Martial Academy Memories

At this moment, Jiang Qinghe looked at Xiao Hei, who had come to the Martial Academy for the first time and enthusiastically introduced its circumstances to him. He nudged his arm and said:

"Xiao Hei, you've been nowhere to be seen these past few days. I never expected you to have gone to the city! What did you go there for?"

Upon hearing this, indignation immediately rose on Xiao Hei's face:

"Some time ago, Elder Ping's old hidden injury flared up again. He sent me into the city to find Second Senior Brother, hoping he could pull some strings and see whether Hui Chun Pavilion had a spiritual medicine we needed."

"Who would have thought that after I finally got into his office, before the bench beneath me had even warmed up, he sent me away on the excuse that he was busy with official business."

"This..."

Jiang Qinghe was briefly left speechless.

"Could it be that aside from the one who severed ties with Master, the other three are also this distant from him?"

Xiao Hei lowered his head, sinking into his memories.

"That was many years ago. I had only been adopted by Elder Ping not long before. I only remember him taking five disciples to the Wasteland Forest outside the county. They were gone for over a month."

"Hunting Demon Beasts?" Jiang Qinghe asked.

"I don't know. Perhaps."

Xiao Hei shook his head. His tone grew somewhat heavy as he continued:

"After they returned, the atmosphere was suffocatingly oppressive. He seemed to have suffered grave injuries, and Eldest Senior Brother caused a huge scene on the spot before slamming the door and leaving. He never returned."

Jiang Qinghe recalled the aura Elder Ping had exuded while demonstrating martial arts for him earlier and could not help feeling astonished.

"Master's Cultivation Level is so profound. What kind of Demon Beast could have wounded him so severely?"

"It is said to have been a mutated Fourth Tier Azure Blood Python." Xiao Hei's voice was low.

"If not for his nearly invincible Cultivation Level among Great Martial Masters at the organ-refining stage, it would not have ended with merely both sides suffering injuries."

"After that, Second Senior Brother, Third Senior Brother, and Fourth Senior Sister left the Martial Academy one after another, drifting farther and farther away. The Martial Academy could never return to those lively days."

"I thought that after all these years of recuperation, even if his injuries had not fully healed, they should not have posed much of a problem. Who knew that some time ago, they would actually show signs of worsening..."

As he spoke, Xiao Hei clenched his fists, his voice carrying unwillingness and hatred.

"Unfortunately, I was born with defective meridians. I have no hope of ever stepping into Muscle Tendon Strengthening and can only linger at the body-tempering stage, unable to share his burdens."

Jiang Qinghe fell silent. He wanted to offer a few words of comfort, yet for a moment, he did not know what to say.

If he were in Xiao Hei's place, with his martial path cut off and no hope no matter how hard he struggled—

His vision truly would go black, as though the sky had collapsed and the earth had split apart.

Before long, Xiao Hei led Jiang Qinghe to a detached residence. The two took a look around the main hall and small courtyard.

After explaining a few matters that required attention, Xiao Hei took his leave.

"I never thought the Martial Academy had such a past..."

Jiang Qinghe felt somewhat moved, yet questions also rose in his heart.

"What exactly caused Master's relationship with his four disciples to fall so completely apart?"

After pondering for a while, he shook his head and laughed at himself. Thinking about such things now was futile. Only by becoming stronger himself could every difficult problem be cut through like a blade through bamboo.

Once he reached that point, obtaining the spiritual medicine Master needed should be easy.

Perhaps there might even be a way to resolve Xiao Hei's meridian defect.

"Phew..."

Jiang Qinghe exhaled a breath of turbid air, calmed his mind, and began carefully studying the Tiger Form Muscle Tendon Strengthening Technique.

Thanks to the insights he had gained from watching Elder Ping personally demonstrate it earlier, the complicated mnemonics and diagrams no longer seemed so obscure and difficult to understand.

"Having such a large private space really is far more convenient."

After practicing in the small courtyard attached to the detached residence until evening, Jiang Qinghe sat cross-legged and rested for a while.

After settling today's efforts, his gaze swept toward the panel.

[Realm: Muscle Tendon Strengthening (Beginner)]

[Techniques: Tiger Form Muscle Tendon Strengthening Technique (Beginner - 0/50), Iron Shirt Skill (Perfected), Wood Splitting Skill (Perfected)]

[Martial Skills: Levitation Technique (Minor Accomplishment - 0/50), Rock Crushing Palm (Minor Accomplishment - 3/10)]

[Potential Points: 2 (0–2 points obtainable daily)]

[Lifespan: 65. At the current realm, each 1 point of Lifespan burned can yield 5 Potential Points]

Jiang Qinghe was overjoyed.

"Just as I thought! After breaking through to Muscle Tendon Strengthening, every aspect has improved tremendously. The Potential Points I can gain have doubled, while burning Lifespan is five times as effective as before!"

Most importantly, the additional five years of Lifespan made him feel as though he could see a great path toward immortality stretching out before him.

As if remembering something, Jiang Qinghe took out the Silver Shuttle Pendant he had carried with him ever since he had been adopted by the old boatman and examined it once more.

"Gold, silver, copper, iron... none of them."

Though the pendant appeared utterly ordinary, its material lay beyond the scope of his knowledge.

Jiang Qinghe first tried recognizing it as its master with a drop of blood. When it produced no response, he grasped it in his hand and gradually increased his strength.

Sure enough, even with his current strength, he still could not make it deform in the slightest.

In the end, he could only give up, tuck the pendant close against his body, and leave it for future study.

On West Street in Lin'an County, the former Red Leaf Wine Shop had now been converted into a temporary branch hall of the Iron Saber Gang.

Bang—

Inside the main hall, the newly appointed hall master, Li Mu, smashed a brand-new cup to pieces, yet his face remained as dark as gathering storm clouds.

Rage burned in his eyes. He was clearly on the verge of erupting.

"Liao Hu, that piece of trash, truly deserved to die."

He had learned that one of the fish that had slipped through the net that night had transformed in the blink of an eye, rising to prominence with overwhelming force in such a short time.

First, he had defeated that famous genius of Golden Thunder Martial Academy. Then, before the dust had even settled, he had become Elder Ping's final disciple.

Who was Elder Ping? He was his superior's superior—the former master of Zhu Ning, the current leader of the Iron Saber Gang.

Even if he was only his former master, even if rumors said the two had completely severed their relationship, he was still an existence Li Mu could only look up to.

As his anger gradually subsided, Li Mu sank into deep anxiety.

Had he known Jiang Qinghe would encounter such an opportunity, then after he escaped from the wine shop, he should have been found and killed immediately, no matter what.

Now things were a fine mess. Liao Hu had personally led men to intercept him, yet they had still failed to keep Jiang Qinghe behind. The two sides were now locked in a feud unto death.

"Men!"

"Hall Master, your orders."

Several gang members immediately stepped forward upon hearing the call.

"Go to the area around Wanping Martial Academy and keep a close watch on Jiang Qinghe's movements. The moment anything unusual happens, report to me at once!"

"Yes!"

The gang members accepted the order and withdrew.

At dawn, deep within the Martial Academy and not far from the pavilion where Elder Ping lived, stood a dining hall reserved exclusively for Elder Ping and his disciples.

Jiang Qinghe sat at a table inside, taking a bite of a steaming meat bun before drinking a mouthful of warm multigrain porridge.

The rich fragrance of meat and the gentle warmth of the rice porridge instantly filled his mouth.

A current of warmth seemed to rise from his stomach, spreading through his limbs and every bone in his body.

"Phew..."

Jiang Qinghe let out a contented sigh, feeling his heart brim with happiness.

For the past few days, it had been dry flatbread, day after day.

Even after he had added some dried meat later on, it still tasted like chewing wax. He had nearly thought he was going to lose his sense of taste.

Now, at last, the bitterness had ended and sweetness had come.