Martial Arts: Starting with Upgrading the Dilapidated Temple

With the one-month period coming to an end and testing about to begin, everyone in the training ground is on edge.

Instructor Lin stood at the head of the table, holding a calligraphy brush in his hand, with a roster beside him, the brush tip hovering, ready to decide life or death at any moment.

"Li Da!"

Li Da shuddered, rubbed his sweaty hands, and walked out of the line.

Standing opposite him was a sparring partner used for testing moves; he was sturdy and held a target covered in thick cotton cloth.

"Come on, kid, go all out." The sparring partner held the target horizontally to his chest without even lifting his eyelids.

Li Da glanced back at Xu Hao.

Xu Hao remained expressionless, only making a very slight mouth shape for "top".

Top. Top the sack.

The string in Li's brain snapped.

He didn't put on any fancy moves; he stomped his feet hard on the ground, shrank his neck, and pushed his shoulders forward.

"Hey!"

His voice cracked from shouting.

Before the sparring partner could react, a dark figure crashed into his arms.

It wasn't a fist, but the sheer force of Li Da's entire shoulder and half his body pressing down on him.

boom!

The sparring partner lost his footing and was knocked back three steps by the force of the impact. His heel hit the stone lock in the training ground, and he landed on his buttocks, throwing the target in his hand away.

The field was silent.

Instructor Lin raised an eyebrow, his lips twitching: "You call this Black Tiger Breaking Evil? This is more like a wild boar rooting up a cabbage!"

Li Da scratched the back of his head, standing there helplessly: "Instructor, did we...did we pass?"

"The moves are a bit ugly," Instructor Lin circled in his notebook, "but the power is penetrating, and the waist is flexible. If we really encountered bandits, this impact could break their ribs. Pass!"

Li Da was so happy that snot bubbles came out of his nose. He ran back to the group and winked at Xu Hao.

"Luo Bao!"

Luo Bao froze, then awkwardly moved out.

His opponent was Kui Wu.

This kid is in cahoots with Jiang Hu; he's bullied Luo Bao a lot.

Seeing that this was an easy target, Kui Wu grinned and cracked his knuckles: "Little Luo, don't be afraid, I'll take care of you."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Kui Wu unleashed a powerful whip kick, the wind whistling as he delivered it; clearly, he wasn't holding back.

Luo Bao was so frightened that his face turned ashen, his mind went blank, and all he could think of was Xu Hao's words, "crawl under the table."

Just as the leg swept over him, Luo Bao didn't retreat. Instead, he ducked and slid under Kui Wu's raised leg.

Kui Wu's kick missed, and his upper thigh was exposed.

Without a second thought, Luo Bao swung his claw.

"Awooo—!"

A piercing scream echoed across the training ground.

Kui Wu clutched his inner thigh, his eyes rolled back, and he jumped three feet high on the spot. When he landed, both his legs were trembling.

Luo Bao was still clutching a strip of cloth he had torn from Kui Wu's pants, staring blankly at his hand, unable to believe what he had done.

The guards around instinctively squeezed their legs together, and gasps of shock rose and fell.

"This..." Instructor Lin looked at Kui Wu, who was still convulsing on the ground, and then at Luo Bao, who looked completely innocent, and remained silent for a long time.

"Despicable." Instructor Lin spat out three words.

Luo Bao trembled, tears welling up in her eyes.

"However," Instructor Lin changed his tone, a hint of admiration in his eyes, "that's cunning and ruthless. We're bodyguards, not heroes; making the enemy lie down is a good move. Pass!"

Luo Bao plopped down on the ground, panting heavily, as if he had just returned from the brink of death.

Xu Hao stood at the back of the crowd, his eyelids lowered, and a barely perceptible smile played at the corners of his lips.

These two are pretty much set.

It was Xu Hao's turn.

He knew his own limitations. If he revealed all his skills at the Skin Polishing Realm, he would be too conspicuous among the guards; if he hid his abilities too much and was eliminated, he would be asking for trouble.

We need to find a balance.

Xu Hao stood in the center of the arena, assumed a fighting stance, and performed a set of "Black Tiger Breaking Evil Fist".

He deliberately suppressed his breathing and only used half his strength.

Each punch, though barely making a sound, landed with pinpoint accuracy, targeting the joints of the wooden dummy.

"Bang, bang, bang."

After finishing his set of punches, Xu Hao stood still, his face neither flushed nor out of breath, only a little sweat beading on his forehead.

Coach Lin stared at Xu Hao for a long time, his eyes showing a hint of amusement: "He doesn't show off, but he has a solid foundation. He's someone who can hold onto what he has."

He circled Xu Hao's name heavily: "Xu Hao, Excellent."

The day's tests ended, leaving some happy and others sad.

Those who failed were stripped of their guard uniforms on the spot and dragged to the farm to work the land, crying and screaming.

At dinner, Li Da picked up a large piece of fatty meat from his bowl and gave it to Xu Hao.

"Brother, don't say anything more." Li Da lowered his voice, his eyes a little red. "If you ever need my strength in the future, just say the word."

Luo Bao nodded vigorously beside him, his mouth full of rice, mumbling indistinctly, "If anyone dares to touch you again, we'll...we'll rip their pants off!"

Xu Hao looked at the meat in the bowl, smiled, picked it up, and put it in his mouth.

The following day, Instructor Lin assigned tasks based on the assessment results. Li Da and Luo Bao were assigned to guard the front yard, which was considered a safe and secure job.

When it came to Xu Hao, Instructor Lin paused for a moment, then tossed him a waist token: "Go to the granary in the backyard, and don't let me down."

Envious glances immediately fell upon those around them.

A granary!

It's the most lucrative place; even the guard dogs here are much fatter than those elsewhere.

Xu Hao took the waist token, which felt slightly heavy in his hand. He still maintained a humble and obedient appearance on his face, but he was secretly overjoyed.

The Chen family's granary was located at the deepest part of the mansion, surrounded by high walls and iron gates, with two large wolfhounds, each half a person's height, tied up at the entrance.

Xu Hao arrived at the granary by virtue of his waist token. As soon as he entered the courtyard, a rich aroma of grain mixed with the savory scent of cured meat wafted into his nose.

A dozen or so domed warehouses stood in a row, like mountains of gold.

In this world where people can starve to death, even a tiny bit of food, no bigger than a fingernail, that leaked from the granary could be enough to keep a family alive.

Xu Hao took a deep breath and exclaimed that the air here was even more nourishing than outside.

Just then, the image that had been dormant in my mind for a long time suddenly jolted.

[Detectable "Branch": Chen's Granary (Small Resource Point)]

【Binding Conditions: Stay at this location for three consecutive hours and clear the rat infestation from the warehouse (0/50)】

[Reward: Unlocks access to the Grain Depot.]

"Branch headquarters! It's here, damn it!"

Xu Hao was overjoyed and tightened his grip on the waist token.

The Martial Temple is a leveling spot, but this granary is a real resource point!

With this precious branch captured, we can eat whatever we want from now on.

"New here?"

An old man with a wrinkled face emerged from the gatehouse, carrying a wine gourd in his hand. He was none other than Old Huang, the legendary granary manager.

His cloudy old eyes sized Xu Hao up and down: "Look at you, all delicate and tender, can you really handle anything?"

"Yes, Master Huang, I am quite strong and can stay up all night."

With a forced smile, Xu Hao handed over a bag of fried peanuts he had just bought from outside, which he had inquired about before coming over.

Old Huang took the peanuts, his expression softening considerably. He tossed him a whistle and said, "Be good. Tonight, you're on guard cell number three. Remember, fire prevention, theft prevention, and most importantly, rat prevention."