Li Shuxing: What Counts as a Surprise?!

Minor Accomplishment...

Minor Accomplishment...

Barely... Minor Accomplishment...

Li Shuxing stared at the ceiling for quite a while before looking at his youngest disciple again, his expression turning gentle and cordial.

"You have trained for so long and only just reached Minor Accomplishment. It truly is only average."

"But as your master, I believe that as long as you remain diligent and hardworking, taking one solid step at a time, one day you will achieve something."

Upon hearing this, Fang Yu immediately looked over with a bewildered expression.

What had she just heard?

In less than a single day, reaching Minor Accomplishment could only be considered average?

Then what was she, taking a month and a half to reach Minor Accomplishment?

And what about Eldest Senior Brother, who had taken over half a month to reach Minor Accomplishment?

Did Master's conscience really not hurt saying that?

"Rest assured, Master. This disciple can do even better. If I had not accidentally fallen asleep last night, I might already be close to Great Accomplishment..."

Huo Yuanhong said.

Li Shuxing: "..."

Fang Yu: "..."

"It is fine. Work and rest should be balanced. You do not need to risk your life like this."

Li Shuxing clenched and loosened the hand behind his back, clenched and loosened it again. Only after a great effort did he finally calm himself and speak slowly.

At that moment, he truly understood how his own master had felt when teaching him back then—the feeling of being battered by surprises, so surprised that he did not want to speak and only wanted to hit someone.

The waves behind the Yangtze River drove the waves before them onward!

"When your master was merely twenty, only two months older than you are now, I had already achieved Transformation Strength and could challenge martial arts halls alone. You must continue working hard."

Li Shuxing commented with an indifferent expression.

What he did not say was that he had begun laying his foundations as a child. When he formally began training in martial arts at sixteen, it had still taken him nearly half a month to reach Minor Accomplishment in Manifest Strength.

By the time he entered Transformation Strength at nineteen, he had already studied and trained diligently for more than three years!

Unlike Huo Yuanhong, who had previously been feeling his way around in the dark. Strictly speaking, he had only begun properly training yesterday afternoon.

"To be able to challenge martial arts halls alone at twenty, Master truly is formidable!"

Huo Yuanhong sighed in admiration.

He was only two months away from turning twenty himself. To enter Transformation Strength within those two months, he only had an eighty- or ninety-percent chance at best.

Li Shuxing smiled. "Not really. Barely passable, that is all. There will be a small competition in three days, a sparring event between our hall and other martial arts halls for those under twenty."

"You can experience it then. Do not put too much pressure on yourself..."

"Other martial arts halls? Will people from Sword Inquiry Martial Hall be there too?"

"Of course. Your cheap senior brother from back then will also be there, though he is over twenty, so the one competing should be his most highly regarded younger brother."

"He is also Sword Inquiry Martial Hall's trump card."

Li Shuxing naturally knew what his young disciple was thinking.

"Rest assured, Master. This disciple will definitely take first place."

Huo Yuanhong said.

Whether it was to crush Gentleman Sword's younger brother or for the first-place prize the manager had mentioned—the Crimson Refining Paste—he had to take first place!

In other people's eyes, the day when he would need Crimson Refining Paste after reaching the peak of Manifest Strength was still far away.

But he himself knew that in three or four days at most, he would need Crimson Refining Paste to replenish his depleted vital essence.

"It is fine. Do not put too much pressure on yourself. Just take in the atmosphere."

Li Shuxing laughed despite himself.

He was certainly astonished by Huo Yuanhong's talent, but in a competition concerning a martial arts hall's honor, they naturally could not rely on a newcomer to fight for them.

When he said experience it, he truly only meant to let Huo Yuanhong first experience the atmosphere of real combat. Even being eliminated in the first round would not matter.

There were quite a few disciples in the hall under twenty who had reached Great Accomplishment in Manifest Strength, and even several at the peak of Manifest Strength.

They had no need to make a newcomer at Minor Accomplishment in Manifest Strength uphold the hall's reputation.

"Enough talk. This morning, your master still has some time, so I will teach you for one shichen."

For the next while, Huo Yuanhong focused on practicing with his spear.

Li Shuxing watched from the side. At first, he occasionally spoke up to offer a few pointers.

But gradually, he discovered that so long as he gave Huo Yuanhong specific training methods, Huo Yuanhong could correct his own mistakes without needing constant guidance.

So he simply poured every detail and trick for progressing from Minor Accomplishment to the peak into Huo Yuanhong at once.

After making him memorize it all in one go, he left with Fang Yu.

"Master, for the small competition against Sword Inquiry Martial Hall in three days, do you truly intend to let Junior Brother participate as well?"

"Correct."

"But... although he has reached Minor Accomplishment in Manifest Strength and happens to still be under twenty, nearly all those competing in that kind of match have reached Great Accomplishment in Manifest Strength."

"Even if he participates, he will not achieve any ranking..."

"Besides, if Junior Brother shows his face in that sort of setting, the Martial Guild will no longer be able to turn a blind eye..."

Fang Yu's expression was somewhat complicated.

The Martial Guild had already issued a ban forbidding martial arts halls from accepting any more disciples from the Commoner Faction.

But out of consideration for Li Shuxing's abilities, as long as Huo Yuanhong did not show his face and give others something to seize upon, the Martial Guild would most likely turn a blind eye for now.

Even if they were to act, it would have to wait until after the Jinmen Grand Competition.

Thus, what Li Shuxing and the Fang Family had discussed from the start was taking him on as a disciple in private.

They would not directly enter Huo Yuanhong's identity into the register of true disciples. Instead, they would open a separate register and leave no paper trail.

But now...

If Huo Yuanhong truly took the stage and participated in that kind of competition between martial arts halls, it would mean Divine Spear Martial Hall publicly acknowledged Huo Yuanhong's identity.

It would mean openly standing against the Martial Guild!

The price...

Was far too great!

"If Ah Hong's talent were merely comparable to your Eldest Senior Brother's, then naturally I would not let him show his face. Raising him privately would be enough."

Li Shuxing said calmly, "But judging by his grasp of the Thorn Paper Technique, his talent is in no way inferior even to mine in those days."

"Such a fine seedling should not be delayed."

Training in martial arts required more than mere practice. One had to fight!

The improvement a single real battle could bring was worth who knew how many days and nights of bitter training!

Every famous master of Jin Gate, without exception, had begun taking the stage to fight while young.

Only by constantly surpassing their limits in one real battle after another had they been able to stand high above the rest.

Without experiencing real combat, even a peerless genius with the potential to surpass Transformation Strength would likely end up stopping at Transformation Strength.

They might even take far longer to enter Transformation Strength.

"Master, are you truly planning to raise Little Junior Brother as a true disciple of the martial arts hall?"

Fang Yu's expression turned solemn.

Li Shuxing's decision now had pushed the matter in an entirely different direction, one that would touch upon the martial arts hall's fundamental interests.

The Fang Family would most likely not agree.

As the martial arts hall's largest co-investor and its purse strings, if the Fang Family refused, it meant Li Shuxing himself would have to bear all the trouble and losses this caused.

"Junior Brother is indeed extraordinarily talented, but for him to truly grow up, to grow to the point where he can influence the situation, it will take at least ten years."

"Master, I fear... you cannot protect him for that long."

Fang Yu was silent for a while before speaking.

She meant those words sincerely.

Li Shuxing was powerful, unmatched in Jin Gate, but against the great tide sweeping across the land, how long could even someone above Transformation Strength withstand it?

Half a year? Or a year?

With so little time, even if Little Junior Brother's talent was extraordinary, at best he would only reach Dark Force.

If the Fang Family behind her were willing to act with all their strength, their enormous influence in both political and business circles could buy him more time.

But now, banning martial arts training for the Commoner Faction was the tide of the times.

Little Junior Brother did not have much time left to grow, and such an investment would most likely be like carrying water in a bamboo basket—everything would come to nothing.

Those clan elders would certainly not agree.

What was more, the Fang Family's highest-grade resources had long since been concentrated on their best investment prospect.

That person had already successfully grown to the peak of Transformation Strength and was now preparing to break beyond it.

If all went smoothly, entering the realm above Transformation Strength might happen within the next two years.

At such a critical juncture, the Fang Family naturally could not scatter its resources and turn instead to raising a Little Junior Brother who had only just begun.

Even the next tier of resources had already been reserved by several geniuses nearly invincible at the Manifest Strength and Dark Force levels.

One of them was the trump card for the small competition three days from now, someone they were relying on to overpower the masses and protect the interests of the martial arts hall and the Fang Family.

"Then... perhaps we should wait a little longer. With Little Junior Brother's Minor Accomplishment in Manifest Strength, even if he takes the stage, he will most likely be eliminated in the first round."

"It will also severely affect our hall's results. Why not wait for some time..."

Fang Yu persuaded him.

"One must take the stage early."

Li Shuxing did not waver. He said faintly, "The earlier one experiences real combat, the greater the impact on one's future."

"Even being eliminated in the first round can bring considerable gains. As for the points Ah Hong lowers, I will win them back for him."

"At worst, we can add a hall master sparring match."

A hall master sparring match!

Fang Yu's expression changed. This was no joking matter.

Her master, Li Shuxing, was indeed formidable—the supreme master among the Two Heroes—but he was already old.

He only appeared relatively young because he had maintained himself well.

At his age, every time he fought, he was consuming his vital essence and accelerating the decline of his physical condition.

In serious cases, it could even affect his lifespan.

"Master, absolutely not. You...!"

Fang Yu immediately wanted to persuade him, but upon seeing Li Shuxing's expression, she ultimately swallowed her words.

She knew her master's temperament. Once he made up his mind, not even ten horses could pull him back.

All she could do was give a helpless bitter smile and think of a way to gather old medicines that could replenish vital essence.

She sighed inwardly. Master truly suffered a huge loss by taking on this disciple. At his age, he still has to personally take the field...

Inside the Training Room, Huo Yuanhong was still focused on practicing his spear, preparing to suppress Gentleman Sword's younger brother in the small competition three days later.

Meanwhile, Father Huo followed that plump manager to the Registration Review Room, where registration and entry into the rolls were handled.

There was only one Registration Review Room in the martial arts hall. Whether one was registering as a true disciple or as a laborer, they all had to come here.

And the person responsible for registration was still that old man with half-lidded eyes.