"Oh, there was actually such a thing!"
Hu Zhenkui's eyes flickered.
Just then.
Someone stepped forward. He was a square-faced member of the Hu Clan.
"Clan chief, what he said is true. His symptoms really did seem like he'd been cursed."
That clansman said.
He was none other than the Hu clansman Hu Chengwen had asked to come earlier.
Now, he recounted everything that had happened back then, down to the smallest detail.
After hearing him out.
Hu Zhenkui's gaze turned solemn.
"According to what you've said, that does seem possible.
"However, you're now full of energy and have a healthy complexion. You don't look like someone who's been cursed.
"Even if someone really did tamper with you, it was most likely some kind of unorthodox sorcery.
"The Pure Fire Sect's arts are not only difficult to perform but also quite dangerous to the practitioner. The slightest mistake can cause a backlash.
"So you don't need to worry too much."
He paused briefly.
Then continued.
"As for whether practicing Secret Martial Arts can prevent the harm caused by those curses, I can tell you quite clearly that it can—but it's not simple.
"Only after breaking through the Skin Refining Realm can you gain basic immunity to those things. But that can only protect yourself; you can't use it to help anyone else."
Hu Long's eyes flickered.
From the first half of Hu Zhenkui's answer, Hu Long understood that the other man hadn't discovered the problem with him either.
The second half, however, stirred something in his heart.
As long as he reached the Skin Refining Realm, he could become immune. That gave him a glimmer of hope.
In a way, the man's words also explained why no one had intervened when the original owner was judged to have been cursed.
It wasn't that they hadn't wanted to. They simply couldn't. Although the Skin Refining Realm could resist or provide immunity to most curses, it couldn't be used to help others.
He said this to keep Hu Long from growing estranged from the family.
At this thought.
Hu Long asked again.
"Then is there no way for a Secret Martial Artist to dispel these sinister arts?"
Hu Zhenkui looked at him.
"Of course there is. But you need to break through the Organ Strengthening Realm and reach the realm of Tiger-Leopard Thunder Sound to break some of those sinister arts.
"It's said that if you reach Blood Exchange, you can directly destroy and suppress these sinister arts, and even become impervious to all methods.
"But reaching that step is far too difficult.
"Those who've attained that realm are rare even throughout the entire Yu State.
"And that's not even counting the even stronger Origin Pellet realm above it."
At this point, Hu Zhenkui seemed to realize he'd strayed too far from the subject, and changed tack.
"All this is too distant for you. What you need to do now is train hard and try to get started as soon as possible.
"If you're really worried about the harm caused by Old Arts and Strange Specters, then do your best to break through to the Skin Refining Realm as soon as you can."
"The Skin Refining Realm?"
Hu Long had no comment on the difficulty of practicing Secret Martial Arts that Hu Zhenkui had described.
As the Hu Family's clan leader, even if he wasn't the strongest in the family, he was surely among its most powerful.
The fact that even he had only reached Bone Tempering was proof enough of how difficult it was to practice Secret Martial Arts.
But that was true of ordinary people.
With his peerless talent and a little help from the Tai Su Download Panel, all he needed to advance was Source Value.
"Thank you for clearing that up, Clan Leader. What did you mean by Old Arts and Strange Specters?"
He'd noticed the two terms Hu Zhenkui had mentioned.
Old Arts. Strange Specters.
Now that he had the chance, he naturally wanted to ask about them.
But Hu Zhenkui clearly had no intention of explaining further.
"That information is basic knowledge. There are dedicated websites for it. If you want to learn more, go online and look it up when you get home."
"Yes!"
Hu Long's expression shifted, and he nodded.
The other four then asked some questions too, all about Secret Martial Artists.
For example, whether practicing Secret Martial Arts could grant immortality, or how long it usually took to reach the point where one could pierce an iron incense burner with a hand.
Hu Zhenkui didn't answer these basic questions.
He simply told them to go home and look them up online.
Then he sent everyone away.
The five headed out of the ancestral hall.
They had just arrived at the plaza outside.
"Hey, Hu Long, you bastard! You dared to mess with me earlier today. Take this!"
Suddenly, Hu Zetong, walking behind them, let out a strange cry. Without warning, he twisted around, lowered his shoulder, bent his elbow, and slammed it with all his strength into Hu Long's back.
He'd been strong since childhood. Ever since he was ten.
His strength had continued to grow.
He often injured people. Whenever he couldn't hold back, he usually chose to knock them flat with a shoulder charge.
With his strength, no one at school could withstand this move in an unarmed fight.
Even the burly PE teachers were no exception.
He'd almost never missed.
Yet in the next moment, his body came to a halt.
No matter how red his face grew, he couldn't budge.
Looking up, he saw Hu Long standing motionless, his right hand extended, fingers spread wide as he easily blocked the charge.
"Don't call yourself 'Little Master.' By seniority, you should be calling me Uncle."
As he spoke, Hu Long shifted to one side, pulled his arm, and stuck out a leg.
Smack!
Hu Zetong's body lost its balance from the momentum, and he fell straight to the ground, landing face-first.
It all happened so quickly that Hu Zetong's smile froze on his face.
His eyes looked dazed.
Only then did he remember that Hu Long seemed to be even stronger than him.
Strength was important.
But when two people were evenly matched—or one was even stronger—skill became the deciding factor.
Against Hu Long.
Hu Long was at least as strong as him, and he'd mastered Comprehensive Combat Arts.
Naturally, Hu Zetong stood no chance.
"Bullshit! You think you can take advantage of me—"
Hu Zetong was just about to say something.
Hu Long cut him off.
"If you don't believe me, ask your family when you get home. And if you swear again, I'll pull your pants down and give you a beating."
Hu Long wasn't making that up.
According to the Hu Clan's seniority, the current generation could be ranked from highest to lowest as follows:
Zhen, Ren, De, Cheng, Shi, Ze, Zhong, Xiao, Zhen...
Times had changed.
Some people included their generation character in their names, while others thought it sounded bad and didn't.
But the seniority system had persisted, especially in a large family like this.
Hu Long's original self belonged to the Shi generation. By seniority, he was indeed one generation above Hu Zetong, who belonged to the Ze generation.
But this made Hu Long think of something.
If he went by seniority, wouldn't Hu Zhenkui belong to the Zhen generation? That would make him Hu Long's great-great-grandfather.
The man looked only around sixty, and didn't seem that old at all.
Did practicing Secret Martial Arts slow aging, or had that branch of the family simply accumulated generations of late-in-life fathers?
"Fine, fine. Just you wait!"
Hu Zetong clutched his butt, left him with a threat, and ran toward the ancestral hall's entrance.
The three others exchanged glances. They wanted to laugh, but didn't dare.
Although all three had passed the test, none of them were fools. They'd heard what Hu Zhenkui had said.
When it came to talent, they weren't even worthy to carry these two men's shoes. They naturally didn't dare offend either of them.
"Does this guy seem a little dimwitted?"
Watching this scene.
Hu Long recalled the descriptions in ancient books of people with Innate Divine Strength. Most were described as simple-minded and brawny.
Hu Zetong clearly fit the bill.
At the thought.
Hu Long's mouth twitched.
He thought to himself.
Could it be that people with Innate Divine Strength all get stupid? Maybe he's just an exception. Besides, mine isn't "innate," so I should be fine...