Taking the Opportunity to Break Free

Zhang Jing has raised his daughter well; she is gentle, polite, diligent, and sensible. She is also very serious when studying, grasping many concepts the moment they are explained.

The reason she is stuck at the Entry Realm and unable to break through to the Minor Achievement Realm is simply because she misunderstood one specific point.

She must have followed someone else's guidance before, but that person lacked the level of mastery that Qin Dongcheng possesses and failed to notice Zhang Ying's error.

Now, after being pointed in the right direction by Qin Dongcheng, she understood almost immediately. It shouldn't take long before she is able to cultivate to the Minor Achievement Realm.

Zhang Ying also fully acknowledged Qin Dongcheng's erudition. She had originally thought her father was just using this as an excuse to let her spend time with Qin Dongcheng to see if a relationship could develop between them.

Regarding her cultivation, Zhang Ying had not held out much hope.

After all, the person who taught her previously was an Official Disciple who had already cultivated the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist to the Minor Achievement Realm, and it was said he was not far from the Major Achievement.

No matter how high Qin Dongcheng's comprehension was, could he really compare to that veteran Official Disciple?

However, facts proved that Qin Dongcheng was indeed more formidable than that veteran Official Disciple, and his understanding of the Mount Tai Body Strengthening Fist also surpassed the other man's.

This increased Zhang Ying's favorable impression of Qin Dongcheng, and she became even more serious during their study sessions, making her much easier to teach compared to other handymen.

After spending a day together, Qin Dongcheng also felt that Zhang Ying was quite good. If not for the fact that he possessed the Heaven Rewards Diligence System and had a future that exceeded anyone's imagination, he might have actually considered spending time with her.

Although this girl was a bit younger than him, she was gentle, sensible, virtuous, generous, and quite intelligent—definitely a good match.

It is said that she has impressive talent in weaving and will likely become a Weaving Apprentice in the future, which can also be called an Artifact Refining Apprentice, as weaving and leatherworking are branches of artifact refining.

With one being an Alchemy Apprentice and the other an Artifact Refining Apprentice, the two would surely be able to live a very comfortable life. It is no wonder Zhang Jing took a liking to him.

However, what Qin Dongcheng did not expect was that after teaching Zhang Ying for the second time, he was intercepted on his way back by a gloomy-looking youth of similar age: "So you're the one who wants to snatch Yingying away from me? That's why Uncle Zhang keeps rejecting me, and why Yingying won't even talk to me anymore."

"Uh..." Qin Dongcheng was speechless: "Are you talking about Zhang Ying? What is your relationship with her?"

"I am Yingying's good friend, the one closest to her. I would have had a chance to marry her if you hadn't jumped into the picture," the gloomy youth said angrily.

Qin Dongcheng was even more speechless. He had only met Zhang Ying twice. He had agreed to guide her only to repay Zhang Jing for his help and had no other intentions toward her. He hadn't expected to be dragged into such a mess.

Too lazy to waste time, he waved his hand and prepared to leave: "Whatever is going on between you and Zhang Ying, go talk to her yourselves. Why are you blocking me? Even if Zhang Jing rejected you and Zhang Ying doesn't want to see you, it has nothing to do with me."

He felt a bit annoyed; being dragged into such a bizarre mess was truly frustrating.

But the gloomy youth refused to let it go, jumping up to grab Qin Dongcheng: "It's all because of you! You actually dare to say it has nothing to do with you? Don't think I'm afraid of you just because you're an Official Disciple. It won't be long before I reach Body Phase Perfection, and then I'll pass the assessment to become an Official Disciple myself."

"Slap..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he was sent flying by a single slap from Qin Dongcheng. A mere Mid-stage Body Phase Martial Artist was nothing in his eyes.

"Get lost!"

Qin Dongcheng couldn't be bothered with this guy; after swatting him away, he left directly.

Upon returning, he continued his cultivation to improve himself. As for the matter with the gloomy youth, he would let Zhang Ying and Zhang Jing handle it tomorrow. Qin Dongcheng did not want to interfere in such trouble.

Moreover, this matter might actually be a good thing. He could take this opportunity to make his attitude clear; otherwise, rejecting them directly would be a bit awkward, as Zhang Jing had helped him quite a bit during this time.

The next day, he found Zhang Jing and asked about the gloomy youth, only then learning that the fellow was an Artifact Refining handyman named Zhen Le, who had arrived only half a year ago.

Because they had some overlap in their work, Zhen Le had gradually become familiar with Zhang Ying, and during that time, Zhang Ying had helped him with a few small favors.

Unexpectedly, this Zhen Le actually thought Zhang Ying liked him and began to pester her incessantly. With no other choice, Zhang Ying had to draw a line and intentionally distance herself from him.

Zhang Jing had even stepped in to warn the guy about this, but Zhen Le was quite paranoid and refused to give up.

Zhang Jing had originally planned to wait until Zhang Ying became a Garment Making Apprentice before considering marriage, but because of Zhen Le's pestering, he decided to move the timeline up.

That was how the request for Qin Dongcheng to guide Zhang Ying came about. In reality, there was absolutely nothing between Zhang Ying and Zhen Le—at most, they were just colleagues.

Qin Dongcheng finally understood what was going on. He did not doubt Zhang Jing's words; such things could be verified with a little inquiry, and there was no need to lie.

Zhang Jing felt quite apologetic and immediately took people to find Zhen Le, intending to have a serious talk with him to ensure he would never pester Zhang Ying again, and to reassure Qin Dongcheng that he would no longer cause him any trouble.

Qin Dongcheng took the opportunity to clarify his own stance. Zhang Jing thought Qin Dongcheng had been affected by Zhen Le and, instead of being offended, felt quite self-reproachful.

When he went to guide her in cultivation again, he did not see Zhang Ying; she likely felt embarrassed and did not come.

Later, he heard other handymen gossiping that Zhang Jing had taken people to give Zhen Le a sound thrashing, clearly telling him that Zhang Ying had no such feelings for him and that her previous help was only because their work overlapped and she didn't want him to affect her tasks.

Not to mention that he wasn't an Official Disciple, even if he were, he would never agree to marry his daughter to him.

Such a paranoid person was indeed not a good match, and Qin Dongcheng understood Zhang Jing's position.

He did not take offense to this matter; on the contrary, he felt a bit relieved to have used this opportunity to shake off a piece of trouble.

He continued to cultivate with peace of mind, steadily improving in every aspect until he broke through once more.

"You have practiced the Diamond Skin Refining Fist once. Congratulations on triggering a tenfold critical hit! You have received tenfold the gains!"

After triggering another tenfold critical hit, Qin Dongcheng's mastery of the Diamond Skin Refining Fist successfully broke through its shackles and reached the Major Achievement Realm.

However, his cultivation level was still some distance away from Skin Phase Perfection, so he did not break through for the time being.

But with the Diamond Skin Refining Fist reaching Major Achievement, his speed in tempering and improving his skin membrane would increase significantly. He could also consume more Blood-Replenishing Pills, and it shouldn't take long before he could advance to Skin Phase Perfection.

If he could trigger another high-level critical hit later, he might even be able to break through to Skin Phase Perfection in a few days.