Contempt

The look in Shen Fan's eyes made Li An's hair stand on end—that expression, like a starving wolf spotting flesh or a starving dog spotting fresh excrement, was truly terrifying.

In the end, Shen Fan snapped out of it. He patted Li An on the shoulder and said with a grin, "Alright, I'm counting on you, Junior Brother. Come on, start your performance!"

Li An was a bit confused by Shen Fan's words, but he barely grasped what Shen Fan meant.

So, following his memory, he began demonstrating the Three Yuan Art for Shen Fan—a technique even the old farmers in the fields knew a few moves of.

Sure enough, as a health cultivation method, it really emphasized one thing—slow!

Li An moved left hand, right hand in a slow motion, then right hand, left hand replaying the slow motion... ahem, got that wrong, let's start over.

The routine of the Three Yuan Art was, honestly, quite simple. The entire method had only twelve moves, far fewer than the thirty-six forms of the Savage Bull Fist!

But there was no denying that, even as a health cultivation method, it was still an entry-level martial art. Reaching Minor Accomplishment could get you into Skin Refining, and Major Accomplishment into Muscle Refining.

Even so, this was just theory. The reality was that in Laiyang City, for over a hundred years, no one had ever entered the Martial Path through the Three Yuan Art.

For an ordinary person to practice this health cultivation method, just reaching the entry level took at least ten years, and Minor Accomplishment at least twenty!

And that was only achievable with daily hard training.

But with that kind of time investment, the result was the weakest level of Skin Refining—barely stronger than an ordinary person.

Yet it consumed most of one's life, truly useless for anything significant!

After Shen Fan practiced the Three Yuan Art, he naturally noticed this. Compared to the Savage Bull Fist, the Three Yuan Art was indeed much slower to train.

With Shen Fan's current Talent, to reach Minor Accomplishment in the Three Yuan Art, he would need at least a month.

Don't think that's a short time—it was because Shen Fan's Talent was quite good, plus he had the foundation of the Savage Bull Fist and True Combined Strength, that he could be this fast.

Otherwise, even with Shen Fan's good Talent, he would still need at least two months!

Still, Shen Fan was very satisfied. Seeing that the Attribute Panel had recorded the Three Yuan Art as a martial art, he nodded approvingly and said to Li An with a smile, "Alright, I've got it now. I really have to thank you this time, Junior Brother!"

Shen Fan kept his attitude low—this time he truly owed Li An a favor. If the chance came later, he wouldn't mind giving this Little Brother a hand.

After all, he could tell that Li An wasn't a bad person by nature—someone worth befriending!

Li An withdrew, and Shen Fan began to train hard in this health cultivation method.

Because the Three Yuan Art Shen Fan was practicing was so widely recognized, many of the martial arts school disciples immediately identified it.

So, quite a few started whispering among themselves.

"What the hell? Who's this guy? How did he become a disciple of the same school as me?"

"Yeah, seriously, he's practicing the Three Yuan Art—that's the lowest-grade health cultivation method. What's the point of training that!"

"That's right! The school works hard to support us, giving us such a great training environment, and this guy uses it to practice the Three Yuan Art. What a waste of the school's nurturing!"

With that said, many disciples began to hold a grudge against Shen Fan. In outsiders' eyes, they were the favored sons of heaven, training in nothing but powerful martial arts.

But if word got out that one of them was practicing a trash martial art like the Three Yuan Art, wouldn't that bring shame to the entire Ox Demon Martial Arts School?

Some disciples glared at Shen Fan with anger. If not for the school rule forbidding fellow disciples from harming each other, someone would probably have stepped up to teach Shen Fan a lesson by now.

"Junior Brother, don't be impulsive—this is inside the school, you can't throw a punch!

But as formal disciples, we can't just bury our heads in training all the time. Contributing to the school by going out on missions is inevitable."

"When that time comes, real skill will be put to the test. Don't end up like some people who fall apart the moment they step onto the field!"

"People always have to pay the price for their actions!"

Shen Fan's mouth twitched at the corners—wasn't this clearly mocking him?

Beside him, Li An's face was red. He opened his mouth several times, wanting to urge Senior Brother Shen not to practice the Three Yuan Art, but in the end, seeing that Shen Fan didn't care about the others' words, he gave up.

After the surrounding disciples finished their taunts and found Shen Fan unmoved, they felt bored and dispersed.

But one person quietly watched Shen Fan, who was focused on training, shook his head, and thought to himself, "This guy's name is Shen Fan, huh? Didn't expect him to become a formal disciple too. What a shame—choosing to practice a health cultivation method and giving up other superior martial arts. How foolish!"

This person was none other than Chen Chong, who had become a formal disciple in just half a year.

Although Chen Chong was very dissatisfied with Shen Fan's choice, he couldn't help but advise, "Junior Brother Shen, a health cultivation method has no future. Don't go down the wrong path!"

Those who achieve more are teachers—Chen Chong considered his realm higher than Shen Fan's, so his tone carried a hint of lecturing.

But how could Shen Fan be swayed by others? He was about to ignore it.

Suddenly, he felt the voice was familiar. Looking up, it turned out to be that Little Genius, Chen Chong!

So Shen Fan replied politely, "I know what I'm doing. No need for Senior Brother Chen to worry!"

These words clearly showed he hadn't taken the admonition to heart. Chen Chong got a bit angry. Ever since he became a disciple, his martial path had advanced rapidly.

Many senior brothers who had joined before him were now left in his dust. In just one year, Chen Chong was confident he could reach the Muscle Refining level and become a standout among the formal disciples.

The fellow disciples around him also admired him greatly and usually showed him plenty of respect. Who would dare speak to him like this?

But this Shen Fan today, treating him with such an attitude—truly, ungrateful!

The more Chen Chong thought about it, the angrier he got. But remembering the school rules, he held himself back, let out a cold hmph, and left.

This display instead left Shen Fan on the spot scratching his head in confusion.

"This guy, did he take the wrong medicine? I don't think I offended him, did I? Why does he suddenly seem to have such a big grudge against me? How strange!"

Shen Fan muttered to himself but didn't take it to heart. Chen Chong was, to him, nothing more than a passerby; he really didn't want to waste too much time on Chen Chong.

If he knew the reason for Chen Chong's anger, Shen Fan would probably snort in disdain—talk about putting a face mask on the Pacific Ocean, what a big face!

If Shen Fan knew that Chen Chong still needed a year to break through to Muscle Refining, he'd probably mock the guy's talent even more. After all, he was confident he could master his Fist Technique and break through to Muscle Refining within half a year.

Didn't that mean his own talent had already surpassed that Little Genius Chen Chong by quite a bit?

Shen Fan didn't dwell on it. He continued practicing the Three Yuan Art. Others' opinions meant nothing to him; only what he fought for himself was real.

Can't find the book by title? Try searching by author—maybe it just changed names!