"Bow!?"
Chu Ge was taken aback. His master had just been praising him as a senior over and over, and he'd been feeling pretty good about it. Now, though, he was speechless.
Who bowed to himself?
Seeing Chu Ge's expression, Hu Xuezhi assumed he was unwilling. He laughed and scolded, "I'm not asking you to bow for nothing. It's still uncertain whether you'll even meet that senior. If you do, bow a few times. It might do you some good."
He paused, then continued, "I'm a cripple now, too. If you really want the fourth chapter of the Tiger Crouching Technique, keep it for yourself. You don't need to return it.
"I heard from that Wang Family girl that you sold off your family's possessions. Are you planning to go to the prefectural city with her?"
"Go. The prefectural city would be a good place for you. If you have Spiritual Aptitude, perhaps you'll become someone important one day. And don't let that Wang girl down."
"Master, where is all this coming from?"
Chu Ge stared at Hu Xuezhi, bewildered as he rambled on.
Had his master been beaten stupid yesterday? What was he going on about, imagining all this nonsense?
Hu Xuezhi shot Chu Ge a sidelong glance and tapped his pipe. "You and that Wang girl are well matched. What's there to be embarrassed about?
"Forget it. I won't go on. My Tiger Crouching Technique was passed down from the Flying Tiger Family in Jiangcheng Prefecture. If you have Spiritual Aptitude one day, you could try joining them.
"Back then, I... Ah, I had no choice but to leave because I lacked Spiritual Aptitude."
"The Flying Tiger Family in Jiangcheng Prefecture? I wonder how they compare to the Yun Family."
Curious, Chu Ge asked.
"Flying Tiger Family is naturally stronger," Hu Xuezhi replied. "After all, they have three experts in the Force Condensation Realm—one more than the Yun Family."
"Three."
Chu Ge mulled it over. "Master, there's something I've always wondered. How can two people in the Force Condensation Realm establish a great lineage and control so many resources?
"They even gather large numbers of Mortal Realm martial artists, some of whom have Spiritual Aptitude and can become members of their outer lineage. It's as if they're granting them a favor.
"If I have Spiritual Aptitude, can't I cultivate to the Force Condensation Realm on my own? Why should I live under someone else's roof?"
"Hahahaha!" Hu Xuezhi suddenly burst into laughter. He choked on his smoke several times, coughing until his pale face turned red.
Pointing his pipe at Chu Ge, he laughed. "You brat, you're just like I used to be: you don't know how high the heavens are, and your heart reaches for the sky.
"You need to understand that having Spiritual Aptitude doesn't mean you can really cultivate into a Force Condensation Realm expert."
"Oh?" Chu Ge's heart stirred, and he looked eager to hear more.
Hu Xuezhi sighed. "This world isn't fair. Spiritual Aptitude has its own gradations, good and bad.
"The vast majority of people don't have high aptitude. Those with middling or poor aptitude have very little hope of breaking through to the Force Condensation Realm on their own.
"But if they can obtain powerful cultivation techniques from a great lineage or sect, then even with mediocre aptitude, they can temper their bodies through those techniques and draw in more energy from heaven and earth to strengthen themselves. In the end, they may cleanse their marrow and cast off the mortal shell, stepping into the Force Condensation Realm."
Hu Xuezhi looked at Chu Ge. "Tell me, if you cultivate on your own, where are you going to get those powerful techniques? The reason these great lineages flourish and attract followers is that they control the techniques.
"For example, the Tiger Crouching Technique I learned is only a simplified Mortal Realm version of the Flying Tiger Family's powerful technique.
"In other words, even if you manage to get a technique, the great lineages and sects control vast resources, such as famous rivers and mountains rich in energy. You're an outsider. How are you going to get in and cultivate?"
"I see. The great lineages and sects control wealth, companions, techniques, and sacred grounds—and with them, they can control most people."
Chu Ge nodded. "In that case, the Yun Family should be able to cultivate quite a few people into the Force Condensation Realm. Why—"
"It's not that easy. Most people have middling or poor aptitude, and cultivation resources are precious."
Hu Xuezhi shook his head dismissively. "Even with a top-tier sect's techniques, very few people of middling or poor aptitude can reach the Force Condensation Realm. It takes a great deal of resources.
"The Yun Family's techniques aren't top-tier, either. Why would they spend so many resources cultivating people with that kind of aptitude? Even their own clan members have to pass a strict selection process."
"In the end, those with middling or poor aptitude who can't break through to the Force Condensation Realm may still be granted secret energy techniques and spirit weapons. They can then fight far better than ordinary Blood Exchange Realm martial artists—for example, that Lord Lin of the Demon Suppressing Division."
"I see."
Chu Ge felt his spirits sink. He could use a bowl of cold liangpi right about now.
So having Spiritual Aptitude didn't amount to much. One needed to have sufficiently high aptitude, too.
But most people in this world had only middling or poor aptitude.
Hu Xuezhi tapped the ash from his pipe. "Those demonic martial artists I mentioned earlier are pitiable, too. Their Spiritual Aptitude isn't good enough, so they turn to the demonic path to force their way into the Force Condensation Realm.
"Good disciple, remember this: never follow their example. The demonic path shortens your life! A person should just live long and be happy."
"Yes, disciple will remember."
Chu Ge stepped forward and refilled Hu Xuezhi's pipe with tobacco. Then, without drawing attention to it, he slipped him a Silver Note worth one thousand taels. "Master, you don't need to repay me for the true manual of the Tiger Crouching Technique. Please accept this money as a small token of your disciple's respect."
After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, Chu Ge left the Tiger Martial Arts School, escorted by several junior disciples.
Hu Xuezhi had refused the fourth chapter of the Tiger Crouching Technique's true manual. That was the same as giving up the inheritance, no longer expecting any of the school's disciples to reach the Bone Training Realm and learn the fourth chapter.
The true manual was not only worth a great deal; it was also a stepping stone that could one day open the door to the Flying Tiger Family in Jiangcheng Prefecture.
For that reason, Chu Ge had left Hu Xuezhi a sum of money as a token of respect.
Though he himself was the "senior" Hu Xuezhi wanted to thank, one matter was one matter.
The information Hu Xuezhi had shared with him was also unavailable in Linyuan City, and it was useful to him.
By the time Chu Ge left the Tiger Martial Arts School, it was already noon. Smoke rose in the distance, from the western outskirts beyond the city.
The people who had died horribly last night were probably being cremated and buried.
Chu Ge stopped and watched for a while, unable to help thinking of the little girl who had died so horribly yesterday.
Perhaps a coroner would sew the girl's body back together. At least then, she wouldn't have to become a headless little ghost underground, crying without being able to find her eyes.
Dawn had come, but darkness still lingered in this world.
He suddenly felt the Dragon Clock tattoo on his wrist grow slightly warm, and realized that an item had finished refining.
He immediately stepped into an alley off the street and discreetly checked.
The old objects Wang Xiuyun had given him the day before yesterday had all finished refining, turning into more than eighty wisps of energy and replenishing what he had lost.
He had lost quite a bit of energy over the past few days through cultivation and the use of all kinds of unorthodox items, leaving him with just over a hundred and twenty wisps.
Now, with more than eighty wisps replenished, his stored energy had risen to two hundred and ten. He had grown rich in an instant.
Besides the more than twenty old objects that had finished refining, the large Flying Head Zombie had also finished. To Chu Ge's surprise, the Dragon Clock displayed its specific information.
"Why did the large Flying Head Zombie finish refining so quickly? The little one isn't even done yet. That's unexpected. Did my Dragon Clock pull an all-nighter to get the job done?"
As Chu Ge focused on it, the information on the refined large Flying Head Zombie appeared in the center of the Dragon Clock.
"Essence Wraith: Description: (An essence wraith refined from a Flying Head Zombie created by a curse master. Extremely rare, and far beyond an ordinary little ghost. It is the key core through which the Soul Chasing Old Man controls Flying Head Zombies. It excels at possession, phasing through walls, bewitchment, and infusing energy.
"Maintaining control requires two wisps of energy every day for feeding. Using the essence wraith's abilities consumes even more energy.)"
After reading the information displayed on the Dragon Clock, Chu Ge couldn't help feeling puzzled.
Once the large Flying Head Zombie had finished refining, this was all it produced?
Then the small Flying Head Zombie might only yield a Refined Imp in the end.
He even suspected that the Dragon Clock had skimmed a hefty cut.
"An essence wraith. You could call it a ghostly spirit, I suppose. The Dragon Clock decided this was the most valuable part of the large Flying Head Zombie.
"That doesn't seem wrong, since it's the core that controls the big Flying Head Zombie. It's just that the cost of maintaining control... is too high."
After hesitating for a moment, Chu Ge decided to go back and try it out first.
He had a lot more energy now, anyway. He would first try controlling one of these supposedly rare essence wraiths.
If it didn't seem worth it, he could always take control of it and then sacrifice it to convert it into energy. A man from a merchant lineage wouldn't make a losing deal...
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