Five Gates

Time flowed like water; the years flew by.

In the blink of an eye, more than ten days had passed.

"My last batch of Red Jade Rice!"

Fang Yuan tipped his head back and drank the last of the Red Jade Spirit Rice porridge. A warm current immediately spread through his body.

He looked at his status panel.

"Hmm... Black Sand Palm is at the fourth layer, and its proficiency has reached 99%?"

Though the Flower Fox Ferret had acknowledged that he was strong enough to venture to the Spiritual Fertilizer grounds, Fang Yuan still wanted to give himself an extra measure of safety.

After more than ten days of hard work, he had not only trained Black Sand Palm until it was nearly at its peak, but had also started getting the hang of Eagle Claw Iron Cloth Shirt. Since he had already broken through the first four gates and his foundation was solid, his initial progress had been unstoppable.

"Unlike Black Sand Palm, Iron Cloth Shirt offers comprehensive, balanced defense. The Spiritual Fertilizer grounds are bound to be dangerous, so there's no harm in having another hardening technique to protect me!"

Fang Yuan muttered to himself, then suddenly struck. "Flower Fox Ferret!"

"Hiss!"

With a hiss, a white shadow appeared in the clearing—the Flower Fox Ferret.

But when Fang Yuan challenged it, it seemed somewhat afraid.

After all, during these days of sparring, Fang Yuan's "madness" had truly frightened it. And getting swept by the poisonous wind of Black Sand Palm was hardly pleasant.

"Haha... Once the next batch of Spirit Rice ripens, I'll let you eat your fill. How does that sound?"

Seeing this, Fang Yuan immediately tried to tempt it with Red Jade Spirit Rice.

"Hiss!"

At once, the Flower Fox Ferret's eyes lit up, and it leaped forward.

"Good!"

Fang Yuan stood his ground, meeting it calmly. His hands seemed to turn into black windmills, striking in a chain and raising a dark whirlwind.

"Whoosh!!!"

After who knew how long, the Flower Fox Ferret let out a strange cry and sprang out of the fight, staring at the figure in the middle with lingering fear.

"So... the fifth layer of Black Sand Palm is a return to the natural state!"

Fang Yuan looked at his hands.

His hands, once bulging with veins, had returned to normal, their skin white and glistening. Not only his palms, but even his arms, which had grown a full size larger, had now become slender again.

Yet he could still feel astonishing Internal Breath surging through his meridians and acupoints.

Though he looked as he had before, his destructive power was several times greater than it had been at the fourth layer!

He checked his status panel, and saw that the description of Black Sand Palm had completely changed:

Black Sand Palm [Fifth Layer]—An outer cultivation technique, now at its peak. It has returned to the natural state. Bare flesh is harder than steel, and its power can shatter gold and break jade. It carries strengthened poison and strengthened Internal Breath!

"Internal Breath?!"

Fang Yuan could indeed feel Internal Breath, hotter than ever, filling both hands. It traveled along his arms and chest, all the way to his lower abdomen, where it seemed to form a tiny furnace, with something gestating inside.

"After Internal Breath comes condensing it into a single strand—that's Internal Power! That's the essence of the sixth gate, Shang Gate... But if you fail to break through, your whole body will be injured, and you might even die!"

At this point, martial arts had entered deep waters. The slightest misstep could sink the boat and drown everyone aboard.

"But now..."

Fang Yuan closed his eyes and drew a deep breath.

Crack!

As the furnace in his lower abdomen churned, a distinct barrier shattered.

"The fifth gate of martial arts—broken through!"

Fang Yuan had been practicing martial arts for less than two months, yet he had already broken through five gates in succession. Even the most naturally gifted prodigy could not compare!

"This is mainly thanks to the system's proficiency, of course, with help from Red Jade Rice, Spirit Tea, and the like!"

Fang Yuan didn't let success go to his head. He looked at his attributes:

Name: Fang Yuan

Essence: 2.7

Qi: 2.5

Spirit: 1.5

Age: 18

Cultivation: Fifth Gate of Martial Arts

Skills: Black Sand Palm [Fifth Layer], Eagle Claw Iron Cloth Shirt [Third Layer]

Specialties: Medical Skill [Level Two], Planting Skill [Level Three]

Eagle Claw Iron Cloth Shirt—An internal and external cultivation technique, complete and flawless. It can be cultivated to the Great Perfection of the Twelve Gates. Once mastered, the body is like iron cloth, impervious to water and fire and difficult to injure with blades or swords. It carries Eagle Claw Internal Energy! Currently at the third layer. ```

"The farther one advances in martial arts, the more terrifying the increase becomes. Just reaching the fifth gate gave me an increase of 0.5 each in Essence Yuan and Qi Yuan. It's just a pity... there was no Divine Essence..."

By now, Fang Yuan had also realized that of the three flowers of Essence, Qi, and Spirit, Spirit seemed to be the hardest to improve.

His earlier rapid progress had probably been entirely due to the effects of Heart-Questioning Spirit Tea and the Sitting-Forgetting Tea Ceremony.

"The farther you go in martial arts, the harder it gets. Breaking through Shang Gate can easily backfire, while the Jingmen that follows wears down the mind and spirit. It probably tests a martial artist's Divine Essence—startling the spirit! If a martial artist's Divine Essence is weak and Jingmen turns on them, they could become a madman or an imbecile in an instant..."

With the Gui Ling Heart Method and Eagle Claw Iron Cloth Shirt, Fang Yuan no longer had any doubts about the Twelve Gates of Golden Lock and Heavy Tower.

Of course, as perilous as those two gates were, they still couldn't compare with the final gate of the Three Dangerous Gates—Death Gate!

Even if a breakthrough at Shang Gate or Jingmen failed and the backlash struck, there was still a chance of survival. As long as you lived, there was hope—you could be healed!

But Death Gate meant death if you failed. There was absolutely no second chance!

Because of this, even old masters of martial arts like Song Zhong didn't dare attempt such a realm without complete confidence.

"And then there's Zhou Tong. He's clearly at the peak of the fifth gate, and he even has the Iron Cloth Shirt manual, yet he doesn't dare try to break through Shang Gate... With a temperament like that, he'll never get any farther in his life!"

Fang Yuan shook his head, full of disdain.

What could be more foolish than having a Divine Skill Manual and not daring to cultivate it?

Zhou Tong did have his difficulties. The Zhou family's prestige rested entirely on him, for instance, so he couldn't afford to suffer even the slightest injury.

But the price was that now, when faced with a true martial arts master, he could only meet them anxiously and let them do as they pleased.

However, based on the many senior masters' writings and my own observations, the Three Dangerous Gates may seem terrifying, but they really test a martial artist's Physical Quality... If the three flowers of Essence, Qi, and Spirit are abundant, then these so-called Three Dangerous Gates are nothing but a broad, level road!

That was precisely why Fang Yuan was determined to obtain the Spiritual Fertilizer.

Only enough Spirit Tea and Spirit Rice could push his Essence, Qi, and Spirit to an astonishing level, allowing him to break through the bottleneck of the Three Dangerous Gates in one fell swoop.

"Perfect. I'll set out today!"

Fang Yuan slung a bamboo basket over his back, called the Flower Fox Ferret, and went outside the valley.

Zhou Wenxin's figure had already disappeared from the Zhou family's former camp.

The day before, a servant from the Zhou family came with news about Song Zhong. It seemed he wasn't completely out of his mind, so Old Master Zhou felt somewhat reassured. And with Eldest Daughter Zhou worn to the bone by her torment, she had finally gone back after repeatedly pleading to stay. Good—that saves me the trouble.

Dressed in a blue robe, Fang Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, they belonged to the same sect. Song Zhong had lost his son in his old age and was crazily taking revenge on his former enemies, but he still had a few scruples and didn't dare commit a great offense.

Otherwise, no matter how high his position was, he was still only an elder of the Gui Ling Sect. There were people who could deal with him.

"I left very few traces behind. As long as I don't reveal my current martial arts—especially my mastery of Black Sand Palm—who would suspect me?"

Fang Yuan felt quite confident about this.

The safer the Zhou family was, the safer he was.

And as long as he could buy enough time to grow fully, what would any of this matter?

"This time... it's up to you, Flower Fox Ferret!"

Fang Yuan patted the Flower Fox Ferret's head. The man and beast darted into the forest together and disappeared in an instant.

Qingye City.

"Useless!"

At Song Zhong's angry roar, Song San spat blood and flew backward, rolling across the ground in a sorry heap.

"I asked you for information on the Black Sand Palm experts across the whole commandery. You took so long, and this is all you've found..."

Song Zhong strode forward and looked down at Song San, who was still spitting blood. His expression darkened.

"Spare me, Master!"

Song San kowtowed again and again, begging for mercy. "Black Sand Palm has spread far and wide, and there are several poisonous palms that resemble it... This disciple thought..."

Thump!

Before he could finish, another heavy kick struck him. "Are you saying Yujie was mistaken? That he had poor judgment?"

"This disciple wouldn't dare!"

Song San clutched his chest, not even daring to cry out in pain. "...Junior Brother's judgment is naturally flawless. It's just that those servants may have been flustered and heard something wrong... That's possible, too... Please give me a little more time, Master!"

"Hmph. Get out!"

With Song Zhong's furious roar, Song San scrambled out of the courtyard. But once he turned away, gloom filled his eyes.

"Master!"

After Song San left, a female disciple came in with graceful steps and bowed respectfully to Song Zhong. "This disciple followed your instructions and made the arrangements. Zhou Tong has let down his guard and recalled his previous disciples..."

"Excellent!"

At that, Song Zhong's expression finally softened a little, though his gaze grew even more sinister. "Once his precious son comes back, we can catch them all in one net!"

"But... Master, the Zhou family is no Kou Family Manor. They're still members of our sect! And it's confirmed that when Junior Brother Yujie died, Zhou Tong was suffering from the poison of Lover's Intoxication. He had nothing to do with it..."

A trace of hesitation showed on the female disciple's face.

"...So what?"

Song Zhong asked with a sidelong glance. "Do you think I don't know? But the Lover's Intoxication he suffered was our doing, and recently he's been actively contacting the elders of his branch, saying I've made life unbearable for the people here..."

"If I don't kill this chicken as a warning to the monkeys, what else can I do?"

The female disciple fell silent.

After a long while, she finally said, "Won't that cut you off from the sect?"

"Heh..."

Song Zhong gave a sinister smile. "Who says I was the one who destroyed the Zhou family? It was a lone bandit who happened to be passing by. As long as they can't find evidence, do you think anyone will punish an elder for the sake of a mere outside steward?"

He's gone mad!

Hearing this, the female disciple couldn't help shivering. Since the death of his beloved son, her master had grown more and more extreme.

"Yujie..."

Song Zhong, however, hadn't noticed a thing. He continued muttering to himself. "Don't worry. Not one of the people you hate will escape, and the people you like—I'll personally send them to you..."

Sunlight fell across the courtyard, casting half of Song Zhong's face in shadow, as though a demon were dancing...