Black Tiger Martial Arts School!

The Great Wei Dynasty, Lingzhou, Qingyang Commandery, Yunhe County.

The first day of the fifth month in the eighteenth year of the Qianyuan era.

Outer city area, south of the city, Qinghe Town, Black Tiger Martial Arts School.

The Black Tiger Martial Arts School covers an area of ​​more than ten acres and is divided into inner and outer courtyards.

The outer academy recruits ordinary apprentices, starting with honing their physical strength. If one can reach the first level of Body Tempering Realm within three months and achieve initial mastery of tendon refining, and can lift a 200-pound stone lock with one hand, one can formally become a disciple and enter the inner academy for cultivation.

At this moment, in the outer courtyard, at the martial arts training ground.

More than a hundred apprentices dressed in black are practicing the Nine Forms of Black Tiger Body Forging Fist, strengthening their muscles and bones.

A young man dressed in the black uniform of a formal disciple of the Black Tiger Martial Arts School was giving instructions from the side.

Among the apprentices, a young man in a blue robe had a handsome face and a slender figure, but his expression was resolute, and he was sweating profusely.

Body-strengthening boxing is very physically demanding, which can be very stressful for those who are not physically strong.

Lu Ze is sixteen years old this year. Due to his family's poverty, he has been living below the poverty line for many years, so he is naturally thin and not as strong as the other apprentices.

A quarter of an hour later, under the instruction of a formal disciple, Lu Ze slowly withdrew his fist and took a breath.

At this moment, a young man in black walked over; he was Zhuo Yunfei, a formal disciple of the martial arts school.

"Lu Ze, I've been observing you for a few days now. You have good willpower, but your physique is too weak. It will be very difficult for you to reach the first level of the Body Tempering Realm within three months. Forcing yourself to cultivate will only deplete your body and shorten your lifespan. Moreover, you started practicing martial arts too late. You're unlikely to achieve much. It would be better to give up sooner and learn a trade."

Upon hearing this, Lu Ze's expression became complicated. After hesitating for a moment, he said, "Senior Brother Zhuo, thank you. I'll practice a little longer. If it really doesn't work, I'll give up!"

Zhuo Yunfei nodded upon hearing this. He understood Lu Ze's resentment, as many apprentices from poor families met the same fate.

Martial arts training not only requires a strong physique from birth, but also consumes a lot of resources, so generally only wealthy families can afford to pursue it.

Even if a poor family manages to save up ten taels of silver for tuition, they may still have to give up because they cannot afford the expenses of martial arts training.

Then, Lu Ze sat on a futon and fell into deep thought.

He had awakened his memories of his past life on Earth three months ago. Initially, he was excited because it was a world of cultivation, offering the opportunity to cultivate immortality!

Then came frustration.

When he was six years old, his parents bought him a chance to test his spiritual roots.

Unfortunately, his spiritual root was even worse than a low-grade spiritual root.

In this world, cultivation of immortality requires spiritual roots, which are divided into low-grade, medium-grade, high-grade, and top-grade. Low-grade spiritual roots are the worst cultivation aptitude, and the cultivation speed is extremely slow.

As for inferior spiritual roots, they are practically equivalent to having no spiritual roots at all.

If the aptitude of a low-grade spiritual root is 10, and the aptitude of a poor-grade spiritual root is 1-2, not only will the cultivation efficiency be extremely low, but it will also be difficult to break through to the fourth level of the Qi Refining Realm in one's lifetime.

This is what the immortal master in charge of testing spiritual roots said!

Inferior spiritual roots are pure waste, and naturally no cultivation sect would accept them.

Unable to achieve immortality, Lu Ze could only pin his hopes on martial arts. He did not want to be an ordinary person, with his life in the hands of others.

Because this world is not an ordinary cultivation world, but a terrifying cultivation world invaded by a strange black mist!

The entire Yunhe County stretches for eight hundred miles, but only the inner and outer urban areas of the county seat have a population; the outskirts and wilderness are the domain of demons and monsters.

During the day, things are fine; only physical demons appear in the wilderness. But once night falls, black mist appears, the yin energy surges, and numerous ghosts come out to hunt for food, even attacking the outer city.

For ordinary people, encountering a ghost means certain death!

Three months ago, Lu Ze almost died on the spot because he was a little late coming home and encountered a disheveled female ghost in white!

Then he awakened his memories of his past life, held on for a while longer, and waited for the night patrol of the Demon Suppression Guards, thus saving his life!

It was because of this experience that he decided to practice martial arts!

After all, after cultivating martial arts, one has the protection of pure yang qi and blood, which can help one resist even the lowest level of ghosts and monsters, giving one more chance to escape and save one's life.

If one is a powerful martial artist, one can even use strong pure yang blood and martial will to blast away ghosts and monsters!

Therefore, this martial art must be cultivated, even if it means overdrawing one's body and shortening one's lifespan!

After resting for a while, Lu Ze resumed his boxing practice. Regardless of the circumstances, he would never give up!

Because he had no choice, this was his only path; failure meant death!

At dusk, the setting sun was like blood.

Lu Ze didn't dare to delay and quickly returned to his home in Qingshui Lane.

The outer city is far less safe than the inner city; once night falls, there is a possibility of encountering ghosts.

In theory, the outer city walls were inscribed with protective runes and patrolled by night watchmen, which could prevent ghosts and monsters from invading.

But in reality, it's still inevitable that some things will go wrong, allowing ghosts and monsters to sneak in.

After all, the entire outer city has a population of over 500,000, 24 towns, and a large amount of farmland. The area is too large, so it is inevitable that there will be loopholes in the defense.

Some of the people who died unjustly or violently in the inner city harbored great resentment, which transformed into vengeful spirits and ghosts, lurking within the city.

Not long after, Lu Ze returned home and saw his parents in this life, Lu Cheng and Liu Yumei.

Lu Cheng was a middle-aged man in a yellow shirt with a square face and short beard. He had a slightly dark complexion and was an ordinary blacksmith who worked in a blacksmith shop, earning eight hundred coins a month.

My mother, Liu Yumei, was a woman with large hands and feet. She worked as an assistant in a tailor shop, earning about four hundred coins a month.

The couple's income wasn't much, but it was enough to support their family, so they shouldn't be in poverty.

If Lu Ze were his only son, it would be enough to raise him to have a strong body.

But Lu Ze also has an older brother and a younger sister.

My younger sister, Lu Xuan, is only ten years old. She doesn't eat much and doesn't have any expenses.

However, Lu Ze's older brother, Lu Qing, had already reached marriageable age.

In order to save up for his bride price and to buy him a house, Lu Cheng had no choice but to make his family live frugally.

Fortunately, Lu Qing is now married and has found a stable job through connections. He works as an accountant in a wealthy family and has a decent income, so he no longer needs his family's help.

Our family's life will definitely get much better from now on.

When Liu Yumei saw Lu Ze return, she smiled gently and said, "Aze is back. Wash your hands and have dinner."

Lu Cheng then said, "Second brother, you've been practicing for half a month now. How does it feel? If you don't have the talent, then forget it. I'll find you another job."

Lu Ze said, "Thank you, Father, but no need. I still think practicing martial arts is better!"

Upon hearing this, Lu Xuan, the younger sister, said, "Second brother, when I grow up, can I practice martial arts with you too?"

The practice of Qi and Blood Martial Arts is extremely taxing on one's vital energy. Children are too young to practice it, as it can easily lead to stunted growth.

The ideal age for cultivation is generally twelve or thirteen. Lu Ze started cultivating late because of money.

Upon hearing this, Lu Cheng immediately said in a deep voice, "Nonsense! What kind of martial arts would a girl practice!"

Girls will get married sooner or later, so how could their families afford to spend money on their martial arts training? Most martial arts schools don't have girls; the few that do have are daughters of wealthy families.

After being scolded, Lu Xuan could only lower her head and eat her rice.

Lu Ze didn't say anything, but silently put a piece of meat on her plate.

Lu Xuan's mother, Liu Yumei, also put a piece of pork on her plate and said with a smile, "Xuan'er, eat some meat."

Lu Xuan's sorrow turned to joy, and she smiled, "Thank you, Mother and Second Brother!"

Now that things are a bit more comfortable at home, we can eat meat occasionally.

However, neither Lu Cheng nor Liu Yumei ate much meat; most of it was left for Lu Ze.

Perhaps feeling guilty for delaying the best time for her second son to practice martial arts, she wanted to make amends.

Lu Ze also noticed this, but his feelings were complicated. He didn't actually resent it, after all, continuing the family line was the most important thing in ancient times.

Moreover, parents only have the obligation to raise their children; training their children in martial arts is not within the scope of their responsibilities.

After finishing his meal, Lu Ze rested for fifteen minutes before continuing his martial arts practice.

An hour later, exhausted, he stopped practicing his boxing, took a shower, stomped on his clothes in a bucket of water a dozen times, wrung them out, and hung them up to dry.

Soon after, he went to a wooden bed in an outer bedroom and lay down to sleep.