The Twelve Golden Palaces Dragon Tiger Gate

Li Ye was watching him, and he was also observing Li Ye. The man scanned Li Ye from head to toe, focusing on his lower body for a moment before nodding.

"Hmm, your training method is good; you've put in a lot of hard work. There's no shortcut in martial arts, and putting in the effort is the right way. Your observation skills are also good. No need to look further, I'm just an ordinary person."

"Let me introduce you. Old Xu, Xu Yanwu. He might be the master who teaches you martial arts in the future. Li Ye, a kid I've taken a liking to. You already know the general situation."

Pan Zhengyang smiled at Xu Yanwu, then looked at Li Ye. "Haven't eaten lunch yet, right? These dishes are partly prepared for you. Let me see how much you can eat."

Li Ye's steps faltered as he walked over at his words.

What did he mean?

He looked at the food spread across the large stone table. It was different from the Pest Control Bureau's cafeteria; this was clearly more luxurious.

In the center sat a roasted whole lamb leg, surprisingly adorned with golden patterns. Next to it was a suckling pig, roasted to a purple jade-like sheen.

The remaining dishes were a bizarre assortment. There were thick trotters, and various other items that didn't resemble common home-cooked meals. Paw-like dishes with fiery red patterns. Li Ye recognized this one; it looked like a bear paw!

The eggs in the large bowl resembled amber, with a glowing yolk visible inside. There were two steamed fish with scales of jade-green and whiskers like dragon whiskers. A bowl of clear soup contained something resembling bamboo shoots, but the texture looked like meat.

It was a full, abundant spread covering the large stone table.

With so many high-quality ingredients here, they also wanted to check his appetite?

Had his voracious eating habits been discovered?

Seeing Li Ye hesitate, Pan Zhengyang called out, "Why are you frozen? It's not like I expect you to finish it all. You couldn't finish it anyway. The main thing is to see your capacity. Come and sit."

He hadn't been discovered; they were just calling him to eat.

Li Ye relaxed internally, smiled, and walked over to sit down. He picked up the prepared bowl and chopsticks, then paused, remembering something, and took out the Five Flavors Chopsticks he carried.

"Then I won't be polite."

"Five Flavors Chopsticks?"

Xu Yanwu's expression turned surprised. "A rare Magic Treasure."

Pan Zhengyang chuckled, "Not bad, right? This kid is very lucky. He took down a Five Plagues Ghost and got such a good treasure. Li Ye, you'd better not—"

He didn't finish before Xu Yanwu interrupted him, extending a hand. "Just eat like this."

Li Ye looked at Pan Zhengyang. After a moment's thought, Pan Zhengyang also smiled and nodded. "Alright, eat first."

With so many high-end ingredients, using the Five Flavors Chopsticks would maximize Blood Essence enhancement. Li Ye wouldn't hold back and immediately picked up an egg and put it in his mouth.

Mmm, he could taste it.

Golden Amber Egg: replenishes energy, enhances immunity, stimulates appetite, and aids digestion.

And its quality was very high, five times that of the Pest Control Bureau's ingredients!

Combined with the Five Flavors Chopsticks...

This was good stuff!

He quickly ate two eggs, then served himself a bowl of bamboo shoot soup, placing the Five Flavors Chopsticks inside to mix. He drank the soup while eating the bamboo shoots.

Dust Washing Bamboo Jade Soup: the taste was indeed like meat. It was already delicious, and with the effects of the Five Flavors Chopsticks, it became even more exquisite. Li Ye's eyebrows twitched as he drank.

It could dispel fatigue, invigorate the spirit, heal internal injuries, replenish vital energy, stimulate appetite, and aid digestion.

Three times the quality of the cafeteria ingredients.

After drinking a bowl of soup, he picked up half a fish and took a large bite.

Cold Pond Dragon Whisker Fish: boneless, repairs the brain, enhances reaction speed, clears heat, reduces fire, and also stimulates appetite and aids digestion.

That thick trotter was the Mysterious Armor Rock Rhinoceros Hoof. It strengthened tendons and ligaments and benefited the body. It didn't stimulate appetite itself, but the soybeans it was cooked with did. They were also a high-quality ingredient, stimulating appetite and aiding digestion.

The more he ate, the more Li Ye felt something was off.

Why did all the food have the effects of stimulating appetite and aiding digestion?

What were they trying to do?

Li Ye instinctively stopped his chopsticks and looked at the two men.

So far, Li Ye had eaten about a fifth of the dishes on the table.

"Can't eat anymore?" Pan Zhengyang asked.

Li Ye nodded.

"Then let's train."

Xu Yanwu stood up, gestured for Li Ye to follow him, and after reaching the center of the courtyard, told him, "Stand properly. Take off your clothes."

"Ah?" Li Ye was startled.

"Take them off when I tell you to, no nonsense. Your shirt," Xu Yanwu commanded.

Li Ye pursed his lips. Trusting Pan Zhengyang, he removed his shirt, revealing a lean yet smoothly muscled physique.

"Listen to my command, and stimulate your Blood Essence."

Li Ye stood firm at the instruction, activating his Blood Essence, which manifested as a glowing aura and mist.

"Condense your Blood Essence, starting from here..."

Xu Yanwu poked Li Ye's tailbone and moved upwards until he reached the center of Li Ye's back. "Speaking of which, condense and lift it using the swimming dragon method. If you can't visualize it, just follow the frequency of nine on the left and five on the right. Go through it three times first."

The Blood Essence in the Dragon Gate Realm had already materialized and could be controlled, but Li Ye found that he could control it even more subtly. This wasn't due to Authority; it was something unique to him.

He was already capable of perfecting his techniques, and now, after breaking through to the Dragon Gate and transforming his Blood Essence into a tangible form, he could also achieve fine control over its manipulation. Coupled with the Blood Essence sensing brought by Authority, he could achieve even more subtle control.

He mobilized his Blood Essence, controlling its direction with a frequency of nine pulls to the left and five pulls to the right, moving upwards from his tailbone all the way to the center of his back. From his exposed spine, a faint halo of energy could be seen as the Blood Essence was stimulated. His spine even appeared and was vibrating rapidly.

It was like a dragon swimming swiftly.

This scene, however, caused Xu Yanwu to show surprise, and Pan Zhengyang behind him widened his eyes.

But in an instant, Xu Yanwu reacted and said:

"Disperse it throughout your body, meaning to your internal organs, then rush it to your limbs, like stretching. Remember, you need to disperse it to every part of your body, without missing a single spot!"

As he spoke, he turned and walked back.

Disperse throughout the body

Li Ye continued to mobilize his Blood Essence, sending the refined Blood Essence from the center of his back to spread around his body, precisely attaching to every internal organ, and even every sinew. Then, he spread his limbs wide, diffusing the Blood Essence from the inside out, to his arms and knees, then to his fingers and toes, and he stretched and shook them gently.

Crack!

The sound erupted from Li Ye's body like thunder. As the sound rang out, Pan Zhengyang suddenly stood up, looking as if he had seen a ghost.

Xu Yanwu, who had already started walking back, abruptly turned his head. His face, a blend of good and evil, still wore a calm, raised-eyebrow expression, but the surprise in his eyes was so intense it was almost horror.

How could anyone reach this stage on their first try? It was impossible, this...

"Old Xu!" Pan Zhengyang reacted slightly faster and called out.

"Charge it all to your forehead, then spit it out!" Xu Yanwu shouted, involuntarily clenching his fists and widening his eyes.

Li Ye collectively lifted his Blood Essence, rushing it from the center of his back to his neck, and from his neck to the crown of his head. At this point, he didn't even need Xu Yanwu to remind him; the stimulation rushing to the crown of his head made his head feel like it was about to explode. A strange energy spontaneously generated, rushing back from his head to the rest of his body, as if it were about to explode.

Instinctively, he inhaled sharply through his nose and spat forcefully.

Hiss!!

Two streams of white energy, like arrows, shot out from Li Ye's nostrils, spraying onto the ground. From a distance, it looked as if Li Ye had grown two white dragon whiskers.

After spitting, his body staggered. He patted his forehead twice and shook his head vigorously before the explosive sensation lessened somewhat. He couldn't help but curse:

"Damn it, what kind of ghost martial art is this!"

"The Dragon Gate technique was actually mastered in one go?!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a sharp, piercing shriek came from behind him. Li Ye turned his head and saw that the one screaming was none other than Pan Zhengyang!

His robust, manly physique now resembled a frightened young girl, his fists clenched and raised, his mouth pursed in a strange, lewd manner, giving off a strong sense of discomfort.

Xu Yanwu's expression remained unchanged, but his eyes seemed to glow, and his tone became noticeably more urgent.

"Don't move, let me check... No, Old Pan!"

Whoosh!

A gust of wind swept through, reaching Li Ye and ruffling his hair.

Pan Zhengyang quickly approached, looked Li Ye up and down, then grabbed Li Ye's wrist, as if taking his pulse.

"No problem!"

After a moment of palpation, he turned back excitedly, "Completely fine! No damage to his body, no loss of Blood Essence! Damn it, you've found a good disciple! This art won't be lost!"

"Kid, no, Li Ye!"

Xu Yanwu stared intently at Li Ye, his voice slow and firm, "Starting today, I am the master who will teach you martial arts!"

Then he looked at Pan Zhengyang, "Old Pan, the matter of ingredients is up to you. Since he's unharmed, increase his food intake. Let him eat heartily."

Although his voice was still calm, the bulging veins on his neck revealed his excitement.

Pan Zhengyang waved his large hand generously, "No problem, our friendship is unquestionable. We'll eat like royalty, you can rest assured!"

"I have a question."

A voice came from the side, causing both of them to look over. Li Ye raised his hand now, holding up two fingers, "Two questions..."

He had many questions, but for now, he only wanted to ask two things.

"First, what is this ghost martial art I've learned called?"

Xu Yanwu looked into Li Ye's eyes and said word for word, "[Twelve Golden Palaces Dragon Tiger Gate]."

Li Ye nodded and continued, "Second, does this martial art rely on eating to improve?"

"You can understand it that way," Xu Yanwu replied.

Li Ye bared his white teeth and looked at the food on the stone table, "Then I feel... I can eat a bit more."