Qin Yu had no idea.
The eight people who had come were each at the grandmaster level of their respective Outer Strength Sects. Each of their strengths was terrifyingly powerful, with the ability to defeat even peak Postnatal experts easily. Perhaps only Innate experts could suppress them.
Having cultivated their Outer Strength to such an extent, their limbs had become as hard as steel, even surpassing the sharpness of weapons. It was not unusual for them to shatter greenstone with ease. However, reaching such heights in Outer Strength Cultivation not only required effort but also talent. After all, out of over a billion people in the Eastern Domain Three Prefectures, only a sparse dozen had cultivated their Outer Strength to such a realm.
Qin Yu's eyes widened as he watched attentively, each Outer Strength expert stepping forward to display their ultimate techniques.
...
"Bang!"
The silver-haired elder grabbed a greenstone chunk the size of a brick with one hand. His fingers exerted force, and instantly the chunk was crushed into dust. Then, the silver-haired elder walked back to his spot with an air of cold arrogance and said indifferently, "Eagle Claw Skill."
This was the demonstration of the sixth Outer Strength expert.
The bald, muscular man stepped forward, his bare upper body seemingly glistening with a golden hue.
"Iron Leg Skill," said the bald man with a slight smile. Then, he casually swung his leg.
"Whoosh!" The air was instantly sliced, emitting a sharp, piercing whine as a visible airstream surged straight forward, directly impacting an already shattered piece of greenstone, which was sent rolling far away.
Just the airstream generated by the terrifying speed of his leg had sent a shattered greenstone rolling far — what would the result be if that leg squarely hit a person?
"Impressive," Qin Yu thought to himself and then turned his gaze toward the last Outer Strength expert, a stern man in black clothes who from the beginning had been indifferently watching the other experts perform, his eyes always calm.
"Why don't you demonstrate?" Qin Yu waited for a moment but didn't see the stern man make a move and couldn't help but ask curiously.
Zhao Yunxing shook his head and said nonchalantly, "My Claw Technique is not as good as the Eagle Claw King, my strength not as great as Man Dong, my leg skill inferior to this brother's, so why should I embarrass myself?"
Qin Yu was stunned.
"Then you must have some kind of special move," Qin Yu scrutinized the stern black-clothed man, trying to infer his special move from his demeanor but failed. He simply couldn't find anything unique about this man.
"Special move?" Zhao Yunxing smiled and then his expression turned serious as he looked at Qin Yu, a cold glint flashing across his eyes as he said icily, "My special move only reveals itself when I kill someone. Yet... even if I were your teacher, I wouldn't teach you the techniques of killing."
Qin Yu was not intimidated by Zhao Yunxing's aura; instead, he questioned, "If you won't teach me your special move, then what will you teach me?"
"To train the body," replied Zhao Yunxing flatly.
Qin Yu suddenly laughed aloud, "Okay, I choose you."
Zhao Yunxing's always stern face showed a hint of surprise at that moment, and the other seven Outer Strength experts looked at Qin Yu in astonishment; they all were unable to understand why Qin Yu would choose someone who only offered to 'train the body' instead of them.
"Alright, Third Prince has made his choice. From today onwards, Zhao Yunxing will be the Third Prince's mentor," announced Vice Manager Li immediately in a loud voice.
The other seven Outer Strength experts approached Qin Yu in wonder, Man Dong's booming voice resounding, "Third Prince, why didn't you choose me? I could teach you strength great as a bull, wielding a huge axe, chopping through everything in one strike!"
Seeing the curious expressions of the seven Grand Outer Strength experts, Qin Yu's face broke into a sly smile, "Heh, that's a secret."
At that moment, Zhao Yunxing also walked over, looked at Qin Yu, a faint smile on his face, and also asked, "I'm curious too, why did you choose me as a mentor, Third Prince? Can you share the reason?"
Qin Yu slightly lifted his head, proudly saying, "Dumb, isn't it obvious? You guys are a bunch of fools." Saying this, he turned to walk away. Grandpa Lian approached and walked beside Qin Yu, then asked, "Little Yu, why did you choose Zhao Yunxing?"
Qin Yu instantly whispered mysteriously to Lian, "Grandpa Lian, isn't it obvious? Look at their demeanor. Among the eight, Zhao Yunxing stands at the back, and nobody dares approach him. Also, when Zhao Yunxing watched the others perform, he seemed not to care at all. Isn't that telling enough? And... Grandpa Lian, notice how his gaze is different from the others? Hehe!"
With that, Qin Yu walked out of the West Garden, while the Eight External Skills Masters, all very perceptive, were astonished as they had heard Qin Yu's words.
"Third Prince's thoughtfulness is indeed meticulous; perhaps he really can foster an exceptional disciple. But... I wonder about his perseverance," Zhao Yunxing had a glint of amusement in his eyes.
The other seven experts acknowledged readily, praising the Third Prince's wisdom.
"General Zhao, we're heading back to the camp now," said Man Dong and the other two great experts of the Fierce Tiger Army, bowing respectfully, their respect coming from deep within. For these military experts, even the Innate experts seemed inferior compared to General Zhao.
"Brother Zhao, congratulations on accepting such a brilliant pupil; we'll take our leave," said the Eagle Claw King and others, bowing slightly with respect.
Inner Power Experts belong to one circle, and Outer Strength experts to another. In the entire Hidden Dragon Continent, where there are so many Outer Strength experts, Zhao Yunxing is considered a king-tier figure, respected by all other Outer Strength experts. Zhao Yunxing's prowess in military command is also well-regarded. Prince Zhen Dong, Qin De, had willingly sent Zhao Yunxing to teach for a year, which had initially amazed Xu Yuan for a long time.
...
The next day, at the vast training field of Cloud Mist Villa, Zhao Yunxing stood alone in his black training outfit, motionless.
"Teacher!" Qin Yu, wearing a training outfit, excitedly ran up to Zhao Yunxing and respectfully said.
Zhao Yunxing nodded slightly and then said, "From now on, you must arrive at the training field by six in the morning. It is already eight o'clock in the morning, and you are an entire hour late. Your punishment will be to run from Cloud Mist Villa down to the foot of the mountain and then back up to the villa." (To make it clear for everyone, time in the Hidden Dragon Continent is set as twenty-four hours a day, thirty days a month, and three hundred sixty days a year.)
Qin Yu was slightly stunned, then angrily said, "Teacher, this is the first time, and you never told me I had to be here by six."
"Do not doubt my orders. What you need to do is... execute them." Zhao Yunxing's cold eyes stared at Qin Yu with no room for compromise. Qin Yu bit his lip and immediately said, "Yes, Teacher!" After that, he started running down.
Cloud Mist Villa was located midway up Donglan Mountain. The distance from the villa to the mountain foot was about two thousand meters, making a round trip four thousand meters, and the return trip involved climbing uphill—an extremely difficult task for an eight-year-old child.
Zhao Yunxing watched Qin Yu start to run, a slight smile appearing on his lips as he nodded slightly. Then his expression returned to its stern normality. Zhao Yunxing also started to run after Qin Yu, running as effortlessly as if he were taking a leisurely walk, his body moving like the wind, easily covering several meters in a single step as he followed behind Qin Yu.
Sparks of determination flickered in Qin Yu's eyes as he pursed his lips and began to run.
In the past, he often climbed mountains and frequently ran from Cloud Mist Villa to the mountain peak, each run over a thousand meters, which had given Qin Yu considerable endurance. Moreover, soaking in the hot springs at Cloud Mist Villa had made his body far stronger than his peers'.
Running the two thousand meters downhill to the mountain foot wasn't very hard for Qin Yu; completing the distance merely left him breathless. Turning around, he then started running back uphill.
Going downhill was easy, but climbing uphill was hard.
After only a few hundred meters, Qin Yu felt an extreme pain in his breathing. Each step was immensely laborious, his leg muscles sore with each movement, but Qin Yu could feel Zhao Yunxing right by his side.
Stubborn and proud to his core, Qin Yu gritted his teeth and continued to endure.
At the limit... breathing was agonizing, his chest heaving rapidly as if it were a bellows pulling in oxygen.
"Can I no longer continue?"
At his physiological limit, Qin Yu felt immense pain. "Father." The thought of his father spurred him on, the pain intensifying to the point where Qin Yu felt like he was going to die. But suddenly... it was as if he had crested a peak, and his breathing eased slightly.
Having overcome this physiological limit, Qin Yu maintained a pace close to his limit.
As he ran over a thousand meters and saw the gates of Cloud Mist Villa, Qin Yu reached his second physiological limit.
"We've arrived at Cloud Mist Villa." Qin Yu felt a wave of relief and was about to stop for a rest. But then—
"Run to the Training Field." The cold voice of Zhao Yunxing sounded from behind, Zhao Yunxing not showing the slightest sign of breathlessness. Even his voice didn't fluctuate, a feat considering that ordinary people would be panting just from walking up the mountain, yet his breathing remained unchanged.
"Huff huff," Qin Yu didn't say anything but kept breathing heavily. Gritting his teeth, he finally made it to the Training Field. As soon as he arrived, his legs felt weak, and he was miserably tired, about to sit down.
"Stand, don't sit," Zhao Yunxing flashed before Qin Yu, looking at him indifferently, his expression no different from before the mountain ascent.
Fueled by the pride in his bones, Qin Yu forced himself to stand, just staring at Zhao Yunxing.
Zhao Yunxing nodded and said, "Being able to run down here, you must have felt your physical limit; very good. By completing the run at once, from today on, you are my disciple, Zhao Yunxing." It was clear from Zhao Yunxing's words that if Qin Yu hadn't completed the run, Zhao Yunxing would likely have left and ceased teaching him altogether.
Qin Yu just looked at Zhao Yunxing, not that he didn't want to speak, but at that moment he simply couldn't catch his breath, after running so intensely for the first time.
"All Outer Strength techniques, whether Iron Sand Palm, Iron Leg Skill, or others, are merely methods of training certain parts of the body to be as tough as steel and to deliver astonishing blow power. Regardless of the technique, the body itself is the foundation." Zhao Yunxing spoke eloquently.
As Qin Yu finally caught his breath, he immediately said, "Teacher, I understand. The body is fundamental. A robust body is like a raw gem, much easier to carve, while a weak body is like a flawed gem, which, no matter the skill of the craftsman, cannot become a fine sculpture."
A rare smile appeared on Zhao Yunxing's face, "Good, it's important that you understand. I will teach you for only one year; during this time, I will train you in various aspects: strength, speed, flexibility, explosiveness, endurance, and so forth, transforming your physique continually. As for the methods of attack, I won't teach you that. I'll only show you how to bring your body to a perfect state; learning how to use your body to attack or kill will be for you to figure out on your own."
"My training method is the Extreme Training Method. You must have felt the presence of your physiological limit while running just now, but compared to my training, that was child's play. Of course, you can choose to give up. If you give up, it's easier for me too; my soldiers are much tougher than this kid," Zhao Yunxing said coldly as he looked at Qin Yu.
There was determination in Qin Yu's eyes.
Limits?
Yet, Qin Yu found himself liking that feeling of surpassing limits, yes, liking it.
"Teacher, let's start," Qin Yu said assertively, looking up at Zhao Yunxing. Ying's eyebrows twitched in surprise at the disciple's resolute nature, his face showing a hint of satisfaction.
But suddenly, Qin Yu's expression turned sour, blinking pitifully at Zhao Yunxing and whimpering, "Teacher, can I rest for a moment? I'm really tired from the run just now. Let me drink some water first, then soak in a hot spring, and maybe Grandpa Weng could give me a massage. My muscles are very tired."
Zhao Yunxing was stunned, his facial expression fixed. At that moment, Zhao Yunxing's expression was a spectacle that could be described in one term—incredulous amusement.