This Road Through the Martial World—Either Don't Take It, or See It Through to the End!

"Slow and steady accumulation, then a sudden burst."

Fang Xuan smiled and explained, "You know as well as anyone that these past few years, I trained through the bitterest cold of winter and the scorching heat of summer. All I lacked to enter the realm was a key. By giving me that copy of the 'Dragon Whale Technique,' you gave me the key to the door. Naturally, entering the realm followed as smoothly as water flowing into a channel."

Old Man Yu glanced at Fang Xuan, then lowered his head in silence.

Training through winter's bitter cold and summer's scorching heat?

Slow and steady accumulation?

What martial artist didn't train through winter's bitter cold and summer's scorching heat!

Why didn't they get a sudden burst from all that accumulation?

"Ah..." Old Man Yu let out a long sigh toward the sky, his expression growing somewhat melancholy.

"Boss, why are you happy one moment and sad the next? Your moods really do change a lot, huh?" Fang Xuan teased.

"Nothing."

Old Man Yu shook his head and said with a sigh, "It's just that if I'd known A Xuan, your talent for martial arts was so high, I would've given you the 'Dragon Whale Technique' earlier."

"Why the change of heart? Didn't you say before that you were afraid that once I got the Dragon Whale Technique and grew stronger, the first thing I'd do would be to seize your position and kill you?" Fang Xuan raised an eyebrow.

"That was because I never expected your martial talent to be this monstrous! If I'd known you had such talent, I would've obediently handed the Hall Master's position over to you. With talent like yours, your future achievements would definitely far surpass that of a Hall Master. I could just follow you—while you eat meat, I'd drink the soup."

Old Man Yu shook his head again and again, sighing.

Too late. Everything was too late!

Fang Xuan remained silent. Subjectively speaking, Old Man Yu might indeed have held him back for a long time.

But objectively speaking, it was perfectly normal for Old Man Yu to have had such thoughts.

Old Man Yu owed him nothing.

"Everything is fate," Fang Xuan said with a smile.

"Indeed. All things are ordained by fate; not half a thing is up to man."

Old Man Yu chuckled, then changed the subject. "Go on, what did you come to see me for? Don't tell me you were merely bored and came to reminisce with this useless old man who's about to die."

"Can't I just have a heart-to-heart with my own Hall Master?"

Fang Xuan shook his head, then turned serious again. "I did come to ask you something."

"What is it?"

Fang Xuan took a deep breath, his gaze burning as he spoke:

"Do you know where in Pingjiang City there might be whale blood?"

Whale blood!

This was the key to Fang Xuan growing stronger at present!

He understood with absolute clarity that in this era where great power belonged to the individual, only increasing one's own strength was the foundation of everything!

Otherwise, no matter how many people he gathered beneath him, they would be nothing more than a sandcastle piled up on the beach—one wave, and it would collapse into ruin, scattering into pieces!

"Whale blood?" Old Man Yu froze, then frowned tightly.

"Great whales generally only appear in the depths of the sea, and whale blood is even more precious and difficult to obtain. Even in those coastal cities, it is rarely seen. In inland cities like ours, it has vanished without a trace."

Hearing this, Fang Xuan could not help knitting his brows.

If that was the case, he might have to leave Pingjiang City for a while and try his luck in a coastal city.

At present, he was in a period of rapid ascent in every aspect within Pingjiang City. Unless he had no other choice, he truly did not wish to leave.

"However, you came to the right person. I might actually know where there's whale blood." Old Man Yu suddenly smiled.

The instant those words fell—

"Where?" Fang Xuan instantly raised his head to look at Old Man Yu. A sharp glint burst from his eyes, and his blood and qi surged.

Held beneath Fang Xuan's gaze, Old Man Yu's heart jolted. What overwhelming pressure from his blood and qi.

Martial cultivation had Five Great Heavenly Gates. Those who cultivated the First Heavenly Gate were known in the martial world as being in the Skin Arhat Realm!

Yet the Skin Arhat Realm was further divided into early, middle, and late stages, corresponding respectively to the three lesser realms of 'copper skin and iron bones,' 'indestructible vajra,' and 'spotless and flawless.'

Though his martial foundation had now been crippled, his discernment remained.

Although Fang Xuan before him was only at the early stage of the First Heavenly Gate, in terms of the pressure of his blood and qi, even those at the middle stage might not be as surging as he was!

No wonder he could exchange a palm strike with Zheng Juexiong and remain undefeated!

Taking a deep breath, Old Man Yu steadied himself slightly before speaking.

"The Sikong Family's business spans all of Yan Province. Their family owns five ships capable of long voyages, and every year they sail into the deep sea to retrieve heavenly treasures. If there is any whale blood in Pingjiang City, it can only be with the Sikong Family!"

"The Sikong Family..." Fang Xuan's brows furrowed once more.

"What? Do you have a conflict with the Sikong Family?" Old Man Yu noticed something off in Fang Xuan's expression.

"Calling it a conflict would be overstating it. It's just that the Second Young Master supports Zheng Juexiong from behind the scenes, while the Third Young Master... to be honest, he wanted to recruit me today, but in truth he didn't think much of me. In a fit of anger, I already flicked my sleeves and left the Sikong Family. Naturally, I can't go seek him out again."

Hearing this, Old Man Yu could not help shaking his head and saying:

"I'm too insignificant to carry any weight, so I can't help you. You'll have to think of a way yourself."

"Mm."

Fang Xuan nodded. He had already gotten the information he wanted, so there was naturally no point in staying any longer.

He immediately rose and left.

"Wait."

Hearing the call as he reached the door, Fang Xuan turned back to look at Old Man Yu, raising a brow. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Nothing. I'm only repeating what I said before to advise you: you're still young, and your talent in martial arts is so exceptional. There's no need to fight Zheng Juexiong, that fierce tiger, to the death at a time like this. Even if you win at the cost of your life, it won't be worth it." Old Man Yu lowered his head with a sigh. "Those of us in the martial world never get a good ending, all because we only know how to 'fight' and never how to 'yield.' But after fighting and scrambling all our lives, doesn't it all end as a handful of yellow earth?"

"Look at me. What did all my former glory amount to? I didn't know how to yield, didn't know when to retreat from the rapids, and now I've ended up like this. Not only is there no one by my side to care for me, but even after I die, I'll have to rely on someone else to see me off. The more I think about it, the more pitiful it feels."

"A Xuan, sometimes enduring for a moment brings calm winds and smooth waves; taking one step back opens up a boundless sea and sky. Fame, status—they're nothing more than a gust of wind passing through a hall, brought with you at birth and carried away by none at death. Being safe and sound with your family, living out an ordinary life in peace—that is the true meaning of life."

"If you can, stop. Take your younger brother and sister and fly far away. Leave Pingjiang City."

Old Man Yu spoke slowly, as if telling Fang Xuan the truths he had realized through the rises and falls of his life.

"Stop now?" Fang Xuan fell silent for a moment, then glanced at Old Man Yu and said evenly, "Hall Master, it seems you truly have grown old."

With that, Fang Xuan did not hesitate again. He turned and strode away, leaving Old Man Yu's residence and walking into the pouring rain.

Even Buddha fought for a stick of incense; men fought for a breath of pride!

If he were truly to do as Old Man Yu said, then he should never have set foot on this road of the martial world. He should have rotted away for the rest of his life in those dark, damp Bamboo Raft Houses!

He would never forget that night: his cheap parents, poor and frugal all their lives, lay dying of illness in bed, while he and his younger brother and sister knelt outside someone else's door over a single roast chicken, begging them to open it!

He did not blame those people for refusing to open the door, because no one had an easy life.

But in that very moment, he made up his mind. In this lifetime, he, Fang Xuan, would never allow such a day to come again!

If he turned back now, he truly did not know how he could face the self who had wept in the night and sworn that oath!

RUMBLE—!!!

A bolt of lightning and furious thunder exploded from the rolling black clouds. For a fleeting instant, its electric light illuminated Fang Xuan's face, filled with ruthless determination.

Whether he would one day drown in the martial world's high winds and savage waves, or be buried amid the deep forests and perilous crags of this treacherous age!

This road of the martial world—if he, Fang Xuan, walked it not at all, then so be it. But if he walked it, he would walk it to the very end!

Bosses, please bookmark, follow, recommend, and send monthly tickets~~~O(∩_∩)O