Ye Qingyu was shocked
He did not know what to say.
He was confused about not being able to enter the list. But, in reality, he really did not care about entering the list of ten. To receive more, you had to give out more. He did not want too many fetters tying him down to White Deer Academy.
Ye Qingyu had unshakeable confidence in his own talent.
This type of confidence was as if he was born with it. He firmly believed even if he did not join the list of ten, his accomplishments in the future would greatly exceed all ten.
On some level, he had never treated Qin Wushuang, Yan Xiantian as his opponents.
He has never thought about wasting four years staying in White Deer Academy practicing basic martial cultivation.
Ye Qingyu would use one year of his time to finish walking the road that others took four years.
He would only compete with time and not with people.
"In reality, from the start, the number one person who I picked to be on my list is you. The reason for this, apart from the evaluation from great teacher Hon, I have actually observed you in the selection process. I've heard numerous compliments and praises from different supervisors. To be honest, if I was to pick only one person instead of ten people, that person would be you, Ye Qingyu," Wang Yan said, sighing.
A small smile appeared on Ye Qingyu's face, respectfully nodding his head. "Thank you."
For a certain person who was extremely vain, this way of explaining things to him was extremely effective.
"However, at the time of my announcement of the list, the Dean suddenly sent an acoustic message to me. Because of a certain reason, you are not allowed to enter the list of ten." After every word she said, she would carefully observe Ye Qingyu's expression.
She discovered that Ye Qingyu's facial expression did not change at all because of her words, with no expressions of anger or excitement. It was as calm as a still pond under the sunlight. She knew, at that moment, she had still underestimated this teenager.
"For compensation, I can give you some special privileges," Wang Yan said with a smile and when she saw Ye Qingyu starting to shake his head, she held up a hand to stop him. "Don't reject it first, it is a nameplate that can allow you to enter the second year and third year areas. You can rely on this nameplate to enter the upperclassman's libraries and borrow the martial manuals inside."
Ye Qingyu hesitated.
If it was really this, then there was no need to reject.
Because these special privileges were exactly what he needed right now.
"Thank you head teacher Wang." He respectfully bowed to her, receiving the nameplate.
A smile appeared on Wang Yan's face and when she turned around to leave she said, "Do you know why I expect great things from you?"
Ye Qingyu quickly shook his head.
"You will know in the future."
Wang Yan smiled at him teasingly causing Ye Qingyu to feel extremely speechless, black lines appearing on his forehead*. Without any signs, her figure suddenly disappeared like a bubble popping in the air.
The solidified light from all around became normal again.
The leaf floating in midair, finally drifted to the ground.
"As head teacher, she would tease her students? Ahem… is this power from the Xiantian stage? Her energy can freeze an area of over a hundred meters?" Ye Qingyu did not know whether to laugh or cry.**
After experiencing Wang Yan's power, his desire to pursue the martial way was strengthened, but also his urgency.
Only by possessing power, could he solve the mysteries around him
Only by possessing power, could he control his own fate. Only then, could fairness and justice that has been gathering dust for many years, be shown.
... ...
Afternoon.
Seventh sparring grounds.
"The first skin layer stage is to first make your skin so tough that when you are hit with a sword, it will be as if it was hitting leather. This part of training, is done solely by relying on external martial arts with no shortcuts, only through hard training can you achieve this…"
In the martial cultivation lesson, a tall and muscular instructor was currently passing on the techniques to cultivate in the Ordinary Martial stage.
The efficiency of White Deer Academy was extremely high.
In the morning, the head teacher Wang Yan said they would split the class into groups according to their foundations. In the afternoon martial cultivation class, they had already been split up.
Ye Qingyu, along with eighty other students, began receiving the most basic martial teachings.
Those without any foundations in the martial way were practically all the commoners hoping to change their destiny.
Of course, geniuses like Yan Xingtian who already had a deep foundation, would not appear in this type of lesson.
The burly coach began to teach.
His every word was expressed in the form of a shout, vibrating the grounds like thunder.
"In the Ordinary Martial stage, there are six small stages. Skin, muscles and bone does not have any sequencing to it, you can train it in any order you wish."
"But after that in the blood, marrow and organs stage, then you have to be careful about the particular order. Because after, as you go deeper into the martial way, blood, marrow and organs already touches upon internal martial arts*. And these internal martial arts are what decide whether you are Ordinary Martial stage or Xiantian, if you train in a wrong fashion, it could very well threaten your life!"
"Right now I will pass on the method to train your skin, muscles and bones. Right now you don't need to understand, only recite it. And when you've memorized it, then you can slowly understand it. If there is any areas that you don't understand after three to five days, you can ask me for assistance, do you understand?" the burly teacher yelled.
"Understood!" the students responded in a similar fashion.
"Good, then listen carefully… External martial arts are only about one word, practice! How to practice, the most basic point is… Apart from this you have to practice until your shoulder and waist moves as one, your knees and arms moves as one, your hands and feet moves as one… your heart moves with your will, your will moves with your qi, your qi moves with your power…Yin and Yang flowing in a straight line, only then you can practice!"
The burly teacher shouted out the training mantras.
The students copied him, repeating the mantras after him.
Training in the martial way, the first step was to take note of the air around you. The air around you; that is qi. In the training process, you must make yourself be excited, loudly roaring so you can get your blood pumping, turning yourself into an animated state.
Ye Qingyu was within the crowd, similarly shouting.
Even though he had self-confidence in his natural talent, but he also understood the martial path was walked step by step. Even the best of natural talent needed to train hard, so at this time he could not be the slightest bit lazy but should rather put in a hundred times the effort than normal.
"What I passed to you right now, is the cultivation mantra. What I am going to pass on to you next, is [Serpentine stance] of the [Eight Divine Stances]. And this [Eight Divine Stances] is the culmination of countless experts of White Deer Academy. This is extremely suitable for training one's body at the Ordinary Martial stage, and the [Serpentine stance] is known as the stance to train your skin, being extremely profound…"
The burly teacher, after finishing these words, loudly shouted and moved his body, demonstrating the [Serpentine stance].
"The first stance, the [Golden Snake Moves Across Land]!"
The burly teacher's figure changed. His original muscular body suddenly seemed as if it was boneless, stepping forward. His palm was as if it was a snakes head, incomparably agile and his whole body was like a golden snake suddenly appearing on land.
There was faint sounds of 'sss, sss' in the air, as if there was a huge snake swallowing a bird, causing people to shiver.
Every student widened their eyes, carefully observing the burly teacher's every move.
"The second stance, the [Teng Snake**** in the Fog]!"
Half the body of the burly teacher was already on the ground, twisting in a strange way. It was as if there really was a Teng snake slithering on the ground. It seemed slow, but in reality was extremely quick and mists seemed to appear.
This scene seemed really as if a Teng snake was slithering within the fog, mysterious and frightening.
Ye Qingyu was deep in thought.
The [Serpentine stance] was the most suitable for training one's skin because the snake moved across the ground when it travelled. This would cause endless friction with ground, and to imitate a snake would mean to cause endless frictions using your skin. This would cause your skin to toughen and along with the [Serpentine stance], is definitely the best method to train the skin.
"The third stance, [Horned Snake Facing Its Tail]!"
The burly teacher changed his figure again, as if he really was like a snake, performing vividly.
"The fourth stance, [Mysterious Snake On A Rock]!"
"The fifth stance, [White Snake's Tongue]!"
"The sixth stance, [Wind Snake On A Tree]!"
"The seventh stance, [A Viper's Poison]!"
"The eight stance, [Divine Snake Moon]!"*****
The burly teacher constantly changed his forms.
Without knowing how long had passed, in Ye Qingyu's eyes he could no longer see the burly teacher. Before him, it was as if there really was an ancient snake moving, sometimes hissing, sometimes striking explosively, sometimes still as a rock, sometimes spitting out poison…
A vicious aura of a snake came at him, making Ye Qingyu feel as if he was in a crowd of ancient snakes.
"Good, today I will pass on these eight forms to you. Don't underestimate them, the forms are definitely not simple. Great things are made from simple things. Little kids, if you can successfully understand the essence of these eight stances within half a month, then you will definitely see the door to the first skin stage!"
The burly teacher finished demonstrating, loudly shouting.
His eyes swept across the students. He discovered that the majority of students were thinking furiously about something, with a few impatient fellows already beginning to imitate him.
He smiled and nodded his head.
They were geniuses selected from tens of thousands of people, and had managed to imitate to a level that was quite similar.
"Eh?"
His glance landed on Ye Qingyu, suddenly taken aback and letting out a gasp of shock.
He could see Ye Qingyu's body as if it was really a snake, utilizing the [Serpentine stance].
Under the sunlight, Ye Qingyu stretched. The first stance [Golden Snake Moves Across Land] had already been exhibited by him, with every action and detail being done superbly. Clearly, he had already understood the insights of the first stance.
"This is a bit interesting, to have understood so quickly…"
The burly teacher nodded his head silently. Ye Qingyu was an important seedling, he naturally had noticed him before.
The first stance of the [Serpentine stance] seemed simple but major insights were not easy to obtain. Contained within were the pure, profound understandings of countless experts who formed this stance from countless trainings. And the version of the [Serpentine stance] in White Deer Academy was different from the shortened versions outside. It was more profound, and to complete every stance you had seen was extremely taxing.
——- *http://media.japanpowered.com/images/kaichou-wa-maid-sama-ep-24-2.jpg
I love this description, its so Chinese so I decided to keep it in xD **there we have it boys. I don't know whether to laugh or cry, this is officially a proper xianxia now 😛 *** So quick 101 on Chinese martial arts. External martial arts are simply stances and techniques that you can accomplish using your muscles. Internal martial arts are moves that you can only do so with qi.
**** Legendary Chinese creature.
http://a1.att.hudong.com/02/39/20300542898868143271398982068_s.jpg ***** Dear mother of jesus, please never let me translate a martial art move again. FML.
From the memory of the burly teacher, there were extremely few students, who in their first training of the [Serpentine stance], would be able to perform it so perfectly.
This Ye Qingyu, no wonder he had ninth grade talent and was able to cause the flame flowers on the talent torch to bloom.
The burly teachers gaze was full of compliments, about to say something. But very quickly, his gaze was frozen with shock again!
Because Ye Qingyu started to practice the second stance.
It was another perfect performance.
The burly teacher could even feel the aura of a vicious snake emitting from Ye Qingyu…
"This… he not only has imitated the form, but he seems to have grasped the true essence of the stance!"
The burly teacher, at this moment, was astonished.
This Ye Qingyu, did he study the [Serpentine stance] before? Otherwise how was it possible … Was this really the terrifying talent of someone who activated the nine flame flowers?
Afterwards, when Ye Qingyu started to practice the third stance, other students began to notice his actions.
Ye Qingyu body was like a snake, sometimes hiding, sometimes arching up violently, his body so flexible it was as if he possessed no bones. In this moment in time, it seemed as if he had really transformed into a real snake, moving along the ground.
When he practiced until the six stance, he was like flowing water, completing every move in one breath. It was as if he had practiced this thousands, if not tens of thousands of times before! "[A Viper's Poison]!" Ye Qingyu loudly shouted.
As his hands moved, hisses started appearing in the air. It seemed as if there really was a humongous viper swallowing prey and spitting poison, causing people to feel fear.
"[Divine Snake Moon]!"
Ye Qingyu performed the last move.
The burly teacher was so shocked he was about to bite of his own tongue.
He had been teaching the basics of training one's body for over ten years in White Deer Academy. He had seen various geniuses and strange talents, but he had never seen anyone like Ye Qingyu. Someone like Ye Qingyu, who by only observing the [Serpentine stance] of the [Eight Divine Stances] once, and was able to replicate and grasp the true essence of it, this was his first time seeing such a monster.
If this teenager did not practice the [Serpentine stance] beforehand, then this was really too frightening. Did he have an eidetic memory? His ability to understand could be titled as prodigious.
This type of teenager seemed to be born for the martial path.
The gaze of the other teenagers around were also filled with complicated expressions of shock, jealousy and admiration. Several adolescents who possessed incomparable confidence in themselves, when they realized they could not even complete the first stance of the [Serpentine stance], was thunderstruck when they compared their efforts to Ye Qingyu.
The burly teacher gave the teenagers a glare, sternly shouting, "What are you looking at, quickly go practice! Try and understand it on your own, if you have any areas you don't understand, then come back tomorrow and ask me."
The teenagers snapped out of their dumbfounded states. Ye Qingyu's performance stimulated them, making everyone concentrate and work even harder.
When Ye Qingyu finished performing all eight stances of the [Serpentine stance], he felt that his entire body was hot, filled with a type of heat that was trying to escape, his blood boiling.
He slowly inhaled, adjusting his breath.
Then, he started his second iteration of the form.
The burly teacher did not say anything more, silently standing at the sides of the practicing grounds. His gazed seemed to look around at every student, supervising their training, but the majority of his time and attention was focused on Ye Qingyu.
The more he observed, the more shocked he was.
When he practiced the [Serpentine stance] for the fifth time, the burly teacher was certain that the youth had already completely understood the essence of this form. It was as if he was a martial artist that had practiced this skill for tens of years, every move perfect, no matter whether you considered the form or rhythm.
What was even more unbelievable was that as Ye Qingyu continued to perform the [Serpentine stance], under the sunlight, the teenager's skin seemed to produce a golden reflection.
This was a sign of the first stage of the Ordinary Martial stage!
The burly teacher could not believe the sight before his eyes, he felt his understanding of martials arts being completely broken by this teenager — In the seventh iteration of the [Serpentine stance], he had already managed to achieve some success in the first stage of the Ordinary Martial stage?
Supernatural!
How was this possible?
This could no longer be explained by just natural talent.
Just what of kind of secret was this teenager hiding? ...
Ye Qingyu continuously went through the motions of the [Serpentine stance].
If at the start his body was slightly tentative, then now as time passed, he was already completely immersed in the process of training his body.
As the eight stances became smoother and smoother, Ye Qingyu felt every inch of his body, every muscle and bone, and every inch of skin become activated through the stances of the [Serpentine stance].
Within his body, there was a flame-like thing that was originally buried deep within, but at this moment, it seemed to be stimulated.
Ye Qingyu could feel his body become hotter and hotter, his blood was as if it was burning. He could feel a type of energy that wanted to escape through the pores of his skin.
Ye Qingyu's mind was extremely clear.
He suddenly remembered the words that that the burly teacher said earlier, the chant for training in the Ordinary Martial stage that was less than a hundred words. The words that was not quite understood, suddenly became clear, his actions becoming more coordinated.
The mysterious energy that wanted to gush out of his body was subconsciously stopped.
A strange feeling spread out through his entire skin.
It was an extremely comfortable feeling, filled with excitement.
Ye Qingyu repeated stance after stance of the [Serpentine stance].
Near the end, he did not follow the order that the burly teacher taught but randomly mixed the sequence of the stances. He moved according to his will, his heart deciding on the order of the stances.
Time, under the shedding of sweat by the teenagers, quickly flowed by.
Ye Qingyu did not know how many times he practiced the [Serpentine stance]. Only when he started to feel strains of fatigue did he stop, his mental state awakening from cultivating.
"Eh? You guys… what are you doing?"
Ye Qingyu only just noticed that the teenagers had already surrounded him, forming a small circle with the burly teacher at the front.
Everyone was staring at him unblinkingly.
Their gaze was as if they were looking at a monster.
The teenagers were speechless.
The burly teacher did not say a word, only walked over and grabbed Ye Qingyu's right arm, observing carefully. In his eyes, a strange light appeared, and he even carefully felt Ye Qingyu's exposed skin in detail.
"The first stage of the Ordinary Martial stage, the skin stage you have already full completed… How did you manage to do this?"
The burly teacher reached his conclusion, staring steadily at Ye Qingyu.
Ye Qingyu himself was also slightly confused. He shook his head saying, "I… don't know!"
The burly teacher was taken aback.
He could tell that Ye Qingyu was not lying.
At this moment, he did not know what to say.
The teenager in front of him, only by training in the [Serpentine stance] for two hours caused his entire skin to clear and smooth, his skin as if it was a layer of pale gold, incomparably soft and flexible. This evidently was the peak of the first stage of the Ordinary Martial stage.
What is monstrous?
This was!
At the start, when the burly teacher saw Ye Qingyu being able to perform the entire [Serpentine stance], he was already extremely shocked, but right now… He was very nearly going numb.
Disregarding Ye Qingyu, the burly teacher took a deep breath to recover. He turned around and look at the surrounding youths.
"After watching for thirty minutes, I'm sure that even the most stupid out of you should be able to see some insights in the stances, and can obtain something from this. Ye Qingyu has monstrous talent, being able to see me demonstrate the [Serpentine stance] once and remembering it all. Instantly learning it is his ability and also your good fortune, to be able see a grand master performing and for half an hour too…"
The teenagers quietly listened to the teacher's lecture.
"Of course, you don't need to be impacted by this. Ye Qingyu's monstrous talent is his own business, you don't need to compare yourself with him. You only need to remember that every one of you has gone through the strictest of examination before being selected, each of you is a real genius. You are exceptional when compared to your age group and the martial path does not care about who is first or last, only about those who can finish walking this path – right now Ye Qingyu is walking faster than you, but who says you cannot overtake him?"
The burly teacher's gaze swept across the teenagers who were disheartened from Ye Qingyu's performance. His tone was filled with encouragement.
The teenagers loudly shouted in reply.
A smile appeared on the burly teacher's face, then he nodded his head saying, "End of class!"
Then he did not look at Ye Qingyu, directly leaving.
But Ye Qingyu knew, the things that happened here today, the burly teacher would definitely report it to the higher ups of the academy in the shortest amount of time.
Ye Qingyu could feel that the burly teacher was a good person.
The burly teacher did not neglect the other students because of his shining performance. And at the end, the words that he said, partly was to encourage and inspire the students to prevent them from being dispirited, but it was also to help Ye Qingyu, to stop the other students from isolating him.
Within White Deer Academy, there were still good people.
Trash instructors like Liu Heng was still in the minority.
...
After eating dinner at the canteen, Ye Qingyu returned to the dormitory.
He was thinking about what had happened in the afternoon.
He had only repeated the [Serpentine stance] ten times before reaching the peak of the skin stage. This was slightly hard to believe. Even if the [Serpentine stance] was the ideal method to train your skin, but to reach such a level, this could not be the only reason.
For a normal person to reach the peak of the skin stage, not only would they have to cultivate in the correct technique, but they would also have to use medicinal baths. If they were slow, this would take several years, if they were fast, several months. Even a genius needed one or two months to reach this stage, and this was already extremely shocking…
But he himself…
Ye Qingyu had always had unshakeable confidence in his own talent, but the things that happened here today could not be explained by his talent alone. It was too ridiculous.
So what was the reason?
After long thought, Ye Qingyu could identify two reasons as to why this might be.
The first was the nameless breathing technique his father had passed on to him. The second… was the heroic brass badge?
The nameless techniques background was extremely mysterious. He had already trained in it for over ten years, but he could still not see the benefits to him apart from making him have herculean strength.
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