True Art

Hearing Jiang Che's words.

Lin Xue'er and Gong Yulei, who were practicing their punches nearby, also turned to look.

Jiang Che then explained the whole sequence of events to Zhang Xiong in detail, merely leaving out the part about his confrontation with the Flower-Plucking Thief.

He did not speak quietly, so the other two heard him as well.

Gong Yulei snorted coldly and continued practicing his punches.

He already had one foot in the Stone Skin Realm. He no longer had any use for things like Qi-Replenishing Pills.

And in his eyes, only weaklings with poor innate talent needed to rely on external aids!

Even if a weakling breaks through with pills, he is still a weakling! he thought disdainfully.

Zhang Xiong stepped forward and patted Jiang Che on the back, sighing.

"Now you've caught up too! That's great!"

Jiang Che's Qi-Blood had always lagged far behind the three of them, and Zhang Xiong had worried about that for some time.

Especially after Jiang Che began leaving early so often, Zhang Xiong had even suspected that Jiang Che had simply given up on himself.

Fortunately, things had now taken a turn for the better.

As his friend, Zhang Xiong finally breathed a sigh of relief.

Lin Xue'er bit her lip, her expression tinged with jealousy.

Jiang Che, whom she had always looked down on, had actually stepped in dog shit and gotten such absurd luck, receiving a Qi-Replenishing Pill!

She had painstakingly cultivated every day, slowly condensing only eighty percent of her Qi-Blood.

Yet now, with a single pill, Jiang Che was nearly catching up to her.

Why?!

Lin Xue'er was deeply unwilling to accept it. She glared at Jiang Che, then began madly battering the wooden post.

Jiang Che had no idea what Lin Xue'er was thinking and only found her rather baffling.

Thinking of how Yin Yingying had suddenly said strange things before as well,

Jiang Che could not help but sigh that women were truly hard to understand.

At that moment, their master, Luo Kun, came over from the Apprentice Courtyard.

The moment he saw Jiang Che, he was startled and immediately came over to seize his wrist.

"How has your Qi-Blood risen so much?!" Luo Kun asked in shock.

Jiang Che explained it all once more.

"So that's how it is..." Luo Kun nodded. "Not bad! Such an opportunity is rare. You must cultivate diligently from now on!"

Jiang Che caught the meaning in his master's words and could only smile awkwardly.

It was not that he was not working hard. It was just that his Layered Cloud Fist had long since reached its limit. He could hardly practice something else at the Martial Arts Hall, could he?

Luo Kun offered a few more words of encouragement before going beneath the eaves to meditate.

Jiang Che began practicing his punches as well.

Not long afterward, a luxurious carriage bearing the character "Shao" stopped outside the Martial Arts Hall.

A refined middle-aged man in a blue robe stepped down from the carriage.

"That seems to be a carriage from the Shao Family of the Inner City."

"The Shao Family? One of the Five Great Families?"

"That's right. But why would someone from the Shao Family come to the Martial Arts Hall?"

"Who knows..."

The new apprentices practicing White Cloud Fist immediately began whispering among themselves.

Some who knew more said that Second Senior Brother was from the Shao Family, so perhaps they had come to see him.

"May I ask whether Young Master Jiang Che is here?" the visitor asked.

"He's in the Disciple Courtyard. I'll show you the way!"

An apprentice stepped forward to receive him, then led the middle-aged man toward the Disciple Courtyard.

After the man left, the apprentices began discussing it animatedly.

"That man came looking for Senior Brother Jiang!"

"What sort of background does Senior Brother Jiang have?"

"No idea. He used to be from a carpenter's family in the south of the city. By rights, he shouldn't know the Shao Family!"

"Could he have caused trouble and had someone come knocking at his door?"

"Who knows!"

The refined middle-aged man arrived at the Disciple Courtyard and asked the four people practicing martial arts, "Which one of you is Young Master Jiang Che?"

"I am Jiang Che."

Jiang Che withdrew his fist and walked over.

The man looked Jiang Che up and down, then nodded slightly.

"I am Steward Hu of the Shao Estate. I have come to deliver your Guest Official Token."

As he spoke, he took a wooden token from his robes and handed it over.

Jiang Che nodded and put it away.

Steward Hu then took out an invitation and said,

"This is an invitation to my master's sixtieth birthday celebration next month. I hope Young Master will certainly attend."

Jiang Che accepted it with both hands and said,

"I will definitely arrive on time to offer my congratulations!"

Steward Hu then gave Luo Kun a slight bow before taking his leave.

Jiang Che put away the invitation and returned to the training ground.

Zhang Xiong leaned over, asking in astonishment,

"What's going on this time? Even the Shao Estate's steward came looking for you. Hurry up and tell me the truth!"

Left with no choice, Jiang Che told him how he had saved the Shao Estate's young lady through a strange twist of fate.

Zhang Xiong stood stunned for a long while before finally saying faintly,

"Do you know how difficult it is to become a guest official of the Shao Estate? They do not even think much of ordinary Stone Skin Realm experts. You've really struck it rich this time..."

Boom!

A thunderous crash suddenly came from the corner.

The two turned around to see Gong Yulei had smashed a wooden post in half with one punch, splinters flying everywhere.

Seeing Jiang Che looking over, he gave a cold snort and left immediately.

He did not care much about a Qi-Replenishing Pill; it would be useless once he reached the Stone Skin Realm.

But even he might not obtain the opportunity to become a guest official of the Shao Estate!

The thought that such a precious opportunity had fallen into the hands of Jiang Che, whom he considered talentless, left him unwilling to accept it!

As for Lin Xue'er, she was still silently hammering away at the wooden post without even raising her head.

Only, her breathing seemed somewhat disordered.

Luo Kun looked at Jiang Che, feeling rather moved as well.

This Jiang Che always overturned his expectations time and time again.

At first, he had believed Jiang Che's innate talent was poor, that he was merely hardworking and could never break through to Qi-Blood.

Yet Jiang Che had actually comprehended the Heart-Insight Realm, a state that only the most focused and pure-hearted could attain.

Then he had smoothly broken through Qi-Blood and entered the Ox-Hide Realm.

Just when Luo Kun had begun placing high hopes on him, Jiang Che started leaving early every day, with no mind for training.

By now, Luo Kun had long since given up hope in him.

Yet Jiang Che had unexpectedly encountered such a great opportunity!

Not only had he obtained a Qi-Replenishing Pellet that greatly nourished Qi-Blood.

He had even gained the status of guest official of the Shao Estate!

Guest officials of the Five Great Families received a monthly allotment of Mid-Grade Exotic Beast Meat!

Even if they had to pile it on him, they could slowly pile Jiang Che up to the Stone Skin Realm!

Furthermore, Luo Kun naturally did not believe the Flower-Plucking Thief had been so easy to catch.

Relying on luck alone, Jiang Che had found a mid-stage Stone Skin Realm Flower-Plucking Thief who was also proficient in lightness skill?

Others might not understand, but as a Force-Entering Realm martial arts master for many years, Luo Kun understood all too well the value of a mid-stage Stone Skin Realm Martial Artist proficient in lightness skill!

This Jiang Che definitely possessed some kind of special ability!

The more Luo Kun looked at Jiang Che, the more satisfied he became.

Hope once more ignited within him for this disciple he had already abandoned.

Moreover, regarding Gong Yulei and Lin Xue'er, who had been provoked by Jiang Che,

Luo Kun felt that this was also a good thing.

After all, only competition brought motivation!

He had been worrying that Gong Yulei's rapid progress had made him underestimate the difficulty of martial training.

Now, Jiang Che could just so happen to curb his sharp edge and temper his disposition!

"Ah... If only Jiang Che's innate talent were a little better."

He sighed again.

With different innate talents, even if both ate the same Exotic Beast Meat, the speed at which they accumulated Qi-Blood would be as different as heaven and earth.

No matter how good the resources were, they could not compare to innate talent.

Otherwise, all experts would be children of great families. How could ordinary people possibly have any way to survive?

Medicines and resources only offered some advantages in the early stages.

But beyond the Stone Skin Realm, the importance of innate talent became increasingly obvious.

Among all the disciples he had ever taught, only two had any hope of breaking through to the Force-Entering Realm.

One was Shao Jianbo.

The other was Gong Yulei.

As a child of a great family, Shao Jianbo was not particularly passionate about the martial path.

Thus, in order to cultivate a Force-Entering Realm Martial Artist,

Luo Kun had placed all his hopes on Gong Yulei.

As for the others, let alone the Force-Entering Realm.

Even reaching the Iron Skin Realm was basically impossible.

Of course, he would not tell them this, lest he damage their confidence.

"Once Gong Yulei breaks through to the Force-Entering Realm, I'll take him to the Azure Cloud Sect for the assessment. This kid's innate talent is exceptional. He should have great hope this time..."

Luo Kun began to look forward to it faintly.

There was something he had not told these disciples.

The White Cloud Fist and Layered Cloud Fist they practiced

were actually prerequisite martial arts for the Azure Cloud Sect's cultivation art—the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Art!

The better these two fist arts were practiced, the faster they could cultivate the Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Art afterward!

This Nine Heavens Azure Cloud Art was no ordinary martial art.

It was a true art capable of cultivating one to the True Person Realm!