By the stone table, Pan Zhengyang and Xu Yanwu simply watched Li Ye wolf down the food until he scraped the last remaining lamb leg clean from the bowl and utensils, then picked it up with the Five Flavors Chopsticks and ate it. The two immediately looked at each other.
He did not eat with any particular abandon. He ate like an ordinary person, chewing normally and swallowing normally, yet there was not the slightest pause as the food went down.
Once he had finished, Pan Zhengyang asked, "Full?"
Li Ye thought for a moment and said, "If I had another bowl of rice, I'd be full."
He had not intended to eat that much. Originally, he had planned to stop after finishing another fifth of it, but seeing Pan Zhengyang's undisguised excitement and the thick anticipation in Xu Yanwu's eyes, he felt that he could still eat a little more.
And then he ate it all.
But this should have been his "limit." He had to rein himself in first.
Pan Zhengyang stroked his chin and stared at Li Ye as though he were some rare treasure. "Damn, you really are a talent. You can seriously eat."
Hungry ghost contamination?
No such thing.
Not to mention that his blood and qi were running steadily—Pan Zhengyang was standing right here. With demons and monsters before his eyes, could he possibly fail to tell?
If he had truly been contaminated by a hungry ghost, he would not have this kind of Essence Qi and spirit.
That left only one possibility: he could eat!
Not merely the kind of appetite that came from having a big stomach—though Li Ye was certainly good at that too. This tableful of dishes had partly been meant to test Li Ye's appetite, but Pan Zhengyang could have finished it by himself as well.
But Pan Zhengyang was not in the Dragon Gate Realm, and this table was enough to fill him up. Yet Li Ye, a First Dragon Gate martial artist who had only just stepped onto the martial path, had eaten every last bite!
This was no ordinary meal. These were all foods supplied exclusively for martial artists of Pan Zhengyang's level, and Li Ye had even used the Five Flavors Chopsticks.
No matter who it was, eating had its limits. Aside from stomach capacity, the ingredients themselves were another consideration.
After all, drinking water could fill you up, and eating ginseng could fill you up too, but could the effects possibly be the same?
Be careful not to be supplemented to death!
Yet after eating so much, Li Ye looked perfectly fine. That relaxed expression did not seem fake. This was not something one could pretend; anyone unable to handle the nourishment would have run into problems long ago after eating these ingredients.
This kid could really eat!
Pan Zhengyang sighed in amazement and looked at Xu Yanwu. "Old Xu, tell him about it?"
Xu Yanwu nodded and said to Li Ye, "You were able to sense the effect of the Dragon Gate in one go. With your sensitivity to blood and qi, you noticed the changes while practicing too, didn't you?"
Li Ye paused slightly. "My blood and qi dropped, but it also rose somewhat."
He had noticed it sharply from the moment he began practicing, and it had been extremely obvious. After all, he had quantified his own blood and qi with data.
Over the past few days, because he ate all three meals at the Pest Control Bureau cafeteria and also ate the ingredients he had brought home from there, his blood and qi value had reached 22.
Before practicing, after eating one fifth of the food in this courtyard, it had risen four times as much as it did from eating at the cafeteria, becoming 30.
But while circulating the technique, his blood and qi had been falling. If he had not trusted Pan Zhengyang, he would already have stopped. By the time he reached the final stage, his blood and qi had fallen to 23.
Only after he exhaled that breath did his blood and qi begin to condense and rise again, but it rose by only two points, becoming 25.
"The uniqueness of my martial art lies precisely here."
Xu Yanwu said, "Normal martial arts condense blood and qi to improve it. Those without talent cannot cultivate it, so naturally they cannot improve their blood and qi, and thus cannot master martial arts."
"The better the talent, the greater the increase in blood and qi from practice. The higher one's blood and qi, the stronger the martial art becomes when used. They complement each other."
"But this martial art is different. It causes blood and qi to decline while the technique is being circulated, and only once the circulation is complete can it condense blood and qi. If you practice poorly, you will instead become worse the more you practice."
"What matters most is your sensitivity to blood and qi, and the degree of precise control you have over tangible blood and qi. You are exceptionally gifted in this regard."
As he spoke, he nodded approvingly, then added, "Talent comes second. Yours is a little lacking, but since your blood and qi are undamaged and your body is unharmed, it means you can practice this martial art."
Li Ye pursed his lips at that.
Pan Zhengyang laughed. "Don't be unconvinced. The man before you opened his Dragon Gate for the first time and leaped directly from the First Dragon Gate to the Second Dragon Gate. He was a genius among geniuses. Back then, his talent, sensitivity, and appetite were all first-rate."
Li Ye looked over in surprise. Wasn't he an ordinary person?
As though he had sensed Li Ye's gaze, Xu Yanwu said calmly, "I am only an ordinary person now. That has nothing to do with the martial arts I practiced in the past. Do not concern yourself with me. You only need to know that I can teach you martial arts and that I am your master."
Li Ye nodded. "So what I need to increase next is my appetite?"
"If a martial artist cannot eat, what martial arts is he supposed to practice? Blood and qi do not appear out of thin air, nor can martial arts be cultivated from nothing. There has to be a foundation. Those with good talent must eat well and eat plenty. Those with poor talent must do so even more. Otherwise, how can they advance on the martial path?"
Xu Yanwu said, "Especially for my school, which in some ways requires even greater amounts of blood and qi. The ingredients you ate earlier all aid digestion. They were meant to restore you after your blood and qi declined from circulating the technique."
"Your appetite is quite good, but it is still not enough. To practice this martial art, you will need even more blood and qi. The denser, the better. When the time comes, I will make you able to eat even more."
He would need to eat even more?
Li Ye was slightly stunned, and the corners of his mouth lifted unconsciously.
Being able to eat was good. He absolutely had to be able to eat. As long as he had that excuse, no one would find it strange no matter how much he ate in the future.
But he still had a question. "Since blood and qi need to be abundant, wouldn't someone at the Nine Dragon Gate with decent sensitivity to blood and qi work too?"
Martial arts were not some exclusive spiritual body or sacred physique. There was no such thing in this world. Li Ye knew that one could learn multiple martial arts.
He had heard of such things at his former martial arts school. After one Senior Brother finished learning the Seventy-two Thunder Legs, he went to another martial arts school to learn a new martial art.
"I knew you would ask that."
Pan Zhengyang smiled. "No matter how high your realm is, you still have to start learning a martial art from scratch. At most, you just have a good foundation. It is like studying the humanities—does being good at math automatically make you good at chemistry? You still have to learn it. Same principle."
"There are no shortcuts on the martial path."
Xu Yanwu picked up the thread. "The First Dragon Gate and Nine Dragon Gate are the same. If you can do it, you can do it. If you cannot, you cannot. Since I have already told you about the difficulty of the Dragon Gate, let me tell you about the benefits of my martial art."
"The Twelve Golden Palaces Dragon Tiger Gate is divided into three methods of circulating the technique: the Dragon Gate, the Tiger Gate, and the Golden Palaces. The Dragon Gate cultivates qi, the Tiger Gate cultivates strength, and the Golden Palaces cultivate the body. The Dragon Gate lets your stamina remain undiminished and keeps you youthful; the Tiger Gate grants boundless strength and fortifies the essence and body; the Golden Palaces give you a bronze head and iron bones that can withstand blades and spears."
"Even ordinary martial artists who reach the Nine Dragon Gate will see their blood and qi decline in old age. At most, they live to around one hundred and twenty or thirty, and they look thoroughly aged. With my martial art, if you reach the Nine Dragon Gate, I guarantee that you will live to one hundred and eighty. Your organs will remain vigorous, and you will not look old."
Li Ye's eyes widened at those words.
"As long as you master it, you may not be invincible beneath heaven, but no one will be able to defeat you. Will you learn it?"
"I'll learn it, I'll learn it! Only an idiot wouldn't!" Li Ye nodded fiercely.
Xu Yanwu's lips twitched as though he were smiling, yet the smile never emerged. He turned and sat back down on the stone stool, his posture upright as he looked at Li Ye.
Li Ye understood in an instant and immediately dropped to his knees.
Pan Zhengyang picked up a wine cup, filled it, and handed it to Li Ye. "I'll serve as the witness."
Li Ye raised it overhead and said solemnly, "Greetings, Master!"
Xu Yanwu nodded, took the wine cup, and drained it in one gulp. Just as he was about to speak, Pan Zhengyang filled another cup and handed it over.
Xu Yanwu frowned slightly. "What is a child drinking for?"
Pan Zhengyang chuckled. "This kid is obviously an old smoker. He definitely drinks too."
Only then did Xu Yanwu hand the wine cup to Li Ye.
"Thank you, Master, for granting me wine."
Li Ye said this, accepted the cup, and drained it in one gulp. Then his body trembled slightly.
Good heavens!
Even the wine was top-grade!
After the wine, Xu Yanwu said, "Simple etiquette is enough. I am teaching you martial arts to find an inheritor, and you are qualified. Go back now. I have not prepared everything today. Come again tomorrow, and with your current appetite, I will teach you the complete martial art."
"Alright, Master. I'll come again tomorrow."
Li Ye stood up readily, greeted Pan Zhengyang as well, and turned to leave.
His new master did not seem to be someone who liked idle chatter.
But once he stepped out through the main gate, Li Ye thought of what Xu Yanwu had said about his talent and shook his head with a bitter smile.
He had to know that he ate through his Authority, perfectly absorbing the blood and qi from food. In his hands, the Five Flavors Chopsticks also performed to their utmost limit.
He was not like normal people, who had to wait after eating for the food to be absorbed.
Even with those two effects stacked together, his blood and qi had still fallen by five points.
That meant his talent really was poor.
But talent alone probably would not be enough either. With such a rate of decline, it would likely only barely sustain things.
No wonder Pan Zhengyang had said earlier that even someone with outstanding talent would progress at roughly the same pace as an ordinary person practicing martial arts. Unless, as he had said, one had good talent, sensitivity, and appetite all at once, one could not learn it.
It was no wonder it was nearly lost to time.
But to Li Ye, none of that was a problem!
In essence, even without practicing martial arts, he could reach the Nine Dragon Gate. As long as he ate enough, he would definitely master this martial art!
His blood and qi had only dropped by five points, but after he finished practicing and ate an entire tableful of food, his blood and qi had already reached 57 points!
Besides, those five points could be replenished with a little over a hundred pounds of rice. It was no big deal at all.
What mattered was that this top-tier martial art had far too many benefits!
Before you continue