Eternal Heavenly Emperor

"Line up."

A stern voice rang out as a medium-built, but incredibly sturdy man approached. His square face framed by thick eyebrows and wide nose gave off an impression of rock-solid heaviness.

Hmm, this is the "bastard" Teacher Hu.

The students who were previously scattered quickly formed lines, knowing all too well that the instructors at Thousand Winds Academy were not ones to play favorites, regardless if one was nobility or the offspring of a wealthy family—make a mistake and you'd be whipped just the same.

Fifty people soon arranged themselves into two columns by height. Chu Hao, being neither particularly tall nor short, found his place in the middle of the second row.

"Start with running twenty laps," Hu Jianren said.

A collective grimace spread among the crowd, but no one dared to complain, for fear of being singled out for extra 'special' treatment.

Not just their group, but other groups too, began running laps as a warm-up. Those who had already reached the Lesser Mahayana realm were handling it fine, but those under that level were left panting with tongues lolling out, yearning to collapse into the snow.

"Now, begin practicing horse stance punches," Hu Jianren commanded.

"Teacher Hu, why do we need to practice horse stance punches?" a young boy asked, having just entered the academy this year.

Upon realizing the boy was a newcomer, Hu Jianren explained, "As a Martial Artist, a stable lower stance is essential—it's the most basic of basics."

The boy was not convinced. Coming from a wealthy family and having already learned an Intermediate Martial Technique, he held himself in high regard but didn't dare to argue, respecting the man's status as a teacher.

Hu Jianren smiled and said, "Show me your horse stance. If you can remain standing under my hook kick, then you're exempt from this exercise. Don't worry; I'll only use as much strength as you do."

Hearing this, the boy immediately got into position with a grin, eager to seize what he saw as a great opportunity to show off.

"That kid's in for it," the older students murmured among themselves.

Hu Jianren walked over, hooked his foot, and the boy immediately plummeted backward, thumping onto the ground. Luckily, the soft sand, cushioned further by snow, prevented any real pain from the fall.

"I—I wasn't ready yet," the boy instantly got up and protested, unwilling to admit defeat.

"Then let's try again," said Hu Jianren. The start of the new year naturally meant the departure of some older students and the arrival of new ones—this was the perfect opportunity to intimidate the newcomers.

Once again, the boy assumed a horse stance, but predictably, Hu Jianren's simple hook sent him tumbling down solidly. This time, he fell forward, ending up with a mouthful of snow and sand.

"Again," this time, it was Hu Jianren who called out.

"Again."

"Again."

After being tripped up over and over, more than a dozen times, the boy finally burst into tears and pleaded for it to stop.

Only then did Hu Jianren cease and give the order for everyone to begin practicing their horse stance punches.

Chu Hao watched meticulously. In fact, the boy's stance was already quite stable, but Hu Jianren's application of force was more adept, targeting the weakest points with minimal strength to achieve his goal.

This revelation opened his eyes, leading to many insights welling up within him.

His ability to deduce was remarkably powerful, but how could he analyze something inherently static?

Experience.

Hu Jianren could trip the boy with the same strength because he had executed the move countless times; his rich experience allowed him to instantly spot an opponent's weakness.

This wasn't something one could achieve overnight—it required gradual accumulation.

Chu Hao sunk into his horse stance, punching out with full force, holding nothing back. Although he had rapidly increased his strength to around 500 jin with Strong Muscle Powder in just over ten days, this inevitably led to an unstable foundation.

Such basic training was precisely what he lacked.

However, basic training was immensely tedious, and the students were all young and quickly grew restless. When Hu Jianren wasn't looking, they began to slack off—throwing punches without force, some even straightening their legs to relieve the numbness.

Chu Hao was the only one who remained unchanged, his punches as steady as ever, his eyes even glinting with enthusiasm.

"He's really a fool," the others thought to themselves. Anyone who found such pleasure in basic training was nothing but a fool. Of course, their comments stemmed from discontent; this "fool" who had suddenly become smarter and stronger than most provoked a sharp sting of envy in many.

They practiced the horse stance punches through the entire morning. By noon, students were finally permitted to eat in shifts, as the canteen could not accommodate everyone at once. They were divided into four groups, each given 20 minutes to dine.

The academy offered only one meal at lunchtime, but even noble families' children were eager to train here just for this meal.

Because within that meal was a portion of ferocious beast meat weighing two pounds—a delicacy money couldn't buy.

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The meat of most ferocious beasts doesn't taste very good since it's coarse and thick-skinned, making it difficult for people with weak teeth to chew it properly. Moreover, the academy's chefs are not very skilled, producing meat that's half-raw and hard to swallow.

Yet, considering the preciousness of beast meat, everyone forces themselves to eat it.

Chu Hao doesn't mind it so much; he has enjoyed a life of luxury, but has also eaten every kind of raw flesh during his adventures—what's this, if not trivial? Still, chewing this stuff is truly tiring for the teeth.

After lunch, there is a half-hour rest before training continues.

In the afternoon, instead of horse stance practice, it's fist training.

Wildfire Fist is a Martial Technique taught by the academy.

"Don't underestimate Wildfire Fist," Teacher Hu reiterated, as he did every year when the newcomers joined, "Though its rank is not high, it's the most foundational of fist techniques and contains all essential elements of fist fighting—thrust, smash, strike, and ram. Once you master Wildfire Fist, learning other fist techniques later will be much easier and more effective."

While guiding everyone in practicing Wildfire Fist, Teacher Hu also expressed his emotions, chatting about Martial Techniques—probably because he had bottled up his enthusiasm over the vacation, he was in high spirits.

This talk bored others to calluses in their ears, but for Chu Hao, it was extremely beneficial.

Martial Techniques are not necessarily better the higher their rank, but should suit the individual.

For example, a person with an aggressive nature would struggle to reach a high level in "Spring Water Palm" or "Floating Cloud Step". Even if they managed to learn these skills, grasping the Intent Realm of the technique would be impossible, thus they couldn't fully unleash the power of the Martial Technique.

Chu Hao nodded inwardly; he liked to be straightforward and defeat opponents face-to-face, which is why cultivating Mad Wind Fist felt so natural for him. In contrast, another advanced technique of the Chu Family, the Sneaky Shadow Sword, characterized by sneakiness, deceit, and speed, did not suit him—speed was fine, but sneakiness and deceit were really not in his nature.

So, while he had completely mastered the movements of Sneaky Shadow Sword, grasping the essence of its Swordsmanship and Intent Realm was out of the question.

However, he still had to learn a sword technique.

He wanted to go outside of the city and fight against the ferocious beasts, to elevate his experience and skills through real, bloody combat. Facing beasts barehanded would be inappropriate, of course.

Some beasts, although not very powerful, had terrifying defenses, like the Phoenix-tail Turtle. It was only in the Lesser Mahayana realm, but even Martial Artists in the Middle Mahayana realm couldn't crack its shell.

One would need to use a sharp weapon.

Therefore, practicing a type of swordsmanship was absolutely necessary.

The academy only taught Wildfire Fist, and acquiring Swordsmanship would mean attending an auction. Martial Techniques are immensely valuable; even a primary-level Elementary Martial Skill starts at a cost of a thousand taels of silver, and Intermediate Martial Techniques often sell for several ten thousand taels.

Advanced? Those are practically impossible to come by.

To obtain an advanced Martial Technique, one would need to adventure into the ancient ruins and dungeons.

Indeed, the meat of ferocious beasts was extraordinary; while practicing Wildfire Fist, Chu Hao felt his body heat up and his cells' vitality surge. The better and more vigorously he executed the Wildfire Fist, the more efficiently his body absorbed the beast meat's nutrients.

No wonder the academy uses Wildfire Fist as the basic fist technique; it also serves as a means of Body Refinement.

Upon realizing this, Chu Hao practiced even more diligently.

His ability to derive insight was astonishingly potent, and coupled with his dedication, his progress with Wildfire Fist was incredibly fast. After two hours, his movements were smooth and fluid, leaving anyone who saw him unable to believe he had just learned Wildfire Fist that day.

—In the past, Chu Hao was always three steps behind in reaction time, and Teacher Hu had despaired over him and given up any expectation long ago.

This left everyone dumbfounded.

It was as though the sun had risen from the west—could this person really be the same fool from before? After seemingly curing his foolishness, how had he become so sharp? Even Teacher Hu was moved.

Not only was his strength far superior to that of the students, as a teacher of the most fundamental Wildfire Fist, his understanding of the technique far exceeded others, to the extent that most Martial Artists in the Vajra Realm could not compare to him.

In his eyes, Chu Hao had completely mastered the essence of Wildfire Fist, giving him a sense of aesthetic pleasure.

Remarkable...

But he sighed inwardly, even though this fool had become smarter, his noble father had died in Fire Cloud Mountain, and the days ahead would be very hard for him.

As a noble, one attracts much attention and probably offends many people. While their nobility offered protection, no one dared to voice anything at the time. But what about now? The Chu Family had lost its pillar of support.

The boy had finally become astute, albeit much too late.

Regardless, Chu Hao managed to defeat Zhang Kan and master Wildfire Fist impeccably, achieving instant fame.

Had it been someone else with such talent, many would have flocked to build relationships, but Chu Hao had already made an enemy of Feng Ming—whose brother was in Heavenly Court—and also had an extremely bad relationship with Ma Long.

The Ma Family might very likely gain nobility next year.

To befriend Chu Hao would mean making enemies with Feng Yuan and Ma Long—who would have the courage for that?

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