Testing

"Hm?"

The clan elders were bewildered by Jiang Sihai's air of righteous conviction.

Hadn't they been told that Jiang Sihai had gone back on his word and refused to hand over his resources?

Why was he being so cooperative now?

"It seems he knows Xuan'er is about to enter the True Martial Realm and wants to cling to his coattails."

Jiang Junyue was startled as well, then realization dawned on him.

Jiang Sihai must have realized there was something wrong with Jiang Chen's rising cultivation.

Only Jiang Guiyuan, seated at the head, glanced at Jiang Sihai before turning his gaze to Jiang Chen, who was calmly sipping tea.

Jiang Chen was too quiet!

He could tell that this wasn't feigned composure, but absolute confidence!

"Could it be..."

A shocking thought flashed through Jiang Guiyuan's mind.

Could Jiang Chen really not have taken forbidden drugs?

That shouldn't be possible.

Jiang Chen only had ordinary bone aptitude. Without forbidden drugs, how could he have reached the Second Qi and Blood Gate in such a short time?

Then where did this father and son's confidence come from?

"I knew it. Sihai has always been a reasonable man. In that case..."

One clan elder came back to his senses and was about to follow Jiang Sihai's lead to settle the matter.

"Seventh Granduncle, I came to the Ancestral Residence today to announce some wonderful news!"

Jiang Sihai interrupted the elder.

"Wonderful news?"

All the clan elders turned to Jiang Sihai, unsure where this good news could possibly come from.

Jiang Junyue blinked.

Why did things seem to be heading in the wrong direction?

Wasn't Jiang Sihai supposed to hand over the resources, then lavish praise on Jiang Xuan?

Just what medicine was he hiding in that gourd of his?

"My son, Jiang Chen, has passed all Three Qi and Blood Gates!"

Under everyone's gaze, Jiang Sihai made his announcement excitedly.

"What?!"

"Jiang Chen has passed all Three Qi and Blood Gates?!"

Hearing Jiang Sihai's words, the clan elders all wondered whether they had misheard.

According to the information the clan had gathered, Jiang Chen had spent the six months since joining the martial academy fooling around and hadn't even grasped the Standing Post Technique.

Yet now Jiang Sihai claimed that Jiang Chen had passed all Three Qi and Blood Gates?

What utter nonsense.

"Jiang Sihai, do you take all the clan elders for fools?"

Jiang Junyue, who had sensed something amiss earlier, couldn't help laughing.

He had wondered what Jiang Sihai was planning. So this was merely a desperate struggle before death.

He had been keeping a very close eye on Jiang Chen's bone aptitude and cultivation progress.

Before the Cursed House incident, Jiang Chen hadn't even condensed his martial blood qi.

Surely he couldn't have made three consecutive leaps and passed all Three Qi and Blood Gates in less than two months?

That was impossible through normal cultivation, or even with forbidden drugs.

"All Three Qi and Blood Gates..."

Jiang Guiyuan, who had been quietly studying Jiang Chen, looked startled.

Was this why Jiang Chen was so composed?

But was it possible?

To go from not even having learned the Standing Post Technique to passing all Three Qi and Blood Gates in such a short time—he was practically flying.

But if it was false, why would Jiang Sihai announce it in front of everyone?

The clan elders wouldn't simply believe whatever he said.

Anything involving resource allocation had to be carefully examined.

Unless...

"Sihai, are you certain you haven't misspoken? Jiang Chen has passed all Three Qi and Blood Gates?"

Seventh Granduncle and the other clan elders all looked at Jiang Chen, then asked with furrowed brows.

Naturally, they didn't believe such obvious nonsense.

Yet Jiang Sihai sounded so utterly certain...

"Of course it's true."

Jiang Sihai spoke with pride.

"Jiang Sihai, do you think you can bluff your way through with this nonsense? All Three Qi and Blood Gates? Why not say your son has entered the True Martial Realm?"

Seeing Jiang Sihai's expression, Jiang Junyue sneered in irritation.

"I'm an honest man. I have to stick to the facts. I can't go making things up."

Jiang Sihai smiled, completely unbothered by Jiang Junyue's mockery.

"Enough. Chen'er, circulate your blood qi and let us see."

Seeing that the two were about to clash again, Jiang Guiyuan spoke to Jiang Chen.

"Yes!"

Jiang Chen rose calmly. Martial blood qi as pure as jade surged through his body, and a powerful aura swept outward.

"This fluctuation..."

"He really has passed all Three Qi and Blood Gates!"

"How did he do it?!"

The clan elders immediately rose from their seats, unable to hide their astonishment.

Jiang Guiyuan narrowed his eyes slightly, surprise welling within them.

"Impossible!"

"How could he have passed all Three Qi and Blood Gates? Not long ago, he hadn't even grasped the Standing Post Technique! How could he have passed all Three Qi and Blood Gates?!"

Jiang Junyue's eyes flew wide open. He simply couldn't believe it.

"You've seen it with your own eyes, and you still don't believe it. You really are stubborn."

Jiang Sihai was very satisfied with Jiang Junyue's reaction.

Ever since Jiang Xuan had been found to have medium bone aptitude six months ago, Jiang Junyue had always worn an air of understated smugness around him.

Today, the wheel of fortune had turned. It was his turn to show off.

"Seventh, you're skilled in the Medicine Dao. Go examine Chen'er."

Jiang Guiyuan broke the silence.

He made no attempt to conceal it: he suspected Jiang Chen had taken forbidden drugs.

Seventh Granduncle stepped forward. First, he examined Jiang Chen through observation, listening, questioning, and pulse-taking, then used acupuncture needles to probe his acupoints. The longer he examined him, the more astonished he became.

"How is he?"

All the clan elders waited for an answer.

Jiang Guiyuan and Jiang Junyue watched without blinking as well.

"There are no signs that Chen'er has taken forbidden drugs. His martial blood qi is also extremely pure, and his foundation is very solid."

Seventh Granduncle withdrew his hands and delivered the results with a strange expression.

Jiang Chen really had passed all Three Qi and Blood Gates?

And he hadn't taken forbidden drugs?

This... this...

"Then Xuan'er took less than two months to go from learning the Standing Post Technique to passing all Three Qi and Blood Gates?!"

Hearing Seventh Granduncle's diagnosis, the clan elders' eyes immediately lit up. They stared at Jiang Chen as though he were a priceless treasure.

After all, even Jiang Xuan, with his medium bone aptitude and the support of the entire clan's resources, had taken three or four months to pass all Three Qi and Blood Gates.

In other words, Jiang Chen's martial talent was even greater than Jiang Xuan's?

Naturally, this filled them with wild joy!

No faction could turn down the emergence of a genius!

"So he really was hiding his abilities."

Jiang Guiyuan, however, had grown somewhat calmer.

He didn't believe Jiang Chen's talent surpassed Jiang Xuan's.

Ordinary bone aptitude better than medium bone aptitude?

That completely defied common sense!

Then the only possibility was that Jiang Chen had been hiding his abilities all along.

All that talk of him spending his days chasing after women once he entered the martial academy.

All that talk of him failing to grasp the Standing Post Technique even after six months of cultivation.

It had all been a smokescreen.

After joining the martial academy, Jiang Chen must have trained diligently without slacking off in the slightest.

Otherwise, with ordinary bone aptitude, he couldn't possibly have passed all Three Qi and Blood Gates so quickly.

"Seventh Granduncle, are you certain you didn't make a mistake in your examination?"

Jiang Junyue remained incredulous, even growing careless with his words.

"I wouldn't make a mistake with such a simple diagnosis."

Seventh Granduncle frowned slightly. If not for Jiang Guiyuan above him and Jiang Xuan below him, he wouldn't have bothered with this brainless fool.

"Jiang Junyue, I hear you've hired an old physician specifically to tend to your son's health. Why not bring him over to take a look?"

Naturally, Jiang Sihai wouldn't miss such a perfect chance to twist the knife.

"You... I..."

Jiang Junyue's face flushed crimson.

He had only meant that he couldn't believe Jiang Chen had cultivated so quickly. He hadn't intended to question Seventh Granduncle.

Jiang Sihai was as sinister as ever, twisting the knife whenever an opportunity arose.

"Seventh, what is Chen'er's bone aptitude?"

Jiang Guiyuan sighed inwardly.

Jiang Junyue's brains and methods couldn't compare to Jiang Sihai's at all.

"Right, doesn't Chen'er have ordinary bone aptitude? How could he cultivate so quickly?"

"Could the original test have been wrong?"

Jiang Guiyuan's question struck at the heart of the matter and immediately drew the elders' attention away.

They now suspected that the original bone aptitude test had produced an incorrect result.

Jiang Chen might very well have medium bone aptitude too.

Two gifted youths in one clan.

Heaven was truly blessing them.

"Chen'er's talent is indeed only ordinary bone aptitude."

Seventh Granduncle spoke.

That was also why his expression had been so strange.

He simply couldn't understand how mere ordinary bone aptitude could yield such a cultivation speed.

"Ordinary bone aptitude?"

It was as though a basin of cold water had been poured over the excited atmosphere. The clan elders frowned, feeling as if a lifetime of common sense had been thrown into disarray.

"I understand now!"

"Jiang Sihai, you deliberately spread all that earlier information!"

"You wanted to use this method to swindle resources from the clan!"

"You... you're far too devious!"

Jiang Junyue, who had been outplayed, immediately seized the opportunity and jumped in.

"If he trained hard from the moment he joined the martial academy, then with resources to support him, it would indeed be possible to pass all Three Qi and Blood Gates in just over six months."

The clan elders came back to their senses, their earlier excitement vanishing completely.

Most of them had ordinary bone aptitude themselves and knew its potential well.

In a word, ordinary bone aptitude was simply too poor.

No matter how many resources were invested, its prospects were extremely limited. It wasn't worth nurturing at all.