A Long River Myth

In the following days.

Some of the disciples in the martial arts hall were visibly immersed in a somber mood.

Especially those who previously took Shi Liang as their role model, these days their shoulders seem to slump a bit.

Most of them came from poor families and struggled to make ends meet, feeling that their future was bleak.

Many people use Shi Liang as an inspiration.

That figure was originally a vivid "hope" that they could often see.

He could constantly remind himself that even people from the same background could reach such heights on the path of martial arts.

But now, that hope has been extinguished right before their eyes, and you can imagine how they feel.

Among the inner disciples, Huang Shan is now the only truly sought-after genius in the Martial Arts Hall.

The wind direction was almost entirely one-sided.

These days, because Instructor He Song had to go back to his hometown, Instructor Shen entrusted him with even more important responsibilities.

The fact that he was given free time to supervise the front hall and teach the group of Wai Zhuang disciples clearly shows how much he was valued.

People leave, relationships fade; that's just how it is.

..............

Half a month passed quietly, and in the west courtyard, Shi Liang was recuperating at home as his life came to a tragic end.

The atmosphere gradually returned to normal, and life still had to go on day by day.

That day, Li Hong had reached a crucial moment in his practice of stance training. He held his hands in a circle, and his breathing became increasingly heavy.

【Iron Wall Skill - Elephant Mountain Strength (13/1000)】

[Minor Success in Hundred-Refined Stance Training (499/500)]

【Mastery of the Hundred Refinements Fist Technique (87/1000)】

These past few days, with my focused practice of the Hundred Refinements Stance Technique, I've made rapid progress and already reached a high level of mastery.

Subsequently, he effortlessly and naturally reached the threshold of inner strength.

Now, Li Hong's blood and qi are churning, his face is flushed, and strange pains, as if being electrocuted, are constantly coming from his eight meridians.

This restlessness reached its peak this morning.

He pondered the challenge of internal strengthening for a long time.

Spurred by Shi Liang's incident, and after learning about the martial arts exam, he reduced his preparation time to about four months.

While not exceptionally outstanding or monstrous, his progress was still significantly faster than that of all the geniuses in the Martial Arts Hall over the years.

During this period, with limited resources to supplement his diet, he also studied two other martial arts, making remarkable progress.

If he focuses on stance training, Li Hong estimates that he can break through the internal energy barrier in three months.

But that must have been far too extraordinary, something that couldn't be explained away simply by calling him a genius.

There's no such thing as a "supreme bone" in this world... and he came from such a poor background.

"Look, what's wrong with Li Hong? Why is his face so red?"

After lunch, many disciples returning from the dining hall noticed the figure on the plum blossom stake and realized from afar that something was amiss.

"He's been practicing standing meditation all morning and hasn't moved since!"

"That looks like they're trying to pass a checkpoint!"

Among the crowd, an older disciple who had previously witnessed some of the inner disciples attempting to break through to higher levels was somewhat surprised.

"Tch! Don't talk nonsense. Even if Li Hong is talented, he has only been in the West Courtyard for four months. How could he possibly have mastered stance training?"

"Yeah, he can be faster than Shi... faster than Senior Brother Huang?"

Many people began to refute this, feeling that the foreigner's strong disciple was talking nonsense.

Among the students in the West Campus who have made the fastest breakthroughs over the years, Shi Liang and Huang Shan are the most prominent.

The latter was half a month behind the former, both having been for a little over half a year, and both achieved internal strength on their first attempt.

It was a combination of genius and luck.

It should be noted that even so, it took these two five months to master the stance training, and the remaining month was spent accumulating qi and blood.

Only after carefully and cautiously "touching" that solid inner threshold can one dare to steadily break through.

Li Hong has only been in the West Courtyard for four months. Even if he is a genius and has mastered the stance training, does he dare to break through the barrier immediately?

It's important to understand that if you don't accumulate enough internal strength, the probability of failure is at least 90%.

If the attempt fails, the body's vital energy and blood will dissipate, inevitably causing significant backlash. It will take years to rebuild the body's vital energy and blood.

Who would dare to be careless?

Yang Chen, who had returned to the West Courtyard with them, stared wide-eyed. His family also had internal martial arts practitioners.

Naturally, he was more aware than most of the disciples of the outer sect of martial arts of the signs when a martial artist was about to enter a breakthrough.

In no time, the news spread like wildfire, and eventually even some of the inner disciples came to watch the spectacle.

"Chen Yang, it seems Li Hong has truly mastered the stance training!"

The inner disciples were all seasoned veterans.

They all knew what was going on at a glance, and couldn't help but look at each other in bewilderment!

Everyone could hear each other's breathing, and they all became rapid, their eyes filled with deep astonishment!

Four months?

Regardless of whether Li Hong can break through the barrier in one go, the time it took him to master the stance training has already surpassed all of them!

Even Shi Liang and Huang Shan didn't move this fast back then!

Where did this monster come from?

Upon hearing this, even the onlookers, including the disciples of the Outer Warriors, were stunned!

It was as if I had heard some kind of fairy tale.

Their progress in stance training was still not even at the mid-stage of minor completion after three months, but Li Hong had already begun to try to break through the barrier and strengthen his internal energy.

I still remember that this person was usually unassuming and always focused on practicing his skills.

I never interacted with them, I never expected them to be martial arts genius?

Before long, the entire West Courtyard was abuzz with activity, and people gathered like a surging tide!

"Who's going to attempt the challenge?"

At the entrance of the dining hall, Shen Hezhi was followed by Huang Shan. Upon hearing the news from the inner disciples, they were all delighted.

Especially the former, there has been little news about the late-stage disciples of the Outer Strength Sect in the past few months.

There were a dozen or so inner disciples in his back hall, all of whom were familiar faces.

Those disciples from last year's cohort, if you count the time, the earliest ones to enter the West Academy have been here for almost half a year now, and it's time for some of them to try to break through!

"Head Instructor, it's...it's Li Hong!"

The disciple who brought the news had a complex expression, and his words conveyed a deep sense of powerlessness.

Clearly, he had just experienced a significant emotional shock.

Regardless of whether one can successfully break through the barrier, the sheer difference in achieving mastery of stance training in just four months is enough to create a sense of disparity, akin to looking down upon a vast chasm.

"Who?"

Shen Hezhi and Huang Shan spoke in unison, and the two were somewhat dazed, thinking that their disciple had given the wrong message!

"Come on, go check it out! You there, go to the third cabinet in my room and get some hemostatic and calming pills, and some bandages too!"

Shen Hezhi was immediately filled with mixed feelings of joy and worry, and hurriedly gave instructions.

Li Hong has only been in the West Courtyard for four months, but his martial arts talent is indeed outstanding!

This surprised him greatly!

However, this foundation is still shallow, and forcibly breaking through will inevitably lead to many dangers.

He had already instructed him repeatedly, but unexpectedly Li Hong did not ask for permission beforehand.

As for Huangshan next to it, he initially frowned, but then seemed somewhat relieved.

He had heard of Li Hong before, and he was from the same background as Shi Liang, whom he disliked, so he couldn't help but feel a bit disgusted.

These so-called geniuses from impoverished families have no idea how important the first three stages of a martial arts journey are.

While it's true that trying to break through early will attract attention, it's better to accumulate experience and build a solid foundation.

In the future, when they reach the same level, how can these peasants be compared to him?

........