The Eighth Disciple, Qin Hao

Because he had gone through a Brokerage, Su Chen found a suitable place in less than an hour—a courtyard house.

The house was in a good location and relatively secluded, but the price was a little steep: half a tael of silver per month. The owner refused a short-term lease, so Su Chen had no choice but to rent it for half a year.

Paying three taels of silver all at once made Su Chen's heart ache.

Still, he finally had a foothold in the Outer City.

Afterward, Su Chen took the time to buy some daily necessities and brought the belongings he had packed long ago into the new house.

He had not gone back to the old house, afraid that the Black Water Gang might spot him. Instead, he had packed everything in advance and left it at an inn.

That afternoon, Su Chen arrived at the Martial Hall.

The moment he entered, he found everyone gathered together. Only after getting closer did he learn that someone had mastered the Iron Wire Fist.

"I remember his name is Qin Hao, right? He's been here less than half a month, and he's already mastered the Iron Wire Fist. His talent is incredible!"

"We joined at the same time half a month ago, but I haven't even touched the threshold yet."

"No comparison. He's simply gifted beyond measure."

The crowd chattered away, their voices brimming with envy.

Standing amid the crowd, Su Chen watched Qin Hao being surrounded and led into the Inner Courtyard, his eyes flickering.

From their conversation, Su Chen had also gained a rough understanding of how difficult the Iron Wire Fist was to cultivate.

The difficulty of cultivating the Iron Wire Fist varied from person to person. Those with talent could master it in ten days or half a month.

Those without talent might spend a year and a half without achieving anything.

Once mastered, a faint Blood Line would condense along one's arms.

Qin Hao's talent was clearly exceptional. In half a month, he had cultivated the Iron Wire Fist to the "Iron Line" stage.

Even among Hong Ming's many disciples, he stood head and shoulders above the rest. No wonder Hong Ming valued him so highly.

With that thought, Su Chen lowered his head and glanced at his own arm. A Blood Line as thin as iron wire flickered in and out of view.

If Hong Ming knew Su Chen had formed the "Iron Line" in only thirty minutes, then the one basking in boundless glory now would not be Qin Hao, but Su Chen.

"What are you all looking at? Hurry up and train! Maybe you can be like Junior Brother Qin and enter the path quickly!"

At that moment, Li Mo walked over and shouted at everyone.

The trainees quickly dispersed and returned to their own practice.

That afternoon, the Martial Hall became Qin Hao's personal stage. Hong Ming did not hesitate to show how highly he regarded Qin Hao.

He declared that if Qin Hao could stabilize his Blood Line within a month, he would accept him as a formal disciple.

There were many registered disciples at the Hong Family Martial Hall. Including those who had already left, there had to be at least a hundred.

Yet there were only seven formal disciples, with Li Mo being the last one accepted two years ago.

This promise left the teenage Qin Hao exceptionally excited, and he trained even more diligently.

Su Chen heard that Qin Hao was the illegitimate son of a merchant, with little status.

The only reason he had managed to come to the Martial Hall was after much difficulty. Now that he had a chance to become a Martial Hall disciple, he naturally did not dare slack off in the slightest.

Perhaps Qin Hao had spurred them on, because everyone's passion seemed to have been set ablaze.

One after another, they trained like rutting beasts, fierce as wolves and tigers.

However, compared to everyone's diligent, grueling practice, Su Chen's attitude seemed somewhat lazy.

It was not that Su Chen did not want to train. The results of training were simply too poor—nothing compared to cheating.

So after practicing on his own for a while, Su Chen gave up training.

After all, his purpose in coming to the Martial Hall today was not to train.

"Junior Brother Su, have you run into some problem with your training?"

At that moment, Li Mo, who had noticed Su Chen stop practicing, came over and asked in puzzlement.

Seeing that Su Chen was not training, he guessed that Su Chen had encountered some difficulty, which was why he asked.

"Senior Brother Li, I'm fine." Su Chen shook his head.

"Is it because of Qin Hao?"

Su Chen was startled. Li Mo raised his eyes slightly and muttered to himself, "Ever since I joined the Martial Hall, this is the first time I've seen Master so happy."

Hearing this, Su Chen asked, "Senior Brother, is Qin Hao's talent really that strong?"

"Strong! You haven't started training in fist arts yet, so you don't know how difficult cultivation is. Qin Hao mastered it within half a month. His talent and natural physique are probably the best among your group. Even the formal disciples can't compare to him."

Li Mo praised him, completely failing to notice the change in Su Chen's expression.

"Senior Brother, aside from Qin Hao, what is the shortest record?"

"It should be Eldest Brother. I heard he succeeded in one month."

"Then, Senior Brother, what counts as mastering the Iron Wire Fist?" Su Chen asked curiously.

Li Mo fell silent for a moment. He had wanted to tell Su Chen not to aim too high, but when he thought of the disciples' performance that afternoon, he could not bring himself to dampen Su Chen's enthusiasm.

So he said, "According to Master, when cultivating the Iron Wire Fist, as long as a Blood Line appears on your hand, you have successfully taken the first step.

Only once the Blood Line has completely stabilized can you be considered truly initiated.

Then, when it changes from light red to red, you have entered the hall. When it changes from red to dark red, it counts as mastery.

Finally, when it completely turns black, you have reached perfection."

After a pause, he added, "But each of these four stages is difficult. Ordinary people may be unable to even enter the path after several years. Even if they do, they may not necessarily cultivate it to perfection."

As he spoke, he thought of Qin Hao.

It had taken him more than two months to enter the path, but Qin Hao had done so a month and a half earlier than him. That alone showed how formidable Qin Hao's talent was.

"Alright, stop asking so many questions. Your task now is to quickly learn the horse stance, then I can teach you fist arts."

Seeing Su Chen fall silent, Li Mo assumed he had been dealt a blow. After offering a few words of comfort, he left.

"One month?"

Su Chen murmured, deep in thought.

"If I didn't have my cheat, perhaps I would seek out Master Hong after some time. After all, I could gain a greater share of resources. But now, there's no need to rush."

He shook his head, dispersing the thoughts in his mind. Then, taking advantage of no one noticing, he left the Martial Hall.

Li Mo had been guiding everyone the whole time. After finally taking a brief rest, he glanced out of the corner of his eye and realized Su Chen was nowhere to be seen.

He opened his mouth, then forced out a sentence: "That brat!"

Over the following days, Su Chen's life became a straight line between two places.

His home and the Tea House.

Aside from mealtimes, Su Chen spent nearly all his time at the Tea House.

"Customer, here are the peanuts and tea you ordered."

The waiter had already grown used to Su Chen. He came every morning and left at night, sitting there all day long.

He would order a plate of peanuts, hold a book in his hands, and occasionally dip his fingers into the tea as though tracing characters on the table.

After ten days in a row, the waiter had come to recognize Su Chen.

Su Chen did not care about the waiter's gaze. His eyes remained fixed on the book as he learned the writing of this world.

The writing of Great Qian was somewhat similar to that of the Tang Dynasty, though not entirely the same.

The original owner of this body had never studied, so he could barely recognize any words.

Thus, Su Chen used this time to pick up several literacy books from a bookstore and study on his own.

With the knowledge he had accumulated in his previous world, Su Chen learned seven or eight tenths of Great Qian's writing.

At the same time, while studying, he observed every move across the street.

That was where the Black Water Gang was based.