Although you have already achieved Ming Jin, you have only just stepped over the threshold of martial arts.

Moreover, above Ming Jin, there are still An Jin and Hua Jin.

Beyond the Lian Li stage, there are also Lian Xue, Lian Qiao, Lian Gang, and even the legendary Ghost and God realm!

Let me ask you, can you now mobilize over a hundred muscles at the same time and shatter a stone with a punch?”

The reprimand in Mr. Clark’s words was clear to all the youths present, and they all looked on cheerfully as Andrew Warren was put in his place.

Especially Emily Thompson, who hid behind others, a fleeting coldness passing over his seemingly harmless face.

Andrew Warren hesitated for a moment, then shook his head. “I’m still far from being able to mobilize over a hundred muscles at once.”

“The mark of mastering the Great Spear Fist is being able to mobilize over a hundred muscles at the same time and shatter stone with a single punch!”

Mr. Clark reminded him.

He just remembered that it had taken him three years to barely manage to mobilize over a hundred muscles.

So he no longer felt like reprimanding Andrew Warren.

After all, he was a promising talent.

Having expectations for martial arts and yearning for higher realms is perfectly normal.

Mr. Clark’s expression softened a bit, and he said to Andrew Warren, “As for a fist technique that can train all the muscles in the body, this old man has never left Nanping in his life, so I’m ignorant and have never heard of such a thing.

But there are indeed fist techniques that can train even more muscles than the Great Spear Fist.

Here in Nanping, there’s a martial arts school that specializes in teaching a set called ‘Thirteen Thunder-Stepping Hands.’ This set can train over two hundred muscles in the body!

Although quite a few overlap with the Great Spear Fist, practicing both together can temper over three hundred muscles throughout the body.

However, just mastering the Great Spear Fist alone, even with great talent, takes at least a year or so. If you then practice the Thirteen Thunder-Stepping Hands, it will take several times longer!

In three to five years, others will have already reached the An Jin level and can shatter stone with a casual punch.

But you would still be stuck at the Ming Jin level, having to use most of your strength with every punch just to break stone—so why bother?”

Nanping Martial Arts School, Thirteen Thunder-Stepping Hands.

Andrew Warren firmly remembered this clue.

As for what Mr. Clark said afterward, he didn’t really listen.

He was already at the level of mastery in the Great Spear Fist, so why would he need to spend another year or so on this technique?

He could only wait for others to spend three to five years reaching the An Jin level, and when they turned back to mock him, he would already be a Hua Jin martial artist, or even have stepped into the higher Lian Xue realm.

“The mark of mastering the Great Spear Fist is shattering stone with a punch.

So what is the mark of mastering the Flesh-Refining level?

I read in a book that when you master Flesh-Refining, your fists become like iron, your flesh like steel…” Andrew Warren saw that Eric Clark was in a better mood, so he grinned and quickly asked.

“What’s this about fists like iron, flesh like steel?”

Eric Clark frowned. “What kind of nonsense books are you reading?

How can the human body compare to steel and iron?

At the Flesh-Refining level, as long as you can mobilize over a hundred muscles to contract at the same time, your training is considered complete!”

However, after thinking for a moment, Eric Clark continued, “The first realm for cultivators is called Qi Refining. Through mysterious methods, they can temper themselves with vital energy.

When they master Qi Refining, their bodies undergo wondrous changes, able to draw true qi to protect themselves, making them impervious to blades and swords.

Perhaps this is another kind of ‘flesh like steel’?

Unfortunately…

Cultivation relies too much on talent and comprehension. Most of you probably have no hope of becoming such people.”

This was the second time Andrew Warren had heard about ‘cultivators’ from Mr. Clark.

The first time was when he asked Eric Clark if a martial artist could shatter a mountain with a punch.

Eric Clark said he had never heard of such a thing, but was certain that cultivators of the Daoist and Buddhist sects could definitely shatter mountains.

It was clear that martial artists were naturally inferior to cultivators.

If cultivators were phoenixes soaring in the sky, martial artists were wild dogs crawling on the ground.

The gap was too great.

Even an old martial artist like Mr. Clark, when mentioning tales of cultivators, was full of longing and envy.

Cultivators were just that powerful.

Eric Clark had no interest in continuing this topic, and with little enthusiasm, introduced the second test to everyone: “If you can lift a 200-jin stone lock, your result is considered passing.

After that, we move on to the second test.

See those cages with the Angry Mountain Wolves inside?

The second test is to have you fight the Angry Mountain Wolves, to see how much damage you can inflict on them and how long you can last under their attacks.

Afterward, the rankings from both tests will be added together and averaged, and that will be your final ranking.”

At least the first test was just a test of strength.

All the youths still had some confidence that they could pass the 200-jin stone lock threshold.

But when they heard that the second test actually required them to fight those Angry Mountain Wolves, which were clearly starving for days, they couldn’t help but swallow nervously and started to have second thoughts.

Someone couldn’t help but ask Eric Clark, “Second Grandpa, if we pass the first test with the 200-jin stone lock, does that mean we’re guaranteed to be assigned as constables in the county offices, and don’t have to become pavilion chiefs in the wild mountains?”

“Of course.”

Eric Clark nodded, guessing the questioner’s thoughts, and said, “If you pass the first test and don’t dare to fight the Angry Mountain Wolves, you can directly forfeit the second test.”