Scorching Heat

In the courtyard.

Qi Yu looked at his hands.

He clenched his fist slightly, and the muscle fibers under his skin twisted like steel wires, exhibiting a faint black metallic sheen.

This color was completely different from the color of his arm, as if he were wearing a pair of gloves.

He recalled that in the game before his transmigration, there was no such manifestation...

It was clear that the game was the game, and reality was reality. The game was just a highly simplified version of reality. He could use some information obtained from the game to understand this world in general, but he couldn't rely on it.

These past few days, in addition to continuing to study the Spirit Serpent Skill, he had also been observing.

He observed the Ninth Rank guards in the mansion and the Ninth Rank martial artists passing by in the bustling market.

Ninth Rank martial artists were easy to identify; as long as their minimum combat power was a single digit, they were Ninth Rank.

He watched for a few days...

The lowest was 4, and the highest was 7, the same as Old Gu.

He hadn't seen any Ninth Rank martial artists with a minimum combat power of "8" or "9", let alone "10".

A small difference, yet it related to the foundation and seemed to have produced some minor changes.

He recalled carefully.

He hadn't seen such an obvious... metallic sheen on Uncle Song.

No.

It wasn't about being obvious or not.

It simply wasn't there.

At most, the areas where his skin had been toughened showed a clear sense of density and weight, but... there was no color change like this.

"Uncle Song probably wasn't serious."

Qi Yu reached a conclusion, then took the Spirit Serpent Skill fist manual copy and compared it with Song Xue's cultivation booklet.

Combat technique, combat technique...

Minor success could still be achieved through practice, but great success required combat.

Without combat, one could not even begin.

However, at the same time, Qi Yu also thought of an idea: could he cultivate other low-level techniques and then exchange them for Skill Points to add to his main cultivation technique?

As he was thinking, two tall and strong men walked into the courtyard, wearing cotton padded jackets and leather belts.

"Young Master."

The two strong men bowed simultaneously, looking at the young man sitting under a bare old tree, quietly reading a book in the sunlight. "Brother Ding said you needed sparring partners, so he sent us to spar with you."

The two looked at the young man before them.

Rumors were circulating outside about how extraordinary this young master was.

They didn't believe it.

They had seen how dissolute the young master was. Once, after drinking and visiting courtesans, he was so weak that he stumbled into a flower bush right outside; another time, when he was competing with a young master from the Wang family, their retinues clashed. The young master ran only a few steps before he was out of breath, and then he was carried in a four-person sedan chair to watch the duel...

These events were still vivid in their minds.

As for the propaganda outside, they, as guards, had some guesses.

Where there's smoke, there's fire. They suspected that the shrewd First Madam was building momentum for the young master.

However, they had indeed seen Old Gu's arm dislocated and lying in bed recuperating.

Therefore, there was only one conclusion: the young master was practicing martial arts, and the Madam had spent a great deal of money to procure some temporary enhancement secret medicines to let the young master have his fun; secondly, to temporarily boost the young master's status to find a good young wife; and thirdly, for the martial arts examination in over two months.

Qi Yu glanced at the two men.

One had "6~11" floating above his head, and the other had "7~12".

These two were already considered good hands among the guards.

He beckoned and said, "Come."

A moment later...

One guard clutched his swollen hand, which looked like a steamed bun; the other held his lower back, his body covered in dust from the ground, clearly having been thrown to the ground and only just getting up.

"The Young Master is a martial arts prodigy, we are impressed! Impressed!" one guard said through gritted teeth, still managing to flatter.

"Thank you for your hard work," Qi Yu said. "Go and call an Eighth Rank guard."

The two guards nodded repeatedly.

Although the young master couldn't manage household affairs, he could still mobilize the household guards.

The two quickly responded and retreated. Just as they stepped out of the courtyard gate, they saw two finely dressed women standing by the side of the gate.

Madam Liu, who was in the lead, wore a brocade robe with her hair elegantly styled high, her expression calm. Beside her was her maid, Qing Dai.

Another woman was also adorned in gold and silver, the jade ring on her fingertip flashing faintly, clearly the matriarch of a wealthy family.

The two guards hurriedly bowed.

Madam Liu's gaze swept over their wounds, and she calmly said, "Since you were injured while practicing with Yu'er, go to the storeroom and each collect two taels of silver. Rest for three days."

The two were overjoyed. Two taels of silver was almost equivalent to their monthly allowance.

Instantly, their pain lessened by a third.

"Thank you, Madam!"

"Thank you, Madam!"

The newcomer was Second Madam Qian, Zhou Shi.

A few days prior, Zhou Shi had heard of Young Master Qi San's reputation at Pin Hai Restaurant. After sending someone to inquire at Hui Chun Medical Hall, she became interested. Today, she happened to witness Qi Yu defeating the two guards. Now, she was scrutinizing Qi Yu with the look of a mother-in-law, examining the young man's posture, temperament, and appearance.

"Mother?"

Qi Yu's voice came from the courtyard.

He had originally planned to find his mother and see if she could help him collect some cultivation methods. Not all of them, not the profound ones, just the most basic training methods would suffice.

But now, an unfamiliar woman stood beside his mother, so he didn't speak.

In the courtyard, A Bi, who was inseparable from the young master and always on standby, also hurriedly bowed and said gracefully, "Greetings, Madam."

Zhou Shi glanced at A Bi, frowned slightly, but said nothing.

Madam Liu didn't introduce them, only saying softly, "My husband and Madam Qian were just passing by. Yu'er performed well just now, continue your practice, don't mind us."

She then looked back at Zhou Shi and said with a smile, boasting, "This child has only been practicing martial arts for less than a month and has made rapid progress. At first, I thought the family guards were letting him win, but I didn't expect it to be real skill. Alas... he was delayed quite a bit before, I just hope it's not too late now."

"Nonsense," Zhou Shi said with a smile. "I think this child is very good."

As they spoke, the two continued to walk slowly along the bluestone path.

The maids followed closely behind.

Zhou Shi had personally witnessed the young man's heroic demeanor and was somewhat moved, so she began to chat with Madam Liu.

Both of them were adept at palace intrigue, and now they conversed like they were closing a business deal.

The Qi family's core industry was "medicine."

The Qian family's core industry was "merchant association."

There were many areas where the two sides could cooperate.

Moreover, both families were in quite similar situations, both striving to secure more family assets for their sons, which could also lead to mutual support to a certain extent.

Both parties were quite satisfied with their conversation. When parting, Second Madam Qian took a portrait of Qi Yu to show her daughter, and also said she would send her daughter's portrait in a couple of days for Qi Yu to see.

In the courtyard.

The Surname Sun guard arrived.

He was an Eighth Rank expert among the Qi family guards.

Qi Yu glanced at him. Combat Power: 24~36.

The Surname Sun guard cupped his fists in greeting, then removed a Goose Feather Saber from his waist and placed it aside. His combat power also changed: 18~30.

"Young Master, if you want to break through to the Eighth Rank, you need to comprehend the boiling of blood and qi during combat..."

The Surname Sun guard spoke as he rolled up his sleeves, revealing his strong arms. He suddenly circulated his energy, and his skin immediately turned red, emitting a faint white mist in the cold of the twelfth lunar month.

The mist was not much, scattering after about an inch.

"Blood qi boiling—this is the mark of the Bloodburst Realm. When you can control this heat at will, and possess the strength of a brute bear with a raise of your hand, you will have succeeded."

Saying this, the Surname Sun guard ceased his circulation and adjusted his breathing, the mist dissipating instantly.

Qi Yu had seen this in the Spirit Serpent Skill.

He naturally knew that the most obvious difference between the Eighth Rank Bloodburst Realm and the Ninth Rank Leather Armor Realm was that the Eighth Rank would generate a peculiar "heat" within the body. Once this heat was generated, the whole body would feel hot, and even steam would rise...

This phenomenon was most pronounced in winter.

Martial artists called this rising steam "blood qi."

The more "heat" there was, the denser the "blood qi," which also allowed one to visually gauge the strength of an Eighth Rank martial artist to a certain extent.

"Come."

Qi Yu beckoned.

The Surname Sun guard said, "Young Master, please forgive me."

With that, he lunged forward but dared not use his internal heat.

Bang!!

The next moment, the Surname Sun guard felt a powerful force strike him. He staggered back three or four steps before stopping, a sharp ache radiating from his blocking arm.

He raised his eyes in shock. It was only upon experiencing it firsthand that he understood the terrifying power of the young master.

Is this Ninth Rank?

Even with secret medicine, it shouldn't be this exaggerated, right?

"Come,"

Qi Yu said again.

The Surname Sun martial artist took a deep breath, his skin turning red as his blood energy surged.

"Young Master, forgive me!"