuan Sect. Are you another one? Damn it, spill it, are you deliberately hiding your age?” The yellow-clad girl poured out words nonstop.
This seemingly small and cute girl was entirely too long-winded!
And far too talkative!
“Hey, I’m talking to you!” The yellow-clad girl planted her hands on her hips and glared.
“Qinghu, let’s go get lunch,” Teng Qingshan didn't bother engaging the girl and turned to leave with Teng Qinghu.
“This guy…” The yellow-clad girl’s eyes widened. “Fine, Teng Qingshan, I’ve noted that!” The girl wrinkled her delicate nose and turned away. The surrounding warriors instinctively parted a path for her. Never mind that she was just a petite girl; she was a First-Class Warrior!
In these major sects, both men and women practiced inner energy cultivation; one could not judge a person’s strength by appearance alone.
The Yuyang Grand Canal connected the upper reaches to Yuzhou and the lower reaches to Yangzhou. Stretching nearly ten thousand li, it traversed half of the Nine Provinces, continuing until it emptied into the boundless Eastern Sea, east of Yangzhou. This ‘Yuyang Grand Canal’ was a waterway engineered during the reign of Emperor Yu, following his unification of the realm, when he oversaw the management of the nation’s waterways, guiding the flow of water according to natural advantages.
It was precisely because of this canal that Yangzhou became so prosperous and wealthy.
The Yuyang Grand Canal ran directly through Jiangning Prefectural City. The Guiyuan Sect, located in the southeastern region of the city, spanned nearly ten li in area and was perfectly bisected by the canal into eastern and western halves.
The western side of the canal housed the Guiyuan Sect’s outer disciples.
The eastern side was the core territory of the Guiyuan Sect. This core area was partitioned into northern and southern sections by the ‘Longgang’ hills. To the south lay the training grounds for the inner disciples, where the Sect Master, Elders, Guardians, and all high-ranking members resided, totaling over ten thousand inhabitants.
The area of Guiyuan Sect north of Longgang was where the Black Armored Army barracks were situated.
“Guiyuan Sect is actually split into east and west parts. We have to take a boat to get to the Black Armored Army barracks!” Teng Qinghu stood on the deck at the bow, marveling.
Dusk was gathering; it was already evening.
The recruitment trials for the Black Armored Army that day had concluded. Only those who could lift one thousand jin qualified to enter the barracks as new recruits; only after further screening would they become true Black Armored Army soldiers. Those who could only lift five hundred jin were ineligible to even enter the barracks.
“Three hundred and sixty-three people! Nine First-Class Warriors, thirty-eight Second-Class Warriors! And over three hundred Third-Class Warriors who could lift a thousand jin,” Teng Qingshan sighed in reflection. “To gather this many experts from a recruitment drive lasting half a year—it’s no wonder the Black Armored Army can maintain a standing force of six thousand.”
In the morning, there had indeed only been three First-Class Warriors, but most of the experts hadn't revealed themselves then; they waited until the afternoon to showcase their skills one by one.
“Qingshan, that girl named Wu Man is walking over,” Teng Qinghu murmured in a low voice.
“Wu Man?” Teng Qingshan glanced over; the yellow-clad girl was indeed approaching.
“Let’s go to the stern deck,” Teng Qingshan said. He was finding the girl a bit bothersome and felt it was better to avoid her.
“Running away when you see me?” The yellow-clad girl glared, then turned toward the cold, scarred man. She approached him with a smile. “Hey, Gongyang Qing! You were doing just fine as the leader of Sheep Horn Mountain. Why join our Guiyuan Sect and the Black Armored Army? By the way, have your Sheep Horn Mountain bandits disbanded? If not, how about letting me take over as the leader for fun? What do you say?”
Gongyang Qing’s brow twitched slightly, and he didn't even turn around.
“We’re docking. Everyone ashore,” Gongyang Qing called out to his seven companions.
On their first night in the Black Armored Army camp, Teng Qingshan and the others had no contact with the main body of the Black Armored Army. Because they were not yet official soldiers, they were housed overnight in simple, individual rooms on the outermost perimeter of the barracks.
The next morning, hundreds of recruits were scattered around open-air stone tables, eating large bowls of congee, huge quantities of meat buns, and steamed bread. They could eat as much as they wanted.
“Cousin, today is the competition for Black Armored Army Centurion and Squad Leader positions. Cousin, you need to be careful. Remember the essentials of spear technique, focus on listening to the force, just as I told you,” Teng Qingshan reminded him. The Great Spear Stance was a technique Teng Qingshan had taught his clan members when he was young.
The Great Spear Stance, though seemingly simple, was an excellent method for mastering spear fighting.
“Don’t worry, Qingshan,” Teng Qinghu replied, full of confidence.
“Dong!” “Dong!” “Dong!”…
The ground vibrated faintly as a rhythmic thudding sound approached.
“Everyone,” the grey-robed man announced loudly, “the six thousand soldiers of the Black Armored Army are assembled on the drill ground. Please make your way over quickly.”
Instantly, the bustling crowd of over three hundred recruits dropped their bowls, casually wiped the corners of their mouths, and, gripping their weapons, headed toward the drill ground. Even from a considerable distance away, Teng Qingshan’s group could see the Black Armored Army in the distance!
A dense, vast mass, divided into four distinct blocks, absolutely silent without a single extraneous sound. Six thousand men gathered together, utterly motionless, all clad in black heavy armor. A potent aura of killing intent, accompanied by a faint smell of blood hanging in the air! Seeing this silent, densely packed formation felt like facing a deep, dark, boundless ocean—it was suffocating! Terrifying!
Even Teng Qingshan felt a constriction in his chest, and many of the other warriors’ faces turned instantly pale.
“Six thousand Black Armor!” Teng Qingshan took a deep breath.
The moment he witnessed the entire army of the Black Armored Guard, Teng Qingshan completely understood why the sects could maintain their supreme positions. Facing these six thousand Black Armored soldiers, the profound, hereditary killing intent alone was enough to extinguish the courage to resist.