Teng Yongfan said, full of admiration, “Six thousand Black Armored Soldiers. According to the legend, the founder of Gui Yuan Sect made the rule that the members of Black Armored Army will always be kept at six thousand. Whenever new powerful members join, then the weaker older members will be expelled from the Black Armored Army. Even after being expelled, they would still be a member of the Gui Yuan Sect and will be assigned a position as a captain in the different cities of Jiangning. 

  “Therefore, even though it is said that one can join the Black Armored Army after being able to lift something weighing 500 Jin, but in fact, since the membership number is fixed, one would be stuck at the entrance barrier and waiting to advance. With the ability to only lift 500 Jin, one would only be a peripheral member of Gui Yuan Sect and nothing more,” Teng Yongfan said. 

  Teng Qingshan was filled with astonishment. 

  As the number of troops was permanently fixed, the Black Armored Army could only continue to grow stronger, a pure elite force. 

  “An army made purely of warriors,” Teng Qingshan was taken by surprised. 

  He finally understood what kind of world this was! 

  In his previous life, Teng Qingshan thought about what would happen if ten thousand powerful Internal Martial Arts masters would form an organization. This kind of organization would surpass any country. Just imagine thousands of strong Internal Martial Arts masters sneaking into an enemy country and carrying out assassinations, the whole country would be in chaos overnight. 

  However, that kind of things would never happen in his previous world. 

  The reason being, there were too few people who practiced inner strength. Even the Godly Thief Sect didn’t have any practitioners with inner strength. Even though there were some SS-level powerhouses, their numbers were incredibly few and they could only support their motherland. 

  “In the world of nine prefectures, even Yangzhou’s second strongest Gui Yuan Sect already has such a strong force! This world is too marvelous,” Teng Qingshan could feel his blood beginning to boil. 

  It looked like that SS-level or Grandmaster realm in his previous world would only be regarded as a normal master in this one. 

  It is said that the ones that reached the pinnacle of power are lonely! 

  Teng Qingshan had already reached the pinnacle of modern society’s strength in his previous life and was indeed rather lonely. After arriving in this world, he had not, until today, known what kind of world it was. 

  “This is the world of my dreams. The people are strong and there are many powerhouses!” 

  After find out what kind of world he found himself in, Teng Qingshan became filled with energy, spending most of his time every day training. As the world was filled with the Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth, his inner power became even more vigorous. Teng Qingshan began to use his inner strength abundantly and indiscriminately to stimulate his internal organs, muscles, and bones to let them absorb it while also physically strengthening his body. 

  In Internal Martial Arts, the most important this was to improve personal health, killing people was secondary. 

  By improving his health, his internal organs became much stronger and his vitality increased at an astonishing pace. 

  The art of killing was in fact improving his muscle and bones until they reached an extremely high level. 

  When he was still in the modern society of his previous life, he was always worried about his insufficient inner strength and didn’t dare to waste it. Even when he was in a critical moment during a fight, he only used a tiny amount of inner strength. Now, however, he didn’t have to worry about his inner strength at all and let his bones, muscles, and inner organs slowly absorb it. 

  With an adequate supply of inner strength, Teng Qingshan’s body used the practices of the Internal Martial Arts to increase its strength at maximum speed. .

  Last night it snowed heavily and the whole Teng village was covered in a layer of white. 

  In the morning, the villagers of Teng Jia Village used their brooms to sweep the snow aside and clear a walking path. After the snow, the temperature dropped and all the inhabitants started to wear a thin cotton-padded jacket. 

  In the main room of Teng Qingshan’s home, the family of four gathered together to eat breakfast. 

  “Fragrant pastries!” A little girl with braids stood on the chair shouted in surprise, “Mother, where did you get them from?” 

  Mother Lan Yuan said with a smile, ”Where do you think I got it? Your father asked someone to buy it from Yi City in the shop ‘Baifu Hall.’ Today is New Year’s Eve, how could we not buy something nice for you?” 

  “Little Yu,” Wearing a cyan jacket, Teng Qingshan sat on a chair and looked at his sister. Today was New Year’s Eve and after today, he would be 6 years old and his sister 3 years old. Although his sister was quite young, she was very smart and a little bit naughty. 

  (TL: Ancient Chinese people count their ages according to the Chinese New Year) 

  “Your stomach is small, so you just can only eat one fragrant pastry. There are two pieces on the table,” Teng Qingshan points at the fragrant pastry in the plate, “This one is bigger, while the other one is small. You tell me, which one do you want?” 

  “Me?’ 

  Teng Qingyu stared at the pastries with big, round eyes, before leaning forward to directly pick up the largest one with her hand, ”Brother, I want this!” 

  Kids were indeed greedy. 

  “Little Yu, you have to learn modesty,” Teng Qingshan continued, ”When you are with relatives or friends, you need to choose the small one.” 

  “Why?” Teng Qingyu looked at Teng Qingshan puzzled. 

  “Little Yu, you should learn from your big brother and be courteous,” Teng Yongfan said while laughing, “When there are delicious things presented in from of you, then you shouldn’t pick the biggest first. If I let your brother choose first, he would always choose the small one,” Teng Yongfan normally taught his kids during their everyday life. 

  “Brother, between these two, if you chose first, would you choose the smallest one?” Qingyu asked. 

  “Yes,” Teng Qingshan nodded. 

  “Then isn’t it okay. You choose the small one and I will take the big one. Where have I been wrong?” Teng Qingyu, puzzled, looked at Teng Qingshan. 

  Teng Qingshan was dumbfounded. 

  Both Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan were also shocked and looked puzzled for a while. Seeing Teng Qingyu’s puzzled expression, they didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. 

  “Haha……” Teng Yongfan laughed and said, ”Yes, Qingyu you can eat the biggest one.” 

  “Ah,” Teng Qingyu nodded, and smiled at Teng Qingshan. 

  Teng Qingshan felt helpless, against a child which was only three years old, there was no way to use logic to reason. 

  However, Teng Qingshan really enjoyed this happy atmosphere. 

  In his previous life, he was an orphan and he never knew a parent’s love, but in this life he not only had parents, but also had a cute little sister. 

  Wrapped in this warm atmosphere, the family finished their breakfast. 

  “Qingshan, take Qingyu with you to the training field to play. We will hold our Yearly Ceremony there and everyone will gather there soon. We can have lunch together with the whole family,” Teng Yongfan entrusted Teng Qingshan with this task because he was sure that Qingshan could take care of Teng Qingyu. 

  Although Teng Qingshan was only six years old after today, he was very smart, just like a ten year old. 

  The truth was, Teng Qingshan couldn’t pretend to be a goofy kid, but he didn’t dare to behave too mature either. Talking like a ten year old child was enough, this way his village would only think that he was a genius. 

  Whereas, if he would have started speaking the same way as an adult when he was two years old, he would probably have been treated like a monster. 

  “I understand father,” Teng Qingshan nodded and held his sister while walk towards the bustling training field. 

  Later that morning, there were two thousand people gathered at the training field. The whole population of Teng Jia Village was here. 

  They stood according to each family. 

  A giant cauldron was placed at the front of the Training field, and all the two thousand people were standing in an orderly manner, while the village chief Teng Yunlong stood at the very front of them. 

  “Mother, what is Grandfather doing?” Qingyu, who was carried by Lan Yuan, asked while they stood among the crowd. 

  “Be quiet for now,” Yuan Lan said softly. 

  Because of his father’s position, Teng Qingshan’s family stood at the front of the crowd, and Teng Qingshan could clearly see the Chief, Teng Yunlong, walk to the other side where they kept a copper basin. Teng Yunlong washed his hands first and after drying them with a white cloth, he put the cloth on the copper basin. Immediately afterwards, a villager handed three incense sticks to the Chief. 

  Teng Yunlong held the three incenses and shouted with a clear voice, ”Light the incense!” 

  A villager rushed over while holding a candle and proceeded to light up the three incense sticks. 

  Teng Yunlong held the three incenses and walked with big steps towards the giant cauldron. Teng Yonglei, Teng Yongfan and Teng Yongxiang, these three brawny men followed behind him. The three of them were the strongest men in the village and were holding big plates laden with a cooked pig, sheep, and cow’s head, respectively. 

  Teng Yunlong stately climbed the steps and inserted the three incense sticks into the giant cauldron. 

  Teng Yongfan and the two others placed the sacrifices in front of the giant cauldron. 

  “Play music to welcome the gods!” 

  Teng Yunlong turned around to face the villagers before announcing. 

  “Bang!” After the gong sounded, the noise was immediately followed by nine continuous drum beats. 

  “Kneel!” Teng Yunlong announced. 

  Suddenly, all of the two thousand people on the martial arts field kneeled down. 

  Teng Yunlong also kneeled and shouted while facing the giant cauldron ”Emperor Yu, his majesty……” he then started recite a series of encomiums. Hearing this, Teng Qingshan was dumbfounded, ”Grandfather is not reading from a paper and reciting it just like that. His memory is really good, if he can say all of it in one breath.” 

  Looking at the giant cauldron, Teng Qingshan couldn’t help but feel impressed. 

  After coming to this world, he found out that everyone held ‘cauldrons’ in great respect. 

  Just last year, he heard a story. In this world, for thousands of years, ever since the creation of this world, the most remarkable person was the ‘Emperor Yu’ that did an unprecedented thing – he united the world. Emperor Yu ruled over the world and divided it into nine prefectures. He gathered bronze in the nine prefectures and refined them into nine giant cauldrons. Since then, the cauldrons became the symbol of supreme imperial power and divine right. It was also the focus of people’s spiritual beliefs. 

  “However, in this world filled with strong people, there are as many masters as clouds in the sky. To unite the world was extremely difficult. After Emperor Yu’s death, the world fell apart again. For thousands of years, apart from Empress Yu, only Celestial Emperor Qin Ling managed to unite the world again. However, after Celestial Emperor Qin Ling’s death, chaos once again returned.” 

  Teng Qingshan had been in this world for six years, so he also know these two famous figures, Emperor Yu and Emperor Qin Ling. 

  Only Emperors Yu and Qin Ling managed to unite the world for over thousands of years. After they died, the world fell into chaos again. ……

  After Teng Yunlong finished reciting the whole thing with one breath, he shouted out, “Pay your Respect!” before taking the lead to pay his respect first. 

  Following him everyone bent their knees to pay respect. 

  “Bow again!’ Teng Yunlong said again. 

  ”Third time!” 

  Everyone bowed to pay their respect and touch their heads against the ground. 

  “Rise!” Teng Yunlong announced. 

  With a loud bang, everyone stood up. 

  “The ceremony is done!” Teng Yunlong announced loudly. 

  At that time, everyone sighed with relief. Some women rubbed their knees, since they were aching after kneeling for such a long time. 

  “Haha……”At that moment, Teng Yunlong finally laughed, “Today is New Year’s Eve, everyone come enjoy the meal! Come, let’s start the feast!” 

  Suddenly, many tables were placed throughout the Training Field, and a variety of different foods were served on plates on the tables. 

  “Qingshan!” Teng Yongfan walked over. 

  “Father,” Teng Qingshan knew what his father wanted to say. 

  “After today, you will be six years old. After lunch, during the afternoon celebrations, we will begin the examination with the children of your age group to determine your future. You need to try your best and make your father proud.,”Teng Yongfan said this in a relaxed manner; but there was obviously some tension. 

  Before the children reached their sixth birthday, they could play as much as they liked and the family wouldn’t mind. 

  However, once they were six years old, they would be trained either in archery, spear wielding, farming, or some other sort of career. 

  “Your cousin Qinghu lifted a stone that weighed sixty Jin when he was six years old,” Teng Yongfan said, “Father’s objective for you is not that high, but you must at least reach above average.” Since Teng Yongfan was the next Chief and the strongest in this village, if his son was too weak, he would feel distressed in his heart. 

  ”Above Average?” Teng Qingshan nodded, without saying anything.

  The Nine Cauldrons Book 2 Chapter 8 : Set the World Alight 

  There were hundreds of tables throughout the training field. The clan members gathered together, laughing joyfully, gorging on meat, and indulging themselves with strong alcohols. Although the village wasn’t very wealthy, it could still afford to let everyone drink and eat to the fullest on this yearly ceremony. 

  “Brother Fan, bottoms up!” called out a strong man holding a big bowl of liquor. 

  “Ah Niu, cheers!” Teng Yongfan stood up gallantly with his own bowl. After the two clinked their bowls together, they gulped down their liquor with gusto. 

  TLN: Ah Niu is something like a nickname. 

  “Brother Fan, your son Qingshan will be taking the test today. Are you confident that he will pass?” the man named Ah Niu asked with a smile. 

  TLN: Brother Fan = Teng Yongfan 

  “Of course!” said Teng Yongfan as he cast a glare. 

  Ah Niu said in a low voice, “My son is the same age as yours. I tested him secretly, and he can already lift a sandbag weighing 40 Jin. Haha, I remember when you were at the age of six, Brother Fan could only lift 50 Jin, right? This time, my son might be the best amongst his peers.” 

  Even in a village without a method of training inner strength, the degree of one’s talent and individual effort decided that person’s future. 

  Teng Yongfan was unusually strong during his childhood. In addition, he had been very diligent and hardworking, constantly lifting iron weights Thus, he was strong enough to lift a thousand Jin. 

  Teng Qinghu, Teng Qingshan’s cousin and the grandson of the old chief, Teng Yunlong, could already lift 60 Jin when he was six years old. When he was nine years old, he could lift a three hundred Jin stone. His talent was even better than Teng Yongfan’s, and as a result, the clan had placed their hope on Teng Qinghu. 

  “My son Qingshan has had a very big appetite since he was young. With such a big appetite, he won’t be any worse than your kid,” Teng Yongfan said with an air of extreme confidence. 

  Secretly, Teng Yongfan had no confidence at all. He had never tested Teng Qingshan, so he had no idea what his son’s capabilities were. 

  “You think he’s powerful just because he has a big appetite?” Teng Qingshan, who sat at the neighboring table, casted a glance at his father. Yet, his heart was at ease because of the Xing Yi Internal Martial Arts. As of now, Teng Qingshan had never shown his talent to anyone, let alone his parents. Even so, Teng Qingshan wasn’t the least bit worried about the upcoming test. 

  He started producing inner strength when he was three years old. Until now, he had been practicing his inner strength for three years. 

  What’s more, he inherited his father’s physique, so the toughness of his body was exceptional. This time, the strength of his body would definitely shock everyone. 

  “Father and Mother view this test with great importance, so I cannot let them down,” Teng Qingshan, who had always been hiding his true strength, decided to show a little of his ability. 

  Because of last night’s blizzard, the snow had piled knee-deep on the Training Field. However, due to the steps of thousands of people, the snow had been flattened and became very solid. With the addition of some plants and ashes scattered on the snow, it wouldn’t be very slippery or unstable anymore. 

  Today was New Year’s Eve, so the whole Teng Jia Village would be immersed in merrymaking the whole afternoon. ……

  The clan members were strong and fierce. During this ceremonial time, the people compared their skills at archery, wrestling, and spear techniques through various competitions. 

  As it was getting darker and darker, Teng Qingshan and his sister, Teng Qingyu, were in the middle of a crowd watching a wrestling contest. 

  “Come on, Black Bear, don’t get defeated by a young fellow~” 

  “Cousin, cousin!” Teng Qingyu shouted with a delicate voice. 

  Teng Qingshan glanced at his sister standing before him and looked towards the two people wrestling against each other. These two people were Teng Qingshan’s cousin, Teng Qinghu, and the son of the master that taught spear techniques, Teng Qinghao. Teng Qinghao was already eighteen years old, while Teng Qinghu, would turn twelve after today. 

  Teng Qinghu’s height was almost seven chi (About 175cm. One Chi is 25 centimeters), but Teng Qinghao was just seven Chi six Cun tall (190 cm) 

  This was a match between an adult and a teenager. 

  Teng Qinghao’s nickname was “Black Bear” because he possessed great strength. Among the clan members of his age, Teng Qinghao was probably ranked number one. 

  “Hei!” 

  “Ha!” 

  Teng Qinghu and Teng Qinghao struggled to subdue each other with their arms. Like two wild oxen wrestling each other, the veins on their forehead popped out as they glared at one another. One was the perhaps Teng Jia Village’s soon-to-be strongest man, and the other was the most splendid among his own generation. 

  “Chi!” Teng Qinghao’s arms jerked suddenly. 

  “Get out!” Teng Qinghu roared and took the opportunity to wrap his arms around Teng Qinghao while simultaneously tripping him. Then, he suddenly pushed Teng Qinghao forcefully, knocking Teng Qinghao outside of the circle that marked the boundaries of the match. 

  “Motherf*cker!” Teng Qinghao jumped up and cursed, ”Qinghu, I know your strength is great and will surpass mine in the future, but you should still give me some face. You will be twelve years old after today. Surpassing me at such a young age……looks like I won’t get the chance to beat you in the future.” 

  Teng Qinghu giggled. 

  Right at this moment, the village Chief Teng Yunlong’s voice came from a distance. 

  “Everyone, come here!” 

  Immediately, all the clan members wrestling and competing in archery moved towards the center. Presently, over two thousand people were gathered and arranged in three rows of people inside and three rows of people outside. In the empty circle in the center of the surrounding crowd stood Teng Yunlong, whose face was glowing healthily as he spoke loudly, “Our Teng Jia Village’s population is increasing, while the men of each generation surpass those from the previous generation. Haha ……every hero of our clan was a child, therefore everyone should already know what we should do now!” 

  Everyone started making noise. 

  “Qingshan!” Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan looked at Teng Qingshan as Teng Yongfan whispered, ”I never asked anything of you since you were born, but today you have to try your very best! Always remember that the glory of a man is built by relying on his own hands.” 

  “Understood, Father” Teng Qingshan noded seriously. 

  He understood that in Teng Jia Village, even the position of the village Chief was inherited by the most powerful. Anyone that wanted respect must rely on his own strength. 

  “Now, every boy who is six years old, come to the center.” Teng Yun Long said in a clear voice. 

  Some of the children said they were six years old, but actually, these kids would turn six one day from today. However, it was just a one day difference. Since the annual sacrifice was today, everything would naturally be done within this day. 

  “Daddy believes in you!” Teng Yongfan smiled at Teng Qingshan. 

  “Brother!” Teng Qingyu, who was in the arms of her mother, stared at Teng Qingshan, and lifted up her tiny fist as she yelled, ”You are the best!” 

  Teng Qingshan smiled and walked through the crowd towards the center. The clan members consciously made way for the kids to walk toward the center.There were two thousand people in Teng Jia Village and fifty-five kids the same age as Teng Qingshan. These kids all stood orderly in the big circle in the center. 

  The Clan chief glanced at the sky and saw that it was already dusk. 

  “Light the torches!” Teng Yunlong said aloud. 

  At once, some villagers lit the torches that surrounded the Training Field, causing everything around to turn brighter. 

  “Listen, kids!’ Teng Yunlong looked at the fifty-six children, “You will all, one by one, walk to the other side. There are stones weighing from ten to a thousand Jin over there. You have to try lifting the heaviest stone you feel confident in succeeding with and an attempt will be considered a success when the stone is lifted above your head.” 

  “First one, Teng Qingling!” Teng Yunlong shouted while holding a list in his hand! 

  All of a sudden, the area around the training field was covered in silence 

  For the boys in Teng Jia Village, the test at the age of six and the adult ceremony at the age of sixteen were the two most important events. Through these two events, the future achievements of these kids could be determined. 

  Everyone, especially the parents of the kids, looked nervously at their village’s new generation. 

  “Teng Qingling lifted 15 Jin ! Next! Teng Qingze!” 

  “Teng Qingze, lifted 10 Jin! Next! Teng Hong!” ……

  The youngsters were assessed one by one. Whenever a child lifted something a little heavier,the surrounding would be filled with sounds of praises, and the parents of that kid would be extremely happy. 

  “Generally speaking, most kids can lift a weight of about 10 Jin to 20 Jin,” Teng Qingshan sighed with emotion. The physical quality of the ordinary people in his current life was indeed much stronger than that of ordinary people of the world in his previous life. “You will be considered very impressive if you can lift 30 Jin. My dad could lift 50 JIn when he was six years old, which is extremely strong, while cousin Qinghu could lift 60 Jin when he was six years old.” 

  Teng Qingshan sighed to himself. 

  “Ha!” A round-headed chubby boy lifted a stone weighing 40 Jin in one breath. 

  “Teng Qingjiang! Haha! Good job! Forty Jin. Currently, you are in first place!” Teng Yunlong said with a smile. 

  “Tsk, tsk. Ah Niu’s son is very good. Looks like he will be a great man in the future.” 

  “Ah Niu, I didn’t expect your kid to be so strong!” 

  Immediately, praises resounded from the surrounding and the strong man named Ah Niu wore a simple and honest smile on his face. It was obvious that he was extremely happy. ……

  The kids tried one by one. Most kids couldn’t lift more than 20 Jin, while that chubby kid still held the record. 

  “Among the batch of 60 kids last year, the strongest one among them could lifted 45 Jin, I don’t know if there will be anyone this year that can surpass him.” Some tribesmen were discussing in a low voice, while all the parents valued greatly on whether the children did well or not. 

  Suddenly—— 

  “Teng Qingwei, 25 Jin. Next, Teng Qingshan!” Teng Yunlong’s voice suddenly became somewhat higher. After all, it was his very own grandson’s turn. Although Yuan Lan was his adopted daughter, Teng Yunlong cared about her and his son-in-law just as much as he cared about his biological son. 

  The surrounding two thousand members were silent. 

  All eyes were focused on the boy who stood in the center, who wasn’t too tall nor too fat, a very ordinary child——Teng Qingshan. 

  All that attention was because Teng Qingshan’s father was the first-ranked hero of Teng Jia Village——Teng Yongfan. 

  A tiger father will not beget a dog son. His father was first-ranked in the village, so what about his son? 

  Teng Yongfan and Yuan Lan were holding their breath. Even little Qingyu anxiously stared at her brother with wide eyes. 

  “How much weight should I lift?” Teng Qingshan thought as he walked towards the stones. 

  Passing by the stones weighing 10 Jin, 15 Jin, 20 Jin, Teng Qingshan kept walking towards the end. 

  “What is he doing……” Everyone was worried about him, ”He’s just walking by without giving a try!” 

  “He passed the sixty Jin stone and still keeps on walking!” Everyone was feeling quite worried for him. They felt like they were watching a show at first, but now they felt nervous, because  if there were an outstanding clansman, the whole village would benefit. 

  “He’s went past the 70 Jin stone!” 

  “He’s still walking!” 

  Everyone was staring at him with widened eyes. Even Teng Yunlong, who was usually calm, was slightly nervous, while Teng Yongfan’s face became flushed. 

  One should know that the heavier the stone, the more difficult it would be to lift. When one’s limit is reached, even a minor weight fluctuation could make the body collapse. 

  “The best man of my clan could only lift a stone weighing eighty Jin at that age,” Teng Yunlong stared at Teng Qingshan, as he thought, “He already reached the eighty Jin stone and yet is still walking? This little fellow either has the ability or is fooling us……” Teng Yunlong could feel his heart at his throat. 

  The atmosphere of the whole training field became very nervous. 

  Every step forward made the other tribe members more concerned. 

  Suddenly—— 

  Teng Qingshan finally stopped in front of a stone that weighed 100 Jin. 

  “Even the strongest person from Teng Village could only lift a stone weighing 80 Jin when he was six years old. I will honor my father, but I won’t make it too unbelievable, so I will just lift a stone of about 100 Jin,” thought Teng Qingshan as he stared at the stone.