Apprenticing at Mount Hua

Ji Shu was moved.

Ever since arriving in the Blue Star world, he had often been threatened and bullied by thugs. For self-protection, he had gritted his teeth and found an old Baji Quan master in Jiangdu City to learn Baji Quan from.

After studying for several months, he had spent tens of thousands!

And because he was the old master's disciple, thugs rarely bothered him afterward. It was basically paying for peace of mind.

He had practiced Baji Quan for ten years.

But his skill had only been average. Taking on one or two ordinary people was no problem, but if three rushed him at once, he would definitely go down!

Yet now, he had comprehended Baji Quan to an almost miraculous realm. His Inner Energy was even Self-Generating, powerful and vigorous.

"According to what Master said, my attainment in Baji Quan should have reached the limit of what a human can cultivate!"

The old master had practiced Baji Quan for seventy or eighty years and was now over a hundred, yet he had never managed to reach the stage of Self-Generating Inner Energy.

The Baji Quan of this world differed greatly from the Baji Quan of the Earth world. It placed greater emphasis on lethality and possessed tremendous power!

Once one cultivated to the old master's near-supernatural level, taking on ten people alone would not be a problem.

But according to the old master, Ji Shu's talent was limited. Even if he trained his entire life, he would at most reach an entry-level standard.

But now?

Ji Shu clenched his fist and finally understood what it felt like to be an unrivaled genius!

"This feeling is really incredible!"

"I reckon taking on twenty ordinary people by myself wouldn't be a problem now."

Ji Shu's stomach began to growl.

He was hungry!

I was clearly full earlier. Why am I hungry again so quickly? Could it be because my Baji Quan has reached its limit?

Baji Quan had automatically been comprehended and cultivated to perfection.

That surely required energy.

The old master usually ate plenty of fish and meat. As he put it: martial artists needed meat if they wanted to build strength.

"I need to get something to eat."

Ji Shu quickened his pace.

As his Baji Quan reached its limit, his steps became much lighter as well. It was as though a thousand-pound burden had been lifted from his body. He felt light and buoyant, indescribably refreshed.

After walking for a while,

Ji Shu saw people shouting at the foot of the mountain ahead. Drawing closer and listening carefully, he learned that the Mount Hua Sect was recruiting disciples.

"Recruiting disciples? The Mount Hua Sect?"

Ji Shu's eyes lit up. He no longer cared about eating and hurried forward, squeezing with difficulty to the very front of the crowd. He asked a woman who had her head slightly lowered as she recorded information:

"Excuse me, what are the requirements for becoming a disciple here?"

"Hm?"

The woman raised her head slightly and looked at Ji Shu. Seeing his short hair and Zhongshan suit, her heart stirred, and she smiled.

"Two requirements."

The woman had a graceful figure and pretty features. Her almond-shaped eyes were bright and clear, and she looked only seventeen or eighteen. When she smiled, two dimples appeared on her cheeks, making her look especially sweet.

"If you meet one, you can become an Outer Sect disciple. If you meet both, you can become an Inner Sect disciple and receive my personal instruction!"

"You?"

"Are you looking down on me?"

"No."

"Hmph."

The woman stood up, planted her hands on her hips, and said crisply:

"I don't mind telling you. I may be the Mount Hua Sect's youngest martial sister, but my father is the Sect Leader of the Mount Hua Sect! I'm very capable! It won't be easy for you to receive my guidance and become my disciple!"

"So you are Sect Leader Yue's daughter. My respects."

Ji Shu said solemnly.

"It's good that you know how capable I am."

The woman lifted her swan-like neck and pointed at a boulder nearby.

"Do you see that? If you can lift that boulder over your head and walk around twice, you will have met one requirement."

Ji Shu nodded.

He immediately walked over, took a deep breath, rounded his chest and straightened his back, sank his qi into his Dantian, relaxed his shoulders and lowered his elbows. Reaching out with both hands, he gripped the upper and lower ends of the massive boulder, let out a sharp shout, and—

Boom!

He lifted the boulder directly over his head. Then, step by step, he circled a table twice before taking another breath and setting the boulder back where it had been.

"Does that count?"

Ji Shu looked at the woman.

It was only because his Baji Quan had recently reached the ultimate perfected realm of Self-Generating Inner Energy that his strength now far surpassed what it had once been. Otherwise, he might not have been able to move this several-hundred-pound boulder, much less carry it around for several laps.

"I never would have guessed it. You look so thin and weak, but you're actually this strong."

The woman was stunned.

She had never intended to accept any disciples. She had merely thrown out a random requirement and never expected anyone to fulfill it. Yet this man had done so, leaving her in an awkward position. In the end, she could only force herself to say:

"Do you have money? The second requirement is that if you want to join Mount Hua, you must pay one ingot of gold."

"Yes."

Ji Shu took a bundle from his pocket and handed her a gold bar. "Here."

He secretly rejoiced that he had always carried a gold bar with him. Otherwise, he might not have passed this hurdle.

But then again,

aside from the gold, the sharp alloy dagger in his bundle had disappeared.

Why? Could it be that weapons aren't allowed when crossing worlds? That's possible. The Blue Star world has machine guns and cannons. If weapons were allowed, wouldn't players be able to sweep through the Wuxia World?

The Tower of the Multiverse probably would not allow such a bug to exist.

"You players really are rich."

The woman accepted the gold bar and weighed it in her hand. "This is too much. I'll return some silver to you later. Come with me now."

She sighed. This man had actually met both requirements. It seemed she had no choice but to accept him. She called to a middle-aged man nearby:

"Second Senior Brother, please help register everyone. I'll take this person..."

She looked at Ji Shu.

"By the way, what is your name?"

"Ji Shu. Ji as in discipline, Shu as in stretch."

"Ji Shu. Your surname is quite rare."

The woman remarked casually, then turned to her "Second Senior Brother" nearby.

"I'm taking Ji Shu up the mountain."

Second Senior Brother had a wisp of long beard drifting beneath his chin, giving him an elegant bearing. He nodded, walked over, and looked Ji Shu up and down twice. Smiling meaningfully, he said, "Ji Shu? A good name."

He then sat where the woman had been sitting and faced the packed crowd, calling loudly, "Stop pushing! Line up, line up! Also, those without money can go home now. Those with money, come forward..."

Ji Shu's expression turned strange.

He followed the woman up the mountain and casually asked:

"Miss, how should I address you?"

"My name is Yue Lingshan. I'll be your master from now on, so you can call me Master Yue."

Yue Lingshan began giggling after saying it herself, seemingly excited and delighted. "This is my first time being a master. You're most likely not a disciple for the first time. So if there's anything I don't do well in the future, you have to be understanding toward your little master, okay?"

"...All right, Master Yue."

Though Ji Shu found it strange, he still humored Yue Lingshan. He had finally found hope of joining the Mount Hua Sect, and he had no intention of leaving now.

Where would he go to learn martial arts if he left?

Cheating and swindling?

This was the Wuxia World!

Even if his comprehension was unparalleled and his Peak Inner Strength Talent unmatched, if he carelessly got hacked or beaten to death by someone on the roadside for no reason, that would be truly unjust and frustrating!

It was entirely possible. Ji Shu remembered that in the original work, people of the Demonic Path and righteous factions like Xiang Wentian killed passersby as easily as slaughtering chickens! They felt no guilt whatsoever!

As an ordinary passerby who had yet to grow stronger, Ji Shu might be beaten to death while walking down the road. There was genuinely a chance of that happening!

And he had crossed over in his physical body. If he died, he would truly be dead!

To be safe,

he naturally needed to join a powerful martial arts sect and learn martial arts. He had been worrying over this before, but now that he could join the Mount Hua Sect, it was exactly what he wanted!