Contempt

Shen Fan's gaze made Li An's skin crawl. He looked like a starving wolf spotting fresh meat, or a famished dog finding a steaming pile of shit. It was downright terrifying.

In the end, Shen Fan came to his senses. He patted Li An on the shoulder and said with a beaming smile, "All right, Junior Brother, I'm counting on you. Come on, show me what you've got!"

Li An was a little confused by Shen Fan's words, but he managed to understand what he meant.

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

As expected of a health cultivation method, it really did emphasize one thing: slowness!

Li An moved his left hand, then his right, in slow motion; then his right hand, then his left, replaying the slow movements... Ahem, wrong one. Let's start again.

To be honest, the Three Yuan Art's routine was fairly simple. The entire technique consisted of just twelve movements, nowhere near as extensive as the Savage Bull Fist's thirty-six forms!

Still, there was no denying that although it was a health cultivation method, it remained an entry-level martial art. With Minor Accomplishment, one could enter Skin Refining; at Great Accomplishment, one could reach Muscle Refining.

That was only in theory, though. In reality, no one in Laiyang City had entered the Martial Path through the Three Yuan Art in over a century.

For ordinary people, simply mastering the basics of this health cultivation method took at least ten years, while reaching Minor Accomplishment took at least twenty!

And that was with arduous training every single day.

Yet after all that time, the result was only the weakest stage, Skin Refining—barely stronger than an ordinary person.

It would consume more than half a lifetime, making it utterly impractical!

After Shen Fan started practicing the Three Yuan Art, he naturally noticed this. Compared with the Savage Bull Fist, the Three Yuan Art really was much slower to train.

With Shen Fan's current aptitude, it would take him at least a month to reach Minor Accomplishment in the Three Yuan Art.

Don't think that was a short time. It was only because Shen Fan had excellent aptitude and a foundation in the Savage Bull Fist and True Combined Strength that he could progress so quickly.

Otherwise, even with good aptitude, Shen Fan would need at least two months!

Still, Shen Fan was quite satisfied. Seeing the Three Yuan Art recorded on his Attribute Panel, he nodded with satisfaction and smiled at Li An. "All right, I've got it. I really have to thank you, Junior Brother!"

Shen Fan was being very humble. He really did owe Li An for this, and if he had the chance in the future, he wouldn't mind giving the young man a hand.

After all, he could tell Li An wasn't a bad person. He was worth befriending!

After Li An left, Shen Fan began diligently practicing the health cultivation method.

Because the Three Yuan Art Shen Fan was practicing was so widely known, many of the Martial Hall disciples recognized it at a glance.

Before long, several of them began whispering among themselves.

"What? Who's that guy? How did he become a Martial Hall disciple like me?"

"Exactly! He's actually practicing the Three Yuan Art. That's the lowest-grade health cultivation method. What's the point of training in that?"

"You said it! The Martial Hall works so hard to support us and gives us such a great place to train, but this guy uses it to practice the Three Yuan Art. What a waste of the Martial Hall's investment!"

At those words, many disciples began to resent Shen Fan. In outsiders' eyes, they were all heaven's favored sons, and they were naturally expected to train in powerful martial arts.

But if people found out that one of them was practicing trash like the Three Yuan Art, wouldn't it bring shame on the entire Ox Demon Martial Arts School?

Some disciples glared furiously at Shen Fan. If the Martial Hall hadn't forbidden fellow disciples from attacking one another, someone would probably have gone over to teach him a lesson.

"Junior Brother, don't get worked up. This is inside the Martial Hall—you can't just start a fight!

"But we formal disciples can't spend all our time training with our heads down. We have to contribute to the Martial Hall, and going out to complete missions is part of that."

"When that time comes, that's when you'll have to show your real skills. Don't end up like certain people who'll be done for the moment they step into the arena!"

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

Shen Fan's mouth twitched as he listened. Weren't they obviously mocking him?

Li An, standing nearby, flushed red. He opened his mouth several times, wanting to urge Senior Brother Shen to stop practicing the Three Yuan Art, but when he saw that Shen Fan wasn't bothered by what others said, he eventually gave up.

Once the onlookers finished mocking him and saw that Shen Fan remained unmoved, they lost interest and scattered.

But one of them stood watching Shen Fan practice in silence, then shook his head and thought, So this guy's name is Shen Fan. I didn't expect him to become a formal disciple too. What a pity—he chose to practice a health cultivation method and give up all those superior martial arts. What a fool!

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

Chen Chong was deeply dissatisfied with Shen Fan's choice, but he still couldn't help advising him. "Junior Brother Shen, health cultivation methods have no future. Don't lose your way!"

The accomplished could teach the less accomplished. Chen Chong considered himself to be at a higher level than Shen Fan, so his words carried a somewhat preachy tone.

But Shen Fan would never let others dictate his choices. He was about to ignore him.

Then the voice struck him as familiar. He looked up and saw that it was the Little Genius, Chen Chong!

So Shen Fan replied politely, "I know, so there's no need for Senior Brother Chen to worry about me!"

It was clear Shen Fan hadn't taken his advice to heart. Chen Chong grew a little angry. Ever since becoming a disciple, his Martial Path had advanced at astonishing speed.

He had left many senior brothers who had joined before him in the dust. Chen Chong was confident that in just one year, he would reach Muscle Refining and become one of the best among the formal disciples.

The other disciples all admired him, and usually treated him with great respect. Who dared speak to him like that?

But today, Shen Fan had actually treated him this way. He really didn't know how to appreciate kindness!

The angrier Chen Chong grew, the more he thought about it. But remembering the Martial Hall's rules, he held himself back, let out a cold snort, and left.

His reaction left Shen Fan, still standing there, utterly baffled.

"Did that guy take the wrong medicine? I don't think I've offended him. Why does he suddenly seem to have such a big problem with me? How strange!"

Shen Fan muttered to himself, but didn't dwell on it. To him, Chen Chong was just a passerby. He really didn't want to waste too much time on him.

If Shen Fan had known what Chen Chong was thinking, he probably would have scoffed: Putting a face mask on the Pacific Ocean? What an enormous ego!

If Shen Fan had known that Chen Chong still needed another year to break through to Muscle Refining, he probably would have mocked his talent even more. After all, he was confident he could reach Great Accomplishment in his fist art and break through to Muscle Refining within half a year.

Didn't that mean his aptitude had already surpassed the Little Genius Chen Chong's by quite a bit?

Shen Fan didn't give it much thought. He continued practicing the Three Yuan Art. Other people's opinions meant nothing to him; only what he earned through his own efforts was real.