Crushing Zhang He's Hopes

Chapter 29: Crushing Zhang He's Hopes

In the courtyard of the training grounds, Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui stood before Zhang He, their faces full of hope.

"Only six days remain until the Martial Child Assessment. You haven't slacked off during this month or so of training, and you've made astonishing progress." Zhang He looked at Fatty Tang and Wang Dachui. Though the time had been short, both of them had changed noticeably in bearing. Fatty Tang especially could no longer be called fat. The layers of fat covering him had been replaced by solid muscle, and he looked extremely fit. On top of that, the days spent baking under the sun had turned his skin wheat-colored, giving him a healthy appearance.

"We owe everything we've achieved to you," Wang Dachui said, his voice full of gratitude. Looking back on everything that had happened over the past few days felt like a dream. He had actually cultivated to the Marrow Refining Realm—it was unbelievable. If, by a strange twist of fate, he hadn't been driven out of the Martial Child Academy, he might still be struggling to reach the Skin Tempering Realm. If the people at the academy found out, their jaws would drop.

"We're all brothers. There's no need to stand on ceremony," Fatty Tang said heartily.

"Exactly. We're brothers, so there's no need to stand on ceremony." Zhang He smiled. "And it wasn't anyone else who brought you to your current realms. It was you yourselves. I merely provided a few material things to help. You've both reached the Marrow Refining Realm and accumulated a great deal of qi sensation within your bodies. I called you here today to help you condense True Qi Seeds. Only after condensing them can you achieve better results in the Martial Child Assessment."

"Help us condense True Qi Seeds? Is that really possible?" Wang Dachui's face lit up with delight. Anyone who cultivated a True Qi Seed would become an Elite Martial Child and gain even greater benefits. How could he not be tempted? Fatty Tang was just as delighted. But Zhang He's words were so astonishing that they left both of them stunned. Helping them condense True Qi Seeds—what a shocking thing to say!

"I have two bottles of precious medicine here. After you take them, they'll help you condense True Qi Seeds. I promised you that you'd make a splash in the Martial Child Assessment and leave those who looked down on you dumbfounded. I keep my word." Zhang He spoke calmly, and two bottles of medicine appeared in his hand.

Preparing True Qi Condensing Liquid wasn't complicated. Its ingredients were all common, but only Zhang He could refine it, because only he knew how to use those poisonous herbs without turning the resulting medicine into a deadly poison.

There were only six days left until the Martial Child Assessment. Zhang He wanted the two of them to condense True Qi Seeds, and the remaining six days would be for them to learn how to use their qi.

Zhang He divided the True Qi Condensing Liquid between the two of them. Under his guidance, they took it on the spot. The liquid couldn't guarantee success on the first try. It merely helped the qi sensation within their bodies gather, increasing their chances of successfully condensing True Qi Seeds. Anyone else attempting to condense a True Qi Seed would have to tread carefully, terrified of making a mistake. Each opportunity to condense one was exceedingly rare; if you missed it, you didn't know when another would come.

Zhang He didn't have to worry about that. He had the True Qi Condensing Liquid!

With Zhang He guiding them, the two found it easy to condense their True Qi Seeds. Wang Dachui was so nervous and anxious that he made a small mistake at a crucial moment, failing twice in a row, but in the end, he still managed to condense a True Qi Seed.

"Wahaha! I'm an Elite Martial Child now too! A True Qi Seed! I'll be a dark horse in the Martial Child Assessment! All those pretty girls will be throwing themselves into my arms!" Fatty Tang's eyes shone as he wore a lovestruck expression. Wang Dachui, however, wasn't as excited as Fatty Tang. He slumped to the ground, silently weeping.

Zhang He saw him and couldn't help sighing. He knew the immense pressure Wang Dachui was under. Fatty Tang saw it too. He might have been carefree by nature, but that didn't mean he was oblivious. He'd spent plenty of time with Wang Dachui and knew everything about his family. So Fatty Tang didn't go over to help Wang Dachui up. He simply let him cry.

"Zhang He, what's your cultivation realm now?" Fatty Tang suddenly asked, curious. Zhang He helped them train, yet they rarely saw him cultivate. Fatty Tang was extremely curious about Zhang He's strength.

"I've reached the True Martial Realm," Zhang He replied with a faint smile.

"The True Martial Realm!" Wang Dachui had been curious about Zhang He's strength too. At the news, his mouth fell open in shock, just like Fatty Tang's. In their eyes, Zhang He had always been an unassuming person who, like them, was constantly bullied by the wealthy martial children. Yet he had already reached the True Martial Realm!

The gap between the True Martial Realm and the Force Martial Realm was as vast as heaven and earth. Even the great lineages of Mengyin City didn't have many True Martial Realm experts. Zhao Feng's family, a first-rank noble lineage, had only six True Martial Realm experts. The strongest was said to be at the fourth level of the True Martial Realm. True Martial Realm experts were exceedingly rare!

"You've always kept such a low profile..." Fatty Tang shook his head. In his eyes, Zhang He had hidden himself too well. Even those who saw him every day had been kept in the dark.

Zhang He smiled. Naturally, he couldn't tell them the truth, so he changed the subject. "For the next six days, focus on learning to use your qi. There are only a handful of martial children in all of Mengyin City who've reached this realm. As long as you perform normally in the Martial Child Assessment, you'll definitely place near the top."

As he spoke, a glint flashed in Zhang He's eyes. He was determined to claim first place in the Martial Child Assessment! He would also have to step up his cultivation over the next six days. He intended to completely absorb and refine the demonic poison within the Cold Flood Dragon Poison Pill.

"Once I've absorbed the demonic poison in the pill, my Rejuvenation True Qi will grow again, and breaking through to the third level of the Possession Realm will be a sure thing. I might even open my final acupoint. Then I'll be able to use the Half-Step Blast Fist." He had already made thorough preparations. For the time he had left, Zhang He would do everything he could to absorb the demonic poison in the pill.

Breaking through to the Possession Realm wouldn't be difficult.

The setting sun's afterglow spilled across the road as Zhang He headed home. Their home was now in the wealthy district, far from the place where they trained. Even an ordinary person riding in a carriage would need half an hour to get there, but Zhang He went on foot. In martial cultivation, one couldn't slack off for even a moment. Walking strengthened his legs, and Zhang He treated it as a form of training.

Of course, sprinting down the street would only earn people's ridicule. Besides, Zhang He didn't want to draw too much attention, so he chose quiet alleys with few people.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.

Zhang He's figure darted through the alleys like a nimble cat.

As he neared a main street, Zhang He slowed down. There was a night market ahead, crowded with people, and he didn't want to attract attention. He walked calmly onto the street, looking like an ordinary person.

"Hm?" A middle-aged man with a scar across his face sat in a carriage and suddenly let out a surprised sound. His eyes settled on a burly man carrying a saber. The man was taking huge bites out of a pear as he disappeared into the crowd.

"What is it, Zhao Lei?" Zhao Feng had just pulled his gaze from the chest of a young married woman buying rouge and face powder nearby. He looked at the scarred man in confusion.

"I saw an old friend. Heh." The scarred man chuckled nonchalantly, then leaned lazily against the carriage wall, a nostalgic look flickering in his eyes.

Zhao Feng gave a brief "oh." He knew Zhao Lei had once run with the jianghu and had plenty of friends, so it didn't strike him as strange. Suddenly, a figure flashed through the corner of Zhao Feng's eye. His eyes narrowed.

"Zhang He!"

Sitting in the carriage, Zhao Feng saw that hateful figure head down an alley. Though he had taken a spirit medicine found in Luowang Prefecture and his arm had fully recovered, the sight of Zhang He still made his arm ache faintly again. Damn it!

Zhao Feng rubbed his arm, his eyes glinting with venom. He had already cultivated a True Qi Seed and taken a precious pill that increased his qi. His cultivation had reached the peak of the Godspeed Realm, and he was only one step away from the Brute Force Realm. His strength had increased, and so had his confidence, but there was still a thorn in his heart.

His father had actually asked him to apologize to Zhang He and win him over. How was that possible!

A harsh glint flashed in Zhao Feng's eyes. But after his father's reprimand, he wasn't to cause trouble before the Martial Child Assessment.

Every commoner martial child treated the Martial Child Assessment as a chance to leap over the dragon gate. But though there were plenty of carp, the dragon gate was hard to leap through, and plenty of carp died before reaching it. Heh. Zhang He would definitely take part in the assessment too, wouldn't he? He must be pinning great hopes on it. If I crush those hopes before the assessment and leave him with nothing but a lifetime of darkness, that will be the best way to torment him!

"Zhao Lei, follow that man. Find a secluded place with no one around and sever the tendons in his hands and feet. Remember, don't kill him. Just sever those tendons." Zhao Feng watched Zhang He disappear and smiled grimly. Once his tendons were severed, he'd be no better than a cripple. With only a few days left before the Martial Child Assessment, doing it now would destroy his greatest hope. The blow would be devastating.

Zhao Feng could imagine how utterly despairing Zhang He would feel then.

Zhao Lei nodded and got out of the carriage without a word, quietly following after him. For Zhao Lei, this sort of thing was everyday business.

"Zhao Lei is at the True Martial Realm. Zhang He has no chance of escaping. He's doomed to a miserable end for offending me, Zhao Feng. But I won't kill him so easily. That would be far too quick. I'll toy with him slowly. First, I'll shatter his hopes and let him taste despair, breaking his will. Then, right in front of him, I'll slowly destroy the things he loves most, piece by piece, and make him feel the unbearable pain of losing what he cherishes!"

Zhao Feng's lips curled into a smug smile.