It Wasn't Too Late

Li Ji'an's spirits, which had been somewhat low, suddenly lifted.

"Dragon-Tiger Visage?"

After ten years at the Martial Arts Academy in his previous life, he had gained an almost complete understanding of this world's martial arts.

Martial arts in this world placed particular emphasis on Root Bone, after all, it was the accumulated experience verified by generations of people over the past hundred years.

Beyond upper-, middle-, and lower-grade Root Bone, there were even better ones: rare Root Bone that had produced Immortal Sprouts. These kinds of Root Bone all possessed certain special characteristics and were given specific names.

The "Dragon-Tiger Visage" mentioned by the bone-reading master was the type of Root Bone and physique with the greatest potential in the martial arts world of the Immortal Bestowed Dynasty. In the past hundred-plus years, nearly eighty percent of those with such Root Bone had either become Immortal Sprouts or, at the very least, reached the pinnacle of martial arts in this world.

Was this the effect of starting Marrow Cleansing and Bone Strengthening at the age of eight in this life? Li Ji'an suppressed his excitement and thought it over carefully.

By the looks of it, this body of mine should have decent talent, too. Add the high-quality Marrow Cleansing and Bone Strengthening I've diligently undergone since the age of eight, and that explains the result.

The bone-reading master's old face flushed red. He stopped paying attention to anything else, squeezed his eyes shut, and used both hands, feeling his way over nearly every inch as if afraid of missing the slightest detail.

"Oh! How could this be? This... what a waste of Heaven's gifts!"

Suddenly, the old master cried out in alarm and snapped his eyes open.

"Hm?" Li Ji'an's breathing hitched, too.

Couldn't the old man stop lurching from one extreme to another? Couldn't he wait until he was certain before speaking?

"May I ask, senior, what about my..."

"Lad, were you short of food and clothing as a child? Did you lack oil and salt?" The bone-reading master looked at Li Ji'an with what seemed like profound pity, yet still couldn't bring himself to take his hands off him.

Li Ji'an nodded silently.

This had always been one of the things that troubled him.

"Returning to childhood" could only take him back to the age of eight. The body he'd had before turning eight had lived through the same days he had before awakening his past-life memories. He could change what happened after he turned eight, but not what came before.

And before he turned eight, although his parents had doted on him, they were country folk in the mountains. They'd spent all their strength just keeping food on the table. How could they have hoped for rich food with plenty of oil, salt, calcium, and protein?

"What a pity, what a pity! If you'd started taking supplements as a child, you'd most likely have grown into a 'Dragon-Tiger Visage' without a hitch. But now, your foundation is lacking, and you're ultimately a little short. You've also already passed the ideal time for Marrow Cleansing and Meridian Washing. Even if you got your hands on the Divine Pill and Precious Medicine for Marrow Cleansing and Meridian Washing right now, it would be too late." The bone-reading master sighed heavily, looking even more heartbroken than Li Ji'an himself.

"..." Li Ji'an didn't rush to react. He quietly waited to see if the old man had more to say.

"Still... though you fall short of Dragon-Tiger, you do have a Wild Sparrow Physique. If you set aside hopes of becoming an Immortal Sprout, you could still strive to become a Qi and Blood Grandmaster, establish a Martial Family, and make your name ring across the land." The bone-reading master gave his final assessment, and his gaze toward Li Ji'an now held a measure of deference, even ingratiation.

Li Ji'an raised an eyebrow slightly. He was already very satisfied with this result.

As for that Divine Pill and Immortal Treasure for Marrow Cleansing and Meridian Washing he'd mentioned... too late?

For me, that wasn't necessarily true!

Before long, the bone-reading master personally escorted the two youths, both of whom had received excellent assessments for their temperament, to the training grounds.

The first step after entering the academy was choosing an instructor.

It was a two-way choice.

The apprentices hoped to find an experienced instructor to teach them martial arts.

The instructors, in turn, relied on their apprentices for their performance reviews.

When he had come here at the age of thirty in his previous life, if the newly arrived Instructor Wu hadn't been willing to take him on, he might have ended up as an unaffiliated apprentice.

"Oh, we've got new faces. Master Wan, what kind of Root Bone do they have? How's their temperament?"

As soon as the three entered the training grounds, several instructors looked over.

Even Ma Yuan, the Gold Medal Instructor, who had been relaxing with a drink beneath a pavilion and hadn't been paying much attention, looked over when he saw Old Wan personally bringing people in.

He now only needed to produce one more martial candidate who could enter the Prefectural City Immortal Seeking Academy to be promoted to Head Instructor, receive a Ninth-Rank Official Position, and become a true official.

However, Shangyi County was an insignificant little county among the three cities and eighteen counties. Finding a promising candidate who could place in the top thirty before the age of fifteen was like searching for a needle in the ocean—not easy at all.

"Ha ha ha! I've brought you all some promising young talents. As for whom they choose in the end, that depends on how you perform." Old Wan laughed smugly, making no attempt to hide his confidence.

"Hm? Old Wan says they're promising?" All eight instructors were intrigued, and seven of them hurried forward.

Ma Yuan, the Gold Medal Instructor, jolted to attention. He hurriedly told the apprentice serving him to clear away the food and wine from the pavilion, so they wouldn't ruin his image in front of the newcomers. Then, after composing himself, he quickly went over.

"This young man has upper-grade Root Bone and excellent temperament," Old Wan said, keeping it brief and lowering his voice.

"Ah! Just as I thought. If Master Wan praises him, he must have upper-grade Root Bone." The seven instructors looked at Qingyun like wolves eyeing a white rabbit.

"Young master, I'm a veteran instructor at our Martial Arts Academy. I've taught here for twenty years and have plenty of experience. Two of my students have entered the Prefectural City Immortal Seeking Academy. If you join my tutelage, I'll impart everything I know and make sure you get in."

"I have plenty of experience as well, and I've reached the Bone Forging Realm, the third realm of Body Tempering. I can teach you Skin Grinding to prepare for the Martial Arts Exam, and I can also lay the groundwork for Bone Forging from the very beginning, ensuring you go further on the path of martial arts."

Except for the first, most experienced instructor, the other five were a beat slower.

It wasn't that they were slow to react; it was simply that the Martial Arts Academy hadn't seen an apprentice with such excellent talent in both aspects for two years.

Besides, apprentices usually found connections ahead of time and tried to join their tutelage. It had been a long time since the instructors had competed to recruit an apprentice like this.

"Silence! What sort of behavior is this? We instructors are here to impart knowledge, teach skills, and answer questions. How can you make a racket like market vendors and debase yourselves?" After the six had scrambled to praise themselves, Ma Yuan finally rebuked them in a low voice.

As the instructor most likely to be promoted to Head Instructor, Ma Yuan might have rankled the others, but they didn't dare offend him to his face.

After sweeping his gaze over the six with an air of official authority, Ma Yuan nodded with satisfaction. Then he turned to Qingyun and smiled knowingly. "Young friend, don't be afraid. I am Ma Yuan, the only Gold Medal Instructor at the Shangyi County Martial Arts Academy. I've taught for twenty-eight years and personally sent nine students to the Prefectural City Immortal Seeking Academy. Train under me, and I guarantee nothing will go wrong with your Martial Arts Exam two years from now. I should also emphasize that I give geniuses special care and extra resources."

"..." Shameless.

The six instructors, who had just swallowed their anger after Ma Yuan's reprimand, were taken aback. They looked at him with even greater disdain.

Qingyun looked at Ma Yuan with an expressionless face, his attitude no different from the way he'd regarded the six instructors before. Then he turned to look at Li Ji'an.

A faint, inscrutable smile appeared on Li Ji'an's face.

In his previous life, he'd spent a great deal of time and money trying to find a good mentor, and Ma Yuan had been one of his targets.

As a result, Ma Yuan had freeloaded off him, eating and drinking at his expense. Not only had he turned his back on Li Ji'an, but in a situation just like this one, he'd also mocked and belittled him while boosting himself up.

If Li Ji'an hadn't already been through so much back then, with a will of iron, he might have been so ashamed he'd wanted the ground to swallow him up, and his martial resolve might have crumbled on the spot.

Ma Yuan's serious demeanor, his righteous attitude, and his constant refrain of "I'm only doing this for your own good"... especially those cutting remarks that seemed to be made on behalf of the Martial Arts Academy and in Li Ji'an's own interest, remained fresh in his memory.

Still, fifteen years had passed. Li Ji'an had no intention of holding it against him. The longer you lived, the more you saw—and there were plenty of people like him in this world.