In the Great Li Dynasty, in Longyuan Province, within the inner courtyard of the powerful Fang family, "Wanxiang Garden," the morning fog had not yet dissipated. A group of young disciples from the Fang family began their early martial arts practice.
The head of the Fang family is the Governor of Longyuan Province. The Fang family's ancestors had been from one of the Ten Great Sects of the Immortal Dao, Yuhua Sect, and had followed the founding Emperor Wu of the Great Li Dynasty to pacify the world a hundred years ago.
Longyuan Province, once the capital of the previous dynasty, was to be the new capital of the Great Li Dynasty. However, due to the heavy water element in the region, the capital was eventually moved to the southern city of "Li Jing" instead.
The Great Li Dynasty was a fire-based kingdom, and the water element was considered oppressive. Therefore, they abandoned the idea of setting the capital here, choosing Li Jing instead.
However, the imperial court entrusted the former capital to the Fang family, a sign of the great trust the court had in them.
As a result, the Fang family became extremely prominent, with a mansion spanning a thousand acres. Inside, courtyards and gardens filled the space, and a common person entering would surely get lost within the maze-like paths.
The name of the garden itself reflects the essence of the place.
"Wanxiang Garden" – it means to encompass everything.
Bang, bang, bang, bang
The sound of fists slicing through the air filled the space.
These young disciples moved with agility, their actions fierce like tigers hunting, like lions attacking bulls, like eagles swooping down on rabbits, like cranes standing atop pine trees. Every movement of their bodies, from waist to hips, was a perfect union, swift and precise.
Their limbs and spines acted as one, each motion a taut bowstring ready to release. Their punches and kicks flew like arrows, landing like wind, revealing a strong foundation of martial arts.
However, at this moment, a pair of eyes was watching them from behind the rocks in the distant garden.
They were secretly learning martial arts.
The owner of these eyes was a young boy, about fifteen or sixteen years old. He was wearing a plain gray robe and a small hat, appearing to be a servant boy.
"A month ago, I found a drainpipe that leads directly under the garden's rock formations into the muddy grounds below. If not for that, I wouldn't have been able to sneak into the inner courtyard and steal martial arts skills. If I'm caught, it'll be the end for me, but I, Fang Han, can't be a servant for the rest of my life."
Fang Han was carefully observing the movements of the Fang family disciples, memorizing every action and expression.
Yes, he was secretly learning martial arts.
Fang Han was a small servant in the Fang family.
His father had also been a servant for the family, and thus, Fang Han's fate was sealed from birth. He was destined to serve the Fang family, and his descendants would also serve for generations.
As a lowly servant, secretly entering the inner courtyard to steal the family's martial arts techniques was incredibly daring and reckless. This was an act that could cost him his life.
"He's here!"
Fang Han's eyes focused as he saw a man in a purple robe appear in the distance on the practice field. He froze, his body motionless.
This man in purple was tall, standing at over nine feet, his posture as straight as a sword or spear, exuding an imposing aura like a mountain pressing forward. Even from a distance, Fang Han almost stopped breathing.
This man was a martial arts master of the Fang family, "Juling Shou" Fang Tong! His name was famous across the land and he was here to teach the Fang family disciples advanced martial arts.
"To be a government official, one must pass through the nine ranks and eighteen levels! The first rank is the Chancellor, and the ninth rank is the local patrol officer! But when it comes to cultivating the body, we divide it into ten stages! The first is health cultivation, the second is strength training, the third is mastering techniques, the fourth is balance of hardness and softness, the fifth is divine power, the sixth is breath control, the seventh is internal strengthening, the eighth is bravery, the ninth is spiritual connection, and the tenth is divine transformation!"
When Fang Tong appeared, all the disciples immediately stopped practicing and stood rigidly, listening to his speech.
Fang Han also perked up his ears to listen carefully.
"When you reach the tenth level of body cultivation, you'll have strength so great that even five horses cannot tear you apart! There was an ancestor of the Fang family who was captured by the enemy and subjected to the cruel punishment of being torn apart by five horses. But this ancestor unleashed all his strength and pulled the horses down, breaking free and escaping. This is the power of reaching the tenth level of body cultivation!"
Fang Tong's voice thundered like a bell, shaking the air and almost causing Fang Han's eardrums to burst with the pressure.
"Five horses couldn't tear a person apart! How strong must this person have been? Can the human body really reach such a level?" Fang Han thought to himself, deeply shocked.
"However! Don't think the tenth level of body cultivation is the limit. This is just the beginning. Our ancestors of the Fang family received teachings from the immortals of Yuhua Sect, so we are different from other families. We know that beyond body cultivation, there is the realm of divine powers! Only by shedding the limitations of the body and entering the realm of divine powers can you truly stand above the world, comparable to kings and nobles, and bring glory to the Fang family!"
"Body cultivation, divine powers!"
As Fang Han listened to these words, it felt as though a door he had never seen before had opened before him. All his past efforts of secretly watching martial arts for the past month were now making sense. The ten stages of cultivation, as described by Fang Tong, were gradually revealing themselves in his mind.
"What is the realm of divine powers?"
At that moment, one of the disciples asked aloud.
"Divine powers are about breaking the boundaries of the ordinary world!"
Fang Tong's eyes grew serious as he spoke. "For example, when the body reaches its peak, you can tear apart tigers and leopards, lift a thousand-pound cauldron, but can you grab your own hair and lift yourself up?"
"Lift yourself up? That's impossible! It goes against reason!"
Another disciple quickly responded.
"It's impossible. No matter how strong one is, you can never lift yourself up. That would defy natural law." Fang Han silently thought to himself.
"To accomplish the impossible is to attain divine powers! Otherwise, what would be the point of calling it divine powers?" Fang Tong's voice rang out like a bell, hitting the disciples like a heavy blow.
"To break the boundaries of the ordinary world — that is divine powers! To lift yourself up — that's the first step into the realm of divine powers! In addition, there are other divine powers, such as spewing fire and water, floating in the air, controlling lightning, and flying swords — these are all methods of the divine power realm."