Book 01, Coiling Dragon Ring

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  Book 1, Chapter 1 – Early Morning at a Township

  The town of Wushan. An ordinary little town located within the Kingdom of Fenlai, west of the Mountain Range of Magical Beasts, the largest mountain range within the Yulan continent.

  As the morning sun rose, in the town of Wushan, there remained a slight hint of the cold, pure pre-dawn air. However, virtually all of the citizens of this small town had already come out to begin working. Even the six or seven year old children had already gotten out of bed and were preparing to begin their traditional morning exercises.

  On an empty area in the eastern region of Wushan town, the warmth of the rays of the morning sun passed through the surrounding trees, leaving behind scattered spots of light on the empty ground.

  A large group of children could be seen there, approximately one or two hundred in number. These children were separated into three groups, each group divided into several lines. All the children stood there silently, their faces solemn. The northernmost group of children were approximately six years old. The group in the middle, approximately nine to twelve years old. The ones in the south, the thirteen to sixteen year olds.

  In front of this large group of children, there were three sturdily-built middle-aged men. All three of them wore short-sleeved shirts and roughly cut trousers.

  “If you want to be a powerful warrior, then you must work hard from youth.” The leader of the middle-aged men, head raised high, hands clasped behind his back, said to them coldly. He swept his cold, fierce gaze across the northernmost group of children. All of those six and seven year olds tightened their lips. Gazing at this man with their big, round eyes, none of them dared to make a sound.

  The leader’s name was Hillman (Xi’er’man). He was the captain of the guard for the Baruch (Ba’lu’ke) clan, the noble clan which owned Wushan town.

  “All of you are commoners. Unlike those noble families, you won’t have access to any secret manuals teaching you how to cultivate battle qi [dou qi]. If you want to become someone of worth, if you wish to be respected, then all of you must use the most ancient, most simple, and most basic ways of improving yourselves – through exercising your bodies, and building up your strength! Am I clear?!”

  Hillman swept the group of children with his gaze.

  “Understood.” The voices of the children replied brightly in unison.

  “Good.” Satisfied, Hillman coldly nodded. The eyes of the six year old children displayed their confusion, while the eyes of the teenagers became very determined. They understood the meaning behind Hillman’s words.

  Virtually every male in the Yulan continent would exercise very hard from a very young age. If anyone slacked off, in the future, they would be looked down upon by others! Money and power – these were the things that determined a man’s status! A man without power would be looked down upon even by women.

  If one wanted their parents to be proud of them, wanted women to worship them, wanted to live a glorious life?

  Then they must become powerful warriors!

  All of them were commoners. None of them would have access to any of those precious manuals which taught the arts of cultivating battle qi. Their only road to glory was through exercising from a young age, and gathering strength! Bitterly hard work! They would work harder than those nobles, spend more of their energy and blood in strengthening themselves!

  “When the sun rises in the morning, all things begin to thrive. This is the best time to absorb the natural energy from your surroundings and improve the conditioning of our bodies. Same rules as always – Legs spread apart, as wide as your shoulders! Both knees bent slightly, both hands pressed down at the waist. Assume the ‘Qi Building Stance’. When assuming this stance, remember – ‘Focus your concentration, maintain a calm mind, and breath naturally.’” Hillman coldly instructed.

  The ‘Qi Building Stance’ was the most simple, yet most effective way of exercising one’s body. This was based off of the experiences of generations of forefathers.

  Immediately the nearly two hundred children assumed the ‘Qi Building Stance’ position.

  “Remember, focus your concentration, maintain a calm mind, and breath naturally!” Hillman said coldly as he walked amidst the children.

  At a glance, he could tell that the teenagers in the southern group all were maintaining the stance calmly and breathed naturally. At the same time, all of them attained the goals of being stable and steady in their stance. Clearly, they had attained some degree of proficiency in the ‘Qi Building Stance.’

  But glancing at the northernmost group of children, with their waists and knees crooked at odd degrees, their legs relaxed and loose, it was clear to Hillman that they were standing unstably and without any power.

  Hillman said to the two other middle aged men, “The two of you, take charge of the south group and the middle group. I will go take care of the youngest children.”

  “Yes, Captain.” The two middle aged men immediately obeyed, paying close attention to those two groups. Every so often, they would kick the legs of those teenagers, checking to see who was standing firmly and who was not.

  Hillman walked towards the northern group of children. Those children immediately became nervous.

  “Crap, the Head Monster is coming!” A golden-haired child with large, bright eyes named Hadley (Ha’de’li) said in a low voice.

  Hillman strode into the midst of the children. Staring at them, his face was cold, but in his heart, he was sighing. “These kids are just too young. They are just too lacking in both wisdom and strength. I can’t demand too much from them. However, it’s still good to get them exercising from a young age. If they work hard from a young age, in the future, when they are on the battlefield, they will have a higher chance of survival.”

  And to teach young children… getting them interested was the most effective way! If he forced them too hard, it would have the opposite effect!

  “All of you, stand firm!” Hillman coldly harrumphed.

  Immediately, all of the children straightened, sticking out their chests and staring straight ahead.

  A hint of a smile played at Hillman’s lips. He then moved to the front and took off his shirt. The lines running across the powerful muscles on his body made the eyes pop out of all of the kids. Even the children in the middle group and southern group couldn’t help but stare at him, admiring his physique.

  Aside from his perfect musculature, on Hillman’s bare upper body, there were countless knife scars, sword scars, and dozens of other old wounds. All of the children stared at those wounds, their eyes shining.

  Knife scars. Sword scars. These were a man’s medals!

  In their hearts, they were filled with veneration towards Hillman. Hillman, a mighty warrior of the sixth rank, a warrior birthed from life and death struggles! Even in large cities, he would be an amazing individual. In the tiny town of Wushan, he was a man who every single person venerated.

  Seeing the ardent gazes of the children, Hillman couldn’t help but let a slight smile escape. He wanted to stir up a feeling of worshipfulness in the children, a desire to be like him. That way, they would work harder and be more motivated!

  “Let’s add some more fuel to the fire!” Hillman secretly grinned, then walked in front of a giant boulder, which weighed three or four hundred pounds.

  With one hand, Hillman grabbed the boulder. In a very relaxed manner, he began brandishing it about. That three hundred pound boulder, in Hillman’s hands, seemed to be as light as wood. All of those children’s jaws dropped, and their eyes widened.

  “Too light! Lorry (Luo’rui), if you have some free time after training, go and get some larger boulders for me.” With a casual toss, H
illman sent the boulder flying several dozen meters. Crash! It smote the ground next to a large tree, and the entire ground trembled. Hillman casually walked in front of some random stones.

  “Hah!”

  Hillman breathed deeply. All of the veins on his muscular body popped out prominently, as Hillman directly struck at a nearby bluish boulder. His fist shattered the air, creating a howling sound that made all of the watching children widen their eyes even further. Hillman’s mighty fist smashed directly onto the boulder.

  Crash! The sound of the fist smashing into the boulder made the hearts of all the children tremble.

  That was an extremely hard bluestone boulder!

  The bluestone boulder trembled. Suddenly, six or seven giant cracks appeared on it, as with a ‘peng’ sound, it split into four or five pieces. But on Hillman’s fist, not the slightest injury could be seen.

  “The Captain is as formidable as ever.” Lorry, one of the two other middle-aged men, laughed, as Hillman walked back towards them.

  The other man, Roger (Luo’jie), also walked over. Usually, when the children practiced the ‘Qi Building Stance’, it was time for the three of them to relax and freely chat, while paying attention to any child who decided to slack off.

  Hillman laughed as he shook his head. “No way. In the past, when I was in the army, every day I would train like crazy, while on the battlefield, I engage in bloody close combat. Nowadays, all I’m doing is relaxing and stretching my muscles a bit in the morning. I’m not filled with as much energy as in the past.”

  All of the children stared worshipfully at Hillman.

  That huge bluestone boulder was shattered by a single blow from his fist. What sort of power was this? And that three or four hundred pound boulder was so easily tossed with a flick of the arm. What sort of power was this?

  Hillman turned his head. Staring at the children, he was very satisfied with the children’s reactions.

  “Remember, even if you aren’t able to cultivate battle qi, in principle, if you reach your body’s fullest potential, you can still become a warrior of the sixth rank! And a sixth ranked warrior, upon entering the army, can easily become a mid-level officer, and easily obtain the military manuals which teach one how to cultivate battle qi! Even if you cannot become a warrior of the sixth rank, and can only become a common warrior of the first rank, you will still be qualified to enter the military. Remember! If a man isn’t able to become even a warrior of the first rank, that man can’t be considered a man at all!”

  “If you are a man, then you must raise your chest high, welcome any and all challenges, and fear nothing!”

  Upon hearing these words, smiles appeared on the faces of all the six and seven year olds. All of them forced themselves to remain expressionless. These words were Hillman’s often-repeated mantra, and he repeated these words endlessly to the children.

  “All of you, stand straight. Look at your elders to the south, then look at how you are standing!” Hillman censured them.

  All of the six year olds immediately tried to adjust their stance to be more stable.

  After a while, the six and seven year olds began to wobble. All of the kids felt that their legs were cramping fiercely, but they gritted their teeth. But after holding out for a short period of time, the children began to collapse and sit on the ground, one after the other.

  Hillman’s face was cold and callous, but in his heart, he secretly nodded. He was still very satisfied with the performance of these six and seven year olds.

  After a short period of time, some of the ten year olds in the middle group also could no longer hold out, and one by one, they began to fall as well.

  “Hold out for as long as you can. I won’t force you. But if in the future, you are weaker than your peers, then you’ll have no one to blame than yourselves.” Hillman coldly said.

  “Hmm?” Lorry suddenly stared, astonished, at the northern group.

  At this point in time, many of the kids in the middle group had fallen down, but in the northern group, a six year old child had held strong.

  “This must be Linley’s [Lin’lei] first day at training. Who would’ve thought he’d be so formidable?” Lorry said, amazed. Next time him, Roger and Hillman also noticed. Looking in that direction, they saw that to the north, a single brown haired boy was still holding firm. His lips tightened, the boy stared determinedly in front, both fists tightly clenched so hard that his fists were white.

  A look of pleased surprise appeared in Hillman’s eyes.

  “Good kid!” Hillman secretly praised. Despite being just six years old, he could maintain the ‘Qi Building Stance’ for as long as the ten year old kids.

  Linley, full name Linley Baruch, was the eldest son and heir to the Baruch clan, which ruled over the Wushan town. The Baruch clan was an extremely old clan. Once, it was extremely prosperous, but after thousands of years, it had only three members remaining. The clan leader, Hogg [Huo’ge] Baruch, and his two sons. The elder son was Linley Baruch, six years old. The younger son, Wharton [Wo’dun] Baruch, was just two years old. As for his wife, when she gave birth to the younger son, she died in the midst of childbirth. Linley’s grandfather also was dead, having lost his life in battle.

  Linley’s legs were trembling. Although his willpower was strong, his leg muscles were strained to their utmost and were beginning to tremble uncontrollably. He finally collapsed and sat down.

  “Linley, how do you feel?” Smiling, Hillman walked towards him.

  Linley cracked a smile, revealing his small canines. “I’m fine, Uncle Hillman.” As captain of the Baruch clan’s guardsmen, Hillman had watched Linley grow up. Naturally, the two of them were very close.

  “Well done. You acted like a man.” Hillman patted Linley on the head. Immediately, the hair on Linley’s head became tousled like windblown grass.

  “Haha.” Linley grinned widely. In his heart, he felt very happy at being praised by Hillman.

  After resting for a while, they continued their exercises. The training regime for the six and seven year olds was a lot more relaxed. But for the teenagers, the training regime was terrifyingly strict.

  The large group of children, including the six and seven year olds, were lying down with their heads and their feet each on top of a flat rock, relying solely on the strength in their waists to keep straight.

  “The waist and the thighs form a triangular region.” Hillman gestured with his hands to show the area he was describing. “This area is a person’s nucleus. Speed and power all come from this triangular nucleus, making this region extremely important.”

  As Hillman spoke, he continued to walk about, carefully inspecting the youths to see if their movements were correct.

  “Tighten that up! Your waists need to be straight!” Hillman thundered.

  Immediately, the waists of many youths straightened. This was Linley’s first day of training. His tiny head and his feet were both flat on the rocks, but by this point in time, Linley could already feel his waist growing tight and hot.

  “Hold, gotta hold. I’m the best!” Linley kept encouraging himself. Linley’s body had always been very strong, even as a baby. He had virtually never gotten sick. Given that he also worked very hard, for him to excel was nothing special.

  “Thud!” The first child fell down.

  However, the stones they were using as a pillow and footrest were only twenty centimeters high, so although the child fell down, it didn’t hurt much. (In the Yulan continent, the goldsmiths used standardized lengths of 1 meter = 10 decimeters = 100 centimeters = 1000 millimeters.)

  “Thud!” “Thud!” As time went on, more and more children could no longer hold out.

  Linley gritted his teeth. He could clearly feel that the tightness in his waist had already reached the limits of his endurance, to the point where it was almost going numb. “My body feels so heavy. I’m almost unable to control it. Hold, gotta hold for just a bit more.” By this point in time, of the six to eight year olds, only Lin
ley remained.

  Staring at Linley, Hillman couldn’t help but be filled with surprise and joy.

  “Lorry.” Hillman suddenly shouted.

  “Captain.” Lorry immediately straightened, awaiting his orders.

  Hillman commanded, “Tomorrow, prepare some special dyes. When they are practicing their waist strength, put a branch under all of their waists, and dye the branches. If any of them slack off and let their waists touch the branch, their body will be dyed as well. Their training regime will double in difficulty.”

  “Yes, Captain.” Lorry acknowledged the order. He couldn’t help but let his lips tug up in a smile. He secretly laughed, “The Captain is always filled with so many devilish ideas. Those punks are really gonna get it now.”

  Wasn’t that just so?

  Looks of pain appeared on the faces of all the ten year olds. Normally, they could still make slight adjustments and slack off. But with Hillman’s idea, they would have no chance to do so.

  Hillman continued coldly, “Let me tell you all, when a warrior practices his battle qi, the battle qi is stored in a fist-sized location directly beneath the navel. You should understand that this is part of the triangle I was talking about. I expect you all now should understand the importance of strengthening the triangle region! This is your core. If it fails, then your body fails, no matter how strong the other parts of it might be.”

  A good instructor is of paramount importance to the children.

  And Hillman really was a formidable warrior. He knew the important parts of training, and also knew how to increase the difficulty one step at a time. He knew what sort of tools to use with what ages. If it was too hard, it could make a child’s body collapse.

  “Battle qi?”

  Upon hearing these words, all of the youths, including the youngest children resting off to the side, stared at Hillman with wide eyes.

  All of the commoners were extremely eager to learn battle qi. Even Linley, this scion of a noble house, was extremely eager.

  “Thud!”

  Linley could finally hold out no longer, but he still used his arms to prop himself on the ground as he slowly rolled off.