Before the wooden cabin.
Fang Hong stood bare-chested, with nothing but a tattered pair of shorts hanging from his waist.
His body had already returned to normal, but his clothes had burst apart and shredded during that full-force eruption just now.
He was currently baring his teeth and rubbing the bruises on his body.
Fang Hong looked rather miserable at the moment.
His left eye socket was black and purple, while his body was covered in patches of blue and purple bruises.
As he rubbed himself, Fang Hong looked at Zhao Tianchen with a face full of grievance.
"Master, are you unable to take a joke?"
"Didn't you say I could attack with everything I had, and that you would keep your strength under control?"
"Why are you taking revenge afterward?"
Hearing Fang Hong's words, Zhao Tianchen could not help blushing with embarrassment, though he still stubbornly refused to admit it.
"What revenge? Am I that kind of person?"
"And who said I didn't control my strength?"
"What? You're allowed to attack with all your might, but others aren't allowed to fight back?"
"Do you think every opponent you face in the future will be a corpse?"
Zhao Tianchen raised his brows and retorted stubbornly.
In truth, Zhao Tianchen was incomparably shocked inside.
He had long since prepared himself mentally for Fang Hong's powerful vitality and blood.
He knew Fang Hong's true strength was definitely far beyond the surface-level completion of the Viscera Refinement realm.
Yet even though he had already raised his expectations of Fang Hong's strength in his heart, he had still underestimated him.
He had never imagined that his disciple's true strength would be so terrifying.
It was unimaginable!
He was simply too monstrous!
Just now, Fang Hong had not concealed anything at all and had directly unleashed his strongest full-force strike.
Meanwhile, Zhao Tianchen had been somewhat careless and had underestimated Fang Hong's strength beforehand.
As a result, Fang Hong had sent him flying with a single blow.
He had not been injured.
But it was still astonishing enough—so astonishing that it had even left Zhao Tianchen startled.
Though he had been shocked at the time, he truly could not keep up appearances.
He had confidently told Fang Hong to attack with all his strength, only to be sent flying in one blow.
That really made it difficult for his old face to hold up.
So once he recovered his senses, he immediately pinned Fang Hong down and gave him a thorough beating.
Calling it, in the nicest possible terms, helping Fang Hong familiarize himself in advance with the battles of the upcoming Sect Grand Competition.
Fang Hong's strength was formidable when he erupted with full force.
But how could he possibly be a match for this old monster, who had no respect for his age and had raised his strength without regard for their prior agreement?
He could only be pitifully and helplessly beaten up by him.
Fang Hong curled his lips, speechless. "Master, do you take me for a fool?"
"When you beat me up afterward, you didn't increase your strength?"
"I may not have seen much of the world, but don't try to fool me. Could the strength you showed then belong to an ordinary mid-stage Earth Realm cultivator?"
"Do you dare say you weren't deliberately taking revenge and using public office for private vengeance?"
Fang Hong complained bitterly.
"You rebellious disciple, you still dare falsely accuse your master?"
"It seems my teachings have not been thorough enough."
Zhao Tianchen blew his beard and glared.
Hearing that, Fang Hong decisively admitted defeat. "No, that's enough—more than enough. I've already fully experienced Master's teachings."
"I think I'll need a long time afterward to properly digest Master's teachings."
Fang Hong had only entered the sect recently and had only been Zhao Tianchen's disciple for a few days.
But after all, they lived together and saw each other day and night.
He had more or less figured out Zhao Tianchen's personality and temper.
This old man was thick-skinned and black-hearted, and he cared deeply about face.
If Fang Hong did not back down, another beating was probably waiting for him.
This was Fang Hong's first time taking a master.
He did not know whether this sort of master-disciple relationship between himself and Zhao Tianchen was normal.
Were the other masters and disciples of the Star River Sect also like him and Zhao Tianchen?
But Fang Hong himself felt that his relationship with Zhao Tianchen had progressed extremely quickly—one could even say at breakneck speed.
In just a few days, they had somehow developed a rather close feeling.
He did not know whether it was because the "talent" he had displayed was high enough, or because he was Zhao Tianchen's hope for making up for his regrets.
Fang Hong did not know either.
But he thought this closeness between himself and Zhao Tianchen was quite nice.
In fact, it was not just him. Zhao Tianchen felt the same way.
His relationship with Fang Hong had grown close far too quickly.
They had clearly known each other for only a few short days, so why did it feel as though they had been master and disciple for decades?
The reason was not far from Fang Hong's guess.
Because Fang Hong was his hope for making up for past regrets and for cultivating the cultivation method created by his own son, Zhao Tianchen attached immense importance and care to him.
Secondly, after witnessing Fang Hong's terrifying and unbelievable "talent."
Zhao Tianchen knew very well that Fang Hong would likely break through to the Heaven Realm before long and become someone on the same level as himself.
Thus, Zhao Tianchen had never treated Fang Hong with any air of superiority.
Nor did he deliberately put on airs or assume the posture of a master.
Instead, he regarded Fang Hong as an equal.
Coupled with some other factors.
Zhao Tianchen himself had not noticed that, without realizing it, he had placed some of the feelings he held for his deceased son onto Fang Hong.
Part master and friend, part father and son, part elder brother and younger brother.
That was why their relationship had become close so quickly and progressed so rapidly.
"Alright, stop talking nonsense."
Seeing Fang Hong's aggrieved, frustrated expression, Zhao Tianchen happily waved his hand.
"I've more or less seen through your strength."
"Your current strength should have already reached the seventh level of the Earth Realm."
"Even if you do nothing now, and even if you do not need the methods I previously prepared to arrange opponents for you, your current strength is enough to enter the top ten."
"You should know that Myriad Star Peak's fourth True Disciple is only at the seventh level of the Earth Realm."
"Your current strength is no weaker than his."
As he spoke, Zhao Tianchen's eyes were filled with delight.
Why had none of the disciples he had taken in before ever been as worry-free as this one?
"However, your martial technique level seems rather low, and that has limited your strength to a certain extent."
"Once I teach you a few martial techniques, your strength will definitely rise by a great deal."
As he spoke, Zhao Tianchen turned and entered the wooden cabin to retrieve a manual.
Meanwhile, Fang Hong sighed to himself. How could it not be low? My offensive martial technique is only at the Bone Refinement level.
He had been in the sect for too short a time. Apart from the Southern Dipper Body Shaping Method yesterday, he had not cultivated any other cultivation methods or martial techniques.
But being a big shot's disciple was great.
Whatever you lacked, the big shot immediately helped you make up for it.
He had heard that ordinary disciples in the Star River Sect had to complete missions, earn merit points, and exchange them at the Cultivation Method Pavilion if they wanted to cultivate other cultivation methods.
Even then, they could only exchange for relatively ordinary martial techniques and cultivation methods.
Without considerable achievements, they basically could not exchange for those truly profound cultivation methods.
Because the merit points those cultivation methods required were simply far too many.
Yet now, Fang Hong merely had martial techniques of too low a level.
His master immediately went to fetch some for him.
The difference between the two was truly like heaven and earth, enough to make one sigh.
Meanwhile, Zhao Tianchen entered the wooden cabin.
After taking a somewhat old martial technique manual from his room.
He pulled open the collar of his clothes and looked at the faint little white mark on his chest, which was already nearly invisible.
A look of amazement surfaced in his eyes once more.
It had been left behind by Fang Hong's attack just now.
Although it had not even broken through his defenses, and although he had been overly careless at the time, underestimated Fang Hong, and restrained his own strength.
It was still extraordinarily impressive.
He was in the Heaven Realm.
The gap between the Heaven Realm and the Earth Realm was something those who had not broken through to the Heaven Realm could never understand.
It was not merely a difference in strength, but a difference in the level of life itself.
Just as the words implied.
Breaking through from the Earth Realm into the Heaven Realm was a single step to heaven!
Yet Fang Hong was only at the completion of Viscera Refinement, and he could already leave such a faint white mark on Zhao Tianchen's body.
That was already enough to show just how terrifying Fang Hong's strength was.
Even if Zhao Tianchen told others, they probably would not believe him.
Thinking of this, Zhao Tianchen shook his head and smiled again.
Having a disciple whose talent was too monstrously terrifying was also troubling.
And more importantly, should he hurry up and beat his disciple a few more times?
Otherwise, it probably would not be long.
Before long, he might not even be Fang Hong's match.
At that thought, Zhao Tianchen laughed to himself.
Shaking his head, Zhao Tianchen took the martial technique manual and walked out of the wooden cabin.
Under the sunlight, four ancient characters could be seen printed on the cover of that old manual.
"Seven Star Seal Method"!!
Before you continue