City Lord

A few days later, after thoroughly assessing the aptitude and willpower of the four individuals through various basic training exercises, Liu Tian abandoned his plan to cultivate them into talents through Secret Martial Arts and instead embarked on a different path.

"Effort is an important part of personal growth, but direction is equally crucial."

"These past few days, I've seen your willpower and determination, and understood your potential. Now, it's time to officially teach you Secret Martial Arts..."

As he spoke, Liu Tian paused, seriously contemplating how to tactfully convey that they were not suited for martial arts.

Although the tuition fee Liu Tian charged was quite low, merely the right to view one thousand different ancient artifacts from the Lost Empire per person.

But since he had agreed to this matter, Liu Tian naturally intended to do a good job, and do it wholeheartedly—however, if one hundred was considered a perfect score for martial arts talent, the average talent of Liu Wenqian, Bai He, Li Hua, and Chen Qichao was around forty, with the highest not exceeding fifty.

None of them passed!

They weren't even as good as Liu Tian before he improved his talent.

Such poor talent only meant that their families' decision to give up on them learning martial arts was quite correct.

"Actually, you are not suited for practicing Secret Martial Arts," Liu Tian decided after a long consideration. "Your talent is at the level of ordinary people, and some of you are even below average."

"Li Hua, the most talented among you, had extremely poor foundations because he completely gave up on martial arts training. Wenqian, the least talented, although he trained diligently, is actually just average. Overall, your strength is basically the same, roughly equivalent to a rural goose."

"I think—barring any surprises—you have no hope of relying on martial arts to make a living in this lifetime."

Completely unfazed by their gradually dejected expressions, Liu Tian shrugged and changed the subject. "But what era is this? Becoming stronger doesn't necessarily mean sticking to the path of Secret Martial Arts. Second Uncle set a very good example."

"Although his talent is only slightly better than yours, Second Uncle's current strength is not to be underestimated." As he spoke, Liu Tian took out a few books from his bosom, flicked his wrist, and sent the books into their hands, two in each hand, one on the left and one on the right. "Therefore, if you want to become stronger, you cannot rely solely on Secret Martial Arts."

Having grown accustomed to this over the past few days, they would not stop their horse stance without Liu Tian's permission, and because of this, they could only see the covers.

The book in their left hand read "Flowing Dragon Steps," and the book in their right hand read "Firearms Mastery." The calligraphy on the two books was different; the one on the left was flamboyant, while the one on the right was neat and orderly, clearly from two different people.

"The books in your left hands are a simple Secret Martial Art I created for you these past few days."

Flowing Dragon Steps was a martial art Liu Tian created in his spare time whenever he had a moment. It was a simplified version of Shadow Seeking Dragon Step, incorporating some essential elements of Thunder Hand, and excelled at dodging within a small area.

Through his own hard work, Liu Tian had now surpassed the realm of the creator of Shadow Seeking Dragon Step, making it easy to simplify a martial art. Furthermore, with Heavenly Martial Killing Dao, which was born from the fusion of countless Secret Martial Arts, as a reference, it was even easier to fuse and create.

Although it was called simple, it was simple from Liu Tian's perspective. In normal times, it could be considered a decent, specialized Secret Martial Art.

"Flowing Dragon Steps can enhance your agility, making you move faster and react more quickly. It's especially good at dodging in confined spaces, and it's easy to learn, easy to practice, and easy to improve. You just need to put in time and resources to hone it, which is very suitable for you," Liu Tian explained before they could ask. "Flowing Dragon Steps has a total of nine forms and sixty-three moves. With flexible combinations, it's enough to deal with various scenarios such as flat ground, cluttered rooms, forests, and grasslands. If you practice it proficiently, you don't have to worry about being shot unless you're surrounded by three to five gunmen."

"As for Firearms Mastery, that was written by my Second Uncle. It compiles his research on firearms and some training methods over the years—I thought about it, and since you're not really suited for becoming stronger through Secret Martial Arts, you might as well practice firearms."

"After all, under normal circumstances, a gun is faster than a person seven steps away, and seven steps away, a gun is both accurate and fast, which is much better than you struggling to practice martial arts."

"Starting today, you will practice Secret Martial Arts in the morning and firearms in the afternoon. I will be here for another month and a half. Within a month, you need to build a solid foundation. After a month, I will take you hunting in the mountains and forests to hone your skills."

"And what you can eat after a month will depend on what you manage to hunt. If you don't catch anything, you'll be eating hard black bread—the kind that's so hard it could kill someone—so don't even think about slacking off."

"Tian'er."

Just as Liu Tian was lecturing the four, Liu Yun walked in, his expression a mixture of excitement and fear, with a hint of confusion. Following closely behind him was Liu Zhengde, who had not yet taken his leave, but looked quite pleased.

Upon seeing Liu Tian, the two hurried over excitedly. "Still teaching martial arts? We have something here, and your father wants to consult your opinion."

"?Alright," Liu Tian raised an eyebrow at their expressions and agreed, then turned to instruct, "You all look at the books first and familiarize yourselves with their contents. Don't practice yet; wait until I get back to practice properly."

"Son! You're here!"

The three quickly walked to a deserted guest room nearby. The matter was important, and even their mother, Sophie, who had been reluctant to move around after giving birth, was holding their daughter and waiting. As soon as she saw the three push the door open, Sophie waved and said. As if sensing her mother's joy, the increasingly plump Little Hua in her arms also giggled.

"Mom! Hey, did Xiao Hua miss me?"

Liu Tian took three quick steps to his mother's side, habitually taking Xiao Hua and gently teasing her with his finger. In fact, as long as he didn't have to raise them himself, he quite liked newborns, let alone those he was related to.

Liu Zhengde, who was trailing behind, turned his head and beckoned. Guards then stood outside the door, and he closed it afterward.

"So formal? What's the matter?" Liu Tian blinked and asked. "This is the first time I've seen Dad with that expression. Go on, you need to consult my opinion..."

"An imperial decree has arrived from the palace," Liu Yun took a deep breath. "It says that your Second Uncle is to be appointed the City Lord of Pei Commandery, and I am to be additionally hired as a Naval Instructor."

"?Are you kidding me? Second Uncle becoming City Lord is one thing, but you becoming a Naval Instructor, Dad? Teaching what? Whale hunting?" Liu Tian chuckled in disbelief and extended his hand. "Okay, I understand. It's related to my senior brother Bai Cinan, right? If you can't beat him, recruit him; if you can't recruit him, join him. The usual tactic—Where is the imperial decree? Let me see it?"