Taking a Master

Eagle Claw Skill has a limited number of forms. In total, there are eighteen leg forms, eighteen claw forms, and eighteen movement forms, making a total of fifty-four forms. When combined, they constitute a complete Eagle Claw Skill.

Of course.

Most students in the outer courtyard of the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School know all the forms, but it's not that simple or easy to unleash their power.

Zhang He's face showed surprise, "He has completely learned and mastered Eagle Claw Skill!"

Ye Langtian also showed a shocked and surprised expression. He widened his eyes and said with even more surprise, "Xu Qing hasn't come to the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School to practice martial arts since the fourth day! How could he possibly have mastered Eagle Claw Skill?"

"He really can do it."

Du Luan's gaze held some surprise.

"He's indeed quite good."

Du Cangying nodded.

"However..."

Du Cangying's tone shifted, "Just learning and mastering Eagle Claw Skill isn't enough. Eagle Claw Skill is just a combat style, much easier than a body refinement method."

Ye Langtian quickly nodded in agreement, "Even if Xu Qing has mastered Eagle Claw Skill, he couldn't have mastered Azure Hawk Force."

"Xu Qing."

The next moment.

Du Luan's eyes flashed. She reached out her hand and subtly performed a martial art resembling a palm strike from a distance, grabbing a brick from the ground nearby.

Swish!

Then.

Du Luan threw the brick in her hand towards Xu Qing.

"Eagle Claw Skill."

Crack!

Xu Qing heard the sound of air being broken. He looked over and saw a brick flying directly at him. He circulated his Azure Hawk Force, condensing a sharp Bright Force.

Break!

Xu Qing struck out. The brick flying directly at him was shattered, breaking into pieces in mid-air and falling to the ground around him.

"Hoo..."

Xu Qing exhaled a breath of turbid air and slowly finished his technique.

Instantly.

The scene became somewhat silent.

"He... he actually succeeded..."

Zhang He stood frozen, staring at the brick shattered by Xu Qing's strike, completely stunned. "How is this possible? Xu Qing never came to the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School to practice martial arts!"

"No... impossible! This... this is impossible!"

Ye Langtian was shocked. He stared blankly at the broken stones on the ground, then looked at Xu Qing again. "How could you have also mastered Azure Hawk Force? You couldn't have mastered it! Even I spent nearly a month to master Azure Hawk Force. How could you have mastered it in such a short time? Most importantly, you only studied for three days, and you haven't come to the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School to practice martial arts at all since the fourth day!"

"I... I don't believe it... I don't believe it..."

"Enough."

Du Cangying said softly.

"!!!"

Ye Langtian and Zhang He jolted. The two quickly snapped back to reality, startled out of their shock. They quickly lowered their heads, not daring to say another word.

"Junior Brother Xu, I didn't expect you to have actually succeeded."

At this moment.

Du Luan directly addressed Xu Qing as Junior Brother Xu, indicating that the Second Senior Sister of the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School had acknowledged Xu Qing and that Xu Qing had passed Du Cangying's test.

"Reporting to Second Senior Sister, Junior Brother was just lucky."

Xu Qing replied.

"There's no such thing as luck with this kind of thing."

Du Luan pouted.

"Indeed."

Du Cangying also nodded with satisfaction. He sized up Xu Qing, then beckoned him over. "Come here."

"Yes."

Xu Qing nodded respectfully and walked up to Du Cangying.

"Extend your hand."

Du Cangying said.

"Yes."

Xu Qing obediently extended his right hand.

"Mmm."

Du Cangying took Xu Qing's hand, and faintly, Xu Qing felt a subtle Force enter his body.

Thank goodness.

Bright Force and Dark Force were forces that existed between illusion and reality, condensed from the power of flesh, blood, muscles, and bones. They could be condensed during use and felt as if they didn't exist when not in use.

"Not bad, not bad."

Immediately.

Du Cangying released Xu Qing's hand, a satisfied smile on his face. "You truly have good natural aptitude. Although you're still a bit behind Huo Yi and Du Luan, among the many disciples of the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School, your talent ranks third."

"What?!"

At this.

Ye Langtian was completely stunned.

"Hiss..."

Zhang He also gasped.

Shocked.

Truly shocked.

"Xu Qing."

Du Cangying called out softly, "Now, I ask you, are you willing to become my disciple and an official disciple of the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School?"

"This disciple is willing."

Xu Qing cupped his hands and bowed.

"Good."

Du Cangying nodded. "Kneel and kowtow."

"Yes."

Xu Qing didn't hesitate. Since he had decided to take Du Cangying as his Master, he naturally had to perform the ritual of kneeling and kowtowing. So, he knelt before Du Cangying and solemnly kowtowed three times.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

"Disciple Xu Qing greets Master."

Xu Qing said.

"Good, good, good."

Du Cangying laughed heartily, clearly in a very good mood. He bent down and personally helped Xu Qing up from the ground.

"Thank you, Master."

Xu Qing said.

"Mmm."

Du Cangying nodded. "Go stand next to your Second Senior Sister."

"Yes."

Xu Qing obediently walked to Du Luan's side.

"Junior Brother Xu, you performed very well this time," Du Luan said softly.

"Second Senior Sister flatters me," Xu Qing replied.

"Ye Langtian."

Du Cangying said in a calm tone, "It's your turn."

"Yes, Pavilion Master."

Ye Langtian took a deep breath. He had just been dealt a blow. He thought he was already incredibly talented, only to be surpassed by Xu Qing, whom he had looked down upon.

Also.

Ye Langtian had always believed Xu Qing was an unlucky person, and that an unlucky person could never achieve much in their lifetime.

But the result was that Xu Qing had slapped his face hard. Not only had Xu Qing achieved something, but his achievements were considerable, and the talent and aptitude he displayed even surpassed Ye Langtian's.

"Hoo..."

Ye Langtian took a deep breath, revitalized his spirit, cast aside distracting thoughts, and focused on performing the Eagle Claw Skill he had already learned.

Simultaneously.

Bang!

Crack!

With a crisp snap, Ye Langtian also shattered a brick with a single strike, indicating he had mastered the upper chapter of the Azure Hawk Skill and condensed Bright Force.

However.

Because Xu Qing had demonstrated earlier, and Xu Qing had amazed Du Cangying, Ye Langtian's mastery of the Azure Hawk Skill's upper chapter in twenty-six days did not bring Du Cangying much shock or joy.

Ye Langtian indeed possessed talent for practicing martial arts; mastering the upper chapter of the Azure Hawk Skill within a month was commendable. However, among the formal disciples of the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School, his talent could only be considered average.

"Ye Langtian, are you willing to join my Azure Hawk Martial Arts School?"

Du Cangying asked.

In fact, one could hear the difference.

When Du Cangying asked Xu Qing, he inquired if Xu Qing was willing to take Du Cangying as his Master. However, when asking Ye Langtian, he was asking if he was willing to join the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School.

The two questions were clearly different.

"This disciple is willing."

Ye Langtian also needed to kowtow and pay his respects.

"Good."

Du Cangying nodded.

"Zhang He."

Du Cangying's gaze fell upon Zhang He, and he said, "Take Ye Langtian to the inner courtyard. The instructors in the inner courtyard will teach Ye Langtian the middle chapter of the Azure Hawk Skill."

"Yes."

Zhang He respectfully nodded.

"Ye Langtian, follow me."

Zhang He said.

"Yes."

Ye Langtian opened his mouth. He glanced at Xu Qing, who was standing beside Du Luan. Although he wanted to ask why Xu Qing wasn't coming along, he ultimately couldn't bring himself to ask.

Clearly.

Xu Qing and Ye Langtian were treated entirely differently.

Under these circumstances.

Xu Qing would likely receive personal guidance from Du Cangying.

Inevitably.

Ye Langtian harbored feelings of envy and jealousy towards Xu Qing. He took a deep breath, doing his best to calm his emotions.

"Xu Qing has become a formal disciple of the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School and has gained such favor from the School Master. I cannot afford to make an enemy of him; in fact, I must maintain a good relationship with him."

Ye Langtian pondered in his heart. "Also, I should send someone to inquire about Xu Qing's background."

Within the courtyard.

Only Du Cangying, Du Luan, and Xu Qing remained.

"Follow me."

Du Cangying said in a faint tone.

"Hurry up and follow!"

Du Luan called out.

"Yes."

Xu Qing respectfully nodded and followed behind Du Cangying and Du Luan, returning to the main building of the general courtyard.

Inside the building.

"Xu Qing."

Du Cangying sat in a reclining chair. Du Luan stood obediently behind Du Cangying, gently massaging his shoulders, her gaze appraising Xu Qing several times.

"Master."

Xu Qing responded.

"I have some things to tell you next,"

Du Cangying said.

"This disciple will certainly engrave your teachings in his heart, Master."

Xu Qing replied.

Du Cangying then spoke slowly, "Qingbei Town is divided into an inner city and an outer city. The Azure Hawk Martial Arts School is one of the three major martial arts schools in the outer city, holding a significant position there."

"Generally speaking."

"As the strongest martial force in Qingbei Town's outer city, as long as we don't provoke the inner city, we can do as we please. Even the inner city has to show some respect to our Azure Hawk Martial Arts School."

"This..."

Xu Qing was taken aback. If Du Cangying was right, the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School's status was actually quite high.

This meant that...

Xu Qing had underestimated the Azure Hawk Martial Arts School's standing from the very beginning.

After all...

The Azure Hawk Martial Arts School accepted anyone who could afford the tuition, a low barrier that could indeed lead people to believe its status wasn't high.

In reality...

That wasn't the case at all.

"There's one more thing,"

Du Cangying continued, "You've just completed the disciple-taking ceremony, kowtowing three times, and earned my recognition. You are now officially my disciple." "Ye Langtian is different. He's the young master of the Ye Family. While his talent is decent, it's considerably less than yours, so he can only be considered a registered disciple."