A figure walked inside.
Only then did Chen Xuan finally see the full layout of Overlord Blade Martial Hall. It was roughly a large four-courtyard residence, with a huge martial arts field immediately past the entrance.
There were not many people in the martial arts field at the moment.
"Today's practice has already ended, so there aren't many people. In the morning or afternoon, there are still quite a few."
Seeing the confusion in Chen Xuan's eyes, the burly man explained.
"Thank you, big brother!"
Chen Xuan hurriedly thanked him.
"Just call me Senior Brother. Since you brought Tiger Heart, Master will take you in!"
The burly man spoke in a dull, muffled voice.
"Then thank you, Senior Brother!"
Chen Xuan smiled and nodded.
After that, the two did not speak again.
The burly man pulled the flatbed cart while Chen Xuan walked alongside him.
A short while later, the two arrived at the inner quarters.
As soon as he entered, Chen Xuan saw the old man in the wheelchair, as well as the pretty figure attending him at the side.
"Master, Eldest Senior Sister, I've brought him!"
Bang!
The flatbed cart was set down as the burly man spoke to Xie Qingshan and Xie Yunhua at the head of the room.
"Tie Zhu, go back and practice martial arts. There's nothing else for you to do here."
Xie Qingshan nodded, then waved at Tie Zhu.
"Yes, Master!"
The burly man nodded, then left through the door.
His figure departed.
Only Chen Xuan, Xie Qingshan, and Xie Yunhua remained in the room.
Xie Qingshan gave Chen Xuan a brief appraisal. His expression carried some surprise, but he still spoke.
"I don't know where you got the news, but since I said it, I will naturally honor it. Starting today, you will be an apprentice of Overlord Blade Martial Hall for the next year. If you complete Skin Refining, the Blood Refining Manual will naturally be opened to you as well. But there is something I must make clear."
Xie Qingshan lightly tapped the armrest as he slowly spoke.
"Please speak plainly, Hall Master!"
Chen Xuan nodded and replied solemnly.
"If you cannot condense qi and blood within a year, then you must leave. Nor may you claim to be an apprentice of Overlord Blade Martial Hall."
Xie Qingshan spoke slowly, his eyes narrowing.
"Understood!"
Chen Xuan nodded and agreed at once.
Having gone through trial after trial with his Conceptual Ability, he naturally understood this issue.
For him, it was naturally not a problem.
"It's good that you understand."
"Then leave. Starting tomorrow, come every day during the morning hour. The martial hall will teach you the methods of Skin Refining."
Xie Qingshan nodded and waved his hand.
Yet Chen Xuan did not move when he waved.
"What, is there something else?"
Xie Qingshan frowned and spoke with puzzlement.
"Hall Master, I have now reached the peak of Skin Refining. May I view the Blood Refining Manual?"
Hearing Xie Qingshan's words, Chen Xuan drew a deep breath before slowly speaking.
"You've reached the peak of Skin Refining?"
Xie Qingshan paused slightly, somewhat surprised.
"Yes, Hall Master. I have already reached the peak of Skin Refining."
Chen Xuan nodded.
"Come here. Let me take a look!"
Xie Qingshan said.
"Yes!"
Chen Xuan nodded and stepped forward.
The instant he came forward, Xie Qingshan reached out and placed a hand directly on Chen Xuan's body.
The rough palm landing on him made Chen Xuan feel somewhat uncomfortable, but he endured it and did not dodge.
Only after Xie Qingshan had felt him over from top to bottom did he nod slightly.
"You have indeed completed Skin Refining. Your bones and flesh have also improved to a certain extent."
"Fine. Yunhua, bring it over."
Xie Qingshan nodded, then spoke to Xie Yunhua beside him.
"Yes, Father!"
Xie Yunhua answered. She glanced at Chen Xuan, then headed outside.
Only after Xie Yunhua left did Xie Qingshan turn his gaze toward Chen Xuan.
"Completing Skin Refining at fourteen is quite good. It seems you have an inheritance as well. I presume I needn't say much about the Martial Path Road."
"Since that is the case, whether you can comprehend True Meaning and condense qi and blood within a year will depend on yourself."
Xie Qingshan spoke after some thought.
Clearly, he had misunderstood the situation.
Chen Xuan felt somewhat awkward in response to Xie Qingshan's words, but he still spoke.
"Um, Hall Master, could you explain the Martial Path Road?"
"I do not know much about the Martial Path Road."
His words carried a trace of embarrassment.
Although he had the Conceptual Ability, the information it obtained clearly required sufficient prerequisites. Though Chen Xuan had continuously experimented and obtained quite a bit of information,
he knew far too little about martial arts. The prerequisites he could provide were naturally very limited, so what he knew was limited as well.
Though he could continue using the Conceptual Ability to obtain relevant information later, if someone could tell him directly, why go through all that trouble?
"You don't know?"
Xie Qingshan froze again, his expression filled with puzzlement.
In his view, since Chen Xuan had completed Skin Refining at such a young age, he had to be the descendant of some major family in the city.
Most of those who had entered Overlord Blade Martial Hall during this period were that sort of person.
After all, for an ordinary person, the chances of hunting a fierce tiger in the deep mountains amid such a great upheaval were truly slim. Only a Lineage with Blood Refining Realm martial artists could possibly manage it.
Though such families lacked True Meaning Diagrams, they certainly understood the path of martial artists.
Yet Chen Xuan was now saying that he did not understand it.
Looking again at Chen Xuan's clothes, Xie Qingshan finally noticed that he was dressed in an extremely plain—or rather, cheap—manner.
He wore hemp cloth, the sort only laborers in the city wore, rather than cotton cloth or the even finer silk.
This stirred something in his heart, and his gaze could not help shifting once more toward the flatbed cart.
A trace of shock involuntarily rose in his heart.
Of course, Chen Xuan did not know of Xie Qingshan's shock at this moment.
Looking at Xie Qingshan, Chen Xuan bowed slightly.
"Please tell me, Hall Master!"
His words were exceedingly sincere.
Seeing Chen Xuan's expression and hearing his words, Xie Qingshan recovered from his shock.
Yet there was still an added trace of surprise in his gaze toward Chen Xuan.
Given the current circumstances, even if Chen Xuan had completed Skin Refining, could enter the deep mountains to hunt a fierce tiger, and return safely, his strength and luck alike were undoubtedly extraordinary.
One had to know that although the Skin Refining Realm counted as the first step on the Martial Path Road, it did not truly count as being a martial artist. It was not much different from an ordinary person, aside from having slightly greater strength.
Ever since the changes began, let alone those in the Skin Refining Realm, even Blood Refining Realm martial artists who entered the mountains to hunt tigers might not return.
After all, tigers lived in the deep mountains, and the dangers there were no longer something to laugh about.
Those strange things meant that without the strength of the Bone Refining Realm—or even the Viscera Refining Realm—there was simply no possibility of escape.
(Clear Wind Stronghold was not in the deep mountains, only on the mountainside, and the changes had not yet spread there.)
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