Chapter 1: Chapter 1 — The Ten Stages of the Flesh

**
**

In the Wanxiang Garden, the inner residence of the Fang Clan—the foremost family of Longyuan Province in the Great Li Dynasty—the morning mist had yet to disperse. A group of Fang family youths were already practicing their martial arts, their shouts echoing through the dawn.

The head of the Fang family served as the Governor of Longyuan Province. Their ancestors had once belonged to the Yuhua Sect, one of the Ten Great Daoist Sects, and later followed the founding Martial Emperor of the Great Li in unifying the realm.

Longyuan—“the Hidden Dragon Abyss”—had been the capital of the previous dynasty. When Great Li was founded, the new court had intended to establish the capital here as well, but the land was too heavy with water energy, conflicting with the fire-aligned nature of the Li dynasty. Hence, the capital was set farther south, in Li Capital.

Even so, the imperial court entrusted this ancient former capital to the Fang family’s administration—proof of their immense trust in them.

Because of this, the Fang family enjoyed great prestige. Their residence sprawled across thousands of acres—courtyards everywhere, gardens without number. An ordinary person entering might never find their way out.

Even the garden’s name revealed its grandeur:

Wanxiang Garden—the Garden of Ten Thousand Phenomena.

---

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

Fists tore through the air; shockwaves rippled outward.

The youths moved with the ferocity of tigers stalking prey, lions pouncing oxen, eagles swooping down on rabbits, cranes poised upon pine peaks. Every motion coordinated from waist and hips, swift and sharp.

Especially striking were their limbs and strong spines—opening and closing like five fully drawn bows. Fists shot out like arrows; steps fell like the wind. Their foundation was clearly solid.

Yet, some distance away, hidden within the shadows of an artificial rockery, a pair of eyes watched them intently—

secretly learning their martial arts.

The eyes belonged to a fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy, dressed in grey servant clothes and a small cap—clearly a menial servant.

A month ago, I found a drainage tunnel leading straight into the mud beneath the inner courtyard’s rockeries. Without it, I’d never have sneaked inside to learn martial arts. If I get caught, I’ll die for sure… But Fang Han refuses to be a servant for life.

Fang Han studied every movement, every breath, committing all of it to memory.

He was indeed stealing martial arts.

Fang Han was born a servant of the Fang family—the kind whose children were also registered as servants.

His father had been a household attendant. Thus Fang Han, from the moment he drew breath, was destined to serve the Fang family for his entire life—and so would his children, and their children after them.

For a lowly servant to infiltrate the inner residence and steal his masters’ martial techniques… It was reckless to the extreme.

---

“He’s here!”

Fang Han stiffened. In the distance, a middle-aged man in a purple robe stepped onto the training grounds.

He was nine feet tall, broad-shouldered, his spine straight like a spear, his presence like a towering mountain. Even from afar, Fang Han felt as though he could not breathe.

This was one of the Fang Clan’s renowned masters—

Fang Tong, the “Giant Spirit Hand.”
A man of great fame across the provinces, here to instruct the Fang youths in advanced martial arts.

---

Just as civil officials were ranked from First to Ninth Grade, martial training of the flesh was divided into Ten Stages:

Nourishing Vitality

Training Strength

Mastering Techniques

HardSoft Unity

Divine Strength

Qi Resonance

Internal Fortification

Heroic Might

Spirit-Linking

Divine Transformation

As Fang Tong appeared, all the Fang family youths halted and stood at attention.

Fang Han sharpened his ears and listened.

---

“If the flesh is cultivated to the Ninth Stage—Spirit-Linking—even a team of five horses cannot tear your body apart!”

Fang Tong’s voice boomed like a great bell.

“An ancestor of our Fang family was once captured by enemy forces. They attempted to execute him by quartering, but he gathered his entire strength, pulled the five horses to the ground, and escaped. This is the power of the Ninth Stage of the Flesh!”

Five horses unable to tear a man apart!?
Fang Han’s heart trembled.
Can the human body truly reach such heights?

Fang Tong continued:

“But do not think the Ten Stages of the Flesh are the end. They are merely the beginning. Our Fang ancestors received instruction from immortal disciples of the Yuhua Sect, and thus we know of realms beyond the flesh—the Realm of Divine Abilities. Only by breaking the shackles of the mortal body can one truly dominate the world!”

---

“Uncle Tong, what exactly is the Divine Ability Realm?”

a youth asked.

“Divine Ability means doing what ordinary people deem impossible.”

Fang Tong’s expression grew solemn.

“For example—suppose your physical strength has reached the limit: you can tear tigers, crack boulders, lift cauldrons weighing a thousand jin. But—can you lift yourself by your own hair?”

The youths murmured in disbelief.
Fang Han silently echoed them: Impossible.

“To do the impossible—that is Divine Ability!”

Fang Tong declared,

“To shatter the limits of common sense—that is Divine Ability! Once you step into that realm, you may spit water and fire, walk on air, command thunder, or kill with flying swords.”

The youths stared wide-eyed.

---

“Have you reached the Divine Ability Realm, Uncle Tong?”

someone asked.

“Such a realm is not easily attained. Only geniuses beyond compare may touch it. I myself have reached only the Eighth Stage—Heroic Might. If any of you one day step into the Divine Ability Realm, I guarantee that the position of family head will be yours! Even the Great Li Dynasty will grant you high rank!”

He paused.

“From the Flesh Realm to the Divine Ability Realm is harder than ascending to heaven. If within three years, any of you reach the Fifth Stage—Divine Strength, able to draw a thousand-jin bow and run as swiftly as a horse—that alone would be cause for celebration.”

---

“Now, begin practicing Pine-Crane Longevity Fist! This is a supreme body-forging technique passed down from the Yuhua Sect. Comprehend its essence well. Remember—only when the flesh reaches its limit can the mind awaken Divine Ability. Our ancestors taught that Divine Ability arises from the brain—a mysterious power called mana. Only when the heart pumps vast blood to nourish the brain can mana be born.”

Fang Han felt his entire world shift.

He had spent a month secretly observing martial practice, but never had he heard teachings of this depth.

A door he had never known existed had opened before him.

---

In half an hour, as he listened and watched, the scattered insights he’d accumulated over the past month suddenly connected, revealing the true method of body cultivation.

The Flesh Realm consisted of ten stages, each with its own purpose:

Nourishing Vitality — strengthen health through proper diet and rest

Training Strength — develop limbs, waist, muscles beyond normal limits

Mastering Techniques — unify strength through coordinated motions

HardSoft Unity — combine rigidity and suppleness, move like the wind

Divine Strength — gain thousand-jin force, bones thunder with power

The remaining five—Qi Resonance, Internal Fortification, Heroic Might, Spirit-Linking, Divine Transformation—Fang Tong had not elaborated on. But Fang Han was in no hurry. He finally understood the fundamentals.

If I grasp the steps, the methods… And practice in secret… One day I will astonish the world and cast off this fate of servitude!
His month of risking his life to learn now felt worthwhile.

---

Suddenly—

Oh no! I forgot! The Second Young Miss is going riding today—and she asked me to prepare her prized horse, Thousand-Li Snow!

Fang Han’s heart lurched. He crawled back into the drainage tunnel and escaped the inner courtyard, fortunately without being discovered.

Had Fang Tong reached the Ninth Stage—Spirit-Linking—he would have sensed even the faintest gaze watching him. Fang Han would never have escaped.