Liang Hangzhou suddenly lost his appetite for the dried persimmon in his hand.
After all, there were very few things in the Martial Hall that could make him stop eating dried persimmons.
The last time had been when he discovered that Qin Feng possessed a High-Grade Bone Constitution!
Liang Hangzhou hurried forward and gave Li Chuan's shoulder a heavy pat.
"Kid, when did you break through to Dark Force?"
Li Chuan was startled. Liang Hangzhou had come up behind him, yet he had not sensed a thing.
However, he showed no panic. He merely turned around calmly.
"Reporting to Master, I broke through to Dark Force yesterday. I was just about to tell you."
Seeing how steady his expression was, Liang Hangzhou felt greatly pleased.
"You only broke through to Dark Force yesterday, yet waited until tonight to tell me. Your ability to keep your composure is quite profound."
"Did you succeed at Gate-Knocking on your first attempt?"
Li Chuan cupped his fists.
"This disciple spent six months and was fortunate enough to break through to Dark Force."
Liang Hangzhou looked him up and down, then suddenly extended his right hand, tracing along his Spinal Dragon.
"Strange, strange. You clearly have a Low-Grade Bone Constitution, yet you succeeded at Gate-Knocking in one attempt."
"And at your speed, you would be considered fast even among the Inner Courtyard disciples."
Liang Hangzhou furrowed his brows and suddenly muttered to himself.
"It seems your comprehension is rather high. In truth, Bone Constitution is not the only thing that determines one's prospects in martial arts. It is the most important factor, but comprehension and resources also play no small role."
The more Liang Hangzhou thought about it, the more he found it a pity.
Li Chuan's ability to break through to Dark Force after a single Gate-Knocking attempt meant his comprehension must be extremely high.
It might even be higher than Qin Feng's.
If such comprehension had been paired with a medium-grade Bone Constitution, Liang Hangzhou would have been confident in nurturing him into a second Transforming Force practitioner!
What a pity, what a pity!
Liang Hangzhou sighed inwardly.
A Low-Grade Bone Constitution had practically locked down Li Chuan's upper limit. Dark Force was as far as he could go.
No matter how high his comprehension was, even if he cultivated multiple combat styles to Major Mastery, he would merely be a powerful Dark Force practitioner, unable to affect the overall situation.
Still, that was not bad. In the future, he could become one of Qin Feng's great right-hand men.
He was worth nurturing.
But Liang Hangzhou had already allocated all his resources to Qin Feng...
Forget it.
He would dip into some of his own private savings.
Liang Hangzhou paused.
"Tomorrow, go to the East City Butcher Shop and collect ten jin of tiger meat. Give them my name."
Li Chuan cupped his fists.
"Thank you, Master."
Although he knew the resources Liang Hangzhou gave Qin Feng were ten or even a hundred times what he received, he felt no dissatisfaction.
After all, one was an Inner Disciple, while the other was a Final Disciple.
Different treatment was only natural.
To give was kindness; not to give was duty.
Li Chuan had always kept that distinction clear.
Seeing his demeanor, Liang Hangzhou was even more satisfied.
He had seen too many cases where a liter of kindness earned gratitude, but a bushel earned enmity. A temperament like Li Chuan's was truly rare.
For a time, his attitude toward Li Chuan improved considerably.
"From now on, if there is anything you do not understand while practicing your boxing or stances, you may come find me."
"I'll call over your senior brothers and sister. Go wait in my room first."
An Inner Disciple meant one permitted to enter the master's "inner chamber."
It represented trust, as well as status.
"Master loves keeping us in suspense. He only told us someone had broken through to Dark Force, but refused to say who it was." Senior Brother Tang sounded rather helpless.
Jiang Ting, dressed in purple, thought for a moment.
"It may be Qiu Ming, the one you brought to the gathering before. After fighting several matches, he seemed to have gained quite a bit."
Qin Feng nodded as well.
Then something occurred to him, and he turned to Luo Zheng with a smile.
"I never expected the gathering to be so effective. Your Junior Brother Li must be regretting it until his intestines turn green."
Luo Zheng curled his lips and ignored him.
No one knew what had gotten into Qin Feng. Ever since learning that Luo Zheng was close with Li Chuan, Qin Feng had been picking at him at every turn.
Jiang Ting covered her mouth and chuckled, echoing him.
"I said it then: there was only one chance. Regret would be useless."
"But given his aptitude, even if he had gone, it would have meant nothing. Better to give the chance to Junior Brother Qiu and produce another Dark Force practitioner for our Martial Hall."
Luo Zheng could not help asking in return.
"How do you know it would have been useless?"
Senior Brother Tang frowned.
"Junior Brother Luo, I know you are close to Li Chuan, but you cannot disregard the facts. Yu Sinian, who surpasses him in every way, failed. What hope could Li Chuan possibly have?"
At the mention of Yu Sinian's name, Luo Zheng fell silent.
The group continued onward, but the atmosphere grew heavy.
Only when they were nearly at the inner chamber did Liang Hangzhou smile.
"It wasn't Qiu Ming. You guessed wrong."
Jiang Ting said coyly.
"Master, you're teasing us again. You watched us argue all the way here without saying a word, and only now tell us we were wrong."
"If it isn't Qiu Ming, then who could it be? He had the best chance of succeeding at Gate-Knocking."
The door to the inner chamber opened, revealing a figure none of them had expected.
"How could it be you?!" Jiang Ting stared in disbelief.
Senior Brother Tang's pupils shrank sharply. He had never expected it to be Li Chuan.
Qin Feng's expression appeared unchanged, but his body trembled faintly, enough to show that his heart was far from calm.
Only Luo Zheng burst into hearty laughter and went over to embrace Li Chuan.
"You rascal, A-Chuan! You broke through to Dark Force and didn't even tell me!"
"You made me suffer Senior Brother Tang and the others mocking me all the way here, saying I had eyes but could not see, and could not judge people properly!"
Luo Zheng casually shot Senior Brother Tang a glance.
Senior Brother Tang gritted his teeth.
"Don't push your luck!"
Liang Hangzhou said helplessly.
"This is a joyous day. What kind of behavior is all this squabbling?"
After Liang Hangzhou spoke, everyone finally quieted down.
Liang Hangzhou patted Li Chuan on the shoulder.
"Heaven rewards the diligent. All of you have seen how hard Li Chuan works every day. After storing up strength and unleashing it at last, he actually succeeded at Gate-Knocking in one attempt, doing better than you so-called medium-grade Bone Constitutions!"
"I always tell you to learn from the strengths of others. If you could learn even seventy percent of Li Chuan's diligence, Pine Wind Martial Hall would not be unable to produce even one Martial Scholar!"
Qin Feng said flatly.
"There will soon be a first."
Liang Hangzhou frowned.
"A-Feng, I have long told you to remain humble and prudent. Do you not understand that what is too rigid breaks easily?"
Qin Feng fell silent. The instant he lowered his head, a cold light flashed in his eyes.
Because of one Li Chuan, Master had actually reprimanded him.
Fine. Very fine.
The atmosphere became subtle again, tinged with the smell of gunpowder.
Liang Hangzhou paused, then suddenly said.
"Jiang Ting, I heard from your father that he has recently been looking for a marriage match for you. Is that true?"
Jiang Ting did not understand why he was asking.
"That is indeed the case. What is it, Master?"
Liang Hangzhou picked up a dried persimmon and smiled.
"Li Chuan is a fine-looking young man and hardworking in character. I think he would make a good match. Would you consider it?"
"What?" Jiang Ting's voice abruptly rose.
Who was Li Chuan? Half a year ago, he had still been her little follower!
He was someone she would not even have looked at directly before.
So what if he had become a Dark Force practitioner now?
Who here was not a Dark Force practitioner?
What was more, Li Chuan was practically Luo Zheng's little follower.
Would that not put her on the same level as Luo Zheng's little follower?
Master had truly gone muddle-headed with age!
Jiang Ting secretly clenched her silver teeth, about to refuse outright.
But Li Chuan spoke first.
"Master, there is no need."
Jiang Ting abruptly turned her head and stared at Li Chuan in utter disbelief.
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