CLIMBING THE PINNACLE OF MARTIAL ARTS

Chapter 1: Disciple Trial

When the new day began, Ye Feng woke up and started to tidy up his bed. Taking the broom that was lying in the corner of her small room, she walked out while the door started to open slowly. He raised his head to look at the gray touch in the glare of the dawn sky and closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He enjoyed these moments of peace, before he had to begin the work assigned to sweep the vast land of dirt and foliage.

Dressed in black clothes that seemed simple and clean, the black worn seemed to highlight the loneliness of the youth from years of isolation there. His spine was straight like a javelin with a meticulous expression on his face. Even though he finished the lowest ranked job, Ye Feng's task was executed very well. Gives a little strength to the broom and with just a rotation of his wrist, the broom moves easily. As his body moved, the dust and trash on the ground seemed to accumulate magically in one place around him, just as they had grown a pair of legs.

Ye Feng was the trial disciple of the Pure Battallion pavilion as he had been training for three years, yet only reached the third level of body tempered. The other disciples who had entered at the same time as him, had long surpassed him and reached a higher stage. Thus, they could all enter the main building, pay their respects and make a step towards their future. He could only regret his incompetence.

Reaching the third stage of body tempered in three years was not normal but a pitiful talent.

Helpless, Ye Feng could only continue sweeping in the outer courtyard, working hard to support himself in the progress of his training.

The Pure Battallion Pavilion was a very unique school, because of this uniqueness there was a ruthless competition between the disciples. In this school, the strong are like kings, while the weak are eliminated. The strong eat the weak, the law of the jungle is actively followed by everyone without exception. This tradition has been lived for many years in the Batallion Pure pavilion.

In other schools, you may be able to see friendly competition, fraternal ties and people working together to achieve the same goals. But here, the only "bond" itself is toyed with, so that they can use each other and increase their power; stepping over the body of each other's disciples is the only method to reach your goal.

The strict system of Pure Battallion pavilions was famous throughout the Han Dynasty. Although the Pure Battalion Pavilion itself was not that big, the brutal nature of their disciples, making their strength second to none! It was because the skills of each of the disciples here were like ferocious tigers and when they walked out, no one in all the rivers and lakes dared to provoke them.

(TLN: All rivers and lakes are martial terms similar to heaven and earth, to convey how they resonate through the ground.)

Though, the Pure Battallion Pavilion had one rule; that was to accept disciples at fourteen years of age and for the first three years of their acceptance, it was considered to be their exam period. In those three years, all the disciples had both food, clothing, shelter provided by the inner court (school center), so the disciples only needed to focus on his cultivation. But, if in these three years they could break through above the tempered body stage, they would be able to enter the inner court to pay their respects to their elders and become their disciples. Of course you don't need a teacher and you can improve yourself, but the difference in learning on your own and having a teacher is huge. On one hand, the rules of the Pure Battallion pavilion did have room for flexibility and freedom.

In those three years if you don't break through, then you're given two options: to leave school or be demoted to a trial student.

Trial disciple was Ye Feng's current status! He had also humiliated the Pure Battallion Pavilion!.

Compared to normal disciples, their treatment was very different. Tried students must provide food, shelter, clothing, because the inner court will no longer waste their resources on this garbage. After being revealed to be a trial disciple, you will basically never be able to advance. Unless of course, you managed to raise your cultivation level quickly in a short period of time. Only then did the school consider promoting you to be a true disciple.

The entire Pure Battalion pavilion consisted of three thousand disciples, whereas trial disciples? You can count them with your ten fingers! Ye Feng had confidence that he would be able to become a true disciple!

For trial disciples who wanted to survive in the Pure Battallion, this was like dreaming of reaching heaven. Take Ye Feng as an example, his current residence was a hut he had built himself, one block of wood at a time. He did not even have time to repair the hole in his small roof. When it rains, the water also can not get out properly and accumulate in the room. He also bought his own clothes and food; basically he was responsible for all his own needs.

Ye Feng's small cottage was in the most remote and least populated location of the school.

In general, when subjected to such horrific treatment, it was difficult to endure. That was the reason why the school only had a small number of trial students. Most who were unable to meet the requirements chose to leave the school, but Ye Feng stayed behind.

This was equivalent to being expelled, how was this alright?

A few months before, when he had become a trial disciple, Ye Feng had also received a sweeping job to provide resources for himself.

Right now Ye Feng was a trial disciple and a small servant; actually just by sweeping, it was difficult for him to survive. There were many times when he was cold or hungry, but he chose this path. So he didn't play the retreat drum, because in this life he swore to continue it. That's what a man thinks he does.

Clearing the path and sweeping away the dust from the sky, the sky gradually began to light up from the beginning which only seemed timidly to bring out its rays of light.

Although sweeping alone did not use much energy, but without food or drink since the morning and the constant movement, Ye Feng was filled with sweat. It had nothing to do with strength, only his physique was extremely poor. Twice a day he ate, but for a martial artist, nutrition, protein, vitamins and so forth were essential for the development of his body. Anyone who lived like Ye Feng, how could their physique be good?

As time went on, more and more disciples of the Pure Battalion pavilion started to surround him. These disciples woke up early, not to cultivate but to beat up Ye Feng. They were very interested in Ye Feng, looking at him with sharp gazes, as if they were staring at a beautiful woman who was bare chest.

Among the disciples of the Pure Battallion pavilion gathered around Ye Feng, there was also a tense atmosphere in the air. Looking at each other with caution, all were unfriendly.

Someone among the crowd softly said, “So many people, this is a bit excessive. ”

At that moment someone said, “Do you think anyone can walk this path, huh? No one wants you to stay here.”

The statement made the person who spoke to be ashamed. Everyone knew why they were gathered here, why they were all looking at Ye Feng, and they were all waiting for the next moment. The deadline is coming soon, so isn't leaving now not mercy? If you can reach for the reward, then today will be the harvest.

Ye Feng naturally knew the reason for the commotion next to him, even though his expression never changed. They will parade every five days, six times a month. He was already used to it, and it was nothing to make a fuss. He also noticed the number of people in front of him had increased, they might not have all arrived yet. (TL: Wow, these guys really bother coming there six times a month. Don't they have better things to do? He he)

Even though he was discredited, Ye Feng turned a blind eye to the people next to him and started sweeping.

Ye Feng suddenly stopped and sat down halfway and slowly he inhaled the morning air to restore his own physical stamina.

Seeing that movement, the people gathered around him all went around him. A tense atmosphere filled the air, as if the air was no longer flowing.

No one looked at each other, but all stared intently at Ye Feng.

If people saw this crowd, they would hold the misconception that there was an expert in their midst or another, how could so many people surround one such person? In reality, Ye Feng was only a trial disciple with a cultivation at the third level of tempered body. Everyone present was stronger than him.

“Ye Feng, no need to bother. Why don't you obediently lie on the ground so that I can defeat you and save time? ”Seeing it like that, they feel disgusted.

How much energy can the body recover in the third stage of the tempered body? The end will also lose anyway, so why should it linger?

"Listen to Ye Feng, please think about the feelings of our fellow disciples as well. We are not like you, after this game we have to train and cultivate. ”

This statement made Ye Feng duck and let them defeat him. The act of recovering his internal energy was akin to disrespecting them, but he only closed his ears.

Time continued to pass, suddenly the melodious Tower bells sounded. It reached the ears of all the disciples around Ye Feng and himself, shocking the disciples. The bells chimed nine times, everyone calmed their breaths, helplessly staring at Ye Feng as he slowly got up. He took his broom and glanced at the people surrounding him.

"Choose me senior Feng!" Shouted someone. "I will lightly attack you and can guarantee that you will not get sick!"

"Junk! Choose me, I'll be merciful. I'll end it in one fist, and I promise I won't waste everyone's time. ”

"Pick me……"

"Just me…… . ”

It was very crowded, like a market where vendors were trying to sell their products, competing with fresher products.

"Ye Feng, you can choose your own opponents!" Someone reminded.

Ye Feng laughed, he immediately raised his broom and threw it into the sky. Dozens of pairs of eyes looked up, full of hope and waiting for the broom to fall and each of them prayed. Time seemed to slow down, the broom turned several times in the air and fell to the ground with a loud bang, no longer moving.

The head of the broom pointed at the crowd of a burly teenager. A voice of regret echoed as the rest of the crowd withdrew out. But the burly youngster laughed loudly and hurriedly: “Choops disciples, this brother won the battle today, but I hope fellow disciples will not blame me.. ”

"Cih!, b*lucky bastard!" Said one with jealousy.

“Why not just choose me. I come every five days, for a whole month! Ye Feng, you didn't do this on purpose right? ”

"Don't tell me that, I've been coming for three whole months and not once have I been chosen!"

"Brother, you are more miserable than I am. ”

“Already! watching is also a good show. ”The two brothers looked at each other, smiling silently in their hearts.

In the courtyard, the others had already dispersed, leaving only Ye Feng and the burly-bodied teenagers facing each other.

"Murid trial Ye Feng, tempered third stage body!" Ye Feng introduced himself to his opponent.

"Ordinary disciple Zhou Ding Jun, tempered fifth stage body!" The burly teenager introduced.

The disciples of the Pure Battalion also had their rank. From the bottom up were trial disciples, ordinary disciples, inner disciples, elite disciples, and core disciples; a total of five ranks. Zhou Ding Jun said that he was an ordinary disciple, it meant that he had yet to pay his respects and had no mentor. If the breakthrough disciples had already passed the tempered body stage, then their status would be higher than the disciples in the others. And those elite disciples were chosen from the disciples in the best.

As for the core disciples, they were treated as pillars for the next generation in the school or the Pure Battalion pavilion and hence would be treated specially by the pavilion higher-ups or sects.

The astonishing hierarchy of disciples, although seemingly absurd, it could stimulate the younger generation into fierce competition, which was the basis of the brutal Battallion Pure pavilion regime. This was the main reason why Ye Feng was fighting with many people, the other rule of the Pure Bullion pavilion was the Rule Challenge.