"Do you want to take me as your master?" A sharp glint flashed through the Fat Old Man's eyes. The carefree, cynical look that had been there vanished, and his gaze gave off a wave of pressure!
Yi Yun's breathing hitched slightly. After staring at the Fat Old Man for a while, he slowly shook his head. "There's actually no point in asking whether I want to take you as my master, because the decision isn't in my hands. My wishes don't matter at all. If you want to take on a disciple, there are plenty of heavenly geniuses who would come to become your disciple—you could pick any one of them. If you don't want a disciple, then even if someone kneels and begs you to accept them, it won't help."
"Hm?" The Fat Old Man was astonished by Yi Yun's words once again. This boy was insatiably greedy, yet he also knew when to advance and when to retreat!
That was extremely rare!
Some people did not know how to strive for the greatest benefits. They were too lazy to do anything and muddled through their days, easily accomplishing nothing their entire lives. That was not advisable.
Others were blindly greedy, blindly demanding more, completely unable to recognize their own limits. They were conceited and might ultimately walk down the road to self-destruction because of it. This was the very principle behind the saying, "People die for wealth, and birds die for food." That was even less advisable.
Yet this child, only twelve years old, actually possessed such wisdom. He strove to rise above others, yet knew when to advance and retreat and had a sense of propriety. It truly was not easy.
The child had seen that he did not want to take him as a disciple, so he simply stopped asking.
"Boy, I admire you greatly. You guessed correctly—I can't take you as my disciple. I am indeed very interested in your unique cooking methods, but cooking is merely cooking, nothing more than a desire of the tongue. Taking on a disciple, however, is a major matter. To be honest with you, little brother, I have indeed been searching for a suitable successor all these years. However, as for you... I've examined your bones. Your bone structure isn't very good, and you don't qualify. What I'm saying may sound harsh, but it's the truth..."
Yi Yun did not mind. He said frankly, "I know."
"Mm... It's good that you understand. Your intelligence far surpasses that of children your age. Perhaps you could try the Imperial Examination and become a minor local official. At least you would have no worries about food and clothing."
In the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, all true Great Regional Officials were experts. The Tai'a Divine Kingdom ruled through martial force. Whether one was a general or a governor, one first had to know martial arts! Those who were capable in letters but not in martial arts could only become minor officials such as assistants and clerks.
Seeing that Yi Yun had clearly not taken his words to heart, the Fat Old Man continued, "As for cultivation, intelligence isn't useless, but talent is the key."
"In this world, resources are extremely precious. A martial artist's resources consist of various Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and Savage Bone Relics! Even in great lineages, Savage Bone Relics are extremely limited. They will only be supplied first to the lineage's most talented descendants."
"A talented person might absorb one Savage Bone Relic and gain ten points of strength, while an untalented person might absorb that same Savage Bone Relic and gain only one point of strength. Furthermore, the harder it becomes to increase one's strength later on, the more even the greatest lineage cannot afford to provide!"
After hearing the Fat Old Man's words, Yi Yun deeply agreed. He had previously asked Jiang Xiaorou roughly about cultivation, but she had not explained it as clearly as this old man.
When resources were limited, talent was indeed important.
Lian Chengyu's ambitious attempt to break through to the Purple Blood Realm naturally relied on his good talent as well.
If not for his talent, then relying solely on a barren Lian Clan Medicine Mountain and a poisoned Savage Bone, Lian Chengyu would never have been able to set foot into the Purple Blood Realm.
Yi Yun understood his own situation. He was an ordinary youth, a thoroughly mortal boy with not the slightest connection to a martial arts lineage. How could he possibly possess any talent for martial arts?
But when he thought about how he had relied on the Purple Crystal to absorb the energy of medicinal herbs and Savage Bones over the past several days, his cultivation speed had not been slow at all. This was clearly the Purple Crystal's doing.
The Purple Crystal had penetrated deep into his heart. With every beat of his heart, the Purple Crystal's energy flowed throughout his body, improving his constitution. This method of absorption was far more effective than the way other martial artists used their stomachs and intestines to absorb energy.
After understanding this, the thoughts in Yi Yun's mind grew increasingly clear. He raised his head and looked at the Fat Old Man. "Senior, I don't need you to take me as your disciple."
The man had already made his attitude clear, so Yi Yun naturally would not force the matter. In fact, even if the Fat Old Man truly wanted to take Yi Yun as his disciple, Yi Yun would have to consider it carefully. The secrets on his body were extremely important. If he did not carefully assess the nature of the Origin Purple Crystal, rashly taking the Fat Old Man as his master might expose his secret. The consequences would be unimaginable.
"I want to ask Senior for a precious medicine! It can be a vicious beast essence, Savage Beast Meat, medicinal herbs, or a Savage Bone!"
When Yi Yun said this, the Fat Old Man laughed. "You really are pushing your luck, boy. You've planned this out nicely—several plates of chicken, with the ingredients supplied by me, and you want to exchange them for a Savage Bone Relic?"
The Savage Bone Relics treasured in the Fat Old Man's ring were all top-grade. If several plates of food could exchange for one, that would be far too childish.
"Looks like you still didn't listen to what I said." The Fat Old Man shook his head, looking as though he was lamenting an unteachable pupil. "You really intend to take the path of martial arts? You relied on fortuitous opportunities to reach perfection in Body Refinement, which is already no easy feat. Although your constitution is fairly good now, you have never undergone systematic martial arts training. Do you know any cultivation techniques? Any Martial Skills? Do you have a Spirit Refinement Incantation? You have no master and no Secret Manual. Could it be that you plan to teach yourself and cultivate all the way to the Purple Blood Realm?"
As the Fat Old Man fired off question after question, Yi Yun committed every one to memory: cultivation techniques, Martial Skills, Spirit Refinement Incantation!
Although there were still some things he did not understand, that was unimportant. Without a doubt, he would have to obtain all of them in the future!
As for the Purple Blood Realm mentioned by the Fat Old Man... the Purple Blood Realm was not Yi Yun's goal. Yi Yun knew that above the Purple Blood Realm, there were still many more realms, each higher than the last.
Now that he had obtained this mysterious Purple Crystal Card, how could he possibly be satisfied with becoming merely a Purple Blood Realm warrior and eke out a wretched existence in a small, resource-poor tribe in Yunhuang?
Of course, there was no way he could voice the goal in his heart. Otherwise, people would think he was insane.
Yi Yun said, "I have indeed never encountered Martial Skills or a Spirit Refinement Incantation, but as for cultivation techniques, I have practiced one called the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist, a Body Refinement technique!"
"'Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist'!" Surprise flashed across the Fat Old Man's face. "You actually know this fist technique? The Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist is considered a top-tier Body Refinement technique of the Tai'a Divine Kingdom. Even by my standards, this fist technique has many merits and is a classic work! So, you have a master who taught you?"
Although the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist had been made public by the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, a poor boy from a small tribe in Yunhuang would most likely have had no chance to learn it.
Yi Yun knowing a little of the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist greatly astonished the Fat Old Man.
"I have no master. I secretly learned it while the people of my tribe were practicing martial arts!"
"Secretly learned it?" The Fat Old Man immediately shook his head.
Although the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist was basic, it was by no means simple. Given the martial foundation of the boy before him, even if he studied it properly, he might not achieve anything. What could he learn by secretly watching?
Secretly learning it meant merely imitating the form. Its crucial points were difficult to understand.
Besides, in this remote, impoverished corner of Yunhuang, what kind of good fist master could there be?
The master who taught this boy martial arts was probably a half-trained amateur himself. Could the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist he performed even be worth watching?
With such a poor master, and the boy only secretly observing him, he had probably learned nothing more than the superficial tricks of a mediocre cultivation technique, yet thought it was pretty good.
The Fat Old Man was not looking down on the local people of Yunhuang. He simply felt that, limited by their experience, the people of Yunhuang had no idea how vast the outside world was or how many experts there were.
"Could the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist be learned by secretly watching? Do you know about Tendons Like Strings? Do you know about Thunder Stored in Bones? Can you produce the wind of a fist?" The Fat Old Man countered. Some people with a little martial foundation could perform the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist in a passable manner, but it was actually nothing more than an empty display. They fundamentally did not understand the essence of the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist.
Yi Yun cupped his fists. "This junior is untalented, but I know a little about Tendons Like Strings and Thunder Stored in Bones!"
"Thunder gathers in the nine heavens, and startled geese fall from the sky"—these were the signs that the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist had reached great mastery. How could Yi Yun not know them? Before reaching the Meridian Realm, he had already used the twang of his tendons to startle the birds flying through the forest!
Now that his meridians had reached great mastery, the Ren and Du Meridians were connected, and he had also reached perfection in Body Refinement! Yi Yun felt strength brewing through his body like waves upon the sea. If not for the sudden appearance of the Fat Old Man and the white-clothed girl, he would have long wanted to unleash a satisfying set of the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist and see the results of his cultivation this time.
"Haha! A fine 'know a little'!" The Fat Old Man clearly did not believe that Yi Yun had achieved anything. "Since you've put it that way, I'll have to see for myself how well you've trained your Tendons Like Strings and Thunder Stored in Bones!"
The Fat Old Man chuckled mischievously. He suddenly developed the malicious amusement of teaching Yi Yun a lesson. Turning his head, he said to Lin Xin Tong, "Xin Tong, on this trip to the Tai'a Divine Kingdom, didn't I get you a copy of the Dragon Marrow Tiger Bones Fist and have you take a rough look at it? You've also practiced this cultivation technique casually for ten days to half a month. Although you didn't put much effort into it, you still achieved a little, didn't you?"
"Have a spar with this boy and give him some pointers."
"Oh, right. Suppress your cultivation. Use only the power of the third level of the Mortal Blood Realm, the Thunderous Sound Realm, for your Body Refinement. Don't injure the boy."
Thank you to hunter_wu for becoming the Alliance Leader of True Martial World, and thanks to all the book friends who rewarded, voted, or posted reviews. Thank you all for your support.
Before you continue