Chapter 4: The Realm
Naturally there is. I simply did not expect your slender arms and legs to hide such fearsome fighting strength.
The squad leader met Zhao Ergou’s gaze. Seeing the steadiness in his eyes, he laughed.
“That is only because Uncle gave me the chance, or I would never have had the chance to kill the enemy,” Zhao Ergou said.
“You sure know how to talk, boy. You killed forty-one enemies today, which means you have barely earned your place among the defenders of the Yanmen Pass of Great Qin. I can make the decision to teach you the martial art our army trains in.”
The squad leader’s tone turned solemn, though a trace of pride remained in it.
At the mention of a martial art, a spark of excitement flashed through Zhao Ergou’s eyes, though his expression stayed calm.
“The defenders of Yanmen Pass of Great Qin cultivate a martial art called the Dog Subduing Force. Once mastered, it grants strength like a mad dog’s, with arm power exceeding ten thousand jin.”
The squad leader spoke in a deep voice, pride evident in his tone.
“Good. Uncle, hurry and teach it to me. Make me stronger.”
He had no time to waste here. Zhao Ergou spoke with impatience.
“Fine. I’ll teach you right now.”
The squad leader nodded, set down his bowl and chopsticks, and rose to his feet.
He began to teach Zhao Ergou the Dog Subduing Force.
First, he explained the cultivation incantation and the postures one by one. His movements were concise and forceful, each stance filled with killing intent.
He demonstrated the forms only once before stopping and turning to Zhao Ergou.
“Well? Have you remembered it?”
Zhao Ergou opened the golden light screen. On it, the cultivation incantation and postures of the Dog Subduing Force had already appeared clearly, every detail visible without the slightest omission.
Name: Zhao Ergou
Race: Human
Technique: Dog Subduing Force
Talent: Bronze Archer
Killing Intent Value: 40
A trace of pride flashed in Zhao Ergou’s eyes as he smiled. “Uncle, I have a photographic memory. I can remember it all at once.”
The squad leader’s eyes lit up, as though he had found a rare talent. “Oh? You can remember it after one look? Don’t go boasting now, boy.”
Zhao Ergou cast him a sidelong, confident glance, a smile curling at the corner of his mouth.
“If Uncle does not believe me, I’ll show you by practicing it once.”
The squad leader frowned, still unwilling to believe Zhao Ergou could learn it after only one hearing.
Yet he nodded. “All right. Go on.”
Zhao Ergou focused his mind. In an instant, a hot current swept through his body, filling him with explosive power.
At that moment, he felt his body brimming with world-shattering might, as though punching apart a mountain peak would be no more than child’s play.
The memory and experience of cultivating the Dog Subduing Force surged into his mind like a raging flood, and everything became so smooth, so natural, as though it had always belonged to him.
Killing Intent Value, add points.
In an instant, thirty points were consumed, and the Dog Subduing Force directly reached minor mastery!
Zhao Ergou’s body swayed as a fierce killing aura spread outward. His movements became broad and powerful, bold and forceful.
He displayed the Dog Subduing Force to perfection, vigorous and full of wind, with sharp explosions cracking through the air.
The squad leader and the other soldiers were all terrified pale, trembling all over, stunned beyond words!
What kind of Dog Subduing Force was this? This was plainly a killing art!
“Uncle, how was it?”
Zhao Ergou came to a stop, standing tall with an aura like a blade, sweeping his gaze over the crowd as killing intent filled his voice.
“You... you really only watched once?”
The squad leader’s voice trembled as he stammered out the words.
“Did Uncle need to see it a second time?”
Zhao Ergou looked proud, as though it were only natural.
“A monster!”
The squad leader shuddered violently and cried out, his voice filled with utter disbelief.
“Could this boy be the reincarnation of a Great Qin war god?”
Zheng Qian’s face turned deathly pale as he muttered to himself.
“Compared with him, we’re nothing but a pack of trash!”
Sun Liu looked utterly defeated, ashamed of himself.
Back then, they had spent a full two and a half months to barely grasp the body-tempering form of this Dog Subduing Force. Compared to this boy, the difference was like clouds and mud.
The way everyone looked at Zhao Ergou was as though they were gazing upon a war god who had crawled out of hell.
Zhao Ergou sneered inwardly. To him, this so-called body-tempering form and incantation of the Dog Subduing Force were nothing but scraps and rubbish. He had his own path of cultivation.
He stood with his hands behind his back, eyes arrogant and aloof. A golden finger? A chosen one? He did not need such empty titles at all.
The road Zhao Ergou intended to walk was destined to be paved with mountains of corpses and seas of blood, until he became an unrivaled god of slaughter.
The frontier of Great Qin would be the first battlefield on which he made his name.
He looked once more at the golden light screen:
Name: Zhao Ergou
Race: Human
Realm: Early Martial Apprentice
Technique: Dog Subduing Force, beginner level
Strength: Three hundred jin
Talent: Bronze Archer
Killing Intent Value: 10
On the golden light screen, two new entries had appeared: realm and strength.
A sharp gleam flashed in Zhao Ergou’s eyes. Early Martial Apprentice? This was only the beginning. He would make the whole of Great Qin rise with him.
Ignoring the squad leader’s shock, Zhao Ergou asked curiously, “Uncle, how exactly are the martial realms divided?”
The squad leader frowned deeply. “The realms of martial arts are no small matter. Once ordinary people become Martial Apprentices, there are Martial Warriors, Martial Masters, the Acquired Realm, the Innate Realm...”
“When one reaches the Martial Warrior realm, true martial essence is born within the body. This realm is mainly about refining essence into qi, condensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and transforming it into one’s own power.”
“The Martial Master realm refines qi and tempers blood.”
“The Acquired Realm refines tendons and tempers bones.”
“The Innate Realm washes marrow and remakes the body, transcending the ordinary.”
“Only upon reaching the Innate Realm does one truly count as a martial powerhouse.”
“After cultivation, strength inevitably surges. A Martial Apprentice has one to one thousand jin of single-arm strength and can take on ten men alone.”
“A Martial Warrior produces true martial essence within the body, with single-arm strength rising from one thousand to three thousand jin. One punch can shatter stone and rock.”
“A Martial Master can wield three thousand to five thousand jin with one arm, with blood thick as lead and mercury.”
“A martial artist in the Acquired Realm has skin like bronze and bones like iron, with strength reaching five thousand to ten thousand jin.”
“An Innate martial artist has ten thousand to fifty thousand jin of strength and can stand against an army by himself.”
Zhao Ergou thought of the Overlord of Chu and the fierce generals of later generations in the Three Kingdoms era, men whose thunderous shouts could break a bridge, likely with strength of at least a thousand jin and perhaps even ten thousand. By comparison, the body-conditioning arts unique to this age might not turn a person into an immortal or a god, but personal combat power would surely far surpass that of later ages, beyond anything modern people could hope to match.
As he listened to the squad leader’s explanation, a blazing fire burned in Zhao Ergou’s eyes. His whole body surged with ambition; this martial path felt as though it had been forged precisely for him.
He would stir up a storm of blood and iron in this world of Great Qin and carve out a magnificent dominion for himself.
Now he was an Acquired martial artist, with a punch carrying ten thousand jin of force.
What did that mean?
Did it not mean one punch could smash a living man into a pulp?
One punch could grind a child into dust?
At the thought of it, Zhao Ergou could not help but shiver. This power was far too terrifying.