"Is Lu Yun at home?"
That day, after Lu Yun had finished his day's cultivation and had bathed and changed his clothes, a rough voice rang out from outside the door.
"Who could it be?" Lu Yun frowned slightly, stepped out of his room, and saw a muscular middle-aged man waiting outside.
"Uncle Youxiong?"
This man was none other than the Deputy Village Chief of Spirit Creek Village, Lu Youxiong, whose strength surpassed both Lu Meng and the hunting team captain, second only to the village head.
"Uncle Youxiong, what do you want from me?" Lu Yun asked with genuine curiosity.
"Heh heh, lucky you, little guy. Come with me, quickly." Lu Youxiong said, then grabbed Lu Yun and carried him off like a little chicken.
Fires danced, and Spirit Creek Village was abuzz with activity. Adults and children, men and women, all wore smiles on their faces, and the village was filled with laughter and joy.
"Little guy, don't run around. After the medicine bath, your martial arts will soon reach great accomplishment," an old man said with a smile.
"No, I don't want to be boiled alive." A group of children, upon hearing they were to be placed into a bronze cauldron, immediately turned pale and ran away, crying out. But how could they escape the clutches of adults? They were easily caught and brought back.
"A bunch of ungrateful brats. The village paid a great price to host this medicine bath, and ordinary people don't even get this chance," the adults scolded playfully after catching the children, giving them a couple of swats on their behinds.
"I'm scared, I don't want the medicine bath. Can't you give the opportunity to someone else?"
"No way. Only those who have made small achievement in the Breaking Wind Saber Technique or the Fierce Tiger Fist can enjoy the medicine bath. Others don't get this treatment," one of the elders reprimanded.
Lu Yun obediently followed Lu Youxiong, not resisting, but curiously watching everything.
At that moment, he witnessed another scene.
On another open space, nine bronze cauldrons were already set up, with fierce flames burning underneath. The water inside boiled continuously, bubbling away, and herbs floated on the surface.
At each cauldron stood a middle-aged man, each holding a bucket of beast blood. Their eyes were all fixed on the weathered figure standing in the center.
Because this weathered figure was Spirit Creek Village's Village Chief, as well as the strongest warrior, Lu Cangsheng.
"Prepare, pour the beast blood into the cauldrons!"
With Lu Cangsheng's order, the nine men simultaneously poured the beast blood from the buckets into the cauldrons.
The crystal-clear medicinal liquid immediately turned opaque with the addition of the crimson beast blood, and the vigorous boiling calmed down.
"Increase the fire!" Lu Cangsheng gave another command. The strong men hurried to add the wood they had previously piled up, and the flames roared, making the medicinal liquid in the cauldrons boil once more.
Watching the continually bubbling medicinal liquid in the cauldrons, a group of youths turned pale and struggled to escape, but they were firmly held down by strong hands.
"You cowards, look at Lu Yun and Lu Tianhu, and learn from them!"
Lu Meng scolded the youths. The herbs surrounding the cauldrons had been found deep in Cloud Dream Mountain by the hunting team, extremely precious, able to enhance a martial artist's physique. For the kids, they could strengthen their foundations, which would be greatly beneficial for their future in martial arts.
The beast blood added later was obtained by the Old Village Head who ventured deep into Cloud Dream Mountain and expended great effort to slay a Meridian Passage Realm Flood Snake, securing this much blood.
Spirit Creek Village had nearly exhausted its resources to hold this medicine bath, not just to lay a solid foundation for the group of young boys but also to prepare for the upcoming Martial Academy selection.
If by chance one or two youths from Spirit Creek Village entered the Martial Academy, it would be the greatest honor.
However, getting into the Martial Academy was not easy. Besides having excellent aptitude, one must also pass the Martial Academy's examination.
Nowadays, within Spirit Creek Village, none of the youths had openly reached great accomplishment in a third-rate martial art, a fact that caused Village Chief Lu Cangsheng and the senior officials of Spirit Creek Village a great deal of concern, which led to this medicine bath.
Because the preparation for the medicinal bath required many items, even the power of Spirit Creek Village, after expending several years of foundation, could only manage to hold a small-scale medicinal bath.
The targets of the medicinal bath were naturally the youth with potential.
And those who had cultivated martial arts to the level of Small Achievement were considered to possess immense potential.
When the fire went out, and the water in the cauldron went from boiling to slightly cooler, a series of pitiful howls and the sounds of splashing water erupted.
"Ah, I'm going to die!"
"I'm cooked, my whole body is thoroughly cooked, save me!"
Inside the bronze cauldrons, each youth gritted their teeth and grimaced, continually crying out in pain, while the adults coldly looked on, with no trace of sympathy in their eyes.
Of course, not all children were disappointing. Lu Tianhu and Lu Liangpeng, although showing signs of suffering on their faces, both clenched their teeth and persisted. Drenched in sweat from the pain, they didn't make a sound from beginning to end.
As for Lu Yun, he coordinated even better, for he had already ascended to Martial Artist, and his physical qualities had transformed; with his endurance greatly improved, he wasn't in as much agony as the others.
Furthermore, Lu Yun also noticed that as time passed, the consistency of the medicinal liquid in his cauldron was decreasing, turning from its original murkiness to clarity.
The Old Village Head, who was constantly monitoring the changes in each cauldron, saw this and showed a smile on his aged face. After instructing another man to stoke the fire, he took out two more clay jars and poured their contents into the cauldron where Lu Yun was.
Seeing the fire beneath Lu Yun's cauldron rise again, the other youths showed looks of sympathy, suddenly feeling fortunate that they only had to endure the pain and torment once.
As for some adults, they couldn't help but take notice of Lu Yun's performance.
Any youth who could fully undergo a medicinal bath was considered to possess no weak amount of innate talent and was sure to become a Martial Artist in the future.
Lu Yun, however, not only endured the pain of the medicinal bath but also in very little time managed to absorb all the medicinal liquid in the cauldron, prompting the village head to conduct a second medicinal bath—his innate talent was indeed remarkable.
But at the same time, it was inevitable that some concern arose.
A second medicinal bath, and the Old Village Head had even added two different types of beast blood specifically; it wasn't something ordinary people could endure, let alone an eleven-year-old like Lu Yun.
"You don't have to worry, this lad Lu Yun has an extremely strong constitution; he can bear it. Moreover, this medicinal bath will be greatly beneficial to him," Old Village Head Lu Cangsheng said, stroking his beard.
"Little Yun trained for less than half a month and cultivated the Breaking Wind Saber Technique to the small achievement realm. After this medicinal bath, he will certainly step into the great accomplishment realm, and then he'll have a good chance of entering the Martial Academy," Lu Meng said admiringly as he watched Lu Yun persevering in the cauldron.
"Sigh... Our Spirit Creek Village has finally produced a genius," a burly man also exclaimed.
The medicinal bath continued for a long time, and one after another, the youth were soaked until they resembled red-skinned monkeys—unable to persist, they were eventually pulled out by the adults.
Once out, they looked pitiful, gazing at each other with tear-filled eyes, as though they had suffered some grievous torment.
However, Lu Tianhu and Lu Liangpeng wore expressions of satisfaction, inwardly feeling the surge of their strength.
"The results are very good. Once they have fully absorbed the medicinal properties, the martial arts of these two can step into great accomplishment," said Lu Cangsheng, who was engaged in a quiet discussion with several elders, contentedly nodding his head.
Off to the side, Lu Yun quietly summoned his panel.
[Name]: Lu Yun
[Power]: Spirit Creek Village
[Martial Arts]: Breaking Wind Saber Technique (Perfection, not upgradable)
[Innate Talent]: Level 5
[Martial Arts Realm]: Early Enter Martial Realm
[Energy Points]: 0.9