"You’re all very happy, aren’t you? Trust me, your master, you’ll be even happier in a little while." For some reason, after hearing his words, every one of the fifty nominal disciples felt a shiver run down their spine.
’Something tells me there’s a hidden meaning to his words...’
But before they could give it much thought, another fifty trucks drove in.
One by one, Bronze Cauldrons were unloaded and placed in neat rows on the training ground.
Each Bronze Cauldron had a flat, everted rim, two slightly flared loop handles, a rounded bottom, and beast-hoof legs. They stood two meters tall with a diameter of nearly a meter and weighed 120 kilograms. The inner surface of the handles was decorated with S-shaped patterns, while the outer surface had two rings of hollow, linked beads. A band of S-shaped patterns also encircled the belly of the cauldrons, and their entire surface gleamed as if waxed.
Just from their appearance, it was clear they must have cost a fortune.
Moreover, some of the sharper guys noticed that the cauldrons were actually filled with expensive medicinal herbs.
"Don’t overthink it. The herbs inside are for you to bathe in."
What?
’Since when has Master been so good to us?’
"Come, come. Let your dear, beloved master teach you how to strike the cauldrons."
"..."
’Wait, these cauldrons are for us to punch?’
Every single one of the fifty men froze on the spot.
They glanced at their own arms, which had started to develop some muscle, then back at the two-meter-tall Bronze Cauldrons.
’There’s no way I can do this!!’
What He Xiaotian was about to teach them was the Copper Statue Skill, the only one of the four secret manuals that he hadn’t maxed out with Experience Points.
In any case, the Experience Points system had already perfected it.
As long as they followed the instructions, there definitely wouldn’t be any problems.
"Stand an arm’s length from the cauldron, get into a horse stance, and punch with all your might!"
’Punch?’
’Punch my ass!’
’Aren’t our arms going to break if we punch this thing?’
"Lao She, keep a close eye on these little brats for me. No one stops until I say so. If anyone dares to stop, don’t hesitate. Just chop ’em down. My school absolutely does not permit useless trash."
"???"
’Holy shit, you really are something else!’
’To think he could come up with such a despicable, shameless method that forces us into a corner. He truly is a Demon.’
"Punch."
"CLANG!"
He Xiaotian didn’t use his full strength. Forget full strength—if he used even a little too much power, this Bronze Cauldron would be scrap metal.
"CLANG!" "CLANG!" "CLANG!"
The fifty nominal disciples grimaced in pain.
The more simple-minded ones, in particular, had truly thrown a full-power punch.
They nearly cried out in pain.
"Feng Yu, go and check on them. Anyone whose fist isn’t bleeding has to throw ten consecutive full-power punches, and every single one must draw blood." Before the disciples could even start cursing him in their minds, He Xiaotian laid down the law.
"?!"
’Do you have to be so extreme?!’
As his words fell, the faces of more than half the men turned deathly pale.
"My, what a powerful punch. You didn’t even break the skin. Now, ten punches. Every one of them must draw blood. Hurry up. Otherwise, the executioner’s blade in my hand won’t be so merciful." With the imperial mandate from He Xiaotian, Feng Yu showed no mercy.
Those who had tried to slack off could only bite the bullet and make their fists bleed, punch after punch.
Before long, a continuous stream of bloodcurdling screams echoed across the training ground.
"Remember this. This is the last time you’ll try to be clever. If I, your master, ever catch you again, you will be expelled immediately. You can go crawl over to Tang En’s side. His training is just arduous; it’s nothing compared to mine."
He Xiaotian said coldly. He knew some of them would try to slack off, not daring to punch with their full strength.
Over on Tang En’s side, his group was long used to it.
It would be stranger if a day went by without screams coming from He Xiaotian’s side.
It should be noted that the two groups trained separately, with a building between them.
Normally, the only time they met was when they went to the main cafeteria for meals.
Their sleeping quarters were also separate.
Thus, Tang En’s trainees always heard this group complaining in the cafeteria about how twisted He Xiaotian was.
Although those guys felt that lifting stone locks every day was pretty miserable, their spirits lifted considerably whenever they heard the complaints of the fifty nominal disciples.
When you’re in pain, knowing that someone else is in even more pain is a good medicine to soothe your own ’wounds’.
"Punch!"
"CLANG!"
And then... and then came a chorus of miserable howls.
He Xiaotian pretended not to hear any of it, only stopping them after fifty punches.
The trainees’ hands were battered to the point where bone was visible.
Some had even broken their arms.
With a wave of his hand, He Xiaotian summoned a squad of soldiers.
They carried steaming wooden buckets, inside which floated some rather expensive-looking medicinal herbs.
This was the secret formula recorded in the Copper Statue Skill manual. After every punching session, they had to soak their arms.
It helped to heal injuries and increase the hardness of their fists and arms.
"Both arms. Put them in. No matter how much it hurts, you are not allowed to pull them out. Otherwise, a big blade will be waiting for you." He Xiaotian commanded, and the fifty nominal disciples instantly understood that this was going to be even more exquisitely painful than striking the cauldrons.
’But I can’t disobey.’
’Didn’t you see those three guys behind us? Their eyes are practically glowing.’
’They’re just waiting for a head to chop!’
"ARGHHH—" "ARGHHH—"
Cries of pain, comparable to a dolphin’s screech, echoed throughout the entire Medical University.
Luckily, the Cleaners had already spent a huge sum of money to buy out the surrounding residences and shops, evacuating all civilians. Otherwise, the police station would have been flooded with reports.
Even Tang En’s group members, who were in the middle of lifting their stone locks and already accustomed to the noise, were startled.
’Today’s screams sound way more miserable than usual!’
’That muscle-bound freak is a real psycho!!’
The fifty men felt as if their arms had been plunged into molten lava.
Their bones, muscles, and skin felt like they were being cooked.
Yet no one dared to pull their arms out without permission.
He Xiaotian’s words were no different from an imperial edict.
Besides, they hadn’t forgotten that they had all signed life-and-death waivers.
Maybe elsewhere, that piece of paper wouldn’t be worth shit.
But here, in the words of a certain four-eyed guy with glasses, it was legally binding.
The most frightening part was that they knew this person.
His name was Roger, the deputy chief of the Shanghai Cleaners, a man with immense power.
On the second day after the Bronze Cauldrons arrived, He Xiaotian stood at the front and threw one hundred consecutive punches.
It was exactly double the number from the day before.
And so, the nominal disciples continued their cycle of screaming, soaking their hands, and screaming some more.
The third day: one hundred and fifty punches.
The fourth day: two hundred punches.
The fifth day: four hundred punches!!
They, too, grew accustomed to it, becoming numb.
Tang En’s group members started to feel a bit uneasy.
’Why does it feel so weird not hearing screams all day?’
Furthermore, during meals in the cafeteria, that group had stopped complaining.
This, in turn, made them feel like they had no strength when they were lifting their own stone locks.
It was actually quite normal, when you thought about it. They had expended all their energy on their martial arts training.
Where would they find the spare energy to play the victim?
The sixth and seventh days passed in a flash.
Gradually, the fifty men discovered that their fists seemed to have become much harder!
When they struck the Bronze Cauldrons, they surprisingly felt no pain at all.
It was as if this were a completely normal action.
It wasn’t that their nerves were shot and they couldn’t feel pain anymore, but rather... they had gotten used to it.
’Why do I have the strange feeling that this bit of pain is actually... kind of trivial?!’