Secret Martial Artist [5]

Inside the ancestral hall.

Listening to the footsteps of the few people outside as they gradually faded into the distance.

Hu Zhenkui stood with his hands behind his back.

He turned around, looking at the numerous spirit tablets in the center of the hall, as well as the six-meter-tall statue of the founding ancestor.

One could not tell what he was thinking.

"I didn't expect two individuals with Innate Divine Strength to emerge this time, both possessing the power of a thousand catties. It is a pity, however, that while Hu Long has excellent aptitude and a good temperament, he is a bit too old. It is very difficult to go far in Secret Martial Arts starting now; if only his talent had been discovered sooner."

Hu Li, standing to the side, shook her head with a hint of regret.

There is a golden age for practicing Secret Martial Arts.

Generally, the period between fifteen and eighteen years old is optimal.

The bones are fully developed, and the body's functions are in a stage of rapid growth.

"That is not necessarily true. As the saying goes, great talents mature late. Such things have happened in history; no one can say for sure what the future holds," Hu Zhenkui said with a smile.

"Regardless, with such talent, as long as one is willing to practice with focus, reaching the Skin Refining or even the Bone Tempering realm is not impossible."

Having said this, his gaze shifted slightly, landing on a clansman nearby.

In the blink of an eye, a strand of hair had silently appeared between his fingers.

"But before that, some things must be guarded against. Take this hair for a blood test and comparison. If the results are abnormal and they are not of our kin..."

Hu Zhenkui's tone was indifferent, yet a cold glint flashed through his eyes.

"Execute them on the spot. No need to report."

"Understood!"

The clansman bowed in response, his face devoid of emotion. He took the hair and quickly retreated, his figure vanishing beyond the corridor in the blink of an eye.

"Patriarch, are you suspecting..."

Hu Li, hearing this, had a slight change in expression.

"It is nothing, merely a precaution," Hu Zhenkui waved his hand, saying no more.

The changes in Hu Long were indeed abrupt, but in the six-hundred-year history of the Hu Family, there had been precedents.

There were always those whose talents awakened late, only gradually revealing their brilliance after the age of twenty.

Three hundred years ago, the clan had produced such an ancestor.

That person did not reveal his aptitude until the age of twenty-five, yet later advanced by leaps and bounds, reaching the Organ Strengthening realm and nearly touching the threshold of the Blood Exchange realm.

Had he not been ambushed and killed by enemies midway, he might well have achieved the body of a Blood Exchange expert and led the Hu Family to even greater heights.

It was precisely because of this ancestor's precedent that the clan rules were later revised, extending the age limit for assessing aptitude from twenty to twenty-five.

However, the Secret Martial Arts of the world are strange and varied, and there is no shortage of secret techniques that can alter one's appearance and disguise one's identity.

In the past, distinguishing the true from the false was indeed not simple.

But the world is different now.

With the technique of "DNA" comparison, confirming the roots of one's bloodline is no longer a difficult task.

No matter how bizarre or extraordinary the Secret Martial Arts one practices, as long as one has not reached the realm of Blood Exchange, the foundation of flesh and blood is difficult to alter.

And if the other party were truly a powerhouse at the Blood Exchange realm... then whether they were real or fake would be of no importance at all.

Such an existence could wipe out his Hu Family with a flick of a finger; why would they go to such great lengths to disguise themselves as an ordinary clansman?

As for the more ethereal talk of "soul possession"...

Hu Zhenkui had not even considered that possibility.

Let alone this Age of Dharma Decline where spiritual energy is exhausted.

Even six hundred years ago, in the era when the Old Arts had not yet completely declined and legends were rife, there was never a record of anyone who could perform techniques to reverse life and death or possess a body to be reborn.

He withdrew his thoughts and turned his gaze back to Hu Li.

"You have been stuck at the Stone Skin stage for quite some time, haven't you? In half a year, it will be the time for the Southern Province Alliance. Do you have the confidence to break through?"

"This..."

A bitter smile appeared at the corners of Hu Li's mouth.

"I am still missing the final opportunity, but this bottleneck... is truly difficult."

On the path of Secret Martial Arts, the further one goes, the more arduous the journey becomes.

With her aptitude, she could advance courageously while in the Body Casting realm, but once she stepped into the Skin Refining realm, it was like rowing a boat against the current; every step forward required vast amounts of time and countless painstaking efforts.

To have reached this stage today, she could already be considered a standout among her peers; countless others remained trapped in the middle or late stages of the Body Casting Realm, unable to advance even an inch.

The world says that hard work is precious, but only those who truly tread this path understand that in the face of a genuine chasm in talent, acquired effort often appears so pale and powerless.

"Enough."

Hu Zhenkui pondered for a moment, then took a small jade box from his robes and handed it over.

"Take this; it may be of some assistance to you."

Hu Li accepted it with both hands and opened it to find a fruit lying quietly inside, its skin shimmering with natural, flowing patterns—a truly miraculous sight.

Her heart jolted, and she blurted out, "This is... an Earth Pattern Fruit?"

"Indeed. This fruit is of great benefit to cultivation in the Skin Refining Realm. Take it and use it wisely."

"Thank you for your generous gift, Patriarch! With the help of this treasure, I will surely break through before the alliance meeting!"

Joy bloomed on Hu Li's face as she solemnly stowed it away. The Earth Pattern Fruit was not only immensely valuable but, more importantly, so rare that it was often priceless and unavailable on the market.

She suddenly recalled something and asked, "By the way, Patriarch, regarding this alliance meeting... Lin should be participating as well, right?"

At the mention of him, a genuine smile finally appeared on Hu Zhenkui's face, clearly showing his immense satisfaction with the youth.

"Lin is still in seclusion, so there is no rush. As long as he successfully breaks through his realm this time, our Hu Family's standing among the clans may well climb even higher."

The bedroom was brightly lit.

After simply dealing with Hu Chengwen, He Yanling, and her sister Hu Zhao, Hu Long returned to his room and sat alone at the table.

He replayed everything he had encountered today in his mind.

If his guess was correct, his previously unreserved display would certainly have caught the attention of Hu Zhenkui and that group of main-family members.

However, it was unlikely to have any negative impact on him.

A clan requires cohesion; if they targeted those who displayed talent, the clan could not have survived until now and would have long since gone extinct.

It was more likely that they would suspect his identity.

Yet, he was not overly worried about this, as this physical body possessed the bloodline of the Hu Family.

Unless they could extract his soul, they would never find any results.

But the possibility of that was extremely low—almost impossible.

If they truly possessed such an ability, they would not have been unable to resolve the curse on his body.

Withdrawing his thoughts, he turned on the computer.

His fingertips tapped rhythmically against the keyboard.

Soon, a special blue page appeared on the screen.

There were no superfluous patterns on it, save for a single white cloud icon.

Above it were two characters: Pivot Court.

This was a special website.

To enter, one required a one-time invitation link or code generated by an existing member to register.

Without this code, one could not even find the login page.

It built its first line of defense through extreme anonymity and small-scale authorization.

It could block 99.9% of ordinary people and average hackers.

But that did not mean it was absolutely secure.

Faced with an attacker who possessed sufficient resources, top-tier technology, and immense patience, there was a theoretical possibility of any system being infiltrated.

Given time, Hu Long could overcome it as well.

However, that would inevitably be discovered by others; only if he pushed his Network Offense and Defense skill to perfection would it be possible to do so without leaving a trace.

If the opportunity arose in the future, Hu Long would not mind doing exactly that.

Of course, these things were secondary.

What Hu Long cared about was the content displayed before him.

It was divided into several sections.

However, with his current clearance, the only thing he could see was the database; as for the rest, he lacked the authority to access them.