Chapter 635: Acquired Martial Artist (Part 1)

Zhang Ergou was dozing off under a dead tree. The rough texture of the bark was digging into his back, and he was half asleep with his eyes half-closed.

A whooshing sound came, and when he opened his eyes, he saw Stone kicking Bone-Shattering Whip Kick repeatedly in the open space.

Stone stood in front of a fallen, dead tree, his right leg straight, and his foot kicked out with a short, sharp force.

"Bang!"

A piece of bark exploded off a dead tree, sending debris flying.

Without pausing, the moment his right leg retracted, his left leg swept out in the same direction.

This kick used the rotational force of the hip, the leg sweeping across the ground and making the pebbles on the ground bounce.

"Bang!"

With another strike, Stone changed his angle, turned sideways to face the dead tree, and swept his right leg from the outside in, striking the tree with the instep, splitting the tree in two vertically.

The entire sequence of movements was executed in one smooth motion, with sweeping, chopping, slashing, and pulling, each kick accompanied by a dull whistling sound.

His forehead was covered in a fine sweat, and his breathing was heavy, but his steps were steady, one leg after another, as if he wanted to kick that dead tree to pieces.

Zhang Ergou leaned against the tree and watched for a long time.

"This is youth," he murmured with emotion.

I used to train like that too. I would get up before dawn and sneak into the woods to practice my staff techniques while everyone else was still asleep.

Back then, there were no blood crystals, no potions, and no one to guide us. We just relied on our indomitable spirit to smash the stones one by one.

He smashed his tiger's mouth until it cracked, smashed his palms until they developed calluses, smashed his palms until the entire Blood Nest remembered his name.

What happened next?

Later he became an outer disciple, and then what?

He couldn't quite remember, but it seemed like it started from a certain day that he stopped getting up [N O V E L I G H T] before dawn.

Later, he began to mock those who got up before dawn.

He learned to be lazy, to cope, and to comfort himself with the thought that "I can't compete with those second-generation rich kids anyway."

He became the kind of person he used to despise the most, living off a little bit of talent and laughing at others for being foolish when they worked hard.

Was it because the spot for advancing to the Innate Realm was taken by a second-generation disciple? Or was it because the girl with the ponytail who always practiced martial arts in the forest at dawn later became an elder's concubine?

Zhang Ergou closed his eyes, leaned against the withered tree, and remained motionless for a long time.

When he opened his eyes again, the stone had already kicked most of the dead tree in half.

He didn't say anything, but picked up a blade of grass from the ground and put it in his mouth, looking at the figure that was still kicking desperately, unable to describe the feeling in his heart.

"Uncle Zhang! The porridge is ready!"

Xiao He's voice came from the fire.

Zhang Ergou snapped out of his daze, brushed the grass clippings off his clothes, and walked over.

Xiao He squatted by the fire, holding two steaming bowls of blood marrow rice porridge in her hands. The aroma of rice mixed with the smell of firewood was especially enticing in the morning breeze.

"Uncle Zhang, have some porridge first. Where's Brother Shitou? I'll get him a bowl too."

"They're kicking trees over there." Zhang Ergou took the bowl and gestured towards the open space.

Xiao He glanced at it, smiled, and ran over with the bowl in her hand.

Shi Tou had just finished a round of kicking and was bending over, panting, when he heard footsteps. He looked up, saw Xiao He, and wiped the sweat from his face.

Xiao He handed him the bowl: "Brother Shi Tou, eat first. Uncle Zhang said we're arriving at Feng Huo Ling today, so we need to eat well before we head on our journey."

Stone took the bowl and smiled at her.

Xiao He's father was also sitting by the fire, looking much better than he had a few days ago, slowly drinking his porridge.

The four had just finished eating when a horn sounded in the distance.

Armed with bronze swords and carrying shields, Qin soldiers began running back and forth through the crowd, shouting, "Get up! Pack your things! Keep going!"

The crowd, like a disturbed beehive, stirred up from all directions, converging into a torrent that surged toward the western portal.

After walking for about four hours, Stone and the others finally approached the portal.

The dark red curtain of light stretched across the horizon, rising straight up from the ground, over a hundred meters wide and reaching an unseen height.

People kept pouring into the light curtain, disappearing inside as if being swallowed up.

Xiao He slowed down and instinctively grabbed Shi Tou's sleeve.

Stone had never seen this thing before, and he felt a little uneasy, but he didn't show it on his face.

Zhang Ergou walked ahead, glanced back at the two, and chuckled, "What's there to be afraid of? That's just a gate. Once we're inside, we'll be at Beacon Fire Territory in the blink of an eye."

Xiao He nodded, took a deep breath, held onto Shi Tou tightly, and the four of them walked towards the light screen together.

As I approached, a dark red light shone on my face, carrying a slightly cool touch, like the wind, yet not quite the wind.

Shi Tou felt a sudden bright light before his eyes, and his feet seemed to have missed a step for a moment before landing firmly on solid ground.

He opened his eyes and saw people all around him. A dark mass of people surged out from the light screen and were then directed to diverge in different directions.

Above us was a clear blue sky, beneath our feet was a rammed dirt road, and in the distance, we could see smoke rising from chimneys, flags, and stretches of farmland and houses.

"Is this the Beacon Tower...?"

He was surrounded by people, all of whom, like him, had just come out of the portal and were looking around.

At this moment, a general flying in the sky shouted loudly: "Those with acquired cultivation levels and those who have mastered the Bone-Breaking Staff Technique, assemble in the west! The rest of you, head east!"

Upon hearing the order, Zhang Ergou turned to Xiaohe and her father: "Listen to my orders, Xiaohe, you go to the east with your father, and the two of us will go to the west."

Shi Tou glanced at Xiao He with some concern.

Xiao He's father patted his chest and said, "Stone, don't worry, I'm all better now. Besides, there are patrolling soldiers, nothing will happen. I'll come find you after I'm settled."

Shi Tou nodded, told Xiao He to "wait for me," and then followed Zhang Er Gou away from the crowd, running westward.

After running five miles to the west, two or three thousand people had already gathered there.

Whispers were everywhere; some people were squatting on the ground, some were pacing back and forth, and some were huddled together discussing in hushed tones.

"I heard they're going to erase our Blood Fiend Technique before we can change jobs."

"So what if it gets washed away? That lousy cultivation technique wasn't anything good anyway."

"Why were we summoned to the west alone? We're unarmed, could it be...?"

"If you wanted to kill them, you would have done it already. Didn't you see they were giving us medicine and porridge along the way?"

"That's true, but my legs are still weak. The fat guy next to me started shaking as soon as we went through the portal, and he hasn't stopped shaking yet."

"I'm not trembling! I'm just... I'm having trouble adjusting to the new environment!"

"How can someone who's not used to the local environment still manage to create a rhythm?"

"roll!"

"......"

Thousands of Qin soldiers stood around him, each with a blank expression, like statues.

A commander standing on high ground glanced at the vast crowd below, estimated the number of people, and, feeling that it was about right, slammed his halberd on the ground, the sound carrying far.

"Alright, everyone, listen to me."

The surrounding noise gradually subsided, and more and more people looked up at the figure standing on the high place.

"Hangu Pass is just ahead. Once you get there, the military will help you wash away this bloodthirsty aura."

"After this cleansing, you will no longer be members of the Blood Abyss Sect, but soldiers under the Beacon Fire Territory."

A low murmur arose from the crowd.

Some people breathed a sigh of relief, some were still hesitant, and some secretly glanced at the people around them.

The thousand men did not stop, and continued, "I know some of you are unsure of yourselves, saying that we will not leave any survivors."

But look around you. Has anyone laid a finger on you along the way? If we wanted to kill you, would we need to go through all this trouble?

No one spoke.

"Therefore," the thousand-man general answered his own question, "those who want to become soldiers of the Beacon Fire Command, come with me; those who don't want to, you can also say so."

Still, no one spoke.

"Okay, no problem then, let's go."

After Qianren finished speaking, he pulled his halberd from the ground, turned around and walked south, with the rest of the group following.

He started to accelerate, and everyone else followed suit.