The Path to Immortality, Feet on the Ground

Outside the servants' quarters.

Luo Fang paced back and forth, waiting anxiously.

"How strange. With Nephew Bi's current martial attainments, even in a real fight with blades and spears, taking the guard position should have been a sure thing."

"Why am I so uneasy? Is it because of that brat Li Xian who suddenly appeared?"

He pinched his chin, his brow slightly furrowed.

"Ah, I'm worrying too much."

"Once Nephew Bi becomes a guard, uncle and nephew will join forces, and our standing will be even more secure. Heh heh, as long as we don't offend any of Madam's friends from the martial world, life will be sweet indeed."

At that thought, a smile appeared on his face. After a moment, footsteps sounded as someone approached.

But they stopped several yards away, hidden behind a rockery without coming closer.

Luo Fang called out, "Nephew? Is that you?"

"Uncle Luo."

Bi Hao's voice rang out.

"Good nephew, why are you hiding? Hurry over and tell Uncle Luo how you won."

"What format did the guard selection use? And... did you earn Lord Pang's favor?"

Luo Fang followed the voice, and before he had even seen Bi Hao, every question in his heart had already spilled out.

"The selection... it was... a ring match." Bi Hao avoided the important details, his heart filled with unease.

"Excellent!"

Luo Fang clapped his hands and laughed. "A ring match plays even more to your strengths. I was worried that if it tested endurance, strength, and the like, your martial advantages might not have been fully brought out."

"I've seen your Three Talents Fist. It's extremely solid. Hahaha, did Commander Pang show any praise?"

"My nephew Bi Hao truly has what it takes to be a guard!"

Only then did he finally see Bi Hao, whose head was covered in blood and who looked utterly bedraggled.

He froze for a moment.

"Nephew Bi, you... this..."

"Uncle Luo, Li Xian was too cunning. Desperate, he tore open my scalp."

Bi Hao wore a strange expression, his gaze darting away as he spoke weakly.

"That's what I thought. Those lowly animals, when faced with a chance to rise, will surely claw with all their lives." Luo Fang laughed carelessly. "You look a bit miserable, but winning is all that matters. Winning is all that matters..."

"I didn't win." Bi Hao's voice was as faint as a mosquito's wings.

"Didn't..." Luo Fang's expression stiffened, disbelief written across his face. "Didn't what?"

Bi Hao threw caution to the wind, shut his eyes, and told the truth. "Uncle Luo, I... I didn't win. Li Xian won."

"You didn't win!?"

Luo Fang strode forward three steps, his gaze filled with baleful intent. None of his usual warmth remained.

"Say that again. Good nephew, don't joke around. This is no joking matter."

"Uncle Luo, I really... really didn't win."

The instant those words fell, a slap struck his face.

His ears immediately began ringing.

Before he could react, a kick landed in his lower abdomen and sent him flying more than ten feet.

Without saying a word, Luo Fang slapped Bi Hao twenty times in succession. He beat both his cheeks swollen and knocked out several teeth.

"Useless trash!"

"You drank my Treasure Soup, and you're telling me you lost!"

"You couldn't even beat a servant."

"I fucking want to kill you, you little bastard. Damn it, how could your mother give birth to such worthless trash?"

"Li Xian, from Leaking Bottle Alley in Qingning County?"

Pang Long walked ahead, recalling Li Xian's information.

"Yes." Li Xian nodded and lightened his steps, making no unnecessary sound.

Pang Long nodded lightly and said,

"You passed the guard selection. From this day on, you are no longer a servant, but an official guard of One Accord Manor."

"But there is something I need to remind you of. Though we guards receive better treatment and benefits than servants, when all is said and done, we are still Madam's household slaves."

"You must carry out your duties faithfully and must not be arrogant or overbearing. Can you do that?"

Li Xian said, "Naturally."

But he thought, The rule is a good one, but people's hearts are complicated. Few can manage even the part about not being arrogant or overbearing.

"You must be hungry after that fight. I'll take you to the Dining Hall in the guards' compound first and slowly explain the rules to you."

Pang Long's tone was gentle.

He seemed quite interested in the thin and weak Li Xian.

If he had not misread the match just now, Li Xian had deliberately concealed his abilities at first, making his opponent underestimate him before taking victory in a single stroke at the final moment.

At the beginning, even Pang Long had been deceived. He had thought Li Xian was merely a servant with brute strength and a ruthless streak.

After walking for over a mile, they arrived at a pavilion.

A plaque above it read: "Dining Hall."

This building was exclusively for guards, so quite a few guards passed through the area.

"Lord Pang."

The guards greeted him respectfully, and Pang Long gave a slight nod.

After taking their seats, Pang Long beckoned lightly. "Bring two Grade-D meals."

"Lord Pang, you eat Grade-D meals too?" the cook asked.

"Of course." Pang Long nodded.

Before long, two plates of food were brought to the table.

Li Xian's mouth watered at the sight. There were three dishes and one soup: one meat dish and two vegetable dishes.

The meat dish was braised pork chunks in oil. Each piece was roughly two fingers thick, and there were three pieces in all.

They were not lean meat, but streaky pork belly, fat and lean layered together. Their surfaces gleamed with oil.

An ordinary servant could go a lifetime without eating such food.

The two vegetable dishes were boiled bean sprouts and shredded radish stir-fried with greens. They did not look like much, but they had been generously cooked with oil and salt, glistening richly.

They would give a person great strength!

It could not be called a feast.

But in times like these, getting to eat a meal like this was already rare.

"Eat. This is the standard fare for guards."

"Guards... guards, to put it plainly, help Madam watch over her estate. Without some martial skill, you can't guard an estate."

"So once you become a guard, you won't need to do the servants' miscellaneous chores anymore. But you must still practice martial arts. A martial artist cannot be careless when it comes to food."

Pang Long picked up his wooden chopsticks and dumped all the rice, meat, and vegetables into the soup.

After stirring it together, he slurped from the edge of the bowl and swallowed the soup, rice, vegetables, and meat all at once.

In only a few breaths, he had eaten half of it.

Rather than eating immediately, Li Xian asked, "Practice martial arts?"

Pang Long did not answer. In one breath, he "drank" down the rest of the meal. His way of eating was truly unique; he ate as though drinking water.

There was something refined amid his ravenous pace. Once the bowl was emptied, it was spotless as new and did not even need washing.

Only then did he reply,

"Everyone new here is interested in martial arts."

"I have no obligation to answer your questions about the martial path. But seeing as you've just arrived, I'll allow you to ask me three related questions."

Pang Long added, "As long as they concern the martial path, ask whatever you like."

Li Xian's eyes lit up. This Commander Pang Long was different from Luo Fang and the others.

At least for now, he seemed very different. He followed the rules closely.

"Three questions?"

Since Pang Long had said he could ask anything, Li Xian felt no need to be overly restrained. He asked, "Can practicing martial arts increase one's lifespan and grant immortality?"

Li Xian had only just arrived in this world, and his current circumstances were dire. How could he dare hope for immortality?

He had asked only to quickly understand the broader outline of martial arts.

Pang Long paused, looking at Li Xian in surprise. He was curious why such a question would come from a servant.

This boy is truly interesting. As a servant, he can barely fill his stomach or keep himself warm. Yet after becoming a guard, his first question is whether martial arts can grant immortality?

Pang Long said, "Naturally, it can."

Yet he did not elaborate. Instead, he watched Li Xian's expression. Seeing no fanaticism or excitement on his face, he finally determined that Li Xian was not aiming too high.

He was simply curious.

Li Xian considered for a moment. "Within ten miles, is there a way to pursue it?"

Pang Long's gaze turned complicated. This time, he neither said yes nor no. Instead, he answered, "Harder than ascending to the heavens."

"You have one question left."

After asking two questions, Li Xian had gained a rough outline of this world's martial path.

It was extraordinary, mysterious... and that Manor Madam had surely grasped its essence.

For his final question, Li Xian let his imagination run free. He recalled the many stories and novels he had read in his previous life.

They all shared one common feature: absorbing some kind of energy from the air to increase one's own strength.

Vital energy, battle energy, spiritual energy...

Could this world be the same? Was there some similar substance in the air that martial artists could grow stronger through by breathing and meditation?

Thus he asked, "Is the so-called martial path about sensing and using some invisible force within the air?"

"Ahem, ahem." Pang Long looked at Li Xian strangely. "I don't know where you got that idea."

"But I can answer you clearly. Your idea... is far too far-fetched. Air is just air. What mysterious power could it possibly contain?"

As he spoke, he nearly laughed aloud.

This kid really was interesting. His thoughts were different and wildly imaginative.

Li Xian thought deeply, Without spiritual energy or vital energy, where would extraordinary power and immortal longevity come from?

He was immensely curious.

He also remembered the Essence Treasure that had been brewed throughout the manor some time ago.

Could that thing be related to the extraordinary?

Unfortunately, that level was still too far beyond him for now.

In any case, he had already escaped his life as a servant, and his days ahead would be better!

The road had to be walked one step at a time!