Three Years of Internal Strength, Five Years of Grandmaster?

The New Year had passed, and winter gave way to spring.

The temperature remained cold, with no sign of the snow melting.

Li Qing, who had just turned eighteen, wore a new set of clothes and paid visits to his neighbors.

Due to his martial arts training, his physique was robust, and his face appeared somewhat mature, making him look much older than eighteen.

Of course, this might also be related to Li Qing spending a year in the Eternal Night World; in reality, his current physical age was nearing nineteen.

The turmoil at Little Cui Ridge had completely concluded a few days prior, though specific news had not yet spread.

Therefore, for the past few days, Li Qing had been frequenting the tavern, trying to gather information.

Finally, on the afternoon of the first day of the New Year, someone in the tavern brought specific news about Little Cui Ridge.

"It's insane, Little Cui Ridge is littered with corpses, and the ground is stained red with the blood of martial arts experts."

"Hiss!"

As these words were spoken in the tavern, everyone simultaneously gasped, as if they could see the snow covering Little Cui Ridge dyed red.

"It's truly bizarre. What kind of martial arts expert's tomb is it that has so many people fighting over it?"

"Yeah, it's just the tomb of an Internal Energy martial artist from the previous dynasty, not a Grandmaster's inheritance."

"Even if it were a Grandmaster's inheritance, there'd be no need for the Nine Lotus Sect to go all out against Prince Yu. Isn't the Nine Lotus Sect's leader himself a Grandmaster?"

"..."

Grandmaster!

Hearing those four words, Li Qing's heart trembled slightly, and his drinking motion became somewhat unnatural.

In the martial arts world, a Transforming Energy Grandmaster was already considered the pinnacle, revered by thousands.

Such individuals, if they didn't wish to die and focused on escape, would be difficult to kill even with the encirclement of tens of thousands of soldiers.

Thus, even the imperial court was unwilling to completely offend a Grandmaster realm expert, as their retaliation could be extremely severe.

Not only Li Qing, but everyone else in the tavern, upon hearing the word "Grandmaster," had eyes filled with envy and admiration.

However, other individuals with insider knowledge let out cold laughs at this moment.

"Heh, what do you guys know? Compared to that person's inheritance, Grandmaster realm martial arts aren't even that attractive."

The speaker was a carefree man in a corner of the tavern. He was lounging with his legs crossed, resting his feet comfortably on the table, and holding a pot of wine.

"Brother, may I ask what that inheritance is? It's even more appealing than a Grandmaster's secret legacy!"

"Yeah, tell us quickly. My companions and I have been speculating for days about what was buried in that tomb at Little Cui Ridge."

"Brother, this round of drinks is on me."

Someone with deep pockets declared magnanimously.

The carefree man had a handsome face, with sharp sword-like eyebrows and piercing eyes. His facial features were as distinct as if carved by a knife.

He chuckled lightly, gracefully lifted his wine pot, and took a swig.

"Ha, the owner of that tomb was named Lin Yi!"

Clang!

Upon hearing the name, someone in the tavern couldn't even hold their wine cup steady and dropped it on the floor.

Li Qing narrowed his eyes. The name was unfamiliar to him, but judging by the reactions of others, this Lin Yi should be quite famous.

"Lin Yi... So it was him."

"That's right. I should have realized it earlier. Among the Internal Energy experts of the previous dynasty, only Lin Yi could possess such allure."

"Hiss! Impossible. Wasn't that Lin Yi said to have disappeared in the end? How could he be buried at Little Cui Ridge?"

"It's said that the martial arts expert Lin Yi from the previous dynasty, though only an Internal Energy martial artist, was someone even Grandmasters couldn't keep."

Besides them, there were also some newcomers in the tavern, like Li Qing, who didn't understand the significance of the name Lin Yi.

"Excuse me... Who is this Lin Yi? Is he very powerful?"

Soon, someone answered his question.

"This Lin Yi, in his first year of entering the martial arts world, wasn't even an Outer Strength martial artist and had no reputation."

"In his second year, he reached the level of an Outer Strength expert."

Reaching Outer Strength in one year was indeed fast, but it wasn't impossible for some martial prodigies.

However, the next sentence made those who didn't know Lin Yi, including Li Qing, gasp.

"In his third year, Lin Yi was already an Internal Energy expert."

"In his fourth year since entering the martial arts world, his martial cultivation had already approached the Grandmaster realm!"

This is too exaggerated!

Only those who had personally practiced martial arts knew how difficult it was to make progress on this path.

Even a peerless martial arts genius couldn't achieve entering the ranks of Internal Energy experts within three years, starting from not even being an Outer Strength practitioner.

Anyone with a brain could tell that this Lin Yi clearly had secrets.

That's right, the martial arts experts of the previous dynasty thought the same way. Even some Grandmasters at the time coveted Lin Yi, wanting to uncover the secrets he held.

And so, the martial world of that era erupted in a bloody storm, with people all over the land mobilizing to hunt down this martial artist named Lin Yi.

Once this pursuit began, it was endless.

Because everyone knew that if Lin Yi were given another year, he would be able to establish himself in the Grandmaster realm within five years.

Three years to Internal Energy, five years to Grandmaster.

"Are you kidding me, is this the college entrance exam?!"

Li Qing's lips twitched involuntarily as he grumbled internally.

A Martial Arts Grandmaster in five years – anyone would feel dizzy hearing that. No wonder even the Grandmasters of that time couldn't resist.

Compared to them, who had practiced martial arts their entire lives to reach the Grandmaster level, for someone else to achieve it in just five years – how could they possibly compare!

Later, Lin Yi disappeared amidst the pursuit of the entire martial world.

Some said he was captured alive by a Grandmaster expert, some said he eventually broke through to the Grandmaster realm and swept across the land, and others said he fled to another country to live in anonymity.

No one knew his exact whereabouts, and it became a huge mystery at the time.

Now that his tomb has appeared, it's no wonder the entire martial world of the Feng Kingdom has been stirred up, and even Prince Yu himself couldn't sit still.

"Hoo!"

"So, what about Lin Yi's tomb? Who obtained the inheritance?"

"Yeah, is that tomb real or fake? Is there really a martial art inheritance that allows one to reach Internal Energy in three years?"

Whether it's real or not, it would likely be a very hot potato. Even Prince Yu might not be able to keep it for long if he got it.

Li Qing thought to himself.

Bang!

Someone who knew the recent events at Little Cui Ridge put down their wine cup and said mockingly:

"Fake! It's said to be fake! Prince Yu and the Nine Lotus Sect got nothing, and they all returned defeated, with a bunch of people dead for nothing!"

"The tomb was very deep. After digging it open, it wasn't a coffin inside, but a Tomb Mansion. It's suspected that someone had been living there in recent years, so even if there was any inheritance, it was likely taken away."

At these words, everyone was stunned.

It was a fake tomb, yet so many people had died – it was simply terrifying!

In a corner of the tavern, a handsome and dashing man shook his head disdainfully, wiped away some wine from the corner of his mouth, and murmured softly, "Heh, fake..."