The Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion is located in the capital city of Tianyun, Tianyun City, backed by the Dazhou Mountains, established by the Seven Mystic Valley, a martial arts sect with a six-hundred-year tradition.
As a major martial arts mansion, the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion possesses numerous martial arts traditions and has martial arts masters who teach, making it a holy place for all young people in Tianyun who aspire to martial arts. Of course, the threshold for the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion to admit disciples is quite high, and it would not be an exaggeration to say that only one in ten thousand is selected.
On a scorching summer day, at the foot of the Dazhou Mountains, on a grassy area in the forest, a teenager, with his fists wrapped in cloth strips, stood bare-chested in front of a tree as thick as a person's embrace, punching the tree trunk repeatedly.
"Thud!" "Thud!" The dull sounds echoed through the forest, and the bark of the tree, which had been hit, clearly indented, revealing the grayish-white wood, which was dotted with blood.
The teenager's name is Lin Ming, and he possesses a third-grade martial arts talent.
In Tianyun, half of the population has no martial arts talent at all and is not suitable for martial arts training. Among the other half, more than eighty percent have only a first-grade martial arts talent, and even if they practice martial arts, they will not achieve anything. Of the remaining less than ten percent, about ninety percent have a second-grade martial arts talent. If they practice diligently, they can achieve some success, but the hope of becoming a martial arts expert is slim.
Lin Ming's third-grade martial arts talent can be considered top-notch, barely one in a hundred, but this martial arts talent is still far from enough to enter the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion!
Lin Ming is very clear about this. Lan Yunyue, a beautiful girl who grew up and trained with Lin Ming, also has a third-grade talent. The two agreed to take the entrance exam for the Tianyun Martial Mansion, which is much less prestigious than the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion.
The Tianyun Martial Mansion belongs to Tianyun and has only been established for eighty years, with limited techniques, traditions, and resources. Martial arts techniques and traditions are crucial for martial artists. Without good martial arts techniques, it is extremely difficult to complete the body-strengthening stage and advance to higher martial arts realms.
The Pulse Condensation stage is a realm that many martial artists aspire to, and it is the first watershed in the path of martial arts. Once a martial artist reaches the Pulse Condensation stage, their lifespan increases significantly, and they can be ennobled, enjoying a life of luxury and benefiting their descendants.
In terms of cultivating Pulse Condensation martial artists, the Tianyun Martial Mansion falls far short of the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion.
Lin Ming is devoted to martial arts and naturally dreams of entering the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion. If his talent is not enough, he can only rely on diligence and perseverance to impress the examiners, but the chances are not high. If he fails the entrance exam, he will have to waste half a year waiting for the next one, which is also very precious for a martial artist.
Considering this, and for the sake of Lan Yunyue, Lin Ming decided to enter the Tianyun Martial Mansion.
Lin Ming and Lan Yunyue have trained and played together for many years. Although they are still young and not yet at the age of marriage, there is already a vague affection between them. Lin Ming's parents also like Lan Yunyue very much and often invite her to their home for meals.
Lin Ming and Lan Yunyue have always had mutual feelings, and there is only a thin layer of paper between them. Once they grow a bit older, this layer of paper will be broken.
Lin Ming takes their agreement very seriously. He is determined to break through to the Pulse Condensation stage even in the Tianyun Martial Mansion!
However, on the day of the Tianyun Martial Mansion's entrance exam, Lan Yunyue did not appear.
Lin Ming initially thought that Lan Yunyue was unable to come due to some matters, but later he learned that Lan Yunyue had entered the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion, and the one who recommended her was Zhu Yan, the genius son of the Zhu family, the first family in Qingsang City.
Although Lin Ming is only fifteen years old, he has traveled with his parents since childhood, making him much more mature than his peers. He is very clear about what it means for Zhu Yan to recommend Lan Yunyue to the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion.
For a family like the Zhu family, when choosing a wife, they not only look at the woman's appearance and temperament but also at her martial arts talent. A high martial arts talent increases the likelihood of having a talented child. Although Lan Yunyue's family background is ordinary, her third-grade talent is already very good among girls.
Although the Zhu family could find someone with higher talent, Lan Yunyue is beautiful and has an outstanding temperament, so it is natural for Zhu Yan to like her.
For Lan Yunyue, the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion and the Tianyun Martial Mansion are incomparable in terms of opportunities, honor, and potential achievements, especially the allure of extending her youth for several decades by reaching the Pulse Condensation stage, which is irresistible for girls.
Faced with such temptation, not only Lan Yunyue but perhaps most girls would choose Zhu Yan, especially since Zhu Yan himself is good-looking, and his family background and prospects far surpass Lin Ming's.
Although he understands this, it is impossible for Lin Ming to say that he was not affected by this. He locked himself in his room for three days. After three days, he came out, ate, slept, and trained, and trained even harder than before.
Before Lan Yunyue left, he had already resolved to break through to the Pulse Condensation stage and pursue higher martial arts realms. Now, Lin Ming still holds this resolve. If he had any lingering thoughts before, after Lan Yunyue left, his determination to pursue martial arts became even stronger.
He decided to change his exam to the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion, even though the process would be difficult.
"Thud!" "Thud!" The dull sounds of his fists hitting the tree trunk still echoed through the forest. This tree is called ironwood, with extremely tough bark and strong healing abilities. Many martial arts beginners choose this ironwood to train their strength.
Lin Ming had thrown countless punches, finally exhausting all his strength. He leaned against the tree trunk and sat on a rock, taking out herbs from his backpack, crushing them, and applying them to his bruised fists. Martial artists must frequently use healing herbs; otherwise, they will develop hidden injuries, which can accumulate and lead to disability or even death.
This herb is called ironline grass. It is named so because the green juice squeezed from the ironline grass, although effective in healing, causes intense pain when applied to wounds, like being brushed with iron wire.
Lin Ming gritted his teeth to endure the pain, took out new white cloth from his backpack, and wrapped his fists tightly.
In fact, there are many herbs that are more effective and have a mild, painless effect, but they are all very expensive, and Lin Ming's family cannot afford them.
Lin Ming's parents run a well-scaled restaurant in Qingsang City, but the restaurant's assets do not belong to them but to the Qingsang City Lin family.
Although Lin Ming also has the surname Lin, he is several generations removed from the main branch of the Lin family. The main branch entrusts some of its assets to distant relatives, and Lin Ming's parents manage this restaurant, earning a fixed income and a portion of the profits each year. This income is already quite substantial compared to ordinary families, providing a comfortable life, but it is not enough to support Lin Ming's martial arts training.
Originally, Lin Ming's parents hoped that he would inherit the family business and become a restaurant manager. However, seeing Lin Ming's dedication to martial arts, they used all their savings to buy healing herbs for him.
Now, the family's savings are gradually being depleted, and Lin Ming is still at the first level of the body-strengthening stage.
The body-strengthening stage is the first stage of martial arts training, involving the use of true essence to refine the body, with six levels in total: the first level for strength, the second for flesh, the third for organs, the fourth for tendons, the fifth for bones, and the sixth for pulse condensation. After this, martial artists enter the Essence Gathering stage.
After applying the ironline grass juice to his wounds, Lin Ming rested for half an hour to allow the wounds to fully absorb the herb's effects. As he stood up to continue his training, a plump teenager with a delicate long sword in his hand walked out of the forest and said with a smile, "Brother Ming, today is the day for the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion's entrance exam registration. You didn't forget, did you? You're still practicing here?"
This teenager is named Lin Xiaodong, who is slightly younger than Lin Ming. He grew up with Lin Ming and is a close friend.
Lin Xiaodong is actually a direct descendant of the Lin family, but even among direct descendants, there are different levels of status. Lin Xiaodong is at the lower end. His parents are also in business, and they live close to Lin Ming's family.
Lin Ming glanced at Lin Xiaodong and turned to the tree stump, saying, "There are many people at the beginning of the registration. The queue can take one or two hours. Waiting there is a waste of time."
"Damn, you can't even spare a little time. You're really something," Lin Xiaodong said exaggeratedly. He approached the tree stump, saw the fist marks and bloodstains, and looked at Lin Ming's bandaged hands, gasping, "You're really crazy. You've beaten the ironwood into this state. Training like this, if you only use ironline grass, your hands will be injured, and you might even be disabled!"
Lin Ming did not speak. The path of martial arts is a struggle against fate. With his third-grade talent, it is difficult for him to reach the sixth level of the body-strengthening stage, the Pulse Condensation stage. If he does not push himself when he is young, he will have no hope. If he pushes himself, he might accumulate hidden injuries and become disabled, but he might also succeed before the hidden injuries worsen. Once he successfully reaches the Pulse Condensation stage, the true essence will refine his body, and the hidden injuries will disappear.
For Lin Ming, this is a do-or-die battle, a life-or-death gamble.
Lin Xiaodong sighed, took out a cloth bag from his pocket, and opened it layer by layer, saying, "Brother Ming, this is for you."
Lin Ming turned around and saw a blood-red ginseng lying quietly in the cloth bag. This ginseng is at least a hundred years old and is a high-quality medicine for healing and nourishing the blood. A thin slice is enough for one use, and it has a mild effect with strong medicinal power. This ginseng is worth at least 150 gold pieces, equivalent to Lin Ming's family's annual income.
Lin Ming's body stiffened, and he shook his head, "I can't take this blood ginseng."
Friends are friends, but this blood ginseng is too valuable. Lin Xiaodong's family, although a lower branch of the Lin family, is much better off than Lin Ming's family, but it would not be easy to support Lin Xiaodong's training.
Lin Xiaodong, however, forcefully handed the blood ginseng to Lin Ming, saying, "This blood ginseng is for you. I train intermittently, and the hidden injuries I have are minor. Using this would be a waste. If you don't use it, I'll have wasted my money. If you push it back, it will be meaningless. My father doesn't have high expectations for me; he just hopes I can maintain the status of a direct descendant of the Lin family and not lose it to the next generation."
Lin Ming was silent for a moment, then put the blood ginseng away, saying, "Alright, I'll take this blood ginseng. For the sake of this ginseng, I must break through to the Pulse Condensation stage."
"Ha ha, that's more like it. Not only will you break through to the Pulse Condensation stage, but you will also defeat that Zhu Yan. That bastard, I've been looking at him with a bad eye for a long time!"
Zhu Yan... Lin Ming took a deep breath. His talent is not bad, but Zhu Yan's talent is top-notch. Zhu Yan has already been admitted to the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion and is a high-ranking disciple in the Heaven's Mansion, with his cultivation reaching the peak of the third level of the body-strengthening stage. Even so, Lin Ming still set the goal of surpassing Zhu Yan, not because of Lan Yunyue, but because pursuing the path of martial arts requires crossing one threshold after another and climbing one mountain after another. Even if it takes him several years or even decades to catch up with Zhu Yan in this life!
...
At the foot of the Dazhou Mountains, there is a sprawling complex of buildings stretching for twenty miles, which is the location of the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion and the Tianyun Martial Mansion. Today is the day for the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion's entrance exam registration, and the square in front of the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion is crowded with people.
Lin Ming and Lin Xiaodong deliberately delayed their time, but when they arrived at the square, they found that they had underestimated the number of people registering. There were three lines of people, each several dozen meters long, and it would take at least half an hour to get through.
"Let's wait," Lin Xiaodong sighed and stood at the end of the line.
"Alright," Lin Ming nodded.
"Hey, there are very few people over there," Lin Xiaodong pointed to a small door nearby, where only a few people were standing, and the ground was covered with a red carpet.
"That's the noble area..." Lin Ming noticed the words on the sign.
Since the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion is established in Tianyun, using Tianyun's land, buildings, and resources, it naturally gives some face to the nobility. Many matters of the martial mansion are also handled by the nobility, such as today's entrance exam registration.
"Damn," Lin Xiaodong grumbled, unhappy. Nobility requires royal ennoblement, a hereditary honor. Although the Lin family is wealthy, they are not nobility.
Lin Xiaodong was about to curse the nobility's parasites to find some psychological balance when the door was pushed open, and two young men walked out. One of them was wearing blue, with a delicate long sword at his waist and a golden crown on his head, with a very handsome appearance.
Lin Ming's eyebrows furrowed slightly when he saw this man; it was Zhu Yan.
Zhu Yan's daughter married into the royal family, becoming the emperor's favorite concubine, making the Zhu family the undisputed first family in Qingsang City and ennobled. This is why Zhu Yan had the ability to recommend Lan Yunyue to the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion.
"Damn, I didn't check the almanac today and ran into a ghost," Lin Xiaodong grumbled.
Zhu Yan and the young man walked out side by side, with several attendants waiting outside the noble area following them. It seemed that Zhu Yan was taking the young man to register. As they walked, they would naturally meet Lin Ming.
Given Lin Ming's status and strength, he might be at a disadvantage if they met, but Lin Ming did not avoid them, calmly watching Zhu Yan walk over.
Zhu Yan's steps paused slightly as he saw Lin Ming and Lin Xiaodong. He was initially slightly surprised, then frowned. Seeing Lin Ming made him extremely unhappy. Although he had already taken Lan Yunyue, she refused any intimate actions before marriage, clearly still thinking of Lin Ming and feeling some guilt. She chose him only because of the Seven Mystic Turtle Mansion, and no man could tolerate his future wife thinking of another man, Zhu Yan included.