Fang Pingsheng's All-In Bet! The Fang Family Seeks a Marriage Alliance!

With Fang Pingsheng's seasoned eye, he could not make out much from afar, but now that they were seated close together, someone of his caliber naturally sensed the changes in Huo Yuanhong.

That gaze, sharp as lightning, and the vastly improved coordination of his limbs were precisely the hallmarks of the Heart-Mind Unity stage!

And this was not Heart-Mind Unity that had only just begun. He had already passed through the unstable introductory phase and properly stabilized at the initial stage—only then would such changes emerge!

Fast...

Too fast!

Yesterday, he had still been at Manifest Strength. This morning, he had directly crossed the Heart-Mind Unity introductory phase and stabilized at the initial stage in one breath! He was perhaps not even far from the middle stage already?!

Under normal circumstances, this stage took at least half a year to a year to truly stabilize. Even a genius would need several months!

Yet this young man before him...

Less than a day?!

Stormy waves rose in Fang Pingsheng's heart.

He did not know how long Wu Yuanchu had taken to stabilize back then, but no matter how fast he had been...

Surely...

It could only have been about this fast, right?

"Mm, it's stabilized."

Huo Yuanhong nodded slightly. He had already entered the middle stage, so of course he counted as stabilized.

"What did the Hall Master give you yesterday? How did you progress so quickly?"

Fang Pingsheng could not help asking.

"Nothing much. He just specially selected a foundational diagram for me."

This was not some secret matter anyway. Quite a few people had seen him emerge from the study with an extra diagram, so Huo Yuanhong did not hide it.

"So it was a specially selected foundational diagram. That does make it somewhat more reasonable..."

Fang Pingsheng let out a slight breath of relief, understanding at once.

Indeed, if some people encountered a foundational diagram especially suited to them, they could stabilize in an extremely short time.

But being suitable did not mean it was powerful. The vast majority of foundational diagrams with high compatibility that were easy to stabilize were actually not of a high grade, which was why they stabilized so easily!

Still, being able to stabilize in less than a day meant Huo Yuanhong's talent was quite terrifying. Though he was still inferior to someone like Wu Yuanchu, who could cultivate the Old Ape Meditation Diagram, he had far exceeded Fang Pingsheng's expectations!

So long as he could make it through the Jinmen Grand Competition, there might be a sliver of hope for him to become a Peak Expert in the future! At worst, Transformation Strength was guaranteed!

Talent like this was already worth taking a gamble on!

Thus, Fang Pingsheng put away the two Earthly Grade Secret Medicines he had intended to take out. Instead, he beckoned over a steward and, as the man bent down, gave several instructions into his ear.

Only then did he smile at Huo Yuanhong. "Look at this memory of mine—I actually left the five portions of Quasi-Heavenly Grade Secret Medicine prepared for Disciple Huo in the room. I've already sent someone to fetch them; they'll be here shortly."

"If that is not enough, simply inform one of my stewards. I cannot promise too much, but I'll cover at least all the Quasi-Heavenly Grade medicine you need during the Heart-Mind Unity stage!"

Quasi-Heavenly Grade Secret Medicine!!

Huo Yuanhong was inwardly shaken.

One portion of Quasi-Heavenly Grade Secret Medicine was worth more than ten times an ordinary secret medicine of the same stage! It was simply too rare, second only to the top-grade secret medicines known as heavenly treasures!

If every secret medicine needed during the Heart-Mind Unity stage was replaced with ones starting at the Quasi-Heavenly Grade, that would be an astronomical sum!

No!

It was not something money could measure at all! Even the most ordinary Heart-Mind Unity secret medicine was already a controlled item, much less Quasi-Heavenly Grade medicine!

Five portions of Quasi-Heavenly Grade Secret Medicine would not only be enough to carry him to the peak of Heart-Mind Unity, but would leave plenty over to trade with the Carriage Shop Owner for the half stalk of Tiger Blood Grass in his possession.

If the Carriage Shop Owner consumed a top-grade Great Medicine like Tiger Blood Grass himself, it would be like using an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken!

It was only because the Carriage Shop Owner had previously been unable to gather even enough ordinary secret medicine, and had happened upon the Tiger Blood Grass—while fearing others might covet it if he tried to trade it—that he had considered using it to make a breakthrough.

"Then I thank you, Mr. Fang."

Huo Yuanhong said his thanks.

"You are too courteous, Disciple Huo. The Fang Family and the Martial Arts Hall have always advanced and retreated together. Li Shuxing's true disciple is the Fang Family's true disciple as well. We are all our own people."

Fang Pingsheng wore a smile as warm as the spring breeze.

The ancestor's decision had been for him to allocate resources matching Earthly Grade treatment to Huo Yuanhong. But now that he was providing Quasi-Heavenly Grade medicine, he could only do so by privately diverting it!

Afterward, who knew how many favors he would have to spend, how many benefits he would have to yield, to settle the matter of privately drawing from the storehouse.

Fang Pingsheng knew that there was a considerable element of gambling in this. He might very well lose everything, and might even become a thorn in the eyes, a splinter in the flesh of those radicals for giving his full support to the Commoner Faction!

If Huo Yuanhong lost at the Jinmen Grand Competition not long from now and could no longer practice martial arts, then he would lose everything.

And with only a little over half a month left, setting Wu Yuanchu aside, if this young man had the misfortune of encountering a Dark Force aristocratic-family genius like Gentleman Sword, he would be doomed to lose.

The odds of losing everything... were very high!

But...

Fang Pingsheng's eyes flickered.

Without daring to take risks, how could one reap great rewards?

Born to a wealthy merchant family, what he lacked least was a gambler's nerve!

As long as Huo Yuanhong could endure the ordeal of the Jinmen Grand Competition, he was guaranteed to reach the peak of Transformation Strength in the future. It would not be a loss.

If he won the bet and earned the friendship of a Peak Expert while he was still insignificant, he would be laughing even in his dreams!

"Disciple Huo, the day after tomorrow, the Fang Family is holding a social dance. More than half of Jinmen's famous young ladies and outstanding young men will be attending..."

"My youngest daughter, who studies at Jinmen Normal University, has admired Disciple Huo for a long time. If she could meet you at the dance, she would surely be overjoyed!"

At last, Fang Pingsheng smiled and handed over an invitation.

"Very well. Since Mr. Fang has invited me, Yuanhong will naturally attend."

Huo Yuanhong accepted it with a smile.

He understood perfectly well that Fang Pingsheng's youngest daughter, publicly acknowledged as the campus belle of Jinmen Normal University, probably did not even know who Huo Yuanhong was. He merely smiled and did not take it seriously.

Respect and status truly had to be fought for. Without realizing it, even a powerful figure from a top aristocratic family like Fang Pingsheng wanted to introduce him to a prospective match.

No matter what, he still had to give face to his patron! With the Fang Family's supply of secret medicines, he could save a tremendous amount of time and effort!

As for the social dance the day after tomorrow, he only needed to make an appearance anyway!

After showing his goodwill, Fang Pingsheng rose and left, utterly uninterested in acknowledging Wang Tianlong in the distant corner, who was still brimming with confidence that he would surpass him in Heart-Mind Unity.

Huo Yuanhong continued eating alone. Without permission, the others did not dare sit directly beside him.

After breakfast, he headed straight for the Practice Room.

His master, Li Shuxing, was already there.

"How was your training last night?"

Li Shuxing asked with a smile.

"Very good—extremely good. The effect of that Fundamental Diagram was simply too powerful. It was excellent for tempering the mind!"

"As long as it worked well. Come, tell me in detail what you felt while practicing."

Li Shuxing was also somewhat gratified. It had not been in vain for him to dig out all six Fundamental Diagrams and let Huo Yuanhong choose freely among them.

Next, the two began discussing the finer details of creating a realm with the mind and tempering the mind through that realm.

But the longer he listened, the more Li Shuxing felt something was off.

Why did what Huo Yuanhong described fail to match any one of those six diagrams?

There was a mountain, yet it was unlike the unfathomable mystery of the Old Ape Meditating diagram; there was a sense of danger, yet it did not match the danger of Hungry Tiger Biting Knife either...

"Wait!"

Li Shuxing's eyelid suddenly twitched, as though he had recalled something. Interrupting Huo Yuanhong, he asked, "Which... Fundamental Diagram did you practice?"