C1

"101, 102, 103 …"

In an empty space in a small courtyard, a fifteen to sixteen year old boy had a determined and spirited look in his eyes. He was carrying a stone half the size of his body as he squatted on the ground.

As he was counting, his forehead was already covered with sweat. His face was also a little flushed from the weight exercise, and he was gasping for breath.

The young man's name was Ling Yan. Because his mother was weak and sickly, she died when Ling Yan was three years old.

His father was a soldier from the southern border, and he placed Ling Yan at his old friend's house, where the famous blacksmith Ye He lived. In the past, Ling Yan's father would go home every year to bring delicious food to Ling Yan, telling him stories about his life at the border.

Every time he heard this, Ling Yan would listen with great interest. Especially when he saw his father talking about how he would defeat the enemy, and how he would make a scene with a strong sense of warrior honor in his eyes, Ling Yan's tiny heart slowly gave birth to the desire to protect his country and his people like his father had.

However, ever since Ling Yan was ten years old, the borders of the South Heaven Kingdom had been in turmoil. Vicious beasts frequently appeared, and his father had never returned.

Facing the sympathy, pity, and even disdain from some of the adults in the town, Ling Yan had never cared about them before.

He believed that his father must still be alive, fighting bravely against enemies and vicious beasts. One day, his father would appear before him with his spear in hand. Then, he would rub his head and continue to tell him the story of the border.

As for him, during this time, he would wait for his father to come back so that his father could see his best self.

Because at the age of twelve, the martial arts talent test, Ling Yan, was a superior second-grade talent!

After the results of the test, the whole town seemed to have lost a lot of sound. The people behind Ling Yan, who had lost his mother and his father, who seemed to have been orphaned due to his disappearance, were now completely silent.

There were more than three thousand people in this small town. There were less than one hundred who had martial arts talent, and not a single person who had a grade two martial arts talent.

It was very difficult to become a martial artist. Even with the talent in martial arts, one might not be able to become a martial artist.

However, the higher the talent, the higher the chances of becoming a martial artist. Ling Yan had superior grade two martial arts talent.

This talent was even higher than his father's. Previously, there hadn't been any martial artists in this town other than Ling Yan's father. But now, this meant that Ling Yan would become the next martial artist in this town in the near future!

A martial artist was strong. Once they became a martial artist, they would be at the lowest level. They would be at the first level of the Mortal Nascent Soul Stage.

One person dealing with a few strong men wouldn't be a problem, and like this, those people who only had a taste of their own medicine naturally didn't dare to talk about Ling Yan at all, lest they offend Ling Yan's bad luck and get their revenge from him in the future.

Currently, Ling Yan was fifteen years old, and he was at the early Second Stage of the Mortal Realm.

In the eyes of the people in the small town, Ling Yan was already very outstanding, very powerful.

However, only Ling Yan himself was clear that the person that this world lacked the least was a genius.

He did not know how many countries there were on the continent, but based on what he knew, there were more than forty million people living in South Africa alone.

Among them, there were one to two million martial artists. Not to mention a second-grade talent, even a third-grade martial talent would be uncountable. Among them, his second-grade and high-grade martial arts talent would only be a lower grade.

His father had once failed to choose the best martial arts school in South Tong Kingdom, Crimson Nimbus Martial School, and he wanted to enter Crimson Nimbus Martial School to make up for the regret in his father's heart!

And in a few more days, it would be the first day of spring, the day of Crimson Nimbus Martial School's enrollment. Even Ling Yan, who had a calm demeanor tempered by the monotonous daily drudgery of cultivation, couldn't help but feel a bit nervous.

With his current strength, wanting to enter the Crimson Nimbus Martial School would be quite difficult.

"One hundred and eighty-six, one hundred and eighty-seven, one hundred and eighty-eight …" "Two hundred and one, two hundred and one …"

Now, Ling Yan could feel his thigh begin to uncontrollably tremble. Lactic acid was rapidly secreted, and his muscles were increasingly sore. Ling Yan clenched his teeth, tightly grabbing onto the large rock on his back with both hands, maintaining a stable center of gravity.

At this moment, a clear and hurried voice could be heard within the courtyard. Even before the person had arrived, the voice had already traveled over.

"Big Brother Yan, Big Brother Yan, it's bad, it's bad, those people are coming again! "Wuu, dad, he …"

Hearing this voice, Ling Yan's expression changed. He immediately threw the stone on his body onto the ground, making a "peng" sound. The moment the beautiful figure entered, he felt her body lighten and was quickly pulled out by someone.

"Yuan-er, are those ingrate here again?" While they were running, Ling Yan asked with a stern expression.

"Yes, wuu. Big Brother Yan, Daddy … It seems like his condition has worsened …"

The little girl that was being pulled by Ling Yan was called Ye Chong'er. He was about fifteen years old and had a pair of crystal clear eyes that were as bright as stars. His fine black hair was draped over his shoulders, and he had a touch of gentleness.

"Hmph, those people!" Ling Yan coldly snorted and did not say anything, but his feet became even faster.