Unexpected Change, Part Two

Slowly, another half a month passed. Wei He did some calculations, realizing he had been stuck at the bottleneck for two months now. It was probably time to quietly inform Old Zheng.

From when he started practicing Huishan Fist, it took him five months to reach Ox Hide, nine months to accumulate Blood Essence, and then about two more months to break through to Stone Hide.

Compared to Xiao Ran's breakthrough in just three months, he was much slower, but still faster than his other fellow disciples.

It seemed that once the Boundary-Breaking Pearl was fully charged, the Blood Essence didn't need to be divided, and the accumulation speed increased significantly.

He heard that Jiang Su had also taken over a year to break through to Stone Hide back then, so this was just right.

If he broke through to Stone Hide within a year, he should receive more attention than Jiang Su.

Finally, he found a day during the noon break and, alone, walked towards Old Zheng's resting room.

Then, while Old Zheng was out, he slipped a letter he had written through the window crack, letting it fall onto the desk beneath the windowsill.

Since he wanted to be discreet, he wouldn't say it face-to-face. Once Old Zheng read the letter, he would understand his intentions.

After doing this, Wei He quietly left, returning to rest and await good news.

After this, it would depend on Old Zheng's reaction after reading it. If he cared, he would naturally call him in privately and give him the subsequent training methods. If he didn't care, it would further indicate his insignificance, and he wouldn't have to worry about attracting attention like Xiao Ran.

Old Zheng's full name was Zheng Fugui. Although the name was unpleasant, he had strived and worked hard his entire life, and the current situation he had achieved was considerable.

He had originally thought he could train a few good disciples to support him in his old age, but he never expected that Xiao Ran, in whom he had placed great hope, would have such an incident in their last sparring session.

Zheng Fugui felt stifled and unable to resolve his feelings, and he hadn't slept well during this period, which also made his spirits considerably worse.

He was already old, and he had sustained many hidden injuries when he was young. Now that his mind was weary, his vitality and spirit were not as good as before.

It was now noon, and the sunlight outside was bright and clear, but Zheng Fugui's heart felt a chill.

He estimated that among the disciples in the courtyard who could support him in his old age and inherit his Huishan Fist school, maintaining its current status, there was truly no one suitable.

The eldest, Zhao Hong, was still stuck at the Stone Hide level, not moving at all. His talent had reached its limit. Now twenty-four years old, he had no possibility of further breakthroughs in the future.

Without external martial arts at the Iron Hide level, it was impossible to secure the position of Huishan Fist school.

The second, Xiao Ran, had finally shown hope, and he indeed had the potential to break through to Iron Hide in the future.

But now... this serious injury had not only damaged his body but also his constitution and his future. The person who struck him was truly ruthless!

Thinking of this, Zheng Fugui's heart felt like it was being cut by a knife.

But what could he do? He couldn't even find out who was behind it. They said it was the Tian family, but was there any evidence? Even if there was evidence, could he contend with such a powerful Tian family?

The Seven Families Alliance was united. Attacking one meant attacking all of them. They had ruled Feiye City for so many years, their roots were deep, and it was not something an old man like him could deal with.

The third, Cheng Shaojiu, had good talent and wide connections, but he lacked perseverance, wasting his family background and talent. Otherwise, he would have had some hope.

Then there were Jiang Yan and Jiang Su.

As for these two, Jiang Yan was just going through the motions. He came from the Jiang family of the Seven Families Alliance in the Inner City. When he came to the Huishan Fist school, it was just a place he casually chose.

Even Zheng Fugui himself did not dare to speak too harshly to him, let alone others. Moreover, coming from the Jiang family, it was impossible for him to support him in his old age.

As for Jiang Su, he had even less hope.

Jiang Su was a woman; she would get married sooner or later. Furthermore, her talent was comparable to Jiang Yan's. Although she had reached Stone Hide now, breaking through to Iron Hide would be extremely difficult!

Judging by her progress, Jiang Su had taken over a year to break through the bottleneck to Stone Hide.

She was far behind Xiao Ran.

Having taught disciples for many years, Zheng Fugui could roughly assess which disciples had hope and which did not.

In the eyes of outsiders, these disciples ranked at the top were all his valued core members.

But in his own eyes, all these disciples combined were not as good as Xiao Ran, who had the hope of breaking through to Iron Hide.

"Sigh," he was fifty-four years old this year, with a body full of injuries and illnesses. In a few more years, he might not even be able to teach disciples.

At that time, how would he protect the industry he had built? With his bare hands?

Zheng Fugui sighed in his heart.

Xiao Ran's injury had almost completely crushed his spirit.

To reach the Iron Hide level, one had to break through to Stone Hide within a year to have a future possibility of breaking through.

And so far, only Xiao Ran had met this requirement.

But now, he was also powerless.

His daughter's situation was even more disastrous; he had to support everything himself.

Returning to his bedroom, Zheng Fugui stood with his hands behind his back, looking at the empty room. Thinking of Xiao Ran lying on the sickbed, whom he had just seen, his heart became even more lost and sad.

He walked to the bedside, sat down heavily, and reached for the pipe on the nightstand.

But after thinking about it, he withdrew his hand.

He remembered the little black dog he had kept when he was young, named Iron Rod.

Whenever he was sad, Iron Rod would sense it, run to his leg, and nuzzle him, comforting him.

But unfortunately... Iron Rod had also died of old age long ago.

Dogs lived at most ten years or so, and that was with his proper care.

Old Zheng sighed, stood up, and slowly walked to the table, preparing to start his daily accounting.

Yes, he had to calculate the income and expenses of all his industries every day. This way, he could know if anyone was slacking off, secretly skimming profits, or taking benefits.

This was his nest egg for retirement, and not a single coin could be miscounted.

Therefore, he calculated it twice a day, morning and evening.

Did outsiders think he was sleeping in when he went to the courtyard so late every day?

Ridiculous.

He was calculating accounts!

What could a bunch of brats possibly know?

Old Zheng pulled out a chair and was about to sit down when his gaze fell upon a piece of letter paper on the table, appearing under the seam of the window.

"Hmm? This... did I take out paper yesterday?" He couldn't quite remember and reached out to pick it up and unfold it.

Knock, knock, knock.

Suddenly, the door was knocked upon, with a sense of urgency.

"Old Zheng! Xiao Ran is convulsing all over, it seems his injuries have flared up again!! Please go quickly!"

"Alright!" Old Zheng's expression turned serious, and he quickly got up and opened the door.

Outside the door was a strong woman from the inner courtyard, responsible for tidying the rooms.

"Tidy up my room, change the quilts and sheets! I'll be back to rest directly!"

"Yes." The strong woman nodded repeatedly.

Old Zheng nodded and strode away quickly.

Only then did the strong woman push the door open and begin tidying the room with haste.

Her eyes immediately fell upon the somewhat messy desk.

"This desk is so messy, I should clean it up quickly." With a sweep of her hand, she gathered the crumpled papers and other items on the tabletop.

Turning around, her vision suddenly blurred as Old Zheng, who had just left, returned.

"Old Zheng, you?"

"Forgot to bring something." Old Zheng returned to fetch his forgotten item and suddenly reached out, snatching the letter paper from Wei He out of the strong woman's hand.

"I don't have this kind of paper here, what is it?" He vaguely saw handwriting through the creases of the crumpled letter paper.

Old Zheng frowned and quickly unfolded it.

On it were lines of strong, clear handwriting, all written by Wei He himself, requesting follow-up cultivation methods after his breakthrough to Stone Hide.

The more Old Zheng read, the wider his eyes grew.

Because he had a clear memory of Wei He, the disciple who had broken through to Ox Hide just two days before the deadline last time.

Calculating in his mind, he could roughly estimate how long it took Wei He to progress from Ox Hide to Stone Hide.

Less than a year!

"It really is, less than a year!" Old Zheng felt both shocked and delighted.

Shocked that a talented young genius had suddenly appeared under his charge, and he hadn't even noticed.

Delighted that this brat knew how to conceal his abilities and quietly write him a letter.

After the Xiao Ran incident, he had become somewhat fearful. If another Xiao Ran incident occurred, he would truly wish he were dead.

"Fortunately... fortunately." Old Zheng suddenly compared the situations in his mind. Wei He's breakthrough time was far less impressive than Xiao Ran's. This way, he would definitely not attract as much attention as Xiao Ran.

In the past, he might not have felt so fortunate. But after the Xiao Ran incident, he understood.

Perhaps someone like Wei He was the truly steady type.

He had the hope of breaking through to Iron Hide, but he wouldn't attract too much attention.

"Excellent, excellent!" With this thought, Old Zheng's mind settled, and all his previous confusion vanished.

Recalling the contents of the letter, he couldn't help but shake his head inwardly.

Wei He thought Jiang Su had broken through to Stone Hide within a year, with similar talent to him.

But he had no idea that Jiang Su hadn't broken through to Stone Hide within a year. It was a breakthrough bottleneck after accumulating Blood Essence to perfection, which took a year.

Merely the bottleneck!

In reality, including the time spent accumulating Blood Essence, Jiang Su had taken at least a year and a half.

With this in mind, Old Zheng suppressed his surge of delight, put away the letter, and left without even looking at the strong woman.

He would first deal with Xiao Ran's situation, and then go directly to see that brat Wei He!

He suddenly felt that he might have overlooked Wei He a bit too much before.

Could this kid be the type of genius who bloomed late?

Wei He didn't receive the news that Old Zheng wanted to see him until the next day.

The next morning, he respectfully arrived at Zheng Fugui's bedroom door and stood there, waiting quietly.

Dawn had just broken.

Old Zheng was already awake, and a lamp was lit on the desk by the window.

Through the window, a figure could be seen bent over, writing diligently under the lamplight.

Occasionally, the sound of an abacus beads clacking could be heard.

Wei He waited patiently. Apart from announcing his arrival and greeting Old Zheng, he remained still and silent.

A full half an hour later.

The sky had completely brightened, and the blazing sun slowly illuminated the heavens.

Creak.

The door then slowly opened.

Zheng Fugui stood at the entrance and slowly stepped out.

He slowly ambled around Wei He, inspecting him.

"You're quite something, kid!"

He clapped Wei He on the shoulder.

"You've seen battle, haven't you? It seems I misjudged you."

Zheng Fugui liked what he saw more and more.

Wei He had good aptitude. While nowhere near as talented as Xiao Ran, he was still above average and had the potential to break through to Iron Hide.

Furthermore, his temperament was steady, and his personality sufficiently cautious. He might actually be a reliable prospect for his later years.

"It's all thanks to my teacher's cultivation," Wei He said, lowering his head.

"Good, good," Zheng Fugui mused. "Regarding your situation, I'll teach you the cultivation method first, and then publicize it in two months. That should prevent any trouble. Is that alright?"

"I'll do as my teacher arranges," Wei He quickly nodded.