Becoming a Disciple

"Junior Brother Jiang."

"Senior Brother Jiang."

After entering the Martial Arts Hall, many disciples greeted him along the way. Jiang Chen responded to them one by one before heading straight for the inner courtyard.

"Senior Brother Sun."

Upon finding Sun Wu, Jiang Chen took out six thousand taels in silver notes.

Aside from the six thousand taels for the medicinal pills, his parents had also provided an extra thousand taels as a reserve.

"I have already contacted the Ghost Market; the goods should arrive tonight."

Sun Wu accepted the silver notes and said with a smile.

Although a super genius with suspected superior-grade bone structure had appeared today, drawing the attention of the entire Martial Arts Hall, he cared far more about Jiang Chen than Tang Mu.

This was not to say that Jiang Chen's talent surpassed Tang Mu's.

On the contrary.

A genius of Tang Mu's caliber was simply too far beyond the norm; they were destined to be on different levels, and one could even say they were only fit to look up to him.

Jiang Chen, however, was much more grounded.

"Many thanks, Senior Brother Sun."

After leaving the inner courtyard, Jiang Chen did not go to train. Instead, he went to the pharmacies on the street, buying various poisonous materials in separate batches.

He intended to refine poison for self-defense.

The incident with the Azure Dragon Gang had instilled in him a much stronger sense of urgency.

Although he had the aid of the Soul Seal perception, the Blood Qi realm posed almost no threat to him.

The True Martial Realm, however, was different.

Judging from his previous spar with Sun Wu, martial Blood Qi compared to martial True Qi was like a cat compared to a tiger.

There was an essential difference between the two.

Therefore, to deal with the True Martial Realm, he had to rely on external forces.

The path of poison he had studied in his past life was the most suitable external means.

With his methods of refining poison, as long as he could break through the skin and draw blood, even a god would find it hard to save the victim.

As the sky grew dark, Jiang Chen returned to the Martial Arts Hall with the materials.

He went to the open space in the backyard and began grinding the medicinal herbs, carefully measuring the proportions.

In his past life, he needed instruments to precisely control the ratios, but now, with the Soul Seal perception, the preparation was much easier.

Time slipped away quietly.

"Done!"

When the crescent moon hung in the sky and the distant sound of the night watchman's gong drifted over, Jiang Chen took out his dagger.

A layer of pale gray substance appeared on the previously sharp blade.

That gray substance was the Heart-Slaying Poison he had meticulously concocted.

Once the poison touched the skin, it would rapidly invade the heart.

Even for someone in the True Martial Realm, death would be inevitable.

The next day, at the hour of the dragon.

"Junior Brother Jiang, this is the Aperture Breaking Pill."

While Jiang Chen was sitting cross-legged in meditation, Sun Wu arrived and produced three bottles of pills.

"Many thanks, Senior Brother Sun."

Jiang Chen opened a medicine bottle and poured out a round, smooth pill.

Immediately, a refreshing medicinal fragrance permeated the air. Just from the scent, one could tell that the medicinal potency far exceeded that of the Five Elements Pill.

Gulp.

After Jiang Chen swallowed it, he felt nothing within his body.

Looking inward with his mind, he discovered that the pill was gradually dissolving into a special energy, silently and soundlessly merging into his martial Blood Qi.

"Let's see the effect."

Once the medicinal power had completely fused, Jiang Chen went to a quiet corner and sat cross-legged.

Following the rhythm of his breathing technique, his martial Blood Qi surged toward his first aperture.

Chi chi chi...

The Blood Qi, which previously felt like a mere scratch, now acted like axes and blades under the influence of the medicinal power, producing faint cutting sounds with every horizontal and vertical strike.

The seemingly indestructible shell of the first aperture began to show continuous marks.

The more marks that appeared, the greater the wear on the first aperture.

No wonder it is called the Aperture Breaking Pill.

Watching the wear on his first aperture, Jiang Chen was in high spirits.

The special medicinal properties contained within the Aperture Breaking Pill were specifically designed to break through such shells.

At this rate, he estimated that he would officially break through the aperture in just seven days.

Truly, you get what you pay for.

Without the aid of a high-quality Aperture Breaking Pill, given his aptitude, he feared he would be unable to shake the gates of the first aperture for months.

Time passed.

At the hour of the snake, in the training grounds.

"Senior Brother Sun, Master wants us to go to the inner hall."

A personal disciple approached and said to Sun Wu.

"Have the results of Tang Mu's aptitude test come out?"

Sun Wu's expression shifted.

After Tang Mu entered the inner courtyard yesterday, his master had personally performed a bone-reading examination.

Unfortunately, even his master could not accurately judge Tang Mu's aptitude, so he had taken Tang Mu to the Zhou Clan.

Now, they were all being summoned to the inner courtyard.

There was no need to ask; Tang Mu's talent was nine times out of ten truly superior.

If it were merely mid-grade aptitude, it wouldn't warrant such a grand display.

"Judging by Master's expression, superior aptitude is almost a certainty," the disciple said excitedly.

With such a genius appearing in the White Ape Martial Hall, the Zhou Clan would certainly increase their resource investment in the hall.

As personal disciples, they would naturally benefit accordingly.

"Let's go."

Before long, the two arrived at the inner courtyard hall.

In the spacious and simple core hall, dozens of high-spirited figures were gathered.

The disciples who could enter this hall, whether personal or elite, all possessed mid-grade aptitude and had boundless futures.

As for those with ordinary aptitude, even if they entered the inner courtyard, they were not qualified to come to this core hall.

Such was the difference in treatment based on aptitude!

"Senior Brother Sun!"

"Senior Brother Sun!"

"Junior Brother Sun!"

The inner courtyard disciples greeted him.

It could be said that the vast majority of the inner courtyard disciples had received guidance from Sun Wu.

The only ones with higher status than Sun Wu were Meng Wentao and Zhou Yuqing at the very front.

Tap, tap, tap.

At this moment, a series of light footsteps approached.

A high-spirited, smiling middle-aged man walked out from the inner chamber, accompanied by the dark-skinned and shy-looking Tang Mu.

"Master!"

The gathered disciples all bowed respectfully.

The middle-aged man was Zhou Rongfeng, the master of the White Ape Martial Hall, whose cultivation was extremely formidable and had long since surpassed the True Martial level.

Even in the Prefecture City, Zhou Rongfeng was considered a powerful expert.

"I have called you all here to announce something!"

"From today on, Tang Mu shall be admitted under my tutelage as a personal disciple!"

Zhou Rongfeng acted decisively, stating his purpose without any wasted words.

"Greetings, Master!"

Tang Mu immediately knelt, performed the apprenticeship ceremony for a personal disciple, and presented the apprenticeship tea.

"Good, good, good!"

After drinking the apprenticeship tea, Zhou Rongfeng beamed, completely devoid of his usual sternness.

A genius with superior-grade bone structure is rare; not just in White Cloud County, but even across the entire Anning Prefecture, one would be hard-pressed to find a few in a single year.

Given Tang Mu's talent, as long as no accidents occur, he will not only enter the True Sun Sect but will undoubtedly become one of its core members.

Being able to take in such a prodigy naturally left him feeling extremely excited.

"Congratulations, Master, on acquiring such a fine talent!"

Seeing the importance Zhou Rongfeng placed on Tang Mu, the inner-court disciples all offered their congratulations.

They knew very well that the situation among the inner-court disciples was about to change.

From now on, Tang Mu would surpass personal disciples like Meng Wentao to become the Martial Arts Hall's head disciple; even Zhou Yuqing would have to step aside.

In the world of martial arts, talent and bone structure are far more important than bloodline!

"Alright, all of you may disperse. Mu'er, come with me."

Zhou Rongfeng waved his hand and led Tang Mu away with a beaming smile.

Gathering the inner-court disciples today was specifically to highlight Tang Mu's status.

"Junior Sister Zhou, just what level has Junior Brother Tang's talent reached?"

After Zhou Rongfeng and the others left, the burly Meng Wentao spoke up.

Sun Wu and the other personal disciples, along with Jiang Xuan and the elite disciples, all turned their gazes toward Zhou Yuqing.

They had only ever heard of geniuses with superior-grade bone structure, and today was the first time they had seen one in the flesh.

Naturally, they were extremely curious about just how strong superior-grade bone structure could be.

"I don't know the specifics, but according to my father, with Junior Brother Tang's talent, he will reach the Three Qi and Blood Gates in half a month and has the potential to enter the True Martial Realm within a month."

Zhou Yuqing did not hide anything.

The Zhou Clan is a prominent aristocratic family and a true veteran hegemon in White Cloud County.

Having produced a talent with superior-grade bone structure, they didn't need to hide it; in fact, they should promote it widely.

Especially now, with the superior sect having just taken over the Prefecture City, the Zhou Clan needed to stand out even more.

The more weight the Zhou Clan demonstrates, the more importance the True Sun Sect will place upon them.

"Three Qi and Blood Gates in half a month?!"

"Potential for the True Martial Realm in a month?!"

Hearing Zhou Yuqing's words, whether they were personal disciples in the True Martial Realm or elite disciples at the Three Qi and Blood Gates, everyone gasped in shock.

Although they had guessed that superior-grade bone structure would be strong, they never expected it to be to this extent.

Three Qi and Blood Gates in half a month!

Potential for the True Martial Realm in a month!

This was simply beyond their reach!