Chapter 868

"Having a master like that must be tough for you," Si Ming said to Huang Tu. "He's the kind of person who'll resort to violence if things don't go his way."

"I would rather he were stricter with me, but unfortunately my talent is limited and I don't meet his standards. Non-Self father hadn't helped him back then, making him owe me a favor, I'm afraid he wouldn't have accepted me as Registered Disciple," Huang Tu said with a wry smile.

Si Ming asked in surprise, "As the third grandson of the current emperor, possessing the right to inherit the throne, you only became a Registered Disciple after asking for a favor. Universe-Shaking Divine General so disrespectful?"

"There are more than a dozen people with the right to inherit the throne, but there is only one War God of the Military School. From the perspective of national interests, we are the ones asking him for help, not the other way around. Of course, he can refuse to give us face."

After exchanging a few words, Si Ming hurriedly took his leave, because after watching the battle between the two Nascent Spirit Transformation, he discovered something that was very concerning to him.

"Senior Uncle Xing, is the Internal Cultivation you cultivate also the Blazing Yang Battle Art?"

Si Ming was extremely familiar with the Blazing Sun True Qi; even a slight leak was enough to trigger a response.

"Yes, that's why I led this operation. I originally planned to guide you in your Internal Cultivation, but you've been staying in your room cultivating these past few days, so I didn't want to disturb you."

As Xing Daozhuang acknowledged the request, he took out a manual from his robes and handed it to Si Ming: "It contains my cultivation insights into the Blazing Yang Battle Art. Consider it a small gift. Take a look, and feel free to ask me if you encounter any problems."

Si Ming casually flipped through a few pages, saw a few key pieces of information, and immediately asked, "Is it all thanks to you, Senior Uncle Xing, that the upper limit of the Blazing Yang Battle Art was raised from level ten to level fourteen?"

"This matter Non-Self own efforts, but by the combined efforts of many people. Your master also helped, and leading this team is to repay that favor," Xing Daozhuang said frankly.

As Si Ming carefully put away the manual, he couldn't help but feel puzzled. Level 14 of Internal Cultivation was indeed enough to meet the standard of the Spirit Transformation, but it was only at the initial level among the Nascent Soul stage Spirit Transformation. Xing Daozhuang's Foundation was clearly much more than that.

Putting everything else aside, the Internal Cultivation level of the Universe-Shaking Divine General Ba Shenhuang is at least level 19, if not 20. If you use level 14 Internal Cultivation to fight him, you will probably be sent flying to a valley on the horizon.

Seemingly sensing Si Ming's confusion, Xing Daozhuang said, "I also cultivate another Internal Cultivation, just like you."

Si Ming suddenly realized that he had also been practicing the "Vacuum Zero-Energy Furnace" technique. Although he only practiced it in his spare time, thanks to the Cultivation Method's "abundant and satisfying" characteristics, he had already made rapid progress to level eleven, almost catching up with the level of the Blazing Yang Battle Art.

However, he was very curious about why Xing Daozhuang cultivated the Blazing Yang Battle Art. Back then, he had no other choice but to cultivate the Blazing Yang Battle Art. As a dignified Spirit Transformation Grandmaster, he had a large number of Higher Vehicle Internal Cultivation to choose from. There was no need for him to choose a defective one. You should know that the initial Blazing Yang Battle Art had a level cap of only ten, which did not even meet the minimum requirements of the Nascent Spirit Transformation.

Xing Daozhuang clearly didn't want to talk about this topic, and Si Ming, as a junior, couldn't force him to ask. After all, everyone has their own secrets, and he wasn't the only one in the world who could encounter such extraordinary events. By carefully collecting information, it wouldn't be difficult to discover that every Spirit Transformation had a brilliant and glorious past.

Si Ming glanced at the manual in his hand, feeling both impressed by the other party's selflessness and that he felt he should repay the favor. So he said, "Senior Uncle Xing, I've been spending the last few days in my room pondering the Blazing Yang Battle Art, and I've gained some new insights. I'll organize these insights later, which I believe will be of value to you."

He had no intention of keeping it a secret. He planned to hand over the technique for raising the Blazing Yang Battle Art to the level 16 cap after returning to Su State. After all, one should never forget the source of one's blessings. Since the organization had helped him, he naturally wanted to repay them. He was just revealing it ahead of time.

Xing Daozhuang had no idea what Si Ming meant by "insights," and thought it was just a cultivation experience similar to his own. He couldn't help but sigh that Yan Jinghong's disciple was indeed a fearless young man. How could an ordinary junior dare to write down his own insights and give them to his elders for reference?

But he was a man who never showed his emotions, so even if he thought Si Ming was arrogant and ignorant, he wouldn't say it to his face. He simply replied with a casual "Thank you for your trouble."

This conversation caused Si Ming to miss the opportunity to meet other contestants, because since Ba Shenhuang brought Huang Tu to the military camp, people had been arriving one after another. By the time he came to his senses, he found that half of the people had already arrived and had formed their own circles, making it inconvenient for outsiders to join in.

Fortunately, he never intended to gather intelligence, so he didn't feel it was a pity. He didn't care what outsiders did; his vision had already surpassed that of his peers.

"Si Ming, you really did come!"

Suddenly a familiar voice rang out. Si Ming turned his head and saw that it was Si Huaruo.

Si Huaruo jogged over, excitedly saying, "I knew it! You'd definitely be one of the representatives from Su State, so I volunteered to participate in the Martial King Cup. Si Jingyu's going to be dumbfounded now, haha!"

Si Jingyu and her shadowy follower Si Shuiyun were not among the companions, indicating that neither of them had participated in the Martial King Cup. Si Huaruo was pleased with her superior judgment.

Si Ming teased, "You didn't come to the Martial King Cup just to see me, did you?"

"Yeah, if it weren't for you, I wouldn't want to participate in such a boring competition," Si Huaruo frankly admitted.

The other party's directness made Si Ming a little embarrassed. He couldn't help but think to himself, "The standard for blonde characters should be tsundere, right? 'Don't get me wrong, I only participated in the competition by chance, it's not for you.' That's what you should be saying! With your pitch so straight, how am I supposed to tease you?"

"Huaruo, is this the Si Ming you mentioned?"

A Baiyi man with striking features approached, looked Si Ming up and down, and chuckled lightly, "I don't see anything special about him."

Si Ming also looked over curiously. Could this creature be the legendary rival in love?

He couldn't help but sigh, having lived for so long, he had finally encountered such a person, it was truly rare. In the past, he had always been surrounded by Beauty confidantes with different characteristics, but he had never encountered a rival in love, which puzzled him greatly.

Upon closer reflection, it became clear that his Beauty confidantes all had their own reasons for being unsociable, making it impossible for others to approach them. Naturally, they had no rivals in love. The only one who could be considered a normal person was probably Si Huaruo, with Murong Qing barely qualifying as half a normal person.

Murong Qing had a history of being confessed to at school, but she rejected them all with reasons such as "I only want to date Spirit Transformation," "My ideal partner is Spirit Transformation Grandmaster," and "Please don't talk to me before you advance to Nascent Spirit Transformation." This had a slightly negative impact on her reputation, but she didn't take it to heart and thought that sacrificing this bit of reputation to avoid being harassed was very worthwhile from an efficiency standpoint.

The guy opposite me, who seemed to be my love rival, was exceptionally handsome, cheerful, and refined, like a dashing young gentleman in Baiyi amidst the turbid world. When he smiled, he even had a beautiful widow's peak on his forehead. It was a kind of beauty that transcended gender, like a celestial being descended to earth.

In short, it's the kind of manga that's drawn for women but they insist it's a man. Si Ming figured that if he hadn't cultivated Super Martial Dao, he probably would have looked like that too. Just in terms of looks, he'd be good enough to be a love rival.

"That's right, that's right, I'm just an ordinary person."

Since he had finally found a rival in love, Si Ming felt he should encourage him rather than scare him away too easily, otherwise it would be a shame. If this were a novel, the story of just one rival could fill tens of thousands of words.

Si Huaruo said coldly, "Qiu Ze, this is none of your business. Please stop following me, okay?"

The man in Baiyi looked rather grim. He said, "We came together. My master told me to take good care of you and not to let you be easily fooled by some swindlers. You know, some guys are best at deceiving girls."

Si Huaruo wasn't good at refusing people, nor was she as forceful as Murong Qing. So she stepped forward, grabbed Si Ming's arm to emphasize their relationship, and said, "If he's a liar, I'm willing to be lied to by him, so please don't meddle. If you have any self-respect as a martial artist, please leave immediately and don't pester me, okay?"

Hey, don't be so definitive! At least leave them some hope!

Look at his utterly defeated face. I haven't even made a move yet, and my rival is already down.

Si Ming hoped the other party would continue to pester him, but unfortunately, the Baiyi man clearly wasn't thick-skinned enough, especially after the commotion attracted a lot of attention. Feeling like he was being pricked by needles, he couldn't stay any longer. He glared at Si Ming fiercely and then turned and left.

"That's great. Judging from the final performance, there's still a possibility of future conflict," Si Ming thought expectantly.

At the same time, he felt a hostile gaze. Turning around, he Huyan Lie, the leader of the Thousand Ren Society, whom he had fought in Russia before.

After meeting Si Ming's gaze, the other person snorted, clearly displaying a threatening expression, before turning away to continue talking to someone else.

Si Ming stroked his chin. "It seems this Martial King Cup isn't as boring as I imagined."