My cultivation method shines upon all heavens.

"Why--"

Fan Wu sighed deeply, his cheeks puffing out and then smacking his lips a few times as he smoked his pipe.

The two remained silent for the rest of the journey.

After crossing two streets, the drill ground came into view.

It was a wide, open area of ​​rammed earth, about a hundred feet in circumference, surrounded by a thick wooden fence, on which faded flags hung.

The ground was muddy from days of rain, covered with footprints and hoofprints of varying depths, mixed with withered grass and rotten leaves, making it slippery to step on.

A high platform was erected directly north of the drill ground, with several black lacquered wooden tables on it and a few empty armchairs behind them.

At this moment, dozens of people were scattered around the training ground.

Some huddled together in twos and threes, talking quietly; some stood alone by the railing, resting with their eyes closed; and a few were stretching their arms and legs, their punches sending mud flying everywhere.

The most conspicuous were the ten people standing in the center.

Three women and seven men, all between sixteen or seventeen and their early twenties, dressed smartly and exuding an extraordinary air.

The men wore swords and knives at their waists, while the women wore jade and silver hairpins in their hair and thick-soled boots with clean uppers, not a speck of mud on them.

They occasionally exchanged glances, nodded slightly in acknowledgment, and then looked away.

The other candidates around them consciously kept a distance of about ten feet, clearly distinguishing themselves from the others.

Lu Ming and Fan Wu stepped into the training ground gate one after the other. The soles of their shoes had just touched the muddy ground when a piercing sound came from the left:

"Heh, isn't this the old and weak duo?"

A young man in fine clothes strolled forward with a burly follower.

The young man had fair skin and handsome features, but his lips were slightly upturned.

His henchmen were at least eight feet tall, with broad shoulders and thick backs, their muscular arms protruding from their short sleeves.

For some reason, Lu Ming felt that the face looked somewhat familiar.

"An old guy who's been taking the exam for over twenty years, and a sickly fellow who was recently bedridden, dare to come here and make a fool of themselves?"

The young man in brocade robes slowly walked up to the two of them, his gaze landing on Lu Ming's face, and his voice suddenly turned deep:

"Lu Ming, how dare you! You caused my brother to disappear without a trace, and you still dare to show your face in front of me?"

Lu Ming raised his head.

Zhang Yuquan, the second son of the Zhang family, is the legitimate son of the Zhang family, one of the four powerful families in the city.

His heart remained calm, yet a wry smile appeared on his face at just the right moment:

"Young Master Zhang, I truly have nothing to do with your brother's disappearance."

The original owner of this body was ambushed by thieves a month ago and was critically injured, which led to his transmigration.

Unfortunately, Zhang Yuheng also disappeared during that time. Unable to find the real culprit, the Zhang family naturally pinned the blame on Lu Ming.

In reality, it was simply because his participation in the martial arts examination threatened the interests of the Zhang family.

If it weren't for the fact that Lu's father had recently died in the line of duty, and that the government's reputation hadn't been affected, he would probably have been quietly shoved into some stinking ditch long ago.

Seeing that things were not going well, Fan Wu quickly tucked his pipe into his waistband and squeezed forward.

An old face was beaming with smiles as he repeatedly bowed and clasped his hands in greeting to Zhang Yuquan.

"Young Master Yuquan, Lu Ming was also a victim that day! Besides, how could his meager cultivation possibly harm Young Master Yuheng?"

Zhang Yuquan glanced sideways at Fan Wu, his gaze sweeping over Fan Wu's face with disdain:

"When did it become your turn to speak? Get out of here."

With a flick of his sleeve, a gust of wind swept across his face, and Fan Wu stumbled and took three steps back.

By the time he regained his balance, the smile on his face had frozen, and he retreated dejectedly.

Zhang Yuquan knew, of course, that Lu Ming was innocent.

But he's here to mess with people's mentality, since his skill level is at the bottom among the sons of powerful families, and he could be threatened by Lu Ming.

Whether it's public humiliation or being splashed with dirty water, all he wants is for everyone to see it—

Lu Ming is a "suspect" and a "bad omen".

Once your reputation is ruined, you'll have to resort to all sorts of underhanded tactics.

Zhang Yuquan noticed that more and more eyes were being cast his way, and a satisfied smile flashed across his eyes.

He stepped forward, leaned close to Lu Ming's ear, and whispered:

"How was it? Feels pretty good to have escaped death, huh? You didn't think that waking up by sheer luck meant you'd have a chance to get into high school, did you?"

Lu Ming stood silently, his face calm, without uttering a word.

Zhang Yuquan waited for a while, but didn't hear the expected resentment, so he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed.

He straightened up and gently patted Lu Ming's shoulder:

"Hehe, don't worry, the best is yet to come. I'll treat you well."

Having said that, he strode away, followed closely by his burly henchman.

Seeing this, Fan Wu quickly stepped forward, grabbed Lu Ming's arm, and dragged him to the stone tablet next to the gate of the training ground.

The stone tablet is about half a person's height, made of bluestone, with rounded edges from being eroded by wind and rain, and its surface is covered with fine cracks.

The stele bears several lines of inscription in regular script, but due to the passage of time, the characters are covered with black mud and are barely legible:

"This majestic city guards a strategic region. This training ground is established here to prepare the army for military exercises..."

It was a very common opening, and Lu Ming glanced at it before preparing to look away.

Fan Wu remained silent.

He sighed, his rough hands gently stroking a spot in the middle of the stone tablet.

Lu Ming followed his movement and looked over, his gaze suddenly freezing.

In the center of the stone tablet, a fist-shaped mark about an inch deep is clearly visible.

The edges of the fist print are smooth, and the bluestone in the depression is dark red, with traces of dried ink remaining in different shades.

"Sigh, more than twenty years have passed."

Fan Wu's voice was low, his gaze blank as he stared at the fist imprint:

"Back then, Xu Hong was just as young and ambitious as you, and his talent far surpassed yours. At only sixteen, he stepped into the threshold of martial arts and became a martial artist in the Skin Tempering Realm."

Lu Ming's heart skipped a beat.

He had been practicing martial arts since childhood, and had been practicing the "Wild Bull Fist" for seven or eight years. His moves were now extremely skillful, and his physique was more robust than that of an ordinary strong man.

But this is only "practice makes perfect". There is still a long way to go before you can grasp the essence and cross that threshold.

To enter the Skin Tempering Realm, one not only needs to temper one's physique to the limit, but also needs a sudden flash of enlightenment to break through that barrier when one's blood and qi surge.

Xu Hong accomplished this at the age of sixteen.

Without the support of resources, this talent is truly "outstanding".

"However, for ten consecutive years, despite his strength at the Skin Tempering Realm, he has been unable to overcome the hurdle of becoming a Martial Arts Prodigy."

Fan Wu's voice became very dry.

"He was ambushed during the final assessment, and severely injured, he crawled back to this stone tablet... and died in grief and indignation. This fist mark was made by him with his last breath."

He turned his head, his eyes clouded, and looked at Lu Ming:

"We can't beat them."

Lu Ming frowned, and a layer of cold sweat had already formed on his back.

As far as he knew, although many candidates from Yinhu County participated in the martial arts examinations each year, no more than three actually broke through to the Skin Tempering Realm.

If Xu Hong were here, he would definitely be among the three.

Even so, after ten years of failure, he ultimately lost his life here... What this means is self-evident.

"As expected. In this examination hall, not only can cheating occur, but murder can also happen."

He closed his eyes, feeling as if a huge rock was pressing down on his chest, causing it to sink heavily.

Should we get a refund?

Without the protection of martial arts examination titles, in this chaotic world overrun by demons, orphans and widows are nothing more than meat on a chopping board, the only difference being whether they die sooner or later.

No refund?

If Xu Hong, who had just reached the Skin Tempering Realm, ended up in such a state, what right did he, a half-baked martial arts apprentice who hadn't even touched the threshold, have to live?

The net closed in from all sides, so tight that there was no chance to escape.

He crouched down, his gaze falling on the fist imprint.

The dark red patterns gleamed slightly in the rain, and in a daze, one could see the man kneeling before this stone tablet, his face covered in blood, gritting his teeth and delivering his final, desperate punch.

As if possessed, he reached out and gently pressed it, the icy touch sending a chill through him.

"boom!"

A thunderclap exploded in my mind, and white light pierced through my entire sea of ​​consciousness.

[Heart Imprint Discovered, Heavenly Heart Scroll Unlocked...]

Lu Ming's pupils suddenly contracted.

Deep within my eyes, a scroll seems to descend from the heavens, surrounded by swirling clouds, slowly unfurling.

The scroll stretches endlessly, where one can vaguely see gods and demons roaring to the sky, immortals and Buddhas sitting, lying down, laughing and talking, and all things in heaven and earth surging and rising and falling among the clouds.

Immediately, clouds and mist rose up, engulfing everything in a hazy, chaotic state.

A line of text quietly appeared on the scroll:

[Found the "Raging Bull Fist" technique; it can be refined. Refine it?]

"The Celestial Heart Scroll... has been activated!"

Lu Ming took a deep breath; the dampness and coolness after the rain could not extinguish the fire in his heart.

"Raging Bull Fist," a low-level martial art, is widely circulated in the world, and anyone with a little knowledge of it can get a glimpse of its basics.

But for ordinary people, it is still a precious opportunity.

If it weren't for his father's connections in the government office, who used his influence to find him this boxing manual, he probably wouldn't have even scratched the surface.

"So this is the seal of hearts...?"

He looked down at the dark red fist mark on the stone tablet, and seemed to understand something.

Looking up and meeting Fan Wu's cloudy, sorrowful eyes, she had already made up her mind.

"Refine!"

In an instant, the scroll in my eyes shone brightly, so bright it was blinding.

The swirling white mist seemed to have thinned out slightly.

At the same time, it felt as if something had entered his body through his right fingertips, traveling along his meridians.

"Moo—!"

A deep, guttural roar exploded in my mind.

Countless wild bulls suddenly appeared in my consciousness, their hooves pounding the ground as they galloped and leaped.

A bull charged into a mountain, its horns clashing against rocks, causing the rocks to crack and the mountain to collapse.

The clumsy ox wags its tail, its massive tail sweeps across, and the wind rises, sand flies.

The bull treads the ground, its hooves striking like thunder, causing the earth to tremble three inches.

An old ox rooted in the soil, its head buried deep, plowing and breaking the earth...

The essence of "Wild Bull Fist" flooded my mind like a burst dam.

The key points that I couldn't understand and the obstacles that I couldn't overcome in ordinary times suddenly became clear at this moment.

A warm current suddenly surged out from his dantian, instantly washing away the slight chill around him.

Immediately afterwards, the airflow suddenly surged, swirling and transforming into a scalding hot current that rushed into the limbs and bones.

My skin felt slightly numb, then suddenly tightened, gradually becoming as firm and tough as cowhide.

The heat lasted for about fifteen minutes before slowly receding.

On the scroll before Lu Ming's eyes, the original writing suddenly disappeared, and new text slowly emerged:

【The Celestial Heart Scroll】

Name: Lu Ming

[Realm: Skin Tempering]

[Martial Arts: Raging Bull Fist (Under-level; Minor Success 30/200)]

[Fellow cultivators from all heavens: 999999999+]

[Celestial Point: 0]

"This is... the Skin Tempering Realm."

Lu Ming's dazed eyes cleared, and he felt a tremendous force surging through his veins and bones.

He not only mastered the basics of "Raging Bull Fist," but also skipped directly to the minor mastery stage.