In Wushan Town, as the sun rises in the east, the town still retains a hint of coolness from the early morning. At this time, almost all the residents have already come out to start their work. Even six or seven-year-old children have mostly woken up and begun their traditional morning exercises.
On the open field to the east of Wushan Town, the warm morning sunshine filters through the tall trees beside the field, casting dappled light on the ground.
I saw a large group of children, estimated to be around one or two hundred. These children were divided into three teams, with each team arranged in several rows. The children stood quietly on the open ground, all with serious faces. The children in the northernmost team of this group were probably between six and eight years old. The children in the middle team were roughly between nine and twelve years old, while the southernmost team consisted of teenagers between thirteen and sixteen years old.
In front of this large group of children stood three sturdy middle-aged men, all wearing short vests and rough cloth trousers.
"To become a great warrior, one must train hard from a young age," said the middle-aged man who led the group, with his hands clasped behind his back. This middle-aged man was Hori, the father of Baruch. Hori raised his head and said coldly, his cold and stern gaze sweeping across the team in the northernmost position. The group of six or seven-year-old children pursed their lips, their dark eyes fixed on Hori, not daring to make a sound.
"You are all ordinary people, and it's impossible for you to cultivate powerful aura secret scripts like those great nobles. If you want to stand out and avoid being looked down upon in the future, you must train according to the oldest, simplest, and most basic methods: strengthening your body and endurance. Understand?"
Hori's gaze swept over the group of children.
Hori's gaze swept over the group of children.
"Understood!" a group of teenagers roared loudly.
"Very good." Hori nodded coldly with satisfaction. Most of the six or seven-year-old children had a dazed look in their eyes, while the teenagers all had a very determined gaze, because they understood the meaning of what Hillman had said.
Almost every man in the entire Yulan continent must train diligently from a young age. If anyone does not train hard, he will be looked down upon in the future! The status of a man is represented by strength and money! Even women will look down upon a man without strength.
I want to make my parents proud, to be admired by girls, and to live a glorious life in the future!
You must become a great warrior or a great mage!
They are all commoners, and it is impossible for them to cultivate those precious fighting qi secret scripts. Their only method is to exercise their bodies and build up strength from a young age! Work hard and strive! They spend more energy and effort than the nobles!
"In the morning, as the sun rises, everything is full of vitality. This is the best time to absorb the essence of heaven and earth and enhance our physical potential. Follow the old rules: stand with your legs shoulder-width apart, knees slightly bent, and hands clasped at your waist, forming the 'Qi-concentrating stance'. When performing the Qi-concentrating stance, it is crucial to 'concentrate your attention, maintain inner calm, and breathe naturally," Hori said indifferently.
The qi-accumulating technique is the simplest yet highly effective method for physical training, which is the accumulated experience of our predecessors over countless years.
Suddenly, one or two hundred children all took the posture of 'Qi-accumulating Form' as required.
"Remember, focus your attention, maintain a calm state of mind, and breathe naturally!" Huo Li walked among the group of teenagers and said indifferently.
At a glance, it was evident that the teenagers in the team from the south were all focused and calm, breathing naturally. At the same time, each of them achieved a "deep, even, and steady" breathing. Clearly, they all had some achievements in the "Qi-accumulating Technique".
However, looking at the six or seven-year-old children in the north, their knees are bent to varying degrees, their legs are loose and floppy, and they clearly lack strength and stability.
Hori said to the other two middle-aged men, "You are in charge of the two teams in the south and the center respectively. I'll manage those kids."
"Yes, sir." The two middle-aged men immediately responded, and then each of them carefully watched the two teams in the center and on the south side, occasionally kicking the legs of the youngsters to see if they were standing steadily enough.
Huo Li, on the other hand, walked towards the group of children aged six or seven in the north, who immediately became nervous.
Hori stepped into the center of the group of children. Looking at them, his face was cold, but deep down, he sighed, "These children are really too young. They are far from mature, both physically and mentally. We can't expect too much from them. However, physical training is best cultivated from a young age. If they train seriously from a young age, they will have a greater chance of survival on the battlefield in the future."
Educating, guiding, and engaging children is the most effective method! Forcing them will only have the opposite effect!
"Line up properly!" Huo Li snorted coldly.
Instantly, every child puffed out their chests and stared straight ahead.
A hint of a smile appeared on Hori's lips, and he then walked to the front, taking off his vest. The muscular lines on his body made the little children open their eyes wide, and even the teenagers in the center and on the south side looked enviously at Hori's muscles.
In addition to his nearly perfect muscle definition, Huo Li's bare upper body bore the marks of knives and swords, with over ten various wounds. All the children looked at those wounds with shining eyes.
Scars from swords and blades, these are the medals of men!
They all had great admiration for Hori deep down. Hori, a great Level 7 warrior, was a brave soldier tempered in life and death! He was a remarkable figure even in the big cities. In Wushan Town, he was a big shot admired by everyone, and even the lord had to show him some respect.
"Lord Hori is indeed worthy of having fought and survived in the battlefield. His strength is formidable. If only I had such powerful strength," sighed a middle-aged man. "Unfortunately, Lord Hori's son is a good-for-nothing. He's already seven years old, yet he hasn't even sensed the aura. He probably won't have the chance to cultivate aura and become a warrior in his lifetime."
As they spoke, both of them looked towards the group of six or seven-year-old children in the north. There was an indescribable pity in the eyes of Baruch, who was quietly exercising with his eyes slightly closed.
Baruch has been participating in morning exercises since he was three years old, and it has been four years now. These four years have made seven-year-old Baruch appear much more mature and determined compared to his peers, and his exercise time is much longer than that of teenagers who are thirteen or fourteen years old.
But both of them were under Hori's employ. Since last year, Hori had been passing on the Aura cultivation technique he acquired from the military to Baruch, allowing him to practice it!
Over the past year, Baruch had never cultivated a sense of qi, let alone mastered the art of fighting qi!
So, in their eyes, no matter how hard Baruch trained, he was just a waste with a stronger body and greater strength than others!
In the Yulan continent, it has never happened that someone fails to perceive the sensation of qi after practicing a qi cultivation technique for a year! Those ordinary people don't have qi simply because the qi cultivation manuals are extremely precious, and they don't have the opportunity to cultivate!
Otherwise, even the most ordinary person can at least become a First-Level Warrior.
If Baruch knew what the two were thinking, he would definitely show his disdain! The reason why he didn't show any anger or even fight back was simply because he was still young and didn't have the ability to protect himself, so he didn't want to attract others' attention!
He began practicing the "Dragon Blood Secret Script" from the age of one. Six years later, not only has his physical body reached Level Six, but his Aura cultivation has also reached Level Six! He is a true Level Six warrior, and in terms of strength, he is even stronger than his father, Hori!
After all, a Dragonblood Warrior with a physical level of six and a Qi level of six becomes a level seven warrior in their dragon form, and they are an invincible existence among level seven warriors!
At this moment, Baruch was meticulously practicing the 'Qi-Concentrating Stance', with his eyes slightly closed, and he thought to himself, "Morning exercises are having less and less effect on me. I need to find a time to tell my father that I don't need to do them anymore."
Baruch believed that convincing Hori to allow him to skip morning training would not be difficult, because ever since he learned that Baruch could not cultivate aura, Hori had lost all hope for him. Without cultivating aura, merely training the body could only lead to a level 7 warrior at most!
However, those whose bodies have reached the level of a Level Seven Warrior are exceedingly rare, and even Hori has only heard of them.
"I have reached the sixth level of warrior in terms of both my physical strength and aura, but I have never fought with others. I have the strength of a thousand pounds, but I am a complete novice." Thinking about how he had never fought with others and how he had mastered almost all the skills of combat, Baruch felt very depressed.
He had no choice. Who could blame him for being only seven years old? Even though he was sturdy and a head taller than his peers, he was still equivalent to a nine-year-old child! He had no chance to fight with others, let alone go on an adventure in the Magic Beast Mountains.
The three most dangerous places in the Yulan continent are the first mountain range, the 'Mountain Range of Demons', the second mountain range, the 'Mountain Range of Sunset', and the first forest, the 'Forest of Darkness'. Among these three places, the Mountain Range of Sunset and the Forest of Darkness are extremely far away from him, so he doesn't even want to think about them for the time being. However, the Mountain Range of Demons is only a dozen miles away from Wushan Town, making it the most suitable choice. But Baruch knows that the Mountain Range of Demons runs almost the entire length of the continent from north to south, stretching over ten thousand miles. Inside, there are countless demons, and even holy-domain demons with the power to 'destroy heaven and earth'. With his current strength, entering the Mountain Range of Demons is too dangerous, and Hori wouldn't allow it either.
"In half a month, it will be February 9th, the day when the Ernst Academy of Magic starts. When I heard my father mention it the day before yesterday, he had a look of longing on his face. Perhaps, if I go for the magic talent test and have the opportunity to become a mage, I can leave Wushan Town." Suddenly, an idea popped up in Baruch's mind. If he continued to stay in Wushan Town, he would never be able to leave it. Therefore, if he wanted to grow better and have a broader space, he had to go out. And becoming a mage was undoubtedly an excellent excuse.
In the Yulan continent, the status of a mage is far higher than that of a warrior of the same level. For example, a third-level mage holds a higher status than a sixth-level warrior!
"Moreover, I remember that the Dragonblood Warrior is just unable to perceive water elements. Without undergoing the ancestral temple ritual to stimulate the power of the bloodline, their affinity towards water elements is zero. However, their affinity towards other elements remains unaffected. Otherwise, how could Linley have such an extraordinary affinity?" Baruch thought, his excitement growing as he pondered.
With his strength as a Level 6 warrior, his mental power is at least a hundred times stronger than that of an ordinary person. Therefore, he is not worried about his mental power. The only thing that stands in his way is his affinity for magic.
However, although he was a Level 6 warrior, he was unable to perceive the affinity of his own magic or the magic elements in the universe, as he did not have a mage to guide him. Therefore, the only way was to go to Fenlai City for a magic talent test.