Martial Arts Sainthood Begins with the Tiger-Taming Fist

Since ancient times, martial arts have had its own set of rules.

Although there are two opportunities to break through from Ming Jin to An Jin, strictly speaking, people believe there is only one opportunity.

Because if one fails to break through to the next realm the first time, the difficulty of breaking through to the next realm will increase dramatically. Very few people can succeed in breaking through to the next realm the second time, and they are all scions of aristocratic families who live off rare and precious materials.

Yin Tianqing explained this principle.

Everyone fell silent.

The mountain wind whistled through the window curtains.

As for Chen Mo himself, he hadn't actually realized what was happening yet.

Just now, he was meditating and practicing the Dragon Subduing Stance Technique, trying to break through that last obstacle.

But just when he was about to break through, the meridians that were about to be opened were blocked again.

However, Chen Mo made a strange discovery.

Although the breakthrough was not successful, the meridians and collaterals were widened a bit, and could accommodate more energy than before.

He cultivated his skills by immersing himself in nature, and each time he digested his comprehension points, he was able to break through to the next level.

While others may have two chances in their lifetime, he has virtually no limit on the number of times he can take a life.

As his meridians and collaterals are widened, when he breaks through to the Dark Force stage, his power will surely be as strong as a raging torrent.

This surprising discovery filled Chen Mo with excitement.

But he suppressed his joy and feigned confusion, "Then... do I still have a chance to break through to the Dark Force realm?"

Yin Tianqing paused, regretting that what he had just said might have upset Chen Mo's resolve, and then comforted him, "Since there is a second breakthrough, then it is possible. Don't worry, I will find a way to help you break through."

Chen Mo nodded, but his expression still showed disappointment.

Those nearby knew that these were words of comfort from their master.

In recent years, no martial artist in Heihe Town has broken through to the next realm twice.

Of those who can truly break through to the next realm a second time, perhaps only one in a hundred will succeed.

Chen Mo's path in martial arts has been completely severed.

While a peak-level Ming Jin cultivator can ensure their own safety, it is unlikely that they can compete for the title of Martial Arts Scholar or even step onto a higher stage.

Everyone cast a comforting glance at Chen Mo, wanting to say something, but the words stuck in their throats and couldn't be uttered.

The horse galloped swiftly, its wheels rumbling.

I don't know how much time passed.

The carriage drove into the county town and finally stopped in front of an inn.

Chen Mo followed everyone and jumped off the carriage. Looking up, he saw three large, elegant characters on the plaque above the door: "Jucai Tower," which perfectly matched the martial arts atmosphere of Anyang County at that moment.

The group entered the inn, Yin Tianqing paid the bill, and everyone went to their respective rooms to rest.

Apart from Yin Tianqing and Yin Shanshan having a separate room, the other men all shared rooms in pairs.

Ji Chang, who lived with Chen Mo, said, "You're much better than me. I took the martial arts exam last year and came in forty-fifth, so I can't even participate this year. If you had gotten in the twentieth or thirtieth place, you would have left me far behind."

Chen Mo knew the other person was trying to liven things up, so he didn't let it fall flat and replied, "I wouldn't even look at someone ranked 20th or 30th, how dare you even come to participate at 45th? My goal is naturally the top ten!"

Being in the top ten means passing the imperial examination with flying colors and being listed among the successful candidates.

Ji Chang was taken aback, but then realized that Chen Mo's willingness to make this joke meant that he had largely resolved his inner conflict over his failure to break through to the next realm.

Ji Chang laughed heartily, then said, "Then I, your senior brother, will be waiting for the moment you return in glory after passing the imperial examination!"

At this point, he seemed to remember something and said mysteriously, "I heard that those martial arts scholars who made it onto the list will go to Qingmei Fang to celebrate all night."

"Qingmeifang is the most famous brothel in Anyang County. The singers there have voices like celestial music, and the dancers there are as beautiful as fairies."

As Ji Chang spoke, his eyes narrowed slightly, and he gracefully clenched his right hand forward, seemingly lost in the moment. "Singers on the left, dancers on the right, surrounding them, the scene...tsk tsk..."

Seeing his appearance, Chen Mo continued practicing his boxing stances on his own.

When Ji Chang came to his senses, he saw that Chen Mo had already "circled around" to the corner of the room. He wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth and said, "Junior brother, how about this, I'll go and check things out for you first. If I find anything, I'll come back and tell you."

"what ever."

Ji Chang received permission and immediately pushed open the door and went out.

Chen Mo remained alone in the room, immersed in practicing his stances.

"I must break through to the next realm before the martial arts test!"

He thought to himself.

……

Day three, morning.

The sun was shining brightly.

The martial arts competition was held at the Anyang County training ground, and the venue was packed.

Chen Mo and Li Xuan were in the competition team, divided into two columns, A and B. Chen Mo was in column B, number twenty-two, while Li Xuan was in column A, number nineteen.

In front of the drill ground, seven or eight people dressed in official robes sat in neat rows. The one in the center was dressed in a red official robe and had a dignified appearance, while the two on either side were dressed in blue official robes.

The military examination was for selecting talent for the government, and those dressed in red and blue represented the government, their every word and action exuding the air of officialdom.

On both sides of the training ground, the major families had divided up the best viewing spots, leaving the Tianqing Martial Arts School members to watch from a distance.

After the commander, dressed in red, delivered a speech, the war drums thundered, suddenly sweeping across the entire training ground and stirring the hearts of the people.

Before the war drums had even ceased, the first test of strength had already begun.

Chen Mo waited on the sidelines. He looked up and saw a dozen or so stone locks of different sizes placed in the center of the training ground.

The stone locks weigh between 300 and 800 jin, with each 50 jin representing a grade.

The heaviest stone lock that each martial artist can lift and hold for ten breaths will be recorded as their strength test score.

Those who can lift a 300-jin stone weight are awarded Class C, those who can lift a 500-jin stone weight are awarded Class B, and those who can lift a 700-jin stone weight are awarded Class A.

"No more than fifteen martial arts students can achieve the highest rank each year, so if you want to be on the list, it's best to get the highest rank in this rigorous test."

A martial arts performer standing nearby spoke to the crowd.

Upon closer inspection, Chen Mo noticed that the man's outfit was made of high-quality materials and was quite expensive, indicating that he must be a scion of a prominent family.

"Brother, may I ask which family you come from?" Chen Mo asked.

After all, these scions of prominent families know a lot of inside information, and if we can get some information from them, we can achieve twice the result with half the effort.

The other party glanced at Chen Mo briefly, and seeing that he wasn't from an opposing force, lowered his guard. "I am Xie Jinnian of the Xie family. May I ask your name, sir?"

"The largest Xie family in Anyang County?"

Chen Mo was taken aback, then clasped his hands in a fist and said, "My name is Chen Mo, and I come from the Tianqing Martial Arts School in Heihe Town."

The Xie and Qi families of Anyang are the dominant power.

The Zhao family, who lorded it over everyone in Heihe Town, had to back down in front of Xie Qi.

Compared to the Xie and Qi families, the Xie family was subtly more powerful.

Chen Mo never expected that he would encounter the son of the largest family in Anyang as soon as he arrived at the martial arts training ground.

Xie Jinnian's eyes flashed with surprise when he heard that it was Heihe Town. "I've heard that the Black Tiger Hall of Heihe Town is a powerful force in the region and is quite famous throughout Anyang."

Taking advantage of the conversation, Xie Jinnian glanced at Chen Mo's entire body, and roughly concluded that he had not yet reached the level of internal strength. He secretly thought to himself: This person should not be a concern, thus eliminating one more competitor.

Just then, a deep shout erupted from the center of the training ground, followed by cheers from the entire field.

"Seven hundred jin (400 kg), the first person to weigh seven hundred jin (350 kg) this year has been born!"