Taking a Master

Beside the stone table, Pan Zhengyang and Xu Yanwu stared at Li Ye, who was wolfing down his food, until he cut off the last remaining lamb shank with his utensils and ate it, holding it with the Five Flavors Chopsticks. They immediately looked at each other.

He didn't eat ostentatiously, just like a normal person eating, chewing and swallowing normally, but he ate without any hesitation.

When he finished, Pan Zhengyang asked, "Are you full?"

Li Ye thought for a moment and said, "If I had another bowl of rice, I'd be full."

He hadn't planned to eat this much. He originally intended to stop after eating one-fifth of it, but seeing Pan Zhengyang's undisguised excitement and Xu Yanwu's deep anticipation in his eyes, he felt he could eat a little more.

Then he ate it all.

But at this point, it should also be his 'limit,' so he needed to hold back for now.

Pan Zhengyang stroked his chin, looking at Li Ye as if he were some rare treasure. "Damn, you're really something else, being able to eat so much."

Hungry ghost contamination?

Not a chance.

Let alone the fact that his Blood Essence was running stably. Pan Zhengyang was right here; could he not tell if a demon was present?

If he were truly contaminated by a hungry ghost, his Essence Qi wouldn't be like this.

There was only one possibility: he could eat!

It wasn't just about having a large stomach capacity, though Li Ye was also very capable in that regard. He could have finished this entire table of food by himself.

But he wasn't in the Dragon Gate Realm, and this table of food was enough to satisfy him. Yet, a Martial artist who had just entered the Martial arts world, at the First Dragon Gate level, had eaten it all!

This wasn't ordinary food; it was specifically for Martial artists at his level. Moreover, Li Ye had used the Five Flavors Chopsticks.

No matter who it was, there was a limit to how much one could eat. Besides stomach capacity, the ingredients were also a consideration.

After all, you could get full from drinking water, or even from eating ginseng, but would the effects be the same?

Be careful not to over-supplement yourself to death!

Yet, he ate so much and seemed fine, his relaxed expression not faked. This wasn't something that could be faked. If these ingredients were eaten by someone not suited for them, they would have had problems long ago.

This kid could really eat!

Pan Zhengyang exclaimed and looked at Xu Yanwu. "Old Xu, tell me about the situation?"

Xu Yanwu nodded and said to Li Ye, "You can feel the effect of the Dragon Gate once. With your Blood Essence perception, you must have noticed the changes when practicing, right?"

Li Ye paused slightly and said, "My Blood Essence decreased, but it also increased somewhat."

From the very beginning of his practice, he had noticed it very keenly and directly, as he had quantified his Blood Essence.

For the past few days, because he had been eating at the Pest Control Bureau's cafeteria for his three meals, and also eating the ingredients brought from the cafeteria at home, his Blood Essence value was 22.

Before practicing, after eating one-fifth of the meal in this courtyard, his overall Blood Essence increased by four times compared to eating at the cafeteria, reaching 30.

However, during the circulation of Qi, his Blood Essence was decreasing. If he hadn't trusted Pan Zhengyang, he would have already stopped practicing. By the time he reached the last point of circulation, his Blood Essence had dropped to 23.

Only after exhaling that breath did his Blood Essence begin to condense and recover, but it only rose by two points, becoming 25.

"The uniqueness of my martial art lies here,"

Xu Yanwu said, "Normal martial arts condense Blood Essence for improvement. Those without talent naturally can't improve their Blood Essence, and thus can't master the martial art.

The better the talent, the greater the Blood Essence improvement from practicing. The higher the Blood Essence, the stronger the martial art becomes when executed; they complement each other.

But this martial art is different. It causes Blood Essence to decrease during circulation, and only after completing the circulation can Blood Essence be condensed. If practiced poorly, you'll only become weaker.

Its most crucial aspect is the perception of Blood Essence and the degree of precise control over tangible Blood Essence. You are exceptionally outstanding in this regard."

As he spoke, he nodded approvingly. "Secondly, it's talent. Although yours is a bit lacking, since your Blood Essence is unharmed and your body is fine, it means you can practice."

Li Ye pursed his lips upon hearing this.

Pan Zhengyang chuckled, "Don't be unconvinced. This gentleman in front of you, on his first attempt to open a Dragon Gate, leaped directly from the First Dragon Gate to the Second Dragon Gate. He's a genius among geniuses. His talent, perception, and appetite were all top-notch back in the day."

Li Ye looked at him in surprise. Wasn't this just an ordinary person?

Seemingly sensing Li Ye's gaze, Xu Yanwu said calmly, "I am just an ordinary person now; it has nothing to do with my past martial arts training. Don't mind me. Just know that I can teach you martial arts, and I am your master."

Li Ye nodded. "So, what needs to grow next is my appetite?"

"If a martial artist can't eat, how can they practice martial arts? Blood Essence isn't born out of thin air, nor can martial arts be practiced out of thin air. There needs to be a foundation. Those with good talent need to eat well and eat a lot. Those with poor talent need to do so even more. Otherwise, how can they progress in the Martial arts?"

Xu Yanwu said, "Especially my school, which, to a certain extent, requires even more Blood Essence. The ingredients you ate earlier have digestive-promoting effects, meant to help you recover after your Blood Essence decreases during practice and after digestion."

"Your appetite is quite good, but it's not enough. To practice this martial art, you need more Blood Essence, the richer the better. I will make you able to eat even more in the future."

Even more able to eat?

Li Ye was slightly taken aback, and the corners of his mouth instinctively curved upwards.

Being able to eat was great. It was essential to be able to eat. As long as he had this excuse, he wouldn't attract attention no matter how much he ate in the future.

But he still had a question. "Since Blood Essence needs to be rich, wouldn't it also work to find someone at the Nine Dragon Gate with good Blood Essence perception?"

Martial arts weren't exclusive spiritual bodies or sacred bodies, and there was nothing like that in this world. Li Ye knew that martial arts could be learned by multiple people.

He had heard of such things at the martial arts school he used to attend. A senior disciple, after mastering the [Seventy-two Thunder Legs], went to another martial arts school to learn new martial arts.

"I knew you'd ask that."

Pan Zhengyang chuckled, "No matter how high the realm, martial arts must be practiced from the beginning. At most, you'll have a good foundation. It's like learning humanities; if your math is good, will your chemistry automatically be good? You still have to study it, it's the same principle."

"There are no shortcuts in martial arts."

Xu Yanwu chimed in, "The First Dragon Gate and the Ninth Dragon Gate are the same. If you can do it, you can do it; if you can't, you can't. I've already told you about the difficulty of the Dragon Gate, so let me tell you about the benefits of my martial art."

"The Twelve Golden Palaces Dragon Tiger Gate is divided into three cultivation methods: Dragon Gate, Tiger Gate, and Golden Palace. The Dragon Gate cultivates Qi, the Tiger Gate cultivates strength, and the Golden Palace cultivates the body. The Dragon Gate can keep your stamina at peak youth, the Tiger Gate grants immense strength to fortify the body, and the Golden Palace bestows an iron body capable of withstanding blades and spears."

"Normal martial artists, even those who reach the Ninth Dragon Gate, will experience a decline in Blood Essence as they age, living to about 120 or 130 at most, and showing signs of old age. If you reach the Ninth Dragon Gate with my martial art, I guarantee you'll live to 180 and maintain organ vitality, without showing signs of aging."

Li Ye's eyes widened at this statement.

"Once you master it, it won't make you invincible, but no one will be able to defeat you. Will you learn it?"

"Learn, learn, learn! Only a fool wouldn't learn!" Li Ye nodded vigorously.

Xu Yanwu's lips twitched, as if he were smiling but not quite. He turned and sat back on the stone stool, his posture upright, and looked at Li Ye.

Li Ye understood immediately and knelt down.

Pan Zhengyang picked up a wine cup, filled it with wine, and handed it to Li Ye, "I'll be a witness."

Li Ye raised the cup and said solemnly, "Greetings, Master!"

Xu Yanwu nodded, took the wine cup, and drank it in one gulp. Just as he was about to speak, he saw Pan Zhengyang take another cup, pour wine, and hand it over.

He frowned slightly, "What is a child drinking alcohol for?"

Pan Zhengyang chuckled, "This kid is clearly an old smoker; he'll definitely drink alcohol."

Only then did Xu Yanwu hand the wine cup to Li Ye.

"Thank you, Master, for the wine."

Li Ye said, took the cup, and drank it down in one go. His body then trembled slightly.

Good heavens!

The wine is top-grade!

After finishing the wine, Xu Yanwu said, "Simple etiquette is enough. I'm teaching you martial arts to find a successor, and you are qualified. You can go back now; I wasn't fully prepared today. Come back tomorrow, and with your current appetite, I will teach you the complete martial art."

"Alright, Master, I'll be back tomorrow."

Li Ye stood up readily, said goodbye to Pan Zhengyang, and turned to leave.

His new master didn't seem like someone who enjoyed idle chatter.

As he walked out the door, Li Ye thought about Xu Yanwu's mention of aptitude and shook his head with a wry smile.

He had to remember that he was consuming using Authority, perfectly absorbing the Blood Essence from food, and the Five Flavors Chopsticks were used to their fullest extent in his hands.

It wasn't like a normal person who had to wait for absorption after eating.

The combined effect of these two meant his Blood Essence could even decrease by 5 points.

This represented truly poor aptitude.

But even with pure aptitude, it probably wouldn't be enough. This rate of decrease could barely be maintained.

No wonder Pan Zhengyang had said earlier that even with good aptitude, the progress in practicing martial arts would be similar to that of ordinary people, unless one truly had both good aptitude and a good appetite, as he said, to be able to learn it.

It wasn't strange that it was nearly lost.

But for Li Ye, none of this was a problem!

Essentially, he could reach the Ninth Dragon Gate even without practicing martial arts. As long as he ate enough, he would definitely master this martial art!

He only lost five points, but after practicing, he ate a whole table of dishes, and his Blood Essence had already reached 57 points!

Besides, those five points could be replenished with over a hundred pounds of rice; it was hardly a concern.

Instead, this top-tier martial art had too many benefits!