Fang Manor.
"Rejected?"
Fang Xi glared at A Fu with an ugly expression.
A Fu lowered his head, full of unease. "This old servant spent a great deal of money to find an intermediary and even promised we could pay more, but unfortunately..."
Fang Xi took a deep breath.
As a Cultivator, when had he ever suffered such humiliation?... Well, he suffered this kind of humiliation all the time at Green Bamboo Mountain Market. He was practically used to it.
It was good to be used to it. Good to be used to it.
"Forget it. I suppose my aptitude is merely average, so they looked down on me."
He shrugged.
As a Cultivator, even at the lowest level, he still possessed sharp senses and a photographic memory.
When he had previously asked someone to make inquiries, he had sensed a probing gaze.
But clearly, Blood Qi Martial Artists had their own methods of judging aptitude, and they had not given him the chance to show off his extraordinary memory and comprehension.
In other words, the Martial Masters of this world may care more about physical aptitude than aptitude in comprehension and spirit? No wonder this is considered inferior body cultivation...
Fang Xi gave himself some A-Q-style spiritual consolation, and it worked exceptionally well.
Afterward, he laughed. "Forget it... Since Yuan He Mountain won't take me, I'll go to a martial arts school... A martial arts school accepting disciples shouldn't care about aptitude too, right?"
Hearing this, A Fu smiled as well. "Young Master is right. Martial arts schools... claim to teach everyone without discrimination. In other words, they'll accept anyone with money."
A satisfied smile appeared at the corner of Fang Xi's lips. "As it happens, I have plenty of money!"
Afternoon.
The sun blazed high overhead. In the rear courtyard of Fang Manor, on the training ground that had been cleared out for the occasion...
Fang Xi lay in a reclining chair, with a cup of homemade fruit smoothie beside him. Its principle was much the same as that of the air conditioner he had installed: both used a Cultivator's methods to make life a little more comfortable.
On a scorching summer day, drinking a cup of iced fruit was truly refreshing to the very depths of his heart.
In the training ground stood several Martial Masters, most of them middle-aged, along with a few elderly men. They gazed at him with faint ingratiation.
Fang Xi turned his head, took a bite of the smoothie Yue Gui had brought him, and clapped his hands.
A Fu stepped forward and coughed. "My master wishes to learn Martial Arts. All of you are experts from martial arts schools. If you have any unique skills, you may demonstrate them. If my master takes a liking to one, there will naturally be a substantial reward... Even if you are not chosen, you will still receive a token of appreciation afterward."
Since he was a rich man, he naturally would not suffer miserably by going to a martial arts school to learn alongside the masses. He would hire private tutors instead!
Hearing this, the muscular Martial Artists' eyes lit up one after another.
They had opened martial arts schools for the sake of making money, after all. Who would turn down money?
And this Master Fang was famously... a fat sheep!
The group exchanged glances. An old man in black eagerly stepped forward and cupped his fists. "I am She Lei of the Red Snake Martial Arts School. I specialize in the Red Snake Leg!"
He came before a wooden post. His right leg suddenly rose high, the muscles upon it bulging and splitting as they strained against his black trousers, which seemed ready to tear apart.
Whoosh!
The next instant, he launched a flying kick. His originally thick right leg seemed boneless, changing unpredictably as the leg-whip carried a fierce gust of wind and slammed viciously into the wooden post.
Bang!
The thick wooden post shattered into pieces in an instant.
Wood chips flew everywhere. Only then did She Lei introduce himself smugly. "The Red Snake Leg of our martial arts school mainly trains the legs. Once mastered, it is not only tremendously powerful, but also increases movement technique and speed. With good movement technique, one can at least remain undefeated in a duel..."
"Not bad, not bad." Fang Xi's eyes lit up as he watched.
Although the Red Snake Leg's killing power was inferior to the Geng Metal Grass Sword, the Minor Spell he had mastered, he was only at the early Qi Refining Stage. His magic power was limited and could not support him casting the spell many times.
Judging by his opponent's seemingly endless stamina, he could still kick another twenty or thirty times at least. That made it quite valuable.
Just as I thought, these so-called Blood Qi Martial Arts can be viewed as body-tempering techniques for the Qi Refining Stage. They're quite valuable... And if one studies them deeply enough, there might even be techniques comparable to body cultivation in the Foundation Establishment Realm!
Fang Xi's heart burned with excitement!
Foundation Establishment!
This was the shared dream of all low-level cultivators.
Unfortunately... this pass was simply too difficult to cross.
The basic requirement of reaching Qi Refining Great Perfection before the age of sixty alone was enough to stump most Rogue Cultivators.
Furthermore, failing to break through to Foundation Establishment independently meant death. Foundation Establishment Spirit Items that could guarantee a successful breakthrough—especially Foundation Establishment Pills—were tightly controlled by the major powers. Even the Situ Family would have to suffer a serious loss to obtain a single Foundation Establishment Pill.
For ordinary Rogue Cultivators at the bottom, merely getting a whiff of one was an extravagant hope.
Yet at this moment, Fang Xi had seen a shortcut to overtaking them on the bend!
If I raise my body cultivation to a level comparable to a late Qi Refining cultivator, then collect pills and techniques that can assist breakthroughs into the mid and late Qi Refining stages, things will become much easier.
And if I can first become a body cultivator in the Foundation Establishment Realm, then collect a Foundation Establishment Pill, my chances will be far greater—and much safer.
My Dao Path has hope! My Dao Path has hope!
Although he possessed resources from two worlds, Fang Xi had not forgotten his status at the bottom of the food chain in the Southern Barrens Cultivation World. For now, he still dared not bring Daliang's special resources to the Southern Barrens Cultivation World for sale.
Unless... he possessed even greater strength.
Now, he had seen hope.
"Master She, that was a fine performance. Reward him!"
In his pleasant mood, Fang Xi spoke up.
She Lei had originally been somewhat dissatisfied. After all, although he really had come out to sell his skills, he still had more dignity than a street performer.
But when he saw A Fu smiling as he carried out a platter of silver, all dissatisfaction vanished at once. The wrinkles on his old face nearly bloomed into flowers.
This fat sheep truly lived up to his reputation!
Seeing this scene, the representatives from the various martial arts schools grew red-eyed. A tall, slender woman stepped forward. "I am Mu Piaomiao of the White Cloud Martial Arts School. Our White Cloud Martial Arts School specializes in the White Cloud Palm. It can overcome the strong with the weak, and is extremely easy to learn..."
Clearly, this female Martial Master had carefully investigated her customer's needs. She knew that Fang Xi's Martial Arts aptitude was not particularly outstanding; otherwise, Yuan He Mountain would not have rejected him. With a single sentence, she had struck the nail on the head.
Moreover, as she demonstrated her palm technique, she displayed her beautiful figure without reserve. Her breasts stood high and full, carrying a trace of bewitching allure.
The other Martial Masters all cursed her silently as a coquettish fox when they saw this, yet none could bear to look away.
After Mu Piaomiao stepped down, another Martial Master came forward.
"I am Yuan Tiangang. I specialize in the Wuji Staff..."
"I am Yi Qiujue. I excel at the Iron Wire Fist..."
"My school's Green Robe Sword..."
After the last Martial Master finished his demonstration, Fang Xi thought for a moment before asking, "All of your Martial Arts are quite good. I wonder if I can learn all of them?"
He had plenty of money anyway. It would not hurt to learn them all.
"This..."
The Martial Masters exchanged glances. Mu Piaomiao was still the one who stepped forward, explaining with long strides, "Young Master Fang, Blood Qi Martial Arts consume an enormous amount of energy. A single Martial Art may already leave someone's body depleted. It must be paired with nourishing tonics. As the saying goes, if you bite off more than you can chew, you cannot chew it well. Moreover, the circulation of Blood Qi in several Martial Arts conflicts with one another..."
"Oh."
Only after hearing Mu Piaomiao's explanation did Fang Xi appear thoughtful.
These Blood Qi Martial Arts indeed had certain taboos.
Furthermore, judging from the way she explained it, there seemed to be more that she had not yet said. That must be knowledge one could only obtain after truly entering the field.
He thought for a moment, then finally said, "In that case, I'll first learn one leg technique and one palm technique... Master She, Master Mu, please stay."
The other Martial Masters felt indignant upon hearing this.
She Lei was understandable. Having dared to step forward first, he was naturally one of the strongest among them, and his confidence was well-founded.
But Mu Piaomiao—wasn't she merely relying on a pair of long legs and a broad chest?
Damn, were the hobbies of rich people really this plain and unadorned?
After the Martial Masters left while grumbling inwardly, Fang Xi carefully sized up She Lei and Mu Piaomiao. "Master She, Master Mu... Tuition will be calculated starting today. You'll come to teach me once every three days. How does that sound?"
Only then did he carefully examine the two of them.
When She Lei was not circulating his energy, he was merely an unremarkable little old man.
Mu Piaomiao had a plump figure, carrying a heroic, vigorous beauty. Her features were also quite attractive, though her skin was somewhat rough.
"That's fine..." Mu Piaomiao thought for a moment. "The Blood Qi circulation of the Red Snake Leg is mainly concentrated in the legs, so it does not conflict with our White Cloud Palm. But you must take note: you cannot learn too much more. Otherwise, your Blood Qi will become mixed in the later stages, which will hinder breakthroughs..."
At this, Fang Xi felt somewhat depressed. "Blood Qi is mainly trained through the legs and palms... Is there no Martial Art that can truly temper the Blood Qi throughout the entire body?"
The flaw in this kind of body-tempering method was a little too serious. Most importantly, it was not conducive to defending against spells!
Mu Piaomiao and She Lei exchanged glances. In the end, the little old man coughed. "Ahem... Actually, as long as it is Blood Qi Martial Arts, while tempering the main areas, it will always have the additional effect of tempering the Blood Qi throughout the body. But to truly temper the whole body as one, that would no longer be the third-rate Martial Arts taught by our schools. It would be a first-rate secret true art. Perhaps... only the secret Martial Arts kept as Yuan He Mountain's ultimate trump card could reach such a level."
"All right..."
Fang Xi sighed, secretly making up his mind.
Wasn't it merely a true secret inheritance?
He might not be unable to obtain it in the future.
After all... a Cultivator's methods might not be something the Martial Artists of this world could withstand.
Of course, this still required gradual experimentation. He could not rush.
In any case, he was still young. This body was only seventeen, while Cultivators possessed long lifespans. Even a Qi Refining cultivator could live into their eighties or nineties without much trouble.
Before you continue