Breakthrough to Martial Master

"Thank you, Lord Governor."

Jiang Ping An clasped his hands in salute. The resources the man had given him would be of great benefit.

Although the man had his own motives, Jiang Ping An was still grateful.

"Haha, stupid Woodhead, just wait until I awaken and beat you to a pulp!" Meng Jing shouted happily.

Only now did she learn that her talent had yet to be fully developed. She would definitely become even stronger in the future.

Jiang Ping An did not react much. Things like talent and bloodlines were not something one could envy into existence.

He had known since childhood that the world was unfair. Though he envied those blessed with good fortune, he would not wallow in self-pity and sink into decadence because of it.

The maid led Jiang Ping An away and arranged for him to stay in a quiet side room.

This was merely an ordinary residence, yet it was even more luxurious than the manor in Continuous Mountain County. Wooden buildings stood everywhere, grand and imposing, while profound rune-light flickered in and out of sight.

"You will stay here for now. Go to the dining hall for meals. In three days, someone will take you to the Back Mountain, where you geniuses will train and be assessed. Rest well. There may be a battle in three days."

"Thank you, Sister."

Jiang Ping An thanked her.

The maid smiled. She had received many geniuses before, but those geniuses had all been incomparably arrogant. Few ever thanked her.

She added, "There is a formation diagram on the table in your room. Pour spiritual energy into it to activate it, then pour in spiritual energy again to deactivate it."

"This formation can create a barrier to keep others from barging in and disturbing your cultivation. It can also gather the spiritual energy in the surroundings and speed up cultivation."

"My mount is still outside. Could I trouble you to look after it?" Jiang Ping An asked.

"Of course. Come find me if you need anything." The maid left with a smile.

Jiang Ping An was about to close the door when a figure suddenly squeezed inside and threw a punch at his face.

Jiang Ping An swiftly raised an arm to block.

Bang!

Jiang Ping An was struck and staggered back several steps.

"What? You are not even a Martial Master yet." Ma Wei looked at him with disdain.

"Who are you?"

Jiang Ping An frowned tightly, his fist aching as he looked at the person who had ambushed him.

The boy looked fifteen or sixteen. He was round and plump, with a chicken leg in one hand and grease all over his mouth.

"My name is Ma Wei. You can call me Brother Ma from now on. Although you have not reached the Martial Master realm, you were able to participate in the assessment, so you must be a genius too. Be my lackey from now on, and I will protect you."

Ma Wei spoke arrogantly. He had seen other geniuses with attendants of their own, while he had none, which made him feel a notch beneath them.

So he had decided to take in a couple of lackeys as well.

After eating, he happened to spot a new boy arriving and came over to test him out.

"No." Jiang Ping An refused directly.

He still needed to cultivate and had no interest in being someone else's lackey.

"Do you know who I am? Do you know where I come from? I am a genius of the Vast Mist Sect!"

Ma Wei raised his chin even higher.

"The Vast Mist Sect?"

"That is right! The Vast Mist Sect!" Ma Wei's eyes brimmed with pride.

"Never heard of it."

Jiang Ping An answered honestly.

Ma Wei: "..."

Where had this country bumpkin come from? He had never even heard of the Vast Mist Sect.

The Vast Mist Sect had assisted the founding emperor of Great Xia in establishing the nation. Its history was even older than Great Xia itself, and its status was extraordinary.

"Is there anything else? I need to cultivate."

Jiang Ping An felt time was pressing. There were too many things he needed to learn: the Tyrant Body Art, the Earth Accumulation Art, the Limitless Fist...

"You country bumpkin! If you refuse to be my lackey, no one will watch over you. In the battle three days from now, you will definitely get beaten black and blue!"

Ma Wei felt utterly humiliated. A dignified genius disciple of the Vast Mist Sect had actually been ignored.

Seeing that the other party would not leave, Jiang Ping An placed his palm on the table and poured spiritual energy into it.

A black barrier swiftly appeared and sent Ma Wei flying out.

"Ow!" Ma Wei tumbled to the ground, and the chicken leg in his hand fell onto the floor.

Ma Wei flew into a rage. "You little brat! You do not know what is good for you! Just wait. In three days, I will beat you to death!"

Having been thrown out of the room, Ma Wei felt deeply humiliated.

Back when he was in the Vast Mist Sect, who would have dared treat him this way?

Jiang Ping An truly had not known the barrier could send someone flying.

But before he could say anything, Ma Wei stormed off in a huff.

Jiang Ping An shook his head helplessly, unable to understand the other boy's behavior.

Perhaps they had grown up in different environments. His own way of survival was to avoid causing trouble and avoid making enemies lightly.

But these people's way of survival was completely the opposite. If someone did not agree with them, they wanted to eliminate that person.

Perhaps one's environment shaped one's character.

Jiang Ping An stopped thinking about it, closed the door, and sat down on the cultivation cushion.

He swallowed a Blood Spirit Pill and a Healing Pill he had just bought, then circulated his blood qi and cultivated the Tyrant Body Art.

The blood qi within his body churned, and the faint sound of flowing water seemed to come from inside him.

He had cultivated in Continuous Mountain County for nearly a month before managing to circulate blood qi through two-thirds of his body.

This time, he would complete one full circulation of the Tyrant Body Art in a single breath.

Vast blood qi surged through his veins. With spiritual energy assisting it, the blood qi flowed with extraordinary smoothness.

Yet blood still faintly seeped from his skin, while bean-sized drops of sweat ran down from his hair.

Jiang Ping An gritted his teeth, his breathing growing ragged.

No matter how agonizing it was, he had to cultivate the Tyrant Body Art. Only then could he catch up to those geniuses and travel farther down the path of immortality!

Because of the Earth Accumulation Art, his cultivation sped up, but the pain still lasted an entire day. Jiang Ping An's whole body was stained red with blood.

His body was destroyed, rebuilt, destroyed, rebuilt...

As the Tyrant Body Art began to circulate, earth-shaking changes were taking place within his body.

Boom!

With a thunderous roar, it was as though a river channel had burst open, and the sound of rushing water surged through Jiang Ping An's body.

Purple-Gold light flickered across his body as the blood flowing from him was evaporated and congealed.

A faint smile appeared on Jiang Ping An's exhausted face.

Finally. He had finally completed one circulation of the Tyrant Body Art. Future circulations would be much easier.

The blood qi within him surged, Endless Life without cease.

The strength of a Body Cultivator lay in their vast blood qi. Old Li had once said that some powerful Body Cultivators could incinerate an entire Wang Yang with a single drop of blood, its heat comparable to a star.

Of course, Jiang Ping An was still far from that level.

He had merely completed one circulation of the Tyrant Body Art. He was still far from fully mastering it.

Once he mastered the First Floor of the Tyrant Body Art, the blood flowing through his body would resemble a surging Jiang He, and he might even hear thunderous explosions.

The sound within his body now was, at most, like a small stream flowing.

Even so, he could feel his strength had increased more than tenfold.

Successfully circulating the Tyrant Body Art had also allowed him to enter the ranks of Martial Masters without even using a Realm Breaking Pill.

What he needed to cultivate next was opening the acupoints within his body.

The greatest difference between a Martial Master and an ordinary Martial Warrior was that Martial Masters could develop the acupoints on their bodies and unleash their potential.

Opening ten acupoints would make one an Intermediate Martial Master. Opening twenty acupoints would make one an Advanced Martial Master.

Each acupoint opened would increase the blood qi stored within the body. Once thirty acupoints were opened, one could attempt to break into the next major realm, the Blood Core Realm.

Strictly speaking, Martial Masters did not have separate realms. Low, intermediate, and advanced were merely classifications for conveniently measuring strength.

Jiang Ping An swallowed a Healing Pill and entered the bathing tub to wash the blood from his body.

"Woodhead! Woodhead! Open the door!"

Not long after he entered the tub, urgent knocking sounded from outside.

He only knew one person here. Who else could it be but Meng Jing?

Jiang Ping An circulated his blood qi and evaporated the moisture from his body.

After changing into clean clothes, he walked to the table, poured in spiritual energy, deactivated the barrier, and opened the door.

When Meng Jing saw Jiang Ping An, she planted her hands on her hips and laughed. "Haha, Woodhead, I awakened an incredibly powerful talent! I am a Martial Master now!"

She did not know why, but she particularly wanted to share this news with him.

"Congratulations." Jiang Ping An smiled.

"What is with that calm reaction? Aren't you going to ask what talent I awakened?" Meng Jing was a little disappointed.

"No matter what talent you have, there will always be someone with greater talent. You must guard against arrogance and impatience. Cultivation must be taken one step at a time. Do not greedily seek—"

"Enough, enough. Why are you as long-winded as my father?" Meng Jing covered her little ears, unwilling to listen.

Jiang Ping An shook his head helplessly. This little girl was still as disobedient as ever.

Meng Jing grabbed Jiang Ping An's hand. "Come on, let's eat. Sister Maid said there are lots of desserts in the dining hall."

No matter what talent she had awakened, her gluttonous nature had not changed.

Meng Jing skipped and hopped toward the dining area, her ponytail swishing from side to side.

Perhaps it was mealtime, for there were many people here.

Several young men and women with astonishing auras stood out in particular, rising above the crowd like cranes among chickens.

But the moment Meng Jing entered, she drew all their attention.

"Look! That girl was the one who caused the heavenly thunder phenomenon not long ago!"

"I heard she has a Thunder Spirit Body and carries the bloodline of the Lei Family, an Ancient Aristocratic Family!"

"The Lei Family? That ancient family?"

Jiang Ping An had heard thunder while cultivating, but he had not paid it much attention. Only after hearing the discussion around him did he realize that Meng Jing had caused it.

She could control lightning? That was terrifying.

At that moment, a youth dressed in a golden robe approached. Though young, he carried the bearing of someone in a high position, and his features were exceptionally handsome.

He smiled at Meng Jing. "You are Miss Meng, correct? I am Feng Yuchen, at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage. My father is the sect master of the Dragon Profound Sect and is in the Nascent Soul Realm."

"Three thousand years ago, an elder of my family obtained a wisp of Dragon Bloodline, and I have already awakened that wisp of bloodline."