Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Herbal Compendium Workout Routine

Cloud Stroll looked at the sixty burly men and said, “Since you are to become my guards and protect everyone’s safety, I will not shortchange you. From now on, each of you will receive a monthly wage of fifty blade coins.”

At this, the men grew even more excited.

“Lord Count, we will do our utmost to protect everyone’s safety and fulfill the duties of a guard.”

They all knew that in other lords’ employ, guards were paid only thirty blade coins a month.

With their abilities, they would at best be hired by a gambling house or some wealthy household, where the monthly wage would not exceed twenty blade coins.

Yet Cloud Stroll was offering them fifty a month.

And he had said they were to serve as guards to protect the people and defend against foreign invasion.

Unlike other lords, who hired guards mainly to protect themselves, and who at times might even turn those same men against the common people of their own lands—the guards little more than the lord’s hounds.

What was more, Cloud Stroll had also said that taxes would not be levied for the time being.

To them, being guards meant protecting their own families and property from harm.

It could be said that even if Cloud Stroll paid them nothing, they would still have accepted.

Yet not only was he paying them, he was paying them more than any other lord.

How could they not be overjoyed? How could they not be stirred?

Seeing their delighted faces, Cloud Stroll said, “Do not be in such a hurry to celebrate. In my judgment, the conditions I am offering are quite good.”

“If you fail to meet the requirements, you may be eliminated at any time.”

“And later, I will have someone make black headscarves for you. Those who are eliminated, I will have their scarves taken down and hung in a conspicuous place so that everyone will know they were not good enough—they were eliminated.”

“So, for this decent treatment, for your own dignity, for not becoming the laughingstock of others, and for not letting people think you are not a man or that you are incapable—”

“Work hard, all of you!”

The sixty men responded at once: “Lord Count, we will work hard. We will never be eliminated. We will never let anyone think we are incapable. We will never become a joke.”

Cloud Stroll laughed. “Ha ha, good. Very good. Seeing your fighting spirit makes me glad. I hope you keep this passion.”

“Next, follow me and learn guard training.”

“Classic of Herbal Teachings calisthenics!”

Then he demonstrated a series of movements: high knees, side kicks, groin claps, jumping jacks, burpees, push-ups, and more.

Aside from push-ups, none of them had ever done these exercises before.

But Bai Hao’s cavalry squad were all elites among elites; they quickly mastered the techniques and helped Cloud Stroll teach the sixty burly men.

It took more than half an hour before every one of the men had learned the routine.

Cloud Stroll said, “It will be a little while before the meal is ready. For now, all of you will follow me through the full sequence once.”

“Three, two, one, begin!”

“First movement, high knees! One, two, three, four, two, two, three, four...”

Calling out the beat, he led the sixty men through the routine in front of them.

When they were done, one of the burly men, panting heavily, said, “Lord Count, may I ask you a question?”

Cloud Stroll nodded. “What is it? Ask away.”

The man said, “Lord Count, did you perhaps make a mistake? Are you teaching us to dance instead of guard training?”

The others could not help looking at Cloud Stroll upon hearing this.

Bai Hao and his cavalry squad also looked over.

Their faces were all filled with confusion and curiosity.

Cloud Stroll smiled at the burly man. “Whether this is dance or training is a question I do not wish to answer. I only want to ask you this: why are you so out of breath, as if you can barely draw air into your lungs? How many more rounds do you think you could manage?”

The man fell silent.

So did everyone else.

Then Cloud Stroll looked around at them and said, “This set of movements can specifically train the muscles of the entire body.”

“For example, with push-ups, if I place my arms farther apart, it works the arms more. If I bring them closer in, it works the chest more.”

“For example, high knees train not only the thighs, but also the waist and abdomen, our core, awakening our strength.”

“You may think your bodies are strong, but in my eyes, they are in fact quite poor.”

“For instance, I have been teaching you all this time, and I have also been doing these exercises myself. Yet after completing the full set in front of you, I do not even breathe hard, while every one of you is gasping for breath, and some of you have even grown awkward and stiff in your movements.”

“The reason is simple: our daily labor only exercises certain muscles. It does not awaken the body as a whole. Only when the whole body is awakened can we move faster, react more swiftly, and become stronger in battle.”

“Lastly, I want to say this: these movements were taught to me by immortals. Do not underestimate them. As for why, you will know in a day or two.”

“I hope that by then, none of the sixty of you will be useless cowards who cannot endure, and none of you will be among the first to be eliminated.”

After Cloud Stroll finished, someone said, “Lord Count, hearing you say that, I realize these movements really are no simple matter. I can carry water for miles without getting out of breath, yet doing your exercises leaves me utterly worn out.”

Soon, more and more people said the same thing.

Even the burly man who had claimed Cloud Stroll was teaching them to dance looked ashamed and apologized. “I’m sorry, Lord Count. I was wrong.”

Cloud Stroll waved it off with a smile. “It’s nothing. Train hard. Do not disappoint me.”

“Yes, Lord Count!” the burly man answered with a grin.

Bai Hao and his cavalry squad stood nearby, watching this scene. Even they could not help but marvel inwardly. Cloud Stroll’s movements looked like dance, but after hearing his explanation, they seemed anything but simple.

Because they were elites among elites, their bodies were far stronger than those of the sixty burly men. Yet even they would feel exhausted after completing the routine, and they could not do it as effortlessly as Cloud Stroll.

“Only by awakening the muscles of the entire body can speed become faster and the body’s reactions more agile. Could that be the reason Cloud Stroll’s skills are so formidable?”

Bai Hao sighed to himself.

Then he grew somewhat troubled.

He did not know how to describe these movements in writing, and then send word by carrier pigeon to report them to the King of Qi.

In the end, he could only decide to tell the king when he saw him again.