My Disciple Yuanhong Has the True Talent of a Martial Immortal!

"That Buzhou Mountain Fundamental Diagram—wasn't it something you deliberately placed separately to hint that I should practice it?"

Huo Yuanhong looked at his master in bewilderment.

"..."

Li Shuxing silently turned his back, the hand holding his teacup trembling slightly.

When had he ever hinted at anything?

That thing...

Was it something a Heart-Mind Unity practitioner was supposed to train?!

If people learned that someone had mastered this fundamental diagram, one that pointed directly toward Martial Immortality, while still at the Heart-Mind Unity stage, those patriarchs who had only grasped its mysteries upon reaching Great Grandmaster or Martial Saint would probably start doubting their entire lives.

"What is it, Master? Is there something wrong with what I practiced?"

Huo Yuanhong was somewhat puzzled.

"Nothing wrong. Not a single thing."

Li Shuxing said kindly, "Your master merely recalled an old matter and got slightly distracted. Come, let us continue."

Then, gradually...

As he listened, Li Shuxing...

Completely stopped understanding.

He had no idea what his disciple was talking about.

So he waved a hand and said calmly:

"Very good. Your insights are generally on the right track. Remember, do not be arrogant or impatient; proceed step by step. Go practice next door for now. Your master needs some time alone."

"Martial arts are not passed on to a third pair of ears. Other than me, no matter who asks you, do not tell them about what you practice. Not a single word. Remember that, remember it well."

As Jin Gate's foremost figure, Li Shuxing's Qi Nourishment was profound enough that his expression remained utterly natural.

"Understood. This disciple shall take his leave."

After Huo Yuanhong left, Li Shuxing shut the door and sat down. Looking at the teacup in his hand, suddenly...

"Haha... hahahahahahaha..."

He could not help laughing, laughing with incomparable exhilaration.

"That old Fang finally misjudged someone this time! What the hell is that Wu Yuanchu he took a liking to? My disciple Yuanhong is the one with the true talent of a Martial Immortal!!!"

"Yuanhong is such a genius that I, as his master, cannot hold him back either. I need to quickly find suitable external assistance for him. If old Fang can use external assistance to cover up that final thread of flaw keeping Wu Yuanchu from the pinnacle of Manifest Strength, then I, Li Shuxing, can do the same!"

Human capability had its limits. Though he felt that Huo Yuanhong's ability to comprehend the Buzhou Mountain Diagram made him worthy of Martial Immortal talent, and that he truly had that sliver of hope of becoming a Martial Immortal...

Even True Man Zhang, the genuine Martial Immortal of old, could only use external assistance to conceal flaws in his realm; he could not achieve a flawless pinnacle of Manifest Strength. Li Shuxing did not dare hope that his disciple could accomplish something unprecedented and unsurpassed.

He had even deliberately downplayed the matter before Huo Yuanhong, lest that final thread of flaw affect his state of mind.

He planned to wait until he found the external assistance, then give him a huge surprise!

Martial Prosperity Alliance, North China Headquarters!

"Huo Yuanhong?"

A black-robed man wearing a ghost mask picked up the Spark Plan resource application sent from the Jin Gate branch and casually flipped through a few pages.

The Spark Plan was far too important, concerning the Martial Prosperity Alliance's grand designs. Thus, every quota had to pass several rounds of review below before being submitted to him for final approval!

Through normal channels, this process took at least three to five days, and ten days to half a month was perfectly normal if it ran slowly!

Yet this one had been submitted through a special channel after review by the people below, cutting in line. It had reached headquarters late on the night of the eighth, and today, the tenth, it was already in his hands. They had likely discovered an exceptional genius!

"The recommender is Wu Xiaoxia?"

One of North China Headquarters' principal leaders thought for a moment and recalled that she was a member of the newly established branch in Jin Gate.

"Great Accomplishment in Manifest Strength? His strength has only barely crossed the threshold. Could it be that his Combat Method is formidable, for him to be recommended?"

His brows immediately furrowed slightly as he continued reading.

"The reason for recommendation is... he allegedly went from having no entry into Manifest Strength to Great Accomplishment in Manifest Strength in only two months?"

"The evidence is... conjecture? Just some civilian eyewitnesses? His sole record is defeating a gang leader?"

"So there is no concrete evidence proving that he reached Great Accomplishment in Manifest Strength in two months?"

The ghost-masked man was instantly rendered speechless, then laughed in exasperation.

He had seen far too many so-called geniuses fabricated to swindle funding.

Back when he was still in the Central Plains, he had even encountered one who was supposedly at the pinnacle of Manifest Strength after only three days, giving him quite a fright.

But after investigating, it turned out the man had trained for no less than five years. It was fraud concocted by some branch to cheat resources out of them.

The people handling the reviews below were becoming more and more unreliable.

Who was he? As one of North China Headquarters' principal leaders and the deputy alliance lord of the sub-alliance, he dealt with countless affairs every day.

What a joke—wasting his time on a piece of information without even a shred of confirmation.

"Send it back. Have them verify it properly. Also, revoke their special-channel privileges and make them go through the normal process."

The masked man gave the order blandly.

"Yes, Alliance Leader." The secretary waiting before the desk answered first, then hesitated before adding, "Alliance Leader, because this file came through the special channel, once you reject it, it will be submitted to Vice Alliance Leader Ji for a second and final review..."

"Hmm?"

The masked man immediately understood what the secretary meant.

Vice Alliance Leader Ji was the other key figure in the North China headquarters—and his rival for the top position there.

The quality and quantity of talents they could recruit for the Spark Plan were crucial benchmarks in the Central Plains supreme headquarters' evaluation of them! The utmost priority!

If this Huo-whatever truly was some peerless prodigy and his rival signed him first, the loss on his side would be considerable!

But...

"What are you worried about?"

The masked man gave a derisive laugh. "In my hands are talents selected from among hundreds of millions of non-aristocratic youths across seven entire provinces! It's not as though I don't have people who reached Manifest Strength Great Accomplishment in two months! Even if this Huo-whatever really is such a talent, do you think I'd be short one?"

Especially since one freak he had begun cultivating as a priority long ago had successfully trained both Manifest Strength and Heart-Mind Unity to within a hair's breadth of their limits! Now that was a true heaven-blessed talent worth taking seriously!

Among the Central Plains supreme headquarters' evaluation criteria, quantity came only second. Quality was the first priority!

With that freak in hand, his targets were already secure. Even if he signed another genius who achieved Manifest Strength Great Accomplishment in two months, it would merely be icing on the cake!

"If Vice Alliance Leader Ji wants him, then give him to him. We're all family—why draw the line so clearly?"

The masked man said with a genial smile.

Not to mention that the materials sent from Jin Gate were full of water, without a single piece of supporting evidence. Most likely, they merely wanted to see whether they could swindle some funding and Great Medicine.

Even if a rare accident truly occurred—if this person really was the sort of genius who attained Manifest Strength Great Accomplishment in two months, and Vice Alliance Leader Ji happened to snatch him away—it still would not affect the enormous gap between them in the evaluation.

The top seat of the North China headquarters was firmly his!

"Alliance Leader, how magnanimous."

The secretary laughed along with him. Though he felt it was somewhat improper, Vice Alliance Leader Wei had already given his instructions, so there was no way he could argue.

"One more matter, Alliance Leader. Ji Shengjie has requested top-grade Great Medicine again, but the alliance just gave him a dose last month. The storeroom is already empty. What do you think...?"

"Give it to him! If there's none in the storeroom, transfer the emergency reserves to him!"

"I'll approve it personally! Grant the authorization!"

Without the slightest hesitation, the masked man picked up a steel pen imported from the Western Lands, seized a blank sheet of paper, immediately wrote out the approval, and signed his name.

Ji Shengjie was the freak he valued most. His original name had been exceedingly crude, but after he had nearly reached the limit in both Manifest Strength and Heart-Mind Unity, the masked man had personally given him this name!

He looked forward to the day when this man might become a Martial Saint—or even one of those three martial heroes who, like the Baji patriarch of old, swept from south to north!

Meanwhile, after being left out in the cold for an entire day, Gentleman Sword finally received permission to enter. Pushing open the door, he came face-to-face with the Hall Master of Sword Inquiry Martial Hall, whose eyes could barely contain their fury!

The transitional chapter is over. Next comes the official start of the main storyline, so everyone should prepare yourselves.