"Lu Yuan, y-you've also broken through to the Hidden Energy Realm?"
GOOGLE search TWKAN
Zhang Feng stared intently at Lu Yuan, asking in disbelief.
"Mm!"
Lu Yuan nodded.
When it was time to hide his strength, he hid it. When it was time to show it, he revealed just enough.
"It's only been a few days. How did he already break through to the Hidden Energy Realm? Doesn't he have a bottleneck?"
Zhang Feng still couldn't believe it as he looked at Lu Yuan.
"If I remember right, he's only been here five days. He broke through to the Hidden Energy Realm that fast?"
"He's only sixteen! A sixteen-year-old Bright Energy Realm martial artist would've been shocking enough, but he's already in the Hidden Energy Realm!"
The others also looked at Lu Yuan with shock in their eyes.
"I never thought he'd be the one hiding his strength the most!"
The youth in the white robe and the big-headed youth exchanged incredulous glances.
They'd thought they were the ones hiding their strength best, but never imagined that it would be Lu Yuan, who'd only arrived a few days ago.
"Wang Chao, Chen Zheng, Lu Yuan, come over here. Each of you, punch my hand!"
Master Huang looked at Lu Yuan with surprise, then spoke to the three of them.
Clearly, he wanted to test them himself and see whether they'd truly reached the Hidden Energy Realm.
None of the three hesitated. They walked straight over to Master Huang.
"Wang Chao, you first!"
Master Huang held out a hand toward the youth in the white robe.
"Pardon me!"
Wang Chao nodded, then slammed a fist into Master Huang's palm.
Hidden energy surged, and a muffled thud rang out.
Yet Master Huang's palm didn't move an inch.
"So this is the Transformation Realm!"
A flash of surprise crossed Wang Chao's eyes.
He hadn't used his full strength, but that punch should still have been enough to easily injure an ordinary Hidden Energy Realm martial artist.
Yet Master Huang had not only taken the punch without harm, his palm hadn't budged at all. The hidden energy Wang Chao had unleashed hadn't affected him in the slightest. That showed just how vast the gap between them was.
"Not bad. You've indeed reached the Hidden Energy Realm."
Master Huang smiled and nodded, then turned to the big-headed youth. "Chen Zheng, you can use your full strength. Don't worry about hurting me!"
"Understood!"
Chen Zheng nodded and clasped his hands in a salute to Master Huang.
Then he took a deep breath and punched with all his might.
"Thump!"
A dull impact sounded as Chen Zheng's fist landed solidly against Master Huang's hand.
Yet Master Huang's palm remained unharmed and didn't move an inch.
"How impressive!"
Everyone couldn't help but marvel inwardly.
That punch from Chen Zheng had surely been his strongest, yet it still hadn't made Master Huang's palm shift at all.
That was the might of a Transformation Realm expert. No matter how a Hidden Energy Realm martial artist attacked, they couldn't hurt him in the slightest.
"Transformation Realm experts really are beyond the reach of Hidden Energy Realm martial artists!"
Lu Yuan's eyes, too, held a faint glimmer of surprise.
If he relied on nothing but his qi and blood to unleash hidden energy, it would be all but impossible to defeat a Transformation Realm martial artist with his Hidden Energy Realm cultivation.
Only by using his Wind-Breaking Blade Technique and Flick Finger Technique at the perfected level—and perhaps mastering Gale Steps as well—could he manage it.
"Lu Yuan, you can use your full strength, too!"
Master Huang turned to him with a smile.
Lu Yuan said nothing. He clasped his hands in a brief salute, then swung his fist at Master Huang's palm.
"Thump!"
Qi and blood surged, hidden energy burst forth, and a rather muffled impact rang out.
As expected, Master Huang's palm remained utterly motionless.
Clearly, Lu Yuan's showing hadn't been much stronger than Wang Chao's or Chen Zheng's.
"Given your age, you've broken into the Hidden Energy Realm incredibly quickly. Whatever your natural endowments, the Hidden Energy Realm surely won't be your limit. If you can find a powerful clan to take you in someday, becoming a true Grade-Ranked martial artist may not be beyond your reach."
Master Huang smiled at Lu Yuan and nodded. "If you can reach the Transformation Realm before you turn thirty, then you'll have at least a two-in-ten chance of becoming a true Grade-Ranked martial artist!"
"Right, he's only sixteen. So young!"
"I just turned twenty-six, and I've only barely reached the Hidden Energy Realm. My family already considers me a martial arts prodigy, but compared to him, what kind of prodigy am I?"
"If his natural endowments aren't exceptional, then he may have used some special method that burned through his potential!"
Everyone looked at Lu Yuan curiously, eager to know how he'd done it.
A sixteen-year-old Hidden Energy Realm martial artist was exceedingly rare, even across all of Qinghe County.
"Before I turn thirty?"
Lu Yuan stood there quietly.
He was only sixteen, yet already a Hidden Energy Realm martial artist. If he kept progressing at his current pace, he could basically complete his third Blood Qi Tempering before his birthday at the end of the year and become a Transformation Realm martial artist.
Even then, he'd still be three years away from turning twenty, and thirteen years away from turning thirty. He couldn't imagine what level he'd have reached by then.
After completing a session of Five Animals Fist, Lu Yuan joined the others in the dining hall for a free serving of venison.
Then he went up front, collected one serving each of Essence-Replenishing Soup and Qi-Replenishing Soup from Shopkeeper Yu, and headed straight home.
"Ah Yuan, training in martial arts is hard work. Make sure you get enough rest."
Madam Yang said as she took the medicinal packets from Lu Yuan.
"I will!"
Lu Yuan smiled and nodded, then spent some time playing with Little Nannan.
After Madam Yang put the medicinal soups on to boil, he went straight into the courtyard to practice Gale Steps.
The footwork was remarkably intricate. By circulating qi and blood through his legs and combining it with the corresponding steps, he could suddenly burst into incredible speed, swift as the wind.
[ Gale Steps: Not yet mastered (1/100) ]
[ Gale Steps: Not yet mastered (3/100) ]
[ Gale Steps: Beginner (8/200) ]
After just a dozen or so tries, Lu Yuan had successfully mastered Gale Steps at the beginner level.
During that time, he'd not only drunk one serving each of Essence-Replenishing Soup and Qi-Replenishing Soup, but also practiced Five Animals Fist twice more.
Night had already fallen, and Madam Yang had long since taken Little Nannan to bed.
After resting for a short while, Lu Yuan stepped outside again.
Moonlight poured down like liquid silver, illuminating the entire courtyard until it was as bright as day.
All was quiet around him. He could hear only the insects chirping in the corner and Little Nannan murmuring in her sleep.
"Shing!"
With a crisp ring, Lu Yuan drew his sword and began practicing the Blazing Sun Sword Technique.
Although it was only an ordinary sword he'd bought from the blacksmith's for half a tael of silver, it was more than enough for practice.
[ Blazing Sun Sword Technique: Not yet mastered (1/500) ]
Lu Yuan had been prepared for the fact that the Blazing Sun Sword Technique was a Mystic Grade technique, above Yellow Grade, and much harder to master than the Wind-Breaking Blade Technique. Still, he hadn't expected that simply reaching the beginner level would require 500 proficiency points.
The Wind-Breaking Blade Technique, after all, had taken only 300 proficiency points in total to reach the minor mastery level.
Of course, even so, he could still master it in a very short time.
Not only that, he intended to perfect it as soon as possible.
Once he perfected the Blazing Sun Sword Technique, he could refine his sword glow into the far more powerful Sword Qi.
Sword glow could injure Grade-Ranked martial artists, but Sword Qi could kill them!
Before you continue